DX LISTENING DIGEST JULY 2003 ARCHIVE HOME presents...
DX LISTENING DIGEST JULY 2003 ARCHIVE
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-136, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1193: WWCR: Thu 2030 15825, Sat 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330 7445, and new experimental 15115 ex-15039 WINB: Sat 0031 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 [or 0415? See USA] 7415 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1193.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1193.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1193h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1193h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1193.html [from Thu] ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Atlantic Monthly for September, in today's mail, contains 13-page story entitled "The Age of Murdoch," by James Fallows, that gives an overview of the deregulation argument and the anticipated future of the media. Interesting reading in light of discussions here (John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, July 29, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA [non]. Re ``Sundry Ethiopian Clandestines`` Now I had a look into my dictionary in order to translate Sundry. Its translation isn't so difficult, but I do not remember seeing that word before. I can only agree the words that Glenn wrote. Austria relays religious stations and its own 'local community stations' (most of them via R 1476 on MW, including several programs for the Balkans in the past years) while Juelich/DTK relays everything. And Glenn is also right when he writes 'CRW will be quick to disclaim ..' CRW is never the 'judge' if a station is a clandestine or not. So as far as I see Wolf's letter was correct (despite the thing with the Austrian politician perhaps) Yours (Martin Schoech, Merseburg - Deutschland, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Re Malm`s report of R. Caiari on 4785.07: Glenn, The other Brazilian on 4785 kHz is Radio Brasil, Campinas-SP, 24 hours. This station relays "Jovem Pan Sat" much of the time (Samuel Cássio Martins, São Carlos SP, Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Pessoal, para quem ainda não conhecem, excelente site que contém links de várias radios brasileiras. Há fartas informações que valem uma boa navegada. http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/3232/dxing_brazil.htm Boa sorte e um forte 73 a todos (Adiel Nunes Ferreira, São Paulo - Capital, radioescutas via DXLD) That`s part of the 1000 Lakes site, by someone in Finland. O yes, it`s Pentti Lintujärvi and the home page is http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/3232/dx.htm (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. I thought everyone who likes hearing CRI would like to know some changes to frequencies. The current frequencies for the South Pacific: 09-10 UT 15210 17690, 10-11 UT 15210 17690 FROM AUGUST 5th: CRI will broadcast a two hour programme, not the one. NEW FREQUENCIES (AUG 5th): 09-11 UT 15250 17690 Further information visit: http://www.crienglish.com Click on 'About Us'. --- Mit freundlichen Gren, (With Friendly Greetings) (Robert Wise, Hobart, Australia, July 31, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) INCREASE OF CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL'S GERMAN SERVICE Hi Glenn, today I received an email from the German service of China Radio International. As from August 5, CRI will start a continious two hour broadcast in German at 1800-2000 UT on 11650 and 15130 kHz (no changes). This will replace the former one hour broadcast at 1800 repeated at 1900. In addition to that the broadcast will be repeated the next morning at 0500-0700 on 15215 and 17690 kHz. The one hour broadcast at 1900 via World Radio Network and Radio Luxembourg (on 1440 kHz) are not effected. Best wishes from Wuppertal vy 55 + 73 (Manfred Reiff, (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 July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From August 5th, China Radio International, German service, will be extended to two hour transmissions on shortwave, twice daily: 1800-2000 UT 11650 15130 0500-0700 UT 15215 17690 1900-2000 UT 1440 via Luxembourg, WRN, - only one hour transmission. Folgende Email erhielt ich soeben von China Radio International: Liebe Hoererinnen und Hoerer, hier noch ein Hinweis: Ab 5. August steht uns die doppelte Sendezeit zur Verfuegung, sodass Sie unsere Sendung durchgehend von 20 bis 22 Uhr MESZ empfangen koennen. Die Frequenzen bleiben unveraendert, naemlich 11650 und 15130 kHz. Darueber hinaus wird diese zweistuendige Sendung am naechsten Morgen von 7 bis 9 Uhr auf den Frequenzen 15215 und 17690 kHz wiederholt. Unsere ueber WRN und Radio Luxemburg 1440 kHz ausgestrahlten einstuendigen Sendungen von 21 bis 22 Uhr MESZ bleiben ebenso unveraendert, wie die jeweiligen Frequenzen. Anmerkung meinerseits: Herr Sung Jingli, Mitarbeiter von CRI, erwaehnte beim SWLCS-DX-Camp letzten Samstag, dass CRI ein zweistuendiges Deutschprogramm einfuehren will (Willi Stengel, Germany, A-DX July 29 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. 9930, "Dafa Hao" via KWHR. This Mandarin program is produced by World Falun Dafa Radio. The web site of World Falun Dafa Radio http://www.falundafaradio.org lists this program as their broadcast towards Asia (1500-1600 on Sat/Sun and 1600-1630 on Mon-Fri on 9930). They send me a blank QSL for my reception of "Dafa Hao". (Wakisaka, DSWCI DX Window via Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) This relates to the KWHR schedule and antenna changes recently reported under HAWAII. I`m somewhat surprised a ``Christian`` station would be open to broadcasting programs by this non-Christian ``cult`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Checked RFPI Wed July 30 just in time to hear WOR 1192 starting at 1321 UT on 7445, which was about to fade out, behind Taiwan, and a swoosh-swoosh noise at irregular intervals every few seconds; while 15039 appeared to be off the air. It was back on, for a short while, the following evening, I think around 0130 --- but see far below, replaced by 15115 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, it seems this story has made it onto at least one us TV programme: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/07/29/168226 (via Andy Sennitt, Holland; and via Artie Bigley, July 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST; interview with James Latham audible via WORLD OF RADIO 1193) ** COSTA RICA. Transcript: RFPI July 29 plea for help. This aired on Radio for Peace International on Tue Jul 29 05:04 UT 2003. [James Latham] And you're listening to Radio for Peace International. I'm James Latham in the studios of RFPI, and we're sorry about that one little piece that went in there: One of the Pacifica stations is doing some of their fundraising, and it always goes on. We want to let our listeners know that your help and assistance is needed right now: RFPI is in a battle for its life. The station, which has operated for 16 years through some four or five administrations at the University for Peace, is now being asked to move, and your help is needed. If you appreciate these broadcasts and what you hear on RFPI, programs such as "Democracy Now," we want you to step forward and give us your support. RFPI is developing a legal fund for the defense of the station. We've already had contributions, and we want to thank all those who have given. It is making a difference, and we are going to win this. The University for Peace, which is under new administration, has been wishing to move the station off. We have diver --- sort of have diverged ways that we've gone in terms of our operations, and there is some political differences between the two organizations. So we really do ask you to help us, help us stay strong and stay on the air and stay broadcasting our messages of peace, hope, understanding, social justice. It is all about the difference between somebody to wishes to have peace and security in the world and those of us who wish to have peace and social justice, and that is what this radio station is about. So your support is very, very much needed and appreciated. We have gotten word that the message of our notice --- for removal from the buildings that we have constructed --- has gone around the world, for it has been posted in the Move On organization, various freedom-of-speech organizations around the world, Common Dreams, and others; and we want to thank all of our listeners for doing that and for writing. Those of you who have written in to the UN, we continuously urge you to do so. The station really does appreciate your report. There is considerable activity: There are people at the UN reviewing the letters; they do make a difference. So write to the United Nations. You can address an E-mail to Kofi Annan by sending an E-mail to him at anann@.un.org [sic], and you can send an E-mail to him there and describe the use that you use the radio station for, and tell him that you don't want it to leave the airwaves and how important it is for you. All of this is very, very much appreciated. We have --- we're busy right now behind the scenes, working on getting E-mails out and correspondence with thousands of organizations around the world who are coming forth for our help. We're still not over the hump yet: We still need to set up a very strong defense in this, what we view as an illegal action, an action that is framed in the censorship of the radio station, and we believe that censorship is not an option for us. We will not --- we refuse to be silent. On July 21st, at 12:30, officials at the, from the University for Peace, armed guards put a chain across the, RFPI's fences, the gates of RFPI. This, by the way, we want to point out was a gate that was built by the staff here at Radio for Peace International, as most of this building was. It is a two-story building, quite large, and it was built by you, the listeners. Listener-supported RFPI, through the many years, the 16 years of operation, have built the station up to its present potential, a two-story building, a transmitting facility, and an antenna farm for getting the signal out around the world. And we are now being asked to leave those facilities that we built. We think that is unfair. We think that it is unjust, and we're calling our friends, many friends out there, into action to help save RFPI. For information, and you can check out the photos if you have access to the World Wide Web, we encourage you to look at http://www.rfpi.org There are photos there, and soon we will have our http://www.saverfpi.org site up as well, where we will be listing some of the responses that you, our listeners, have sent in, and the marvelous letters that have been sent in to the United Nations, to the University for Peace, and to others. We believe that this struggle is a decision of one individual and not the decision of all of the University for Peace. It was not a very democratic decision, we believe, and we're asking, also, you to correspond and were in contact with the council, the governing body of the United Nations, of the UN- -University for Peace, I should say --- to see if they can also be notified of this. We're not sure if they have had full information about this, and we're going to be contacting them as well. So your contribution and help and assistance in this is very very much appreciated. Naomi, do you have anything to add? We have --- Naomi Fowler just walked into the studios here of RFPI. I was --- been giving out the E- mail addresses and everything else that people need to correspond with. And of course, your contributions, you can send them, they've been getting contributions to our organ office for the defense fund in donations large and small, and we appreciate them, is Post Office Box 3165, Newberg, Oregon, 97132, USA. Post Office Box 3165, Newberg, Oregon 97132, USA. You can also go onto PayPal and donate that way on our Web site by clicking on it. Please mention with any of the contributions that you wish it to go to a legal defense fund for support of the station, and that's very much appreciated. So, are we ready to go for another program? No, nothing yet. OK. Yeah, that ended it. That program is done, ended early, So it finished up early. The, you know, the struggle goes on, and as we, as things develop, we will be keeping you up-to-date, our listeners, our supporters out there, as to what is happening and keeping you informed on this as any progress. Again, on July 21st, at 12:30 in the afternoon, the gates were, RFPI's gates were chained and locked, locking us and the staff inside the studios, which we still are here and have been here all this time, and staff continues to stay on premises to, you know, to support the station. We do not want to leave the station for fear that the station will be in some way damaged. [Naomi] Yes, this is, just to add a few comments, this is Naomi Fowler here, Radio for Peace International's program director. I just want to call on all listeners and friends of Radio for Peace International who are in Costa Rica at the moment to please come and support us on August the 4th, which is the deadline for the eviction by the University for Peace of a fellow peace organization, Radio for Peace International. We need as many people here supporting us and witnessing what goes on as possible: That is our most important day, and we need your presence here, too, and witness goes on. We intend to act at all times as a peace organization upholding peaceful values, and we call upon the University for Peace to do the same thing and to respect us as a peace organization, and if they want to continue this process, then they should do so in a peaceful manner and a respectful manner, and we ask all of you out there, if you're able to get here and physically come and witness what happens on that day, then we do please ask you to do so. We're going to try to bring out some more press releases during the day today. Please keep looking on our Web site, on http://www.rfpi.org There is another Web site being set up at the moment. We will give those details out as and when we have them. Thank you very much for all the support, financial and moral support, and please keep monitoring the situation with us, and we will update you as and when we can. We're gonna get on with our normal programming now. Here's this week's "Making Contact." [James] Stay tuned for that and much more. [excerpts of another monologue aired on Radio For Peace International at Thu Jul 31 02:09:04 2003 UT:] [James Latham] We are continuing holding vigilance here at the station -- the staff is all here -- and we have no intention of leaving this facility that you, our listeners, have built and helped us construct of the many -- 16 -- years of operation. On July 21, when we were handed the notice, armed guards of the University for Peace put a chain across the gates leading into the facilities of Radio For Peace International. This is hindering our operations at the station, and causing us considerable difficulties in continuing these broadcasts. With your support, both in letter writing and to our financial campaign, our legal defense fund, is very, very much appreciated. We have more programming forthcoming, and we will be giving you announcements and progress reports as the campaign continues on. We've been getting a multitude of international organizations behind us. The community broadcasters at AMARC, the international organization of community broadcasters, are supporting the radio station with a strong letter to the Secretary General. [end of transcript by Michael L. Semon] A Web site http://www.saverfpi.org is now up. I wonder if RFPI is locked out of its main site and has started a site that they can control. This is pure speculation, of course, but I've been waiting for days and days for http://www.rfpi.org to be updated (Michael L. Semon, Lakeland, FL, USA, July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On August 4th 2003 RFPI is hosting an Open House. We are inviting our listeners and supporters to protest against the gates of our facilities being chained and padlocked by University for Peace armed guards. We need as many witnesses as possible and support on this day that we have been given as a deadline to vacate our building. We are calling on the University for Peace to act in a peaceful manner on August 4th. Your presence is crucial and will be very much appreciated. [via WORLD OF RADIO 1193] Maurice Strong is the newest administration head at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Here is an article about him from Forbes Magazine. SAVING THE PLANET WITH MAURICE STRONG by Dyan Machan, Forbes Magazine, January 12, 1998 Source: http://www.survivalistskills.com/strong.htm [referenced in WORLD OF RADIO 1193] Maurice Strong 68, and his wife, Hanne, fancy themselves quite the environmental couple. He was chairman of the far-out Earth Council, earning the nickname Father Earth. In 1992 he orchestrated the United Nations Earth Sumniit, which called on the developed world to fork over, for its environmental sins, $600 billion to the Third World. Together the Strongs run the private Manitou Foundation. A gathering place for religious sects (Hanne is into "spiritual interests"), it backs, among other things, research into ethnobotany-the interactions between humans and plants. Odd stuff, yes. But odder still is Strong's business career, which has been marked by one misfortune after another. To many of those who know him for his U.N. and environmental work, Strong's business affairs are a bit of a mystery. Nevertheless, Strong's a chap to be reckoned with. Congress says that without belt-tightening the U.N. can kiss good-bye $I.'3 {sic} billion in back U.S. dues. He is the driving force behind a U.N. reorganization plan aimed at dealing with Congress' objections. Strong's solution is hardly draconian: Add a layer of management, cut costs, and abolish redundant obs through attrition. "Underwhelming," arouses Morris Abram, president of Geneva-based U.N. Watch. While that controversy rages, Strong is up to his eyeballs in Molten Metal Technology, a busted handler of hazardous waste notorious for its flaky technology and ties to presidential hopeful Al Gore (FORBES, Jan. 22, 1996 and Apr. 21, 1997). A big contributor to Gore's campaigns, Molten Metals has surfaced in the Senate hearings on corrupt campaign financing. A member of Molten's board, Strong sold some shares at around $31 apiece a month prior to the stock's October 1996 collapse. Today the stock is at 13 cents a share and Strong is being sued by San Diego class-action shark Milberg Weiss. This mixture of do-goodism and obvious self-interest got his start in the oil business. By his 30s he had made millions in small energy companies, rising to become president of Power Corporation http://www.survivalistskills.com/canpol.htm a Montreal holding company. In 1976 he ran Petro Canada, the national oil company. By 1981 he had moved on to Denver oil promoter AZL Resources, where, as chairman and the largest shareholder, he was sued for allegedly hyping the stock ahead of a merger that eventually failed. Strong says he settled for $4.2 million at the insistence of his insurance company. Nonetheless Strong came out a winner. AZL, which owned a number of western ranches, merged with oil refiner Tosco Corp. in 1983. Tosco unloaded some AZL ranch land at fire sale prices, and Strong got the Baca Ranch-160,000 acres in south central Colorado. Today Baca houses the Manitou Foundation. Back at the ranch he started American Water Development Inc. to grow high-protein grains. Soon the plan became a scheme to pump water from under Baca to Denver suburbs, an idea that the locals said would harm the ecosystem. Caught between his reputation as an environmentalist and his pocketbook, Stroniz bailed. "My partners called me softhearted," he says. His next major business venture was equally controversial. In 1992 he became chairman of Ontario Hydro, North America's largest utility. One of his stranger recommendations: that Hydro buy a 3 1,000 acre Costa Rican rain forest. Why? Strong said the deal was fair compensation for the harm Hydro was doing to the local environment. By happenstance he owned a hotel that catered to ecotourists in the same country. So how did Strong come to be picked to reengineer the U.N.? The way we hear it, former secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali wanted to recruit someone close to the current Administration. Strong, Al Gore's pal, fit the bill. Boutros-Ghali was tossed out last year, but his successor, Kofi Annan, allowed Strong to stay on. Strong says he doesn't want the U.N.'s head honcho's job. His mission, he says, is to save the planet from industry's depredations. Will the real Maurice Strong please stand up? [some images as captioned:] Former President of Costa Rica joins the crowd, showing his support for Radio for Peace International. Radio For Peace International General Manager James Latham, Former president of Costa Rica and University for Peace co-founder Rodrigo Carazo Odio and RFPI's Costa Rican lawyer Arcelio Hernández. http://www.saverfpi.org/article.php?story=20030729163254921 David Moore, son of Pacifica Radio Station founder Lou Hill delivering food to staff locked in at RFPI. http://www.saverfpi.org/article.php?story=20030729163107824 The RFPI Building: http://www.saverfpi.org/article.php?story=20030729162926969 Radio For Peace International General Manager James Latham and Program Director Naomi Fowler releasing a press release on the air waves. http://www.saverfpi.org/article.php?story=20030729162742127 A Press Event was held on July 27th to clarify RFPI's position on this conflict. A crowd of listeners made their presence and support count. Supporters, staff, lawyers and Board of Directors locked behind the access gate to Radio For Peace International studios. http://www.saverfpi.org/article.php?story=20030729160611546 From a new fact sheet http://www.rfpi.org/fact_sheet.html --- Why is the University for Peace trying to evict Radio for Peace International? After being asked repeatedly why RFPI is being asked to leave the UPAZ campus, the university has given no formal explanation to RFPI for the eviction. RFPI believes the eviction is being done for political reasons, and is a form of censorship. UPaz has told the press that RFPI owes UPAZ $14,000, and that RFPI is broadcasting illegally. Both reasons come as a surprise to the staff of RFPI, and are not sufficient grounds to evict the station that was built by the design and funds of RFPI staff. Is Radio For Peace International Transmitting on a registered frequency? Radio For Peace International is registered with the High Frequency Coordination Committee, an international commission that coordinates shortwave stations. RFPI does not have credentials with the National Radio Control of Costa Rica, because Radio For Peace is on international territory and is broadcasting to an international audience. The issue of RFPI's legality on the airwaves did not come up until the eviction notice was given. When Radio For Peace and University for Peace decided to collaborate, it was the University for Peace's responsibility to acquire the legal permissions that gives Radio For Peace International the right to broadcast. Does RFPI owe UPAZ money? The University claims that RFPI owes them $14,000 for an internet network system. A written agreement said that RFPI would pay UPAZ in kind or in cash, but the UPAZ never followed up. The university then decided that they don't want affiliation anymore, and then said that RFPI owed them money. RFPI then felt that the money for this equipment had to be part of the negotiations process. If RFPI were to abandon its building on UPAZ premises, UPAZ would be left with a building worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, including the internet infrastructure that UPAZ was requesting payment for. Some background information about the new administration at the University for Peace: The Radio station was working harmoniously with the University until the most recent administration, led by Maurice Strong in 1999. Maurice Strong has served on the board of multiple corporations, and is currently the Director of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, and has served as a Special Advisor to the President of the World Bank. (In the past 3 years, RFPI has given tremendous airtime to the anti-globalization movement) In April 2002, the University refused to let RFPI students and staff ride the UPAZ buses. RFPI students report that UPAZ employees were instructed not to offer rides to RFPI staff, or risk termination. What are the consequences of evicting Radio For Peace? 1. Cutting off the only shortwave station dedicated to peace and justice, giving voice to indigenous peoples and other under- represented peoples around the world. 2. Denying the opportunity to study peace journalism to hundreds of international students & the only shortwave station whose mission it is to train young journalists. 3. Cutting off a venue to 50 independent radio producers. 4. Elimination of the UN voice on shortwave. 5. Eliminating research and monitoring of organized hate groups using shortwave to facilitate hate crimes (i.e. Timothy McVeigh) What are some of Radio For Peace International's accomplishments? RFPI has received awards from: Rotary Club International, 1993. Ministerio de Educación Pública, 1993. Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, for Access Improvement 1996. Unity Church of Costa Rica, for "Constructor de la No Violencia," 1998. Universidad Para la Paz, as "Miembro Honorario," 1991. RFPI has donated equipment to the International Red Cross. RFPI is the only shortwave station that gives UN Radio a daily voice. What has Radio For Peace International contributed to the University for Peace since 1987? RFPI helped produce videos and radio programs to promote the University for Peace programs. RFPI has done public relations for the University for Peace events. \ RFPI has helped UPAZ set up their homestay program in Ciudad Colón for their students. RFPI is incurring steep legal bills in its fight to stay alive, eating deeply into our operating budget. We need to raise several thousand dollars to keep up the struggle. Can you help us? Just click on the button below to donate whatever you can. Or send your contribution to: RFPI, PO Box 3165, Newberg, OR 97132. Be sure to note "Legal defense fund" on your check. This is your radio station and the only one of its kind in the world. Let's make sure that it survives!! And be sure to check back here often for updates to the current situation and how you can stay involved. We greatly appreciate your support! [end of website notice] The crucial question is the following: RFPI`s mission has not changed in the last 16 years. Until the latest administration headed by M Strong, we have operated harmoniously with UPaz, a fellow peace org. It begs the question, how and when did the Uni's mission and stated goals change? In a letter to Mr. Roberto Tovar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, the University for Peace states: that the "current activities of RFPI are inconsistent with the international emphasis currently being developed by the university" THIS STATED IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT over the past sixteen years RFPI has remained true to its ORIGINAL goals, TRANSMITTING PROGRAMS CONCERNING PEACE AND JUSTICE WORLDWIDE. HOW THEN has the University diverged from its strategy stated in 1999, and CERTAINLY CONTRARAY TO ITS OWN GUIDELINES as a fellow peace organization? (Naomi Fowler, RFPI, July 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RFPI on new 15115! Tune-in, about 1550 UT July 31, discussion of death penalty in Puerto Rico. 1600 Naomi talking about new web site (no web access here) then into Democracy Now. Reception was quite good on Satellite 800, actually, a little better than 15,039, perhaps just propagation. I'd give it 3, 4, 4. Took my little Sony analog radio outdoors and could hear it even on that fairly well. Since 15 MHz is sometimes off the air, I`ll bet a lot of folks, checking 15039, and not finding anything, just assumed you were off the air. I don`t even usually listen to Glenn on Wednesday night, as reception isn't that good, so, it was pure coincidence that I found you (Tim Hendel, AL, to RFPI, via DXLD) 15115 OK here at 1635 check, but in the 1700-1800 period, weak co- channel presumably from IBB Morocco was enough to make RFPI unlistenable, also with a SAH of a few tens of Hz, clear again after 1800. I am more concerned about Spain 15110 after 1900, which is likely to splash it considerably. IBB services via Morocco are supposedly on 15115 at various times, but aside from that it should be reasonably clear after HCJB closes at 1300. In the afternoon, RFPI might need a different frequency such as 15190 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. I suggested to Radio Habana Cuba that they consider an old time Latin American AM DX program this winter. Late night, multi- lingual from their high power transmitter. I had a reply finally. Apparently they do not have the political clout to do it. They did suggest I submit it to the Cuban Institute of Radio and TV and I will do so. If any DXers wish to join in, the address is: ICRT, Calle 23 #258, El Vedado, entre L y M, CP 10400, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba. (Colon, July 29, IRCA via DXLD) Well, RHC is not a MW station, so naturally they would refer it to the parent organization. But, but, we Americans are supposed to be put off by the high-power MW transmitters, not *want* to hear them! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. ``WMR World Music Radio is planning to resume operation late 2003. Test transmissions are due in August 2003 on 15810 kHz and a frequency in the 6 MHz range yet to be announced.`` Quote from: http://www.wmr.dk (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. What happened to the DXPL website http://dxpl.hcjb.org/index.php --- This has stopped working (Larry Nebron, CA, July 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, I just found it here. At least they have updated it, but not the separate DXPL schedule page linked which is still pre May 31! http://www.hcjb.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=173&page=1 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {= http://www.tinyurl.com/j7g7} ** GUAM. Good morning. When I checked my email this morning there was a message titled "Guam". Upon opening it I found a word document attached from the Naval Media Center verifying my reception of the Guam Transmission heard night before last. It printed up as a nice verification letter with full color header etc. That is really quick response, even for email since I just sent the report yesterday afternoon! Veri signer is Brooke Armato JO3, though of course there is no actual signature since it was a Word document. Anyway, I printed it up then scanned it into my SWL logging program along with the gazillion other SWL QSL's in there. That way anytime I check that logging the QSL comes up too. Now if they just verify the Hawaii Transmission heard the same evening and IF I can hear the other sites (I have two QSL's for the Puerto Rico site). (Phil Atchley, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** ISLE OF MAN. 1368 kHz Manx Radio is now 24h. Also "Kick FM" slogan is NOT used (this was on FM only at weekends). Carries sponsored religious programmes Sun 1900-2200 (Jack FitzSimons via EMWG (22/7- 2003) via Ydun`s MW News July 30 via DXLD) {see 3-137, 3-139} ** ISRAEL. WEST BANK AND GAZA/ISRAEL: MINISTRY DENIES LICENSING PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI RADIO STATION | Text of report by Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine on 30 July The Information Ministry has denied reports circulated by local and foreign media to the effect that the PNA [Palestine National Authority] granted a licence to a Palestinian-Israeli radio station called The Voice of Peace. A statement issued by the Information Ministry explained that the ministry's Press and Publications Department did not grant a licence to any joint radio station, but rather issued a temporary three-month permit for a Palestinian radio station called The Voice of Peace. Hani al-Masri, head of the Press and Publications Department, said that the ministry has a policy of advocating political and intellectual diversity, but this, however, does not give anyone the power to take the law into their hands and impose a fait accompli policy. He added that any radio station co-founded by foreigners should receive political approval and then the approval of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Telecommunications. Al-Masri rebuffed media claims that the US Arab-language Radio Sawa leased a frequency to broadcast in Palestine. He noted that a local radio station, in violation of the law and applicable regulations, leased the frequency it had been assigned by the PNA. Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 0900 gmt 30 Jul 03 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. TWO PIRATE RADIO STATIONS RAIDED (IsraelNN.com 16 Jul. 29, '03) Police raided two pirate radio stations operating in Ashkelon, the Kol Hesed and Kol Emet stations. The broadcast equipment was confiscated and one person was taken into custody... From http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=47290 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ITALY. Dall'Abetone (Pistoia) ho ascoltato qualche link di radio in FM: 52.15 Discoradio 52.39 R. Centro Emilia (prg multietnico africano in EE e altre lingue... Occhio eh eh) 52.60 Rete Radar (studi Porretta Terme, BO) 53.50 Pane burro e marmellata 56.90 Modena Radio City 58.60 Unid diretta balera 60.90 Bum Bum 61.30 Unid mx classica 63.30 Santerno studio ? Debolissima jingle quasi inaudibili Rx AOR5000 + stilo Miracle Whip Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Avvenire, Milano, Italy, July 29, BCL News via DXLD) But there are 8-MHz-wide Italian TV channels, A and B, with video carriers at 53.75 and 59.75 MHz, per WRTH 2003 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREAS. N KOREA TO STOP ANTI-S. KOREA RADIO BROADCASTS From http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=268067 Thursday, July 31, 2003 SEOUL --- North Korea will stop its anti-South Korean propaganda broadcasts that a radio station has aired for decades, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday, quoting government officials. "The Voice of National Salvation," run by the Korean People's Democratic Front Radio, said Tuesday that anti-Seoul broadcasts would be stopped from Friday, Yonhap quoted a Unification Ministry official as saying on condition on anonymity (Kyodo News via Mike Terry, DXLD) In another goodwill gesture, North Korea promised to stop broadcasting propaganda against South Korea. The decision brings to an end a radio program called "Voice of National Salvation," which the North has directed against the South for the past 33 years. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/30/international/asia/30CND-KOREA.html?ex=1060228800&en=3bc669d93eb35efd&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE (via Jilly Dybka, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) NORTH KOREAN CONCERNS OVER IMPACT OF SOUTH'S PROPAGANDA BROADCASTS SAID "SERIOUS" | Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 30 July: North Korea has admitted for the first time that it lied by claiming a clandestine pro-communist radio station was operating in South Korea, government officials said Wednesday [30 July]. For decades, the "Voice of National Salvation" has aired anti-South Korean broadcasts almost around the clock. Pyongyang claimed the station is based in the South, but Seoul has said it is located in Haeju, a North Korean city close to the border. On Tuesday, the station, run by the Korean People's Democratic Front Radio, announced anti-Seoul propaganda broadcasts would be stopped from Friday, said a Unification Ministry official on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, North Korea sent a telephone message urging South Korea to follow suit and stop its own anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, said the official. In the latest round of inter-Korean ministerial talks in Seoul earlier this month, North Korean officials proposed that the two Koreas stop airing propaganda broadcasts, including the use of loudspeakers along the border, effective 15 August. Both sides agreed to discuss further details after forming a bilateral body to handle social and cultural issues. The North Korean announcement came before the envisaged committee has been formed, said Unification Ministry officials. Launched in 1970, the Voice of National Salvation appealed to some South Korean dissidents under past military governments. But as a result of South Korea's increasing democratization, the broadcast has lost much of its intended effect. Experts say that Pyongyang's move seems to indicate that its leaders have serious concerns about the negative impact South Korean propaganda broadcasts have on the North Korean society. In a survey on 103 North Korean defectors in February, 67 per cent of them said they had listened to South Korean radio broadcasts before fleeing their country. Though North Koreans are officially banned from listening to news from outside and radios are soldered to monitor only state programmes, an increasing number of North Koreans began to gain access to outside information, according to human rights groups in Seoul. Currently, South Korea's state-run Korean Broadcasting System airs 20 hours of programming a day that is critical of the North Korean regime. Recently, the US Congress passed legislation calling for the US provision of radios to people in the isolated regime while mandating the Washington-based Radio Free Asia to extend Korean-language broadcasting for North Koreans to 24 hours a day from the current four hours. "US radio broadcasting is indeed one of our greatest hope for communicating with the isolated North Korean population," Sen. Jon Kyl of the Republican Party recently said in a seminar. "While actively working to sever the regime's life line, we should also use all of the tools to promote democratic change." Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0743 gmt 30 Jul 03 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) NORTH STOPS BROADCASTS BLAMING SOUTH From: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2003/07/31/200307310074.asp North Korea's latest decision to halt the anti-South radio broadcasts intends to pressure the South to reciprocate while indicating the isolationist country recognizes the futility of its finger-pointing approach, experts and officials said yesterday. The Unification Ministry said the North sent a telephone message yesterday that it will stop from Aug. 1 the Voice of National Salvation, which has been operating since 1970 to criticize the capitalist South and to propagate its communist regime. The message called for the South to follow suit. "I think North Korea has taken the initiative on this move to put pressure on South Korea to follow the lead," a Unification Ministry official said. The North's recent measure is in line with its suggestion during the 11th ministerial talks in Seoul July 9-13 that the two sides stop using their national airwaves as blame-slinging arenas. They promised to review the proposal in detail after organizing a committee on social and cultural affairs. Both the North and South have broadcast to each other for decades, with the former focusing on defaming the South and the latter mainly delivering information about its own affairs. Prof. Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University said the North decided to suspend anti-South broadcasts because it has come to question their benefits considering the cost of airing them. "It shows that North Korea admits it has reaped little fruits from propaganda broadcasts aimed at the South, whereas North Koreans have been increasingly affected by the South's radio broadcasts," Koh said. Koh said North Korean propaganda tactics have lost its impact because the South Korean public recognize the superiority of their system. In contrast, South Korean broadcasts featuring examples of prosperous economic development have unsettled North Koreans, he added. "I feel this is a desperate message indicating that North Korea anticipates the South will stop its psychological warfare," the government official said (via Ulis R. Fleming, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) SEOUL SAYS NORTH KOREA TO END ANTI-SOUTH BROADCASTS North Korea will end propaganda broadcasts aimed at South Korea from September. An official at the policy division of Seoul's Unification Ministry told Reuters news agency that North Korea announced its decision in a TV broadcast. "It appears that they are taking the initiative on this move and thereby urging us to do the same," he said. For decades, North Korean TV and radio have broadcast scathingly critical propaganda about the capitalist South, at times accusing leaders of being greedy womanisers and the South Korean people of suffering under US oppression. The South also broadcasts to the North, but Seoul says the content is mostly information about the South rather than criticism about the North. The Unification Ministry official said North and South Korea had promised to stop critical propaganda broadcasts during the summit meeting in 2000 between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung. Pyongyang raised this issue again during recent ministerial talks, and both sides agreed to discuss this in detail at working-level committees, the official said. The two sides remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 30 July 2003 via DXLD) Voice of National Salvation, presumed them at 1252 on 4120.5; Voice of the People, tentative at 1255 on 6600; listed // of 3912 just offering a carrier. Can also be heard on East Coast of North America a bit earlier. Per Ulis' report this is their last day. Heard on 4120.5 and 4450 at 1247 July 31 (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) ANALYSIS: SEOUL SAYS NORTH KOREA TO END ANTI-SOUTH BROADCASTS ON 1 AUGUST | Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring Media Services on 31 July North Korea has officially admitted for the first time that it operates a clandestine pro-communist radio station broadcasting to South Korea, officials in Seoul said on 30 July, according to a report by the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Since 1970, the North Korean-run Voice of National Salvation has carried anti-South Korean broadcasts almost around the clock. The radio station favours the reunification of Korea from the North Korean point of view. North Korea has maintained that the station is based in South Korea, but Seoul has said it is located in Haeju, a city close to the border with South Korea. On 29 July, the Voice of National Salvation announced that it would stop airing anti-Seoul propaganda broadcasts from Friday 1 August, according to a South Korean Unification Ministry official, speaking to Yonhap news agency on condition of anonymity. South Korea also broadcasts to the North, but Seoul says the content is mostly information about the South rather than criticism about the North. The South Korean-run Voice of the People radio station is believed to broadcast on shortwave from transmitters in South Korea, although it claims in its announcements to broadcast from Pyongyang. The station has been on the air since 1986. In the latest round of inter-Korean ministerial talks held in Seoul earlier in July, North Korean officials proposed that the two Koreas stop transmitting all propaganda broadcasts, including loudspeaker broadcasts along the border, from 15 August. Both sides agreed to discuss details later, after the formation of an inter-Korean body to handle social and cultural issues. North and South Korea suspended loudspeaker propaganda against each other along the demilitarized zone once before, shortly after the June 2000 summit. North Korea's move is seen as an attempt to lead the South to stop airing propaganda broadcasts as well, Unification Ministry officials cited by Yonhap said. "Launched in 1970, the Voice of National Salvation has found its way through some South Korean dissidents under past military governments. But as South Korea has been democratic, the North's broadcast has lost much of its intended propaganda effect in the South," the agency commented in a dispatch in English. North Korea's "serious concerns" over broadcasts from South "Experts say that Pyongyang's move seems to indicate that its leaders have serious concerns about the negative impact South Korean propaganda broadcasts have on the North Korean society," the Yonhap report went on. It recalled that in a survey of 103 North Korean defectors in February, 67 per cent of them said they had listened to South Korean radio broadcasts before fleeing their country. Although North Koreans are officially banned from listening to news from outside and radios are modified to receive only programmes broadcast by the state, an increasing number of North Koreans are now accessing information from outside, according to human rights groups in Seoul which were cited by Yonhap. South Korea's state-run Korean Broadcasting System currently airs 20 hours of programming a day that is critical of the North Korean regime. The Yonhap report recalled that the US Congress had recently passed legislation calling for the US to provide radios to North Korean citizens, as well as mandating the US surrogate broadcaster Radio Free Asia to extend Korean-language broadcasting to the North to 24 hours a day from the current four hours. Seoul urged to reciprocate The South Korean newspaper Hangyore on 31 July said "the South should reciprocate North Korea's suspension of anti-Seoul propaganda". The paper said in an editorial that the move by Pyongyang "also appears to have something to do with the marked increase in the pressure shaking the North Korean regime under a `North Korea democratization theory', amid the recent flare-up of tension between North Korea and the United States". The fact that anti-South propaganda broadcasts "are virtually ineffective in practice" must have been also taken into consideration, it added. The South Korean paper described the Voice of National Salvation as "a major relic of the Cold War era spanning over a period of 33 years". It said that by moving first to stop the propaganda against South Korea, the North "has scored political points in terms of giving momentum to the mood for reconciliation, cooperation and peace". "Whatever motives North Korea has, its move to stop propaganda broadcasts against South Korea is very welcome, and we should reciprocate positively. If we play down North Korea's decision to stop its broadcasts as a move to ditch an outdated `drug' and favour continuing our anti-North broadcasts deemed still effective, it is exactly a display of Cold War attitude. The day of national reconciliation will come closer when we extend respect and trust, especially in these difficult times," the Hangyore editorial concluded. North and South Korea are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty. Source: BBC Monitoring research 31 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. RADIO KOREA INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES 50TH ANNIVERSARY WEB SITE Radio Korea International (RKI), the overseas service of the Korean Broadcasting System, has launched a special Web site http://rki.kbs.co.kr/50yers/e_index.html to mark its 50th anniversary on 15 August 2003. The Web site features the yesterday, today and tomorrow of RKI, its vision for another half century of broadcasting, and congratulatory messages from dignitaries from home and abroad and worldwide listeners. RKI has also launched a special 50th anniversary animated logo (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 30 July 2003 via DXLD) And special broadcasts, ceremonies and so on. A whole new set of 50th anniversary web page, the best being http://rki.kbs.co.kr/50yers/eng/introduction/rki_info/rki_info.html where we can finally see the faces behind the voices. They seem to have a policy of new faces on the web pages for each language (Daniel Say, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6045, R. Universidad (tentative) had a nice peak at 1235- 1240 July 31. Alas, too short, no ID. Wasn't playing classical music, but rather what sounded like Mexican music. Went away as fast as it came up. About 35 minutes after sunrise (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MEXICO. MEXICAN REBEL MOVEMENT ANNOUNCES RADIO BROADCASTS Wednesday, July 30, 2003 (07-30) 06:15 PDT http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/07/30/international0915EDT6140.DTL SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) -- Mexico's Zapatista rebel movement, noted for spreading its message over the internet, is turning to an older technology: shortwave radio. In a communiqué published by local newspapers on Wednesday, Marcos said the movement would begin shortwave broadcasts at a still-undetermined hour on August 9. He said transmissions were planned on 5.8 megahertz, though he said that in case of government interference, "move your dial in the same way you would your hips in a cumbia (dance) and hunt until you find us." The announcement was part of a general invitation to a three-day party Aug. 8-10 that the Zapatistas plan in the village of Oventic, a few miles north of here. The event is to mark the creation of more formal methods for the movement and its 30 "autonomous municipalities" in remote parts of Chiapas state to deal with outsiders. After years of clandestine organizing, the Zapatistas seized several cities in Chiapas on Jan. 1, 1994, then quickly withdrew into the jungle. About 145 people died in 12 days of fighting before a cease- fire was declared. Once based on Marxism-Leninism, the rebel movement has turned to political action to promote its calls for Indian rights and for a vision of democracy that is deeply skeptical of political parties. Meanwhile, some of the foreign aid destined for Chiapas, one of Mexico's poorest states, following the Zapatista revolt is being reduced. A spokesman for the European Union's humanitarian office, Jean-Charles Ellerman-Kingombe, said Wednesday that funding for activities there would be phased out by the end of this year. The office has given 7.6 million euros (now about $8.7 million) over past six years, including 1 million euros ($1.145 million) approved last year for health and water sanitation projects that are being carried out by the Spanish, German and International Red Crosses. "There is no longer any immediate humanitarian needs that need to be catered for," he said. "What there is more need for now is more long- term development (via Artie Bigley, Mike Terry, and Jilly Dybka KF4ZEO, and Ulis Fleming, Cumbre DX, July 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) EZLN ANUNCIA LA CREACIÓN DE RADIO REBELDE miércoles 30 de julio, 09:40 AM SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, México --- El Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) anunció el inicio de transmisiones en onda corta de la llamada "Radio Insurgente". El subcomandante Marcos informó en un comunicado que el próximo 9 de agosto se escuchará la primera emisión de la radio zapatista, a una hora todavía no determinada y en el marco de una reunión de tres días para anunciar la creación de los "Caracoles", que sustituirán los centros de reunión conocidos como "Aguascalientes". "La banda y la frecuencia precisas son: banda de 49 metros, en los 5.8 megahertz, en onda corta", precisó el líder rebelde. "Como es de esperar que el supremo (el gobierno) interfiera la emisión, muévase en su dial con el mismo contoneo de las caderas en una cumbia (baile) y busque hasta encontrarnos", añadió en la séptima y última parte de una serie de comunicados denominados "La treceava estela". La emisión de "Radio Insurgente" es parte de una serie de actos que el EZLN realizará del 8 al 10 de agosto en la comunidad de Oventik, al norte de esta ciudad del estado sureño de Chiapas. Esos días se anunciará la muerte de los "Aguascalientes" y la creación formal de los "Caracoles". Además, iniciarán sus actividades las "Juntas de Buen Gobierno", instancias autónomas que vigilarán el cumplimiento de las leyes en comunidades zapatistas y regirán las relaciones con los grupos civiles de México y el extranjero. Marcos señaló que a la entrada de la comunidad de Oventik habrá un letrero con la leyenda: "Está usted en Territorio Rebelde Zapatista: aquí manda el pueblo y el gobierno obedece". El líder guerrillero recomendó a quien asista llevar paraguas, plásticos, impermeables "o de perdida un periódico" para cubrirse de la lluvia. También propuso llevar "una ración adecuada" de comida enlatada y galletas. El EZLN apareció públicamente el 1 de enero de 1994 en varias comunidades de Chiapas, estado fronterizo con Guatemala (AP via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, July 30, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) MEXICO [non?] This is a comunicado by German zapatista support groups on Radio Insurgente, the radio station of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas planning to broadcast on SW. It refers to a statement of subcomandante Marcos in late July announcing the start of SW broadcasts to northern and southern America. No further technical details. It's said that they are now broadcasting 12 hours a day on FM and the station is mainly run by women. As they expect growing tensions in Chiapas the statements says that there need for a medium like this now. They need money to buy equipment and ask everybody (no: international civil society) not to schedule any other activities for August 8-10 (Thorsten Hallman, referring to a long document in German, July 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {in full: 3-137} ** MYANMAR [non]. FOREIGN RADIOS MOST POPULAR SOURCE OF NEWS IN MYANMAR YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myo, a taxi driver, has memorized the entire daily broadcast schedule of the BBC, the Voice of America and two other foreign radio stations. . . http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/7/30/latest/13267Foreignra&sec=latest (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) {related: BURMA [non], 3-139} ** NEPAL. MAOISTS TO LAUNCH OWN FM RADIO STATION From http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/03252109.htm Kathmandu, July 25 (UNI): The Maoists are planning to launch an FM radio station in Western Nepal, the Nepalese news agency, Rashtriya Samachar Samiti, today said quoting the Kathmandu Post. "The people of far western region would be able to listen to the programme aired by the Maoists Peoples radio," an unnamed Maoist leader said. The radio station would be situated in an undisclosed location somewhere between Dadeldhura and Baitadi the paper quoted the leader as saying. "Our party has successfully installed an FM radio station in a secured location," he said without giving any details of the plan. This would be the first FM radio station of the Maoists in the Himalayan kingdom since the insurgency began in 1996. The news of establishment of radio station of the Maoists has come at a time when the Government and the Maoists are preparing to hold the third round of peace talks to end the problem of the seven-year-long insurgency which has claimed over 7,500 lives. The FM station would be established within two weeks to one month and at the beginning would broadcast for 10 hours daily, Nepali language daily, Nepal Samacharpatra, quoted the Maoist leader as saying (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. I assume RNZI's 2nd transmitter will be 100 kW; even in the South Pacific, 50 kW does not 'cut it' due to a long term increase in urban electrical noise above 3000 kHz. That said, I hope that RNZI fixes the broken http://www.tcibr.com link on the [technical] webpage. This link has been broken for ~ year. Lazyness? Also, the PDF brochure for the Thomson transmitter needs to be added to the website, along with the applicable PDFs for the TCI antennas. Also, I want to put in for quarterly updates of RNZI's 'pattern' in the region using VOA_area, or equivalents. Sadly, no antenna file has been created to describe RNZI's combining both HR antenna arrays (Max Power, Seattle / Vancouver / Victoria, ripple via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Special event to mark NZART branch anniversary: One of the oldest Amateur Radio clubs in New Zealand, the Otago Branch of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART), celebrates its 75th anniversary during August. Members will use the special event call sign ZM4A, and a commemorative QSL will be available. QSL via the bureau direct with an SASE (DX stations should include one International Reply Coupon) to ZM4A, PO Box 5485, Dunedin, New Zealand. There`s more information on the NZART Otago Branch Web site [at] http://www.qsl.net/zl4aa/index.html (The Daily DX via ARRL July 30 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** NICARAGUA. Hola Héctor! Y transmitía por los 5950 o 55 y entraba muy bien a Buenos Aires hacia las 0500 UT aproximadamente. Justamente los otros días comentábamos con unos colegas sobre la política QSL de esta emisora. La única nicaragüense en la onda corta pasó a ser Radio Miskut, pero hace mucho que no la veo reportada en los 5770 khz. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Comentarios del director de Radio Nicaragua Don Héctor García Bojorge, Muchas gracias por su correo. En lo tocante a su comentario y pregunta sobre la onda corta, puedo decirle, que desde hace varios años, Radio Nicaragua no cuenta con un transmisor de Onda Corta. No existen planes para volver a tenerla, especialmente ahora que contamos con la gran carretera de la comunicación, como es el internet. Con respecto a la frecuencia 620 AM, ciertamente, hemos tenido problemas, pero hemos adquirido un nuevo transmisor, que nos permitirá bañar todo el territorio nacional, como siempre ha sido, y más allá de nuestras fronteras. Muy pronto podrá usted escuchar nuestra señal en esa frecuencia. Saludos y éxitos para usted. (Alfonso Moncada Cuèllar, Director General via García, ibid.) ** NIGERIA. Voice of Nigeria. Today, the usual antenna switch on 15120 at 1100 was two minutes late, so I could hear the announcement: "Voice of Nigeria now welcomes listeners in southern Africa for the English service on 15120." After switch very weak as usual. Yesterday, also the sign-on on 11770 was at 1602. Their clock is wrong, it seems (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Absurdocratistan [sic], July 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio Sabor (1610 kHz), logged as far away as Sweden by Hasse Mattisson, is located in Arequipa city, not Paucarpata, as the official frequency listing of the Peruvian Comms Ministry has it. The station`s address is Oficina 430 at the Centro Comercial Independencia, which is also the location of the company`s main station Radio Alegría (1510 kHz). Alegría, listed as station number 637 in WRTH03, is to celebrate its 13th anniversary on Aug 3 next. This is what I gathered from a phone call to the station on July 30. The phone number was kindly supplied by the webmaster of http://www.arequipalinda.com José Antonio Pastor D. who has made an all-out effort in trying to help, actually sending a messenger to the town of Paucarpata in order to locate the station. Thanks to José Antonio for his resourcefulness and thanks also to Björn Malm, without whose tip we would have been unaware of this Peruvian X-bander in the first place. Thanks also to Alfredo Cañote and César Pérez Dioses for taking their time to monitor the station (Henrik Klemetz, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Numerous unIDs IDed: see UNIDENTIFIED [non] below ** PHILIPPINES. Glenn and Ydun, I have been informed by one of the IBB staff in country that the Harris transmitter is still on 1143 and the CEMCO is used for the weekly tests (on 1170). Regards (Ben Dawson, July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {Re: 3-129, 3-130} ** POLAND. Courrier de la section anglaise de Radio Polonia qui semble contredire des informations selon lesquelles la station aurait l'intention de reprendre des émissions en français. "J'ai le regret de vous annoncer que Radio Polonia n'a pas dans l'idée de reprendre un service français. En réalité, pour des raisons financières, nous avons dû fermer 3 services. La station continue de diffuser en anglais, allemand, esperanto, russe, ukrainien et biélorusse" NDR : et en polonais bien sûr. Les 3 langues supprimées sont le tchec, le slovaque et le lituanien. La plupart des autres langues ont connu des réductions de programmes ou de fréquences (Rafal Kiepuszewski, service anglais - 28 juillet 2003 --- les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. SAUDI DISSIDENT MOVEMENT LAUNCHES AL-ISLAH TV ON HOTBIRD 31 JULY | Text of unattributed report entitled "Al-Islah Television Channel begins transmission on Hotbird today" carried on Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia web site on 31 July Al-Islah Television Channel began transmission on the Hotbird satellite this evening. The details of the transmission are as follows: Broadcast: on Hotbird 6 at 13 degrees East Frequency: 12520 Polarization: Vertical Symbol Rate: 27500 Forward Error Correction, FEC: 4/3 The transmission will remain experimental for several days. Source: Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia web site, London, in Arabic 31 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. Robin Harwood alerted people to some interesting listening on SIBC on 5020 with the arrival of the Australian-led intervention force. A program on SIBC called 'Talking Truth' is part of the communications strategy to explain to the people of Solomon Islands the role of the intervention force and its activities. The program was featured in a recent report on Radio Australia's 'Asia Pacific' program. Transcript [plus audio link] at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s904932.htm (Matt Francis, Counsellor, Public Diplomacy, Australian Embassy, 1601 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA, July 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. New "target radio" for Sudan (I would like to avoid the term "clandestine"). M-F: 1600-1700 on 17630, 1700-1800 on 17660 kHz (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) via IBB? where? Quote from: http://www.usaid.gov/hum_response/oti/country/sudan/rpt0303.html United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Office of Transition Initiatives Field Report: SUDAN, March 2003 In March, OTI awarded a cooperative leadership award to Education Development Center for the development of a radio service for southern Sudan. The OTI assessment team determined that a lack of access to information in southern Sudan, particularly regarding the on-going national peace process, is a significant problem. Sudan's great size, with a topography that makes communication and transportation extremely difficult, and largely impossible during the rainy season, and the widespread illiteracy of the generation that has grown up during the war, make radio the first choice for disseminating information. Existing radio broadcasts in regional languages have been limited to broadcasts from the north and sporadic coverage from various international services like the BBC. The scope and duration of these international broadcasts is very limited. To that end, OTI is funding the development of a radio service for southern Sudan. Radio can be an effective vehicle to address two major concerns: The lack of human capacity and the lack of information about events that affect the everyday lives of the people of southern Sudan. The provision of timely and accurate information can provide motivation for greater civic participation. The radio service will present a diverse mix of timely and relevant programming broadcast in Sudanese languages, (initially Juba-Arabic, Nuer, Dinka and English with the potential to include other major languages of southern Sudan) by Sudanese presenters. The amount of airtime proposes to start at a realistic level of two hours/day within four months and expand to six hours/day (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXLD) Thanks Bernd's tip. African-sounding music here in Wyoming at 1602, weak, but clear signal on 17630 (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Nothing audible here at 1730+ on 17660 (Glenn Hauser, OK, July 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {more: 3-138, 3-139...} ** TANZANIA. 5050, R. Tanzania (Dar es Salaam) Partial-data yellow and blue African map card in 1 month after my last follow-up report was sent via registered mail from Hungary. I also enclosed $1.00, and mailed my report to the v/s N. Nyamwocha. I've been trying for this one for over 6 years; my 50th African country verified (George Maroti, NY, July 29, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** TIBET. Let`s try one more time to get the Tibet PBS schedule correct. In 3-117, it was in local time. In 3-123 I subtracted 8 hours for UT, but missed one of the entries, the one at 1000-1535 on 9490 and 9585, which should have been changed to 0200-0735, so: China Tibet PBS Tibetan channel is scheduled [corrected2] 2250-0735 on 594 4905 4920 5240 6110 6130 6200, 0950-1700 4905 4920 5240 6130 6200 7385 9490, 2250-0200 7125 7385, 0200-0735 9490 9585, 0950-1735 6110 (Sergey Kolesov, Ukraine, July World DX Club Contact via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) ** UGANDA. UGANDAN INFORMATION MINISTER SAYS INDEPENDENT RADIO CLOSED FOR ABETTING REBELS | Excerpt from report by Ugandan newspaper The New Vision web site on 31 July The government has discovered evidence incriminating Radio Veritas Kyoga in acts intended to aid the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. The state minister for information, James Nsaba Buturo, told members of parliament yesterday that the police had discovered an audiotape containing information, which was being aired by the radio to undermine the security situation when the LRA attacked Teso [northern Uganda]. The government closed the radio in June on the recommendation of the Soroti District Security Council. "Police investigations have revealed interesting information and a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice," Buturo said. He was appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Presidential and Foreign Affairs to defend his department's budget. Flanked by Omwony Ojwok (economic monitoring state minister), Buturo said the government regrets the closure, but added that the conduct of the radio warranted police action. "It is not that the government is intolerant or dictatorial but information incriminating the radio has been collected, analysed and established to have some connection to the anti-terrorist law. Let's allow the DPP to do his job independently," he told MPs. Committee chairperson Salaam Musumba (Bugabula South) cautioned the government against employing illegal procedures to discipline suspected criminals.[Passage omitted] [See similar report by the Monitor newspaper entitled "Ugandan MPs take ministers to task over fate of independent radio station", filed on 31 July.] Source: The New Vision web site, Kampala, in English 31 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. The 'Washington Post' has an interesting story about the BBC and the current controversy surrounding its reporting on Iraq. The article offers a very good insight into the unique role of the BBC in British public life and its position as a publicly-funded broadcaster that now finds itself at odds with the government of the day. This is a debate that is very familiar for Brits, Australians and Canadians who all have significant national broadcasters funded from tax revenue that vigorously assert their editorial independence, but something of a revelation for Americans who don't have a comparable public institution. It also addresses the problem of how public service broadcasters can be relevant to audiences in competitive media markets, which some commentators believe is the cause of the type of reporting which sparked the current debate. The report is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64586-2003Jul29.html (Matt Francis, Washington, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: IRAQI WEAPONS REPORTS BRING VENERABLE BBC TO A DEFINING MOMENT WITH CREDIBILITY IN QUESTION, CRITICS CALL FOR REFORM --- By Glenn Frankel, Washington Post Foreign Service, Wednesday, July 30, 2003 LONDON, July 28 -- Rod Liddle recalls that when he first interviewed for the job of overseeing "Today," the BBC's flagship news radio program, he half-jokingly set a goal: "I said I wanted a complaint from Alastair Campbell every week." Five years later, Liddle's heirs at the British Broadcasting Corp. have succeeded with a vengeance. Campbell and his boss, Prime Minister Tony Blair, who faces the worst crisis of his six years in office, in part because of a "Today" report, are complaining long and loud. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64586-2003Jul29.html (via Kraig Krist, Mike Cooper, DXLD) BBC CONTROVERSY DISCUSSED ON DIANE REHM SHOW, Thursday at 10:00EDT http://www.wamu.org/ram/live-toad.ram then on-demand The British Broadcasting Corporation is coming under increasing fire for an Iraqi weapons report that aired in May. A panel joins Diane to discuss the role of the BBC, patriotism and the press. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Terence Smith, media correspondent and senior producer for the Newshour with Jim Lehrer; former national and foreign correspondent and editor with the New York Times Michael Tracey, professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado at Boulder (via Larry Nebron, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, I have a few WBCQ programming notes of interest for your show. As usual, I should have sent them out yesterday, so, sorry about the late arrival. In the "off the schedule" department: Blind Paul's "Pan Global Wireless" Previously heard on Friday 5-5:30 Eastern / 7415 MHz and Saturday 3- 3:30 Eastern / 17.495 MHz. Reason: Hiatus to rebuild studio and production facilities. (Blind friendly computer production is tough) Hopefully PGW will return in the fall on 7.415 MHz in a weekend evening time slot. Pirate John's "Radio DC" Previously heard Monday mornings 12:15-12:45 am Eastern / 7.415 MHz Reason: No problem with show content or financial status, but rather that John apparently made insulting anti-Semitic remarks to station owner Allan Weiner during a business phone call in which John had called to complain about a problem with the broadcast of his show. As a result, Allan exercised his right as owner and general manager of WBCQ to drop "Radio DC" as clients. In the "on the schedule" department: "Area 51" Hosted by Tim Smith and / or Michael Ketter --- Heard Sunday from 6pm - Midnight Eastern on 5.100 MHz. [Sun 2200-0400 Mon UT] It will feature the best of WBCQ's entertainment programming, with an emphasis on shows that have been off of the schedule for awhile. Rebroadcasts of "The Radio Detective", "Planet Lavender", "Ideo Audio", "Seldom Heard Radio", Le Bon Bon Club and more. Plus there will be new shows and current reruns of favorites like "Marion's Attic", "The Lost Discs Radio Show", Radio TimTron Worldwide and others. Basically, it will be a kind of "Best of WBCQ" program with an hour or so of live talk and e-mail / phone in interaction mixed in. You can contact the show at: area51@wbcq.us Requests are definitely welcome and encouraged. Well, as far as other things go, Tasha did agree to do a newsletter starting in the Fall, (electronic, weekly with program features and stuff). As far as WOR goes, I don't know whether your Monday morning show will move up a half hour or not. I haven't heard from Allan about it yet, as he has been on vacation. I more than likely won't have the opportunity to speak to him till Friday. My best guess is that WOR will move up to 12:15 am Eastern (where Radio DC was before). I'll let you know as soon as I know. Well, I hope that you are having a good week, and thanks again for any mentions of programming notes that you give WBCQ on World of Radio. Take care, (Michael Ketter / WBCQ, July 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I have been moved to write a radio related column for the Aug. 1 edition of the weekly Krum Star, under my "Krumudgeon" logo. It reads: Bob Hope was not my No. 1 favorite radio comedian, but he was up there among the greats on my personal favorite list. His death this week means the last of the giants from the glory days of network radio has passed away. Well, before you jump in to remind me that Art Linkletter is still alive, let me make a distinction between comedians and masters of funny ceremonies. Hope, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, George Burns (whose wife, Gracie Allen, was not related to Fred), Jimmy Durante and Red Skelton topped a list of comedians who got their starts in the old vaudeville days of the '20s, then made the transition to that magic medium of the '30s that brought voices, music, sound effects and other artifacts of the theater of the imagination into our homes. During my childhood, there were no computers, no camcorders, no television sets. To see a movie, we had to go to the theater downtown. To listen to music, we had to turn on the radio or put an easily breakable 10-inch disk that could hold a maximum of five minutes of sound on each side onto the spindle of our phonograph and, after the needle ran through the grooves a few times, listen to the resultant scratches as well as the music. Or, in a throwback to the turn of the previous century, we could play the piano in the parlor. Sunday in Oregon was the greatest day for radio in the '40s. Jack Benny came on at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. in the East) and his program was repeated at 9:30 p.m. on the coast. Benny's musical sidekick, Phil Harris, had a show at 4:30; then came Fred Allen at 5. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy were also in the Sunday lineup . imagine a radio ventriloquist. It didn't matter that Bergen's lips moved when Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd or Effie Clinker spoke. All these shows had, essentially, the same format. There'd be an introductory bit, a skit, a musical interlude, an announcer whose commercials would be interspersed into the continuity of the program, and some patented, ongoing gags that were even funnier when you knew they were coming. Each show was a half hour long, and was sponsored by just one company. There'd be three commercials, mostly integrated into the script, for the single product, and the listener would associate the star with the product. I still think of Pepsodent tooth paste when I think of Bob Hope, and it was a traumatic adjustment when Jack Benny went from Jell-O to Lucky Strike cigarettes. (I never took up smoking, but slogans like "LS-MFT - Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco," "Keep Your Eye on the Red Bullseye," and "Sold to the American" immediately come to mind. One of my favorite memories from my own radio career was a 30-minute interview I did in Pampa in the '60s with Speedy Riggs, the tobacco auctioneer on the Lucky Strike commercials.) Fibber McGee and Molly and Johnson's Wax are interconnected in my mind. Edgar Bergen's voices flow on the mythical voice track in my head and Chase and Sanborn Coffee or Royal Pudding, "Rich, rich, rich with flavor, smooth, smooth, smooth as silk; more food energy that sweet, fresh milk" are tracked right along with them. TV advertising today does not imbed itself into my brain - not since the Energizer Bunny, at any rate. I've developed an immunity to it. By the time this column is in print, Bob Hope's legacy will have been touched upon in every newspaper and on every television network. I'm writing this on Monday morning, just after the news of Hope's death broke, and already, Cable News Network is promo'ing a Larry King special to be aired in just a few hours on the man. Hope's work in the classic road pictures with Bing Crosby, his monumental efforts to bring entertainment to U.S. troops on the battlefields during World War II and subsequent conflicts around the globe and his charity activities through the Bob Hope golf classic at Pebble Beach, Calif., are just a few of the memories that, I daresay, any American my age remembers. Hope was a master of the one-liners. Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, on the "Tonight Show," put together routines that follow the Hope pattern, building one topical one-liner after another, but if one put Hope, in his prime, head-to-head with Carson and Leno, the latter two would merely sit down and learn at the master's feet. One advantage Carson, to a small degree, and Leno, on a more wide-open basis, have had over Hope is that the more modern comedians' material doesn't have to stop at suggestive. Hope was known for crossing the line, and there were a couple of legendary occasions when the network cut him off for quips, usually involving the female anatomy, that would be routine and tame by today's standards. The censor, since Hope's heyday, has fallen asleep. Hope satirized himself as the debonair Lothario whose flirtations fell flat. His nose was almost as famous as Jimmy Durante's. "Ski-nose," Hope was called, because the curvature reminded one of a ski-jump. Durante was "El Schnozzola" because of the very size of his proboscis. These things you did not see on radio . well, I take that back. Radio was the theater of the mind, and most of us who sat by our radios and listened to these grand programs had seen pictures in the popular magazines of these people, and they were there, big as life, on the screens inside our heads. I stole a few lines from Hope back in my high school days. I did a routine where I painted myself as the same kind of star athlete Hope painted himself. My favorite: "Football? You should have seen me, dodging, twisting, weaving, turning. Got so I was moving around so much, nobody'd sit on the bench with me." Unlike me, Hope actually had some athletic ability. Before he turned to vaudeville, he'd been in the ring as a prize-fighter, calling himself Packy West. My ambition as a high school class clown was to be a radio comedian. But television came along, enabling those of us with lazy minds to turn them off and substitute the tube, and TV held no appeal for me. There was still good music, and room for satirical disk jockeys, so my love affair with radio continued, even in transition. Then the music changed, and the tastes of the lowest common denominator changed with it. Comedy was no longer wit. It became the stuff we little kids giggled about when there weren't any adults around. Why it's called "adult material," I have no idea. If Bob Hope and Jack Benny had been on the air at the same time, I would have listened to Jack Benny. But in the long term, I believe Hope's contribution to the history of the entertainment industry and its positive effect on American culture is second to no one. Somewhere on high, there's a gathering of fallen American veterans . and Bob Hope now is with them, bringing them the simple joy of laughter (John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, July 28, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** U S A. JIM BUTLER, LONGTIME KMOX PERSONALITY, DIES IN CALIFORNIA JIM SALTER, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, July 30, 2003 (07-30) 08:49 PDT ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jim Butler, whose KMOX radio show was once so popular he was deemed the "night mayor of St. Louis," has died. Butler, 76, died Monday at a hospital in Folsom, Calif. A native of Olney, Ill., Butler came to the St. Louis AM radio giant in 1951 and took over the morning show. But he was best known for his nighttime program. "As soon as Jim opened his mouth, people knew who he was," said Frank Absher, the historian for KMOX. "His voice was so unique and so perfect for radio. But he had the intelligence to go with the voice." Butler also covered news stories and was a sports commentator, covering the football Cardinals and the NBA's St. Louis Hawks for several years. In later years, Butler was an executive at the radio station until his retirement in 1989. Butler helped train many prominent broadcasters who began their careers at KMOX -- Joe Garagiola, Jack Carney and Bob Costas, who interned under Butler. "When I was little, he took this new guy under his wing -- Jack Buck," Butler's son, Michael, recalled. "They kind of started out together. That's a pretty good club." Buck, voice of the St. Louis Cardinals for nearly 50 years, died last year. Butler, who wore thick glasses to overcome poor vision, was a longtime volunteer for the blind. In San Francisco, he hosted a weekly radio program in which he read news stories and offered commentary for the blind, Michael Butler said. He also did charity work in which he read letters and other items to visually impaired people. "He touched a lot of individual lives in addition to those he touched over the airwaves," Michael Butler said. A funeral was scheduled for Wednesday in San Francisco. Survivors include three children and five grandchildren. Steve Heesen and Guide Dog Princess Rattan. ACB-L is maintained and brought to you as a service of the American Council of the Blind (via Ray T. Mahorney, DXLD) ** U S A. GRAND TOUR OF RADIO CITY http://www.antiqueradios.com/radiocity.shtml ENJOY! (Mark Durenberger, Vice President, Technical Operations Victory Sports, LLC NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Not sure if you had seen this yet...and not sure what it means. From http://www.wdaf.com/ Just Released: (Monday, July 28, 2003) After 26 years as ``61 Country`` at 610 on the AM dial, Bob Zuroweste, Entercom Kansas City Market Manager, announced at 7:36 a.m. that WDAF will find a new home at 106.5 on the FM dial ``sometime in the near future.`` Concerning rumors 61 Country`s all- service format may change, Zuroweste reassured listeners, ``It`s like moving your house. There will be a few window dressings and upgrades but in essence, everything will stay the same.`` 73, (Ken Kopp, Amateur Radio: WØNXS, July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HAM RADIO DISTRESS CALL YIELDS HELP FROM NEXT STATE When 83-year-old Walter Siebert, K3KBR, of Valley Lee, Maryland, started suffering serious chest pains July 15, he called 911. For reasons yet to be determined, no one answered. So Siebert turned to ham radio and put out a cry for help on 75 meters, saying he was having chest pains and needed to go to the hospital. Larry Wheeler, KG4RGN, heard Siebert`s plea in Williamsburg, Virginia. At the time, Wheeler was monitoring a net on 3947 kHz as part of Amateur Radio Emergency Service District 7`s participation in a Surry Nuclear Power Plant VOPEX (Virginia Operations Plan EXercise) drill. He notified the net to clear the frequency and contacted Siebert to get the necessary details. Wheeler then got in touch with the 911 dispatcher in James City County, Virginia. The 911 dispatcher in turn was able to reach the proper authorities in Maryland and get medical help to Siebert, who was hospitalized. Siebert told his son Martin, with whom he lives, that ham radio saved his life. Wheeler told reporters that he was in the right place at the right time (ARRL July 30 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. IRANIAN TEAM IN HARARE TO "RESUSCITATE" STATE BROADCASTER ZBC | Excerpt from report by Zimbabwean radio ZBC National FM Radio on 29 July The Iranian delegation which arrived in the country yesterday held a meeting with the minister of information in the president's office, Prof Jonathan Moyo, in his Munhumutapa offices in Harare. The delegation is in the country to lend technical expertise to the ZBC [Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation] so that the improved broadcaster would be able to air programmes that have relevance to the changing Zimbabwean needs. Professor Moyo hailed this expertise as important as it would ensure that the whole country receives coverage of local programmes, thus protecting the nation from receiving American programmes such as those of Studio Seven. He further praised the relations between Zimbabwe and Iran, which he said started a long time ago. The Iranian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Hamid Moayyer, said Iran will open offices in Harare to enable the ZBC project to be carried out with ease. He added that the Iranian delegation currently in Zimbabwe is here to resuscitate the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. [Passage omitted] Source: ZBC National FM Radio, Harare, in Xhosa 1620 gmt 29 Jul 03 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) ``Protecting from receiving programmes such as Studio Seven`` --- Iran ``protects`` itself against American programs by extensive jamming on SW, MW, and as we have seen recently, satellite. How kind of them to extend this expertise to Mugabe (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ZIMBABWE: MOYO ATTACKS US "PROPAGANDA" The Zimbabwean Minister of Information, Professor Jonathan Moyo, has accused the United States of intensifying its hostility towards Zimbabwe by setting up a radio station targeting the country's rural people and churning out propaganda about regime change. Moyo said the US government was sowing seeds of division among people in rural areas using a radio station known as Studio 7 [sic]. Professor Moyo was speaking as he received an Iranian delegation on a five-day working visit to assist in the revamping of the TV and FM transmitters of the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. He said the revamping of the FM network was an important national obligation, which must be fulfilled as a matter of urgency. Areas such as Victoria Falls and Kariba which have poor reception should be given priority as they were exposed to hostile broadcasting by the British and Americans, according to the Minister. Andy Sennitt comments: Studio 7 is in fact not a radio station, but a programme produced by the Voice of America that was introduced in May this year. It is on the air Monday to Friday at 1700-1800 UTC in English, Shona and Ndebele on mediumwave 909 kHz and shortwave 13600 and 17895 kHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 30 July 2003 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Amigos DXistas! En DXLD 3-134 tiene Adán González de Venezuela algunas estaciones no identificadas: En 4426.59 kHz, 0048 UT, 12/07, sermón religioso. Bjorn Malm: "Es Radio Bambamarca (Perú) que tiene programación religiosa la mayor parte de la noche. No estoy seguro pero creo que se llame la programación religiosa `LV de la Salvación`. En 4460.81 kHz, 0044 UT, 12/07, SINPO 2/1. Bjorn Malm: "Es Radio Nor Andina, Celendín (Perú)". En 4650.35 kHz, a las 2226 UT, con SINPO 2/2, anuncios de servicio público y menciones constantes de "Acapulco". Demasiada estática. No pude identificarla. (27/07). Bjorn Malm: "Es Radio Santa Ana (Bolivia). Estaba antes en aproximadamente 4949 kHz". En 4716.77 kHz, 12/07, 2327 UT. Baladas en español, locutora de guardia. SINPO 3/2. Bjorn Malm: "Tiene que ser Radio Yura (Bolivia)``. En 4815 kHz, a la 0110 UT, locutora de guardia presentaba música romántica en español: Marco Antonio Solís "Vivir sin tí" y Enrique Iglesias. Saludos al aire. Identificaba el programa como "Variedades musicales". En ningún momento la locutora dijo el nombre de la estación, en más de 15 minutos. Promociones con demasiados efectos de "eco", que dificultan la escucha de un nombre concreto. Sugerencia: como locutor profesional, creo que los colegas deberían poner más ciudado en decir el nombre de la estación y dónde se halla, al menos cada dos canciones. Sería lo ideal. (27/07). SINPO 32432. Bjorn Malm: ``Es Radio Buen Pastor, Saragúro (Ecuador). No se identifica a menudo. Es más común que se identifique usando su frecuencia en FM sin nombre`` En 5460.33 kHz, el 28/07, a la 0148 UT, música andina. Sin identificar. Bjorn Malm: ``Es Radio Bolívar (Perú)``. En 5470.75 kHz, a las 2348 UT, música rumbera. Señal muy débil: 2/1. (27/07). Bjorn Malm: ``Es Radio San Nicolás(Perú) recientemente reactivada``. En 5637.21 kHz, a las 0154 UT, música andina instrumental, con SINPO 2/1, con clara inteferencia de radioaficionados. (28/07). Bjorn Malm: ``Es Radio Perú, San Ignacio (Perú)``. En 5677.98 kHz, muy buena señal con música y locutor de guardia. Hablaba demasiado rápido y atropellado. No se le entendía nada. 0158 UT, SINPO 4/3. Despedida a las 0218 UT. Sin identificar Bjorn Malm: ``Es Radio Ilucán (Perú). Bastante común también en sus harmónics de Onda Media 1420 kHz: 2840 y 4260 kHz". Björn Malm, La Prensa 4408 y Vaca de Castro Quito, Ecuador. (+593 2) 2598 470. JRC 535 – HF 150. MFJ 616 – MFJ 1025. 12m LW + 24m LW + Longwire Magnetic Balun 73s de..... (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ The real threat of PLC may not come from electricity companies, but from your neighbor's PLC LAN (local area network). In the German ham magazine 'Funk' 6/2003 there is a test of one of one of the new PLC-modems connecting more computers in a flat or a house via your existing power lines, making a local network including internet from your DSL connection. They test the PLC-Modem Easyhome using the 'Home-Plug Power Alliance' standard with 84 carriers between 4.3 and 20.9 MHz in the OFDM mode (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). The speed is up to 14 Mbits/second. The modem is sold by Deneg in the German city of Garbsen near Hannover. The company's German info is at: http://www.easyhome.deneg.de/produkt/details.php?ProduktID=002+02+01 and a drawing of how the system may be connected is at: http://www.easyhome.deneg.de/produkt/beispiel.php?ProduktID=002+02+01&PHPSESSID=f0f374cad0e6396b1ff761b1e86e6fc3udio The test showed that the ham bands were not affected, but the broadcast bands were heavily disturbed. Signals of up to S9+10dB drowned in noise from the many carriers 200 kHz apart in the broadcast bands. But of course, stronger signals were less noisy. Even when the computers were not in use the modems sent short pulses to check the system. But these were so short that they actually didn't disturb reception. Unfortunately the test didn't show how far away these disturbances occur, but your reception surely is affected if your neighbor installs the modems and surfs the net all day long! Audio samples are available from http://www.qsl.net/dg5dbz/plctest/index.html where you also can read the test - if you know German! I was able to download the latter four clips, not the first ones, and they sure are convincing!! Another German company, Devolo in Aachen, has a dLAN system using adapters put directly into your AC plug, and then again using your existing wiring to connect other computers up to 200 meters away. But they state that your household electricity meter serves to block out unwanted access from the outside. I guess they use the same system making the same unwanted 84 carriers in the short wave spectrum disturbing reception in the neighborhood. I asked the Director of Marketing and Public Relations about the signal power of their system, and the German reply reveals that they also show special attention to the ham bands: "Die spektrale Sendeleistungsdichte ist -50dBm/Hz, auf Amateurfunkfrequenzen -80dbm/Hz, bei einer Bandbreite von ca. 17MHz sind dass ca. +22dBm (160mW) bzw. ca. -8dBm (160uW).(Alle Werte auf 50 Ohm bezogen.) Da die Einkopplung symmetrisch erfolgt wird nur ein kleiner Teil dieser Leistung vom Leitersystem der Stromleitung abgestrahlt. Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Christoph Rösseler" Or for non-German speakers: The spectral density of the transmitting power is -50 dBm/Hz, on amateur frequencies -80 dBm/Hz, and at a band width of approx. 17 MHz this is approx. +22 dBm (160 mW), respectively approx. -8 dBm (160 uW). (All values at 50 ohm). As the connection is done symmetrically only a small part of the power is radiated by the power lines. An English description is seen at: http://www.en.devolo.biz/products/dlan.php (click on the product name for specifications). Finally, here in Denmark I believe that PLC coming from the electric power companies now is out of the question. Instead they - and others - concentrate on delivery of Internet, Radio, TV, Telephone... via optical fiber cables (Erik Køie, Copenhagen. July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Larry, you bring up a good point with cable tv. It is getting almost impossible to DX the AM band with the cable TV leakage. Ever since they started using the cable for internet and more recently (and worse yet) broadcasting digital cable signals over the wire. This (30 year) old cable wiring can't seem to handle the job. I now have noise across the entire band--a sort of morse code sound with medium pitch. Yes it is coming via the cable line as I have checked it out. The cable company admits there is problems but will not do anything. When they originally installed the underground wiring 30 years ago, they also put it too close to the electric wiring going into all the houses. So we get noise going into the power lines too (besides poor reception). The cable company says it is too expensive to lay new wiring and will not be done. The techs don't care about the MW dxing (most don't understand it). I would like to dig up/pull out the wiring from the house to the cable box, but I have to consider my elderly mother and what little TV she watches. Broadband over the power lines?... just wonderful (Robin Christoff, Welland, Ontario, Canada, NRC-AM via DXLD) I'd bet if you suggested that you hire one of their subcontractors to dig out the old line and replace it with new cable on a different path, you might get a different answer - and hopefully you could afford it. I've heard of some folks hereabouts who have done that - not for DX reasons, but on account of unwanted pickup or leakage on the cable lines coming in with the power lines as you mentioned. (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 30 JULY - 25 AUGUST 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels. Region 421 has the potential for M-class events through the first half of the period. The block of active longitudes (L = 190 - 205), which rotated around the west limb this period, will return by mid August and may produce moderate solar activity levels. No greater than 10 MeV proton events at geosynchronous orbit are expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on July 30 - 05 August, 10 - 11 August, and again on 13 - 16 August, due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. A large, recurrent coronal hole high speed stream in expected to become geoeffective on 28 July – 03 August, and produce active to minor storm levels. Coronal hole effects are expected again on 7 - 9 August and again on 11 – 17 August. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jul 29 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 Jul 29 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jul 30 115 25 5 2003 Jul 31 120 20 4 2003 Aug 01 115 20 4 2003 Aug 02 115 20 4 2003 Aug 03 110 15 3 2003 Aug 04 110 15 3 2003 Aug 05 105 10 3 2003 Aug 06 105 10 3 2003 Aug 07 105 25 5 2003 Aug 08 115 20 4 2003 Aug 09 125 15 3 2003 Aug 10 135 15 3 2003 Aug 11 135 25 5 2003 Aug 12 140 25 5 2003 Aug 13 140 20 4 2003 Aug 14 140 15 3 2003 Aug 15 140 15 3 2003 Aug 16 140 15 3 2003 Aug 17 140 15 3 2003 Aug 18 140 15 3 2003 Aug 19 135 12 3 2003 Aug 20 135 12 3 2003 Aug 21 125 20 4 2003 Aug 22 115 15 3 2003 Aug 23 110 12 3 2003 Aug 24 110 12 3 2003 Aug 25 115 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1193, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-135, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1192: RFPI: Wed 0130, 0800, 1400 on 7445, 15039 [based on monitored first airing around 1930 Tue instead of 1900] WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1192.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1193: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930? on RFPI 15039 Sun 0031 on WINB 12160 ** ARGENTINA. 5241.00 LSB, Broadcast feeder - FM HIT 105.5, Buenos Aires, Jul 27, 0135-0300, pop music, ads, announcer between songs, 0230 telephone talk, ID's "FM Hit", "105.5", fair to good signal with harsh ute QRM from 5237 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 deg. "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. This week`s RVi Radio World features vintage recordings of KOHO 1170, Hawaii, with Hawaiian music, Japanese announcement; R. Cook Islands from the 1970s; R. Huaraki(?) and R. Windy 2XW, 890, Wellington, New Zealand. Listen for one week only: http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw_HI.asx or http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw_LO.asx (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Retorno frecuencia: 4930 Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, 2300, 27th/july, ID (Rogildo Aragão, Bolivia, hard-core-dx via DXLD) [Previously:] 4734.3v, RADIO SAN MIGUEL, 2305, 25th July distorted audio Spanish, program "Integración Docente" 2330 ID "...toda Bolivia, señal internacional, (YL) en Riberalta, Beni, 4925 kHz, onda corta, San Miguel, formar y informar es nuestra meta con un formato noticioso, cultural y educativo" 73 (Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Quillacollo, Bolivia, Sony ICF2001-Lowe HF-225E LW50m, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Among the wealth of resources at the Nagoya DX Circle website is this page listing Brazilian stations by state, not only SW but also those with webcasts and direct audio linx; and then a SW frequency list, researched by Shigenori Aoki: http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/%7Endxc/br.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. No dia 4 de agosto, estréia a nova programação da Rádio Ribeirão Preto, de Ribeirão Preto (SP). A emissora pertence, agora, aos jornalistas José Luiz Datena e Jorge Kajuru. Vários anúncios estão sendo veiculados pela emissora a respeito da mudança da programação. Um deles diz: "rádio nas mãos de quem é do rádio". Outro fala na história dos jornalistas. Foram gravados por Marcos Hummel, apresentador da TV Bandeirantes, e Walker Blás, noticiarista da Rádio Bandeirantes, de São Paulo (SP). A Rádio Ribeirão Preto, que também se identifica como Rádio 79, transmite em 3205 kHz, em 90 metros. Tem sintonia boa em diversos locais do Brasil e exterior. É ver para crer! BRASIL - A equipe de esportes da Rádio Bandeirantes, de São Paulo (SP), vai acompanhar os atletas brasileiros no Pan-Americano de Santo Domingo, na República Dominicana, a partir do início de agosto. Serão apresentados, na programação da emissora, flashes das competições e resultados das últimas provas. Em ondas curtas, você confere em 6090, 9645 e 11925 kHz. BRASIL - A Rádio Clube, de Marília (SP), voltou a emitir em ondas tropicais. Foi ouvida, em Porto Alegre (RS), em 25 de julho, a partir de 0130, em 3235 kHz. Na oportunidade, levava ao ar o programa De Tudo um Pouco, na apresentação de TJ. Foi monitorada, em outros horários. Ao que tudo indica, pode ser captada entre 2100 e 1000. Ao amanhecer, a emissora apresenta um programa sertanejo, com comando de Arari. Em seu programa, à noite, TJ informa que a emissora "espera cartas do Brasil e do exterior". Para tanto, anuncia o seguinte endereço: Caixa Postal 326, CEP: 17500-970, Marília (SP). Vale informar que, em anúncio da indústria Phillips, do início dos anos 70, a Rádio Clube aparecia emitindo pela freqüência de 3255 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 28 via DXLD) ** COOK ISLANDS. See BELGIUM ** COSTA RICA. Contrary to the earlier info, as confirmed on the RPFI website, one of Kofi Annan`s addresses is sg@un.org and not orsg@un.org (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heard yesterday on RFPI that August 4 is the eviction date. This may or may not be the last day for RFPI. Who knows? Checked their new website, http://www.saverfpi.org and it is up (Ulis Fleming, MD, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) The new web site for RFPI [basically a forum board] is up and working --- http://www.saverfpi.org "RFPI is incurring steep legal bills in its fight to stay alive, eating deeply into our operating budget. We need to raise several thousand dollars to keep up the struggle. Can you help us? Please donate whatever you can. This is your radio station and the only one of its kind in the world. Let's make sure that it survives!! And be sure to check back here often for updates to the current situation and how you can stay involved. We greatly appreciate your support!" The question arises --- is RFPI going to attempt some kind of emergency broadcasting configuration after August 4? (Mike Terry, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tuesday morning heard Naomi announcing that RFPI supporters were invited to be present at the station next Monday morning August 4 at 9 a.m. local to `observe` what happens when the eviction deadline arrives (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The University for Peace wants RFPI to move by Monday next week. For the time being there are staff members in the studio and continuing the broadcasts. I can actually hear the signal quite well during the night time BST on 7445 kHz. So, still enough time for those of us who wish that RFPI survives to send a letter or an e-mail expressing our support. More info in previous postings on this list or on the RFPI website http://www.rfpi.org Greetings from London (Thomas Voelkner, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 15038.78 at 0100 with usual good signal in South Florida. 73, (Bob Wilkner, UT July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Parece una comedia clásica del siglo XVI. ¡La Universidad por La Paz pelea contra la Radio por La Paz!...... ¡gringos! (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, radioescutas via DXLD) ** CUBA. LA MAYOR CÁRCEL DE PERIODISTAS DEL MUNDO En Cuba ya no se censura, se encarcela. El 18 de marzo la policía de Fidel Castro detuvo a 26 periodistas independientes al mismo tiempo, y por los mismos motivos, que a medio centenar de disidentes políticos. http://www.rsf.fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=372 (RSF via gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Radio y Televisión Martí en la mira de la Casa Blanca RUI FERREIRA, El Nuevo Herald TOMADO DE LA SECCION METROPOLIS DEL PERIODICO "EL NUEVO HERALD" DE FECHA LUNES 28 DE JULIO DEL 2003. http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/news/local/6398572.htm El Nuevo Herald | 07/28/2003 | Posted on Mon, Jul. 28, 2003 Después de las irregularidades detectadas en la anterior administración de Radio y Televisión Martí, un alto funcionario del gobierno del presidente George W. Bush informó a El Nuevo Herald, bajo condición de anonimato, que la Casa Blanca tiene los ojos bien puestos en los nuevos directivos de las estaciones de transmisiones hacia Cuba, y agregó que exigirá responsabilidades por las decisiones de éstos. El importante funcionario continuó diciendo que esta vez no van ''a tolerar ningún problema, porque el Presidente está bien consciente de la importancia de Radio y Televisión Martí''. ''Estas trasmisiones son una prioridad de esta administración para promover la democracia en Cuba'', añadió la fuente. El anterior director de la Oficina de Transmisiones hacia Cuba (OCB), Salvador Lew, prácticamente fue obligado a renunciar hace unos cuatro meses, después de que un informe de la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Estado concluyó que en los primeros seis meses de su mandato hubo irregularidades en su gestión que incluyeron amiguismo, contratos firmados sin cumplir con los parámetros legales, y mala administración en general. ''Aquello fue un desastre, por eso no lo vamos a tolerar de nuevo'', afirmó la fuente. Una vez que lograron su salida, la administración nombró al abogado Pedro Roig, conocido por su activismo político anticastrista, y quien colaboraba ya con Radio Martí. ''Pedro sabe perfectamente que será llamado a dar explicaciones si las cosas no marchan bien'', enfatizó la fuente. La semana pasada, Roig nombró como nuevo director de Radio Martí al ex jefe de prensa de la alcaldía de Miami, Jorge Luis Hernández, de 62 años, quien fue ejecutivo de Unión Radio y de La Cubanísima (1140 AM) hace 15 años. ''Creo que es el hombre ideal porque tiene experiencia en asuntos cubanos y en la radio. Tiene dominio en el manejo de este tipo de operaciones y conoce la mecánica de las relaciones con el gobierno'', señaló Roig a El Nuevo Herald. Durante su labor en la alcaldía, comisionados municipales se quejaron de que Hernández no sabía organizar las operaciones de su oficina y se preocupaba demasiado de las actividades del entonces alcalde Joe Carollo. Roig afirmó no estar al tanto de los detalles de la salida de Hernández de la alcaldía, pero restó importancia al hecho. La fuente de la administracion Bush coincidió. ''Fue una decisión de Pedro; nosotros aquí hemos escuchado cosas buenas de él'', añadió. Para Hernández, los cuestionamientos de los comisionados eran sólo ''política'', y ''cuando la política está involucrada en algo quien sufre es el servidor público'', aseguró el nuevo director de Radio Martí, quien recibe un salario de $97,000 anuales. ''Aquí mis intenciones son claras, estoy entusiasmado con este trabajo, y quiero hace un trabajo lo más profesional posible, y ayudar a promover la democracia en Cuba'', señaló. En días pasados, Roig también tomó otra decisión. Despidió al jefe de despacho que heredó de la anterior administración, Fernando Rojas, otrora asesor político del líder de la Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana, el fallecido Jorge Mas Canosa. Rojas estuvo casi dos años en la OCB, donde tuvo siempre un perfil discreto, tratando de aplacar los ánimos entre los empleados descontentos, velando por la buena imagen de la entidad y lidiando con los exabruptos de Lew. Roig no quiso dar detalles sobre la salida de Rojas porque ``es un asunto privado, sobre el cual no tengo comentarios''. Pero El Nuevo Herald supo que entre los dos hubo ''fuertes divergencias, casi de fondo'' sobre el funcionamiento, la organización y la contratación de personal. A los empleados de la OCB no les informaron el cambio. Oficialmente, Rojas se encuentra de vacaciones. ''Pedro tenía toda la autoridad para cambiar a su jefe de despacho. Esas cosas suceden, y sobre ello puedo asegurar que la Casa Blanca le proporcionará un trabajo acorde con su preparación, porque Fernando es una persona muy preparada que conoce muy bien cómo funciona la política y no debemos desperdiciarla'', indicó la fuente de la administración. Cordiales 73's (via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Ecos del Portete, Girón (cerca Cuenca) ahora de nuevo está en la misma frecuencia de 1610.10 [que R. Sabor, Perú] después de una visita corta en aproximadamente 1613v kHz. Tengo que escuchar después a las 2100 hora local, Portete está saliendo más o menos a esa hora, y tempranito en la mañana. 73s de (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, July 28, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [and non]. New schedule for HCJB"s "DX Partyline" effective from July 24, 2003 Sat 0900-0930 5070 via WWCR 1230-1300 15115 via HCJB QUI 1430-1500 15390 via HCJB KNX Sun 0000-0030 12160 via WINB 0200-0230 5070 via WWCR Tue 0830-0900 11750 via HCJB KNX 0930-1000 9475 via WWCR Thu 2000-2030 15825 via WWCR (Observer, Bulgaria, July 29, via DXLD) ** FRANCE. New MW stations: A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : Superloustic. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 999,00 kHz. Adresse du site : rue de la Plesse, 91140 Villebon-sur-Yvette. Altitude du site : 157,00 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 227,00 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale J.O n 173 du 29 juillet 2003 page 12895 Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel Décision n 2003-414 du 22 juillet 2003 autorisant la SA Télérama à exploiter un service de radiodiffusion sonore par voie hertzienne terrestre en modulation d'amplitude analogique intitulé Radio Livres Télérama-RLT NOR: CSAX0301414S A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : Radio Livres Télérama-RLT. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 1 062,00 kHz. Site d'émission : Etoile du Pave Meudon, 92360 Meudon. Altitude du site : 171 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 271 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale ______________________________________________________________________ J.O n 173 du 29 juillet 2003 page 12896 Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel Décision n 2003-415 du 22 juillet 2003 autorisant la SA La Radio de la mer à exploiter un service de radiodiffusion sonore par voie hertzienne terrestre en modulation d'amplitude analogique intitulé La Radio de la mer NOR: CSAX0301415S A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : La Radio de la mer. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 1 080,00 kHz. Site d'émission : Etoile du Pavé, 92360 Meudon. Altitude du site : 171 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 271 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale ______________________________________________________________________ J.O n 173 du 29 juillet 2003 page 12897 Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel Décision n 2003-416 du 22 juillet 2003 autorisant la SAS Image On Air à exploiter un service de radiodiffusion sonore par voie hertzienne terrestre en modulation d'amplitude analogique intitulé La Radio du temps libre NOR: CSAX0301416S A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : La Radio du temps libre. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 1 314,00 kHz. Site d'émission : rue de la Plesse, 91140 Villebon-sur-Yvette. Altitude du site : 157 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 227 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale ______________________________________________________________________ J.O n 173 du 29 juillet 2003 page 12898 Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel Décision n 2003-417 du 22 juillet 2003 autorisant la SAS Compagnie de Larmor à exploiter un service de radiodiffusion sonore par voie hertzienne terrestre en modulation d'amplitude analogique RNT Radio Nouveaux Talents NOR: CSAX0301417S A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : RNT. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 1 575,00 kHz. Adresse du site : Etoile du Pave Meudon, Meudon (92360). Altitude du site : 171 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 271 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale ______________________________________________________________________ J.O n 173 du 29 juillet 2003 page 12898 Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel Décision n 2003-418 du 22 juillet 2003 autorisant la SAS Editions Hiddekel à exploiter un service de radiodiffusion sonore par voie hertzienne terrestre en modulation d'amplitude analogique intitulé Ciel AM NOR: CSAX0301418S A N N E X E (*) Nom du service : Ciel AM. Zone de planification : Paris. Fréquence : 981,00 kHz. Site d'émission : Ecluse d'Alfortville, 94140 Alfortville. Altitude du site : 33 mètres. Altitude de l'antenne : 56 mètres. Puissance (PAR max.) : 5 kW. Contraintes : néant. (*) Sous réserve de l'avis favorable de la coordination internationale Union des Ecouteurs Français --- Radiodiffusions, utilitaires, radio- écouteurs, radioamateurs, techniques... Courriel: tsfinfo@magic.fr Web: http://www.radiocom.org U.E.F.: B.P.31, 92242 MALAKOFF Cedex, FRANCE. (TSF 2132, excerpt of official notice, via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** HAWAII. See BELGIUM ** HONDURAS. 2859.98 (harmonic 2 x 1430), HRSJ Radio Futura, Jul 25- 27, 0115-0300, fair to good signal all 3 days, sign-off at 0300 with canned announcement, positive ID heard on Jul 26; thanks to Jay Novello, Terry Krueger and Bjoern Malm for IDing this one (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 deg. "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Fred's Close Encounter of the Jovian Kind got me to chase down some facts about actually listening for signals from Jupiter. SPACE TODAY ONLINE has a site dedicated to "How To Hear Radio Signals From Jupiter". http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Jupiter/JupiterRadio.html This page discusses how the signals are generated and points to a NASA project named "Radio Jove" which has some "how to's" in the sidebar of its home page. Apparently a pair of 15 meter dipoles, a hamband receiver that will tune near 21 MHz and a little patience are all that's needed. See the STO page for explanation of Jupiter's 9 hour 55 minute cycle time and something about two trillion Watts. (Damn, sounds like a Canadian NDB! I wonder if its one of those 'Z'-series IDs.) Good DXing, (Joe, K9HDE, swl at qth.net July 28 via DXLD) Hamband receiver? How about a general coverage SW receiver? (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN. Summer A-03 schedule of Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran (VOIROI/IRIB): ALBANIAN 0630-0727 15235 17680 1830-1927 9545 9570 2030-2127 9535 11725 ARABIC 0230-0627 9890 0330-1527 13770 0330-1627 15125 15150 1230-1627 13820 1530-1927 7285 1630-1927 3985 6025 9705 11740 1730-1927 9935 2030-2127 6025 2030-2227 9935 2030-0127 3985 2030-0327 7285 9705 11740 2130-0127 11710 ARABIC# 0330-0427 9610 11875 1930-2027 3985 6025 7285 9705 9935 11740 ARABIC* 0330-0527 7120 7175 7245 ARMENIAN 0300-0327 11860 0930-0957 11700 15260 1630-1727 7230 9780 AZERI 0330-0527 13710 1430-1657 6200 BENGALI 0030-0127 9855 9890 0830-0927 11705 1430-1527 9520 9810 12015 15395 BOSNIAN 0530-0627 15235 17680 1730-1827 7295 9835 2130-2227 9810 11870 CHINESE 1200-1257 17535 21460 21490 21630 2330-0027 11750 15490 15570 DARI 0300-0627 9580 0830-1157 11880 1200-1457 7295 ENGLISH 0030-0227 9590 11920 1030-1127 15450 15550 15600 21470 21730 1530-1627 7245 9635 11775 1930-2027 9800 11670 11750 11860 2130-2227 9870 13665 GERMAN 0730-0827 15084v 17590 {out of order; how come?} 1730-1827 11765 11855 15084v FRENCH 0630-0727 17590 17780 21645 1830-1927 11860 11880 13785 2330-0027 9560 12005 HAUSA 0600-0657 17600 21810 1830-1927 11930 15435 HEBREW 0230-0257 9910 11925 0700-0727 21560 1900-1927 5970 7175 7315 HINDI 0230-0257 15165 17635 1430-1527 11695 12030 13805 15490 extended, ex 1500-1527 ITALIAN 0630-0727 17560 17825 1200-1257 15084v 15235 1930-1957 7295 13650 JAPANESE 1300-1327 15555 17810 2100-2127 11855 13635 KAZAKH 0130-0227 11935 13770 1300-1357 11665 13755 15330 KURDISH/S 0330-0527 15425 KURDISH/S 1130-1427 15440 KURDISH/K 1430-1627 15605 MALAY 1230-1327 15200 17555 21745 2230-2327 9685 11965 PASHTO 0230-0327 7130 9605 11790 0730-0827 15440 1230-1327 9790 11870 13785 1430-1527 7270 1630-1727 6015 7195 9725 PERSIAN 1630-1727 15084v 1930-2027 15084v RUSSIAN 0300-0327 9805 11830 0500-0527 11870 15215 21480 21610 1430-1527 7165 9580 9615 11820 1700-1757 5985 7210 1800-1857 6205 7260 1930-2027 7125 7175 SPANISH 0030-0227 9515 9655 11610 0230-0327 13730 0530-0627 17590 17785 2030-2127 11765 13755 SWAHILI 0330-0427 15265 17570 1130-1227 17800 21810 1730-1827 9655 11995 TAJIK 0100-0227 7180 1600-1727 5955 TURKISH 0430-0557 15260 15365 1600-1727 7165 9550 URDU 0130-0227 9525 11880 13640 1330-1427 9665 11695 13805 15490 retimed, ex 1330-1457 1530-1727 7270 1730-1757 7225 9530 additional transmission UZBEK 0230-0257 7180 1500-1557 5985 # VOICE OF ISLAMIC PALESTINIAN REVOLUTION * VOICE OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION OF IRAQ S=SORRANI DIALECT K=KIRMANJI DIALECT [of KURDISH] (Observer, Bulgaria, July 29, via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Hi to you all; You probably are wondering why I have not replied to the postings on the "new Voice of Peace", so here goes. I will make a full and clear statement about this next week, as I have promised Henry AlkSlesi (Abie Nathan's right hand man for the past 30 years) not to react to the news conference that was held yesterday, and press releases and interviews that were given. What I WILL say is this. This group calling themselves the Voice Of Peace, have no legal right to use the name, and its jingles. The name Voice of Peace belongs to Abie Nathan. For the past few months, there has been another group working to return the VOP to the airways --- with the full backing of Abie Nathan and Henry. As we learned of this second group, a meeting was held last Sunday to see if we could come to some middle ground. The meeting was not a success, as the other group wanted the station to be a political station, whereas our plan is to avoid politics altogether, and go on the format of the old VOP, with a humanitarian slant. It seems this left wing group wanted to "beat us to the press". But as we had no plans of going to the press before anything was concrete, this idea seems to be very babyish. To summarize: There are two groups. One, wants to start a peace station with cooperation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I see nothing wrong with this by the way. The other (the group I am involved in) wants to return the VOP in the way Abie would like it - with some improvements, of course; we can't stay in the 70 and 80's. The name and jingles, etc., belong to Abie Nathan, and only WE have the right to use them. The group I am involved in, has the full backing of Abie, and the people around him. I am sorry it has come to this. We did not want to go public until we had something concrete to go on, and only a few people on this list knew of it. But the going public of this other group has forced my hand to reveal a bit of our plans. As there will be developments over the next few days, I will not write any more. I am also going away for the weekend, and I will come out with a full statement and clarification next Monday. By the way, the project will NOT be offshore (Mike Brand, Israel, From radioanoraksuk via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) "The resurrection of the Voice of Peace is a powerful public expression of the faith still held by the people who pioneered the Israeli-Palestinian peace process a decade ago that dialogue and mutual generosity can bring about an end to the bloodshed. The radio station was operated from 1973 to 1993 by Israeli activist Abie Nathan on a vessel known as the Peace Ship. Saddled with a $300,000 debt due to operating costs and declining advertising revenues, Nathan closed down the station in 1993. He had hoped to attract investment to turn the ship into a floating peace museum, but when that did not work out he scuttled it. The Peace Ship lies today at the bottom of the Mediterranean. But the Voice of Peace is back for a rerun, with an annual budget of nearly half a million dollars, 80 percent financed by the European Union. It is a joint project by Givat Haviva, an Israeli center for Jewish-Arab dialogue, and the Palestinian weekly newspaper the Jerusalem Times. The station will mainly broadcast music, with three hours of original programming in Arabic, Hebrew and English. It will be managed and run by a joint Israeli-Palestinian staff." (An extract of Detailed commentary at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/29/MN72365.DTL via Mike Terry, DXLD) Dear Glenn, Re the return of V. of Peace: I was really happy to hear such a thing as I remember I used to stay awake almost everyday till around midnight to be able to get that station on 1539 kHz. One of the reasons of remembering that station is playing real cool music. They used to play ``I want your SX`` by George Michael almost on weekly basis --- which was COOL for a teenager like me. HI! they used to host BIG NAMES. I remember once the Host of the show was Rick Astley. I don't know bout you guys but when I was a kiddo, his hits were topping the charts all over Europe! Glad to have them back (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. ITÁLIA - O que está havendo com a Rai? Recentemente, Caio Lopes, de Itajubá (MG), enviou um informe de recepção para a emissora e recebeu o envelope com os dizeres: "casella chiuso". Pelo visto, o dinheiro anda curto, em que pese um certo político daquelas paragens ser bem abonado. Então, o jeito foi cancelar a tradicional caixa postal 320? (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 28 via DXLD) ** LATVIA. According to Latvian sources, the new frequency for the 100 kW Ulbroka SW station will be 9290 kHz (ex 9520, ex 5935). This frequency has been coordinated and will be registered at the coming HFCC conference in August. The transmitter is beamed towards the UK (250 degrees) and is open for customers, with Laser Radio UK as one of the potential users (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Cumbredx mailing list July 29 via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. NUMBER OF LIBERIAN REFUGEES SEEKING SHELTER AT ELWA REACHES 2,100 Posted by: newsdesk on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 12:53 PM The number of Liberian refugees seeking shelter at Radio Station ELWA`s facilities in Monrovia reached 2,100 on the weekend as fighting among rebels and government forces continues to intensify in the capital. SIM Liberia Business Manager Joe Wankollie said an additional 500 to 600 displaced persons arrived at the ELWA campus on the weekend. ``In addition, there is starting to be a serious food shortage in the area,`` he said in a telephone conversation with SIM Liberia Associate Director Rick Sacra Monday morning. ``A 50 kg bag of rice that had been selling for US$20 was selling for US$35 a bag -- but now can hardly be found.`` Sacra described fighting this weekend as the ``heaviest yet`` as LURD rebels continued attacking key bridges from the port area into other parts of the city. ``The fighting seems to be a standoff,`` he said. ``Neither side is strong enough to convincingly defeat the other. [Since the present siege of the city began on July 4] supplies such as food and medicine are all running short. There is no functioning port in Monrovia now, so no way to get in bulk shipments.`` There were also reports on the weekend of fighting between the government and the MODEL rebel group in Buchanan, Liberia`s second- largest city, 20 miles southeast of Monrovia. Many civilians had fled to Buchanan during the last seven weeks of fighting. Sacra urges people to pray that believers will stand firm amid the turmoil, for successful peace talks in Ghana, for safety of civilians and for the arrival of peacekeeping troops, primarily Nigerians. ELWA continues Christian broadcasting a message of hope -- music, Bible teaching and testimonial programs such as ``Unshackled`` -- on a reduced schedule of about three hours each morning and evening. ``The ELWA hospital also remains open and is treating many sick people, coming especially from the nearby soccer stadium where thousands of displaced people are taking shelter,`` Sacra said. HCJB World Radio works in partnership with ELWA, a ministry founded by SIM in Monrovia in 1954, to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. The radio station was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. ELWA went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ELWA broadcasts the gospel in 10 languages and plans to add more as resources become available. In recent developments, a Nigeria army spokesman said the first peace troops could deploy as soon as Tuesday for a force seen as crucial to ending two months of fighting for the capital. In Accra, Ghana, however, another day in what have been weeks of off-and-on talks on the peace mission brought no immediate announcement of any firm deployment date. The U.S. has said that West African nations and the U.N. must take the lead in any multinational rescue mission for Liberia. Officials of debt-strapped Nigeria, however, have asked the U.S. for greater assistance. Meanwhile, shelling and other fighting accompanying rebel assaults on the capital have killed hundreds of civilians since June. One rocket, fired by troops loyal to Liberian President Charles Taylor troops from a high building this morning, fell short and plowed into the bedroom of a home on the government-controlled side of the capital, injuring eight civilians, aid workers said. Under international pressure to intervene, President George W. Bush has ordered U.S. ships to take up positions off the coast of Liberia to offer still-unspecified support for a West African-led force. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Sunday repeated U.S. insistence that any American role in the peace force would depend on the West Africans deploying first, and on the departure of Taylor who says he will leave only when peacekeepers arrive. Since June, Taylor has held out promises to step down, only to later renege (HCJB World Radio/SIM/AP July 28 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL TE REO IRIRANGI O AOTEAROA, O TE MOANA-NUI-A-KIWA P O Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand Phone: (64 4) 4741 437 Facsimile (64 4) 4741 433 E-mail address: info@rnzi.com Web Address: http://www.rnzi.com Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) is going to be on air for 24 hours with a new extended news and current affairs service from the beginning of September. A new daily regional current affairs programme called Dateline Pacific will be broadcast at 0800 UT [2000 NZST] Monday to Friday. Dateline Pacific will provide a daily round-up of the very latest news from the Pacific with interviews and features with all the region's newsmakers. It will draw on the work of RNZI staff and 20 Pacific journalists based in the region. An updated version of the programme will run in RNZI`s Pacific Breakfast Show and it will be rebroadcast at different times to give our audiences around the Pacific in different times zones a chance to listen in. Dateline Pacific will also be available to listen to or download from the RNZI web site http://www.rnzi.com The Bulletin service is also being extended with extra hourly Pacific News at 0100, 1100, 1300, and 1500 UT. During our extended hours of broadcasting, Radio New Zealand International will run a mix of RNZI-originated material and the best of New Zealand`s National Radio. All this from 1 September, 2003 RNZI on the air 24 hours a day. Dateline Pacific will play at these times on Short-wave to the Pacific and also the Internet -: 0308, 0808, 1108, 1308, 1508 , 1815, 2015, 2215 UT Pacific News Bulletins can be heard at these times: 0100, 0300, 0800, 1100, 1300, 1500, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000, 2100, 2200 UT (Adrian Sainsbury, RNZI, also via Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also BELGIUM ** NICARAGUA. A chronology of Radio Nicaragua concludes with: . . .El Ingeniero Enrique Bolaños Geyer, asume la Presidencia de la República en Enero del año 2002. Con su apoyo decidido, Radio Nicaragua contará, a más tardar en el mes de Abril del 2003, con un transmisor de amplitud modulada (AM), con potencia suficiente para llegar hasta el rincón más recóndito de nuestro país y allende nuestras fronteras. Radio Nicaragua está, hoy más que nunca, preparada para cumplir con su misión fundamental, de ser la VOZ OFICIAL DEL ESTADO y servir fielmente al pueblo nicaragüense. Sitio Web de Radio Nicaragua http://www.radionicaragua.com.ni Para complementar la historia de Radio Nicaragua, hay que decir que actualmente transmite en los 620 kHz (OM) y 88.7 Mhz (FM) y también en vivo desde Internet, ya sea en Real Audio o en Winodws Media Player A principios de la década de los año 90, Radio Nicaragua cesó sus transmisiones en onda corta. Recuerdo que era en la banda de 49 metros, aqui en México se escuchaba bien, con interferencia moderada por Radio Canadá. Yo escuchaba esta emisora cuando tenía el nombre de "La Voz de Nicaragua" (Héctor García Boijorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. El plan de Radio América, del Paraguay, es transmitir, con mucha más potencia, en las siguientes frecuencias, según nos informa Adán Mur, desde la emisora: 1480 KHZ, 1 KW, ZP20 Radio América, desde Ñemby 1480 KHZ, 5 KW, ZP20 Radio América, desde Villeta 1590 KHZ, 1 a 5 KW, Radio Villeta, desde Villeta 9905 KHZ, 1 a 5 KW, ZP20 Radio América, desde Villeta 15483 KHZ, 1 a 5 KW, ZP20 Radio América, desde Villeta (via Arnaldo Slaen, July 28, Conexión Digital via DXLD) So ex-15185 ** PERU. VOLVIO AL AIRE PANAMERICANA TELEVISION LIMA (extraido de El Comercio, Lima) --- Panamericana Televisión volvió a transmitirse para ciudad de Lima. A las 12:01 pm el patrón de sintonía reemplazó a la mancha negra que se apoderó de la señal durante los últimos nueve días. Alejandro Guerrero inició la cuenta regresiva y cuando el rostro de Gunter Rave apareció en la pantalla, los aplausos y abrazos entre técnicos, operadores y directores de cámara no se hicieron esperar. . . http://www.elcomercioperu.com.pe/Noticias/html/2003-07-26/Lima0033842.html (via Arnaldo Slaen, July 28, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. FYI the radio station has never been off the air and can be heard on 5020+/- 200 Hz. After 1100z they relay the BBC W/S until 1900z. Very interesting listening at present with plenty of appeals for people to co-operate with Task force which arrived on Thursday (Robin L. HARWOOD, Tasmania, July 28, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Frequency change for Radio Sweden International NF 13580, ex 17505 effective July 27: Swedish 1030-1040 Mon-Fri 1030-1100 Sat/Sun 1215-1230 Mon-Fri 1300-1315*Mon-Fri * Radio Prague in English on same 13580!! 1300-1330*Sat/Sun * Radio Prague in English on same 13580!! English 1230-1300 Daily (Observer, Bulgaria, July 29, via DXLD) ** U K. BBC and the government --- Poor reception Jul 24th 2003 From The Economist print edition THE BBC FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE. GOOD WHO should regulate the BBC? And who should pay for it? Until recently, the status quo looked unshakeable. On important questions, like whether its journalists were biased, the BBC would regulate itself, just as it always has. And when its charter comes up for renewal in 2006, few doubted that it would gain another juicy increase in the licence fee, the annual tax paid by every television-owning household in Britain, which currently stands at £116 ($186). Since the row over Iraq's arsenal, those questions look more interesting and open. The BBC has never managed complaints well: robust self-scrutiny is not a strong point of its bureaucratic, inward-looking culture. The final court of appeal is the 11-strong board of governors. But the governors also appoint the BBC's director- general, which critics say makes them too close to the organisation to be able to regulate it properly. The government certainly feels that its complaint over Andrew Gilligan's reporting was badly handled. The governors leapt to Mr Gilligan's defence, largely echoing the BBC management's line and admitting only minor procedural flaws in the reporting of the story. In retrospect, the governors might have done better to wait for a formal complaint from the government and then to investigate it with visible thoroughness, rather than rushing to support their own. Reports suggest that some have since voiced private doubts, but too late to dispel government fury. The most likely alternative to the current system would be to widen the remit of Ofcom, a new communications industry regulator that takes over from five existing bodies at the end of this year. One of these, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, does deal with complaints about the BBC on issues of taste and decency (ie swearing and nudity), but not the most crucial subject of journalistic bias. Although the BBC would resist Ofcom oversight furiously, the day-to- day difference would probably be minor. Ofcom aims to be a light-touch regulator. But, crucially, a complainant with a serious grievance would have an umpire to turn to. The much bigger question is about future financing. Technology is steadily undermining the BBC's main justification for the licence fee: that as everyone benefits from at least some of its services, everyone should pay. Viewing figures are dropping steadily as viewers turn to digital television, which now reaches nearly half the households in the country. The BBC's response so far has been to provide ever more services. Sometimes this is uncontentious—for example in digital radio, now booming, which would never have taken off without BBC backing. But other offerings are controversial—internet-based education, for example, or a specialist history channel that competes directly with an independent commercial outfit. An outside regulator could stop the BBC from treading on so many private-sector toes. Falling viewing figures have not created a financial problem for the BBC, since thanks to the government's generosity the licence fee has been rising at 1.7% above inflation since Labour came to power. But big rows with politicians could undermine the chances of a similarly lavish settlement in 2006. Copyright © 2003 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved (via Neil T. Greenidge, DXLD) ** U K. NOTES FROM THE PREVIOUS WAR --- BIZARRO BROADCASTING COMPANY By Denis Boyles, From National Review- July 29, 2003, 9:55 a.m. A great deal of the current criticism of the British Broadcasting Corporation is based on the BBC's appalling, biased coverage of the war in Iraq. As the war began and the Coalition invasion proceeded across the desert toward Baghdad, I sat watching French TV and listening to the BBC's World Service. That's as close to a state of suspended disbelief as a man can get. As the capital finally fell to the Americans, I made a few notes. Here they are. "I was wrong." Of all the words in all the paragraphs in all the stories ever written by journalists anywhere, the simple inability to utter those three syllables is what distinguishes, say, a Howell Raines from, say, a Michael Kelly. At the end of the day on April 5, 2003, it was also what finally distinguished the BBC World Service's coverage of the war in Iraq from what was going on in the real world. First, a sense of scale: The World Service of the BBC is the planet's radio station, broadcasting around the clock in virtually every major language, from Arabic to Urdu, to some 150 million people - far more than listen to the Voice of America and CNN Radio combined. While most BBC services are funded from the licensing fees charged to U.K. television and radio owners, the World Service is different: Its annual budget of nearly $370 million comes from a direct government grant funneled through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to whom it is indirectly responsible. In theory, every significant aspect of broadcasting by the World Service must be justified in its annual report in terms of its "Benefit to Britain." But, in fact, what the World Service does is the World Service's business. And for the most part its business is largely unknown in England, anyway. World Service broadcasts are intended for those living elsewhere. For years, most listeners thought that was fine. The BBC World Service was once the great pleasure of ex-pats and traveling Brits, Aussies, and Americans. It seemed to represent all that was great about faraway Great Britain. Fair, careful news broadcasts, offbeat but intelligent radio documentaries about Patagonia, music from Wales, and goofy old guys with their collections of treasured classical music created a broadcast environment that can only be described as "well-upholstered" - the World Service was a decided luxury for those like me who spent a lot of time away from home in places like Africa and India. But not long ago, and perhaps with some justification, the World Service started taking hits for being too "colonial" in its programming, too British, and not nearly worldly enough. Plus, its numbers started to erode. So the World Service said goodbye to its nutty assortment of odd and unusual radio plays and documentaries. Even "Lilibulero [sic]," the World Service's jaunty, top-of-the-hour signature tune was faded out. Instead of programs that reflected old-fashioned British virtues (like common sense), the World Service adopted an all-news-and-analysis format meant to reflect modern British values - things like "oneness" and tolerance and, lately, a disdain for all things formerly British, like an instinctive trust in the Atlantic alliance. Normally, news-oriented programming at a time when British and Americans are involved in a war would be welcome. But the World Service's revision of focus also coincided unhappily with a key decision announced early in March, as events in Iraq grew hot, by the BBC's controller of editorial policy, Stephen Whittle. It was Whittle's wish that corporation broadcasts specifically reflect antiwar opinion. Imposing a point of view on events before they unfold is a bit audacious. But it was done, and as a result, the Whittle Rule had far-reaching, although not perhaps unintended, consequences. It's also led to some pretty awful examples of lousy journalistic practices. As the first round of explosions rocked Baghdad, for example, the World Service's on-air "Middle East analyst" was a chap from the Arab-funded, pro-Palestinian agitprop group called The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) - an affiliation never disclosed to listeners. A rough equivalent: CNN hiring an "analyst" to comment on an invasion of Israel without disclosing the fact that he's from the Jewish Defense League. So when the World Service anchor asked him for his analysis, the man promptly pronounced the bombardment "an example of pure American imperialism." Nobody challenged this assertion, [nor?] was he challenged on any of his volatile comments during what became fairly regular World Service appearances. In fact, during it war coverage, the views of guests like the man from CAABU were very rarely balanced with opposing viewpoints, and World Service anchors almost never offered a differing opinion. Instead, the convention is to ask patently biased "analysts" to simply restate their propaganda in more detail: "So, Mr. Hussein, you think this is an illegitimate war, then?" He did, he does and he will tomorrow, too. This insistent bias isn't limited to the World Service's English- language broadcasts, unfortunately. The all-news Arabic service is perhaps worse --- and with consequences far more potentially harmful. As Barbara Amiel has noted in the Telegraph, in the days and weeks leading up to the war, the BBC's Arabic service offered no "Saddam's family firm and the political system underpinning it; there has been virtually no discussion of how he keeps control or the role his sons play in the country. no analysis of [Baathist] war crimes, no serious inquiry about weapons of mass destruction or the policy to destroy oil wells." Instead, listeners were invited to vote on whether the Coalition's invasion would be legal and "and whether the Americans would be looked on as liberators or invaders." In English, Arabic, or any of the other 43 languages used by the BBC World Service, attaching a virulently anti-American viewpoint to one of the most trusted brands in the world has a deep significance. When the Iraqi leadership calls on suicide bombers to attack British and American soldiers, the call goes out over the BBC, without any attempt to deflate the accompanying rhetoric. If a child is hurt anywhere in Iraq as a result of Coalition activity, the World Service is there, broadcasting from bedside and full of sanctimonious fury. You might read about cheering Iraqis greeting troops as they advance through the country, but you will never hear about such a thing on the World Service. The German newspaper Der Tagespiel recently compared CNN Radio to the World Service. CNN, supported by advertisers, was seen by the paper as a uniquely American broadcaster. The World Service, however, was "UN radio." The newspaper meant this as flattery, but it might have added that the World Service resembles the U.N. in other ways, too: it's unresponsive to critics, certain of its virtue, fascinated by radical governments, dependent entirely on taxpayers' handouts for its survival and, after a while, stupidly self-serious, and profoundly depressing. I know. I've been listening to the World Service and nothing else for weeks. I've had a full life. I'm ready to die. Saturday, April 5: this will be the day most people will remember as the day when the journalistic standards of the World Service committed suicide. The BBC's bad day in Baghdad started early: A column of U.S. soldiers had entered southwestern Baghdad just after daybreak. The soldiers - in tanks and armored personnel carriers - drove through the city for several kilometers encountering only sporadic resistance. Near the university, the column turned left, drove out of the capital and parked at the international airport, which was already securely in American hands. In Qatar, the Coalition command center announced the incursion, saying that elements of the 3rd Infantry had gone into the center of Baghdad. At first, the maneuver was reported as a grab for urban territory. Later, more accurate reports, however, said that it was a demonstration by the U.S. that it could and would enter Baghdad at will. Cut to: Andrew Gilligan, the BBC's man in downtown Baghdad. "I'm in the center of Baghdad," said a very dubious Gilligan, "and I don't see anything --- But then the Americans have a history of making these premature announcements." Gilligan was referring to a military communiqué from Qatar the day before saying the Americans had taken control of most of Baghdad's airport. When that happened, Gilligan had told World Service listeners that he was there, at the airport - but the Americans weren't. Gilligan inferred that the Americans were lying. An hour or two later, a different BBC correspondent pointed out that Gilligan wasn't at the airport, actually. He was nearby - but apparently far enough away that the other correspondent felt it necessary to mention that he didn't really know if Gilligan was around, but that no matter what Gilligan had seen or not seen, the airport was firmly and obviously in American hands. It was clearly important to the BBC that Gilligan not be wrong twice in two days. Whatever the truth was, the BBC, like Walter Duranty's New York Times, must never say, "I was wrong." So, despite the fact that the appearance of American troops in Baghdad was surely one of the war's big moments, and one the BBC had obviously missed, American veracity became the story of the day. Gilligan, joined by his colleagues in Baghdad, Paul Wood and Rageh Omaar, kept insisting that not only had the Americans not gone to the "center" - which they reckoned to be where they were - they hadn't really been in the capital at all. Both Omaar and Wood told listeners that they had been on hour-long Iraqi Ministry of Information bus rides - "and," said Wood, "we were free to go anywhere" --- yet they had seen nothing of an American presence in the city. From Qatar, a BBC correspondent helpfully explained that US briefings, such as that announcing the Baghdad incursion, were meaningless exercises, "more PR than anything else." Maybe, implied the World Service, the Americans had made it all up: all day long, Wood repeatedly reported that there was no evidence to support the American claim. At a lunchtime press briefing, the surreal Iraqi Minister of Information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, gave the BBC some solid support: The American incursion was a hoax, said al-Sahaf. Not only that, he added, the Iraqis had retaken the airport, the Americans had been driven out, and Republican Guard units were "pounding" trapped American troops in a suburban area. The bizarre announcement was accepted at face value by the BBC. For most of the rest of the day, the BBC's correspondents, including its diplomatic correspondent, Peter Biles, confessed to being "confused" by the conflicting statements of the Coalition military command and the Iraqi information ministry. Who could you believe, they kept asking themselves? The BBC's Wood and Omaar, meanwhile, had been reporting from more of Baghdad in interviews organized by the Iraqi government. For example, for most of the day, the World Service broadcast hourly, sometimes without any disclaimers whatsoever, an interview by Paul Wood of a Palestinian in Baghdad. The interview was obviously arranged by the Iraqis; it was exactly the kind of Iraqi-sponsored propaganda that got Peter Arnett, then with CNN, in trouble in Baghdad twelve years ago. Then, like now, everything British and American correspondents in Baghdad did was monitored and approved by the Iraqis. But like the use of "analysts" with unannounced axes to grind, the BBC made little effort to make it clear that its journalists were shoveling manufactured "news." In this instance, Wood had been taken to a poor neighborhood of angry Palestinians. He dutifully described to listeners the broken glass and bent window bars he saw when he entered one man's house. ("Excuse me for not taking off my shoes," he mumbled.) The Palestinian was apparently sheltering his whole family in a couple of rooms and dealing irritably with the shelling and bombardments that have become a fact of life in Baghdad lately. He was not happy. Neither were his kids, although happily they hadn't been harmed. Except psychologically: "What happens to the children when there's bombing?" Wood asked, urgently, compassionately, deeply worried. "Do they cry?" Oh boy, do they ever, said the man. "And what will happen when the Americans come to this street?" Wood asked. We will fight them, said the man, to keep them from taking our homes. NO COALITION HERE! Mid-afternoon, April 5: I have listened to the World Service for five straight hours. During that time, the World Service, in its reporting and analysis, has been obviously deeply skeptical of any Coalition claims of success and insistent that the Americans be denied simple good faith. The anger of Iraqis, however, has been widely and consistently featured. No indication of any spontaneous support for Coalition troops was ever mentioned. Of all of the things the World Service reported during those hours, one item caught my attention and held it: Iraqi TV had been blacked out for most of the day by a power shortage. "How are people in Baghdad getting their information, then?" an anchor asked a correspondent. From the World Service, he said. What a chilling thought. So I decided to try an experiment - kind of a private Reed Irvine science project. I have a friend in a neighboring village here in France who gets most of the English-language TV news channels - not Fox, but CNN, BBC News, ITV, Euro News, Sky, the usual - on a satellite dish. So I gave him a ring, invited myself over, and walked the three or four kilometers to his house, listening to the World Service on a pocket radio as I went. The afternoon of April 5 was a beautiful one in northern France - bright, crisp, clear. But it was dark and gloomy in Baghdad, I was sure. "The Americans are bombing again," the BBC mourned. I imagined angry swarms of citizens gathering in homes and cafes to listen to World Service reports about the duplicitous Americans and their phony incursions. (In fact, I might have passed a few such places in my walk through the French countryside.) When I arrived at my friend's house, I set up my little test. I watched the TV while listening to the World Service on my hand-held radio. It was a startling multimedia event. I could listen to the BBC's Paul Wood telling me once again that there was no sign of the American incursion into Baghdad. Yet on the screen in front of me there was the 3rd Infantry. They were cruising through Baghdad, driving down the highway, turning into the streets. Look! Along the sidewalks, there were waving children and adults, cheering them on. Men in passed by in trucks and cars crying out, "Saddam down!" and giving the soldiers big smiles and waves. I finally turned off the World Service and turned up the television. At the airport, a correspondent was asked about the Iraqi claim that the Americans had been driven out of the airport and were being "pounded" by Republican Guards. He looked around, mystified, then replied that he'd been at the airport for two days, that it was securely in Coalition hands, and that the only Iraqi challenge he had noticed had been a couple of small skirmishes that were quickly quelled by Coalition forces. "Maybe that's what he meant," he said, generously. Behind him, soldiers lounged around like the stranded tourists they were. On the BBC News channel, the anchors got Wood on camera and very gently pointed out to him that they were getting a lot of video in showing the Americans had indeed taken a drive deep into Baghdad and that the information minister's odd claims didn't seem to be holding up. Wood was kind of chubby, younger than I expected. He seemed obviously pained. But he had his story - no Americans in Baghdad as far as he was concerned - and he was sticking to it. But of course he didn't have the story. One of the war's turning points had taken place under his nose and he and Gilligan the rest of his BBC colleagues in Baghdad had missed it, simply because they were convinced of American deceit and could not bring themselves to look for what they refused to believe had taken place. I turned off the TV, had a cup of coffee with my friend, and returned home. After a half hour or so - call me crazy - I once again tuned into the World Service. By now, I wasn't so much interested in how the war was going. I knew American troops weren't trapped anywhere. But the BBC had trapped itself in a big hole, and I wanted to see how they'd get out of it. Jonathan Marcus, the BBC's correspondent in Qatar, was being interviewed by a troubled World Service anchor, "Jonathan, who should we believe? The Americans? Or Saddam?" It's obvious the Iraqis are lying, Marcus shot back, adding that the American incursion was not only real, it was significant and had gone deep into the capital. "Anybody who questions that can't see the forest for the trees," he said. It was the only real-world comment I had heard in a full day of World Service listening. That was the last I heard of Marcus that day. The anchor instantly went to another, more trustworthy correspondent. As midnight approached, the World Service finally conceded that, okay, the Americans had probably reached into Baghdad, but the real story was the way the military guys in Qatar had misled the BBC's correspondents. It was just another reason why nobody trusted the Americans. For example, the BBC correspondents reported, the incursion didn't go to the "center" of Baghdad - or at least far enough to the center that Gilligan and Wood and Omaar could be satisfied. It was confined to the "fringes" of the city. It was a minor thing, really, and the Americans, in their typical cowboy way, had blown it up into something it wasn't. Baghdad was still safely in Saddam's hands, the World Service wondrously reassured its listeners. The Iraqi government's claim to control over the airport was still being reported without comment or qualification. The World Service was still saying the situation was "confused" - and, for the BBC, no doubt it was. CRAZY NEWS FOR CRAZY PEOPLE The World Service began April 6 by broadcasting to the citizens of Baghdad and the rest of the world the report that an Iraqi mullah had called for the faithful in Baghdad to engage in "holy war" against the Americans and the British who would soon be in their midst. I finally turned off the radio and went to bed. Perhaps reporting the mullah's call for jihad at the moment troops were entering the city was just thoughtlessness, the way reporting the Palestinian's call to arms was thoughtless. Or maybe not. Certainly, the men and women who work at the World Service, from director Mark Byford on down to the likes of Andrew Gilligan or Paul Wood, do not expect to have to answer for any of the consequences of their decisions. If confronted, they will claim they are just the messengers. Of course, that's the journalist's equivalent to the Nuremberg defense. But as Andrew Sullivan recently wrote, "What the BBC is able to do, by broadcasting directly to these people, is to... make the war more bloody... If you assume that almost all these reporters and editors are anti-war, this BBC strategy makes sense. They're a military player. And they are objectively pro-Saddam." Baghdad has been Saddamized for decades, so the World Service is just piling on. And while most Iraqis obviously don't like their brutal government, along the streets and down the alleys of Baghdad, there are some pretty crazy people getting their news tonight from the likes of Wood, Gilligan, and the others at the BBC. The Americans will return tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next. Soon, they will be everywhere in Iraq, trying to rebuild the place. But one day, one of those crazy teenagers they produce over there might remember the World Service interview with the Palestinian guy, or that Iraqi mullah's call for jihad. Maybe he'll grab a gun and go out to welcome the British and American newcomers - and get shot before he blows anybody away. Some hopeless, misguided young BBC correspondent, riding his big Scoop moment, will report it on the World Service as an outrage. And he won't be wrong. Denis Boyles, an NRO contributor, is a journalist based in Europe (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U K [non]. COULD IT BE ANOTHER BRITISH INVASION? By Meg James, Los Angeles Times HOLLYWOOD - The British Broadcasting Corp. has long been an idea factory for American TV producers, dating back to that United Kingdom export "Til Death Do Us Part," recast for U.S. audiences as "All In the Family." But the BBC has been particularly busy in recent months, scripting itself as a bigger player in Hollywood, hoping to wring more money from its concepts and programs. BBC Worldwide Limited, the commercial arm of the venerable network, sold CBS an idea for a unscripted show called "Sack Race," in which a contestant spends a day at work trying to get fired. The unit also recently hooked ABC with a pitch for a dating show, "Nice Package." Plans are in the offing to launch a 24-hour BBC cable news channel in the United States. And BBC executives last week entertained movie executives at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to angle for a distributor for their feature-length ocean documentary, "The Blue Planet." And while most Hollywood honchos were off celebrating America's July 4th declaration of independence from England, the Brits were busy putting the final touches on a TV development deal with Universal Television and producer Ben Silverman. "We really want to get ourselves into a position where we provide more of the programming of broadcasters' schedules," said Mark Young, president and chief executive of the BBC Worldwide Americas. "We've changed our strategy from being an exporter of British programming into being a creator of global programs." The BBC already has built a presence around the globe. Its news and entertainment channels reach more than 500 million homes in Latin America, Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia. Now, the BBC Worldwide is aggressively making inroads in the United States, hoping to capitalize on its increasing profile. Five years ago, a dozen public television stations in the United States carried BBC's World News program. Now, it's on more than 225 stations nationwide. In the days leading up to the Iraqi war, more than a million U.S. homes tuned into the nightly BBC newscasts. In May, after major combat was declared over, viewership averaged nearly 900,000 homes - a more than 20 percent increase from the previous year. [not in OK! --- gh] Executives said the recent controversy surrounding the BBC's reporting about the British government's use of intelligence to make the case for a war in Iraq, and the subsequent suicide of one of the network's key government sources, has not dampened expansion plans. BBC Worldwide this month reported a record year, with sales topping $1 billion and profits of more than $50 million. Sales in the United States exceeded $160 million last year. BBC executives' appetite for more American dollars was whetted four years ago after watching the U.S. version of the British game show "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire," explode on ABC. Although the BBC did not own the rights to that program, it saw the potential and quickly offered up "The Weakest Link" and other shows that have gone on to success in the United States. Now, one of the most popular programs on Discovery Networks' The Learning Channel is the home design show "Trading Spaces," a takeoff of the BBC's "Changing Rooms." TLC also duplicated the BBC's "What Not to Wear," a critique of fashion faux pas. But the BBC's biggest marketing weapon in the United States has been its nascent BBC America cable channel. BBC America, launched five years ago by the Discovery Networks, has watched its ratings and ad revenues swell. Available through satellite and digital cable service, BBC America reaches 35 million homes, up from 28 million homes a year ago. Years ago, Americans had little exposure to BBC programmes other than occasional imports that aired late at night or on public TV stations. Fox Broadcasting Entertainment President Gail Berman remembers growing up in Philadelphia and the troubles she had following her favourite British show, "The Interns." "It ran on some UHF channel in the middle of the night," Berman said. "For kids these days, these shows are cool and funny, and easy to find." Big kids are watching, too. NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker was channel surfing about a year ago when he landed on BBC America and "Couplings," a show about thirtysomethings looking for love. "It was sophisticated, smart and funny," he recalled. "I came into work the next day and asked: `Has anyone seen this show?'" NBC will roll out a version of "Couplings" this fall. Meanwhile, Fox hopes to capture some of the success of "The Kumars at No. 42," a comedy that delves into Indian immigrant culture. But, on Fox, the Kumars are morphing into Mexican immigrants called "The Ortegas" who live in Los Angeles. "British formats are very appealing to us, in our endless search of new material and being on the cutting edge," Berman said (via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. US BROADCASTER EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN FUTURE OF SHORTWAVE The US-based International Broadcasting Corporation (IBCS) today declared its confidence in the future of shortwave by announcing its intent to raise $4 million to $5 million to help successfully implement its business plan. Two weeks ago, the IBC Radio Network announced that it has acquired large blocks of airtime at the weekends on Miami shortwave station WRMI. IBCS says this is simply the beginning, as it believes there is a resurgence in the popularity of shortwave. "Shortwave has not yet been fully exploited commercially," says Daryn Fleming, CEO of IBC. "The future of shortwave is digital; the first experiments are already underway [sic]. With the introduction of digital shortwave, the quality of sound will improve to FM quality. We believe that this quality, coupled with the huge distances a shortwave signal can travel (IBC Radio Network recently received shortwave reception reports from as far away as Nigeria) provides a very significant market that must be exploited. Furthermore, free radio services on an international medium like shortwave provide an opportunity to capture a large market of listeners that will not pay for services offered by satellite radio broadcasters." (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 29 July 2003 via DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL SEES 5.5 PERCENT BOOST IN EARNINGS By L.A. Lorek Express-News Business Writer Web Posted : 07/29/2003 12:02 PM Despite difficult economic conditions, Clear Channel Communications saw its earnings for the second quarter increase to $251.3 million, up 5.5 percent from a year ago. The San Antonio-based company reported revenue of $2.32 billion, up 6.6 percent from the same quarter a year ago bolstered by higher sales in its outdoor advertising business and lower interest expenses. . . http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=110&xlc=1032318 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. HOWARD STERN DROPPED FOR POLKAS This according to Tim Noonan's excellent web site "Radio/DX Information from Wisconsin" http://www.angelfire.com/wi/dxing/index.html "WI Columbus (Madison market) WTLX 100.5 noted with polkas this morning in place of Howard Stern. A stunt that precedes a format change? (Tim Taugher) Update: I see in their web site that Howard Stern has been dropped; a polka show called "Happy Times for Jolly People" is listed in the 5-10 a.m. slot" Here is what the station's web site http://www.wtlx.com says: "**100 X Announces New Temporary Morning Show** Mon 07-28, 10:43 am As of Monday, July 28th, 100X will be airing the type of morning show that will make you want to tap your steering wheel perpetually. You'll want to tap your feet so bad that your vehicle will jerk back and forth. You'll want to get out of bed at five every morning so you can shimmy around in time to the music. That's right, its time to polka! ''Happy Times for Jolly People'' will be five hours of non-stop pleasure for the hidden polka beast that resides inside every soul. Featuring a combination of American, German, Swiss, Polish, Norwegian, and Balkan/Slavic polkas, with a heavy emphasis on bands cultivated by the Dairy State itself, ''Happy Times for Jolly People'' fills a gaping void in the Madison radio market. No longer do you have to desparately try to pull in WTKM out of Hartford. You can now polka to a signal that comes in loud and clear. Alas, you'll want to tape as many shows as you can (with an eye toward re-sale on e-Bay and untold profits), because ''Happy Times for Jolly People'' is temporary. 100 X has another show in development and ready to explode down the pipeline with unequaled aplomb! Another quality offering to satiate the desires of a demanding public. But for now, let's give it up for the 11th president and polka!" I wonder what Howard thinks about being done in by "Oom-Pa-Pa!" 73 (via Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Major changes coming to KC: WDAF-AM 610 will soon begin simulcasting its signal on 106.5 FM --- this means the end of 106.5 the city, which was smooth jazz. Some time after 60 days of simulcasting, WDAF-AM 610 will move to 106.5 FM, and a new Sports talk station will emerge on 610. Problem I see is the fact KC already has one full time sports station. What I think is the worst is the fact that Entercom is also saying there could be a format swap (WDAF`s current format would be "freshened up a bit" to make it more "young and hip" (Glen Briggs - KB0RPJ Grundy County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Coordinator, July 28, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Actually, KC has two full-time sports stations, 810 WHB and 1340 KCKN, plus 1320 KLWN in Lawrence. WHB and KLWN both use ESPN. KCKN uses Fox Sports. The new 610 will use Sporting News, which is what KMBZ used overnight. By the way, we forget to mention that KMBZ will become full-time News/Talk (with the exception of Royals and Jayhawk games). Now they'll have 3 city-grade country stations on FM (not counting KMZU, KAIR-FM, Topeka stations, etc), and possibly 4 because the hot rumour is that Union Broadcasting (WHB, KCTE, KZPL) has a personal revenge plan against Entercom, and might start its own country station via LMA. By the way, in the spring book, WDAF, KBEQ and KFKF were 4, 5 and 6 respectively in the 12+ numbers (Rob Zerwekh, Topeka KS, http://kcradio.tripod.com http://zerwekh.hypermart.net ibid.) ** U S A. COMMUNITY AIRWAVES COMING TO SILVERTON [Colorado] July 28, 2003, By Jennifer Kostka, Herald Staff Writer http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/news030728_3.htm Rumors fly quickly down the unpaved, Old West streets of Silverton on a daily basis. Rather than relying on word-of-mouth, Silverton residents may soon have their own community radio station to air issues and ideas unique to the mountain town, population 475. A group of residents has been raising money, applying for federal licenses and setting up equipment to begin broadcasting on KSJC-FM (92.5) from the Old Miner`s Hospital at 13th Street and Snowden Street in Silverton. The station plans to air Silverton`s public meetings, music and talk shows, and avalanche and road condition reports. The station could also provide students with a chance to learn about radio and perhaps broadcast their own programs. The station has received its construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission, which allows it to broadcast until its official broadcast license comes through. However, it is trying to find a way to broadcast without drowning out a signal from KSUT-FM (98.3) in Ignacio. The station`s volunteer organizers hope it will bring Silverton residents together through common town issues and concerns. Dave "Fid" Fiddler, a Silverton resident of 10 years and president of the station`s board, said the radio station is similar to his house in Silverton. "It`s just one big lump of potential. What comes from it is what we`re looking to put into it," Fiddler said. "I don`t think there`s a segment of this community that this won`t affect." KSJC should soon receive its broadcast license from the FCC, which would require it to broadcast for the next three years, said Kyle Roberts, a former member of the station`s board who is working with other Silverton residents to get KSJC on the air. The station successfully tested its equipment in June. Roberts, who has lived in Silverton for 12 years, began investigating ways to establish a community radio station shortly after he moved there. After talking to other residents who sounded interested, Roberts applied for a FCC construction permit for a low-powered FM radio station in 2001. The group received the permit in December 2001. The construction permit gave the group 18 months to have a working transmitter and antenna to broadcast at 100 watts. At about the same time, another group of residents began approaching KSUT to see if the radio station could bring its signal to Silverton. About 250 Silverton residents signed a petition that said they would like 24-hour programming from KSUT, and the station found a way to transmit its signal at less than one watt into Silverton, said Beth Warren, executive director of KSUT. The Durango Herald is one of KSUT`s underwriters. The station also allowed Silverton residents to broadcast their own programs through its signal. Since KSUT began airing in Silverton in 2001, residents have held their own music and talk shows about once a week, said Scot Jackson, a Silverton resident of 33 years and a member of a loose-knit committee for KSUT in Silverton. Since KSUT started transmitting its signal in Silverton, KSJC has organized and elected a board and begun raising money. The group raised about $500 from the sale of bumper stickers and pledges at the Silverton Jubilee Folk Festival, said Ellen Stein, vice president of the KSJC board and executive director of the Mountain Studies Institute in Silverton. Fiddler also donated about $5,000 for the purchase of the station`s initial equipment. Bruce Conrad, the station`s treasurer, is putting together the station`s first fund-raising event Aug. 7. Papa Mali, a funk and soul band from Austin, Texas, will perform for the fund-raiser. The station is working on the time and location of the event. The station`s organizers hope to garner more support after the station is on the air. "It`s got the support of the community, but right now people are waiting to see if we can get our technical problems fixed," said Jay Canode, a Silverton resident who has worked with other community members to establish KSJC. The Avalanche Coffee House & Bakery, which Canode co-owns with his wife, is an underwriter for KSUT. KSJC tested its 100-watt signal in mid-June from its antenna on top of the Old Miner`s Hospital, next to KSUT`s antenna. The test revealed that KSJC would drown out KSUT`s signal, making it impossible for people to listen to KSUT, Canode said. "We power up and KSUT disappears," Canode said. The two stations hope to find a way for both to broadcast before KSJC begins airing regular programming. Members of KSUT`s staff will meet with KSJC board members in Silverton this week to discuss solutions. "We did say we would help, and what better way to help than by bringing management and engineering to Silverton and getting a plan in place," Warren said. All local programming will go to KSJC when it begins broadcasting, and KSUT plans to continue airing its regular programming in Silverton, Warren said. Once KSJC begins its programming, Conrad believes it will unify a cross section of the small community. "Having a really strong community voice that everyone can tune to could really be strong in this town," Conrad said (Durango Herald July 28 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Large TIS systems In the current issue of the Information Station Specialists (ISS) newsletter there is a story about the Brazosport Emergency Response Agency's new TIS system designed around the huge Dow Chemical plant in the Freeport, Texas area. The system presently consists of 6 GPS synchronized TIS transmitters simulcasting on 1610 kHz (WPXH924). The addition of a 7th transmitter is planned by the end of the year. The story says that the largest system prior to this was a simulcast system of 5 transmitters on 940 kHz in Pinellas County, Florida (WPTI814) installed in 2001. The article also mentions that Naperville, Illinois was the first city in the nation to have a series of TIS simulcast transmitters. They were installed in 1993 and are on 1610 kHz (WPFP929). The article doesn't specify the number of transmitters in that system but I seem to recall that it was 3. I also found that ISS maintains a state by state list of the TIS stations they have installed. Some of these stations are listings that I have not been able to find elsewhere including some Federal installations. The list is at http://www.theradiosource.com/the_source_news_ears_across_usa.htm (Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster, CO, USA, July 27, NRC-AM via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ Re Harry Helms` comments: Ah, truer words were never spoken. Remember quadraphonic? How about stereo AM? Where in the world can you buy a stereo AM receiver? The only AM stereo transmitter that I know of is a talk station! Okay, there is some music on the weekends, but hardly worth stereo. Who is going to spring for those millions of receivers across Africa? I just popped for $1500 for receivers, and there is no WAY that I'm going to spend more, not with a brain tumor and partial paralysis! (Richard Dale, Collins, MO, July 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SAFETY CAST SIGNS DEAL, by Devan Stuart SOUTHSIDE -- Jacksonville's Safety Cast has signed its first distribution contract -- a three-year, $3.3 million deal -- with Miami-based Ander Police Supply. Safety Cast makes radio transmitters that can be installed in emergency vehicles, railroad locomotives and school buses. The devices transmit an alert tone and a verbal message over all AM and FM radio frequencies warning motorists that an emergency vehicle is nearby. Ander, a leading distributor of public safety products in South Florida and South America, agreed to buy at least 3,000 of Safety Cast's devices at $1,100 each. "This is an exciting piece of technology," said Ander Police Supply President Andrés Dielingen. "Each time I speak of it, we generate a great deal of enthusiasm and interest." Safety Cast officials are trying to drum up more business through meetings with a variety of possible interested parties, including the U.S. Air Force, and in demonstrations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Louisville, Ky. "Hopefully, we'll have a thriving enterprise here in Jacksonville in the not-too-distant future," said Safety Cast CEO Mark Foss, who projects $70 million in annual revenues in five years. Foss' big regret is that his company's technology wasn't up and running six months ago to aid in the war on Iraq. "It wasn't ready because we didn't have the funding sources," Foss said. "Everything accelerates when you have a little extra fuel in the tank." That extra fuel recently came by way of Jacksonville's Inman Co., an Ortega investment firm that landed financial commitments needed to move Safety Cast into the testing and production phase. Safety Cast also aims to penetrate foreign markets. With a simple chip exchange, the technology can be switched to any language, an important selling point for Ander's South American markets. © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc (via Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster, CO, USA, NRC-AM via DXLD) What this press release doesn`t tell you is that there is an official FCC complaint on file regarding potential interference to licensed services from this device. Don`t hold your breath waiting to hear this as DX (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) The way I read it, one interpretation would be that the whole purpose of the device is to cause interference to licensed services.... (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Actually any Part 15 device (unlicensed) is prohibited from interfering with any licensed service, i.e. commercial, utility, government, amateur, etc. If the Part 15 device is found to be causing interference it must be shut down until the interference is eliminated. I really hope this doesn't fly even though some will say it is a good and wonderful thing. We already have lights, sirens, and strobes on emergency vehicles. We don't need this. If people would drive past their windshields and pay attention to what is going on around them there would be no need for these at all. It's a bad bad bad idea! (Larry R. Fravel, ibid.) While I'm not sure whether or not this is a good idea, I am sure that sirens and lights and what-all aren't much good when all of your windows are closed to maintain a sane temperature in the vehicle and the EV isn't in your line of sight. The township where I work has been using those devices with which they can take over control of traffic signals and make them red all around- - I've twice now in the past couple of months nearly been hit by other vehicles because the light suddenly turned red unexpectedly almost immediately after turning green - or just enough after to get a car into the middle of the intersection. At least if they take over my radio, they're not endangering me !! (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Sorry, but it's still a bad idea. If you are looking around --- checking mirrors, etc., every ten seconds or so like we are all taught in drivers-ed --- rear, right side, left side, etc. (but do not do, myself included), we would be much more aware of what is happening around us. Granted, there are times when the emergency vehicle wouldn't be readily apparent, but the lights and sirens and strobes sure beat another government invasion of our space. In response to the radio on and windows up argument, that is fine for those listening to the radio. What about those who do not turn the radio on but rather play CDs, tapes, or the annoying "bumpers" with their stereos blasting steady "thump thump thump" so loud they couldn't hear a .44 magnum if it was fired next to them. This "take over radio" certainly will not help any of those people. It won't turn down their stereos, eject their CDs and tapes, and turn on the radios. Also for the system to be totally effective it would require it to be extremely broad banded - take over the entire AM and FM bands when it broadcast or not all of those listening to the radio would get the benefits of the marvelous technology. I for one do not want to see this system adopted for any reason. I sincerely hope the FCC does not allow this. The Pandora's Box of interference problems is unimaginable. The first time someone ran in front of an emergency vehicle and got plowed into by it after the system is operational because they said "it wasn't working", "they didn't hear it", they didn't understand it" (how many languages will it broadcast in besides English in this Politically Correct Country of ours) or any other excuse they could come up with, the lawyers will all be jumping on the case faster than the "fast food makes us fat" crowd. Bad Bad Bad idea. We cannot make everything totally safe and perfect. We need to be aware and responsible, especially when we are behind the wheel of a very large steel guided missile (Larry Fravel, ibid.) Actually Paul, I'm presently building a beta version of this device which I will soon begin testing during my daily commute here in the Denver area. The 50 watt transmitter will feed a full size 3 element yagi, tuned to the center of the FM broadcast band, and extending forward from the hood of my SUV. It will be aimed directly at any vehicles in my path. It will broadcast a continual recorded message that says MOVE TO THE RIGHT LANE IMMEDIATELY. I obtained the transmitter surplus from the defunct SETI program at the U of C. It is capable of simultaneous transmission on every frequency in the FM broadcast band, every frequency in the cellular and PCS telephone bands, and most VHF and UHF public safety and amateur radio frequencies. With this acquisition I also obtained a 50 kw mobile RF amplifier. I have connected its power control to a relay activated by my horn button. In case anyone fails to yield to my vehicle I can temporarily switch to the higher power setting and simultaneously activate the horn. The horn is a 7 tube compressed air device which I obtained surplus from the Union Pacific railroad. I expect my test to also demonstrate the added benefit of an extremely reduced commute time resulting in reduced particulate emissions from my vehicle. The FCC will have no choice but to approve it or face the wrath of the tree hugging public. Since most of my commute is westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening, I hope DXers in those directions from Denver will listen and send reception reports. If you do not hear the tests don't despair. I may visit your city soon! :-) (Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster, CO, USA, ibid.) You forgot the AM Broadcast band. I would recommend a trailing full sized zep. It should be broad banded enough! (Fravel, ibid.) Not necessarily. If I were designing such a system, I would have it transmit in FM at 10.7 MHz and in AM at 455 KHz. I believe a similar system has been in use in tunnels here in the Boston area. Of course inside a tunnel where nothing else is heard it is easier to implement (Allan Dunn, K1UCY, ibid.) Even if you came in on the IF frequencies of the radio's AM and FM bands when you are out of a captive area like a tunnel the required RF to cover an area of two to three city blocks The area that would be needed for this to effective and remember that area would always be moving) with all the signal blocking buildings and other items would require a very high amount of RF Power and that would cause the interference to the licensed services. Sorry, but nothing anyone can say will ever convince me that this invasive thing is needed. I'm all for progress when it is necessary. This is not. It falls in the realms of a gadget. To quote someone that always speaks his mind, "Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong" - Dennis Miller (Fravel, ibid.) And now Miller is wrong about most of what he rants (gh) If I were told to design such a thing, I guess I'd start with an oscillator on, say, 2 MHz. Pass it through a modulated amplifier. Mix with a 10 kHz squarewave. Amplify it to a few dozen watts. And pass it through a sharp bandpass filter. But I agree, it's unnecessary. Most of those whose stereos are cranked too loud to hear sirens are listening to CDs. I'd also be worried about these devices getting "into the wild". You've got to know it would become a huge temptation for unscrupulous advertisers. (you know, the kind who jam crap in your email box...) A device that lets them get their ad on *every* station on the dial? The CRTC in Canada has authorized a few stations to provide a similar service. However, they're authorizing spot frequencies on FM. (to be fastened to trucks to warn motorists on logging roads of their approach). That suggests a different dilemma: how does the motorist know when to tune? (or are they supposed to listen to open-channel noise until a truck shows up?) (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) It`s bad enough that we have Internet over electrical lines, manmade interference from computer devices, and the auto companies dumbing down the radios to avoid a "quality issue". I would not like something that transmits like this device does. To be honest, if I'm not in the area where the event is occurring, I don't need to hear it. And we know that RF is not confined to a stretch of roadway. The solution is to enforce the traffic laws, and get the bad drivers off the road --- and not to make one more source of RF interference. I still don't feel that we need a radio system to alert drivers. I don't think we need more or better alerting devices. Drivers are well aware of emergency vehicles, (although the jury is still out about drivers with cellphones). I just think that the larger portion of drivers don't know, or care to get out of the way of emergency vehicles and as such should be removed from the roadways until they learn how to drive responsibly. It's not a technology issue. It's an issue of stupid people behind the wheel with no common sense nor sense of responsibility (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) I have been driving fire apparatus and ambulances professionally in an urban setting here in the Denver metro area for almost 17 years. My station alone responds to almost 2000 calls a year. Failure to yield situations occur here on a daily basis. Almost every time we are out there is at least one incident of this. You have no idea what it feels like to be piloting a 48,000 pound fire truck through an intersection and have someone zoom across in front of you so close that they disappear from sight below your field of view. We must also be very careful about how we park at scenes. We use the apparatus to protect us from being run over while we are trying to perform our jobs. Although we are required to put someone outside while we are backing, we would never put a firefighter in the street to stop traffic. If they can't see a huge fire truck with all of the lights on, they surely can't see a small target like a firefighter standing in the street. We would rather have them hit the fire truck than a firefighter. I can tell you some failure to yield stories that are almost unbelievable. But I really don't see this type of radio device helping our situation. If all of our sirens, lights, horns, and traffic control devices don't get people to yield, a message on the car radio is probably not going to help either. Does anyone remember the European test of a similar system a couple years ago? It may have been in the UK. It had to do with a digital broadcast system. I recall that their system could force your radio to tune to the specific frequency that the emergency vehicles or roadside devices were transmitting on and it could even turn the radio on if it was off. I wonder what the results of these tests were? (Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster, CO, USA, ibid.) This thing is going to blanket the FM BC band right up to 107.999 MHz and then leave unharmed the VHF Omnirange frequencies (aircraft navigation) that begin at 108.001 MHz?? I can't believe no one has yet remarked on this, especially the pilots on list. || Bad Bad Bad idea. Yes Yes Yes, that it is. And as for transmitting at 455 or 10.7, just how much energy does one think would be needed to couple into these relatively well-shielded devices? (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.) This would take considerable energy, and would be very hit-and miss -- - too many variables involved. It's quite feasible (using digital signal processing techniques) to produce a raster of FM signals, each with identical modulation, on every channel from 88.1 to 107.9. If done properly, the signals could also be compliant with the FCC mask. Same thing applies to the AM band. That said, I agree that it's a very bad idea (Barry McLarnon, Ont., ibid.) The FCC has apparently considered issuing Safety Cast an experimental permit to try this: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2109A1.txt RDS has the capability of causing your radio to tune to an emergency broadcast. It really wouldn't be suitable for this application though, as the data is broadcast over the station you're listening to - and thus would retune every radio within the station's coverage area (not just those near the emergency vehicle). (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) It was RDS, Doug. But I'm pretty certain the test I read about involved mobile and roadside transmitters capable of taking control of the RDS receivers within a small circumference. I remember that the article mentioned that several pirate stations had used the technology to take control of the RDS radios within their coverage area and that a "fix" was being established to prevent such occurrences (Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, ibid.) Seems to me that the FCC is really leaning in the direction of big business no matter what the rules say. The whole broadband over power lines issues is a prime example. There is another example of what will be unlicensed services causing massive interference to a licensed service. In a lot of places I've been you can't use the AM radio in your vehicle any more due to cable TV leakage and nothing is done. It is not enforced and the cable companies know it and don't care. If we get broad band over the power lines; emergency services able to capture our radios because idiots behind the wheel can't, don't, and won't pay attention while driving; and all the other Part 15 devices the FCC has allowed that cause RFI to licensed services the radio world will be going to hell in a hand basket. No wonder all the so called free banders feel they can transmit anyplace they want. Big business is. And the FCC allows it. It's time we started stop selling spectrum and start enforcing the no interference parts of the rules. (Larry R. Fravel, ibid.) This is a very bad idea because the interference is going to be awful. What needs to be done is fine the people out east as they do out here and then the AM and FM bands will be left alone. What about people listening to a CD or tape in the car? What about people listening to XM? The whole thing seems a waste of time to me and another way to pollute the spectrum which is already in a hell of a mess (Kevin Redding, Mesa AZ, ibid.) I have doubts that I would ever hear any kind of "emergency broadcast" even if such a hare-brained radio scheme comes to pass. Not unless they figure out how to override my CD player, anyway. It's not that the radios don't work, but aside from ball games, there's so little worth having on in the car while I'm driving. I'm too busy watching the road to DX while commuting, and I can program music to my tastes with considerably more interest and accuracy than any of the current crop of PDs and consultants. So all that said --- they can build it, but I'll probably never know. What does worry me is that municipalities would want one for "anti-terrorism" or some other government control action hidden behind a security blanket, and use the thing indiscriminately. Or worse, just forget to turn the thing off when done with today's anti-liberty activity, and simply jam the bands. But that's okay, I'm sure. It's all about public safety and security in "these troubled times." (Ever known any times that weren't "these troubled times"?) But, as has been observed here of late, where the FCC is concerned, only money talks now. It's a shame James Madison is dead and his ideas are dying, innit? (Gerry Bishop, Nicenottodayville, FL, ibid.) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-134, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1192: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445, 15039 [times variable] WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1192.html WORLD OF RADIO WATCH. Sunday`s anomalies: on IBC Radio via WRMI 15725, noted ending around 1840, so must have started late around 1811. On RFPI 15039 noted ending around 2009, so must have started around 1940 instead of 1830; and repeated until about 0210, so 0140 UT Mon, and heard again around 1355. UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS I have enjoyed your show since I got my first SW radio in 1993. World of Radio helped me figure out a little more of what I was doing back then and I have always liked the fact that you take an interest in the content of the broadcasts, rather than taking the narrow and limiting DX only path. I listen primarily for information and not just to put a pin in the map. Yours is an entertaining program, packed with content. The name is Michael Lijewski (pronounced in various ways Lee-eff-ski is the closest to the original Polish, though I prefer the American phonetic Lie-jew-ski, and my parents say La-jess-key; take your pick.) I reside in Harford County MD, 25 miles north of Baltimore near the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Hi Glenn, Last week on WoR you asked on what station listeners hear the programme. I hear World of Radio on the WRN 1 channel of Worldspace Afristar on Saturdays 9 am local time, 8 UT. (In 'near-fm' audio quality, no less!) All the best, (Daniel Atkinson, Kirkby Lonsdale, England) Mr. Hauser, Hi! I catch you either on Saturday nights 9:30 on WWCR 5070, or Sunday nights 10:30 [CDT] on WSUI 910. My radio is a 1968 Pomtrex! (Bill Vaughn, Charles City IA) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB, Kununurra, 11750, 1117-1131, July 25, English, Religious program, "Truth for Life" # 1084, followed by announcement of new frequency schedule effective July 21 with full "HCJB, V. of the Great Southland" ID. New program begins at 1130, Fair signal at tune- in, quickly deteriorating to poor at tune-out (Scott R Barbour, Jr, Intervale, NH, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HCJB-AUSTRALIA. The new schedule for HCJB-AUS from Kununurra started on July 21, including the introduction of Urdu programming: 0100-0130 15420 Urdu to South Asia 0130-0330 15420 English to South Asia 0800-1230 11750 English to Australia and New Zealand 1230-1700 15390 English to South Asia 1700-1730 15405 Urdu to South Asia 1800-2030 11765 English to New Zealand and Australia Unfortunately, this transmission plan is of very limited effectiveness, due to - propagationally incorrect frequencies - interference caused to other broadcasters on some channels - interference on the same or adjacent frequencies from other stations broadcasting to the same target areas - unsuitable timings The plan appears to neglect the special conditions which exist in providing reliable and satisfactory long distance coverage across trans-equatorial circuits from Northern Australia. There are also serious technical constraints at Kununurra due to antenna inflexibility: two antennas are installed, one orientated 106 degrees (which puts the major lobe into the general direction of Fiji). This antenna can only be used currently on the 11 MHz band, and the back lobe pattern puts substantial energy into China. The other antenna is at 307 degrees, and available at the moment only for 15 MHz, which puts a primary radiation pattern into the general direction of Jakarta. There is also substantial back-lobe radiation into Eastern Australia. 11750 0800-1230 for Australia and New Zealand. This is a replacement for 11770 which was co-channel with WYFR Florida - reception in NZ was seriously degraded by the USA transmitter. WYFR claimed prior occupancy and declined to move. 11770 was in fact a substitute for 11755 used during B02, which was a disaster due to co-channel Radio Finland. 11750 now suffers extreme adjacent channel interference in New Zealand for the first hour of the transmission, from Radio Finland which uses 11755 for its service to the same region! This will intensify over the coming months as the northern winter approaches. 11765 1800-2030. This is a new morning service for New Zealand. Unfortunately, the signal is completely inaudible in New Zealand, as it too low for satisfactory daytime propagation across the Tasman! Recent checks of reception in Wellington, using the IBB's Remote Receiver facility in Wellington confirm this problem. No signal - no listeners! There is also co-channel use on 11765 by Radio Tupi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! Reception here in Melbourne is poor, due to strong adjacent interference from China Radio International on 11760 with its French service to Europe from Urumqi which runs 1830-2030. The timing is quite unsuitable for Australia - 1800 is 2 am in Western Australia, and 4 am in the Eastern States! 15420 0100-0330 to South Asia. Radio Australia, Shepparton, uses the ADJACENT FREQUENCY of 15415 to the same target area at 2130-0900, as it has done for years. On the other side, 15425, there is FEBA via Kalatch (Russia) using this frequency 0015-0130, to the same target areas! HCJB-AUS is squeezed between these power-houses. There are many other clear channels on 15 MHz at this time which could have been used! 15390 1230-1700 and 15405 1700-1730 to South Asia. The 15 MHz band is not suitable for propagation from Northern Australia into the target area at that time period, as the OWF is below 15 MHz. That is the problem which affected 15480 prior to July 21 - the signal was barely audible in India. the change was made to avoid interference from/to BBC Woofferton 15485, and China National Radio 15480. 15390 is also in use that time period by Radio Romania International (1000-1400), and 15405 is in use by Russia (Omsk and Novosbirsk) 1200-1800, as well as Romania 1700-2200. I was advised that the 15390/15405 combination was recommended by a non-technical listener in South Asia. There is background to all off this which you will find interesting... For some months I had been providing unremunerated professional support to HCA-AUS, working closely with the Frequency Manager (Ian Williams) here in Victoria, in looking at signal effectiveness. Ian had been doing this work for some time, on a voluntary basis. We had worked together in attempting to develop operational plans for the station for the remainder of 2003, to incorporate the new services to India and New Zealand. Due to other commitments, Ian had advised that he would not be able to continue with this work after May, and had recommended that I pick up this responsibility as an interim arrangement in my capacity as a professional communications engineer. We believed that this would be satisfactory, as the HCJB-AUS offices are located only a few km from my home. I had agreed to do this, without remuneration, apart from reimbursement of direct operating expenses, which would require coordination with the Australian Communications Authority and the technical department of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, as well as many broadcasters. Ian and I had submitted joint formal papers to HCJB-AUS outlining the processes which would be followed, and I had also offered to prepare, free of charge, training manuals for technical staff located at Kununurra, covering issues such as practical frequency management, propagation, remote monitoring and interactions with bodies such as the ABU-HFC, ITU, and the HFCC. Everything was set to go, and we had worked out a timetable for transfer of these responsibilities, following Ian's formal withdrawal from the role. HCJB-AUS then issued a policy directive which advised that they were no longer able to outsource the frequency management function, and that this would from now on be done "in house" by their own personnel. You now see the results... Sorry! (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 27, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) Just tuned into HCJB Australia at 1410-1700 on new 15390. Strange they didn't inform me because I am the one who suggested it! Frequency is clear of any co-channel, but HCJB is very weak 2-3 and at 1430 splatter from IRN too bad. 1600-1700 picks up to fair to good. They ought to be at least on 9 MHz. They have only one antenna and 75 kwatts. Regards (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Victor G. hardly qualifies as a ``non-technical listener`` (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC STAFF TO LEARN FATE THIS WEEK Staff of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) will learn by the end of this week whether they are likely to lose their job as a result of looming budget cuts. The ABC board will meet on Thursday to thrash out ways of cutting AUS$18 million from the programming budget, on top of the AUS$5 million which has already been agreed from other areas of the Corporation. Sources inside the ABC suggest that as 80 jobs may go in news and current affairs, with the closure of some foreign bureaus. However, it's thought that the new media division will escape the cuts. ABC management will negotiate with staff and unions before a final package of cuts is approved by the ABC board in August (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 28 July 2003 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4600.33 (tentative) Perla del Acre, Cobija. July 2003 --- 1050 UT. No ID but for sure Bolivia and besides I have logged the station here on exactly the same frequency. I haven`t observed this Bolivian for a long time. New Bolivian or San Miguel, Riberalta on new frequency? 4734.00 Radio San Miguel "LV del Norte", unknown QTH (Bolivia). July 2003 --- 2350 UT. Heard with good signal and distorted audio during the last days. Announces 4730 kHz. San Miguel, Riberalta on 4930 is off air so it ought to be this one who has moved? "La Voz del Norte" mentioned several times might be a program title (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Dear Thomas, I notice that you have a clear path for listening to Bolivia and Peru at 2300 to 0000 GMT. I would think that this would be about 2:00 am in Sweden. Dedicated DXer listening at this time. I believe that Radio La Palabra is operating on 4731.62 as I heard it briefly from 0003 to 0010*. The signal was best in LSB to avoid the RTTY. Signal strength was marginal at best! Radio La Palabra has in the past seemly had problems with their transmitter with intermittent signals. I hope that you will find this of value. 73's (Robert Wilkner, Florida, SW Bulletin July 27 via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3850, R. Independent Mekamui, Bougainville. Very weak signal of male speaker in unID language. Not readable, 1019 12/7 (Jones) Reactivated, fair at best 0920, frequency announcement, 0922, all in Pidgin, 26/7 (Craig Seager, Aug Australian DX News via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4785.07, Radio Caiari, Porto Velho. July 2003 --- 0105 UT. Radio Caíari with ID at this time. Our member Christer Brunström/CB has noted 2 (unID) Brasilians on the frequency. I have so far heard only this one here in Quito (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CJRS Radio Montreal http://www.cjrsradio.com -- Not really a radio station, only an online operation. No apparent relation to ex- CJRS 1520 Sherbrooke. Only music, mainly French, stretching as far back as the 1950s. Apparently, no announcers either (International Radio Report July 27, CKUT, notes by Ricky Leong via DXLD) Believe I heard an announcer when I checked it briefly (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA [non]. Dear Glenn; Here's an interesting, and possibly useful, short wave story from The Voice Of The Martyrs. They've even included the frequencies. That in itself is amazing. Maybe my note to Glenn Penner did the trick. VOM LAUNCHES TWO NEW SHORTWAVE PROGRAMS (EGYPT, ERITREA) In recent weeks, The Voice of the Martyrs and High Adventure Gospel Communication Ministries have launched two new shortwave radio programs into Egypt and Eritrea. The Road to Emmaeus, an Arabic program, is being broadcast into Egypt every Friday at 0845 UT (10:45 a.m. local Cairo time) on shortwave frequency 17.595 on the 16-meter band. The Voice of Light program airs on Tuesday evenings at 1700 UT (8:00 p.m. local Eritrea time) on shortwave frequency 13.810 on the 22-meter band in Tigringa. Both programs are produced in Canada by local pastors. Glenn Penner, Communications Director for The Voice of the Martyrs, said, "We are so pleased to have a significant role in these programs. Both programs are meeting a vital need in their respective countries. The Road to Emmaeus presents the gospel in a way accessible and understandable to Egyptian Muslims, while The Voice of Light is more directed to encouraging Eritrean evangelicals who are being persecuted for their faith, as half of the program consists of dramatic readings of our best-selling book 'Jesus Freaks.'" I hope that story was of use to you. It's so wonderful when news agencies give details like which broadcaster is airing the programs, the times they'll be on, and the frequencies. Don't other news services realize that people may have friends who they can advise regarding the news story? I suspect that most news directors don't know a frequency from a hole in the ground. Yours, (Bruce Atchison, a freelance writer and electronic music composer in Radway, Alberta, Canada, http://gideon.www2.50megs.com July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CHINA NATIONAL RADIO --- CNR's Second Network offers English Teaching programs at various times on MW, SW, VHF and the Internet. The early morning release is at 2225-2245, and here in Melbourne best HF signals are on 6010 7335 7360 and 11985. This assists preparation of reception reports for QSLs, rather than the bland/inappropriate "woman talking in Chinese..." ! (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 27, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 5955.52, CARACOL, Villavicencio now on this frequency 2980.00 harmonic, unID "Radio Pampa", unknown QTH. July 20 2003 - 1030 UT. Decent signal and TexMex-music. First I thought I listened to Radio Punto Cinco in Colombia (harmonic from 1490 kHz) which I have heard here earlier. Talk about Colombia and ID as "....aquí en Radio Pampa". (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Colombia H2980 Radio Pampa... Or Radio Paipa, which would be a match unless they still use their Radio La Paz slogan (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 5054.59, Faro del Caribe back with lousy audio as usual (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. It is often ignored or forgotten that RFPI has never had a license from the Costa Rican government to operate a radio station. I thought the hammer would come down when RFPI decided to open an FM outlet for their station. As many of you may or not know Costa Rica is my home away from home so I am not surprised that it has taken this long for things to wind down for them. In Costa Rica they call it Tico Time. I would not be surprised if this was not something that came from the top of the Tico government. i.e., they told the officials at UPAZ to cut the station off or else (Ulis Fleming, Maryland USA, swprograms via DXLD) RFPI`s position, I believe, is that under auspices of UN from UN territory, it does not need authorization from CR (gh, DXLD) RFPI (I quote) has trained over 300 peace journalists who now work all over the world, RFPI (I quote) runs courses in Peace Journalism and Progressive Media through Radio, RFPI (I quote) specializes in the monitoring and documenting of hate radio and the use of media by extremist groups. Let's take a closer look at the last statement. From their UN programming one would think that the RFPI outlook was global in scope, but actual listening shows that the focus is limited to the USA. Here is RFPI's list of study targets. PRIVATE U.S. SHORTWAVE BROADCAST STATIONS Call letters Location Designator Special Notes WSHB SC R/MN Owned by Christian Science Monitor WCSN ME R Sold by C.S.M. to another religious group KGEI CA R KJES NM R Cultish sounding program KTBN UT R Part of Trinity Broadcasting network KNLS AK R KWHR HI R Sister station to WHRI WHRI IN R/RFR Has 100,000 watt capacity KCBI TX R/RFR Rumored Dr. Gene Scott silent partner WEWN AL R Four 500,000 transmitters WINB PA R/RFR Pastor Pete Peters considering buying WJCR KY R Small church station 50,000 watts WMLK PA R Owned by Assemblies of Yahweh WRMI FL P/PFR Anti-Castro broadcaster WRNO LA P/R/PFR/RFR One 50,000 watt transmitter WWCR TN P/R/PFR/RFR Three 100,000 watt transmitters WYFR FL R Per the RFPI website, these are stations susceptible of airing "far right" radio, a.k.a. "hate radio". So who is then trying to be mean to such a 'progressive' entity as RFPI? Well, perhaps the Colombian paramilitary groups, or... eh, on second thought perhaps it's not them after all: "There have been recent concerns that the violence of Colombia's civil war may be spilling over into Costa Rica, including the possibility of paramilitary groups from Colombia operating in-country. While details remain very sketchy, it doesn't seem they are involved in the RFPI siege; the initial report cites 'guards from the University of Peace,' where RFPI has its studios." (http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0703.htm#072303) [The above item about Colombia was not put out by RFPI itself; tho the study target list is somewhat outdated, I don`t see what your point is about that somehow indicting RFPI --- gh] I have tuned in to their unauthorized frequencies on many occasions, listening to their homebrew Far Right Radio Review, and I have listened to some of their Spanish language programs (including those on female emancipation), none of which I deemed worth the while. An exception to their dull programming is WOR (World of Radio), but this program has been and is still aired elsewhere, including stations considered by RFPI as outlets of "hate radio". RFPI has been operating thanks to a presidential decree, but their frequencies were considered illegal by the frequency board of Costa Rica already from the very beginning. This I learnt on a visit to the country in 1987. Their eviction is long overdue (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, July 26, hard-core-dx via DXLD) I'd respect your letter a bit more if you were more honest with us. We all do listen to the radio you know, and most of us have listened to RFPI. It's not all U.S. programming, though a good portion of it is. We have heard them read the Tico Times, and are well aware that it is not a U.S. paper. We also know the Zapatistas don't haunt the streets of Chicago. And while the United Nations news show broadcast by RFPI actually is based in NYC --- I've heard tell that the U.N. is known to take a global perspective: fancy that. Nor can I say I have ever heard RFPI "target" the U.S. commercial shortwave broadcasters you mentioned simply because they are commercial broadcasters and anybody with the cash can buy an hour of time; even you, even me. They do target the various Neoklannazimilita shows that are broadcast from said stations and speaking as a person who lives in these United States, I am glad they have been doing it. Why is North America's only national left of center! radio station based in Central America? I get worried when everybody's on the right, and I get worried when everybody is on the left. Those kinds of majorities are grotesque, disfiguring, and dangerous. I liked RFPI, and I also had my share of complaints. I think the Far Right Radio Review got too casual and lost much of its effectiveness. I recently tuned into some of their in house programming that consisted mainly of some cranky guy spouting off for ever and ever. That's not radio. Mostly though, I'll miss them. For all its technological prowess and wealth, or perhaps because of it, American journalism - left, right, and center - is horrible. To find an American who's well informed about international affairs is a rare find indeed. There are a few people here that would like to become well informed, but they really have to dig deep to find a good source. It was a horrible irony when the BBC World Service started cutting back transmissions to the U.S. We don't need foreign aid here, we don't need food, but we sure could use some information aid. The same goes for opinion. We have huge debates between the marginally left and the marginally right and that's about it. RFPI had lots of news, and lots of opinion. They had American labor news! Labor is a dirty word here. You can talk a lot of trash but don't say that dirtiest word of all, UNION. So a lot of my labor news came out of Costa Rica. For me RFPI's finest hour was back in '94 or '95 when they had gotten an email from someone in a town in Mexico that had been surrounded by the army who were about to go in and stomp anything that moved, but somebody had a computer and a modem, somebody got the word out in real time. RFPI was asking everyone to immediately send email to the responsible parties and get things cooled off. I never did hear any follow ups on the incident. I hope things got settled down. The idea of someone throwing a rock over the wall of a besieged city and having it land in a million mailboxes made a big impression on me that day and that's the day I decided that I needed a computer. I hope RFPI gets through this trouble. Someone once said of the Grateful Dead that it "isn't that they are the best at what they do, they are the only ones that do what they do", and that surely sums up this little station. They did a lot with what they had too. For some odd reason they seem to have placed their antenna farm in some sort of tornado alley kind of place and it blew over once a week. They never got the funding they needed to get a sure grip on things, simply because most of the Americans with disposable income have never even seen a shortwave radio and their Central American audience is not all that wealthy. RFPI would sputter and spark for days on end and then roar back to life, only to have something else blow a fuse. People did send money though, lots of people, just not enough I guess. It is unfortunate that there is not an endangered radio genre law because there's a million preachers and 10,000 Brownshirts rantin` and a ravin` on the radio at any given minute of the day, but only one free voice from the left. I am decidedly left of center in my outlook; however I like to have the "loyal opposition" around too, but I want them to be honest. I won't stand behind any dishonest speech from my own people and I think you do your cause a disservice by playing fast and loose with the truth. It's easier to just make stuff up, anybody can do it, but it takes hard work and determination to check all of your facts and think out something that's honest and persuasive. And if you're angry, really angry: take what you wrote and put it in a drawer 'til you calm down and then look at it. Now if you're always angry, you have a problem unrelated to your politics that is in serious need of attention. This is a common malady; the one who can't blame himself, so he blames the Other. If the cause is just, no deceit is needed. If the heart is pure, the anger will subside (Michael Lijewski, Maryland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hi, Glenn, Many thanks for your advice ten years ago about getting help with direction finding re interference with RFPI's signal, and for the broad variety of topics you cover in your broadcasts. If any of the following is useful for your weekly program or the Continent of Media, feel free to use it there. In September of 2002, I spent a week doing volunteer work at RFPI, and was impressed with the smart, dedicated and generous public service activities I saw at the station. At that time there were already rumblings of trouble from the new administration of the University for Peace. An independent observer I happened to meet, outside the RFPI community, filled me in on the dangers lurking. I was told that a billionaire administrator - who was invited to lead the university under the theory that this would shield the UN-chartered University for Peace from economic stress - had purged the university of professors and staff who showed too great an interest in the institutional causes of poverty and environmental degradation. This week, a representative of the University for Peace delivered an eviction notice to the station's staff, and armed guards patrol the now-chained gate of the station, and the notice calls on the staff to leave within two weeks. This dramatic challenge to free speech and advocacy for a better world raises questions over how the university could develop such hostility to a station invited by the university's leaders, and independently supported by listeners all over the world. It is listeners' contributions that paid for the building, the transmitters, and the operating expenses. The university's administrator, Canadian Maurice Strong, came in on a wave of influence based on the promise of Ted Turner's foundation to give a billion dollars to the UN. His connections to the Turner foundation, the World Bank, and to those environmental groups you hear criticized for allowing domination by big business, are just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone searching "Maurice Strong" on the web encounters a very interesting array of entries. (To quote Lewis Carroll, the story becomes "Curious and curiouser") If we can believe even 10% of the story of his ascent to power and influence, an astonishing tale of subterfuge emerges, consistent with his attack on RFPI. Beyond the fig leaf of NGO's that he uses for cover, Strong's real alliances are with the enemies of the UN, which they are busily "reforming". His comprehensive biography is posted on the webpage of an anti-UN organization. On the sovereignty.net website, click the Sustainable Development link in the left column. When that page opens, look near the top of the list for "Maurice Strong: The New Guy in Your Future". http://www.sovereignty.net/p/sd/strong.html As the 16th anniversary of RFPI's broadcast approaches, it is in our power to help this station survive! The station web address offers breaking news and ideas for supporting the station's continued good work. http://rfpi.org Legal defense and other expenses need our help, with contributions of any size. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to RFPI, Box 3165, Newberg, OR 97132. The station broadcasts on 7445 and 15040 kHz am (Jerry Markatos, Balance & Accuracy in Journalism, NC, 919 542- 2139, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On various DX lists, several people, who I am sorry to see apparently have a longstanding grudge against RFPI --- how dare RFPI come from the left??? --- have mouthed off to the effect that it serves RFPI right --- don`t pay your rent: get evicted. Believe me, there is a lot more to this than back rent, as I hope is now becoming obvious to those taking the trouble to read info in and linked from DXLD (gh) RFPI program director Naomi Fowler says to DXing.info that a year ago the station did receive a letter requesting them to leave their premises, but without a reason. "They gave no reason for this to us, unlike their current claims that we were broadcasting illegally or that we owed them money," Fowler says. "We explained to them that they were trying to evict us from our own building! They did not appear to know that the building did not belong to them, as their institutional memory is short due to the five administration changes over the last 16 years," Fowler writes. "That eviction attempt we assumed was legally unenforceable and we never heard anything from them after that until this latest eviction order." In an earlier email to DXing.info, the staff of RFPI says that "ideological differences" between the station and Maurice Strong, President of the University for Peace Council, are partly to blame for the conflict. As to broadcasting on an illegal frequency, the staff email says that the station is looking for another frequency to replace 15040 kHz, which according to a letter received from the authorities, is reserved for air traffic. Despite the conflict, RFPI has continued to broadcast on shortwave (DXing.info, July 27, 2003, also via Mike Terry, DXLD) Per James Latham, they are on 7445 and 15038 kHz. Nothing has really changed since last week, the gates are still locked, but people are passing them supplies through the locked gates. He says that the audio stream of their short wave broadcasts has been down for quite some time. He also said that there will be a website http://www.saverfpi.org as well as some updates on their website soon. They have a number of people who will be coming next week to witness anything the University may do, but Latham is hoping for a peaceful resolution (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX July 28 via DXLD) RFPI is still on the air, whenever I check; at 2235 UT July 28, 15038 in as usual and 7445 beginning to fade in (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. In all the years of TVDXing, since 1955, I have seen stations from Cuba many times. However, I have never seen any Cuban sign on the air, until today. At 1145 EDST [1545 UT] on channel 4, I notice a test pattern with no ID. I was sure it was Cuba. At 1200 the test pattern went away and the Cuban flag came on the screen with their national anthem. This was followed by the news in Spanish (Willis Monk, Old Fort, TN, July 28, NRC FM-FV via DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. While poking about the FCC database, I found a rather interesting document of a few years ago (FCC 95-160) relating to the USIA wanting to counter Cuban jamming of its transmissions on channel 13 by being granted authority to broadcast on channels 18, 50 and 64, with the transmissions being rotated on these three channels to foil jamming efforts. The document went into detail as to how under the provisions of the International Telecommunications Convention, UHF TV broadcasts to Cuba did not constitute harmful interference, as Cuba had no UHF television broadcast services. This seems to have been the impetus for the Cuban government in recently initiating UHF TV broadcasting, as with UHF now in use, TV Martí could be construed as causing said harmful interference. TV Martí also seems to be the reason behind Cuban television broadcasting hour after hour of test patterns. TV Martí apparently broadcasts in the middle of the night when Cuban television is off the air so as not to violate the harmful interference provision of the ITC treaty. If Cuban television keeps the channel in use, even while not actually broadcasting anything other than a test pattern, then it can argue that TV Martí is causing harmful interference to their broadcasts. This whole mess will add a big footnote upon TV DX'ing history eventually. When the changeover to DTV comes, TV Martí will be the only American station continuing on NTSC. It's quite a shame they aren't running anything on a Band I channel; their Band III service will be a bit difficult to DX from much of the country (Curtis Sadowski, IL, July 27, WTFDA via DXLD) Basulto & Co. were going to try this again on May 20, but some technical problem prevented it. That was also when TV and Radio Martí beefed up their broadcasts to Cuba. This was all covered in some depth in DX LISTENING DIGEST, mid to late May. http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Many thanks! I do read DX Listening Digest, but I must have missed that issue. As always, you're right on top of all things DX. I've read about TV Martí`s tethered balloon with the directional antenna; is there any anecdotal information that you've heard about how well that puts a signal into Cuba? I know they used that to prevent CCI with American broadcasters (and to keep things cheap), but I would have gone with an airborne station (like Stratovision). From what I've read that system was very adept at providing wide area television coverage. I suppose if one REALLY wanted to get a signal in there, a powerful transmitter could be set up on a navy ship. It could take up a patrol some miles off the Cuban coast in international waters beaming the signal in on a directional antenna. Granted, you wouldn't be able to achieve much in the way of tower height that way, but it could be used for beaming in signals to an urban area in strength (Curtis Sadowski, ibid.) [Later:] I guess it isn't strictly a pirate either --- according to the Miami Herald they could be received on channel 58 "on any cable ready TV", in other words, it was over a standard amateur television rig, and apparently used the call letters of the ham operating it. So, for all intents and purposes, it was all a publicity stunt that no one saw in Cuba UNLESS they had advance notice AND a modern cable-ready set. They seem to have achieved their aim in beefing up broadcasting to Cuba, which as far as I'm concerned is not much more than a sop to the exile community. I hope Basulto's stunt didn't cause the Cuban government to initiate jamming on amateur television frequencies (Curtis Sadowski, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. During the building of a second floor on our tiny house during next week I must remove my antennas. I hope I can put up some temporary antennas instead but it means my activity will be considerably lower here in Quito. 73 from BM in Quito! bjornmalm2003@yahoo.com (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) In this issue see BM`s logs under BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, HONDURAS, PERU, UNIDENTIFIED ** EGYPT. Queridos Radioescuchas, los invitamos a enviarnos las fechas de eventos especiales que quisieran mencionaremos al aire, por ejemplo: Cumpleaños, Aniversarios, Bodas, etc. Nos gustaría mucho compartir al aire con ustedes su alegría. También envíenos frases célebres o algunas citas que consideren nos inspirarán a sentirnos mejor cada día y a reforzar los lazos de amistad. A partir del 9 de Agosto tendremos música oriental especial dedicada a los cumpleaños y podrán conocer cuáles son las melodías típicas para esas ocasiones aquí en Egipto. Esperamos sus e/mails o cartas via el correo postal. Un abrazo y Suerte (RADIO EL CAIRO EN ESPANOL via Pedro Sedano, Spain, July 27, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** GUYANA. I spent some time in Guyana a few years back and listened to the VOG every day and also saw them in action at many public events, so it was nice to hear you praise them for their efforts a few months back. They have true grit and little else to work with, yet come up with some great programming. One has to love a station that broadcasts the national Parliament one hour and a children's cricket banquet the next. Guyana is in a state of constant political/racial tension and VOG has taken the high road remaining objective at all times. Sadly it's not only a tough catch here, but also a tough one there too. We were with the Akawio Indians in the upper Mazaruni district where they scrimped to buy a few batteries for their flimsy little analog radios each week, deftly working the dial every night for the BBC, VOA, and Radio Netherlands, but no Voice Of Guyana --- not enough money to get out that far. Even the tribal Yaesu transceivers and the Icoms owned by the traders couldn't pick it up. I tried and tried with the handheld Yaesu VR-500 I had with me (a great little travel radio if you ever need to travel very lightly and need a DC to daylight device), stringing wires in every way possible with little effect. Thanks again, (Michael Lijewski, Maryland, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 2859.98 harmonic, HRSJ, Radio Futura, Tocoa. July 19 2003 --- 0200 UT. After listening to Glenn Hauser`s "World Of Radio", where Mark Mohrmann and other North American DX-ers have heard an unIDd LA "Radio Cultura" on 2860 kHz, I checked the frequency and mailed the message below to Glenn Hauser [as in DXLD 3-129] (listen to the recording from this occasion here): http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Glenn Hauser, Ref: All India Radio Bangalore on SW mentioned in DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-126, July 15, 2003 by Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England. As far as I know, earlier one transmitter was on standby mode only. Now they are using it also for regular transmissions. They have 6 nos of 500 kw tx in all. Sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, I notice Allen Graham has started pronouncing ``Joe`s`` as ``JAWS`` instead of ``ho-ZAY``. No cigar. . . (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS SUSPENDED FOR ONE YEAR FROM UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS The organisation publishes a report on the commission's accelerating decline, entitled Wheeling and dealing, incompetence and "non-action," in which it recommends a radical overhaul. Reporters Without Borders's consultative status with the United Nations commission on human rights was suspended on July 24 for one year at the request of Libya and Cuba because activists with the organisation staged a protest during the inauguration of the commission's last session in March against the decision to let Libya chair the commission. Reporters Without Borders insists that granting the chair to Col. Gaddafi's regime has been a disgrace to the commission. The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the body that took this decision, never invited Reporters Without Borders to explain its action. The failure to respect sanction procedures has been criticised by the French government, which lodged a request for a postponement of any decision to suspend the organisation. This suspension of one of the few press freedom organisations to have consultative status with ECOSOC is farce of the kind that increasingly characterizes the commission on human rights. Reporters Without Borders today publishes a report which details the excesses, shortcomings and accelerating decline of this commission, which dictatorships such as Cuba and China have taken over in order to strip it of all substance. The reports proposes a series of reforms that are essential if the commission is to be rescued : limiting the right to vote to those states that have ratified the main international human rights covenants, naming an independent human rights expert to chair the commission, and abolishing the so-called "non-action" motions that have repeatedly been used to block debates. The results of the vote on the suspension of the consultative status of Reporters without borders: In favour (27) : Azerbaijan, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Against (23) : Andorra, Australia, Chile, El Salvador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States. Download the report (PDF): http://rsf.fr/IMG/pdf/Report_ONU_gb.pdf (Reporters Without Borders, July 24 2003 via David E. Crawford Titusville, Florida, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. The official Radio Caroline site has been updated yet again and is now of a high quality. Well done to Ryan and Nigel --- superb, brilliant. I should thank the photographer(s); the photos are excellent. Have a look at http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/ (Mike Terry, UK, July 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CAROLINE AND "LOVING AWARENESS" From http://www.getintola.nl/ In the 60's economic growth was prospering and for the first time a lot of young people got better education and more free time to spend than generations before. This released a lot of energy into new activities where youth was interested in: music, movies, travelling, love and friendship, relaxation and having fun while meeting each other. New products like the electric guitar, the amplifier, and the transistor radio (for on the beach!) changed life. . . click here - for more. http://www.getintola.nl/index5.html (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ISRAEL [non?]. PEACE ACTIVISTS TO REVIVE VOICE OF PEACE RADIO STATION 28/07/2003 20:40 By Anat Balint, Haaretz Correspondent and DPA From http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=323074&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y A joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative will see the re-establishment of the Abie Nathan's Voice of Peace radio station. Yesterday, Israeli and Palestinian peace activists signed an agreement to begin the new broadcasts on November 4, the anniversary of the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. The station will use archive material of the original Voice of Peace station; and in order to refrain from breaching Israeli law, it will split its operations: The station's studios will be located in East Jerusalem, while its transmitters will be positioned in the West Bank town of Bitunia, near Ramallah. The Palestinian Authority has already allocated to the station two frequencies, which were originally assigned to the PA by Israel, but the station's range of reception remains unclear. The idea to revive the Voice of Peace came from Mussi Raz, a former MK for Meretz and current deputy director-general of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace in Givat Haviva, and Palestinian businessman Hanna Siniora, publisher of the Jerusalem Times weekly. According to Siniora, the station received the broadcast frequencies following a meeting with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, who gave his blessing to the initiative, but commented when he heard its name: "But that's Abie Nathan's station, isn't it?" Siniora said the station's objective was to rebuild trust and narrow the distances between the two peoples. It also aimed at fighting stereotypes presented in the media about the Palestinians and Israel, he added, stressing that the station would not relay political programs, nor would it be funded by any party. Instead, it would mainly broadcast Arabic and Hebrew music as well as entertainment programs for children and youth. "It will not focus much on news or current political issues. It will mostly be about the cultures of the two peoples, their similarities and differences," Siniora said. Reviving the station was made possible thanks to a $600,000 donation from the European Union that was approved recently. From day one, the station will broadcast 24 hours a day, dedicating three hours each day to programs dealing with coexistence and serving as a mouthpiece for associations and organizations involved in promoting such issues. The station's presenters will include Israelis and Palestinians who will broadcast both in Hebrew and Arabic. The original Voice of Peace was a legendary pirate radio station run by Israeli peace activist Abie Nathan. It broadcast from a ship anchored just outside Israeli territorial waters and its slogan became something of a catchphrase in Israel - "From somewhere in the Mediterranean, we are the Voice of Peace." In 1993, after Nathan decided to shut down the original Voice of Peace and scuttle the ship from which it transmitted, he donated the station's archives to the Givat Haviva center. Nathan is currently in ill health, but his associates have given their consent for the new station to use the archive material (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ITALY. GOVERNMENT REMOVES FM ANTENNAS NEAR ROME AS RESULT OF STRINGENT ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES LAW Rome, July 18 (CRU) --- ``In a couple of days, according to a report by the news agency ANSA, removal of `abusive` antennas --- radio and television --- located near Leopardi Elementary School on Monte Mario near Rome will begin,`` Emilio Pappagallo reported on the Italian radio website FM World. ``The radio stations involved are RTL 102.5 on 91.45 FM, Radio Subasio 94.0 FM, and Radio Maria 94.8 FM. The daily newspaper Il Messaggero has anticipated that the transmitter buildings and towers of these networks will be demolished next September 1st. Radios Subasio, Maria and RTL are still present in Rome on other frequencies, respectively 94.5 FM, 95.1 FM, and 102.1 FM.`` In a related development two weeks ago, the Italian Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and said that Radio Vaticano officials must stand trial in regard to alleged criminal allowance of Radio Vaticano transmitters to exceed stringent Italian electromagnetic radiation standards, said to be the toughest in all Europe. HVJ Radio Vaticano was built in what was then the rural area of Santa Maria di Galeria outside Rome, but since World War II, the population has swollen to surround the antenna farm, and residents attribute every medical or genetic aberration to the high-power AM and shortwave transmitters. The previous leftwing government had brought the charges. Anti-clericalism runs as rife in Italy as it does in Latin America. The report from FM World was used with the permission of Nicola Franceschini, editor (Mike Dorner, Catholic Radio Update July 28 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Re English effective May 6th (one hour duration): 1600 3560, 9975, 11710: Just listened to this transmission, and they are on 9975 and 11735 (Erik Køie, Copenhagen. July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. A good sporadic E opening on July 28 from Mexico, including XEFB-2 Monterrey NL at 1735 UT with local weather, 5-day forecast, and news; MUF made it to channel 6 at 1813 when I had an Azteca-7 network relay judging from the bug in lower right, a show measuring some woman`s waist, and at 1815 what looked like an ID supered, two lines, at upper right, but could not make it out. According to Doug`s database http://home.earthlink.net/~w9wi/tvdb/channels/6.htm there are four possibilities, two of which are in the area open a bit earlier, but the other two also possible by skip distance if not likely by power: Torreón, DU XHGZP-TV 50.00 0.00 N H 0 0' 0"N 0 0' 0"W XV-XE Acapulco, GR XHACC-TV 5.00 0.00 Z H 16 50'41"N 99 54'39"W XV-XE San Luís Potosí XHCLP-TV 89.80 0.00 Z H 22 9'10"N 100 58'37"W XV-XE Cd. Camargo, CI XHCGJ-TV 1.00 0.00 + H 27 41'49"N 105 10' 8"W XX-XE So Torreón, which is in Coahuila, not Durango! --- unless the unknown G.C. puts the site across the state line, which could well be the case --- seems most likely, with second place going to SLP. But I have another potentially identifiable factor: when the signal faded up, the audio cut off. This is because I had my Sanyo TV set on STEREO(SAP), meaning automatic switch to SAP when transmitted, otherwise receiving in stereo when transmitted, otherwise receiving in mono. By turning off the SAP, the audio came back, so this station was broadcasting silent SAP, an otherwise totally useless practice also engaged in by some US stations, such as KOED-11 Tulsa. So now all I need to have confirmed is which of the four A7 stations on 6 does this (if not more than one). Now, how can I possibly find this out? Has any other DXer noticed this, or anyone in Torreón or SLP to check? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. He recibido de parte de la pirata holandesa, Alfa Lima Internacional, una hermosa QSL, la cual confirma mi captación del 28/09/2002, en la frecuencia de 15070 kHz. También viene adjunta una hoja informativa de la emisora y una especie de certificado donde puede leerse la potencia de la emisión por mí reportada (300 watts). Mi carta fue enviada el 21/05 del presente año (con un IRC) y la buena noticia la recibí esta mañana (28/07). Estoy muy feliz por esa QSL; sin duda alguna es una pieza de colección. Incentivo a mis colegas para que también manden sus reportes de Alfa Lima; no perderán su tiempo. Saludos, (Adán González VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY. After many years of listening to Paraguayan stations I got a QSL verification via e-mail from RADIO AMERICA. Frequency: 9905 khz. Hour: 0411 UT. V/S: Don Mur. e-mail: radioamerica@lycos.com (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES, CHIMBOTE, PERU, July 27, hard-core-dx via DXLD) What was the programming? ** PERU. Quito 26/Jul/2003 23:32, Hola Amigos DXistas Hénrik, César y Alfredo! 1610.11 kHz: La encontró Hasse Mattisson ARC/SWB-Suecia La identificó Bjorn Malm ARC/SWB-Ecuador La regaló un QTH Cesar y Alfredo del Perú. Henrik (Klemetz), estoy interesado de saber qué tipo de música tiene Radio Sabor 1610.11 kHz. Música típica de Paucarpata? Música típica de Arequipa? La programación de música de Radio Sabor para mí parece ser el mismo tipo todo el tiempo procedente de la misma región del Perú. Esta noche escuché Radio Sabor durante más de dos horas. Nadie dijo nada, solamente el mismo tipo de música. La señal era muy débil y solamente pude grabar algunos minutos de la música. Enviaré la grabación a Henrik Klemetz que sabe mucho sobre la música peruana. Una preguntita: ¿dónde se puede encontrar la página WEB de Henrik Klemetz con "Música de América Latina"? 73s de (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, July 26, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Mañana día 28, todos los peruanos celebran sus fiestas patrias, pero pienso que para la semana que viene puede que haya alguna novedad acerca de la identidad de la emisora, pues le pedí el favor a una persona que reside en Arequipa a ver si encuentra la emisora ubicada en "la falda del Cerro Nueva Alborada". Björn, la página que mencionas, la puedes encontrar ahora en http://home.swipnet.se/gersnaes/henriks/lamusic.html Lo que escuchó Hasse Mattisson era lo que en algunas emisoras peruanas llaman "música vernacular", es decir huaynos, tanto instrumentales como vocales. Esta música es la típica de Huánuco, Huancayo, Andahuaylas, Ayacucho y la que se oye en todo el país, incluso en Lima. Había un par de anuncios bilingües, en español y quechua, y una clara mención de "el centro del Perú", quizás en alusión a la procedencia de la música. (Como lo sabrán explicar mejor los colegas peruanos, la música de Cajamarca y la del Cusco no suena como la del Centro, pues la orquestación es diferente, y tampoco suele escucharse en las emisoras del resto del país). Saludos, HK (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. The official Peruvian frequency list has a 0.5 kW station on 1605 kHz [!] located at Paucarpata, Arequipa, with OAU6O as their call sign. The registered company name is Empresa Radiodifusora Flor de los Andes SCRL. There is no indication of a station slogan such as Radio Sabor, which is the one Björn Malm, Alfredo Cañote and César Pérez Dioses have reported hearing on 1610. On a surprisingly clear recording made on 1610 kHz by Hasse Mattisson at the end of May, there is lots of Peruvian "vernacular" music and some announcements in Spanish and Quechua, none of which appear to contain an ID. The exact location per the Peruvian list is given as Falda del Cerro Nueva Alborada, Paucarpata, Arequipa (Henrik Klemetz, hard-core-dx via DXLD) El colega Björn Malm me acaba de enviar un archivo de audio de lo que oyó anoche sábado en los 1610 kHz. No hay identificación alguna, pero sí cuatro temas definitivamente peruanos, todos de corte "andino", y uno de los cuales interpretado por el cantante conocido como "El Jilguero del Huascarán" (un ejemplo de su música se encuentra en la página musical que indicaba en el correo anterior). Gracias, Björn, por el envío. HK (Henrik Klemetz, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Hola hola! Bueno, el tema es simple. La emisora se llama Radio Sabor. Paucarpata es un distrito de la capital de Arequipa. Tiene mucha música andina, puesto que Arequipa está dentro de los Andes. Que transmite música vernacular. Sí, y no sorprende ya que hay que analizar la cantidad de puneños y/o cusqueños que se han instalado en la capital arequipeña. Lamentablemente no se identifican en la noche. En las mañanas peruanas (1100 ut) la capto con dificultad extrema y tengo la esperanza de aumentar más información sobre la radio en mención. Lo que sí se escucha "mejor" (sinpo = 32412) es WDHP (US Virgin Islands) en 1620 khz (gracias henrik por ayudarme a identificarla!) Lo mejor para ustedes siempre amigos del DX!!!!!!!!!! (Alfredo Cañote, Perú, July 27, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. 2003v (Harmonic?), Radio Libertad, región de Cajamarca. July 2003 --- 0040 UT. The station could be heard here around July 22 and has been on the frequency both mornings and evenings. Ought to be a harmonic from OCY2N Radio Libertad, Cajamarca listed on 890 kHz and in that case slipped up to a full 1000 kHz. Program title in the morning "Despertar Campesino". 4750.10, Radio San Francisco Solano, Sóndor, la provincia de Huancabamba, el departamento de Piura. July 18 2003 --- 2345 UT. The station has been off air for a pretty long time and heard only this date. Close down at 2353 UT. Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Huancabamba, cuya capital es Chanchaque. Sus distritos son: El Carmen de la Frontera, Huancabamba, Huarmaca, Lalaquiz, San Miguel de El Faique, Sóndor, Sondorillo; con una población total de 125,458 hab. 4835.47, Marañón active again but extremely weak modulation. 4940.00, San Antonio back with good signal. A Quillabamba station has moved! 5121.11, Radio Suroriente, Quillabamba. July 2003 --- 0035 UT. New frequency for Ondas del Suroriente, sometimes also with ID as "Radio Suroriente". Ex-5067.11 kHz (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Glenn! 5121.24, Ondas del Suroriente/Radio Suroriente, Quillabamba. Señor Adán González de Venezuela tiene una estación peruana no identificada en la frecuencia de 5121.24 kHz. Hace una semana aproximadamente se movió Ondas del Suroriente de 5067.11 kHz a 5121.24 kHz. También se identifica como "Radio Suroriente". (73s de Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador ARC - SWB América Latina via DXLD) ** PERU. Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Ayer llovió en la ciudad y tuve un día muy productivo en la escucha: La Voz del Campesino, con buena señal, audible desde las 2026 UT (jamás la había captado tan temprano), con música andina y locutor de guardia, en los 6956.69 kHz. SINPO 44333. (27/07). Radio Unión, captada en los 6114.94 kHz, a las 0438 UT, el 28/07, con música romántica y rumbera. Armando Manzanero y Elvis Presley, entre otros. SINPO 32532 (desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Adán González, July 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) also see his unIDs below ** SOUTH AMERICA. 11429.97 USB, 0315 27 July. Jolly Roger Radio International broadcasting via Radio Cochiguaz with frequent English IDs, with address in Ireland, and acknowledging Radio Cochiguaz. Best ever reception here in Victoria, BC. SIO of 3-3-3, with mild degradation from static crashes (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. CHINA. The ITU does not recognise "Taiwan" as an official entity for radiocommunications' planning purposes. HF planning is managed by the Broadcasting Corporation of China, in Taipei, and there is no formal technical representation in the HFCC or the ABU-HFC. HF transmission planning is carried out generally in isolation from the rest of the world, and the authorities in Taipei decline to recognise Beijing as the parent regulatory body. Entries will be found in the HFCC data for "Taiwan", but these are limited to the use of relays, such as arranged by Merlin, and other international brokers. Operational dates for HF transmission plans for the CBS are not aligned or coordinated in advance with those in use by the majority of other broadcasters, which is the reason for the activation of the schedules at unusual times during the year. There is no acknowledgment of the official "A" or "B" seasonal timetables. That is the reason for the many frequency collisions for the CBS national and international transmissions, where CBS services are on top of established broadcasters (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 27, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** U K. BBC ``SPINNING TO WIN`` Warning: The following paragraphs reflect my opinion on a program I heard on SW today dealing with current and past political propaganda. If you believe political issues have no place in a SW programs forum, delete this message now. I awoke early this morning and accidentally stumbled across the first episode of a BBC documentary entitled, "Spinning to Win." It was a 30 minute program narrated by Robin Lustig which examined how the USA and the UK had warped the truth in past conflicts to mobilize public opinion. The subject is very timely as both governments are today under the gun for recently "spinning" facts to justify what the governments wanted to do. For that matter the BBC itself is under the gun for its involvement in spinning or not spinning (depending on one`s perspective) the data leading up to the Iraq attack. "Spin" is a word that has evolved to replace "propaganda" which has such a negative connotation. (As an aside, do you remember an old BBC TV show called "Connections?" The program showed how ancient discoveries eventually resulted centuries later in new discoveries or inventions and tied seemingly unconnected events together. Well I had a "Connection" moment while listening to the program as the BBC explained the origin of the word "propaganda". According to the BBC, "propaganda" derives from an agency of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Vatican whose mission is the "propagation of the faith." I never realized the connection before but I heard of that agency when I was a student in a Catholic high school listening to Radio Moscow propaganda while I did my homework.) The BBC program, "Spinning to Win" examined how the Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher administrations spun public opinion regarding problems in the Suez (Egypt), the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Nicaragua and El Salvador as examples. One thing the show confirmed for me was that the more things change, the more they remain the same. I heard the program at 0900 UT on 15,400 kHz which is shown in PWBR to be beamed to West Africa from the Ascension Island relay station. I plan to catch the remaining segments and recommend the program to anyone trying to better understand the search for weapons of mass deception. From the BBC web site: MONDAY 28th July 2003 --- PRESS RELEASES 14.07.03 WORLD SERVICE The selling of war - Spinning to Win on BBC World Service How governments sell war to voters is explored in Spinning to Win from 28 July on the BBC World Service. Robin Lustig investigates the relationship between politicians, the military, the media and the public by drawing on the recent war in Iraq and other wars of the broadcast era. Politicians who have led their countries into war will be featured, together with newspaper, radio and TV editors who have covered war stories. The series will question whether journalists have to give up their usual stance of neutrality during times of war, whether the public can expect to be given a full picture of what is going on and how war changes political communication. The first of the three programmes charts the rhetorical transition from the possibility to the inevitability of war. Philip Knightley, journalist and historian, discusses the need to persuade the public of the rightness of the cause, a goal sometimes achieved by portraying an enemy as a psychopathic monster. In the second programme on 4 August journalists discuss how their approach to coverage changes once the conflict gets underway and politicians give way to the military as the main news source. Robin Lustig discovers that a sophisticated PR machine has evolved. During the Iraq conflict, for example, former J Walter Thomson advertising executive Charlotte Beers was employed to rescue the United States government from a dip in support for the war. PR firms Hill and Knowlton and the Rendon Corp were hired by the Kuwaiti government as part of a campaign to denounce Iraq's 1990 invasion and mobilise public support for Operation Desert Storm. Robin Lustig says: "Military press officers are no longer lowly operatives. They have become key strategists in the war of words." The final programme on 11 August reflects on how journalists, politicians and the military decide if they've had a "good war" and examines the manipulation of casualty and death statistics. The late Godfrey Talbot, a veteran BBC broadcaster, explains that in World War II journalists had to use government figures which exaggerated German casualties and minimised Allied ones. Recent wars in the Gulf and Afghanistan were possibly the first where the public didn't expect soldiers to be killed. How do people then react to body bags and friendly fire deaths when things go wrong? Notes to Editors Spinning to Win is a series of three programmes, 25 minutes each. The presenter is Robin Lustig and the producer is Ivor Gaber. International Broadcast Times West Africa: Mon 0906, 1606 | Tues 0006 | Sun 2206 Europe: Mon 0806, 1306, 1806 | Tues 0006 | Sun 1906, 2306 E and S Africa: Mon 0806, 1306, 1806 | Tues 0006 | Sun 1906, 2306 Middle East: Mon 0706, 1606 | Tues 0006 | Sat 1806 | Sun 1306, 2306 South Asia: Sun 2306, Mon 0506, 0906, 1406 | Sun 0606 East Asia: Mon 0206, 1706, 1206, 1806 | Sun 0806 Americas: Mon 1406, 1906 | Tues 0006, 0506 | Sun 2306 Listen online from 18 August (updated weekly on Mondays) at http://www.bbcworldservice.com/programmes - choose Spinning to Win from the drop down list of programmes ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, July 28, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ ** U K. BBC CHAIRMAN MOUNTS SAVAGE ATTACK ON THE GOVERNMENT By Colin Brown and Chris Hastings (Filed: 27/07/2003) The row between the BBC and the Government escalates dramatically today, as Gavyn Davies, the corporation's chairman, accuses Cabinet ministers of seeking to destroy the independence of the BBC in revenge for its refusal to back down in the Iraq dossier controversy. Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Davies says: "We are chastised for taking a different view on editorial matters from that of the Government and its supporters. "Because we have had the temerity to do this, it is hinted that a system that has protected the BBC for 80 years should be swept away and replaced by an external regulator that will 'bring the BBC to heel'. "I trust that wiser heads in the government will prevail. There is only one reason why the BBC has been able to build the trust of its audiences over so many years, and that is because it is emphatically not the voice of the state . . . During and after the war, the BBC [has] upheld its traditional attachment to impartiality and the truth under almost intolerable pressures." It is unprecedented for a serving BBC chairman to attack a government of the day in such stark terms. His remarks underline the level of animosity that now exists between the corporation and Tony Blair's most senior cabinet allies. The BBC had informally agreed a truce not to continue the feud until after Lord Hutton delivers his judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, the government scientist who was the main source of the BBC's attack over last September's dossier on Iraqi weapons. Despite this, Mr Davies and his colleagues felt provoked beyond endurance by last weekend's claim by the former minister Peter Mandelson that the BBC was to blame for Dr Kelly's death and by subsequent hints from Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, that the corporation's governors were not fulfilling their statutory obligations. One senior executive in the corporation claimed that Ms Jowell had privately left BBC chiefs in no doubt that she might use the review of the BBC charter - due later this year - to pressure the governors into sacking Greg Dyke, the director general, change the composition of the board or even change the size and scope of the broadcaster. The corporation has resisted attempts to make the new regulator Ofcom responsible for policing its impartiality and accuracy - a function still performed by the governors. Much of the row now depends on whether Dr Kelly was an authoritative source for the BBC's claim that the intelligence service had been unhappy with the Government over the September dossier. The Government remains adamant that the BBC has provided no conclusive evidence that Dr Kelly was a source of this calibre. The BBC is determinedly sticking by its claim that Dr Kelly was correctly described by Andrew Gilligan, a BBC defence correspondent, as "an intelligence source". One BBC executive claimed yesterday that the scientist had been "seconded" to MI6. However, intelligence officials said that while Dr Kelly had had "some contact" with the intelligence services, he had absolutely no formal connection with MI6. In his article, Mr Davies also hits out at Alastair Campbell. He accuses the Prime Minister's outgoing director of communications of using the row over Mr Gilligan's report - which said that No 10 had inserted the claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes into the September dossier - to mount a wide-ranging assault on the BBC. Mr Davies writes: "The main purpose of what we did in our special governors' meeting on July 6 was to repudiate Mr Campbell's central charge that the entire BBC was running a campaign against him, the Government and the [Iraq] war. I am very gratified that Mr Campbell now seems to have withdrawn these wider charges." Last night, Ms Jowell hit back at Mr Davies's comments. "There is absolutely no question that the independence of the BBC is under threat," she said. "I have repeatedly made that clear and that the present row over the Andrew Gilligan report will have no bearing on the charter review." Mr Davies's intervention is a measure of how high the stakes have become in a row which has its origin in a single news story. It is all the more embarrassing for the Government because Mr Davies was a Labour Party member until he accepted his BBC post in 2001, donating -L-10,000 to the party over seven years. He is a close friend of Gordon Brown, and his wife, Sue Nye, is the Chancellor's political secretary. No 10 insists that Dr Kelly played only a peripheral role in the drafting of the Iraqi weapons dossier and was not, therefore, a credible source for the BBC's story. However, a member of the Commons foreign affairs committee told The Telegraph that Dr Kelly may have misled the MPs about his role. Richard Ottaway, a Tory member of the committee, said Dr Kelly may have been "economical with the truth" by understating his importance in the drafting of the dossier. The BBC says it has a tape, made by Susan Watts, the Newsnight reporter, of Dr Kelly accusing No 10 and Mr Campbell of interference in the compilation of the dossier. (c) Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC FACES NEW QUESTIONS AS CHARTER DEBATE REIGNITES Matt Wells, media correspondent, Monday July 28, 2003, The Guardian A senior BBC executive cleared Andrew Gilligan's controversial newspaper article in which he first linked Alastair Campbell to the "sexing up" of the claim that Iraq could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes. The Guardian can reveal that the Today programme editor Kevin Marsh approved the June 1 Mail on Sunday piece, in which Gilligan connected Mr Campbell, director of communications at Downing Street, to the dossier story for the first time. In Gilligan's original May 29 reports on Today, Mr Campbell's name was pointedly absent. Lord Hutton's inquiry into the death of David Kelly, who was Gilligan's source for the story, is likely to ask why the BBC executives felt unable to allow Mr Campbell's name to be mentioned on the Today programme, but were sufficiently comfortable to see it used in the MoS. He may also ask whether the article was changed between approval and publication. The BBC said last night that, by the time the MoS went to press, Mr Campbell's named had been connected to the dossier row by several other newspapers. "That relaxed the attitude a little bit," a spokesman said. It is understood that Richard Sambrook, BBC director of news, has always believed the MoS piece was the most difficult part of the Gilligan story to defend. Once the Hutton inquiry is complete, Mr Sambrook will deliver to the corporation's board of governors a review of the rules governing freelance work by BBC staff. This review, however, is not Mr Sambrook's main concern this week, as the corporation prepares to mount its make-or-break case to the Hutton inquiry. A team of QCs, in-house lawyers, BBC executives and communications staff has been assembled to make the best of the corporation's argument. A key plank will be the recording made by the Newsnight science editor Susan Watts of her conversation with Dr Kelly, the existence of which was disclosed by the Guardian, in which he expressed concerns about Downing Street's use of the 45-minute claim. One problem for the BBC, however, is that while Dr Kelly identifies Mr Campbell on the tape, he appears to use his name synonymously with "Downing Street" and "No 10", rather than blaming him individually and directly for exaggerating the case for war. For Dr Kelly, as with so many observers of the political scene, the words "Alastair Campbell", had become inextricably associated with the government's communications machine. In addition, the BBC will rely on the notes of Gilligan, defence and diplomatic correspondent of the Today programme; and Gavin Hewitt, a Ten O'Clock News reporter, who also spoke to Dr Kelly. The Guardian understands that Dr Kelly spoke to a fourth BBC reporter, Jane Corbin of the Panorama programme. As it prepares for the Hutton inquiry, the BBC has also been fighting on another front: every 10 years, the government carries out a review of its royal charter, which sets the corporation's method of funding and outlines its role and remit. As the broadcast media has expanded in recent decades, the licence fee has become tougher to justify, but never before has the charter renewal process been coloured by such political animosity. The BBC has become increasingly concerned about the mutterings over charter renewal: Gerald Kaufman, chairman of the Commons media select committee, has used the Iraq dossier story to justify a call to clip the BBC's wings by bringing it fully under the remit of the new communications regulator Ofcom. (At the moment, Ofcom will rule on taste and decency issues while the governors will maintain their remit over the BBC's impartiality and accuracy.) Threatened Peter Mandelson, the twice-resigned former cabinet minister, is reported to have threatened the BBC privately over its future. Yesterday Peter Hain, leader of the Commons, claimed the BBC had acted like a tabloid newspaper by exaggerating the claims made by Dr Kelly. Even Conrad Black, owner of the Telegraph newspapers, waded in to say the BBC was the "greatest menace facing the country it was founded to serve and inform" and accused it of trying to "destroy and supplant the government". But it was an interview by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, that appears to have goaded the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, into action. On Friday, Ms Jowell promised, in a discussion about the licence fee and the BBC's governance on Radio 4's World at One, to "take very seriously" any recommendations on the BBC made by the Hutton inquiry Mr Davies felt it was time to draw a line in the sand with an article in the Sunday Telegraph in which he warned that 80 years of the BBC's independence was under threat. Ms Jowell, who accused Mr Davies of inflaming the row, went back on Radio 4 yesterday to clarify the government's position, putting it "on the record" on The World this Weekend that the dossier row would not influence the charter renewal process. The BBC welcomed her comments, but some continue to harbour doubts. One source, quoted at the weekend, succinctly echoed the concerns of many senior journalists at the corporation: "There's a sense they are going to the wall at the wrong time over the wrong story and the wrong correspondent." Until the row is resolved, few think it likely that the questions over the BBC's future will disappear. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** U K. THROUGH THE ROUND WINDOW The BBC has always called itself a temple of the arts. Now it's getting the buildings to match. By Jonathan Glancey Jonathan Glancey, Monday July 28, 2003, The Guardian Scaffolding and extensive building works mean that the art deco lobby of BBC Broadcasting House in London's Portland Place has been out of bounds for some months. It will be, in all probability, for another five years. Directly opposite the entrance, the great, stentorian Latin inscription booms out: "This temple of the arts and muses is dedicated to Almighty God by the first Governors of Broadcasting in the year 1931, Sir John Reith being director general. It is their prayer that good seed sown may bring forth a good harvest, that all things hostile to peace or purity may be banished from this house, and that the people, inclining their ear to whatsoever things are beautiful and honest and of good report, may tread the path of wisdom and uprightness." The sense of occasion this great ocean-liner of a building has always instilled is part and parcel of the BBC's resilient belief, even when under attack from left, right, spinning and reeling governments, that its mission is beyond that of pure information and entertainment. It must also educate and inspire. But, how could it hope to inspire those visiting and working in its more recent buildings? The worst of these is the infamous "tin box" at White City, a cut-price design raced up in 1990 when Stuart Young, a former head of Tesco, was BBC chairman. A rotten place to work, and an eyesore, without even a vulgar Latin inscription to adorn it, the tin box represented the BBC's sad, if temporary, slide into managerialism, bureaucracy and a wilful, lowbrow contempt by well-educated, middle-class managers for the arts and muses. "I'm on record, I'm pleased to say," says Alan Yentob, the BBC's director of drama, entertainment and children's television, "for having a rant at the time. How could we build this appalling carbuncle when we had the chance to build a truly inspirational new design by Norman Foster on Portland Place? I remember being humoured by top executives. All very charming and artistic, but which of us really cares about architecture?" Now, though, the BBC is making an extraordinary architectural comeback. Putative ideas spawned in the 1990s under former director general John Birt and Tony Hall, his head of news, have been fully hatched by a creative team led by John Smith, the BBC's director of finance, property and business affairs. Broadcasting House itself is being reconstructed and added to by architects MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, whose magnificent vaulted newsroom will be the largest of its kind in the world when completed in 2008. Broadcasting House will then be open to the public, as far as security allows, so everyone can witness what have been its secret ministries. Laced through the building will be a programme of artworks, including Rachel Whiteread's nearly complete Room 101, a cast of the room that is said to have inspired Orwell's room-of-terror in 1984. The greatly extended Broadcasting House will wrap around a new public square. It will be both finely crafted and heroically, elegantly modern, as the building was when it opened to great acclaim. Broadcasting House is, however, just the mighty tip of an even mightier architectural iceberg. Over at White City in Shepherd's Bush, the tin box is being flanked by a street of handsome new BBC broadcast and office buildings, due for completion this autumn, designed by Allies and Morrison and, when the costs are finally sorted out, a new BBC Music Centre. The idea is for White City to become one ambitious, 17-acre BBC "campus", connecting existing buildings, including the fondly regarded, soon-to-be-rebuilt TV Centre, a design by Graham Dawbarn from 1960 that I have always thought of as a bit of late-flowering Soviet constructivism landed in west London. The new look BBC White City will plug into the new shopping centre being built here along the approach road linking Shepherds Bush roundabout with the elevated A40 (M) to Oxford and Birmingham. And there is more. By 2001, the BBC occupied some 520 buildings in more than 40 cities. Most were prosaic, often ramshackle, and even downright shabby, held together with seemingly little more than Valerie Singleton's famous sticky-back plastic. Those high up in the BBC, like Yentob, had watched in the early 1990s as rival European broadcasters invested in swish and dramatic new buildings, including Richard Roger's Channel 4 headquarters, Norman Foster's ITN building, both in London, and Richard Meier's Canal+ broadcasting station in Paris. Now the BBC is moving into notable new buildings across the whole of Britain, from the big and blowsy Mailbox in Birmingham by Building Design Partnership, to the brave new Forum, by Michael Hopkins and Partners, overlooking the market square in Norwich. On Glasgow's Pacific Quay, alongside the steely and striking new science centre, David Chipperfield's BBC Scotland building is almost complete. A fine and handsome thing, boasting a dramatic tiered atrium, it has a great sense of openness and exudes quality. How did this sea change in the BBC's design values come about? On a practical level, John Smith has done a deal with developers that will see a £2bn investment in BBC properties over the next 30 years, with no cost to licence holders. There is a precedent for the BBC acting as a commercially-minded developer. Before it occupied the whole of Broadcasting House, the idea was to let out space to pay for the running costs of the building. In a delightful Reithian touch, the BBC drew up a list of prohibited lessees: "Slaughtermen, sugar baker, fellmonger, beater of flax, common brewer, quasi-medical or quasi-surgical establishment, brothel or bagnio keeper." The most hotly debated of the new BBC buildings is the Music Centre at White City. Due to open in 2006, this will house the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers in two concert hall studios. As this will be the gateway to the vast White City campus, the BBC is looking for an eyecatching design, "an iconic building", says John Smith, "which makes a statement and creates a buzz both inside and outside the BBC. We're not afraid to champion a controversial design; indeed, we relish the opportunity to rise to this challenge. We already attract the very best broadcasters, writers, actors and technicians. Now we want to add architects to the list." Architects shortlisted for the Music Centre are Foreign Office, Future Systems, MVRDV (from Holland), Ushida Findlay and Zaha Hadid. Any one of these is capable of shaping an "iconic" building. All five have submitted what Smith describes as "thrilling" designs, and all five have been told to have another go because Smith and his team of judges believe they have all gone way over budget. The point about the BBC is that it belongs to all of us. It is, in a cynically privatised world, a public corporation. Nothing, Lord Reith liked to say, "is too good for the public". Whether standards of broadcasting or of architecture, art and design. © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** U S A. The latest 'Economist' magazine offers a review of a history of VOA by Alan L. Heil (Voice of America: A History, Columbia University Press, 2003). Among the examples of the reach of shortwave broadcasts, the book contains this episode: 'A few years after the creation of the Tibetan service, a National Geographic Television crew recorded chants in the kitchen of a Buddhist monastery. Once back in Washington, they discovered that the lyrics were actually: "This is the Voice of America in Tibetan, coming to you from Washington."' The review notes the use of anecdotes to tell the VOA story, but cautions about its readability: 'Readers fascinated by the technical intricacies of radio and the arcana of Washington's broadcasting policies will no doubt be riveted. Others may feel that the book reads a little too much like an internal corporate memo.' The reviewer also notes that VOA is a "well-respected multimedia operation heard in over 50 languages by more than 90 million people - except, ironically, in the United States." (Matt Francis, Washington, DC, July 28, 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Really??? ** U S A. LAWSUIT EMBROILS SPANISH STATIONS --- BITTER LEGAL DISPUTE BETWEEN STATION OWNER AND PROGRAM COMPANY INVOLVES MUSIC, MONEY By Terry Horne July 27, 2003 All-Spanish, all-the-time radio in Indianapolis is just un niño. Already, though, a bitter paternity fight has arisen for control of this broadcast child. Continental Broadcasting, which owns the city's Spanish radio stations, WSYW-AM (810) and WEDJ-FM (107.1), this year kicked Fiesta Mexicana, a radio programming company, off the air and accused Fiesta workers of burglary and theft. Fiesta in turn accused Continental in a civil lawsuit of breaking an agreement giving Fiesta exclusive rights, among the two stations, to play the regional Mexican music favored by much of the Hispanic community. And it claims that someone at Continental falsified a contract to evict Fiesta. The lawsuit, which continues in Marion Superior Court but may be settled soon, is a testament to the thousands of Mexicans and other Hispanics who immigrated to Indianapolis in the past 10 years. The revenue from Spanish radio in Indianapolis is finally worth fighting over. . . http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/061012-3471-009.html (Indianapolis Star July 28 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Boston's 1150 attempts to seal its record for most callsigns on a single Boston station, ever, by changing yet again from WBPS to WYTS. (That's ten, by the way: WCOP, WACQ, WHUE, WSNY (followed by a return to WHUE), WMEX, WROR, WNFT, WAMG, WBPS and now WYTS, making 1150 sort of the Ted Williams of Boston call changes. 1510 is in second place with eight, and Bob Bittner would have to get very busy with 740, now mired in third place with six calls, to compete for this particular dubious honor.) And a story that's been simmering all summer: Lowell's WJUL (91.5) will apparently have some different programming this fall, as the Lowell Sun takes over 25 hours a week of the UMass/Lowell station's programming. According to a letter that's been sent out by the station's current student board to station alumni, the Sun will program a local news-talk format on the station at 5-10 AM weekdays, operating from a new studio inside Lowell's Tsongas Arena. The deal raises all sorts of questions, first and foremost about how the Sun would make money on a deal with what is, after all, a noncommercial station - but also about what the long-term effects of such a deal would be on student control of WJUL, not to mention the added competition the deal would create for commercial WCAP (980 Lowell). We'll have much more on this story in the months to come, no doubt --- and we hear this isn't the only format change on the way in the Merrimack Valley, either. Stay tuned! (Scott Fybush, Northeast Radio Watch July 28 via DXLD) ** U S A. RE: [WTFDA] CBS network feed question. When I interviewed for a job at KPNX-12 (Phoenix NBC) in 1990 I was shown a rack with a computer and a bunch of tape machines. It was their network delay system. Just last week I spoke with our corporate director of engineering who told me the custom software we were installing for automated recording of our WSMV-4 newscasts was in use at KPHO-5 to handle the delay of CBS. I've heard similar tales from engineers at at least two other Mountain Time Zone stations. || gh: Standard rant about how the networks ignore the MT zone in program time promos, and, increasingly the CT zone!! And even the PT zone, by a lot of stuff originating on the east coast, The Only Zone That Matters. And Pacific time (it does have a name) being called `West Coast Time`.|| (sarcasm mode on:) They probably figure the average American doesn't know the difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific... (sarcasm mode off) (curiosity mode on:) Why is it Eastern Daylight Time but Pacific Daylight Time? Why not Western Daylight Time? Why did we cede "Atlantic Daylight Time" to the Canadians? (curiosity mode off) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, I hate to betray a fellow CST/CDT person, but I often wonder why the Central Time zone isn't absorbed into Eastern time? I live near Thunder Bay ON and Bruce Crossing MI, both near the western edge of Eastern Time, and wonder why it doesn't encroach farther west? The only people who might really be bothered live in or near Bismarck ND, where in summer the sunset is around 10 p.m. CDT. Of course, I am with you on "daylight shifting time." Why have it at all? My mother remembered when Hancock-Houghton MI were on Central Time, and when I lived in NE I heard stories how the Central time zone boundary has been moving farther west (Bruce Elving, Esko MN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There has been a proposal to merge the four US timezones into two, but that would be disastrous, in effect forcing more year-round DST on large areas. Here in Enid, we are already on double-daylight shifting; should be in UT -7 MST zone, as we are west of the 97.5 meridian where the CST/MST boundary ought to run (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PUBLIC [sic] TV RUNNING OUT OF TIME By CHRISTINA L. ESPARZA/Staff Writer Tuesday, July 22, 2003 http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1058880330,70552, HESPERIA --- Shag carpeting, platform shoes and TV translators are all relics of the 1970s. But while butterfly collars and polyester suits are nothing but a painful memory, the aging translator that's used to provide free network signals to the residents of the Victor Valley is still a part of our everyday lives. The Victor Valley Public Translator, which is in the care of Hesperia Parks and Recreation District, was installed between 1978 and 1982 and had a life expectancy of 10 to 12 years, said Don Webb, supervisor for the parks district. With a very tight budget and replacement parts increasingly hard to find, the translator is still up a quarter of a century later --- but barely running, Webb said. "Channel 27 (KCAL 9) has been down since February," Webb said. "That's a parts problem and we can't find them. ... They don't make them anymore." Over the weekend, channels 25 and 51 (KNBC 4 and KCOP 13) went out, Webb said. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission is requiring all public television translators to convert to digital in 2006. The price of conversion could cost anywhere between $200,000 and $320,000, officials said. "There are multiple things going wrong with it," said Larry Sihock, general manager of HDTV 55, who also repairs the translator when it goes out. "The biggest thing is that it was built in the '70s." Sihock said he normally goes up to the translator every week, but lately has been there every day to fix small problems because of lightning storms. Fund-raising efforts have not yielded much, as most people expect their free network television to be just that --- free, Webb said. Last year, a collection drive by the parks district raised about $400, after spending money on radio and newspaper advertisements. It's a Catch-22, Webb said: People don't want to donate until their service is better, and it can't get better without donations. Sihock added that he and the parks district are looking into federal grants to pay for the conversion, but hasn't heard any word on it yet. "We can't spend money," Webb said. "It's not there." WANT TO HELP? To make a donation to the Victor Valley Public Translator Service, send a check to VVPTS, P.O. Box 401055, Hesperia, CA 92340 (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Este próximo 29 de julio, Radio Nacional de Venezuela cumple 67 años de fundada. 73's y muy buen DX... Saludos (desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Adán González, July 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Unusual Logging on 1340 AM. Last night heard two clear IDs at both 2100 CST and 2200 CST [sics] for a station with a TOH ID of what sounds like, "K1E4RTM Beaumont 1340 10 O'Clock". Male announcer followed by USA Radio Network News. I can't find any GY stations in Beaumont Texas...any idea what I could be hearing? 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, Navy MARS NNNØHSI, "Proudly Serving Those Who Serve", Helena, AL 35080 --- Try the 1750 Meter Band: http://www.highnoonfilm.com/xmgr July 27, NRC-AM via DXLD) Les, it's a pretty safe bet (at least on this end) that what you heard was KOLE in Port Arthur, Texas. The "4RT" was probably "Port Arthur" (located next to Beaumont). KOLE gets out pretty well, and has been heard by me from a couple different QTHs in Iowa over the past decade (Rick Dau, Omaha, Neb., ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 3920 \\ 3940 at 1048-1053, OM in Asian? language on 20 July. Best opening to Asia and Pacific this week, some audio on 2960.25v, possibly Indonesia. This was through severe local AROs. Looking for Korea. No joy since 20 July during 1000-1100 (Bob Wilkner NRD535D Pompano Beach, Florida, US, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re 5134.0 USB: Hi, it is Mayak (RUS) in Russian relayed via Belarus. Parallel to 4982.0 kHz, both in USB. If you try the frequencies early in the morning, you will find very good signals. They start at 0300 UT. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Just now (27-7-03, 1630z) the Belarus` military relay of a BLR (or Russian Mayak) broadcasting station is active again on 5134 kHz (USB and LSB). When they operate same pattern as last time they should be QRV till 1800 UT. Maybe anybody with Russian language knowledge will be able to identify the station which is relayed. For my "idea" it sounds not like the Russian Mayak but a more to a "youth public" directed? Any sense to send reception reports to the station relayed? Do they know that the BLR military (?) is relaying them ? What about the (c) ? hi 73, (Tom - DL8AAM, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 5240.26, unID LA SS, unknown QTH. July 2003 - 1120 UT. Weak signal and impossible to locate (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 27, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6200.3, 24.7 0055. Here I found a signal, extremely weak sounding like a Spanish Latinamerican. Reports from the "streets". I have absolutely no idea what this can be (probably a mirror?) but perhaps something to check. In 9 times of 10 there is a Chinese on the frequency, but this one can be attenuated by the K9AY-loop. 0-2 RÅ (Roland Äkesson, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIEDS. En 4426.59 kHz, 0048 UT, 12/07, sermón religioso. En 4460.81 kHz, 0044 UT, 12/07, SINPO 2/1. En 4650.35 kHz, a las 2226 UT, con SINPO 2/2, anuncios de servicio público y menciones constantes de "Acapulco". Demasiada estática. No pude identificarla. (27/07). En 4716.77 kHz, 12/07, 2327 UT. Baladas en español, locutora de guardia. SINPO 3/2. En 5470.75 kHz, a las 2348 UT, música rumbera. Señal muy débil: 2/1. (27/07). En 4815 kHz, a la 0110 UT, locutora de guardia presentaba música romántica en español: Marco Antonio Solís "Vivir sin tí" y Enrique Iglesias. Saludos al aire. Identificaba el programa como "Variedades musicales". En ningún momento la locutora dijo el nombre de la estación, en más de 15 minutos. Promociones con demasiados efectos de "eco", que dificultan la escucha de un nombre concreto. Sugerencia: como locutor profesional, creo que los colegas deberían poner más ciudado en decir el nombre de la estación y dónde se halla, al menos cada dos canciones. Sería lo ideal. (27/07). SINPO 32432. En 5460.33 kHz, el 28/07, a la 0148 UT, música andina. Sin identificar. En 5637.21 kHz, a las 0154 UT, música andina instrumental, con SINPO 2/1, con clara inteferencia de radioaficionados. (28/07). En 5677.98 kHz, muy buena señal con música y locutor de guardia. Hablaba demasiado rápido y atropellado. No se le entendía nada. 0158 UT, SINPO 4/3. Despedida a las 0218 UT. Sin identificar (desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Adán González, July 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ HAM PREFIXES A complete list of Prefixes assigned by International Telecommunications Union can be found on the Trans Provincial Website: http://www.tpn7055.ca/callsign.html (Trans Provincial Net newsletter July 27 via Jim Taylor, VA3KU, July 26, ODXA via DXLD) MASSIVE FREQUENCY LIST A very large text file titled "Shortwave Frequency List A-03" has appeared on a Website, from the Nagoya DXers Circle. The list is in descending order of frequency, showing national, international, and non-official broadcasters. The data gives frequencies, times, days, languages, sites, powers, azimuths, ITU coordinates, geographical zones and organisations. The list appears to be a combination of current registered frequencies for A-03 (many of which are not active), plus many redundant assignments for past seasons. The list is available at http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/~ndxc/ (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 27, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) WTS (Where's That Station?) MW DX Utility for Windows® The [FREE] WTS (Where's That Station?) MW DX Utility for Windows® has been released and is now available for download. Visit: http://www.dobe.com/wts/ The four databases used by WTS: North American Medium Wave (AM/BCB) Stations U.S. Zipcodes Station Keywords and Slogans U.S. and Canadian Telephone Area Codes are also available as individual downloads. Come on over and take a peek. Best Regards, (Eric Force eric@dobe.com http://www.dobe.com/wts/ rec.radio.shortwave via SW Bulletin July 27 via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ EDXP CONFERENCE EDXP is an affiliate organisation with the EDXC, but I will not be able to attend this year's Conference to fly the Australian flag! My New Zealand trip will not allow me time to get back to Melbourne and then fly away again in a couple of days to Europe --- it is also very expensive at this time of year, being the peak season (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 27, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) Padula was still being mentioned as attending on this week`s EDXC report via DX Partyline. I too was invited, and regret that I will be unable to attend. Fortunately, I never said that I would (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-133, July 26, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1192: WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI: Sun 0412? See USA/WRMI; 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 and/or 15039 WRMI: Sun 1800+ 15725 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1192.html ** ALASKA. TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION FOR NICK BEGICH Mayor`s brother writes on edge of technology By NEIL ZAWICKI Alaska Star . . .In the early 1990s, he was working as a manager with the Anchorage School District when he read an article on the Alaska-based HAARP project, or High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project. ``I just couldn`t believe what I was reading,`` Begich said. He then embarked on a journey of research, which culminated in his first book, ``Angels don`t play this HAARP,`` co-authored by freelance journalist Jeane Manning, and published by Earthpulse Press - a Begich-owned company --- in 1995. The book presents the project - billed by the U.S. Government as a tool to study the ionosphere - as a secret weapon. ``This is a significant amount of power,`` reads the book in chapter 16. ``When beamed into a dynamic portion of the planet`s upper atmosphere in order to create artificially controlled high energy interactions.`` The book spawned speaking engagements in Europe, and in 1998, Begich was invited to Brussles {sics}, Belgium to debate NATO on the subject. ``What happened was Tom Spencer contacted the American Mission in Brussles, and contacted the Secretary General of NATO,`` he said. ``Both of whom denied any detailed knowledge of HAARP, any detailed knowledge of ionospheric modification for weapons application which is the essence of what HAARP is.`` Russian president Vladmir Putin this year announced opposition to the project on similar grounds. . . http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/072403/new_20030724001.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** ANDORRA. RÀDIO I TELEVISIÓ D'ANDORRA, SA en http://www.rtvasa.ad/ (via Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. More on alleged political bias at the ABC..... Glenn, The latest round of discussion in the press on alleged bias at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation against our conservative government is nothing new. Traditionally, the conservative political parties here have been suspicious of our public broadcaster`s motives and tend to regard the ABC as the last journalistic haven of cardigan- wearing old lefties. The current Communications Minister and his colleagues would like nothing better than to see the ABC ``dumbed down`` to the level of the commercial media in this country; the so- called ``reality TV``, lifestyle shows, highly commercialised sport and mindless sitcoms disseminated by the privately owned stations are seen as much safer for an incumbent government than any hint of the incisive and questioning investigative journalism that has traditionally been the cornerstone of ABC programming. The tactics have always been the same; stack the ABC board with sympathetic conservatives that are bound to put pressure on the programmers, squeeze the funding, and ensure that the commercial media moguls are holding all the aces when it comes to exploring new broadcasting opportunities, such as digital transmission. Unfortunately, the lowest common denominator is extremely low indeed, and the triumph of dross over quality is almost complete. Accordingly, the Philistines will probably win the battle as a result of general apathy towards the ABC`s fate amongst the public at large (Craig Seager, Bathurst, Australia, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Radio Austria Internacional emite segmentos de 15 minutos en español. Escuchada el 22/07, a la 0100 UT y luego a la 0130. Excelente señal en 9870 kHz. Emitía un documental con la voz de Jaime Carbonell (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Radio San Miguel, escuchada el 22/07, a las 2302 UT, en los 4930 kHz. Transmitía el espacio ``Mensajeros de paz``. SINPO 3/3 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {Oops: originally misplaced under PERU; see 3-132} ** CHILE. CHILE/NUEVO PROGRAMA DX Según me informa por carta nuestro socio chileno CE-5524V Saul Vergara, recientemente empezó un nuevo programa DX en Radio Primera FM a través de las dos frecuencias de la emisora y por internet en RealAudio. El programa DX se emite a las 17:00 horas locales, 2100 UT, el tercer lunes de cada mes [18 agosto] y la dirección de la web es http://www.radioprimera.cl Tanto el director de la emisora, Hernán Carrasco, como el propio Saul, estarían muy agradecidos a aquellos amigos que les puedan mandar grabaciones de emisoras a la siguiente dirección: Radio Primera FM. Programa DX, calle San José nº 1053, Comuna Independicia, [sic] Santiago, Chile. (Pedro Sedano, España, lista ConDig, Jul 19 via Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. All ears were on RFPI, following this week`s news --- at least two of mine were, UT Sat July 26, when at 0240-0330 James Latham and Naomi pre-empted other programming to talk about the situation. Started by reading the press release previously published, so I will concentrate on what additional information emerged. Besides annan@un.org other ways to protest were given: orsg@un.org for the same gentleman, and the UN Public Inquiries Office, 212-963- 4475. Kofi Annan is being asked for binding arbitration on this matter, or conflict resolution. [you might think that should be sg@un.org but I listened again to her spell it out: orsg@un.org --- the same recording was being re-aired UT Sunday at 0200] {without embargo, orsg@un.org is a mistake} RFPI believes strongly in the UN, and has always supported it. The UN was offered its own broadcast channel via RFPI, and had started to seek funding for the project. James said many of the staff are camping at the station to protect it from takeover or any possible damage. Some listeners have brought in food to keep them going. RFPI needs your support now, more than ever, in the past 16 years. Naomi said ``we`re under attack``. Relocation cost would be huge; RFPI has the right to remain where it is, and should not conflict with UFP`s stated mission. James then went into a lengthy chronology of RFPI`s accomplishments, year by year, starting with its first 40-watt broadcast on September 16, 1987, carrying three programs, one of which was WORLD OF RADIO. This took about half an hour, with Naomi spelling him. A quick check at 1230 UT found the chronology being repeated, some 10 hours later instead of the usual 12+ (perhaps because it had also aired around 0030). No doubt there will be further disruptions in RFPI`s nominal schedule, and I`m not sure if this week`s WOR can be aired. Just hope they can remain on the air on 7445 and 15039. See note under USA --- WRMI/IBC Radio (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On Saturday, July 26, 2003, Radio for Peace International in El Rodeo Costa Rica will hold a press conference at 9:30 am outside the locked gates of Radio For Peace International. General Manager James Latham and ex- president Rodrigo Carazo will give speeches about the importance of Freedom of the Press in regards to the recent eviction notice issued to RFPI by the University for Peace. Radio For Peace International staff will answer questions from the press following the speeches (updated press release via Thomas Voelkner via Mike Terry, DXLD) This is Thomas Voelkner, I have been a rather `passive` BDXC member for the past two years or so. I would like to share some insights with you about the current situation at RFPI. From November 1999 until April 2000 I was working at RFPI as a volunteer. I can say I learned a lot about radio production and running a speech-based radio service --- with limited resources. Together with other volunteers and regular RFPI staff I was editing a weekday newscast called Progressive News Network; maybe some of you still remember the show. I was also responsible for a weekly programme in my mother tongue (German). Since coming back to Europe and subsequently moving to London, I have been keeping in touch with my friends in Costa Rica, and earlier this year I had the chance to visit the current crew and spend a few days with them. There is an awful lot of confusion on the legal side surrounding the current situation. Why has the eviction notice been issued? What`s the relationship like between the radio station and the university? Who`s host, who`s guest, and what does RFPI own? Almost 25 years ago, Costa Rica suggested to the United Nations to establish an international academic institution to research conflict resolution and promote peace studies. For the past 50 years or so, Costa Rica has considered itself to be a `peaceful` state, having abandoned its army in the late 1940s. The UN general assembly agreed on establishing a University for Peace (UPaz --- because of its Spanish name). One of the founding members was then Costa Rican president Rodrigo Carazo. In the mid-1980s Carazo invited a group of radio producers who previously had been doing non- commercial local radio, to come to the campus of the UPaz to start an international radio voice as a kind-of sister-organisation for the university. So, RFPI is in Costa Rica on invitation by a UN academic institution. There is nothing like a `classical` contract between landlord and tenant. In the early years the radio station had rooms within the UPaz buildings, but for many years all RFPI buildings (the ones you might know from the website or other publications) are fully-owned and fully-paid RFPI property. This includes the radio building, the transmitter building and the antenna towers. All transmitters are RFPI-owned. Still, press reports say that RFPI owes money to UPaz. This refers to the installation of a high-speed internet connection some two-and-a-half years ago. While RFPI was willing to pay the money or offer the university airtime or similar services, it looks as if the university never followed this up. RFPI says that the working relationship with subsequent UPaz administrations had been very positive, and indeed when you visit their radio building you can see a whole archive of programmes done jointly with the university or on their behalf. During my time at RFPI the latest administration came into power. It is headed by the Canadian Maurice Strong, and it soon turned out he was not very fond of continuing the working relationship with RFPI. -- With the UPaz wanting to see RFPI leaving the campus, it is also interfering in another established working relationship between the radio station and the UN: As you will know RFPI has been broadcasting United Nations Radio programmes for a long time on a regular basis. Back in 2000, I recorded incoming UN Radio newscasts as part of my duties as a volunteer and prepared them for transmission. When UN Radio had to stop using high-power VOA transmitters in the 1980s, it was mainly thanks to RFPI that the United Nations could still be heard on shortwave for quite a while. So, I see a strange situation here with the interests of two UN entities clashing, both having a different stand on RFPI. Now, RFPI is asking supporters and DXers to help them to escape eviction. From what I wrote you will have realised that I have more than just fond memories of my stay in Costa Rica. I think the station adds a real value to the range of broadcasts usually heard on the international radio bands, and it would be a big loss for a lot of listeners. For the time being there are at least two staff members in the radio building, and they have continued broadcasting over the past days. So you can listen to RFPI, and you can get in touch with them via info@rfpi.org or via phone +506 249 1821. You should really consider giving them your support, either by writing to the UN Secretary General at sg@un.org [sic] or by other means. If you like to I will be happy to discuss the issue further or to answer your questions on this list. 73s from London (Thomas Voelkner, July 26, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde VENEZUELA. La Voz de Croacia ahora transmite media hora de programas en español. La escuché este 22/07, a las 0230 UT, en 9925 kHz (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. MIAMI CUBANS RECALL 1953 ATTACK, LAMENT CONSEQUENCES This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGAE0UYAKID.html (via David E. Crawford, Titusville, Florida, DXLD) Nothing really about radio here, tho one of the subjects is Húber Matos, once of La Voz del CID (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Al menos por un día -24/07- Radio Habana Cuba cambió su habitual frecuencia de 15230 kHz, por la de 15120, en su servicio nocturno hacia las Américas. Captada con SINPO de 5/5, a las 0316 UT, con el programa ``Voces de la Revolución``. Desde hace algún tiempo, una emisora en 15230 causa bastante interferencia a RHC, a partir de las 0230 ó 0300 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RHC is not currently broadcasting on SSB. Old transmitters are being retired, and new ones are on the way. When they go on the air, SSB on one or two frequencies to NAm will resume (Arnie Coro, DXers Unlimited July 26, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 8070, Spy numbers 2nd harmonic (2 x 4035), 1019 July 26, Fairly strong 2nd harmonic. Lots of hum and over-driven audio on both fundamental and harmonic. Typical Spanish speaking lady. Fundamental quite strong. I also noted a Spy letters station sending in Morse Code on 3243 with identical background audio as 4035. Using a 2nd receiver I was able to confirm the match. The Morse code message was just random 5 letter groupings. At 1038 the message concluded with AR (end of message) SK (silent key) repeated 3 times. Most likely this was from Cuba (David Hodgson Nashville, TN, USA, Icom R75, 40m fullwave doublet, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. HIJQ, Super Q, la estación de los 4959.86 kHz, transmite casi todos los días desde aproximadamente la 0130 UT, hasta las 0400 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EASTER ISLAND [non]. Parked a receiver on 11430-USB 0400-0500 UT July 26, and no trace of R. Mahute via R. Cochiguaz here --- but then it was supposedly aimed some 90 degrees away toward the Pacific (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11430U, Radio Cochiguaz, 0352-0400, July 26. USB mode. Very nice Andean music. At 0356 ``El condor pasa`` (instrumental version) and identifications in English: ``You`re listening to Radio Cochiguaz, a free station broadcasting from the Andes, in South America``; Spanish: ``Ésta es Radio Cochiguaz`` and Quechua (¡!): ``Radio Cochiguaz... tokoi manta... pankunata Radio Cochiguaz``, 44444. 11430U, Radio Mahute, via Radio Cochiguaz, 0400-0421, July 26. USB mode. Instrumental song with percussion instrument. Transmission in Rapa Nui language!!!!!!!!!!!! Identification by male at 0401: ``...Mahute Radio``; music and other identification at 0406 as: ``Radio Mahute``. Songs and ID in English at 0411 as: ``You are listening... Radio Mahute... Polynesia``, a few songs and other ID as ``...Radio Mahute``. Afterwards, more music. 34443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** GERMANY. The most recent frequency list for Deutschlandfunk reveals that Berlin-Britz 6190 is now operated with only 6 kW anymore (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW is distributing two literature free of cost. First one is a 64 page souvenir in English & German ``50 years at the heart of Europe``. It includes messages from German President Mr. Johanes Rau, DW head Mr. Eric Betterman, Mr. Frank Beckbauer & many more. It also tells the history of DW during last 50 years. Second one is a folder giving a short description of DRM, what is DRM, how it works & DW`s participation in DRM. And DW will discontinue its German program at 1000-1355 UT on 21790 kHz w.e.f. August 1st 2003. 73s (Swopan Chakroborty Kolkata, India, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3291.07, Voice of Guyana, 0927-0936 July 26. Initially noted Hindi type music until 0931 when man talks. This followed by the news. At 0935 noted ID as, ``Good morning this is the Voice of Guyana...`` Back to Hindi music at 0936. Signal was fair (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA {+non]. The increasing use of more frequencies on various amateur bands by the Indonesians and other South East Asian nonamateurs for their personal or business traffic, is a VERY SERIOUS TOPIC to be dealt at the higher levels. The Indonesians are using the lower 40 kHz of 40 meters, and frequencies around 14100 kHz of the 20 mb --- most of the time. They have not spared EVEN THE 10.0 to 10.1 MHz segment which carries air-traffic-control communications. Thus, the seriousness of the situation, which may endanger the lives and safety of air travellers and aircraft in Region 3, has to be considered on TOP PRIORITY. All the other information from the other Regions can be looked up in their web sites please. http://iarums.com/ http://www.echelon.ca/iarumsr2/contact.html INTRUDER WATCH - ENFORCEMENT ZONE - CHRIS VK2UW VK Federal Coordinator. VK8HA Henry Andersson vk8ha@octa4.net.au P.O. Box 619, HUMPTY DOO N.T. 0836 (Wireless Institute of Australia Queensland Q-News script for July 27, 2003 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Feed Hunters is an internet based group of like minded satellite TV enthusiasts. Real-time feed info is available to members. To subscribe send a blank E-mail to feedhunters-subscribe@egroups.com (July 2003 SW Magazine via DXLD) Sic. That`s actually a yahoogroup now, with somewhere around 3000 members; there are 3 other sub-groups (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. MV COMMUNICATOR Update from the official site 26 July 2003 http://www.mvcommunicator.com/8326.html We are now preparing for the ship to be placed in dry dock at IJmuiden before she returns to the UK. On the night she arrived, 25 June 2003, a sabotage attack happened once again, and with much respect to the Harbour Master Pete Decker and Mr Jim Iskes, the ship was saved. Over this next week power will be restored on board and after a short stay in dry dock we are hoping to be on our way in the next 2 weeks. The emails of support have been greatly appreciated and we will keep you updated as much as we can (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. Hi all DX-ers, I got an e-mail from the new program via IRRS on 5780 kHz, Radio Abeokuta. The v/s, Mr. A.O. Akande, gave me permission to tell you all, that he can be reached via the following postal address: Mr. A. O. Akande, 12917 Latchwood Lane, Austin, Texas 78753, USA. He doesn`t want the station to be considered as a ``clandestine``, but as an ``African`` station, promoting the culture, language and the music of Abeokuta (a town in West Africa). 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland in Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Dear Henrik, Tonight I have a long listening of Radio Sabor 1610 from 2325 until 0330 UT and I can tell you that this station Radio Sabor transmits from Paucarpata, an Andean region in Arequipa. I could listen to vernacular music ``Huaynos`` and an ID with a music jingle : ``...desde la ciudad de los Andes ...Radio Sabor...`` At 0030 the disc jockey was talking about a special celebration: ``Radio Alegría is celebrating 30 years of broadcast and the party will be on August 3rd....`` I couldn`t find out what is the relationsship between those stations; perhaps one is a branch of the other. In Paucarpata there are several AM stations I could identify: 01.- R. presume ``Alegria`` on 870 MW with 1 Watt --- call sign: OCX6F 02.- Radio ``Azul`` on 840 MW with 1 watt --- call sign : OBX6Y 03.- Radio ``Endesa`` on 1000 MW with 1 Watt --- call sign : OBX6R (César Pérez Dioses, Chimbote, Perú, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 1 kW? ** PERU. Estación peruana en 5121.24 kHz; captada el 22/07, a las 2349 UT. SINPO 24222. Repetía una promoción de una feria municipal que se realizaría el 24/07. Asumo que es peruana porque uno de los patrocinantes de la feria era la famosa cerveza ``Cusqueña``. Desconozco el nombre de la estación (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {see 3-134} May be same one as from Malm in DXLD 3-096, on 5120.44v at 0100. Possible 4th harmonic of 1280, I might add (gh, DXLD) Radio San Miguel, escuchada el 22/07, a las 2302 UT, en los 4930 kHz. Transmitía el espacio ``Mensajeros de paz``. SINPO 3/3 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST){Oops: this is BOLIVIA; see 3-132} ** RUSSIA. See UK below, `jamming` ** SLOVAKIA. Radio Slovakia, the relative newcomer, also uses the tried and true magazine format for its half hour broadcast. The station seems intent on raising Slovakia`s profile internationally by emphasizing local business and scientific achievements, and this may account for the station`s style seeming somewhat drier in comparison to the longer established Czech broadcaster. To my ears, Radio Slovakia`s best feature offering is its Friday quarter-hour segment after the news (heard Saturday UT beginning around 0110, in North America) that is hosted and produced by Pete Miller. It could be titled ``Pete Miller at Large,`` as the brief for the program appears to give its presenter wide latitude in coming up with perennially interesting observations and interviews. Miller, who many (including me) had the distinct pleasure of meeting personally at this year`s SWL Winterfest, has a unique understated style --- correct, but friendly; a bit formal, but reassuring and good humored. In a recent program, he had sought out university students from abroad who were studying in Slovakia to get their impressions of the country. He clearly knows how to bring out the best in his subjects (John Figliozzi, Programming Spotlight, Global Forum, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. (& Pacific). Glenn, here is the site to keep current on Harold Keke's actions, and all of the Pacific area. http://www.pacificislands.cc/pm72003/ (David Norcross, Calif Central Coast, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. KELLY INQUIRY `AFFECTS BBC FUTURE` The inquiry into the death of David Kelly will influence BBC`s future, says Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3095393.stm Have a read, folks --- so yet again the government doesn`t like what it`s getting from radio and decides it`s time for the size nine boots. Hang on; we`re very close to 14 August. I wonder if Tessa Jowell believes in history repeating itself :-) (Eric Wiltsher via Paul David, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re jamming discussion, 3-132: Had the "ditter" here very weakly on 15421 until 0330 BBC sign-on buried it tonight; `twas very weak, but sounded like it was probably REA4, purported to be Russian Air Force, Moskva. If so, it normally IDs and sends a few 5 figure groups on autokeyed morse hourly at minute :40; otherwise it's continuous dits or FSK reversals. They have been known to show up in SWBC bands infrequently, and tend not to use a given frequency more than a few days at a time. The station normally runs several parallel frequencies from one end of HF to the other (David E. Crawford, Titusville, Florida, July 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Checking out 5100, I found it on the air UT Sat July 26 at 0520 with a call-in show apparently originating in Norman OK! Calls were from that city and there were several ads for local businesses, such as Norman Music Center http://www.normanmusic.com as well as a new age/pagan store, and Red Horse Grill. Discussed security at Wal- Marts; name of the program seemed to be ``The Edge``, and network name ``Hall of Fame``? Reception was poor, on Compatible USB, so presumably WBCQ as previously testing here, tho no IDs heard, with only 3 kW. Yes, at 0534 mentioned being on The Planet, 50,000 watts from Connecticut (! --- confused with Kennebunk?) and another 50,000 from WRMI. Gave a website ending in .ws but I couldn`t copy it; however, I seriously doubt Western Samoa has anything to do with this. Checked 7415, 7385 but not parallel. No hint of any such program on WRMI posted schedule. Possibly part of Christian Media Network? No sign of it on their schedule and the new age/pagan angle seems incompatible. However, the annotated WBCQ schedule http://www.zappahead.net/wbcq/main.php?fn=show_program&id=10 --- read their review! --- shows CMN on 5100 at 2300-0600, while CMN`s own site http://www.christianmedianetwork.com/bschedule.htm shows the hours on 5100 as 2100-0400. Some confusion about timezones there? Searching various keywords on Google got nowhere. I assume this is originally on some station in Norman; not \\ 640 WWLS either. So what is this? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Checking out IBC Radio, Sat July 26: first on the webstream, noticed R. Polonia before and after 1700 UT, and at 1720 recheck there was R. Japan news during the half hour scheduled for ``Changesurfer Radio``: ``Changesurfer Radio -- Transmitting a sexy, high-tech vision of a radically democratic future. Topics such as cloning, futurism, space, technology and a multitude of others. The latest edition: ``Interview with Dr. Ben Goertzel, AI guru.`` Dr. Goertzel is chief designer of the Novamente AI system, and director of the AGIRI think tank. (30 min)`` At 1730 promptly went to Dan Roberts` SW Report. Then on the car radio tuned to 15725 and heard absolutely nothing from WRMI, but fortunately it faded up just before 1805 to hear the start of WORLD OF RADIO 1192, with good non-distorted audio, following some music vamping and a minute of IBC self-promotion; after a quick lunch I checked again at 1832, but classical music was playing! So the almost-29-minute WOR must not have aired in its entirety, WRMI losing the internet feed from IBC in the meantime. Recheck of the IBC stream at 1848 confirmed it was not they playing the classical --- after all, IBC is ``all- talk``, but instead news about Switzerland, from SRI? This resumed on 15725 at 1854, interrupted for a full WRMI ID at hourtop 1900. WRMI and its other external programmers do not coördinate ID breaks either, which is most annoying. When the input programming does not break, a simple ``WRMI Miami`` ID would be legally sufficient, while someone takes a breath. By now it`s getting distorted again. The IBC Radio schedule at http://www.ibcradio.com/radioschedule.htm for Saturday shows only ``Shortwave Radio Network`` from 8 am to 1 pm EST (meaning EDT = UT 1200-1700), and 2:30-9 pm (1830-0100 UT): ``Shortwave Radio Network (SRN) -- News, features, business, talk and other radio shows from shortwave broadcasters all over the world, all in English. You won`t find these broadcasts on your local AM or FM Station! Broaden your horizons by listening to media outlets outside of the United States or on the fringes. Some of it is political propaganda and religious programming. If you ever thought about getting into shortwave radio or wondered what you are missing out there in the world of shortwave radio, this broadcast is for you! (length varies)`` I suppose there are no specific details for most of the IBC time on WRMI since the mix of stations relayed is flexible, three of which I found upon the chex above. The Sunday schedule shows SWRN also at 1830-0100, with Old Time Radio up until 1700. BTW, IBC has a photo page, apparently including investors in the company: http://www.ibcnn.com/photogallery/ibcphotogallery/album/ibcphotogallery.html third shot from the left on top row is Daryn Fleming, CEO, who invited WOR onto the service: http://www.ibcnn.com/photogallery/ibcphotogallery/album/daryncorporate1.html In other WORLD OF RADIO airtime news, the disruptions at RFPI caused it to appear at the odd time of 2212 UT Sat on 15039 --- so also at 0412 UT Sun? and with DXPL starting and running late, not until 0033- 0102 UT Sun on WINB 12160 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. JUSTICE DEPT. PROBES CLEAR CHANNEL The Associated Press Friday, July 25, 2003; 6:34 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A47426-2003Jul25?language=printer SAN ANTONIO --- The Justice Department is investigating Clear Channel, the nation`s largest radio owner, amid complaints about consolidation and the use of coercive tactics by the company, officials said Friday. R. Hewitt Pate, assistant attorney general for antitrust, told a House subcommittee that there is an investigation into Clear Channel. Officials would not disclose any details about the nature of the probe. Pate said in a hearing Thursday that the Justice Department had interviewed people that Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., had referred to the agency after they complained of coercive tactics. San Antonio- based Clear Channel, which owns 1,200 radio stations, played down the investigation, saying in a statement that the department ``has evaluated, on a routine basis, nearly every acquisition that Clear Channel has made and approved each one. ``When you run a big company, engaging in complex transactions, inquiries of this sort become fairly routine. We are cooperating fully with all DOJ requests and we are confident the DOJ will find, as it has in the past, that our company is managed with the highest degree of integrity.`` Berman wrote the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission in 2002 complaining that consolidation in the entertainment and media industries was hurting recording artists, copyright holders, advertisers and consumers. He said earlier this year in a Senate hearing that after his letter went out he was inundated with complaints from independent broadcasters, concert promoters, venue owners, radio disc jockeys, musicians, bands` agents and managers, actor`s representatives and recording industry executives. ``Virtually all decried the evils of consolidation in the radio and concert industries,`` he said. He added that most complained about Clear Channel. Among the complaints were allegations that Clear Channel punished artists who didn`t use the company`s concert promotion arm by denying, or threatening to deny, radio airplay for their songs, he said. When Berman complained during the hearing Thursday that he hadn`t heard back from the Justice Department about his complaints, Pate replied that the department had two ongoing investigations into Clear Channel. But he would not elaborate. Shares of Clear Channel fell 25 cents to close at $40.40 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. © 2003 The Associated Press (via Alton Peltier, DXLD) CLEAR CHANNEL FACES US INQUIRY From http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,1005833,00.html Chris Tryhorn, Friday July 25, 2003 Radio giant Clear Channel is being investigated over claims of abusing its market dominance, a US government official has revealed. The justice department official said an "open investigation" was being conducted into the US' largest radio group one sesquiyear after a congressman first called for an inquiry. Hewitt Pate, the department's head of antitrust, told a congressional committee investigators had made "significant efforts to find additional evidence" and had held "a number of interviews". "The Clear Channel matter is one of importance to us," Mr Pate said. "We have an open investigation and we're going to continue to pursue that." Mr Pate was replying to congressman Howard Berman, who had criticised officials for their "unwillingness" to follow up formal complaints he made against the radio group in January 2002. Clear Channel, which owns more than 1,200 stations in the US, has been accused of using its market position to shut out its competitors. Two sets of allegations were being pursued by the justice department, Mr Pate said, including a charge that Clear Channel restricted the airplay time of music artists unwilling to use its concert promotion services. But Mr Pate warned: "Commercial frustration that artists know that they have with Clear Channel from time to time is a different question from whether we can prove the presence of market power and the use of that power in a tying situation under [antitrust law]." The senior vice president for government affairs at Clear Channel, Andrew Levin, said the company was confident it would escape censure. "When you run a big company, engaging in complex transactions, inquiries of this sort become fairly routine," Mr Levin said in a statement. "We are co-operating fully with all DoJ requests and we are confident the DoJ will find, as it has in the past, that our company is managed with the highest degree of integrity," he added. Clear Channel has become the chief target for critics of media laws in the US, and has been accused of stifling voices opposed to the Bush administration. In the UK Clear Channel is now the leading player in the outdoor advertising market, and owns the SFX sports agency that handles the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen and Gary Lineker. Many commentators expect the group to take a keen interest in the UK radio market following relaxation of ownership rules in the Communications Act, looking to snap up companies like Capital Radio. The Capital chief executive, David Mansfield, has said he would reject a merger, arguing there would be a "cultural clash" between his company and the American group (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Folks, I've got a question that the Coloradans should easily answer --- is the CBS network feed in the Mountain time zone the same as the West Coast feed? I'm trying to narrow down that CBS reception I had earlier, which was running the correct programming for their West Coast feed (Curtis Sadowski, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) Hi, Curtis: I work for CBS TV in NYC. Unfortunately, there is no answer to this question. CBS is capable of at least ten networks at any one time. This allows us great freedom to service our advertisers. This is especially true during periods where we run several sports events simultaneously (e.g. March Madness NCAA basketball). Here's the theory: It's winter and I want to market snow tires. I want to run a different ad in San Diego than I want to run in Seattle. Or say a McDonald's promotion is different in some areas than others. The networks are truly fluid. We have been known to run networks to just one (or just a couple) of station(s), like when WCBS-TV and WFSB-TV in Hartford takes the Yankees and then begins the network offerings out of sequence with the rest of the country. The network config. changes a great deal! You can say WCBS-TV is usually East and WBBM is usually Central and KCBS is usually Pacific, but this really isn't accurate because you have to ask "Which Eastern?" Sorry, but it is confusing! (Karl Zuk, N2KZ, near NYC, ibid.) I don't think there *is* a CBS Mountain Time feed. I know of at least one affiliate that has to delay the Central Time feed themselves (the network doesn't do it for them). It was my understanding the other affiliates in the MDT zone do the same thing. I suppose in Arizona they carry the Pacific feed in the summer --- unless the issue of regional commercials/programming Karl mentions gets in the way (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) Actually, it was channel 2; my Es had a low MUF today. Indiana doesn't observe daylight time either; stations there run shows one hour after we get them on the Eastern feed, which does make it easy to tell if you're getting that state. I looked the tape over and while I can categorically state I did get a CBS station with the Western feed, I haven't anything to make a guess on as to which one. My antenna heading at that time was to the Southwest (from Rantoul, IL), and the CBS reception came in about the same time I had that Televisa station with an XEW-TV news promo on it (Sadowski, ibid.) Above covers the exceptions, but as far as prime time is concerned, the rule is that CBS and other major networks in the MT zones run network programming at the same local time as in CT, i.e. one real hour delayed from the original ET/CT feeds, except in summer Arizona where it`s two hours delayed. The PDT stations are 3 hours delayed. Except some Sacramento station was experimenting with running prime time at 7-10 pm local instead of 8-11 pm. Is this still going on anywhere in the PT or ET zones? When I`m visiting Albuquerque, I notice KRQE-13 (CBS) with flexible program start times (like a minute early) indicating they do their own tape-delaying. Makes it easy to cram in more commercials when the rates are higher. Standard rant about how the networks ignore the MT zone in program time promos, and, increasingly the CT zone!! And even the PT zone, by a lot of stuff originating on the east coast, The Only Zone That Matters. And Pacific time (it does have a name) being called `West Coast Time`. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid.) ** U S A. DAVID BRANCACCIO JOINS PBS` NOW WITH BILL MOYERS NEW YORK, July 24, 2003 --- Two of public broadcasting`s most recognized journalists --- Bill Moyers and David Brancaccio --- will soon be a team. Brancaccio is leaving his role as host and senior editor of Minnesota Public Radio`s national daily business program Marketplace and as anchor of public television`s California Connected to join PBS` weekly public affairs series NOW with Bill Moyers, where he will share hosting duties with Moyers, conduct interviews, and report on special assignments in the field as a correspondent. Brancaccio will join the series as co-host in September. ``I am delighted to have David join us,`` Moyers said. ``We set out to find the right combination of vitality, judgment and experience, and we found just what we were looking for in one of public broadcasting`s own. David will bring to NOW the passion for analysis, lucid reporting, and storytelling that helped make Marketplace one of the most popular and dynamic broadcasts in all of public broadcasting-and the best of its kind anywhere.`` ``PBS is pleased that NOW has found a journalist of David`s stature to join Bill Moyers,`` said Jacoba Atlas, PBS`s co-chief of programming. ``His excellence as a writer and journalist is evident from his work on both Marketplace and California Connected. His insights and perspective always bring depth to the stories and issues he covers.`` Brancaccio is an award-winning broadcaster with 27 years experience. During his 13 year tenure at Marketplace, the series tripled its audience and received a duPont-Columbia Award (1998) and the George Foster Peabody Award (2001). In addition to hosting California Connected, an innovative news program seen on public television throughout that state, Brancaccio has contributed to CNN, CNBC, and PBS` Wall Street Week with Fortune. His print work has appeared in such periodicals as the Wall Street Journal and Psychology Today. He is also the author of the book Squandering Aimlessly, an account of his pilgrimage to talk with Americans about wealth and values. Before becoming host of Marketplace, Brancaccio worked from London as the program`s European editor and covered diplomatic stories for the radio service of the Christian Science Monitor. Brancaccio will be based in New York and will report regularly from the field. NOW with Bill Moyers is a production of Public Affairs Television, Inc. for PBS. NOW is a national presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York. The senior executive producer is John Lewis Siceloff. The executive producer is Felice Firestone. NOW with Bill Moyers, which was called ``public television at its best`` by the Philadelphia Inquirer, airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). (via TV Barn via Current via DXLD) MARKETPLACE, PUBLIC RADIO`S POPULAR BUSINESS PROGRAM, CHANGES HOST David Brancaccio Moving to Television, David Brown Promoted to Host LOS ANGELES and ST. PAUL, Minn., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- David Brancaccio, host of Minnesota Public Radio`s popular business program Marketplace for the past decade, will leave the program in August to become co-host of public television`s weekly public affairs series NOW with Bill Moyers. Minnesota Public Radio announced that David Brown, veteran broadcaster and current Marketplace senior producer, will take over as host on September 1. ``I am sorry to see David Brancaccio leave Marketplace, but happy to see his talent recognized by so prominent a journalist as Bill Moyers and happy to see him remain part of the public broadcasting family,`` said Jim Russell, senior vice president of Minnesota Public Radio and general manager of Marketplace Productions. He added that Brancaccio plans to continue contributing to Marketplace, which is distributed by Public Radio International (PRI) each weekday to 340 stations across the country. ``At the same time, we are excited that David Brown, one of public radio`s most highly respected and broadly experienced hosts and producers, will bring his tremendous energy to the program,`` Russell added. Brown joined Marketplace as senior producer in the fall of 2000. He previously worked for Monitor Radio, where his positions included anchor of the daily international news program Monitor Radio, Washington bureau chief, European correspondent based in London, national correspondent based in Boston and program producer. Before that, Brown was executive producer of CalNet, the California Public Radio News Network, and worked in commercial radio news in his hometown of Atlanta. He holds a law degree from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, a master`s degree in classics/Great Books from St. John`s College, Annapolis, and a bachelor`s degree in journalism from Georgia State University, Atlanta. Brown is a member of the California Bar. Asked whether the program will change with a new host, Executive Producer J.J. Yore said, ``Every host brings his own personality to the anchoring position, but Marketplace has been on the air for nearly 15 very successful years. We know that David Brown will merge his abilities and the program`s track record to continue its success.`` ``I`m absolutely thrilled, and a little overwhelmed, by the thought of taking the reins at Marketplace,`` Brown said. ``In my three years working as senior producer here, I`ve thought many times about how blessed we`ve been to have David Brancaccio as our anchor. But I`ve also discovered that the real key to the Marketplace`s remarkable success is the people behind the scenes: the spirit of creativity and the `spark` they provide is quite rare in this business. The opportunity to host Marketplace in collaboration with such a smart bunch of radio pros was an offer too good to resist.`` David Brancaccio joined Marketplace in 1990 as a freelance reporter based in San Francisco, opened its London bureau and became the Los Angeles-based host in 1993. Brancaccio`s on-air style came to epitomize Marketplace`s informal and irreverent approach to the ``serious`` subject of business and finance. For example, when journalism faced the daunting task of explaining the merger of AOL and Time Warner in 2000, David hosted a fanciful 60- second quiz segment, ``Who Owns What?`` that humorously conveyed the new company`s enormous reach. On a more serious note, Brancaccio`s ``Lives Beyond Measure: Assessing Value`` special looked at the value of human life one year after the September 11 terrorist attacks. During Brancaccio`s time as Marketplace host, the program`s audience has tripled. (The combined weekly audience for Marketplace and its sister program Marketplace Morning Report is now 7.2 million). The program has won the duPont-Columbia Silver Baton, a Peabody Award and numerous other awards. Brancaccio`s last day at Marketplace will be August 22. ``I often brag that Marketplace is the best gig in broadcast journalism,`` Brancaccio said. ``The honor of serving a huge audience of smart people is one that I leave with enormous reluctance. But in my book Squandering Aimlessly, I write about the fine return on investment in life-long learning. This new venture is an opportunity to explore a new beat, politics, in a different medium, television. I assure you it is only a coincidence that Marketplace is currently running a series about career choices entitled `Starting Over.``` Marketplace is produced in Los Angeles by Minnesota Public Radio in association with the University of Southern California and distributed by PRI. The program has a bigger audience than any other radio or television business program in the United States. Minnesota Public Radio(R) produces more national programming than any other station-based public radio organization in the country, reaching 12.4 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion(R), Saint Paul Sunday(R), Marketplace(R), The Savvy Traveler(R), Sound Money(R), The Splendid Table(R), Pipedreams(R), and Classical 24(R), a live, nationally broadcast classical music service. Minnesota Public Radio and its sister company, Southern California Public Radio, are parts of a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group-a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained on Minnesota Public Radio`s Web site at http://www.mpr.org Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only. Fall 2002 SOURCE Minnesota Public Radio (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. KENNETH, WHAT *IS* THE FREQUENCY? OFTEN, LISTENERS KNOW How do your listeners identify your station? Increasingly, they do so by frequency, rather than call letters. Arbitron has released an analysis about how diarykeepers use station identifiers to record their listening. It says a shift has occurred. In 1996, call letters were the most common identifier. The new analysis of 2001-02 data shows that diarykeepers are now principally recording stations` frequencies instead. Use of station name and program or personality have generally remained stable. ``The rise in the proportion of listening reported by frequency may be attributed to a couple of factors, one being that stations, particularly those on the FM band, increasingly identify themselves over the air by exact frequency,`` said John Budosh, senior policy analyst for Arbitron`s Diary Analysis and Communications group, in the company`s statement. ``The increased penetration of digital-display radios at home, in the car and in the workplace has also influenced diarykeepers` tendency to record station frequency more often than other station identifiers.`` Arbitron`s Scott Musgrave, senior VP and GM of Arbitron Radio, stated, ``Stations would be wise to examine the primary identifiers they are using on the air and make changes, if necessary, so they stay in step with recent trends. ... Stations should also take note that diarykeepers` use of program and personality names is marginal.`` (Radio World Newsbyte July 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. UPN`S TINY, TWISTED WINDOW ON AMERICA By John Doyle, July 24, 2003 LOS ANGELES -- The teeny-tiny UPN network is eight years old and it has the mentality to prove it. Started in 1995, this little squirt with the official title The United Paramount Network isn`t actually owned by Paramount and isn`t much of a network. It`s owned by Viacom, the superconglomerate which owns CBS, and UPN is bossed around by big brother CBS. UPN`s single long-running success is WWE Smackdown, a wrestling show on Thursday nights. Apparently, while grownups watch Friends, Survivor, or something scintillating on ABC, little boys watch UPN. The channel exists for advertisers to part eight-year-olds from their allowance. It is the purveyor of the worst TV shows ever made. It is the United Parade of Nobodies. It annoys the hell out of me, as you can gather. Some of you don`t even have to acknowledge its existence, because UPN is only available in parts of Canada (lucky Vancouver!) and few of its shows are picked up by Canadian channels. Still, it continues to exist and I happened to be here at TV Hacks on Tour (TVHOT) when UPN presented its new lineup, so I paid attention. It is a tiny window into the soul of American TV and the American culture itself. Call me a crank or call me a curmudgeon, but before you rush to judgment, consider the evidence. There is a new sitcom on UPN called Eve. It stars a singer named Eve who is called Shelley on the show. There is nobody called Eve. It`s about guys and gals and dating and stuff like that. In the opening scene, two guys in a bar size up the ladies. One guy sees the back of a lady and rhapsodizes. Then he sees the rest of her. He says: ``Ooooh. A body like J.Lo. And a face [pause] like, hell- no!`` The laugh track erupted with such ferocity that I dove to the floor, thinking I was under incoming fire, this being LA and all. As far as I can tell, UPN has one thing going for it this season -- Will Smith. It thinks it has Loni Anderson, but for 30 years everybody has had thoughts about having Loni Anderson. Will Smith, as an excited UPN publicist put it, ``is a superstar of the entertainment world.`` He makes money-making movies -- Men In Black, Bad Boys. He had one good role in Ali. Anyway, Will is really rich and he and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith (famous for dresses at awards shows, I`m told), wanted to do a TV sitcom about their amazing life. They didn`t want to star in it, you understand. They wanted to be producers and give jobs to their friends. Smith and Pinkett Smith came to talk up the show, called All of Us. It`s about this guy who has an ex-wife, a girlfriend and a kid. The girlfriend looks forward to when he gets divorced so they can marry. Divorce papers arrive, he dithers and eventually has an epiphany -- he`s going to have ``a blended family`` and his new wife and ex-wife are going to have to get along for his sake and his son`s sake. This dude is making decisions. Smith made many pithy comments. One was, ``Look, we`re in Hollywood. We gotta to do like white people do -- give each other jobs.`` Well, somebody`s given Loni Anderson a job. You remember Loni Anderson? Think back 30 years, if you can. She got famous as Jennifer, the spectacularly enhanced, bleach-blond secretary on WKRP In Cincinnati. That`s right -- a perambulating, permanently smiling promise of pneumatic bliss for bosses everywhere. In the 1970s she was a sort of Farrah Fawcett without the edge. Later, if memory serves, she married Burt Reynolds. She also starred in the memorable movies Stoker Ace, Blown Away and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain. Then the relationship with Burt Reynolds fell apart. Doing deep research on this part of her career -- that is, talking to a person at TVHOT who brags about knowing this stuff -- I learned that the epilogue to the Burt thing was a revelation about her failed attempts to arouse Burt`s interest through the womanly wile of wearing sexy underwear. Now Loni Anderson stars in a new UPN series called The Mullets. Her name on the show is a fine double-barrelled moniker: Mandi Mullet- Heidecker. But you can forget that instantly because the only memorable part of The Mullets is the still spectacularly double- barrelled Loni. The Mullets is about Dwayne and Denny Mullet, two hosers with mullet haircuts. They`re roofers and ridiculously stupid. Comedy is alleged to arise from their love of classic rock, Doritos and mutual interest in a gal who works at the convenience store. Loni plays their Mom, who has married a stuck-up guy (John O`Hurley, the stuck-up boss of Elaine on Seinfeld) and loves her moronic sons. Loni showed up here at TVHOT and actually added some class. She looked incredibly fragile -- pale, slight and as if she were trying excruciatingly hard to bring some ladylike dignity to the ugliness known as The Mullets. Dressed in a tight black skirt and a brocade top that unveiled the requisite amount of her legendary cleavage, she looked so lost. She sat up straight, crossed her legs, leaned forward to clutch her knees and smiled her long-practised, mile-wide smile. The look on her lovely face indicated that in her long career, nobody had told her there would be days like these. Me neither, and I`m glad it`s over (Globe & Mail via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. BERKELEY RADIO PIRATES BROADCAST DESPITE FCC INTERVENTION, THREATS From http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/07/24/1960695 Berkeley Daily Planet: Edition Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 By AL WINSLOW Special to the Planet (07-15-03) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been trying to silence Berkeley`s pirate radio broadcasters for 10 years. The broadcasters continue to broadcast, but they say it`s getting harder. ``[The FCC] is starting to pick on people who have property, who have something to lose,`` said labor activist Michael Delacour, who quit Berkeley Liberation Radio (104.1 FM) last year after being threatened by the FCC with a fine of up to $100,000. ``I was afraid they were threatening my retirement,`` said Delacour, 65, who receives a pension from the Boilermakers` Union. A current broadcaster --- ``Captain Fred`` --- said the ranks of Berkeley Liberation Radio have thinned and that some local pirate stations --- such as Queer Kids Radio and Vulcan Radio, an anarchist music station --- went off the air entirely after getting an FCC letter. ``Typically, what happens is they get a letter called a notice of liability and a letter threatening dire consequences if they don`t go off the air,`` Captain Fred said. Another broadcaster-``DJ Advocacy``- added: ``Usually, for most people, that`s all the warning they need.`` DJ Advocacy said broadcasters use pseudonyms because, ``Basically, the FCC doesn`t know who we are. They didn`t know where to send the letter to, so they sent it to Delacour.`` The May 6, 2002, letter to Delacour, five-time Peace and Freedom Party candidate for mayor and Berkeley`s best known usual suspect, reads: ``[The FCC] has received complaints from residents ... concerning interference to reception of FM broadcast signals ... investigation revealed that you lease space at Skyline Studios ... and that that space is used by the illegal radio station known as Berkeley Liberation Radio ... You are hereby officially advised that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid license ... may subject the operator to penalties of a maximum criminal fine of $100,000 and/or one-year imprisonment, a civil forfeiture up to $11,000 or seizure of the equipment for the first offense.`` When shown the letter, the Berkeley civil liberties lawyer David Beauvais said, ``They`re intending to chill people out with it. That`s the point.`` The radio station is breaking the law, he said, and the FCC is enforcing it. ``It`s a civil disobedience kind of thing, and when you do civil disobedience, you`ve got to take your lumps,`` Beauvais said. The FCC made good on its ``seizure of the equipment`` threat Dec. 11, storming the Berkeley Liberation Radio station at 2427 Telegraph Ave. at 55 Street. The pirate station now operates in another location. The station has no paid employees and costs $600 a month for rent and $20 for a phone, according to Captain Fred. What is broadcast is virtually anything. Berkeley pirate broadcasters have aired a Marxist interpretation of the news, regular readings of articles from the local newspapers, shows on animal rights, parenting, bicycle liberation and the experiences of gay Afro-Americans, articles by adult film actress Nina Hartley, programs by the Peace and Freedom Party and the Libertarian Party, and an on-air appearance by then- Mayor Shirley Dean. A lot of it is for enjoyment, Delacour said. ``It`s a form of therapy. You can sit in a room and talk for a couple of hours without anyone interrupting. You can be the disc jockey you always dreamed of since you were a kid.`` Tony McNair, a Berkeley homeless activist, was alone in the one-room station at 11 a.m., broadcasting the tape of a San Francisco anti-war rally. He said about a dozen men in blue jackets with FCC or U.S. Marshall written on them, came in carrying sledge hammers and a battering ram. ``They yanked me out by the shirt and slammed me up against the wall and held guns pointed at my head,`` McNair said. ``They kept saying, `Who are the leaders? Who are the leaders?``` McNair said the raiding party turned off the station and removed all the equipment, including a computer and its records. He was let go an hour later, after an Oakland policeman ran a warrant check on him, he said. The station, though, was back on the air in four days and continues to broadcast. It now costs about $1,000 to fully equip a micropower station and the cost is about to plunge again, according to Free Radio Berkeley founder Stephen Dunifer. Barred by federal court order from broadcasting, Dunifer is collaborating with other transmitter engineers throughout the country to find ways to reduce equipment costs. ``We`re ready to introduce a $100 kit that, with other equipment you can get at a hardware store, will let you broadcast four to six miles, which is really all you need, for $500,`` he said. ``As long as equipment costs can be kept low, these raids are really not that effective. They cost a lot and there is the indirect cost that storm troopers coming in and stealing a microphone is not the best image the FCC wants to project in terms of free speech issues,`` Dunifer said. Dunifer advocates flooding the country with so many micropower stations the government will be powerless. ``If it becomes popular enough, mainstream enough, the FCC could face having to go into a rest home to stop an 80-year-old woman from broadcasting Glenn Miller,`` he said. Because they come and go so often, it`s hard to estimate how many unlicensed stations operate in the country. Dunifer estimates hundreds. One Web site lists 21 by name in California, including six in the Bay Area. The FCC regularly reports shutting down about 200 a year. Broadcaster Suzan Rodríguez, using her real name --- ``I don`t care who knows who I am`` --- said prior to her regular Friday morning show on Berkeley Liberation Radio, ``We`re not going to just roll over.`` ``Micro-radio is the last platform for the people to have a voice in a country where the government is bent on gagging our voices. Dissent is the American way. Our country was founded on dissent,`` she said. Meanwhile, it`s not certain the FCC has rid itself of Delacour. ``Actually, I made a bad decision,`` he said about quitting the station. ``I had other things going on, like fighting an eviction, but I wish I`d stayed with it and not chickened out.`` http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=07-15-03&storyID=16999 (via Mike Terry, July 25, DXLD) ** U S A. Most North American pirate DXers have heard at least one show from Alan Maxwell at KIPM. His complex ``Illuminati`` drama presentations are probably the best produced pirate radio shows on the air today. The station signal often generates loggings on both the east and west coasts of North America, proving that the station`s transmitter is well above average in its coverage area. But, many pirate listeners who are accustomed to the light comedy, satire, and music formats on the shortwave bands have misconstrued the format used by KIPM on shortwave, and on some licensed FM stations that occasionally relay the station`s productions. Monitoring Times has previously joined this parade of misinformation about Alan`s intent with these shows. We often point out that the subject matter of the drama productions on this station often includes characters who go insane. Sometimes insanity itself appears to be the main focus of these dramas. But, this characterization misses the mark to a degree. Maxwell points out to MT that the literary themes of his programs are existentialism, not promotions of mental illness. Perhaps it is time for many pirate listeners and DX publication editors to go back to school, where we can take some existentialism literary classes. Then, we might be able to recognize this genre when we hear it (George Zeller, Outer Limits, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) And you should see the nightmarish KIPM QSL card, ``Maxwell High- Security Sanitarium`` reproduced in full color in the high-resolution pdf version of MT! See PUBLICATIONS below for subscription info (gh) ** U S A. HOMELAND SECURITY: RADIO SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT Another announcement has been made regarding the Federal Government`s radio spectrum management study. This is a subject we`ve covered several times this year as the story has unfolded. In June, the White House announced a new effort to ``better manage`` the radio spectrum. A new White House Interagency Task Force will be composed of the Departments of Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security, plus the FAA and NASA. Wireless Week Magazine reports the Task Force will conduct ``the first comprehensive study of federal government radio spectrum policy in the modern era and will build on previous administration efforts to improve spectrum management.`` Public meetings with industry representatives and local government officials will help steer the Task Force toward their final recommendations, to be released in about a year. Almost daily news about this ongoing story can be found at Wireless Week Magazine, http://www.wirelessweek.com National Telecommunications and Information Administration, http://www.ntia.doc.gov and at http://www.fcc.gov (Robert Wyman, The World Above 30 MHz, Scanning Report, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) A BAD LAW NARROWLY AVERTED By Rachel Baughn, editor, MONITORING TIMES At the eleventh hour radio hobbyists in Nevada and around the country learned of wording included in Nevada Assembly Bill 441 which could have made public safety frequency lists against the law if the Governor deemed them to be sensitive because of terrorist activity, whether real or anticipated. The Bill on Homeland Security was proposed by Assembly member Richard Perkins and had already passed the Assembly. Perkins is or was a member of the Henderson Police Department in Nevada. The alarm was raised by Nevada Senator Bob Coffin, who wrote W6OLD, ``Please get the word out to everyone that they need to email and call all legislators and their own senators and assemblymen. I can`t believe this got out of the Assembly and came here to me in the Senate without a bit of noise --- Check it out at our website and forward the address to others after you read the bill. Address is http://www.leg.state.nv.us/72nd/bills/AB/AB441_R2.html (Section 21 (f)specifically) --- and it can be either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on how a court determines a defendant`s `intent`.`` Although it was questionable how much influence opinions from outside the state would bear, MT staffers Jorge Rodríguez and Larry Van Horn wrote to the Bill`s author and to senate finance committee members, the last stop before final approval. Both letters pointed out the folly of criminalizing federal public domain information. Jorge Rodríguez wrote: ``We`ve just learned of the provision in your bill to outlaw published frequency lists and would like to learn more about its intent and purpose and recommend against it. ``We`re opposed to the provision in sec. 21 (f) of the bill AB441 prohibiting published frequency lists. The current state of the art in programmable radios and computer controlled radios makes such a provision ineffective. It would merely criminalize the conduct of well intentioned Nevada citizens without enhancing homeland security. ``Such lists are even published by the Federal Communications Commission and AB441`s radio frequency publishing prohibition would be in conflict with the Federal government`s practice; it would make the Federal government a law violator. ``On a fundamental basis, it would also violate the free speech and freedom of the press provisions of the Nevada State constitution and Federal constitution which all Americans cherish. ``Thank you for your well intentioned concern.`` Larry Van Horn received the following reply on June 12th, from William J. Raggio, Senate Majority Leader: ``I write in response to your e-mail regarding your opposition to the section of Assembly Bill (A.B.) 441 that refers to radio frequencies. ``Section 21, subsection 2, paragraph f, was deleted from the bill by amendment. The Senate Finance Committee, of which I am chairman, recommended this amendment. Thank you for contacting me on this important issue, and I am glad we were able to address your concerns.`` Dick Flanagan, a Nevada amateur radio operator, reported on the final compromise: ``As originally written, Nevada Assembly Bill 441 would have made the publication, sale and possession of `emergency response` frequencies against the law if the Governor determined it was necessary because of real or potential terrorist activity. Because of the wide public availability of this information, such a restriction would have been unenforceable and simply not in the best interests of both amateur radio and public safety interests. ``Because of a concentrated effort by the amateur community, this section of AB-441 has been rewritten! ``According to the Nevada Legislature web site, AB-441 passed the State Senate with the following replacement for Section 21 Subsection 2 Paragraph (f): (f) Documents, records or other items of information regarding the infrastructure and security of frequencies for radio transmissions used by response agencies, including, without limitation: (1) Access codes, passwords or programs used to ensure the security of frequencies for radio transmissions used by response agencies; (2) Procedures and processes used to ensure the security of frequencies for radio transmissions used by response agencies; and (3) Plans used to reestablish security and service with respect to frequencies for radio transmissions used by response agencies after security has been breached or service has been interrupted.`` ``The amended bill now goes back to the Assembly where passage is expected.`` We don`t know all the players in defeating this misguided legislation, but thanks are definitely due to Senator Bob Coffin, who raised the alarm, and to Harry Marnell and others who spread the word. Those who deserve the most credit are the ones who picked up pen, phone, or computer keyboard and contacted the decision-makers. Their efforts paid off even though the time for action was very short, and it shows what can be done when citizens get involved. As Larry points out, ``I think we have been very fortunate over the last few years to get both federal and state antiscanner laws defeated or amended. I believe the internet has really revolutionized this process.`` It makes one wonder, if we had had the Internet back in 1986, might the language in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act have come out differently...? (Rachel Baughn, Closing Comments, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW IBOC STATIONS AND COMPLAINTS Forwarded from another list: Recently a few more NYC stations have signed on with IBOC. WPAT 930 (which is actually licensed to Patterson NJ) and WZRC 1480. The most interesting is WZRC. Greenwich CT`s 1490 WGCH is a VERY strong ``local`` signal in western Nassau County LI (every seek or scan I have seen has always stopped on this signal). With IBOC fired up on WZRC, WGCH is now virtually non-existent in an area it served with a strong signal prior to IBOC. The signal is barely audible under a sea of noise from WZRC`s IBOC transmissions. If WGCH were my station, annoyed would be putting it VERY lightly. This is the first of many graveyard channel deaths we will see if IBOC continues to be allowed on the AM band. How certain members of the engineering community can hang their hats on such a poor system is beyond me (via Charles Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Aló Presidente ha cambiado sus señas en 25 metros. Los 11875 kHz han sustituido a los 11670. Muchos 73`s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELAN ARMY This month, with the help of fellow digital listener Ron Perón, we take a detailed look at the extensive Venezuelan Army network audible throughout the HF spectrum. As most regular DD readers will know, most parts of the Venezuelan Forces are well-equipped radio-wise and have been using ALE [Automatic Link Establishment] for linking military networks across their large country for some time. The Army is no different and we were very pleased when Ron passed on a very useful breakdown of the likely networks and the meaning behind the ALE identifiers. Let`s begin by looking at the structure of the Venezuelan Army, which is broken down into six zones or regions. According to a profile available via web search engine Google`s cache of defunct web pages the structure of the Army is as follows: Area Militar 1 (HQ San Cristóbal) covers Táchira, Mérida, Barinas and Apure Area Militar 2 (HQ Maracaibo) covers Falcón, Zulia and western Trujillo Area Militar 3 (HQ Barquisimeto) covers Lara, Yaracuy, Portuguesa, Cojedes, Guárico and eastern Trujillo Area Militar 4 (HQ Maracay) covers Caracas, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda, Sucre, Nueva Esparta and northern Anzoátegui Area Militar 5 (HQ Maturín) covers Monagas, southern Anzoátegui and the Delta Amacuro Territory Area Militar 6 (HQ Ciudad Bolívar) covers Bolívar and the Amazonas Territory Prior to the country`s ``Plan Ejército 2000,`` each military zone had its own Infantry Division, each of which was further sub-divided into one or two brigades. Under the new plan, the Army combined the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions into a new 1st Infantry Division, with its HQ at Maracaibo. With their HQ at Maracay, the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions merged to become the new 4th Infantry Division. Lastly, a new 5th Jungle Infantry Division, headquartered at Ciudad Bolívar was formed to cover the old regions 5 and 6 in the south of the country. So let`s look at ALE identifiers which have been collected thus far: CGE CLC CLC13, 22, 32, 321, 41, 43, 44, 51, 52 CLM CLM21, 31, 32, 41, 42, 46, 52 CRC CRC1, 2, 3, 4, 5 CRM CRM2, 4, 5 PCRC5 PCRM5 SCLC211, 222, 224, 431, 432, 442, 50, 501, 51, 511, 513, 514, 521 SCLM34, 340, 341, 342, 344, 347, 349 SCM02, 04 As we might expect from the Army`s five division organization, we never see ALE identifiers having numeric portions with a starting digit higher than 5. Using a number of Spanish translation guides, Ron was also able to piece together the following possible meanings for each identifier prefix: CLC= Communications Logistics Center (Centro Logístico Comunicaciones) SCLC= Communications Logistics Service Center (Servicio Centro Logístico de Comunicaciones) CRC= Regional Communications Center (Centro Regional de Comunicaciones) PCRC= Rear Command Post (Communications) (Puesto de Commanda Retrasado Comunicaciones) CLM= Maintenance Logistics Center (Centro Logístico Mantenimiento) SCLM= Maintenance Logistics Service Center (Servicio Centro Logístico Mantenimiento) CGE= Army HQ (Cuartel General de Ejército), Caracas The digits themselves appear to correspond closely to the various unit numbers of the battalions into which the lower hierarchies of each division are structured. For example, SCLC512 is likely to be the communications facilities of the 512th (Jungle) Infantry Battalion based at Fort Tarabay. Identifiers with a single digit are most probably the central (HQ) facilities of each division. When Ron checked the frequencies used by each identifier, he was able to determine the following net structure, too: 2nd Infantry Division: 5760, 9232, 10156, and 11610 kHz USB 3rd Infantry Division: 7597, 8050, 9232, 9259, 12192, 13464, 13506 USB 5th Infantry Division: 9233, 12191, 14569 kHz USB There are likely to be many more frequencies that we have yet to find in this large and interesting network. Perhaps you will come across them some day...? Resources --- Venezuelan Army: http://www.ejercito.mil.ve Spanish Military Glossary: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/usarsa/main.htm (Mike Chace, Digital Digest, Utility World, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Just now (25-7-2003, 1735 UT) I hear on 5134 kHz USB an eastern European broadcasting station. This one is reported here from time to time since many years. The language sounds Czech? As it was also on in German daytime some years ago I think not about a Belarus` MIL station, which often relays local FM broadcasting stations. Also the regular use of the same frequency looks not like Belarus`. Some years ago the WUN mailing list reported daytime Czech voice ``official styled`` traffic on 5135 or 5134 kHz. Now it sounds more like a Russian related language, maybe the Belarus` also use this channel? Sorry, I typed this message online via telnet. Anybody is able to identify the BC station which is relayed?? Any further info about this channel (former? Czech users) or about the Belarus` relays in general? Only the Belarus` MIL is doing these relays? Means the catch of such a relay is a positive ID for Belarus` MIL ???? [Later:] now I`m sure that this was a Belarus` BC relay; it was a chat program moderated by a woman (in Russian/Belarus`) with BLR and international hits. It went QRT exactly on the hour (1800 UT), they often the term ``Kasern`` (sounds like), which sounds like the German word military barracks/camps, maybe the same in belarus`? Maybe the Belarus` MIL produce special MIL BC programs, like the German Radio Andernach operated by the Bundeswehr??? For the WUN logging team: 5134.0 Belarus MIL: 1745-1800 SSB (LSB and USB) relay of a Belarus` broadcasting station. 1800 s/off. (25/7/02) (DL8AAM) 73, (Tom - DL8AAM, hard-core-dx via DXLD) {More: 3-134} UNIDENTIFIED. Does anyone know the station from Brazil on 6020 at 0700 UT? http://jill.jazzkeyboard.com/radio/brazil.mp3 Their ID mentioned São Paulo. Thanks (Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Altho I couldn`t make much out of Jilly`s recording, I think this is most likely R. Victoria, Peru: Mark Mohrmann`s list http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/sw.htm shows it does run all night: 6020.29 PERU * R Victoria, Lima [0035-1240](.08-.4) Jul 03 C //9720.39 (r)AM780 It does carry evangelical programs, and this could well have been the one in `Portunyol`, a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese, or rather Spanish spoken with a heavy Brazilian accent, ``La Voz de la Liberacion``. It`s actually around 6020.3, and parallel 9720.4v. Of the two Brazilians listed elsewhere on 6020, the only current Brazilian he has is: 6020.04 BRAZIL * R Gaúcha, Porto Alegre [*0900-1001/2022-0335](19.8- 20.05)Jun 02 C (r)R Tupi //6060//9565//11915 (skd Mar02)0900-0400 0755 Another try at monitoring with this in mind might resolve the question, especially if the mystery one is off-frequency. O, I meant to add that the music in the middle of Jilly`s recording reminded me of ``How Great Thou Art``, adding to the impression that this is evangelical, and the show referred to does come from São Paulo, I think. And, altho he could not hear it as late as 0700, see Karel Honzik`s log under PERU in DXLD 3-111 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6215.05, unID LA, 0058 July 26, Fairly weak, but definite Spanish speaking announcer. Moderate static crashes at the time. I heard no ID, but Radio Baluarte from Pto. Iguazú, Argentina has been logged on this frequency at this time within the last few weeks. I guess this is the best time of year to DX Argentina on 6 MHz (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Q. What are the unstable shortwave carriers that slowly drift upward in frequency consistent spacings? I have heard them on various receivers and at several locations (Frank Tangel, email) A. Without a doubt, these gurgling frequency drifts are generated locally by harmonic-rich switching power supplies and other free- running oscillators found in modern electronic appliances, telephones, and even utilities like telephone company accessories, and radiated from power lines, telephone lines, and your own appliances. One way to determine whether or not they are in your house is to turn off the circuit breakers, one at a time, as you are listening to the interference; if one of the breakers kills the interference (but not your receiver!), you`re getting closer! I had such a problem several years ago with our telephone system. The provider had installed a device called a ``Circuit Maker`` which multiplexed several lines together; their power supply produced harmonics all over the shortwave spectrum. I finally had to file a complaint with our public utility commission to force them to remove the devices. You can sometimes home in on them walking around with a portable radio tuned to one of the offending signals to see where it gets loudest (Bob Grove, W8JHD, Ask Bob, Getting Started, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ MONITORING TIMES EXPRESS The monthly magazine costs $26.95 a year in USA for hard copy, but only $19.95 for PDF. This may be downloaded either in low- or high- resolution, the latter running some 22 MB, but no problem with a cable modem or better. Only a few pages of the print magazine are slick, suitable for color, but some illustrations printed only in B&W show up in color on the PDF: see our remarks above under USA --- KIPM. MC, Visa, Discover accepted: 1-800-438-8155 toll free in US and Canada; elsewhere 1-828-837-9200; fax 828-837-2216; 7540 Hwy 64 W, Brasstown NC 28902. Or see http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtexpress.html for info about a free sample. MT uses a lot of abbrs. without explaining them, like ALE, other than at: http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtglossary.html http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtrfglossary.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CQ SHORTWAVE NEWS MAGAZINE There is a shortwave radio magazine published monthly by Tony Smith in Australia. It`s called ``CQ Shortwave News Magazine`` and covers pretty much all aspects of the DXing hobby. You can check out the July 2003 issue #24 at http://www.kn4lf.com/CQSW24.PDF I have no financial ties to the publication and am just passing along info on it as I think it`s a very worthwhile publication. You can email Tony at swler@dodo.com.au for subscription info. 73, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF Plant City, FL, USA, NRC-AM via DXLD) CQSWN includes snippets from DXLD as filler. When not fascist-bashing RFPI, Giella also has written propagation articles for this ezine, as I recall (gh, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ MADISON DX GET-TOGETHER The 10th annual Madison Get-together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts is a little over three weeks away. This year`s event will take place on Saturday, August 16, beginning at 1 PM CDT. This year`s hosts are the NRC`s Bill and Nina Dvorak, 501 Algoma Street, Madison WI 53704- 4812. The Madison get-together has been growing every year. Last year, 26 DXers attended, including six from the NRC. Come and meet your fellow NRC members and share in the DX camaraderie. If you plan to attend, please let us know by responding to this e- mail. If you need more information, please request our e-mail fact sheet. We hope to see you in Madison on August 16! 73 (Bill and Nina Dvorak, Madison WI DXERak@aol.com July 24 via NRC-AM via DXLD) NRC CONVENTION A MONTH AWAY As all of you know, the annual NRC Convention will be held in Dallas/ Fort Worth August 29 through August 31. The link below has all the details. http://www.nrcdxas.org/convention/03nrccon/ While tours are not finalized just yet, you can expect several interesting ones, including the recording studios of TM Century, Inc (who graciously donated jingles for the club`s WNRC and DX Audio service last year) and WFAA-TV. Of course there will be some radio facility tours. John Callarman is also trying to put together some informal seminars about the hobby. Since the banquet/guest speaker/auction are important parts of the event I`ll mention that briefly. We`re meeting in Texas, so barbeque will be on the menu, with the traditional fixins. The guest speakers --- there are two --- should prove entertaining. First is George Gimarc who hosts the Lost Tapes program heard on KRLD- 1080 and the Texas State Network on Saturday nights (he`s not heard on KRLD if there`s a baseball conflict, but is still on TSN). George will talk about his show (which is quite unique) and his two books, Hollywood HiFi Vol. 1 and 2. After George, Steve Eberhart, who is responsible for the ``History of KLIF`` website http://www.historyofklif.com will talk about KLIF, the legacy of its founder Gordon McLendon, and the incredible influence the Mighty 1190 had on not only Dallas/Fort Worth but as a pioneer of ``top 40`` radio in the United States. The auction: if you received the July DXAS then you know about the personalized TM Century jingle that will be auctioned to the highest bidder (they really will sing your name `here`). I`ve been stockpiling some stuff and next week every radio promotion manager in town will get their arm twisted by me, but if you have anything to donate --- we need it! Quickly!! Send your auction items to: Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, 606 Young Street, Dallas, TX 75202 Please include your phone number or e-mail address so I can let you know that the package arrived. Also, write NRC Auction somewhere on the box or package. No junk but anything of interest to our members will be welcome. So get your registration to Bill Hale and your reservation made with the hotel. Can we get 70 members together for the club`s 70th anniversary? I`m optimistic enough to think we can! Bill, John and I are looking forward to meeting you next month. Thank you! (Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX, NRC 2003 Big D, NRC-AM July 26 via DXLD) IRCA CONVENTION RADIO TOUR PHOTOS I finally found enough time in my day to upload photos from the IRCA 2003 Convention tour of Saga Communications` Portland Radio Group. Check it out on BAMLog. A report and photos will be published in the October edition of Popular Communications magazine (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH http://members.aol.com/baconti/bamlog.htm via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ AN EDITORIAL COMMENT As you all well know by now I`ve been around amateur radio long enough to qualify as a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association. (One of these days I may even join.) Throughout those years, both as a ham and as a generalist in all the other aspects of the radio hobby, I have encountered dozens of things that have been raised up as ``a threat to the hobby,`` and gets everyone excited. This is not such a bad thing, because usually it brings about an increase in activity on the repeaters and that is always good. Just such a subject is currently causing long-winded folks to time out their local machines. These days a lot of comments, opinions and technical positions (and, sadly, a certain amount of unsubstantiated folderol) have been going back and forth in the amateur radio community, in the press, online, and on the air, about Power Line Communications, also known a PLC or Broadband over Power Lines (BPL). I have been a bit surprised at how many e-mails have come my way asking me my opinion on the subject. Certainly enough to make me dig a bit deeper into the good sources of information to try to come up with some thoughts that might at least further the discussion. In other words, I guess it looks like time for Old Uncle Skip to get into some controversy. Well, duck and cover, here it comes. Good, Bad, or Indifferent? On the surface of it, the concept of PLC/BPL is intriguing --- using existing power lines to carry high speed broadband Internet signals. You`ve got an existing infrastructure and supportive services (including billing and administration). Why isn`t everybody smiling? Well, for one thing, at its existing level of technology and with the current theories on deployment, it has the potential to cause serious noise and interference problems in the HF spectrum. Where I come from, HF means Ham Frequencies, so we should all be keeping at least one eye on this technology. Life is hard enough trying to dig out an S2 signal under a solar flare. Nobody needs more interference than we already encounter. But notice the phrasing I used in the last paragraph… PLC has the *potential* to cause interference at this stage of the game. While all hams are right to be concerned and should make a point of filing comments on any FCC Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) in these areas, let`s be careful here. Last time I checked, the amateur radio community was supposed to be made up of folks who embraced advances in technology and, more importantly, worked to make existing and potential technologies better. If you don`t believe me, reach into your pocket and pull out your cell phone. Who do you think figured out how to bring this technology to a place where it was made marketable? As I recall, hams were repeating and networking radio (cell phones are radios remember?) long before anyone used a pocket phone to order a pizza. Through our comments (and hopefully our experiments) we may find ways to make this technology coexist with ham radio. I expect that if PLC becomes a reality it will be in an advanced form that takes into account spectrum use for HF services (including ham radio). I also count on the vast technological base of dedicated and tenacious hams to find new ways of getting around this problem and, in so doing, improve the radio art even further. I can hardly wait to see the advances in notch filter design. Now to really go out on a limb, let me give you my thoughts on why this technology may not be a threat at all. How many times have we heard in the past about a ``promising new technology that will change our world forever``? See where I am going with this? Even if the basics of the technology are sound and the power companies have dollar signs in their eyes, that doesn`t mean this dog is gonna` hunt. That power juice that leaks out of your plugs at home comes by way of a relatively lossy system when you start to talk about higher and higher frequencies. There are miles of uninsulated (and corroded) wire out there running from pole to pole. You can get away with all kinds of things when you`re down below 500 kHz. You may not know that even today your local utility company is probably sending control signals via their overhead wires at very low frequencies. But when you start moving that signal up into the legitimate HF range or higher, a lot of other factors are going to come into play --- everything from the quality of the cabling to the connectors and the power generating equipment itself. Even cable TV companies and telephone companies currently scrambling for their piece of the broadband Internet pie, and whose systems were more or less initially designed to manage data transmissions, are encountering infrastructure and deployment problems. Power utilities were only designed to deliver electrical power at some very specific (and very low) frequencies. Sure, it might work just fine in a lab or a short range test. But I`ll bet long runs will create a whole new set of problems that may make the whole project less than cost efficient for the power companies. Utilities are highly regulated industries and they have to work very hard to preserve what they perceive to be a reasonable profit margin. They simply can`t afford to go off on a technological tangent. Their R&D budgets are as tight as a drum. And if you poke around a bit on the Internet and in a few books, you are likely to find that a form of PLC already exists in many places and it is having zero negative effect on amateur radio operations. What I am referring to is the ``HomePlug`` specification. HomePlug is a technology used for powerline computer and control system networking within a building or complex of buildings. This specification requires filtering to prevent interference with all types of over-the-air radio communication. A great deal more information and study from reliable resources can be found at the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Technical Information Service site: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ My good friend Ed Hare, W1RFI, ARRL Laboratory Manager (and QRP Sensei) has gone to great pains to assure that the facts of this technology and its potential impact on amateur and other radio services is available to hams everywhere. So the bottom line from Old Uncle Skip`s end of the universe is: Will we see PLC deployed? Maybe. When will we see it? On a small scale, in a couple of years, but unless some of those bigger issues are worked out I wouldn`t expect it to be widespread within the next 5 years or even more. Technologies of all shapes and sizes will continue to advance during that 5 year period as well. Any one of these technologies might prove more practical (and profitable) than PLC. Will PLC have a negative impact on Ham Radio? Yes, but only if we do not work on our own behalf to protect our spectrum from this and any other potential source of interference. While PLC might have a negative impact at some point in the future, at the present time more hams are probably affected by interference from improperly managed VHF/UHF paging transmitters. When was the last time you contacted the FCC to get them to improve enforcement in this area? The key here is to remain informed. Any ham that doesn`t log onto the FCC http://www.fcc.gov and ARRL http://www.arrl.org Web sites daily and act on the news and information provided there gets what they deserve. Things move fairly fast in this regulation/deregulation game and windows of opportunity to provide comments to the FCC and government officials can be fairly narrow. Making Your Voice Heard The good news is that the FCC usually accepts public comments on any of their Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR). They have even developed an excellent Web site that makes filing comments a fairly simple procedure. Their site can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ All you need to provide comment is the docket number for the NPR in question. These are usually easy to find with a search on the topic either at the FCC main Web site or at the ARRL Web Site. Most any subject of particular interest to the amateur radio community will be well covered in the hobby press, as will references to the various NPR`s docket numbers and their filing deadlines. Knowing the docket number is important, because that is how you reference the topic you plan to comment on at the FCC site. Even a brief comment of just a few lines is valuable to the process. Let`s go over a couple of points that will help you be heard. You are filing a comment not a complaint. Even if you are very excited about a matter and have very strong feelings, try your best to make your comments in a way that is informative and critical without being confrontational. Take some time to develop your position off line. How many times in the past have you sent someone an e-mail message only to regret that you hit the Send key. A little planning will give even a brief comment plenty of power. Another important thing to remember is that, unless you are very well versed in the engineering and or legal aspects of any matter in a NPR, you may want to try to refrain from talking about the subject beyond your personal level of expertise. Stick to honest expressions of your concern for the rule`s effect on your ability to continue to enjoy your use of the radio spectrum. This has just as much value during the comments stage of the FCC process. While I am sure it comes across in almost any comment posted by a ham on the FCC site, never forget to remind folks of the service that amateur radio provides. It is our history of service to the community that has been responsible for our ability to have our comments count in past matters before the FCC and Congress. The FCC could [not] care less if you can`t have your regular Saturday morning roundtable, nor do they care what your score was in last month`s DX contest. What continues to ``pay the rent`` for the ham community is our public service in times of emergencies. While the FCC comments page allows for the sending of attached files, don`t complicate matters by duplicating efforts. For example, sending a copy of an article from a magazine such as QST is redundant. The League will have already seen that all relevant material has been entered into the process. Unless the information you are providing is likely to be something new to the matter, save the bandwidth. As an example of a comment, please look at the sidebar to this month`s column. There you will see my brief comment filed in relation to NPR Docket #03-104, a recent NPR related to PLC. In a few short lines I let the folks in Gettysburg and Washington know my position on Power Line Communication. Keep an ear to the ground and your eyes on the Web for future opportunities to add your comments to matters that could change the way we enjoy our hobby in the future. Hang in there. I`ll still see everyone at the bottom end of forty meters for many years to come, as long as we all stick together. Uncle Skip`s Comments sent to the FCC concerning PLC/BPL ``As an active amateur radio operator, I am most concerned that BPL communication might have a negative and interfering effect on my ability to serve my community and my country. Unless the potential for serious interference to the amateur and other radio services are addressed, BPL should not go forward in its present form. In times of national and local emergencies, `hams` have always been ready willing and able to answer the call to duty. I guess the real question is, if BPL is allowed in its present form, will hams be able to hear that call under all the noise?`` (Rev. T. J. `Skip` Arey, On the Ham Bands, August MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ QST DE W1AW PROPAGATION FORECAST BULLETIN 30 ARLP030 From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA July 25, 2003 To all radio amateurs Geomagnetic activity settled down over the past week. The average daily planetary A index dropped by nearly half from the previous week, from 29.1 to 16.1. Average daily sunspot numbers went up from 140 to 195.3 and average daily solar flux rose from 125.6 to 147.7. Solar flux declined from Wednesday to Thursday, July 23 to 24, from 144.1 to 129.2. Predicted solar flux for Friday through Monday, July 25 to 28 is 120, 125, 125 and 130. Planetary A indices for those same days is predicted at 12, 15, 12 and 15, but is expected to rise next week to between 20 and 25. The sunspot count rose last week because of rapid growth of sunspot groups 409 and 410 about a week ago. Sunspot 410 began to decay around July 22. The predicted rise next week in geomagnetic indices is due to a solar wind that earth will enter around July 27. More news of VHF openings is in. Pat Rose, W5OZI said on July 24, from 0046 to 0052z (which was Wednesday night in North America) he worked five Japanese stations on 6-meters. Pat said that in 18 years on 6-meters he has never had E-layer propagation to Japan from his home in Junction, Texas, about 120 miles west of Austin. Pat says the approximate distance to the Japanese stations is over 10,300 km, or 6,400 miles, and believes it took six hops off the ionosphere. Sunspot numbers for July 17 through 23 were 189, 193, 178, 224, 219, 200, and 164, with a mean of 195.3. 10.7 cm flux was 138.7, 139.7, 146, 157.3, 155.6, 152.5, and 144.1, with a mean of 147.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 22, 14, 26, 19, 12, 9, and 11, with a mean of 16.1. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk) ARNIE CORO`S EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED PROPAGATION FORECAST A geomagnetic storm was expected to start early UT Sunday, due to a coronal hole (Arnie Coro, RHC DXers Unlimited July 27 0146, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-132, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1192: WWCR: Sat 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI: Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 and/or 15039 WRMI: Sat & Sun 1800+ 15725 WINB: Sun 0030 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1192.html ** AUSTRIA. Re: Clandestines. Yep, you're right. I have told Wolf I was wrong. I don't know why he is upset about the misspelt Austrian pollie`s name. Here they are down the bottom of the list on a par with used car salesmen (Robin L. HARWOOD, Tasmania, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Message reçu de Radio Afrika Internationale : "Nous avons le regret de vous annoncer que nous avons arrêté nos émissions de la journée vers l'Afrique depuis juin 2003 faute de moyens. (Il nous faut au moins 100 euros par jour). Nous sommes en train de chercher les donnateurs ou/et partenaires pour redémarrer les émissions. Vous continuerez à nous recevoir en France en ondes moyennes et sur internet chaque soir de 21.30 à 23.00 (NDR de 1930 à 2100 TU). Les programmes en francais commencent à partir de 22.15 (NDR: 2015) avec nos nouvelles d'Afrique." (Alexis Neuberg, Radio Afrika Internationale - 16 juillet 2003; les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4734.8, 0930 July 25, Radio San Miguel, lively pops and IDs, then at 0932 program called "Ciencia y ???". Maybe this is the same station reported recently on 6536v from Huancabamba??? Needs more work. Good signal though some audio distortion. [Later:] 4734.8, presume this to be Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, ex 4930v, although the programming isn't what I would expect, i.e. no religion so far. Between 0932 and 0958, they carried a science transcription program from Radio Nederland (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today, I heard this station with very good signal from Buenos Aires, between 0950-1005 UT, time and ID by male at 1003. 73's 55's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Hello Paul! The station is most likely Radio San Miguel, Riberalta that has moved from 4930.37 kHz. I noted the station the 23rd of july with good strength but distorted audio announcing 4730 kHz. The station on 4930.37 is off air. ID as "Radio San Miguel" - "LV del Norte" could be a name of a program. 73s from (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, dxing.info via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. PNG, 3850.00, Radio Independent Mekamui, presumed;. hearing music July 24 from 0915 tune in, getting better by 0930 with male announcer and time check, pidgin sounding talk thru severe static - local lightning buildups killed things past 0935. During lulls in static, signal was building quite nicely by 0950. More male pidgin talk and tentative ID, time check near 1000 (Don Moman, Lamont, Alberta, CANADA, 53 44N 112 50W, Ant: 4 el 80m yagi, Receiver: ICOM 756 pro, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Clube de Marília (SP), em 3235 kHz Em 25 de julho, a partir de 0130 UT, estava monitorando a faixa de 90 metros quando deparei com bom sinal na freqüência de 3235 kHz. Foram levadas ao ar várias músicas, de autores como Tavito, Roberto Carlos, Djavan e Tim Maia num espaço intitulado "no programa de tudo um pouco, com TJ, o clube dos tempos dourados". Às 0200, TJ apresentou uma série de anúncios comerciais, que iniciou com o Sindicato dos Aposentados de Marília (SP) e finalizou com a Auto Elétrica Renascer. Adiante, o apresentador levou ao ar a identificação da emissora: Rádio Clube de Marília! Também anunciou os telefones do departamento comercial e do estúdio. Fui conferir. Liguei para o estúdio e fui entrevistado por uns 3 minutos. Segundo ele, "fui o primeiro a responder o chamamento feito aos ouvintes distantes". Não entrei em detalhes sobre o fato de a emissora ser nova ou reativada em ondas curtas! Após um bloco de músicas, às 0248, TJ voltou ao ar e agradeceu a minha ligação e pediu "aos ouvintes do Brasil e do exterior que escrevam para a emissora". Deu o endereço: Rádio Clube de Marília, Caixa Postal 326, CEP: 17500- 970, Marília (SP). (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re CJRS: Glenn, I listened to this (station) this morning. Yesterday when I tried it the streaming wasn't working but this morning it worked fine on Real Player here. This is definitely an on- line only operation. (Call letters) CJRS were the old calls for a 1510 kHz. AM operation in Sherbrooke, Quebec, several years ago. It disappeared with the merger of Radio Mutuel and Telemedia stations in Quebec. Seeing as the CRTC in Canada has basically said that they will stay as far away from Internet radio as possible, I guess they wouldn't be too concerned about the call letters being used (Sheldon Harvey, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CFAN, Miramichi-Newcastle, NB will be staying on AM a few months longer than planned. Although the Maritimes Broadcasting System station has had its new 99.3 FM transmitter on the air for several months now, it's having problems with the stereo generator. "The River" expects to keep its 790 AM signal alive through the summer. That facility is running non-directionally, since one of its towers had already been taken out of the directional array in preparation for the move to FM (Robert Wien?, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 22 via DXLD) {see 3-141} ** CANADA. Norman Spector --- By NORMAN SPECTOR From Wednesday's Globe and Mail POSTED AT 7:15 AM EDT Jul. 23, 2003 There was a time when banning the importation of Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news channel, would have been consistent with Canadian values. Indeed, in the early 1930s, a principal rationale for regulating radio was to protect our sovereignty. ''Britannia rules the waves,'' Graham Spry, the leading lobbyist for public broadcasting quipped, ''Shall Columbia (CBS) rule the airwaves?'' Since he and others believed that the choice was between the ''State or the United States,'' CBS and other networks were not permitted to establish Canadian affiliates, and we set up the CBC instead. However, "defensive expansionism" was long ago abandoned as an adequate basis for Canadian broadcasting policy. Soon after its inception, the public broadcaster got permission to carry popular U.S. radio programs -- the rationale being that advertiser revenues would support the production of Canadian programs. Cross-subsidization is now the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's raison d'etre. Internationally, the Zeitgeist favours the free flow of information. Still, the post-9/11 context should not be ignored, and we must distinguish between friend and foe here (as, too, in our visa and immigration policies). The Americans are at war against "terrorism," and we are their neighbour and ally. Included in Al-Jazeera's target audience are the young, Western passport holders that al-Qaeda is assiduously trying to recruit. It would be disastrous for Canada's well-being if we were ever used as a staging ground for an attack on the United States. The Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith Canada have labelled Al-Jazeera "virulently anti-Semitic," and they provide some chilling examples. The Canadian Arab Federation counters with the assertion that "the views of the people who make the news should not be confused as the views of the station that airs it" -- though it has never proffered that distinction with respect to Canadian media, and rightly so. Unfortunately, the Al-Jazeera controversy is turning into one of those classic Canadian debates in which one does not so much weigh arguments as choose sides. It need not descend to this level, however. Aside from our experience with similar broadcasting issues, Canadians have a set of values, and a panoply of laws to rely on, including the understanding that the freedom to express ourselves with a picket sign stops one centimetre short of someone else's nose. Media critics have also waded into this debate. Not one of them knows any Arabic. But, understanding what's on the screen seems not to be a qualification for the job. Perhaps that explains why the Toronto Star's Antonia Zerbisias, while conceding that "some of what is said on Al-Jazeera is objectionable," still asks whether it is "any more hateful, say, than what is often uttered on American TV?" And why, though she has always sworn by the objectivity of the CBC's Middle East coverage, she's suddenly discovered a gap in what's available to Canadians on TV that only Al-Jazeera can fill. In these pages, Rick Salutin minimizes the potential impact of Islamic extremists referring to Jews as "apes and pigs." I'm not surprised: His Mideast analyses have always stood on the conceit that growing up Jewish equips one to understand the Palestinian side of the conflict. (Believe me, it does not.) On the other hand, and, as usual, The Globe's television critic, John Doyle, provides some useful perspective, arguing that "a principal Canadian value is the right to judge and decide for ourselves, and use our own laws and courts to determine the response." Unfortunately, there's a huge gap in our law that places Al-Jazeera beyond the reach of Canadian courts. The Broadcasting Act prohibits "any false or misleading news," or "any abusive comment or abusive pictorial representation that . . . is likely to expose . . . an individual or group . . . to hatred or contempt on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion. . . ." However, this only applies to programming services originated by licensees. As carriers, cable operators would not be covered, and it is arguable whether Criminal Code sections that prohibit the "advocacy of genocide," or any communication that "willfully promotes hatred," would apply. What, then, is to be done with the applications to import Al-Jazeera? The model for a solution, I believe, is the "Category 2" licence the CRTC issued to authorize the importation of MSNBC from the United States. Cable operators are required to repackage the American news channel's programs with some local content, and it is then offered to subscribers as MSNBC Canada. (Since the cable companies are applying for permission to provide 15 other ethnic channels, there is no content shortage.) Moreover, as part owner of the service, Rogers Cable is legally liable for the content -- as it or any other successful applicant should be if granted permission to import Al-Jazeera. (c) 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 7/23/03 - RADIO FOR PEACE INTERNATIONAL UNDER SIEGE http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0703.htm#072303 Radio For Peace International, an independent shortwave radio station broadcasting from El Rodeo, Costa Rica, has been surrounded by security guards and its doors chained shut. The reason for the siege is unknown, as is the status of RFPI staff. Radio For Peace International got its start in 1987 with the help of progressives from around the world and has been volunteer-driven and listener-supported ever since. It's seen some fame for its extensive research and reporting on right-wing hate groups, and especially their prolific use of shortwave broadcasting as a propaganda outlet. There have been recent concerns that the violence of Colombia's civil war may be spilling over into Costa Rica, including the possibility of paramilitary groups from Colombia operating in-country. While details remain very sketchy, it doesn't seem they are involved in the RFPI siege; the initial report cites "guards from the University of Peace," where RFPI has its studios. Relations between the University and station are less than peaceful: UPeace Council President Maurice Strong has been trying to evict RFPI from campus for reasons undetermined. However, the station built its own studios, offices and transmitter facilities and the matter is reportedly still wending its way through the Costa Rican courts. The siege is likely connected to this, but disturbing nonetheless. As of this writing an MP3 stream of a receiver tuned to RFPI's shortwave frequency is unintelligible (via Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, DXLD) For Immediate Release: For More Information contact: RFPI at email: info@rfpi.org James Latham, General Manager, RFPI: 011 (506) 249-1821 Naomi Fowler, Program Director, RFPI: 011 (506) 249-1821 Emily Morales, Operations, RFPI: 011 (506) 249-1821 US Contact: Jean Parker, Board of Directors: (303) 355-9935 On Monday, July 21, 2003 a University for Peace representative delivered an eviction notice to Radio For Peace International (RFPI) which has been operating since 1987 by mutual agreement on the University campus in El Rodeo, Costa Rica. The Radio station`s access gate was locked with chains and patrolled by armed guards employed by the University for Peace. In addition, the radio station was advised to vacate its facilities in two weeks. Radio For Peace employees made a plea to the armed guards to allow them to leave the locked premises on Monday night, although some have not left the premises since the eviction notice. According to Latham, the unexplained, and legally questionable decision to evict RFPI endangers the livelihood of the station`s employees, and also threatens to silence the voice of peace on international airwaves. ``This is more than an eviction, this is about the right to free speech,`` says James Latham, Chief Executive Officer of Radio for Peace International. ``What is most shocking and sad is that this action comes from an international peace organization.`` University for Peace cofounder, former Costa Rican President Rodrigo Carazo Odio, invited RFPI in 1985 to build and manage its own office and studios on the university`s Costa Rica campus. Consequently RFPI constructed studios and transmitters, and has been broadcasting messages of peace and social justice as well as daily United Nations programming. RFPI is the only listener supported shortwave radio station. Latham says that Monday`s eviction notice represents poor judgment on behalf of the new administration at the University for Peace, a United Nations mandated university established in 1980. ``RFPI has always shown goodwill toward the University for Peace and has worked harmoniously with the previous four administrations. Our shared goals to work toward ending war is what brought our two organizations together, and in the world today there is still much work to be done. Instead of focusing on how to eliminate a fellow peace organization, we need to channel our energy toward eliminating war, poverty and hunger.`` To prevent the silencing of this important voice, we the Committee for the Defense of Radio For Peace International encourages you to write Kofi Annan in support of the radio station at: annan@un.org (via James Latham, CR, DXLD) What a shame it has come to this. For now, RFPI is still heard, on 15039 July 25 at 1510, 1945 checks. The above release plus photos now appears at http://www.rfpi.org (gh, DXLD) RFPI's situation is part of a bureaucratic and personality squabble between the University for Peace and RFPI itself. RFPI has operated out of the UFP facilities since its inception. The founder of the UFP and James Latham of RFPI have long been friends; the new guy running the UFP apparently has ideas of his own. Methinks the Lathams have to come with some $$ and quickly in order to restore their use of the UFP facility. I believe it frankly boils down to money, nothing more (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, July 25, swprograms via DXLD) PEACE UNIVERSITY OUSTS RADIO SHORTWAVE STATION GETS EVICTION NOTICE By Suzanna Starcevic, Tico Times Staff http://www.ticotimes.net/newsbriefs.htm [I suspect this may not be a permanent URL, but valid for week of July 25-31? Illustrated --- gh] With this week's padlocking of its parking lot and a notice to evacuate the building within two weeks, Radio for Peace International (RFPI) has found itself bracing for, rather than broadcasting, political struggle. The radio has promoted international peace, news and information programs, including many from the United Nations, from the University for Peace (UPaz) campus in Ciudad Colón, 25 km west of San José, since 1987, using the land rent-free as an independent, joint project with the UN-backed university. Although the station continues to broadcast, the padlock went on around noon Monday, trapping staffers' cars inside the parking lot until the armed UPaz guard who put it there relented and let them out. [Caption:] HAPPY with Radio for Peace? University for Peace President Maurice Strong (left) met recently with President Abel Pacheco to discuss University's plans. Tico Times/Julio Laínez "The university is just defending its rights to its property," said Luís Alberto Varela, the university's lawyer. "It didn't just give them two weeks to leave; they've had a year and a half." As early as April 12, 2002, past RFPI director Debra Latham received a letter from Rector Martin Lees saying the university would be terminating the 1992 International Cooperation Agreement with RFPI's Oregon-based umbrella organization, World Peace University, Inc. The notice gave the station until July 10, 2002 to leave, amounting to a 90-day informal eviction notice - recourse provided for. While no one contests the university's ownership of the land, RFPI CEO James Latham says a cloud of confusion is still swirling around the station as to why the university is trying to remove the station from its two-story building and adjacent transmitter, built through RFPI fundraising. "When [University for Peace President] Maurice Strong first came in 1999, he said he was very happy with Radio for Peace, one of the only independently funded joint projects," said Latham. "The last time I asked them why they were doing this, they said only they did not want us to be here, weren't able to give us the land and wanted us to leave." UPAZ has been criticized since its creation in 1980 by the UN General Assembly as being unproductive, an image the current administration has worked to revise; it recently graduated 24 students from a 10- month Master's program (TT, June 27). The agreement doesn't require reasons for termination, but Varela says there should be no confusion. He cites an outstanding $14,000 debt owed by Radio for Peace to the university for installation of telephone and Internet structure and illegal use of radio frequencies as reasons that have been communicated. "It has fallen on deaf ears," he claims. Latham says an arrangement was in place to repay the debt, incurred in 2001, in the form of cash or radio time for UPaz, but that the radio wasn't given time to provide the services in kind. All attempts to contact other University for Peace representatives were refused and directed to Varela. Although an inquiry into the Radio for Peace use of frequencies listed past unauthorized use of FM frequencies, the report lists no complaints after Strong's review of the university's relationship with RFPI began. Also, UPaz initially arranged the broadcasting frequencies, some of which did not require permits at the time. According to Latham, the shortwave bands the radio is using, 7445 and 15040, are international, registered with the High Frequency Coordination Committee (HFCC), which coordinates frequencies over the world, and open to broadcasters as long as they test for 90 days to make sure they are not interfering. The bands are used by several other broadcasters as well. The National Radio Control disagrees, maintaining the two bands are registered for sole use by mobile aeronautic and mo-bile land communications. Melvin Murillo, director of National Radio Control, agreed that Radio for Peace had taken the steps necessary to register its frequencies with the HFCC, and the mistake was made in the go- ahead. However, he says that upon receipt of a UPAZ letter "revoking" the station's protection (the university holds mission status and is considered international territory), he considers the radio to be under Costa Rican jurisdiction. To get "legal," the station would have to pay Radio Control ¢2,500 ($6.25) per year to test and then use a frequency. He says he has been trying to notify the radio of this for a year and a half, but that it was impossible to find the phone number (which is listed on the RFPI Web site and also in local directory assistance.) Varela says the university had offered to negotiate compensation for the buildings, and keep open future joint projects once the radio had resettled, but that Radio for Peace would negotiate only to stay. Latham's response is that the RFPI board, which consists of members who live around the world, meets only once a year, and it was impossible to negotiate compensation terms without consultation. Arcelio Hernández, lawyer for RFPI, says principles are going to be the radio's defense in future legal action. "The radio entered the premises under an agreement," he says, noting that former Costa Rican President Rodrigo Carazo was one of the founding members of the University for Peace who extended the invitation to the radio in 1985 and is still active on the station's board, as well as President Emeritus of UPAZ. "And it remains that its most recent actions, sending an armed guard to lock the gates so people can't get their cars out, are hostile acts, and don't coincide with the ideas of peace." He says there are legal eviction procedures, and that the university has not used them. Also, RFPI has invested roughly up to $725,000 in the infrastructure, far less than half of which would be transferable to another location, he says. He plans to meet with board members Saturday to plan the defense carefully, and accompany it with a campaign for policy change in the university. Ex-President Carazo will also be at this meeting, and says he couldn't make detailed comments until speaking with the Board. He did forcefully say he was in "utter disagreement" with the university's actions. "They haven't given real reasons for eviction," Hernández says. "We could be looking at repression of freedom of the press." Varela says that's nonsense, and that a letter from the university to Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar stating that the "current activities of RFPI are inconsistent with the international emphasis currently being developed by the university" wasn't a reference to programming, but to the irregularities in frequency operation. "These things came up in other administrations," he said. "They just decided to focus attention elsewhere." Robert Muller, a UPAZ co-founder and the university's Chancellor Emeritus, said he was saddened by the actions. "My ideal was that the University for Peace, Earth Council and Radio for Peace would be the beginning of a new Athens on the hills there, and together be able to give hope to new generations," he said. At 80, Muller is still active in promoting peace, but acknowledges he no longer has influence in decisions made at the university. "I have heard that people at the university have said radio doesn't have a place," he said. "I think it's very important for a developing country." A tired Latham emphasized Tuesday night that the radio bears no ill will towards the university. "We would just like to see this resolved in a win-win situation," he said. "We're all supposed to be working for peace; there's more than enough to do, and enough room for all of us to do it." On Saturday morning Radio for Peace will hold an information event outside the locked gates at 9:30 a.m. For more info, call 249-1821. RFPI members and volunteers are urging people to writing to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations (annan@un.org) or contribute with checks marked for Legal Defense Fund, sent to Radio For Peace International, P.O. Box 3165, Newberg, Oregon, 97132 (Tico Times via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CUBA. 18090: The Havana Gurgler, 8 July at 0100. No one knows what it's jamming (Liz Cameron, MI, MARE via DXLD) (I will bet they know .... :o) (MARE ed. Ken Zichi) I know: it`s the third harmonic of the jammer against R. Martí on 6030 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 4960.03, 1020-1025, R. Cima, July 25. S8 signal level but a bit over modulated. Male announcer heard at 1020 in Spanish with program information. Music did not appear to be over modulated. Excellent music selections as usual. This station plays some of the better music heard. Slight fades noted. This usually ends my morning DXing when I find clear reception of this station. The music program is very good (Bob Montgomery, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) {Any ID heard? A different station in the group is also relayed here, at least in evenings} ** EASTER ISLAND [non]. SOUTH AMERICAN PIRATE -- Times UTC RADIO COCHIGUAZ will be active hoisting the pirate flag, today night on its NEW frequency of 11430 kHz USB, relaying RADIO MAHUTE, a PHB (Polynesian Heritage Broadcasting) group production, with its antennas beamed to Pacific & Oceania zone (New Zealand & Australia) [UT] Sat, 26 July 2003, 0400-0500 For reports write to: (Pls add return postage) Radio Mahute, Casilla 159, Santiago 14, CHILE. email: mahuteradio@yahoo.fr V= QSL Radio Cochiguaz, Box 159, Santiago 14, CHILE. email: Radio_Cochiguaz@yahoo.com (via HCDX via Gayle Van Horn, MT Messageboard July 25 via DXLD) ** GREECE. Glenn, Voice of Greece has a questionnaire on their web site for listeners to fill out and submit. If you would like, fill it out and submit it; here is the link: http://www.ert.gr/radio/era5/english/questionary.html (Christos Rigas, Wood Dale, Illinois, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. On 24 July at 1900 on 5765U with nice signal noted AFN program. Haven't heard this one (Guam it used to be) for some time. They were off the air due to damages by a hurricane. Active again (maybe have been for some time, just went unnoticed by me). (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reported also by Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, the Philippines, today around 1500 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, July 24, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Hi Glenn, I was just listening to AFRTS Keflavik on 13855 kHz in USB mode. Reception is quite readable 1140 UT with "ID": "This is the Morning Edition of NPR News". Really strong and good reception even with my portable Sony ICF- SW7600G. Antenna is simply a five meter reel hanging on an apple tree. It`s still 25 degrees in shade. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4775, AIR Imphal, Jul 13 1231 - Presumed this with gospel choir music in English. Song 'Blessed Assurance' at 1238. Local sunset in Imphal is 1240, nearly perfect grayline conditions with Grayland. Fair-good until 1254 when it had deteriorated into the noise. No other possibilities on 4775 that I can think of, and I've heard Christian programming on a few Indian outlets before (Guy Atkins, Grayland WA DXpedition, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 22 via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR Chennai noted with External Service to Sri Lanka now on 7270 (100 kW). Earlier it was Home Service. The new sked on 7270 is: 1000-1100 English, 1115-1215 Tamil, 1300-1500 Sinhala 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, July 25, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. TEHRAN, HAVANA DENY INTERFERING WITH U.S.- BASED SATELLITE BROADCASTS. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said during a 21 July press conference that Tehran and Havana have not held talks on jamming satellite-television broadcasts originating in the United States, dpa reported, citing IRNA. Cuba's Foreign Ministry denied in a 19 July statement that it is blocking broadcasts from the United States meant for a third country, RFE/RL reported. . . (RFE/RL Media Matters July 25 via DXLD) ** IRAN. Message reçu de la rédaction française : "Nous vous écrivons depuis Téhéran. Les techniciens du secteur technique du service extérieur de la Voix de la République Islamique d'Iran décident d'arrêter la diffusion de nos programmes radiophoniques en diverses langues sur les ondes courtes. Qu'en pensez-vous? Dans l'attente de lire votre réponse, veuillez agréer, cher ami, l'expression de nos sentiments les plus respectueux." (Voix de la République Islamique d'Iran - 17 juillet 2003) NDR : que penser? Procédé plus que maladroit pour "doper" le nombre de lettres ? Voilà maintenant que des techniciens décident eux-mêmes d'arrêter certaines transmissions en ondes courtes! Soyons sérieux! Depuis quelques temps, la station nous envoie régulièrement des courriers électroniques en nous demandant ce que nous pensons de tel événement. Espérons que nous ayons un jour l'explication de ce message des plus curieux que j'aurais tendance à considérer comme un sondage sur les ondes courtes.... (les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) This echoes a previous report in Spanish. Has VOIRI said anything about deleting shortwave broadcasts in English? (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. Iraq back on the Net: The telephone system in Iraq is still in a mess after the coalition takeover, but Iraqis are able to communicate with each other via E-mail. Internet access is one of the few aspects of daily life which have actually improved since the fall of Saddam. In the absence of working landlines, Internet providers use satellites to hook up to the outside world. Although home access is now available, many Iraqis use the rapidly increasing number of Internet cafés to send E-mails, use chatrooms and surf the Web... http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/iraq-internet020725.html (Media Network newsletter July 25 via DXLD) ** ITALY [non]. ``Studio DX`` new web page On http://www.studiodx.webport.it or http://www.studiodx.mannelli.com there is the new web page of Studio DX, the weekly program devoted to BCL, SWL and Hams broadcast every Sunday at 0900 UT on 11880 kHz, during the Italian language transmission of AWR. You will find the contents of Studio DX, the program in Real Audio and MP3, some news about AWR in Italian and our guestbook. Good listening, Stefano Mannelli IZ5ENH (KC9AJF) (rec.radio.shortwave July 24 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Glenn, I noticed you included my post to sw programs in DXLD, so I thought you might want to the satellite information explaining. Taicom as written on the letter turns out to be Thaicom. The following page indicates where to find the Voice of Korea on the satellite: http://www.lyngsat.com/thai3.shtml I assume by 'ohm' VoK meant MHz? (Daniel Atkinson, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Compare that version of English schedule, sent by the station but omitting the lower `feeders` 3560 and 4405, to this one: (gh) V. of Korea, P`yongyang in English effective May 6th (one hour duration): 0100 3560, 6195, 7140, 11735, 13760, 15180 0200 4405, 11845, 15230 0300 3560, 6195, 7140, 9345 1000 3560, 9335, 11710, 11735, 13650 1300 and 1500 4405, 9335, 11710, 13760, 15245 1600 3560, 9975, 11710 1900 and 2100 4405, 13760, 15245 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX July 22 via DXLD) ** LAOS [non]. UZBEKISTAN [to LAO P.D.R.] Hmong Lao Radio (St. Paul, MN, USA) opened its own website: http://www.laohmongradio.org (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX July 25 via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. 1,000 LIBERIAN REFUGEES FIND SHELTER AT RADIO STATION ELWA Posted by: newsdesk on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 01:12 PM More than 1,000 Liberian refugees are now seeking shelter at Radio Station ELWA`s facilities in Monrovia as fighting continues to intensify in the capital city. This number has doubled since the weekend when rebel fighters reached Monrovia. Despite the growing crisis, ELWA General Manager James Kesselly says the situation remains calm at the station which is within hearing range of some of the larger shell explosions. ``There are now more than 1,000 displaced people on the ELWA campus, staying in the gym, the youth camp, and some of the office and school buildings that were not being fully utilized,`` says Kesselly. ``ELWA is still on the air, although on a slightly reduced schedule in order to conserve fuel -- 2½ hours every morning and three hours each evening. They only have enough diesel fuel [to operate the generators] to carry them for about another week on this schedule. ``The ELWA hospital also continues to serve sick patients in the area with 24-hour emergency room service, and the clinic remains open, though few patients are coming in these turbulent days,`` Kesselly adds. ``Transportation is also difficult -- very few taxis on the road -- but people are traveling the roads on the east side of Monrovia where ELWA is located. He urges believers everywhere to pray that many Liberians would respond to the gospel during these turbulent days.`` HCJB World Radio works in partnership with ELWA, a ministry founded by SIM in Monrovia in 1954, to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. The radio station was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. ELWA went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ELWA broadcasts the gospel in 10 languages and plans to add more as resources become available. Boakai Yamah, chairman of the SIM-related church, Evangelical Church Union of Liberia (ECUL) said Tuesday morning that many pastors and church leaders have been forced to leave their homes. ``Some are sheltering at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex -- the large local soccer stadium which is only about a mile from ELWA -- along with perhaps 30,000 or more other displaced people,`` he says. ``Pray that God would use our ECUL pastors to comfort and encourage hurting and fearful people and that their faith would remain strong. Also pray as we assist our partners in ministering to the many needs, especially for food and medical care among the displaced people around Monrovia.`` In recent developments, rebels took control of a key bridge in Monrovia Wednesday in fighting that shattered a day-old cease-fire pledge, sending thousands of families fleeing in a city desperately short of food, water and shelter, reported Associated Press. Separately, West African foreign ministers meeting in Dakar, Senegal, promised to deploy two Nigerian battalions to Liberia within days -- vanguard of what ministers said should be a 3,250-strong international force to bring peace to the devastated nation. Explosions boomed in Monrovia on Wednesday, one day after rebel leaders announced a unilateral cease-fire. ``This morning we`re still under attack,`` Defense Minister Daniel Chea said on Wednesday after a night of shelling and gunfire. ``It`s still raining round after round of mortars.`` Three U.S. ships with 2,000 Marines and 2,500 sailors aboard were moving toward the Mediterranean Sea and awaiting orders. Liberian President Charles Taylor, a former warlord indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone, has pledged to accept Nigeria`s offer of asylum -- but only after peacekeepers arrive to ensure an orderly transition. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is seeking U.S. intervention to calm the volatile and violent situation in Liberia, reported AFP. Powell told The Washington Times [Moony] in an interview published Wednesday that history obliges the U.S. to help the troubled country. ``We do have a historic link to Liberia, and we do have some obligation as the most important and powerful nation on the face of the earth not to look away when a problem like this comes to us. We looked away once in Rwanda, with tragic consequences,`` Powell said, referring to a 1994 genocide there (HCJB World Radio/SIM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Hola, saludos, felicidades, por sus páginas. Sólo para comentar que me parece que hay una radiodifusora católica que trasmite en onda corta en México, dirigida por Jesuitas; se encuentra en la comunidad de Huayacocotla, Veracruz, pertenece a la Diócesis de Tulancingo, trasmite en diferentes idiomas. Sería bueno que pudiera poner esta información en su página; yo estuve allá hace algunos años. Soy sacerdote y creo que sigue funcionando hasta donde sé. Ahora estoy en Mexicali; espero que pueda checar la información, y que todavía exista. Sé que era la única en todo México (P. Edgar Chávez to Mike Dorner, Catholic Radio Update, DXLD) That would be R. Huayacocotla, 2390 kHz. Here`s one page about it: http://www.sjsocial.org/Radio/huarad.html And here`s their program grid. Of course, DX propagation only around sign-on and sign-off, better in winter: http://www.sjsocial.org/Radio/rh_prog.html Escucha algunos ejemplos de música de Radio Huaya including two versions of the national anthem in indigenous languages and two singing IDs, neat: http://www.sjsocial.org/Radio/ejemplos.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Expect some major changes to the RNZI schedule starting September 1. They have a significantly improved budget and will be adding quite a bit more or their own content. Of course, the other side of this is less National Radio content, which we all enjoy. BTW, do you find the program schedule bulletins I put up for RA amd RNZI of any use at all? :-) (John Figliozzi, NY, July 25, swprograms via DXLD) ** SAO TOME E PRINCIPE. IBB transmitting station São Tomé link: http://lea.hamradio.si/~s50u/html/charles_lewis.htm (incl. photos). (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mainly about the station manager`s background, ham S9SS (gh, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. Strange change: the DX program in Russian of DW with DX editor Mrs Tina Krasnapolskaya was closed at the end of April 2003. But Tina, starting May 12th is already editor of DX program of Radio Slovakia International in Russian each Sunday! (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX July 22 via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. KILLER HAM RADIO --- Armed supporters of a militant leader in the Solomon Islands recently attacked and burned two villages, driving hundreds of people from their homes and tearing down a radio station put up by foreign ham radio volunteers. The incident took place on June 20th as fighters loyal to Harold Keke razed the two villages in the remote Marasa district. According to published news reports, this was just the latest in an upsurge of violence on the Solomon`s main island of Guadalcanal that has left dozens dead. Officials said that Keke is wanted for a series of murders. Also that his troops attacked the villages because he believed some residents were using the radio station to inform police about his activities (Published news reports, via Amateur Radio Newsline July 25 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [non]. IRAQ: ONE ICRC STAFF MEMBER KILLED AND ONE WOUNDED The RSSL [Radio Society of Sri Lanka?] has heard with deep sadness the news of the death of our member Nadisha, 4S7NR in Baghdad today. Nadisha was known to most of our members and served the RSSL in many capacities including positions of editor and web master. At this moment news is sketchy, other than for what is in the web. We will inform members of developments. In the meantime the RSSL is shocked at this untimely passing away of Nadisha. It comes as a great shock to all of us (Victor Goonetilleke, 4S7VK via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) Deepest QSP 4S7NR- Nadeesha expired in Iraq. For more details visit following site (ICRC) http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList4/7B9B906FF90688DCC1256D6B004C883B 22-07-2003 Press Release 03/53 Geneva (ICRC) --- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is deeply shocked and dismayed by the death of one of its staff members, Nadisha Yasassri Ranmuthu, an IT technician from Sri Lanka, on 22 July near Hilla, south of Baghdad. Mazen Hamed Rashid, an Iraqi ICRC driver, was wounded in the same tragic incident. Mr Ranmuthu and Mr Rashid were travelling on the main road leading north from Hilla to Baghdad at around 11 a.m. (local time) when they were shot at. Mr Ranmuthu was killed on the spot. Mr Rashid was taken to the surgical hospital in Hilla, where he is being treated. At this stage, the ICRC does not know who is responsible for the attack. The Iraqi police and the coalition forces have been informed. The vehicle in which the two men were travelling was clearly marked with highly visible red cross emblems. The ICRC and its staff are deeply distressed by the death of Mr Ranmuthu and extend their heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends. Mr Ranmuthu joined the ICRC in Sri Lanka in 1992. He was 37 years old, married and father to a three-year old child. He was in Iraq to install communications facilities in the ICRC's offices in the country and help train the Iraqi operators. The ICRC is assessing the implications of this attack with a view to deciding its future course of action in Iraq. The ICRC firmly calls on all armed persons and groups to grant safe passage to all vehicles and staff working under the red cross and red crescent emblems and to allow them to perform their live-saving tasks. The ICRC recently expanded the scope of its activities in Iraq, where it has been present without interruption since 1980. Over 850 staff members are now working in the country and a permanent ICRC office was recently set up in Hilla, bringing the number of such offices to eight. Further information: Nada Doumani, ICRC Baghdad: ++88 2165 1109888, ++873 761 845610, ++1 914 360 9473 Antonella Notari, ICRC Geneva: ++41 22 730 22 82, ++41 79 217 32 80 (via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** TOGO. Following may help explain why R. Togo Libre arose in early June, disappeared two weeks later (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) JOURNALISTS RELEASED AFTER FOUR-HOUR TRIAL LOME, 23 July (IRIN) --- Two of three Togolese journalists who have been on a month long-detention on charges of disseminating false information and threatening public order, have been released by a judge. The third was however remanded in jail after failing to pay a fine. The journalists, who held a hunger strike last week, were arrested in mid-June in the capital, Lomé, in the aftermath of Togo's disputed presidential elections. Colombo Kpakpabia of the weekly Echo and Philip Evegno of l'Évènement, were cleared of all charges and released on Tuesday. The editor-in- chief of l'Évènement, Dimas Dzikodo, was found guilty and fined US $863. Judge Kouyou ordered that he stay in jail until the fine is paid. They were arrested at a cybercafé. According to the police, Dzikodo was scanning pictures of alleged victims of police brutality when opposition politicians took to the streets to contest results of the 1 June presidential elections. Incumbent President Gnassingbe Eyadema won the polls. Opposition politicians said the elections were fraudulent, but observers from the African Union said it was a fair and free poll. A retired army general, Eyadema has ruled the small west African county since 1967. He had pledged not to seek re-election in 2003, but a constitutional amendment in December 2002 paved way for Africa's longest serving president, to run again. Opposition politicians however say Eyadema has restricted both political and media freedoms in the country. The opposition Patriotic Panafrican Convergence (CPP) party, which was approached to join a post-election government has so far refused to sit in the government, CPP's spokesman Cornelius Aidam told IRIN. The CPP is led by former OAU Secretary General Edem Kodjo. Other opposition parties, including the Union of Forces of Change, the Action Renewal Committee, the African Convergence Democratic Committee have also so far rejected Eyadema's invitation to join a government of national unity. Meanwhile Togolese authorities were still investigating two explosions last week which targeted the French cultural center and the French school. Only minor damages were recorded. The explosion followed another that occurred before the presidential polls. That explosion damaged a French-owned restaurant, drawing condemnation from the French government. [This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, http://www.irinnews.org If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003 Fuente: U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) (via CLAUDIO MORALES, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** U K. Among the mountain of recent articles about the BBC/David Kelly affair, these seem to be the best of the lot.... [some may already have been linked in DXLD] This BBC row is not about sources - it is about power Downing Street and Rupert Murdoch want revenge on the corporation http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1004725,00.html Issues that the Hutton inquiry must attempt to answer http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/23-7-19103-0-27-14.html Britain: BBC's Judgment, Accuracy Being Questioned Amid Kelly Inquiry http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/07/22072003154548.asp Does Promise of Anonymity Apply to Dead Sources? http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1938793 Radio show faces online criticism http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story689.html Gilligan's war (letters to the editor) http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/comment/0,13747,1004885,00.html Why the BBC is not really the story http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/uk.cfm?id=800112003 But Andrew Gilligan got it right... http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/07/24/do2402.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/07/24/ixopinion.html BBC admits errors on source http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6799907%255E401,00.html BBC has been annoying British governments for decades http://www.namibian.com.na/2003/july/world/03E5683B55.html Dyke's Tough Stance http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/opinion/articles/5875466?source=Evening%20Standard The BBC is a world, not a law, unto itself http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/07/23/do2302.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/07/23/ixopinion.html Witch Hunt Against the BBC http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030804&s=scheer20030722 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U K. BBC REPORTER KATE ADIE WINS LIBEL SETTLEMENT LONDON (AP) -- Publishers of The Sun newspaper said Wednesday they will pay damages to British Broadcasting Corp. journalist Kate Adie for falsely suggesting she had endangered Prime Minister Tony Blair. Adie sued The Sun for a report in October 2001 suggesting she had endangered Blair by breaking an embargo on reporting his travel plans. Natasha Peter, a lawyer counsel for News Group Newspapers, said in court that it was wrong to suggest Adie was responsible for the breach of the embargo. The newspaper apologized and agreed to pay Adie damages and her legal costs, Peter said. (rb-mm) (APws 07/23 0703 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re previous jamming discussion under CUBA and IRAN: I heard the ditting on 15420 kHz and we DF'ed [direction finding'ed] it to Moscow, so I doubt if it's deliberate interference (Dave Kernick, UK, BC-DX July 24 via DXLD) I tuned 15420 this morning around 0630 and the fast 'ditting', as Dave Kernick calls it, was well audible. I found that it was using only the USB, as I suspected it might be. I wonder what 'Moscow' is sending this for? The one on 11760 was also audible, but less strong, and using LSB. It's the same type of 'ditting' but these dits have a different tone - due LSB? I heard the BBC via A'Seela [OMAN] with BBC IS notes on 15420 at 0657 and opening at 0700 with their Thursday only Persian - Friday same time it will be Pashto. The ditter was causing QRM, but was eliminated by using the LSB. This service is also on 17870 via CYP [fair] - and 11895 via DHA - weak. I wondered what the buzzing was on 11895 and found it spreading from the Sackville DRM transmission on 11865! Who needs ditters and jamming when we have DRM! (Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX July 24 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. [Moderator note: Radlon has been sending out the following e-mail in response to reception reports on yesterday's 1008 kHz test transmission] RADLON MEDIA LIMITED, PO BOX 7336, FRINTON-ON-SEA, ESSEX, CO13 0WZ, ENGLAND --- 22th July 2003 "RADIO LONDON TEST TRANSMISSION REPORT" -- A BIG THANK YOU FROM BIG L Radio London today carried out a test transmission on 1008 kHz from Flevoland in the Netherlands. Using 400 kilowatts of transmitter power. We received over 300 reports by e-mail and telephone (mail reports will be delayed, of course). Reports were received from as far away as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and France. Plus the Netherlands, of course. Closer to home from Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. These tests and your reception reports will greatly assist us in improving the signal into the UK. From your reports we can now prepare a contour map and compare this with the aerial pattern diagrams we currently have from the transmitter site to confirm and highlight existing black spots in the signal. Early indications show that our signal was good in the East, North and South but the Midlands and West London need to be improved upon. Our engineers will now look at various options available to us. These are likely to include a combination of better processing, higher transmitter modulation and power (note that the channel is cleared for 1000 kilowatts) plus a detailed study of the antenna patterns, which could include a directional beam to the UK. We are hoping to have the engineers report by the end of the first week of August. This report, once implemented will then form the basis of our plans to provide Radio London with the best possible signal into the UK, which is our prime target area. Again, a Big thank you for sending us your reception report and various other comments, which are greatly appreciated. FOR FURTHER COMMENT OR CLARIFICATION PLEASE RING RAY ANDERSON 01255 676252, FAX: 01255 850528 (via BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U S A. VOA, DX program in Main Street with duration approx. 3 minutes and starting at 50th min at 2, 4 etc. UT (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX July 22 via DXLD) No, if you wait until :50 you are likely to miss Kim Elliott`s piece, as its position within the 25-minute magazine show UT Sundays varies widely; sometimes it`s only the second item around :37, or anywhere in between. I try to listen on the archive, but that lasts only 24 hours until the Monday show is up and recently I have been thwarted even in doing that since the latest show isn`t always available. VOA`s Talk to America is another sad case, no longer attempting to post in advance the topics, and way behind on their archiving (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. From the GAO report on US International broadcasting, a very brief excerpt from the 56-page document at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03772.pdf REDUCING THE NUMBER OF LANGUAGE SERVICES AND BROADCAST OVERLAP HAS BROAD SUPPORT Our survey of senior program managers revealed that the majority supported significantly reducing the total number of language services and the overlap in services between VOA and the surrogate broadcasters. [footnote 16] Eighteen of 24 respondents said that too many language services are offered, and when asked how many countries should have more than one U.S. international broadcaster providing service in the same language, 23 of 28 respondents said this should occur in only a few countries or no countries at all. Finally, when we asked respondents what impact a significant reduction in language services (for the purpose of reprogramming funds to higher priority services) would have, 18 of 28 respondents said that this would have a generally positive to highly positive impact. The BBG's annual language service review process addresses the need to delete or add languages. The process prioritizes individual language services based on such factors as U.S. strategic interests, political freedom, and press freedom data. Such assessments have been used in an attempt to shift the focus of U.S. international broadcasting away from central and eastern Europe to allow greater emphasis on Russia and Eurasia; central and South Asia; China and east Asia; Africa; and selected countries in our hemisphere such as Colombia, Cuba, and Haïti. This system has been used to re-deploy resources within the BBG. For example, the Board has reallocated more than $9 million through the elimination or reduction of language services since its first language service review in January 2000. In total, the Board has eliminated 3 language services [footnote 17] and reduced the scope-of- operations of another 25 services since January 2000. [footnote 18] In terms of the total number of language services, the Board had 91 language services when it concluded its first language service review and 97 language services at the conclusion of this year`s review. Congress has contributed to this situation by authorizing additional language services over the years. However, the Board, through its required annual language service review and strategic plan, is responsible for analyzing, recommending, and implementing a more efficient and economical scope of operations for U.S. international broadcasting. [Footnote 16:] We did not ask program managers for their views on the duplication of roles and target audiences among broadcast entities since this issue surfaced after our survey was released. [Footnote 17:] VOA Portuguese to Brazil was eliminated as a direct result of language service review. VOA Arabic and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty`s Persian service were eventually eliminated as the result of decisions made during language service review and were replaced by Radio Sawa and Radio Farda, respectively. [Footnote 18:] Cutting language services can be challenging due to congressional concerns that the proposed elimination or reduction of language services is not supported by a clear rationale. For example, at OMB`s direction, the Board`s fiscal year 2004 budget request was reduced by $8.8 million to reflect the proposed elimination of broadcasts in nine foreign languages assessed as low priority/low impact services in connection with the Board`s 2001/2002 language service review. However, Senator Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has expressed the view that the U.S. should not withdraw broadcasting services in certain countries until there is assurance of a free and fair press in those countries. In this regard, that Committee has approved S.925 which contains a provision that would prohibit the BBG from eliminating the foreign language broadcasts proposed for elimination in the BBG`s fiscal year 2004 budget request (via gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. R. Caroline via WBCQ 5100 kHz From http://www.earthradio.co.uk/radio_news.htm News report from Tony Christian 23/703 I have been in the driving seat and responsible for programmes and our output to WBCQ in the USA from Radio Caroline for getting on two years now. Our friend out there and main man Allan Weiner who is a lifelong listener and supporter to Radio Caroline and has been from day one kindly allowed us airtime free of charge on one of his Shortwave frequencies, which has been brilliant. There is a brand new frequency for listeners to this service now on Shortwave and on the net, 5.100 MHz. These new programmes from Radio Caroline will commence from July 21st, Mondays thro Fridays 2200-2300 UT. If you have never heard Radio Caroline on Shortwave, you still have the chance by listening on the internet; I can only describe the audio as very close to the sound that relates to the old AM signal, very nostalgic. All you have to do is work out the time difference from the States and log in; I think you will be impressed. I would like to thank at this point the constant support and help of Dave Fox and Paul Douglas, two of our key presenters from Radio Caroline for WBCQ. I have also sent new shows to the USA, so check out WBCQ; it`s a listening experience (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) 5100 inaudible here that early, e.g. at 2240 UT check July 24. I did notice on Wednesday at 2229 after WOR ended on 17495-CUSB, part of an announcement that R. Caroline would be heard next, but that was cut off for that frequency`s closing. It may have been what followed on 7415 (unseemed that on 9330), but reception was poor. News to me if, like 7415, offair pickup of 5100 (if it is even on now) is being webcast. Why don`t we just look it up at http://wbcq.us ? --- That site has been down over a week for updating. Beats me why at the very least accurate program schedules can`t be available at all times (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. COPPS WILL HOLD TOWN MEETINGS ABOUT BROADCAST, CRITICIZES LICENSE RENEWAL PROCESS FCC Commissioner Michael Copps says he'll hold a series of town meetings to give citizens the opportunity to express their views on whether their local radio and TV stations are serving the public interest and should have their licenses renewed. Speaking at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Copps stated: "As part of the license renewal process, I believe it is important to go out and hear from members of the community. But that hasn't happened for years. ... As we begin the next round of license renewals for radio this fall and for television in 2004, I intend to hold a series of town meetings in regions where renewals are due in order to hear from communities how their airwaves are being used." Copps called the broadcast license renewal process minimal, with no public outreach to local communities (Radio World newsbyte July 23 via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC CHAIRMAN'S STAR A LITTLE DIMMER --- Defeat on Capitol Hill Raises Questions About Powell's Political Savvy By Christopher Stern, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, July 25 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43044-2003Jul24?language=printer When Michael K. Powell took over as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission three years ago he was considered a young star of the Republican Party. His deregulatory agenda was regarded as a breath of fresh air by the nation's biggest media and telecommunications companies. But this week's 400-to-21 vote in the House in favor of a bill that included language to strike down a FCC decision to allow broadcasting companies to buy more television stations is just the latest example of how Powell's fortunes have shifted. In February, fellow Republican Kevin J. Martin joined two Democratic commissioners to deliver a stinging defeat on rules governing the telephone industry. Now key Republicans in the Senate, including Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), have signed onto a rarely used "Resolution of Disapproval" that would effectively upend the FCC's work to revise several media ownership rules -- not just the broadcast ownership provision rejected by the House. Even lobbyists for the nation's media and telecommunications companies question whether Powell has the political savvy to deliver on his agenda. After all, the Republican-controlled House voted to block the broadcast ownership rule despite the objections of the House leadership and a veto threat from the White House. "Never before have I seen an FCC chairman's decision repudiated by the House of Representatives so quickly and so emphatically," Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) observed after the vote Wednesday. Powell, who was out of town on vacation this week, was unavailable for comment, a senior aide said. From the beginning of his tenure, Powell has said he wanted to rise above politics and put the FCC's rulemaking process on a more judicious course. The agency needed a new strategy, he argued, because many of its policies had been thrown out by courts that often criticized the agency's rules as "arbitrary and capricious." But Powell's lawyerly approach has not served him well at an agency guided by three Republicans and two Democrats. Colleagues at the commission complain that Powell often refuses to consider their points of view or incorporate their ideas into final regulations. The result is a badly divided agency in which Powell has alienated Martin, one of his two Republican colleagues, and has chilly relations with the two Democrats, Jonathan S. Adelstein and Michael J. Copps. "If there is one fault that the chairman has, it is that he comes to this as a lawyer, not a politician," said one source close to Powell. The source disputed complaints that Powell ignores other members of the commission, saying the chairman goes out of his way to consider other opinions. Powell pushed through the media ownership decision despite a request from the two Democrats that he postpone the vote. It is a longstanding FCC tradition to honor such requests, but Powell refused, saying a delay was not likely to result in any changes to long-held views. Finally, Powell also moved forward with the media ownership rule over the protests of a broad coalition of liberal and conservative public- interest groups. Sources said the FCC received more than 2 million e- mails and comments protesting the decision. Conservative groups argued that the largest media companies have a corrupting influence on the nation's moral values and that allowing them to get bigger would only embolden more licentious programming. Liberal groups argued that the nation's largest media companies already have too much control over the flow of ideas in the United States. Powell defended the FCC's action, noting in a prepared statement this week that the new rules take into account the fact that the major broadcasters now face expanded competition from cable, satellite and the Internet, creating alternatives for programming that did not exist when the rules were originally crafted. But while Powell, serving in an appointive post, could afford to make his case on policy grounds, many lawmakers said he failed to take into account populist concerns about the growing influence of big media. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) said he has rarely received more letters from constituents than on the media ownership issue. "People are really upset with this, people get it," Dorgan said. Dorgan said he had no trouble finding 35 co-sponsors for the resolution of disapproval to overturn the FCC's media ownership rules, a total that guarantees him 10 hours of debate on the Senate floor. He plans to introduce the resolution in the first week of September. As the son of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Michael Powell, 40, is familiar with many members of Congress on a personal basis. One of his biggest supporters is Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.). "I think he is an American patriot and I am proud to know him," McCain said. Yet McCain is supporting legislation that would force the FCC to change its rule on radio ownership. He said the FCC should not have allowed large companies to keep stations that exceed new limits set by the agency. It would be impossible in Washington to have so much controversy over a public figure without some raising the possibility that he will soon step down. Some published reports have stated that Powell has discussed the issue with his staff. Marsha McBride, Powell's chief of staff, said Powell was well aware that the agency was heading into controversy. "I think the chairman understood that when we were taking on some difficult decisions, it would be a rough year," McBride said. But she said she has not discussed a resignation internally. "The chairman has no current plans to be leaving the commission, and I don't have the understanding that he will be leaving," she said. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** U S A. HOUSE ROLLS BACK MEDIA OWNERSHIP CHANGES Wed Jul 23, 4:51 PM ET By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The House voted Wednesday to prevent federal regulators from letting individual broadcast companies own television stations serving nearly half the national TV market, ignoring the preferences of its own Republican leaders and a Bush administration veto threat. By a 400-21 vote, lawmakers approved a spending bill with language blocking a Federal Communications Commission decision to let companies own TV stations serving up to 45 percent of the country's viewers. The current ceiling is 35 percent. Despite GOP control of the White House, Congress and the FCC, the House vote set the stage for what may ultimately be an unraveling of a regulatory policy that the party strongly favors. The fight now moves to the Senate, where several lawmakers of both parties want to include a similar provision in their version of the bill. Top Republicans are hoping that, with leverage from the threat of a first-ever veto by President Bush, the final House-Senate compromise bill later this year will drop the provision thwarting the FCC. In a show of defiance, FCC Chairman Michael Powell issued a written statement before the vote defending the commission's decision. The five-member FCC approved the new rules on a 3-2 party-line vote on June 2. "We are confident in our decision," Powell said. "We created enforceable rules that reflect the realities of today's media marketplace. The rules will benefit Americans by protecting localism, competition and diversity." A statement by NBC lobbyist Bob Okun praised the FCC decision as "a positive and much needed step offering regulatory relief to free, over-the-air television," and called the legislation "extremely disappointing to us." Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chief sponsor of the provision that would derail the liberalized FCC rules, acknowledged in an interview that a tough fight lay ahead over keeping the language intact in the bill's final version. But he declared victory, for now. "It's extremely rare to be able to reverse a regulatory decision that gives away the store to the big boys," Obey said. With programming power and many billions of dollars at stake, the battle has pitted the big broadcast networks against smaller station owners and an array of groups, from the Christian Coalition to the Consumers Union. "We've been facing a total roadblock on doing anything in the House," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director for the consumer union. He said the House vote meant "that roadblock will be torn apart." The biggest beneficiaries of the FCC ruling would be Viacom Inc., which owns the CBS and UPN networks, and News Corp., owner of Fox. Due to mergers and acquisitions, both already exceed the 35 percent limit. Opponents of the FCC decision said it would give giant broadcast corporations too much clout, at the expense of communities and a diversity of voices. Supporters of the FCC rule said the older, tighter limits ignore a high-tech era in which cable and satellite TV, plus the Internet, have intensified the competition they face. And they said that with even the largest networks owning less than 3 percent of the nation's 1,300 broadcast stations, the clout of the networks was being exaggerated. Even so, short of support and eager to prevent FCC opponents from using a House roll call to show their strength, GOP leaders didn't even try removing the language from the bill. Instead, they said they would seek to kill it when House-Senate bargainers craft a compromise bill later this year. Hoping to increase their power, some Republicans were seeking House members' signatures for a letter pledging to vote to sustain a veto, GOP aides said. It would take 145 lawmakers, or one-third of the House, to uphold a veto, which would be President Bush's first. Some senators may try including similar language in the Senate version of the bill, which may not be written until the fall. The provision was included last week in a $37.9 billion measure financing the departments of Commerce, State and Justice next year. On Tuesday, a White House budget office statement said the new FCC rules "more accurately reflect the changing media landscape and the current state of network station ownership, while still guarding against undue concentration in the marketplace." The budget office threatened a veto if "this provision or a provision like it with respect to any one of the other FCC rules" is sent to Bush. On a different issue, lawmakers rejected another amendment by 273-152 that would bar the federal government from interfering with 10 states that allow the medical use of marijuana. On Tuesday, the House by 309-118 included another amendment blocking the government from performing "sneak and peek" searches under the USA Patriot Act. That law, enacted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, allowed such searches without the property owner's or resident's knowledge with warrants that are delivered afterward. The House bill affected only part of the FCC's decision. By 254-174, the chamber rejected an amendment by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., to kill the entire FCC ruling, which he said would impede local media control. The June 2 ruling also would make it easier for companies to own newspapers and broadcast stations in the same community, and to own more than one broadcast outlet in a market. SOURCE: Yahoo! News --- 73 and good DX (via Eric Amateur Radio Station N0UIH Bueneman, July 23, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. HOUSE BUCKS FCC ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP Votes to overturn key part of rules change By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, 7/24/2003 The US House of Representatives, by an unexpectedly lopsided 400-21 vote, moved yesterday to overturn a key provision of the Federal Communications Commission's drive to allow further consolidation of ownership of television stations. . . http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/205/business/House_bucks_FCC_on_media_ownershipP.shtml (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. RECOMMENDED: "TUNING OUT THE FCC" Click here to read this story online: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0725/p10s03-comv.html Byline: Date: 07/25/2003 Wednesday's House vote to roll back a recent FCC decision expanding the number of TV and radio stations that media companies can own was little more than an expression of populist spite toward big broadcasters. It ignores the fact that the Federal Communications Commission is under a court order to expand the ownership rules. It also ignores the existence of alternative media on cable, satellite, and the Internet. The vote is a blow against deregulation, but not quite the blow that has been reported. The 400-21 vote was for a larger bill funding the departments of Commerce, Justice, and State. And the House voted down a proposal to reject a companion FCC rule allowing a company to own a newspaper and a TV station in the same market, or to own several TV stations in the same city. Lawmakers have a personal interest in the matter. They worry that fewer media voices in their districts will make it harder to get their messages out. They would also prefer to deal with local station-owners rather than companies in New York and Los Angeles, over whom they can have less influence, especially at election time. Unfortunately, this micromanagement of media by Congress may well become law. A similar Senate proposal is even harsher. And while President Bush threatens a veto, he may in the end decide it's not worth taking on so many of his own supporters, including social conservatives. But he shouldn't give up. (c) Copyright 2003 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved (via Jim Moats, DXLD) ** U S A. NPR DEBUTS DAY TO DAY ON JULY 28 I heard mention of this on WDIY-FM locally. It's a new midday newsmagazine that will air locally at 1600 UT -- even though it's produced by NPR's west coast shop. The program will be hosted by Alex Chadwick, a longtime host of All Things Considered and frequent guest host of Morning Edition. The program will begin on July 28th. Quoting the press release on WDIY's site, "'Day to Day will give listeners NPR substance with an twist: smart, funny, thoughtful, quirky material - a great break and refresher in the middle of a busy day,' said Alex Chadwick." It looks like this will replace the deceased "The Todd Mundt Show" for several stations. See an NPR press release at http://www.npr.org/about/press/030512.prslate.html NPR has co-developed the program with Slate magazine. A Google search suggests the program will be picked up by many public radio webcasters, including WOSU, KUOW, KBSU and others (Richard Cuff, swprograms via DXLD) TRY SOMETHING NEW FOR LUNCH -- NPR'S DAY TO DAY KCRW introduces something new in news when it debuts a new weekday newsmagazine from NPR. Day to Day begins airing this Monday, July 28th at noon. Award-winning host Alex Chadwick will engage in conversation with NPR reporters on the scene of breaking stories, and speak with figures from the world of entertainment and music. Day to Day is a real first -- a collaboration between NPR and the online magazine Slate.com, which will provide additional talent to the program. Day to Day will air Monday through Friday at noon on KCRW and KCRW.com [1900 UT]. A note from Alex Chadwick: All of us at Day to Day were delighted that KCRW was one of the first stations in the country to sign on to carry the first new daily NPR newsmagazine since Morning Edition. And the fact that NPR West where we all work is in Culver City, a short ride from KCRW's basement studios in Santa Mónica, is frosting on the cake. Aside from news, we're interested in pop culture and the ideas, beliefs, and behaviors that shape American life today, and we're going to explore them -- how to buy a used car, what a dreamy kid thinks about doing on vacation, how one weighs the supposed health benefits of a glass or two of wine against the far too common tendency to make that four or five glasses. NPR's concept for a new newsmagazine was already an exciting opportunity for fresh ideas and approaches. Slate's participation makes this venture even more intriguing. With founder Michael Kinsley and editor Jacob Weisberg, Slate provides about the sharpest collection of reportage and observation in American journalism today. We've been talking for months now about how our partnership will work; to be honest, we don't have all the answers yet. But we are going to bring some of the smartest, best-informed voices today to public radio (KCRW newsletter July 24 via DXLD) ** U S A. CALIFORNIA --- BIDDERS MAKE A PLAY FOR KOCE By Elizabeth Jensen, [Los Angeles] Times Staff Writer, July 24 2003 NEW YORK [sic] --- Financially strapped Orange County public television station KOCE, on the sales block for more than a year, suddenly has become the object of intense interest, raising the possibility that it could be sold to a religious buyer that would end its PBS and educational affiliation. Alternatively, the station could be headed toward a merger with Los Angeles' dominant public TV station, KCET, or with the San Diego public station, KPBS, both of which probably would mean consolidation of administrative functions but not programming. The KOCE Foundation, a separate nonprofit organization that runs the station's programming, also is making a play for the license. The possible change comes at a time when consolidation among commercial media has been hotly debated, with critics charging that recent Federal Communications Commission rulings relaxing media ownership limits would reduce the number of local voices. But public TV, which has cast itself as the last bastion of localism, is grappling with funding issues as state and local governments, schools and corporate underwriters cut back. KOCE license holder Coast Community College District hired an investment banking firm in February to solicit bids, which were due this month. KCET, KPBS and the KOCE Foundation said they bid; people familiar with the situation said several religious broadcasters also put in bids. The school district is set to name the bidders Friday and then begin discussing the price and terms of payment. The district has been searching for a buyer or merger partner for KOCE since May 2002, citing the high costs of a federally mandated conversion to digital broadcasting. Since then, added financial pressures in the district "make it much more difficult now to take resources away from our core mission of education," spokeswoman Erin Cohn said. The district contributes about $2 million of KOCE's $8-million annual budget. The board hired San Francisco investment bank Media Venture Partners because it "felt it was in the best interest of taxpayers to find out what the market value of this license was," Cohn said. Any buyer would be required to maintain the station as a noncommercial entity but not necessarily as a public station. Bob Brown, chairman of the KOCE Foundation, confirmed that his group put in a bid to "maintain KOCE-TV as an Orange County entity dedicated to education, culture, local issues and news and to maintain the PBS affiliation." He said there was "a lot of concern" among foundation board members about KOCE being sold to a religious broadcaster: "Orange County would lose the only TV available to us for Orange County issues." A successful KCET bid would mean a consolidation of public broadcasting in the Los Angeles area. But KCET President Al Jerome said, "We believe that we could enhance the service provided on public television to Orange County." KPBS, owned by San Diego State University, is "very interested in making sure that there's good public television in our community of Southern California," General Manager Doug Myrland said (via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. San Francisco is one step closer to getting a significant new move-in on the AM dial, at 860. The Pappas family now has the FCC's blessing for one of the bigger AM moves of recent years: the relocation of 50-kw KTRB, Modesto (860) to San Francisco. The FCC has now granted Pappas' application to move KTRB to the big city, where it will operate from a new site in the Sacramento River delta near Antioch, running 50-kw day from two towers and 40-kw night (into a much more directional pattern aimed west at San Francisco) from four shorter towers. It wasn't simple: In order to make the move to San Francisco, Pappas will have to replace KTRB's service to Modesto, which it plans to do with a new CP for 840 that was also granted last week. Pappas had originally applied for 25-kw day, 10-kw night on 840 from the existing KTRB 860 site, but interference concerns with KNCO, Grass Valley (830) forced a modification of the app. As granted, the new 840 will run 4-kw day from a new site, 10-kw night from the existing 860 site (Robert Wien?, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. Olympia-based KGHO-AM (920) has switched the 6 a.m.-6 p.m. [1300-0100 UT] portion of its schedule to all comedy -- sketches, stand-up routines and songs from current and past stars including Monty Python, Jerry Clower, Steven Wright, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, National Lampoon, Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall. Station manager Sandi Shore says she'll stay away from the more abusive material from performers such as the Jerky Boys. The other half of its broadcast day is devoted to oldies (Pat Martin, OR, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 22 via DXLD) Now doing part comedy/part oldies from 6 AM to 6 PM, vs all comedy; will add Dr Demento show Monday and Friday (Phil Bytheway, WA, ibid.) ** U S A. TV AND RADIO STATIONS OVERCOME STORM DAMAGE TO CONTINUE REPORTS --- By Tom Walter, July 22, 2003 In an emergency, when the power is off, trees are down and the roads are littered with debris, people turn to old friends: the battery- powered or car radios. Whether out of necessity or by preference, radio becomes our eyes, our road map, our best — sometimes only — source of information. And Tuesday morning, Memphis radio returned the loyalty, providing not only news from official sources, but unmediated reports from listeners in the thick of the storm. In fact, news/talk station WREC-AM 600 provided drama of its own, as news and programming director Nate Lundy was on the phone to the station as bricks from the Gibson building destroyed his car. . . http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/screens/article/0,1426,MCA_511_2127464,00.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. CUMULUS CUTS JOBS AT WSM-FM, WWTN By JEANNE A. NAUJECK, Staff Writer Cumulus Media cut about a dozen staff positions yesterday morning from local stations WSM-FM 95.5 and WWTN-FM 99.7, which it recently bought from Gaylord Entertainment Co. Mike Dickey, general manager of Cumulus' local operations, confirmed that ''about 10 to 12'' people lost jobs. . . http://tennessean.com/business/archives/03/07/36483915.shtml?Element_ID=36483915 (via Charles Gossett Jr., DXLD) ** U S A. THE INSPIRATION FOR DR. JOHNNY FEVER Interesting 2 minute clip on National Public Radio today -- worth a listen. http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1355719 (Click on "Morning Edition audio") (via Ray Robinson via Paul David, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. KEDU-LP RUIDOSO NM: A DIALOG http://www.ccbroadcasters.com/julystats.htm Startup problems; has been denied membership in NM Broadcasters Association (via DXLD) ** U S A. COMMISSIONERS OK TV TOWER The Denver Business Journal - July 23, 2003 http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2003/07/21/daily23.html LATEST NEWS 9:46 AM MDT Wednesday The Jefferson County Commissioners unanimously approved the construction of a high-definition TV tower on Lookout Mountain. Lake Cedar Group, a consortium of local television broadcasters, applied to build one 730-foot tower that will replace three towers used by the ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates. The consortium for the new tower includes those three stations and KTVD, a UPN affiliate, which will move from its existing tower on Mount Morrison. Neighbors in the area were concerned about the radio waves that would be emitted by the tower, but Jefferson County Commission Chairman Richard Sheehan said that the frequency levels are 85 percent below the federal standard and the proposal improves the visual impact by reducing the number of towers. The new tower will be used to transmit federally mandated high- definition television signals that have higher quality sound and digital images. Commissioners will formalize the decision on Aug. 19. © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc. (via Patrick Griffith, N0NNK CBT CBNT CRO Westminster, CO, USA, NRC FMTV via DXLD) DIGITAL TV TOWER APPROVED FOR LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN By Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News July 23, 2003 GOLDEN - A group of Denver-area broadcasters has won approval of a hotly contested plan to broadcast digital television signals from Lookout Mountain. Jefferson County commissioners unanimously endorsed the proposal late Tuesday. It will reduce the number of broadcast towers that stud the mountain. The decision brought a swift rebuke from opponents, who fear that radio frequency radiation from Lookout Mountain's antenna farms poses a severe health risk. . . http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2129328,00.html (via Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. 173.435 MHz, Sound track for Melrose Fireworks and air field announcements for Battle Creek ``field of flight`` balloon fest and Thunderbirds air show. Heard with music announcements and balloon launch info at 2255-2315 July 4, and with the fireworks sound track at 0230-0300 July 5 (UT). The sound track used to be simulcast by commercial FM stations, but they wanted to get more people to pay the $5 gate to get into the field, so they stopped that, but still use NBFM to transmit the audio to their speakers on the field and across the ANG base for military personnel. If you have never seen a fireworks display choreographed to music, you don't appreciate how neat it can be. Definitely worth the trip to BC to see this at least once, but don't forget to bring the scanner! (Kenneth Vito Zichi - visiting Battle Creek, MI, MARE via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 1680 kHz beacons: Olá Rudolf, Agora com a freqüência ficou melhor, pois ZO é realmente uma plataforma petrolífera na bacia de Campos, porém V7B pode ser um navio de apóio na bacia também, mas não tenho plena confirmação, já que o pessoal da DHN da Marinha não tem muito controle sobre estes indicativos como é o caso do ZZ e ZO, que estão operando em caráter experimental "definitivo". A Petrobrás lança mão de muitos navios de bandeiras estrangeiras sem ter que trocar os indicativos das estações; nesta época temos também aqui no hemisfério sul a ativação de alguns auxílios devido a nevoeiros densos e icebergs, como é o caso das estações polares. Devido a época do ano também, não podemos deixar de considerar a possibilidade de ter recebido um NDB da Austrália ou algumas de suas ilhas; a propagação por onda terrestre é algo incrível. 73, (Jorge Jockyman Jr., PY3JJ, July 23, radioescutas via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ MEXICO DX ENCUENTRO. In case you are depending on the agenda in previous issue, there have been a number of changes in the `final` version. Try the AER website (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ ARRL URGES IMPROVED RFI IMMUNITY STANDARDS FOR CONSUMER ELECTRONICS NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 24, 2003--The ARRL has told the FCC that improved interference standards for consumer electronic devices is the most pressing need as the Commission considers the interference immunity performance of receivers. The League filed comments this week in response to an FCC Notice of Inquiry (NOI) Interference Immunity Performance Specifications for Radio Receivers (ET-03-65), released last March to gather input on the issue. While recommending ``either mandatory receiver immunity standards or at least guidelines`` in most other services, the ARRL said no receiver immunity standards are necessary or practical in the ``essentially experimental`` Amateur Service. ``The real need for receiver immunity specifications is in the area of consumer electronics,`` the ARRL said. ``With the current explosion of consumer electronics and unlicensed devices, the Commission must -- concurrently with consideration of receiver immunity standards in licensed radio services -- establish interference rejection standards for unlicensed home electronic equipment and systems as well.`` At the same time, the ARRL said, development of any receiver immunity standards or guidelines ``should not be used as a means of justifying the overlay of otherwise fundamentally incompatible spectrum sharing partners.`` The League said the FCC has had the authority to require improved RF interference immunity of consumer electronics and systems for many years ``and has failed repeatedly to exercise it.`` The result has been ``many thousands of instances of complaints against Amateur Radio operators and, in some cases, civil and criminal actions being filed,`` the League said. In its 21-page reply to the NOI, the ARRL recited the recent history of legislative and regulatory efforts to come to grips with interference from RF sources, including amateur stations, to receivers used in other services, such as TV and radio broadcasting, and to consumer electronics. ``ARRL continues to believe that receiver immunity should be on the order of 3 V/m for receivers that might be in the near field of an Amateur Radio station,`` the League said. At that distance, a receiver would be immune to an approximately 100-W ham radio transmission into a 0 dBd antenna 100 feet away. The League conceded, however, that such a standard would not address the interference immunity of telephones, computers, alarm systems, audio systems and other consumer electronics that ``constitute the bulk of the instances of interference involving Amateur Radio operators.`` The ARRL suggested the FCC mandate a standard for all consumer electronics or adopt a labeling or grading system that allows consumers to make their own choices about the importance of interference immunity and its value in terms of increased product cost. The League also said software-defined radio (SDR) technology offered the best opportunity to deal with receiver immunity. The ARRL advised the FCC against relying exclusively on manufacturers to agree on how to deal with interference immunity. ``Looking at the history of voluntary standards for RF interference rejection,`` the League said, ``the track record of manufacturers is not exemplary.`` The FCC should establish recommended guidelines for receiver immunity, the ARRL said, but added that these should not apply to unlicensed devices ``which are entitled to no interference protection in the first place.`` In its NOI, the FCC had said it had no plans to reverse its ``longstanding practice of allowing the market to determine the performance of broadcast receivers, with the Commission stepping in only where obvious deficiencies appear`` that could disrupt reception. The FCC`s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) Web site ``consumer facts`` page [at] http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/interference.html takes a somewhat different stance by stating that interference from transmitters to broadcast receivers ``is normally caused by the actual design of the (interfered-with) equipment itself.`` The CGB says many manufacturers ``do not protect internal wiring with adequate shielding or sufficient filtering,`` leaving the consumer equipment susceptible. There`s a similar comment regarding RFI to telephone equipment [at] http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/ixphones.html Such RFI ``is not necessarily a sign that the interference is intentional or that the interfering radio transmitter is illegal but that your equipment has no, or inadequate, protection.`` the FCC says. The ARRL also urged the FCC not to make interference susceptibility of unlicensed devices a determining factor in whether a licensed radio service should be given an allocation in bands in where unlicensed -- and unprotected -- devices are deployed. As a recent example, the League cited the FCC`s recent refusal to allocate a sliver band in the vicinity of 136 kHz ``because of the ill-conceived prior deployment of unlicensed power line carrier [PLC] systems.`` The FCC, in effect, ``refused to make an allocation based on interference susceptibility of unlicensed and unprotected RF devices and systems,`` the League said. ``This is improper spectrum management and the policy should be revisited.`` In March, the FCC ask how it could incorporate receiver interference immunity specifications within its overall spectrum policy and invited public comments on possible methods and means of improving receiver performance. The Commission suggested that these could include incentives, guidelines or regulatory requirements -- or a combination -- in particular bands and services or across bands and services. The Commission said it believes incorporating receiver performance specifications could ``promote more efficient utilization of the spectrum and create opportunities for new and additional use of radio communications by the American public.`` The NOI was a follow-up to the work of the FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force, which looked at ways to improve overall radio spectrum management. The ARRL`s comments on the NOI are available on the ARRL Web site [at] http://www2.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/et03-65/ARRL-ET-03-65-cmts.pdf The March FCC Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket 03-65 is available on the FCC Web site [at] http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-54A6.doc Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ 13 m BAND SCAN 1330-1400 UT Hi Glenn, I noted upper SW-frequencies were nicely open in this sunny afternoon. So I did kind of band scan in the 13 meter band 1330-1400 UT. Here are the results: 21840 DW Nauen in German 21810 RDP Lisbon with ID 1355UT 21790 DW Wertachtal in German 21705 BSKSA Riyadh in Arabic 21695 R Jamahariya via FRANCE in Arabic signed off 14 UTC 21685 RFI Paris in French via FRENCH GUIANA 21675 R Jamahariya via FRANCE 21665 UNID. Maybe DW Wertachtal broadcasting to Africa. Language unknown. 21640 Two stations: DW SRI LANKA and BBC, WS. 21610 REE Noblejas 21605 UAE Radio in English 21600 BSKSA Riyadh in Arabic 21580 R France International, Issoudun-Allouis in French 21570 REE Madrid (Noblejas) in Spanish // 21540 kHz 21530 R Farda in Farsi or is it Persian. QTH?! 21505 BSKSA Riyadh in Arabic to N. Africa 21500 Voz Cristiana from Chile with programme in Portuguese. Nice surprise to hear this outlet this early. 21480 R Netherlands via Madagascar in Dutch 21470 BBC WS via Ascension to S. Africa. I really enjoy these upper band stations in summer time. It`s daylight DX-ing for me. When the day is shortest in Northern Hemisphere and even earlier, these bands are almost totally empty for us, DX-ers living 60 degrees north. PS. Thanks to Passport 2003 for valuable information. I do love those blue pages! 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, July 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It so happens I was checking 13m about the same time, but hardly anything was audible here (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CUMBRE PROPAGATION REPORT Flare activity has been just about non existent over the past 7 days. A coronal hole wind stream kept the geomagnetic field disturbed for the first half of the week, with sometimes storm levels noted last weekend. High latitude paths were poor at times. A shock in the solar wind around 1400 on Jul 23 caused minor to major storm levels for a few hours at high latitudes only. MUFs are expected to remain near normal early in the week. Periods of minor to mild depressions are possible during the second half of the week due to possible activity by a returning region that produced M-class activity during its last cycle of appearance on the disk. It is to be noted that this region had shown signs of decay at the time of passing behind the limb last time and, therefore, it may not be effective or as effective this time. Prepared with data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, July 25, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-131, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1192: WWCR: Thu 2030 15825, Sat 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 and/or 15039 WRMI: Sat & Sun 1800+ 15725 WINB: Sun 0030 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1192h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1192.html [from Thu] ** AUSTRALIA. `AM` FOUND TO BE UNBIASED BY THE ABC'S COMPLAINTS REVIEW EXECUTIVE The ABC has responded to the 68 complaints lodged by Communications Minister Richard Alston about alleged bias in the AM program by upholding only two out of the 68 concerns . . . http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s906924.htm (transcript and audio links, via Bill Westenhaver, QC, DXLD) ABC 'BIAS' LARGELY IN ALSTON'S MIND --- 24 July 2003 THE irony of those well-publicised complaints from the Communications Minister, Richard Alston, that ABC Iraq war coverage contained "numerous examples of one-sided and tendentious commentary" is that Alston -- who claims the one-sidedness took the form of anti-US bias -- emerges from the latest round of the argument accused of being at least equally one-sided and tendentious. Full story is available at: http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6793565%255E7582,00.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) BY ANY MEASURE, ALSTON BOMBS OUT -- 24 July 2003 THANK goodness Richard Alston is Australia's communications minister and not the bloke who programs the smart bombs for the US military. The strike rate for his hit list of complaints against alleged ABC bias during the war on Iraq was a mere 2.9 per cent. Full story: http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6793462%255E12280,00.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) In light of recent government criticisms involving the BBC and (perhaps unknown to most) ABC Australia, here's a Radio Australia/ Radio National program that intends to address the issues: THE MEDIA REPORT with Mick O'Regan - "Public Broadcasting in the Spotlight". In Australia the Communications Minister, Senator Alston, remains unsatisfied by the ABC's response to his criticisms of bias, and in the UK, the BBC is at the centre of the controversy over sources and reporting. How should public broadcasters deal with politically sensitive news, and is the line between reportage and analysis too often blurred? Available beginning Thursday on demand from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/ Also broadcast by Radio Australia Thu 0130, 1030, 1530 on shortwave and online, on WRN-NA and Sirius stream 115 1130, and by Radio National online Wed 2230, Thu 1005. There are also these RA-broadcast programs with a focus on radio: BUSH TELEGRAPH with Alicia Brown - "Radio in Rural Afghanistan". Rural Afghanistan is home to 80% of the population. Only one quarter of the people have access to mostly state-owned local radio. Up to twenty new stations will be launched within the next year to help Afghanistan's reconstruction. What kind of information will they broadcast, and how will they actually help rural people get back on their feet? Available on Thursday on demand from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/telegraph/ Also broadcast by Radio Australia Thu 1130 and 1605 on shortwave and online, on WRN-NA and Sirius stream 115 1505, and by Radio National online Thu 0105. FEEDBACK with Roger Broadbent - For the past two weeks on Radio Australia`s Feedback the focus has been on digital radio in Australia - the available technologies and what lies ahead as this country considers its options. This weekend we find out what it all means for the broadcasters. A complete mindset change it appears and we'll need to become multi-media specialists. Steve Ahearn, Head of Radio at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, has spent the past two years teaching his students about digital radio broadcasting - the technical, the creative and the marketing side of this new technology. Broadcast by Radio Australia on shortwave and online Fri 2105, Sat 0605, Sun 0305, on WRN and Sirius stream 115 Sun 0705. Available on demand from early next week (John Figliozzi, NY, July 23, swprograms via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA [non?]. Dear Robin, you tell your readers, in RA, May 2003, that the external service from Austria relays a.o. "sundry Ethiopian clandestine broadcasters." This is not only untrue, it is insulting. We provide some air space to broadcasters of a humanitarian nature, programmes sponsored by the United Nations, the European Union etc. to provide unbiased and uncensored information for countries where the local regimes do not allow freedom of expression. We would never give access to "sundry clandestines." Please inform your readers accordingly. BTW it seems to me you have bad luck whenever you report from Austria. Last time you discriminated an Austrian politician whose name you could not even spell, hi. 73 de Wolf Harranth OE1WHC, DX Editor ex-Radio Austria International http://www.qsl.at --- a site you might want to check (via Harwood, DXLD) Am I in trouble or not? Wolf seems to think I goofed in saying that Austria relays "sundry Clandestine Ethiopian Broadcasters". Now I have seen references to these in Clandestine Radio Watch. They classify them as clandestine. As for the reference to an Austrian politician, I don't have any idea what he is on about (Robin L. HARWOOD, Norwood, Tasmania, "Spotlight on SWLing-Amateur Radio" DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s GERMANY, DTK i.a. that relays `Sundry Ethiopian clandestines`; I can`t think of any via Austria. Which ones exactly do you think are transmitted by Austria? And CRW will be quick to disclaim that everything they cover is really clandestine (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. OE1M - QSLS - INTERNATIONAL MARCONI DAY Ich habe heute die letzten OE1M-QSLs zum Internationalen Marconi-Tag zur Post gebracht. Wer in angemessener Zeit also noch immer auf seine QSL wartet, sollte sich direkt bei mir melden. Es war ein grosses Stueck Trauerarbeit mit viel Abschiedsschmerz. So viele bekannte Namen - und mit vielen verbinden sich Erinnerungen: An wertvollen Hinweisen fuer unsere Sendungen, an persoenliche Begegnungen... So viele unbekannte Namen - und alles Stammhoerer, die sich erst jetzt melden: Man sendet ins Nichts und ahnt nicht, wie gross die Familie ist. Allerdings gibt's da auch die Schattenseiten: Da hat uns einer stundenlang auf einer Frequenz gehoert, auf der wir nie gesendet hatten. Kein Wunder, dass er kein einziges Programmdetail nennen konnte. Da weiss jemand genau, dass wir 0.45 kHz nenben der Nominalfrequenz gesendet haben. Sein Empfaenger ist geeicht (unser Sender ist es offenbar nicht). Da hat wieder jemand flott alle Berichtsdetails erfunden... Am aergerlichsten: Bei gut einem Drittel der Berichte fehlten der Adressaufkleber/das Rpckkuvert und/oder der Portoersatz. Das hat dann auf dem Postamt 100 Euro gekostet. Ich erwaehne das nicht, um mich zu ruehmen, sondern zu erinnern: Nicht in jeder Rundfunkanstalt wird die QSL-Post aus der Portokasse bezahlt. Wenn die QSL-Politik Frucht des Idealismus eines Mitarbeiters, einer Mitarbeiterin ist, diese(r) aber immer tief in die eigene Tasche greifen muss, darf man sich nicht wundern, wenn der Ruf der Hoerer nicht der beste ist und die QSLs eines Tages ausbleiben. 73 de Wolf Harranth OE1WHC (via A-DX July 22 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** CANADA. CJRS Radio Montreal -- http://www.cjrsradio.com Nouveau sur le webb demande special accepté (July 23 via DXLD) Web-only station? Can`t find it in FM Atlas or M-Street 2000y Directory. Non-commercial? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {see 3-132} ** CUBA. I came across few different jamming transmissions this morning, July 23, in 0400-0500 UT time slot 2 - 11760 around 0435 UT. 3 - 9805 against Radio Martí around 0440 UT. as .MP3 file. Different jamming of the Cuban type heard at same time on 11760 and 9805 kHz. I think, 11760 jamming is an AUDIO mixup at the la Habana Bauta site --- heard on co-channel RHC Spanish service. 9805 kHz is both, a US Radio Farda Kavalla channel earlier in the morning, as well as a US Radio Martí channel (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also IRAN ** ** CZECH REPUBLIC. CZECH MINISTER SAYS HOSTING RFE/RL RADIO FREEZES CZECH TRADE WITH IRAN | Excerpt from report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 23 July: The Czech Republic will somehow contribute to the removal of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) from the Prague centre, Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda told BBC today. "The form is yet to be debated," Svoboda said. [passage omitted] The RFE/RL cannot interrupt broadcasts and it would have to function at two places simultaneously. The moving's costs are estimated at more than 500m Czech korunas. [passage omitted] "It can be just a contribution. We contribute to the USA just by having it here. All our trade relations with Iran are frozen," Svoboda said. [passage omitted] [One dollar equals 28.39 Czech korunas.] Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1722 gmt 23 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Queridos Radioescuchas, les enviamos nuestra hoja de programación; esperamos les ayude a seguir más facilmente nuestras emisiones. Un abrazo. RADIO EL CAIRO, EMISIONES EN LENGUA CASTELLANA HOJA DE PROGRAMACION CORRESPONDIENTE AL SEGUNDO SEMESTRE DEL ANO 2003 HORARIO 0045-0200 TUC Horario de Verano Tiempo local de el Cairo: 3:45-5:00 am ***** Horario de Invierno Tiempo local de el Cairo: 2:45-4:00 am Onda corta: 25 ms. 11755 y 11790 KHZ Transmisión Via Satelite: NileSat programa 7, Frecuencia 11766 GHz, Polaridad Horizontal, Simpo 27500, 7 grados oeste. E/mail: radioelcairoespa@y... [truncated] Dirección Correo Postal: Radio El Cairo, Programas en Español, Apartado Postal 566, El Cairo, Egipto. Programas Fijos (tiempo local de El Cairo): [UT + 3!!!] 3:47 Musica Oriental, 3:48 Resumen Noticioso, 4:00 Noticiario a Detalle, 4:50 Noticias de Última Hora Programas Diarios (tiempo local de el Cairo): Lunes Martes Miércoles 3:50 Mensaje del Islam, Tarjeta Postal, Compañeros P[ara?] Mohámed 4:10 Comentario Político, Luces Sobre Oriente Medio, Comentario Político 4:15 Tema Semanal, Cancionero Egipcio 4:20 Panorama Egipcio 4:30 Amplie sus Conoc[imientos?]. Jerusalén, Deporte en una Semana 4:35 Papel y Lápiz 4:40 Rincón Filatélico, Preguntas y Respuestas 4:45 Charla Variada Jueves Viernes Sábado 3:50 Crónica Literaria, Exégesis del Corán, La Mujer Egipcia 4:10 Comentario Político, Comentario Político, Semanario de Prensa 4:15 Canción Árabe 4:20 Micrófono en la calle, Patrimonio Cultural, Música de América Latina 4:35 Perspectiva Latinoamericana, El Cairo Contesta 4:40 Historia de la Civilización Árabe 4:45 Capitales Históricas de Egipto Domingo 3:50 Luces Sobre Nuestra Vida Cotidiana 4:10 Comentario Político 4:15 El Cairo Contesta 4:35 Egipto al Vuelo 4:45 De aquí y de allá /////////////////FIN////////////////////// RADIO EL CAIRO EN ESPANOL --- DIR. SANAA MAKLED; LOCUCION: VERONICA BALDERAS, ASSIA LAMARTY; SUPLENTES: MAHMOUD, MOHAMED; SUPERVISION: IMAN, NAGLAA; REDACCION: NANCY, RANA. -------------------------------------------------- (via Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Tiere --- WALROSS-DAME "ANTJE" IST TOT [illustrated!] Die berühmte Walross-Dame "Antje" ist im Hamburger Tierpark Hagenbeck gestorben. "Antje ist in der Nacht sanft entschlafen", sagte Zoodirektor Claus Hagenbeck am Donnerstagmorgen. . . http://www.ndr.de/ndr/regional/hh/20030716/antje.html Click to the VIDEO on the rightmost corner BELOW: http://stream.ndr.de/bb/redirect.lsc?stream=ndr/media//vs/20030716_155446_tv_trailer_antje_walross.rm&content=content&media=rm and you will get the video stream of the mascot interval signal (video+audio signals on Real Player). 73 wolfy (via Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Re: DXLD 3-130 GERMANY. The Kiel-based Power Radio Here in Copenhagen I still hear Power Radio today, July 23, around noon LT, on 612 kHz (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) While reading the above story I tuned into 612 kHz here in Central Denmark and found the usual strong signal (9+20dB) from Power Radio and the usual dance-music format here at 0830. The distance from my QTH to Kiel is 250 km (155 miles). (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Power Radio on 612 is again on air; reportedly they stated that an excavator tore apart a cable to the transmitter. If so this would be the STL circuit rather than the main power supply, considering the reported open carrier. This brings up some nostalgia: Back in 1992/1993 also an excavator cut the cable with the audio circuits to the Wilsdruff transmitter (this cable was placed along the highway from Leipzig to Dresden; it is meanwhile retired in favour of a digital STL via either microwave link or fibre optic cable). As a result the MDR Life network was transmitted on 1044 by means of Ballempfang (FM pick-up) while the DT64 studio signal vanished into nowhere. But they continued to, let's say narrowcast, and the results were so amusing that some excerpts from the aircheck tape were later broadcast for real (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23 2112 UT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND [non]. Re: DXLD 3-128 + a geography lesson: The three programs are now available as ONE 30 min. 45 seconds program at: http://www1.dr.dk/pubs/nyheder/html/programmer/kortboelge/meta/haagensen.ram But please note that the interview is entirely in DANISH, with some recordings of e.g. US Stations + air communication. His first experiences in Greenland were in 1949 in Peary Land (the Northernmost part of Greenland which is a peninsula with Cape Morris Jesup, at 83 39 North, as Greenland's northernmost point). Later at Station Nord (=North) from it was built in 1952. See a map of Greenland at: http://www.dmi.dk/vejr/gron/index.html - then click left on 'Observationer'. (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Erik, tnx for availablizing this. I listened to the entire show, altho I don`t understand Danish! There were several non-English clips included at 07:31, 08:19, 10:19; Nord Radio in English, 2-way weather info, at 17:03 and again in the next minute; and also at 22:37. Brief KFAB clip at 21:36; KING at 21:50 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. Glenn, Letter from Joseph Bras{h}ier states: "The frequency change is for KWHR Angel 3 in Naalehu, Hawaii. We were signing off at 1630 UT on 9.930 MHz at 285 degrees. As of Friday July 11, 2003, we began signing off at 1700 on 9.930 MHz. We are also changing directions from 285 to 300 degrees at 1600 until sign off at 1700. This change will be effective all 76 days". (via Gayle Van Horn, Monitoring Times Frequency Manager, DX LISTENING DIGEST) To accommodate a new clandestine client??? (gh, DXLD) {Yes! Falun Dafa as in subsequent issues, and a LeSea Mandarin production at 1630} ** INDONESIA. 4869.97, RRI Wamena, 1035-1102 July 23. Noted simply typical music with man in comments between tunes. At tune in the signal was poor, but by 1100 with a beautiful sunrise in progress here in Florida, the signal of Wamena was at a good level (Bolland, Chuck, Clewiston, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. The letters and numbers in my logs such as (E3, E4, E10, V2a) are ENIGMA assigned station identifiers; they are used to help identify what spy numbers station you are listening to. Here is a link to a website explaining this and a list of ENIGMA station identifiers and their names: http://www.spynumbers.com/enigma.html Here is another website that give information about some of the stations: http://www.spynumbers.com/profiles/enigma.html ENIGMA is the European Numbers Information Gathering and Monitoring Association, a non-profit making association of listeners who monitor and gather information on 'Numbers Stations' and other related radio transmissions. If you are intrested in being a member of ENIGMA, you can find the Yahoo groups' ENIGMA 2000 Website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/enigma2000/ 73, (Chris Acuff, shortwavelistening yahoogroup via DXLD) ** IRAN. I came across few different jamming transmissions this morning, July 23, in 0400-0500 UT time slot. Attached three examples 1 - 15420 around 0425 UT. [see also CUBA] Usual strong Iranian jamming against 15290 US Radio Farda Kavala in Persian. DIFFERENT fast machine 'ditting' oscillating jamming also on 15185 and 15420 kHz, most likely also Iranian type, seemingly a 24 hrs operation like against Mojahed broadcasts. On 15185 kHz co-channel is another US Radio Farda Kavala operation in Persian. But the 15420 kHz channel is used widely by BBC Oman in Persian and Pashto during daytime, and extended transmission time on Thursdays and Fridays; 0700-1300 UT. 15420 kHz BBC Seychelles from 1400-1630 in Somali and Swahili (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. A leading press watchdog called on July 22 for U.S. and British authorities to ease media restrictions in Iraq quickly and draw up liberal media laws to replace the straitjacket that Saddam Hussein imposed. The country's new freedoms could be at risk if resistance to U.S. and British forces grew, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders warned in a report entitled "The Iraqi media three months after the war: a new but fragile freedom". Saddam's fall in April has spawned boisterous new media, including at least 85 newspapers and magazines, dozens of internet cafes as well as radio stations and satellite television channels, the group said. "Reporters Without Borders calls for work to begin very soon on drafting liberal and democratic media regulations and laws to fill the present void and replace the harsh legislation of Saddam Hussein's era," the report said. It criticised rules imposed by Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, that ban incitement to violence against U.S. and British forces and empower their commander to decide what constitutes incitement. Bremer's order also bans incitement to ethnic and religious hatred, but the media group said the wording was vague enough to allow the U.S.-led authorities to crack down on local media. The authorities have nine grounds for closing media outlets, powers already used to suspend the Voice of Baghdad radio station and a Shi'ite Muslim newspaper in the holy city of Najaf, the seven-page report said. It said the powers of the Iraqi Media Network, acting as an interim body to replace the former Iraqi information ministry, were ill-defined and should be quickly spelled out. Journalists needed better legal protection, while the recent deaths of two journalists underlined security problems, it said (Reuters via SCDX/MediaScan July 23 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. THE IRAQI MEDIA THREE MONTHS AFTER THE WAR : A NEW BUT FRAGILE FREEDOM A wind of freedom has gusted through the Iraqi media for the past three months. For nearly 30 years, it was assigned the single task of glorifying the regime and its leader, President Saddam Hussein. Today, newspapers are springing up in Baghdad and all over the country. Radio and TV are not as prolific and lively, but genuine diversity and openness is now possible. But daily lawlessness and instability, the large amount of weaponry in people's hands, squabbles between political groups and the US and British occupation mean complete freedom is not guaranteed for journalists, who are practising self-censorship. Criticism and different opinions can now be voiced however. The future of the Iraqi media is largely in the hands of the US-British Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and, to some extent, the Iraqi Transitional Governing Council appointed on 13 July. . . http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=7583 (long, illustrated, Reporters Without Borders article, via Kim Elliott, WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. An envelope of goodies arrived today from the Voice of Korea, replying to my 5th of June request for information on a project I'm working on. They sent no less than: a personally typed letter, the 50 year history of North Korean broadcasting leaflet (circa 1995), broadcast schedules for all 8 foreign language services, 2 copies of the English language "Pyongyang times" newspaper, a Radio Pyongyang pennant and a Voice of Korea pin badge (obviously a new addition due to the recent name change.) Sadly no programme guide, but then you can't have everything! Interestingly, in the letter from them, they mention that since April 11 2003, Voice of Korea has been available 24 hours a day on the Taicom 3 satellite, 3424.5 "ohm". [?] {Thaicom: see 3-132} As uptodate schedules for the station are hard to find, I've scanned each of the 8 schedules and put them on a quickly thrown together webpage. I'll add scans of the newspapers and other information shortly. Judging by my monitoring this evening, the English schedule to Europe at least is accurate. http://www.eurobahn.co.uk/~media/vok/ (My correspondence with the DPRK may have blown my chances of ever being recruited by MI6, but there's nevertheless still something special about receiving post from distant lands, which these days is quite a rarity!) (Daniel Atkinson, England, July 22, swprograms via DXLD) And gh herewith transcribes and rearranges into time order the English portion, shown as one hour each, frequencies in the order given; looks like carbon copy on old manual typewriter: 0100 CAm 15180 11735 13760 0100 NE China 7140 9345 6195 0200 SEAs 11845 15230 0300 NE China 7140 9345 6195 1000 CAm 9335 11710 1000 SEAs 11735 13650 1300 NAm 11710 9335 1300 WEu 15245 13760 1500 WEu 15245 13760 1500 NAm 11710 9335 1600 ME/NAf 11735 9975 1900 WEu 15245 13760 2100 WEu 15245 13760 (via Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. HUNDREDS OF LIBERIANS SEEK REFUGE AT ELWA AS FIGHTING ESCALATES --- Posted by: newsdesk on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 12:41 PM Hundreds of refugees have sought shelter at Radio Station ELWA in the Liberian capital of Monrovia as the political situation in the country continues to deteriorate. ``We are again calling upon you to join us in prayer for Liberia,`` wrote SIM-Liberia Director Rick Sacra in an e-mail report sent Sunday afternoon. ``The news from the last few days has not been good. Lurd rebels have again attacked from the North and West, starting on Friday, again reaching the Freeport area on Saturday and coming close to the city center. Mortar shells are again being dropped in heavily populated areas. Reports indicate that the rebels are also moving toward Paynesville from the Freeport area. This could bring fighting closer to ELWA.`` Despite the unrest, ``things are still quiet at the ELWA campus,`` he wrote. However, more than 500 persons have arrived at the facility as the fighting spreads. The ministry`s radio station and hospital continue to operate as long as diesel fuel is available to run the generators. The spokesman urged prayer for safety and a permanent resolution to the conflict. HCJB World Radio works in partnership with ELWA, a ministry founded by SIM in Monrovia in 1954, to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. The radio station was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. ELWA went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low-power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ELWA broadcasts the gospel in 10 languages and plans to add more as resources become available. . . http://www.hcjb.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=593&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 (HCJB Press via WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Radio Myanmar: No data form letter QSL from v/s Ko Ko Htway stating, "We are pleased to verify your reception of Radio Myanmar". Also enclosed was a program schedule and Media Index. I have been pursuing this one for over 5 years, with numerous follow-up letters, faxes, and fresh reports. Really glad to finally have this one in the collection (George Maroti, NY, July 23, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. MEDIA: CROSBIE TO LEAVE RADIO NZ Radio New Zealand chief executive Sharon Crosbie has confirmed she will step down at the end of the year. . . http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=6580&cid=1&cname=Media (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) RADIO NEW ZEALAND HEAD TO STEP DOWN --- 23.07.2003 5.30pm From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3514250&thesection=news&thesubsection=general Radio New Zealand chief executive Sharon Crosbie will step down at the end of the year. RNZ board chairman Brian Corban said today Crosbie had advised him she would leave her position as chief executive and editor in chief at the end of December. Mr Corban said Crosbie would leave the company in good heart at a time when there was a revival in government support for public broadcasting, a new funding agreement, and a positive conclusion to recent pay negotiations. RNZ would immediately begin an international search to fill Crosbie's role, he said. "The company will undertake a normal search and recruitment exercise for a senior appointment of this nature." Mr Corban said Crosbie had made a significant contribution to public broadcasting during her eight-year tenure in the positions. "There have been outstanding contributions from many fine broadcasters over the years and Sharon Crosbie stands with the best of them... she has made a significant contribution to the heritage of public broadcasting in this country." In recent times Crosbie has made news due to a prolonged employment dispute with RNZ's head of news Lynne Snowdon. Snowdon has been absent from work for seven months after a falling out with Crosbie over budget and staffing issues. She has been on sick leave since January after her doctor diagnosed she was suffering from depression triggered by a stressful work environment. In June, the Employment Relations Authority ordered RNZ to take Ms Snowdon back and pay her $3000 in compensation. RNZ appealed, arguing Ms Snowdon should first undergo a psychiatric assessment. This month the Employment Court ordered the parties to negotiate over the assessment (via Ulis Fleming, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** OMAN. Radio Sultanate of Oman: I got a folder QSL with full data, (except there was no date) veried by Director of frequency, Radio. it was for my report on 15355. Ironically, I just sent a follow-up, before this one arrived. Two beautiful stamps on the envelope have since gone to my stamp collections. Return address on the folder was given as Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Information, P.O. Box 600, postal code 113. Muscat. Kindest regards, (Emmanuel Ezeani, P.O. Box 1633, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria, July 23, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 4855 kHz, Radio La Hora, full data "Radio La Hora" card, v/s Carlos Gamarra Moscoso, Director De Frecuencias, in 1 month after assistance from a Peruvian friend, 3 months total, received pennant. Address on envelope: Av, Gercilaso No 411, Wanchaq-Cusco, Peru. Thanks to my Peruvian friend for making this, my first Peruvian QSL, possible! (Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: S-Files Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: Studio 49 Sunday: Sounds Nordic We're changing one of our frequencies to East Asia and New Zealand for the broadcast at 1230 UT. Beginning this Sunday July 27, the frequency of 17505 kHz will be replaced by 13580. However, 17505 will continue from another transmitter to South Asia and Australia, and we'll continue to use 17840 for the 1230 broadcast to North America (Anders Backlin, Radio Sweden, SCDX/MediaScan July 23 via WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ** UGANDA. DEFENCE MINISTER SAYS ARMY TO START RADIO SOON | Text of report by Ugandan newspaper The New Vision web site on 23 July The UPDF [Uganda People's Defence Forces] is to open a 200m shilling radio station this financial year, Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi said in a policy statement to parliament. The army spokesman Maj Shaban Bantariza yesterday said, "Certainly we will start up a radio this financial year. It will be located centrally, but will be reaching all our forces wherever they are." He said: "The radio will do what all the other radios are doing, inform, entertain, and the rest." Bantariza said: "There isn't adequate information concerning the army. By the time the information reaches the public, it is third or forth hand. Currently, the facts are misrepresented." He said they could not use Radio Uganda for their purpose because "Radio Uganda collapsed, it is ineffective like most of government departments." He said he started Radio Freedom in northern Uganda, but was taken over by Radio Uganda and "it fell victim to their problems". Bantariza said the radio would reinforce the UPDF web site which is currently operational, adding 0.6bn Ugandan shillings had been budgeted by the Ministry of Training for selected soldiers in IT applications. The Defence Ministry has also budgeted 500m Ugandan shillings for the re-establishment of the army shop and 1.2bn shillings for an assurance scheme for soldiers, Bantariza said. Source: The New Vision web site, Kampala, in English 23 Jul 03 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) WTFK? FM? Possibly SW for the wide coverage envisaged (gh, DXLD) ** U K. THE BBC MUST NOT BE A CASUALTY OF WAR By Chris Smith, Financial Times, 23 July 2003 Published: July 22 2003 19:26 | Last Updated: July 22 2003 19:26 All of us in the Westminster village - politicians, government officials, journalists - ought to be ashamed of ourselves. All too often we treat the political debate as a game: who's up, who's down, who said what to whom, who can be tripped up with what. Then reality intrudes, in this case in horribly tragic fashion. It ought to bring us up short, to remind us of what truly matters, to concentrate our minds on the big questions. Yet within hours we are at it again, with a parade of apologists for one side or the other being dismissive or triumphalist in turns. For what it is worth, I suspect that Andrew Gilligan did amplify what he had been told by David Kelly, in order to make it sound more dramatic - though the concerns Mr Kelly had about the government's published statements were real enough. I suspect that Alastair Campbell, the prime minister's director of communications, did indeed put added emphasis and gloss on to the raw intelligence material presented to the government - although I do not believe he inserted anything that was not there in the first place. I suspect that the Ministry of Defence did put Mr Kelly's name into the public domain, believing that this would help the government's "case" against the BBC. I suspect that Greg Dyke, the BBC's director-general, and Gavyn Davies, the chairman, were delighted to have a chance to show their independence from a Labour government - though they also wanted to stand firm in not revealing journalistic sources. And I suspect that the board of governors of the BBC accepted a little too readily the version of events set before them by their executives. It is something they are wont to do and they always need to remember their responsibilities as regulators, not just as managers. I hope that Lord Hutton will search diligently through all of this undergrowth and establish clearly where the truth lies. It is important, of course, that he does not artificially limit the scope of his inquiry. If the logic of his investigation takes him into broader issues, unravelling exactly why we went to war and the validity of the stated reasons given at the time, that is what he should examine. He should realise that he is in an impregnable position. The government cannot place artificial barriers on his work, however much it may want to. He must have a look at whatever he thinks is necessary to get at the truth. In all of this, however, there is one thing of which I am sure. Public service broadcasting itself must not become a casualty of the conflict. The BBC is the most important of our public service broadcasters. It is a fundamentally important part of the life of the nation. It is of greater value than any individual politician. It also has great responsibilities. And it does not always get everything right. But it cannot and should not become a victim to be threatened, scapegoated and kicked around by whoever wants to gain a momentary upper hand in the media war that - sadly - has now restarted. I have been particularly alarmed in the past few days to hear some of my parliamentary colleagues talking about the future of the BBC's status and licence fee income, in the light of the 2006 review of its charter. This is little short of blackmail; and to make an explicit link between the events of the recent past and the BBC's overall future would be outrageous. Any decisions about how the BBC is funded and governed, and what the shape of our public service broadcasting landscape should be, must be taken at the appropriate time on their merits. They should not be influenced by any pique about a particular argument or spat, however controversial. Of course the BBC is going to be robustly independent. Of course it is going to "defy" the sitting government from time to time. Even if it sometimes gets that defiance slightly wrong, it must continue to criticise. That is what it is there for. I remember when I was talking with China's minister for broadcasting, a few years ago, and he complained about the BBC's critical reporting about Tibet, I told him that - as minister in charge of broadcasting in Britain - I myself was regularly criticised by the BBC. He could not believe we would allow such a state of affairs. But I am proud to live in a country that not only allows such things to happen but also insists on it. There are entirely legitimate issues to be discussed, as we approach the charter review, about the way the BBC is governed and regulated. I for one have been arguing for some time that the back-stop regulatory power over the BBC governors should rest with Ofcom rather than with the secretary of state: it is important to take it out of the realm of politics. But that point should not get mixed up in a general assault on the BBC, its decisions, its journalism and its ability to be awkward, just so that one side of a current argument can gain ground over another. A period of reflection is certainly needed, not just about the events that led up to Mr Kelly's tragic death but about the decisions that led to war, the political judgments made since and the importance of independent public service broadcasting in a democracy. Bashing the BBC's fulfilment of this role may be an easy option for some. But in reality it serves the nation ill. --- The writer was secretary of state for culture, media and sport 1997-2001 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) THE BBC IS A WORLD, NOT A LAW, UNTO ITSELF By Janet Daley (Filed: 23/07/2003) I work for the BBC. There - I've said it. In spite of everything I have written in the past and am about to write now, you should know that a proportion of my income comes from the very news and current affairs operation that is taking a deserved hammering in the print media. . . http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/07/23/do2302.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/07/23/ixopinion.html (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) WITCH HUNT AGAINST THE BBC - COLUMN LEFT by Robert Scheer, The Nation In England, they shot the messenger. True, the death of British biological weapons expert David Kelly was a suicide. But if the reserved scientist took his own life, it was in response to the British Ministry of Defense outing and reprimanding him as the alleged whistle-blower behind the BBC's controversial report that the government "sexed up" its intelligence information to make the case for war. The BBC charge against the government in this instance was quite mild, because what Tony Blair did was not merely hype the case for preemptively invading Iraq. Rather, he deliberately lied to his public about the certainty of his claims to frighten the people into sending their children off to war. . . http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030804&s=scheer20030722 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. VOA Director David Jackson in India: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_314823,000600010001.htm (via Jilly Dybka, Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. US STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS `HI` TO ARAB YOUTH Monthly Arabic magazine aims to counter anti-Americanism, win hearts and minds of region`s largest demographic group. . . George S. Hishmeh special to The Daily Star http://www.dailystar.com.lb/features/22_07_03_c.asp 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. On 13720 WSHB in French produced a heavy buzzy noise underneath, not filtered from their main power unit, at 0400-0457 UT. 73 de wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re "Beer for the Homeless" in July 17 report You added a comment saying there was no mention of the charity on WGOW's website. Well, that's because they created their own website, you guessed it, http://www.beerforthehomeless.com/ Secularly yours, (Tom Flynn, Editor, FREE INQUIRY Magazine, Published by the Council for Secular Humanism http://www.secularhumanism.org DX LISTENING DIGEST) Features beer babes. Why not give the homeless radios fix-tuned to public station? ** U S A. A new report discusses the future of WNCW-FM in Spindale, N.C., according to the Asheville Citizen-Times. http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/38744 In the report, administrators at Isothermal Community College, the station's owner, tell their board that other broadcasters want to buy or manage WNCW. They also suggest changes to the station if the board decides not to sell. Earlier coverage of WNCW in Current: http://www.current.org/cm/cm0202fest.html (Current July 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. REBUILDING UPN: NOT IN A DAY, NOT IN A YEAR By Lisa de Moraes, Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page C07 HOLLYWOOD, July 22 "Rome wasn't built in a day," CBS and UPN chief Leslie Moonves informed TV critics today at Summer TV Press Tour 2003, giving them another valuable cliché for the next round of Press Tour Bingo... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31835-2003Jul22.html (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** U S A. WBBM-DT - From Bob Ross at CBS: "When WBBM [-DT] started operating from their new permanent DTV antenna, we learned we were causing interference to many Comcast Cable subscribers. WBBM was operating in accordance with FCC rules but decided to return DTV operations to the old antenna. This will give Comcast time to modify their cable systems. We expect to return operations to our new broadcast antenna later this summer." (Bob Cooper in NZ, WTFDA via DXLD) Y'know, I'm not really fond of the phrasing "...we were causing interference..." It implies WBBM was doing something wrong, that their transmitter was somehow operating outside authorized parameters in such a way as to cause interference. In fact, Comcast's (and their subscribers') equipment is what's deficient. They're allowed to use channel 3 to send programming from the cable box to the subscriber's TV *provided* they don't interfere with any licensed channel 3 station and *provided* they accept any interference they may receive from a licensed channel 3 station. WBBM-DT is licensed to operate on channel 3 - Comcast isn't. —(Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Doug as usual is correct. Alas, Comcast is a "biggy" and their system delivers WBBM analog and they certainly hope one day it will (with the APPROVAL of Comcast management) also deliver WBBM-DT. And for the moment it is up to NEGOTIATIONS between the TV broadcaster and the cable company to work that out. An UNCOOPERATIVE TV station (WBBM) in this matter would make their NEGOTIATING position with Comcast a dead end. So WBBM-DT caved in and did what management thought best for their long term interest. A sad commentary on which end of the dog is now wagging (Bob Cooper in NZ, July 19, WTFDA via DXLD) This isn't the first time CBS-owned WBBM-DT and the cable outlet have clashed. The first time WBBM-DT's original Channel 3 antenna (the one being used again, and itself a retuned spare for analog Channel 2) was switched on, it knocked out every cable box within six miles of the Hancock Center, as I recall. AT&T owned the system then. WBBM, having already coaxed AT&T (and its various previous owners) into putting its analog signal on cable 3 to avoid ghosting on cable 2, first cranked down the power, then shut the antenna off completely. Of course, the digital transmitter didn't just knock out the carriage of its analog channel on 3, but every channel. While legally WBBM was in the right, tell that to potentially angry viewers who can't get your and other channels via cable. The prudent thing was to shut down. Meanwhile, unknown to lawyers and other executives for both sides, the engineers huddled and put WBBM-DT's signal on cable in every AT&T- cable system. No digital cable box was needed, just the cable hooked up to the DTV box. There was no publicity - PR people for the station and cable outlet had no clue and no answer when told about it - but the signal was there if you lived in the right town. Meanwhile still, the cable company went about shielding and/or replacing boxes, connections, coax, you name it, within the affected area so it could feed on cable 3 when WBBM-DT went back on the air. Meanwhile besides, CBS' lawyers tried to trade DTV channels with the City Colleges of Chicago, swapping their 3 for WYCC's 21 (I think; it's been a while since I was tod the story). WYCC, its digital facility only a rumor, would have gained millions to build one, and WBBM-DT could go on the air on UHF, where every other Chicago DTV is. No dice. Finally, AT&T was ready, and WBBM turned its old antenna back on last year, first at one-quarter power, then one-half, and so on, all the while working closely with AT&T / Comcast. Out here, 20.6 miles from the transmitter, and shielded by forested terrain, the signal was intermittent. Great some days, hash or the dreaded "no signal" indicator the next. Or the next hour. You never knew. (It probably didn't help me that I'm essentially aligned with Kalamazoo's analog 3 as well, and any kind of enhancement will probably interfere with WBBM-DT, especially at lower power.) While all this was going on, WBBM was also rebuilding its antenna facility on the Hancock. The new analog on the top of the east tower went on the air last year, to applause from fringe viewers (and a big ad campaign on Channel 2 and WBBM-AM). The new digital, higher than the old digital, where the old analog was on the tower, finally was switched on. (I hadn't noticed myself, sorry to say, so can't say if I get 100 percent reception.) And the boxes went blooey once more. So here we go again. And with the reception of CBS affiliare WCIA impaired - is it in WCIA's "protected" coverage area or outside it? - the price of poker may have gone up again. I just hope the latest problem is solved by football season. FYI: Comcast already offers WBBM-DT (plus the digital NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS affiliates, along with HBO and Showtime's HD feeds) on virtually all of its cable systems. For more, check various threads, old and new, on AVS Forum. (Tim Cronin, Worth, IL, ibid.) Hi Tim, The complaints were centered in Iroquois, Livingston and Ford counties. I assume part of this should be in the protected area. Chicago television ignores nearly everything happening outside the city and the collar counties, so folks in the country, starting at about 65 miles out, have their antennas (both on home and cable systems) turned to receive the stations in Champaign, Decatur, Bloomington, etc. When I drive up Route 45 to visit my mother in suburban Chicago, I have an ongoing game with the kids: the first one to find an antenna on a farmhouse turned towards Chicago wins. Usually, this doesn't happen until within twenty miles of Kankakee. WBBM-DT does regularly impinge on my WCIA reception, but not to any great degree. The whole thing will be moot eventually anyway, once stations re-align after the big switchover. The funny thing about this DT business is WBBM-TV is seldom seen this way. Supposedly, according to local lore, a ridge in Ford county blocks Chicago television this way. I haven't seen anything that should block it, but that's the story. I'm more inclined to think that for the most part, I live in a zone Chicago skip bounces over, except for that DT signal on 3. When the first televisions were brought Downstate in 1948 (according to newspaper stories), they wholly relied on DX from Chicago stations, which could be received 50-70% of the time. The story was about conditions in Champaign-Urbana, 25 miles South of me, apparently, some intrepid folks there wanted television and didn't want to wait until it eventually reached there locally in 1953 (after a considerable delay occasioned by the Korean War). Those DX reception percentages sound about right, from Rantoul, I can get VHF Saint Louis stations in at about that percentage, and they're even further away than Chicago. (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton, Illinois, ibid.) Protection, for TV, is based on the table of allocations - it's pretty much what the FCC says it is |grin|. The 47dBu Grade B service contour of WCIA extends 102.4 km (a bit over 60 miles) from the transmitter. I've not run the numbers but I would expect the Grade B contour of WBBM analog to be just a bit greater. The 28dBu "noise-limited service area" of WBBM-DT extends 105.7 km. (maybe a bit less in some directions as WBBM-DT is directional. It isn't very directional though: [is this actually an URL? Paste it together] http://www.fcc.gov/cgi- bin/polarplot?temp=41634&rotate=0.00&p0=****&p10=.980&p20=.933&p30=.88 0&p40=.846&p50=.846&p60=.880&p70=.933&p80=.980&p90=****&p100=.980&p110 =.933&p120=.880&p130=.846&p140=.846&p150=.880&p160=.933&p170=.980&p180 =****&p190=.980&p200=.933&p210=.880&p220=.846&p230=.846&p240=.880&p250 =.933&p260=.980&p270=****&p280=.980&p290=.933&p300=.880&p310=.846&p320 =.846&p330=.880&p340=.933&p350=.980) I might guess WBBM's analog service contour is the same as the digital. (WCIA's antenna is 13m lower than the maximum. WBBM's is well above the maximum, so its power is reduced below 100kw to compensate. One would presume they're running the maximum power available for their antenna height.) The Korean War was a small (really non-existent) part of the TV freeze. Basically the FCC learned in the late 1940s that VHF TV signals propagated considerably better than believed (understandable as there had been no widespread use of VHF until 1947). They faced several issues when deciding what to do about it. They'd hoped to stick more VHF stations onto the dial to provide coverage to smaller cities, but the problems of the 1940s proved that wasn't going to work. It was going to be necessary to use UHF. Should *ALL* television be UHF? What about color? The CBS system was incompatible with black-and-white; should stations run B&W on VHF and color on UHF? Or should they just obsolete all existing TVs and run CBS color on VHF? How far apart do we have to keep stations on the same channel? It took a few years to resolve the issues. As for DX, in one of the TV service trade magazines in the early 1950s, there was a story of a radio/appliance store owner in Colorado who bought a TV and put up an antenna in 1950. Denver was late to get on the TV bandwagon (kinda like DTV today) so at the time the nearest TV station was in Kansas City! His goal was to use Es openings to learn how to operate a TV set, so he'd be ahead of the game when a station came to Denver. In the long term interference from WWMT (and in the NW suburbs, WISC) is going to be a big issue. I don't think they're *ever* going to fix that problem. Because much of the problem isn't the boxes. It's subscribers' TV sets and VCRs and the cabling between them. IMHO the only way to fix it is to switch the cable boxes to output on channel 4. (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Anyone who has ever had to switch VCR RF output between 3 and 4 should have anticipated this problem (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. IBIQUITY ON DIFFERENT IBOC CODECS Will they or won't they? They're not saying: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3623 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, July 23, NRC-AM via DXLD) For some reason I smell a shell game coming. BTW, did anyone see the article in Radio World about CAM-D. It said that KKDS will start testing with it. It will be interesting to see how well these tests work out (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Fred, I'm shocked! Sure we differ from Ibiquity's position on IBOC, but that's no reason to be so suspicious of their motives! (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) Jeezz, Harry. I'm appalled that you find question with my suspicions. It's not like any testing was misrepresented, or that someone said a station was not testing when folks in the list heard/reported the signal. Giving the benefit of doubt, the noise could have been generated by the right-wing performed Sonata in A major by alien listeners to Coast to Coast that were urged by disgruntled Canadian Postal workers to use a Mr. Microphone to transmit on superheterodyned 9-kilohertz split channels at various PSSA levels in order to simulate a faulty photocell buzzing in our neighborhoods. Then again, I just think the modulation scheme was like a Hoover vacuum. It just _____ed. Got to go. Got to take my boy over to train club in my safety approved Ford Pinto (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) ** U S A. I'm sure the current FCC "Deregulation" will be one of the topics when Terry Gross and guests discuss CC's ownership of 1200 stations on tomorrow`s "Fresh Air" on NPR. Check your local listings. I catch it on WNYC-FM at 3PM EDT or WNYC 820 at 7PM. (Steve Coletti, July 22, swprograms via DXLD) It should also be available at http://www.waer.org at 7 P.M. EDT (2300 UTC); 88.3 FM for those in the Syracuse/Central New York area. If that doesn't do it, try http://freshair.npr.org which has the current show and many archived shows. 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, ibid.) i.e. the Wed July 23 FA; first airing is at 1600 UT: http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=07/23/2003 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 'BIG' ISN'T 'BAD' -- By BOB WRIGHT The Wall Street Journal July 23, 2003 COMMENTARY Unfortunately, public discourse on important issues sometimes becomes untethered from fact and reason. Such is the case with the response to the Federal Communications Commission's expansion of the national television station ownership cap, which would allow a single entity to own stations that have a potential reach of 45% rather than 35% of the national TV audience. Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.) expressed the sentiments of many recently when he said: "I don't want ownership factors to get in the way of districts like mine from being able to have their own cultural attitudes." But the FCC's modest adjustment of ownership rules does not mean the silencing of local voices under the weight of monolithic media companies. On the contrary, the record shows that local voices, as measured by the amount and quality of local news and public-affairs programming, increase when networks such as NBC take operating control of television stations. * * * Views such as Rep. Obey's reflect a politically convenient populism that equates "big" with "bad." There are a number of mistaken assumptions at work here: 1) that the corporate parent of a broadcast station dictates its point of view or "cultural attitude"; 2) that the alternative to a station's being owned by a broadcast network is ownership by a mom-and-pop enterprise with offices above the five-and-dime on Main Street; 3) that such a small owner is better able to present a distinctive "voice" in the community than is a large media company. In fact, the location of a media company's home offices has nothing to do with its "voice." Station owners are in the business of appealing to their local audiences. They do that by serving their communities the best way they know how. In NBC's case, this means providing a local station with superior newsgathering and technical resources that enable it to enhance and extend its local programming. This is good for the community, and it is good business. A smaller owner, with more limited resources, is all too often forced to jettison expensive local news coverage in favor of less expensive programming imported from national syndicators. Moreover, if a broadcast network is prohibited from owning a station in a desirable market, the owner is unlikely to be a small, locally based company. It will instead be a large, diversified media company like Belo, Gannett, Hearst-Argyle, Scripps, or the Washington Post. It defies logic to claim that, in the name of "localism," the $6 billion Gannett Co., the Arlington-based owner of 100 daily newspapers and 22 television stations, should have freedom to expand its TV stations business but NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox should not. One more point that is lost in this debate: The FCC's rules are based on theoretical audience reach -- measured by each station's antennal signal coverage -- not actual viewership. This is like measuring Ford's market share by the percentage of Americans within driving distance of a dealership -- regardless of how many cars Ford actually sells! According to the FCC, NBC has a theoretical national reach of 34% of the nation's households. But our actual national viewership, during prime time, when we have the largest audience, is less than 3% -- nowhere near the 40% market share that is the normal threshold to trigger market-concentration worries. An expansion of the national cap to the FCC's 45% limit would, at best, allow us to increase that by a point or two. This is hardly a big move. But it is significant, particularly for viewers. Because one thing it would allow us to do is purchase additional stations for our Telemundo network, thus adding many hours of Spanish-language newscasts in key markets that currently underserve their Hispanic residents. The be-all, end-all of local broadcasting is forging a connection with a particular community's distinctive audience. The general managers in charge of our stations wake up every day committed to that mission. To us, it's the only way to run a television station -- and the feedback we get in the form of ratings tells us that the public thinks we do a good job. Nonetheless, big media makes an attractive target. Unable to resist, some members of Congress are jumping on a populist bandwagon and seeking to keep the FCC's new rules from taking effect. However, it would be a disservice to their constituents for Congress to restrict business activity that has such demonstrable public benefits. Who controls the public airwaves is a legitimate area of congressional interest. But as with any important issue, Congress should base its actions on fact, not fiction. Mr. Wright is vice chairman of GE, and chairman and CEO of NBC. Copyright 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. HOUSE MAY BLOCK PART OF FCC'S MEDIA PLAN CAP ON TV STATION OWNERSHIP WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED By Jonathan Krim and Christopher Stern Washington Post Staff Writers, Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page E01 The House moved closer last night to blocking the Federal Communications Commission from allowing television station ownership to be concentrated in fewer corporate hands. The vote, expected today, would be a slap at the House leadership, which had struggled to keep its members in line and support the FCC. But the Republican majority, with help from many Democrats, thwarted an effort to derail the FCC's plan to allow more newspapers and television stations in the same locale to be owned by the same company. The result is that the most dramatic and controversial changes in media-ownership rules in a generation are likely to be scaled back, though probably not as much as an array of citizen groups and several Democrats had sought. Still, an outcome that scraps any part of the new FCC rules would be a rare defeat for the disciplined GOP and the White House, which had hoped the new rules pushed by the Republican FCC chairman, Michael K. Powell, would sail through.. . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31469-2003Jul22.html (via Kraig Krist, WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ** U S A. "Marketplace" on Monday had some comments from Marty Kaplan, dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at California's USC. Marty's angle was all about the loss of public accountability for the airwaves since the early 1980s. Worth a listen -- talks about the steps stations used to have to go through in order to renew their licenses. See http://www.marketplace.org (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, July 22, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC OPINION BOLSTERS FEDERAL PREEMPTION OVER RF INTERFERENCE MATTERS An FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) released earlier this month bolsters the doctrine of federal preëmption over local efforts to regulate radio frequency interference (RFI). The ARRL had commented in the proceeding, WT Docket 02-100, which could have implications for Amateur Radio. The proceeding stemmed from efforts by Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to require telecommunication service providers to certify their facilities would not interfere with the county's public safety communication system. "We find that federal law preempts provisions of the Anne Arundel County, Maryland, zoning ordinances involving radio frequency interference," the FCC declared in granting Cingular Wireless' Petition for a declaratory ruling and denying the county's motion to dismiss. ARRL had supported Cingular's position in the proceeding. Cingular asserted in its petition that Congress had established a "pervasive regulatory scheme" that grants the FCC exclusive jurisdiction to regulate RFI, and that the Anne Arundel zoning amendments conflicted with the Commission's rules regarding resolution of RFI cases. The FCC also said it expected all parties to continue cooperating to resolve remaining RFI issues. Anne Arundel County in January 2002 adopted zoning amendments requiring commercial telecommunication providers to demonstrate that their facilities would not degrade or interfere with the public safety radio system. The amended ordinance gave the county the authority to revoke a zoning certificate if such interference or degradation occurred or if telecommunication service providers did not certify their systems to be in compliance with FCC standards and guidelines. The FCC said it found that the county's zoning provisions went beyond traditional zoning functions and attempted to regulate RFI. The FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order is available on the FCC Website http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2196A1.doc (ARRL Letter July 18 via David Hodgson, TN, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. When a call sign is used in another service (television or AM for example) doesn't the FM have to use the "-FM" suffix in the legal top of hour ID? Example I'm hearing... WHOG 1120 Hobson City, AL. Actual call in use. WHOG 95.7 Ormond-by-the-sea, FL (Daytona) would be required to use "WHOG-FM, Ormond-by-the-sea..." or did that requirement get dropped. I heard on a message board that it did, but will take that with a grain of salt... Just wondering. WHOG-FM got WHOG's consent to use the call. Hog as in Harley, in Daytona, fitting for a classic rocker. The AM is an Urban formatted station. I know the owner. Formerly owned 1570 in Fernandina Beach, FL, and that used to be WHOG in the 80s (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Calls cannot be duplicated in the FCC's database, and AM calls never take a suffix. So 1120 in Hobson City is just plain "WHOG." 95.7 thus has to be "WHOGFM," which in common use is represented with a hyphen and becomes "WHOG-FM." On top of that, you could also have a WHOG-TV, WHOG-DT, WHOG-CA and WHOG-LP (which could be either an LPTV or an LPFM; the FCC stupidly decided to allow the "-LP" suffix to be used for either.) The rules for adding suffixes to base calls are pleasantly arcane, and they go like this: Until the mid-eighties, any given base call could be used by only one owner in only one area. So if CBS owned KCBS 740 in San Francisco (common convention is to append the type of service in parentheses to the base call if it's not otherwise suffixed, so we can call this KCBS(AM), even though the FCC would recognize it only as "KCBS"), it could also own a KCBS-FM and a KCBS-TV *in* San Francisco, but no other station anywhere else could use those calls. The rule was liberalized around 1984 to allow CBS to change the calls of what was then KNXT (again, convention would allow us to call it KNXT(TV), though its official FCC call was simply "KNXT") in Los Angeles to KCBS-TV; eventually, KNX-FM in LA would become KCBS-FM as well. By a similar token, Gannett could have a WUSA-FM in Tampa and a WUSA-TV in Washington. At that point, though, calls still couldn't cross between owners, so if CBS sold KMOX-TV in St. Louis, which it did, and kept KMOX(AM), which it did, then one or the other had to change calls (KMOX-TV became KMOV(TV), as it happened.) By the late eighties, that rule too had been liberalized, and calls could be shared among owners as well, as long as they weren't duplicated within a service. Who decides whether a base call can be duplicated? The rule here is even more arcane - whoever's had the call in use on a single service the longest. So if someone DOES want to do a WHOG-TV or a WHOG-LP, they'd have to get permission from WHOG 1120 to use the call, since it's used "WHOG" as a base call longer than WHOG-FM in Ormond Beach. If Hobson City ever changed calls, the "rights" to the WHOG base call would then go to Ormond Beach, which would have first say about anyone wanting to use WHOG on AM or LPFM or TV. (Often, in that case, Wxxx-FM will pay the $55 to drop the suffix from its calls, just to make it absolutely impossible for anyone to then use them on AM without the FM's permission, since the AM can't be suffixed and calls can't be duplicated.) Many stations don't get this right at ID time. It's not uncommon (especially, for some reason, among public radio stations) to hear an ID of "WXXI-AM Rochester," which can't be correct because the call is "WXXI," not "WXXIAM." It's equally common to hear an ID of "WHOG Ormond-by-the-Sea," when it should be "WHOG-FM." And I've driven myself insane trying to explain to the local paper that our channel 13 here in town is NOT "WOKR-TV" but simply "WOKR" (or "WOKR(TV)" if you insist...) It really didn't help my cause that the station itself now IDs as "WOKR-TV/DT Rochester" at the top of the hour! The FCC has traditionally turned a blind eye to "WXXX AM and FM, Somewhere City," or the variant, "WXXX, WXXX-FM, Somewhere City" for some reason - even back in the day when it enforced such rules at all. I don't know why...I guess it's a relic of the days when there were so very many AM/FM simulcasts. Canada is much more sensible in this regard; EVERY FM there carries a "-FM" suffix as a matter of course, and every TV is "-TV." This causes confusion only on rare occasions, such as the existence of both a CJBC-2-FM (an FM relay of CJBC 860 Toronto) and a CJBC-FM-2 (an FM relay of CJBC-FM 90.3 Toronto) in different spots in Ontario. And of course Mexico uses XE- calls for AM (and a handful of grandfathered FM and TV calls) and XH- calls for FM and TV only. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) The FM suffix is required only if the callsign was already in use by another service when the FM call was assigned. For example, if there's a WGSR (AM), and someone applied for an FM with the same callsign, then the assigned callsign would be WGSR-FM. If you look at the list of FCC callsign changes that I compile for Pop' Comm, you'll see that some FM stations are listed with, some without, the FM suffix. Furthermore, when searching the FCC CDBS, if the FM suffix is part of the callsign, then it is required in the search by callsign. It will come up empty without the suffix. AM does not use a suffix (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) ** U S A [and non]. WHAT TO DO ABOUT MORSE? CODE REQUIREMENT REMAINS ON THE BOOKS IN US, CANADA NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 22, 2003 --- World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) made optional the requirement to prove the ability to send and receive Morse signals to operate below 30 MHz. While a Morse code exam element remains on the books in the US, Canada and elsewhere, some countries already have moved to drop their Morse requirements. In the US, however, Morse will not go away that easily, since the FCC appears unlikely to act on its own motion to make that happen. ``There isn`t an exception in the Administrative Procedures Act that I am aware of that would permit the Commission to issue an administrative fiat changing the license structure or exam-requirement rules,`` said an FCC staffer who`s closely involved with Amateur Service rules. Other countries can do this because they have different laws and procedures, the FCC staff member observed, adding that even if it could be done here, ``that still leave unanswered the fundamental question: What do you want the new rules to be?`` As for where the FCC stands, the Commission itself may have tipped its hand slightly in its December 1999 Report and Order restructuring the Amateur Radio licensing system. ``We believe that an individual`s ability to demonstrate increased Morse code proficiency is not necessarily indicative of that individual`s ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art,`` the FCC said in dropping the 20 and 13-WPM Morse code elements from the testing regime. While the FCC in 1999 minimized radiotelegraphy as ``just one of numerous diverse modes of radiocommunication,`` it stopped short of revising the Amateur Service rules to sunset the Morse examination requirement automatically if WRC-03 deleted Morse proficiency from the international Radio Regulations. At the same time, the FCC acknowledged ``a clear dichotomy of viewpoints`` on the Morse code issue within the amateur community. Switzerland apparently has become the first country to delete its Morse requirement for HF operation. The Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) recently granted all Swiss ``no-code`` licensees access--albeit provisional--to the HF bands using their current call signs. Citing the recent WRC-03 decision, OFCOM said the temporary permission to use the HF bands would suffice until the rule could be changed. USKA--the Swiss International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society--wished ``good DX`` to present no-code licensees on HF. The First Step in a Potentially Long Journey The first move on the Morse code question in the US would be for someone in the amateur community to file a Petition for Rule Making with the FCC seeking the change. That apparently has not happened yet. No Code International (NCI) http://www.nocode.org has long spearheaded the battle to eliminate the Morse requirement and is the most likely organization to file such a petition. As of late last week, NCI was still studying the matter. ``NCI has not yet made a final decision on a plan of action, though we are discussing it amongst the Board of Directors and have sought the advice of acquaintances at several well-regarded Washington communications law firms on how to best approach the matter,`` said NCI Executive Director Carl Stevenson, WK3C. Stevenson --- an ARRL member --- says it`s his personal hope that the League would join NCI in actively encouraging the FCC to eliminate the Morse test element as soon as possible. ``I think the League will do itself a great disservice if it continues to seek to impose Morse testing in the US rules as other countries around the world drop Morse testing en masse,`` he said. Stevenson said the League ``does many, many things that are very valuable to the US amateur community,`` and he believes the ARRL`s stance on the Morse issue has diluted or even negated some of the goodwill it`s established. NCI`s and Stevenson`s hopes for a quick resolution to the Morse question could be wishful thinking, however. Once a petition to drop Morse is filed, the FCC will put it on ``public notice`` by assigning an RM number and soliciting comments. If more than one such petition is filed, the FCC is obliged to put each on public notice and invite comments. When that process is completed, the FCC may determine that a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) is in order. The Commission at that point could incorporate all Morse-related rule making petitions into a single proceeding. The NPRM would get a docket number, and the comment process would begin anew. Further complicating and extending the process, the FCC most likely would incorporate other pending Amateur Radio-related issues into the same NPRM. That`s how it`s tended to handle amateur regulatory matters in recent years. At the end of the comment and reply comment periods, the FCC would issue a Report and Order (R&O) that includes its decision on the Morse code requirement and the other issues it may have incorporated into the proceeding. The whole process could take a couple of years, perhaps longer. US Senate Ratification? Some believe that because the Morse code requirement was, in effect, a treaty obligation, its deletion requires ratification by the US Senate before the FCC can act. This is not the case. According to a footnote in a Government Accounting Office (GAO) report, ``Telecommunications: Better Coordination and Enhanced Accountability Needed to Improve Spectrum Management,`` released last September, the US Department of State has yet to submit the Final Acts of the World Radiocommunication Conferences of 1992, 1995, 1997 or 2000 to the US Senate for ratification. ``Department of State officials said that the agency is preparing to send all of these Final Acts to the Senate as one package,`` the GAO report said, ``and that ratification is not necessary for the United States to implement the agreements.`` Ahead of the Curve The United Kingdom`s Radiocommunications Agency (RA) http://www.radio.gov.uk recently proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse requirement for access to amateur bands below 30 MHz and merging the Class A and B license classes. The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) says it`s learned from the RA that a Gazette Notice -- the equivalent of an FCC Report and Order -- will be published shortly to announce the end of the Morse requirement for access to the HF bands by UK amateurs. ``From the date of the Gazette Notice all Full and Intermediate Class B amateurs will automatically have Class A privileges,`` the RSGB said this week, ``and will be allowed to operate on the HF bands with their existing call signs.`` The RSGB has been ahead of the curve in the effort to oust Morse as a requirement. Last year, the society convinced the RA to adopt the new Foundation license in Great Britain`s to further the RSGB`s campaign -- begun in 1998 -- to have the IARU reconsider its support at that time for mandatory Morse code testing for HF access. The Foundation ticket requires a simplified Morse code ``assessment`` instead of an exam. In 2001, the IARU announced that it was setting aside ``any previous relevant decisions`` and henceforth would ``support the removal of Morse code testing as an ITU requirement for an amateur license to operate on frequencies below 30 MHz.`` That same year, the ARRL Board of Directors reiterated the League`s policy that Morse ``should be retained as a testing element in the US.`` That policy continues. Following its January 2001 Board meeting, the League said Morse code was ``deserving of continued support as an important operating mode including providing for the protection and maintenance of sufficient spectrum in band planning.`` At its July 19- 20 meeting in Connecticut, the Board affirmed its interest in reviewing input from members on this and other possible revisions to Part 97 that arose from WRC-03. Morse North of the Border The Industry Canada Amateur Radio Service Centre http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf01862e.html#servicecentre and Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) http://www.rac.ca have received numerous inquiries about the status of Morse examinations north of the border and the qualifications required for HF operation. ``Canadian radio amateurs are advised that Basic and Morse Qualifications are still required for operation below 30 MHz,`` the RAC said, ``and that this requirement will remain pending a review by Industry Canada of the impact of the WRC-2003 regulatory changes on the Canadian radio regulations, policies and procedures.`` RAC said it would work with Industry Canada to review the impact of the WRC-03 decisions. It advised Canadian amateurs to send comments on the topic of Morse code as a licensing requirement to their RAC regional directors. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY [and non]. Re TIN's "Certificados de Visita", 3-130 PERU Dear Glenn, Estimado Glenn, I think that these "certificados de visita" that TIN collects from those stations are more than souvenirs! Think that they well could be useful as a sort of safe-conduct in case of eventual trouble or annoying interrogatory with/by police or other administrative body, who knows! The excellent DX job that wellknown friend TIN has performed in searching deep Latin America radio may have its risks in so troubled zones like Perú or Central America. It should be remembered that that kind of research could be useful to guerrillas and spies, too; or at least, may awake some kind of suspicion: a stranger so interested by radio technical issues, collecting and annotating addresses, transmitter and even cassette recorders and decks data. The word "Diexista" (DXer in Spanish) rhymes with Comunista (commie) :). All of us who know of TIN's excellence as a DXer and person do not need major explanation, but for unaware people... Once when I was visiting ANDEBU's headquarters (one of the private broadcaster associations in Montevideo) searching for updated station data for WRTH, I presented myself to the young officers explaining that I was making an investigative report. They didn't take very well that term, and had to explain further what I was trying to get! I once also had problems at RAMI (another Uruguayan association) where my queries were not very well received by the Secretary's assistant. Only later, when mentioned that I was member of the staff helping Antonio Tormo's vintage radio museum, they agreed to supply the info. Sometimes you have to be "somebody" to collect info from radio stations! If you don't believe here is a final anecdote: once I got a solid contact with an officer inside the Uruguayan broadcasting bureau at old Dirección Nacional de Comunicaciones (now URSEC and, at that time, belonging to the Ministry of Defense, imagine that in times of dictatorship), in order to avoid bureaucratic relationship in favor of direct chat by telephone, or non-delayed face-to-face meeting, always searching for some station data for our hobby. This worked fine, but once I felt obliged myself to gratify the officer with a box of assorted chocolates!! :)) That person still works there, but was unfortunately was moved to another section, some time ago. I`ve seen those "Certificados de Visita" personally, when I met TIN visiting Uruguay in 1996 or so. Cheers TIN if you are reading this, too! and congrats for the fine work all these years at Relámpago DX!!!! 73 (Horacio A. Nigro, Uruguay, Jul 22) UNIDENTIFIED. Amigos, pediria auxilio na identificação de 2 estações que transmitem em 1680 KHz AM, em CW, e que foram ouvidas em São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brasil (à beira da represa Billings) com sinais muitissimos fracos, mas audiveis, que identificavam-se como V7B, e uma outra que se identificava como ZO (também em CW). Gostaria de ouvir a opinião dos colegas das listas. Poderia ser algum beacon em base australiana na Antártida? (Mera pergunta, dado que V7 é inicial de indicativo australiano). Poderia ser alguma plataforma petrolífera 'emprestada' de outro país que estivesse instalada em algum local das águas brasileiras? E ZO? Poderia ser alguma co-irmã de ZZ que é ouvida em 1645 AM? Ou de algum outro país? Realmente, muito curioso, entrando em 1680 o V7B e alternando o fading com ZO, ambos sinais extremamente fracos, mas perfeitamente audiveis com o 'fone grudado no cérebro' (via ouvidos!!!). Ambas sintonizadas no Riacho Grande, São Bernardo, à beira da represa Billings. Um belo espelho d'água. Alguém teria alguma lista atualizada de beacons? Ou algum contato com dexistas estrangeiros que ouvem sinais deste tipo? Muito curioso. (Rudolf W. Grimm, São Bernardo, SP - B, http://www.radioways.cjb.net via DXLD) {see 3-132} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 9º ENCUENTRO DE CLUBES DIEXISTAS MEXICANOS Y OYENTES DE LA ONDA CORTA TIZAYUCA 2003 (31 de julio, 1, 2 y 3 de agosto de 2003) Hola amigos de México y el mundo: Muchos ya nos conocemos, sin embargo estas son épocas en que nos reunimos quienes tenemos un buen hobby y que más que eso creo que es la forma de aprovechar el tiempo en adquirir mas conocimientos que atesora la cultura individual y por supuesto que esta no será la excepción, por tal motivo me es grato hacerles una "CORDIAL INVITACIÓN" a que asistan y participen con temas relacionados con la escucha de emisoras internacionales y otros medios de comunicación a largas distancias (Diexismo). Este evento tendrá por nombre: "9º Encuentro de Radioescuchas y Diexistas en Onda Corta" Tizayuca 2003; como algunos saben han sido ocho etapas transcurridos mismas que han tenido lugar en diferentes partes de México y en consecuencia ya estamos con los preparativos por lo que agradeceré que sus opiniones y participaciones sean dadas a conocer al suscrito a la dirección electrónica: mnhajz@p... [truncated], además un numero telefónico 779 79 60200 de las 1600 horas a las 2300 México centro (22:00-05:00 utc [sic, no DST??]) ó bien a la dirección postal: Zempazuchitl 69, fraccionamiento Nuevo Tizayuca, Tizayuca, Hidalgo 43800, México. Sin más por el momento estoy a la espera de sus comentarios y sugerencias. Atentamente. Martín Herrera Jiménez INFORMACIÓN BÁSICA El 9º encuentro se celebrará en la ciudad de Tizayuca, situada en el estado de Hidalgo, que se encuentra localizado a unos 60 km al norte de la Ciudad de Méjico y a unos 40 km de Pachuca, también en Hidalgo. PROGRAMACIÓN {quickly outdated; see AER website} JUEVES 31 DE JULIO 2003 16:30 a las ..:00 horas: Registro de asistentes y bienvenida al evento (se ofrecerá bocadillos típicos de la región), se aprovechara para que las personas que asistan de otros lugares se hospeden en la localidad o bien se trasladen a la ciudad de Pachuca por ser más segura que para el Distrito Federal se contara con transporte cortesía de una empresa de transporte local. Este evento estará amenizado por la "RANDALLA MAGISTRAL DEL ESTADO DE MÉXICO". VIERNES 1º DE AGOSTO 2003 10:00 horas: Inauguración del ENCUENTRO por personalidades locales y estatales. 10:30 horas Intervención del ballet folklórico de la casa de la cultura de Tizayuca en este espacio se presentara un pequeño espectáculo de danzas y bailes regionales de diferentes partes de México así como la presentación de grupos corales de la institución universitaria. 12:30 horas visita a la empresa ILUSION, SA DE CV con una duración aproximada de 2 horas 14:30 horas Receso. 16:30 horas Introducción al tema de la escucha de emisoras internacionales, Dxismo, frecuencias, forma de propagación, presentado por MARTÍN HERRERA JIMÉNEZ 17:30 horas HISTORIA DE LA RADIO EN ONDA CORTA EN MÉXICO (1920-1940) tema presentado por PEPE GONZÁLEZ. 18:30 horas Presentación del video sobre la DXPEDITION a la "ISLA DE ENMEDIO" misma que fue realizada del 20 al 27 de Marzo de este año en dicho lugar del estado de Veracruz, México editada por ENRIQUE GARCÍA MUNIVE, XE1LWY, con duración de 90 minutos que incluye tiempo para preguntas y respuestas. SABADO 2 DE AGOSTO DE 2003. 10:00 horas Presentación del video del congreso de la HFCC organismo mundial el uso de las frecuencias de onda corta que tuvo lugar en JOHANNESBURGO, SUDÁFRICA presentado por JEFF WHITE director general de RADIO MIAMI INTERNACIONAL. 11:00 horas. "LA RADIO UN MEDIO PARA APRENDER IDIOMAS" tema presentado por JOHN KILLIAN. 12:00 horas RADIO DIGITAL MUNDIAL "DRM" tema presentado por el ING. CESAR FERNÁNDEZ DE LARA (sociedad de ingenieros radioescuchas del puerto de Veracruz) 13:00 horas Intervención del ING. RAFAEL GRAGEDA (sociedad de ingenieros radioescuchas del puerto de Veracruz) con el tema: estaciones utilitarias. En estas emisoras de radio se agrupan radio faros, estaciones horarias, satelitales, etc. Siendo su finalidad emitir a un sector especifico siendo diferentes los modos de transmisión-Recepción. 14:00 horas Receso. 16:00 horas. Presentación de RADIO HABANA CUBA, Historia y programación de la emisora, presentación del programa "EN CONTACTO" por Manolo de la Rosa. 17:00 horas. Rifas, premios, regalos y reconocimientos a los diexistas que por cantidad de tarjetas QSL presenten del año 2002-2003, habrá tres primeros lugares. 18:00 horas elaboración de antenas receptoras y filtros de acoplamiento para lograr mayor calidad de recepción, presentado por MARTÍN HERRERA JIMÉNEZ. 21:00 Horas. Noche Dxista pendiente por confirmar el lugar. DOMINGO 3 DE AGOSTO DE 2003 7:00 horas Se recomienda una visita a la zona arqueológica de Teotihuacán que esta a 30 minutos de Tizayuca y el tiempo de visita es de aproximadamente de 90 minutos y los domingos la entrada es gratuita para los mexicanos con credencial oficial mexicana por lo que los que no la presententen o sean extranjeros el costo es de $ 37 pesos ($ 4 dólares) 12:00 Horas. Foro de emisoras en esta espacio participaran representantes de radio difusoras que transmiten en Onda Corta en el que de manera general informan su fin, cambios de programación entre otros asuntos, se dispondrá de tiempos para preguntas y respuestas. 13:30 horas Clausura del 9º Encuentro y propuesta para el próximo encuentro Dx. De igual forma se confirma la asistencia de RADIO SHACK del distrito federal en donde estarán a la venta receptores de onda corta CONFIRMADO Asistencia por primer ocasión de RADIO UNAM pendiente por confirmar el tema que expondrán. Se tendrá la asistencia de un distribuidor de RadioShack en donde podrán adquirir radios con recepción de ONDA CORTA a la medida de todos los bolsillos, asimismo para los coleccionistas de radios antiguos habrá exposición de receptores antiguos. PENDIENTE POR CONFIRMAR También se tendrá asistencia de un vendedor de antigüedades quien exhibirá radios de onda corta. Pendiente de confirmar participación de la familia Mauleón Tolentino con algún tema. DATOS PRÁCTICOS Transporte: De la ciudad de México se aborda en la central del norte los autobuses flecha roja pidiendo en la taquilla con destino a Tizayuca siendo el tiempo de trayecto de aproximadamente una hora teniendo un costo de $ 18.00 pesos, solicite al operador de la unidad que los deje en el centro de la ciudad; Si viene de Pachuca en la misma línea de transporte o también sale de la central de Pachuca los autobuses ómnibus de Tizayuca igual solicitan al operador que los deje en el centro el costo de boleto es de $16.00 Pesos y el trayecto es de 45 minutos, en ambas direcciones la salida de los autobuses es cada 10 minutos. Para los extranjeros considere que para esta fecha el tipo de cambio de dólar es de $ 10.50 (diez pesos 50/100) Clima estacional Templado / seco. Temperatura media de 28º C. Lugar: Salón de eventos "La Cascada" Ubicación: Plaza Himno Nacional en el centro de esta localidad a unos pasos de la avenida principal lugar en donde hace parada el bus (transporte de pasaje que sale de la central de autobuses del norte. Temas: Los relacionados a la escucha de la onda corta, radioafición, satélites, etc. Más info en http://www.aer-dx.org/encuentro/ -------------------------------------------------- Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, COORDINADOR GENERAL (via Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) INVITATION FOR EUROPEAN DX CONFERENCE 2003 Invitation to all DX Clubs --- Hello DX friends, we invite to the European DX Conference 2003 in Germany, the conference for far distance listening 15-17.8.2003 in Königstein near Frankfurt. Information, program and registration at http://www.edxc-konferenz2003.org (engl./dt) EDXC Conference 2003 will be held at Königstein near Frankfurt (Germany) at the Dresdner Bank Communication Center. The Rhein-Main- Radio-Club is organizing this meeting with friendly support of Bosch, Rohde & Schwarz and WRTH. We expect radio stations and Far distance Listeners from all over europe and abroad. The Rhein-Main-Radio-Club (RMRC) is one of the leading DX-Clubs in germany using drm, digital FM, worldspace and Internetradio. One of the major themes of this conference will be DRM (digital radio mondiale), and the future of shortwave listening. Lessons will be held by Wolf Harranth (ROI), Adrian Peterson (AWR), St. H. Nielsen (WMR) and many more interesting lessons about shortwave, FM reception, private radio, tropical band reception. Everybody can listen to DRM drm and analog SW reception at different receivers. There will be a Quiz, a tombola and a flea market for all things DXers need. Everybody can bring and offer something with for the flea market. But the best is to meet the DX friends from all over Europa, sitting over a glass of beer or wine and talking with friend about there experience with DXing. Come and see and take part at this DX meeting! There will be also a special broadcast on SW analog and DRM for this event from ADDX over Jülich with special QSL-cards. 1900-1929 UTC analog on 3965 kHz, 1930-1959 UTC digital (DRM) also on 3965 kHz Additionally, the Rhein-Main-Radio-Club started a ``Who is Who`` of the DXers worldwide with pictures from the Dxer and many details. Whoever will take part in the ``DX Who is Who`` can win each month one of three World Radio and Television Handbooks, sent free of charge to the winner. You will find it at http://www.dx-who-is-who.org or at the conference homepage. Good luck, hope to see you and greetings from Germany (Harald Gabler, RMRC Vorstand, EDXC Conference 2003 DrGabler@t-online.de DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS ++++++++++++ MPR DUMPS RDS I notice that MPR has dropped the RDS from their stations all over the state. Most of the new SUVs and fancy pickup trucks being sold have receivers that are RDS capable. I hope that MPR will re-instate the RDS soon. It is great. Wisconsin Public Radio is running RDS on all their stations, and now has added RDS to their translators, too. Thanks for your attention (Paul LaFreniere, Grand Marais, MN, July 22, to MPR, cc to WTFDA via DXLD) Thank you for contacting Minnesota Public Radio. We have tested the various RDS systems and have found them all to be lacking in performance. All of them will produce a deterioration of the audio quality of the main channel, despite what the manufacturers say about this equipment. When they are operated to manufacturer's specs, they all produce whining noises in the audio, and will often interfere with our Radio Talking Book Service (RTBS) for the blind. When they are adjusted so that they no longer interfere with normal programming, and the RTBS, then the useful range of the RDS is very small, and not really worth the effort to maintain. Operated under any conditions, the RDS signal will make the effects of multipath worse, something that we try to eliminate as much as possible. With respect, Robin Johnson, Member Listener Service, Minnesota Public Radio, 800-228-7123 (via La Freniere, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ANOTHER TRANS-ATLANTIC FM DX CATCH BY MULTIPLE SPORADIC E Hi guys, last night I had a station in French on 88.5 at 0215 local time while TA TV carriers were present up to A5. I wonder can anyone tell me --- maybe Charles in Quebec, does SRC have a classical music programme Sunday nights at 10;15 pm in the Maritimes, 9:15 EST?? I heard a classical show with a male announcer in French. Signal was up for a good ten minutes but all the speech I heard was about 10 seconds. Fading always knows when to strike! Nothing else coming in except Iceland on 92.4 (my first signal from there) and strong Icelandic TV on 62.25. Today TA TV up to A6 but no FM logged. Any help would be very helpful. Location: 54 15 N, 7 27 W in IO64GF Low VHF Skip and Scanner page http://www.geocities.com/yogi540 Regards (Paul Logan, Lisnaskea, N. Ireland, July 21, WTFDA via DXLD) Congratulations, Paul (again)! What you got was CBAF-FM 88.5 Moncton NB, the only one possible. CBAF 88.5 is part of "La Première Chaîne", Programming on this network consists of both classical and popular music. And the show on Sunday night is hosted by a man, Serge Bouchard. CBAF-FM is 50 kW and located: 46:08:41N 64:54:14W. CBAF is the only French one on 88.5 in the entire country! At 23:00 EDT was getting Newfoundland on TV. Did I miss possible TA by a couple of hours???!!! Darn! 73, (Charles Gauthier, St-Lambert, Québec, ibid.) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 23 JULY - 18 AUGUST 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels, with the possibility of some high intervals. Regions 410 and 412 have the potential for M-class events until they rotate beyond the west limb on 26 July. There is a slight chance of a major event from Region 410. Old Region 397 (N12, L=032) is due to return to the visible disk on 24 July and is expected to have M-class potential. This block of active longitudes currently on the visible disk (L = 190 – 205) will return by mid August and may produce moderate solar activity levels. There is a slight chance of a greater than 10 MeV proton event at geosynchronous orbit early in the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 30 July – 04 August, 09 - 11 August, and again on 12 –17 August, due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. A large, recurrent coronal hole high speed stream in expected to become geoeffective on 28 July - 03 August, and produce active to minor storm levels. Coronal hole effects are expected again on 7 - 9 August and again on 11 - 17 August and occasional minor storm periods are possible. Isolated major storm periods are possible with these high speed steams, but will be mostly confined to high latitudes in local nighttime hours. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jul 22 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 Jul 22 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jul 23 150 12 3 2003 Jul 24 150 12 3 2003 Jul 25 145 12 3 2003 Jul 26 135 15 3 2003 Jul 27 130 15 3 2003 Jul 28 130 15 3 2003 Jul 29 130 15 3 2003 Jul 30 135 15 3 2003 Jul 31 140 20 4 2003 Aug 01 140 20 4 2003 Aug 02 130 25 5 2003 Aug 03 135 25 5 2003 Aug 04 135 15 3 2003 Aug 05 125 10 3 2003 Aug 06 120 10 3 2003 Aug 07 120 25 5 2003 Aug 08 120 20 4 2003 Aug 09 125 15 3 2003 Aug 10 125 15 3 2003 Aug 11 125 25 5 2003 Aug 12 130 25 5 2003 Aug 13 135 20 4 2003 Aug 14 140 15 3 2003 Aug 15 145 15 3 2003 Aug 16 150 15 3 2003 Aug 17 150 15 3 2003 Aug 18 145 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1192, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-130, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1191: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0730, 1330, 7445 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1191.html First airings of WORLD OF RADIO 1192: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 Sun 0030 on WINB 12160 JULY DXLD HTML ARCHIVE is now available thru 3-129, incorporating correxions, cross-references, hotlinx: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3g.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS You might be interested to see the latest newsletter from the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) at http://www.airmedia.org Click through on the links to AIRSPACE. I was one of several people queried about their favorite on-line listening posts. Your site was on my list. All the best, (Sue Schardt) viz: Glenn Hauser's World of Radio -- Legendary in short-wave radio circles. A place of extreme obscurity with mostly snoozy listening where I occasionally hear, among other things, tape recorded and sent in by Glenn's members holding microphones up to their shortwave radios to demonstrate the strength of the local SW signal (Sue Schardt, Airspace, Summer 2003) SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Glenn, I've been listening to WOR since it first came on WRNO. For quite a few years, I've been listening to WOR on WWCR Sun 0230. Other than a couple of weeks ago, when I listened on WINB Sun 0030, I can't think of another broadcast I've listened to except Sun 0230. (If I miss a week, I listen on WRN's On-Demand service.) I've always enjoyed WOR, and really appreciate all the work you put into DXLD (Joel Hermann, KKIA/KAYL AM-FM, Storm Lake, IA) Dear Mr. Hauser: I am Bruce Weiss, a 40 year old blind "WOR" listener for many years primarily on SW on WWCR UT Sunday at 0230. Here in Richmond VA, the broadcast provides the best reception. Your show is excellent. I use a Grundig Yachtboy 400 receiver with the wire antenna included (Bruce Weiss, Richmond VA) Dear Glenn, I do listen to you every week on Saturday morning on WRN via WorldSpace Afristar satellite system. Keep up the good work. I find this program very informative. Regards, (Richard Prinsloo, Johannesburg, South Africa) Here`s a cool way to start the issue from the editor`s oven at 43C: ** ANTARCTICA. Antarctica (Argentine Territory), 15476 kHz, LRA Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, full data "LRA 36" card, in 7 weeks via Gabriel Iván Barrera, 15 months total, no v/s, station stamp, received booklet on (2002) 50th anniversary of Base Esperanza Argentine Antarctica, sticker from 870 MW LRA1 Radio Nacional Buenos Aires and personal note from Gabriel in part explaining the economic crisis in Argentina and how that is impacting QSLing Argentine stations. Booklet in part depicts two very nice Argentine commemorative stamps of Argentine Antarctica/Base Esperanza (one of each on envelope). I would like to personally thank Gabriel Iván Barrera for his intervention; without his kind assistance, this QSL would not have been possible. 5 kw into Rhombic antenna (Joe Talbot, AB, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476 kHz, LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Mon-Fri *1800- 2100*, probably will have a special transmission on night Aug 27 2003 (Aug 28 acc UT around 0100) during the night. In this transmission, they will talk about radio and DX according to my request to my contact friend there. This transmission will be concreted with informations supplied by mine and with the special collaboration of my friend Arnaldo Slaen. I am waiting for a final confirmation of this requirement (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, July 20, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA [and non]. [A thread started by NRC`s Question of the Week] Best vacation; we've had a bunch of great ones since we retired but the most outstanding one is the trip we took to Chile, the Falkland Islands and Antarctica several years ago. In Chile, managed to visit the Atacama desert in the north and Patagonia in the far south before the Antarctica portion. We were able to land at a number of places in Antarctica and saw lots of interesting wildlife. AM DXing was most interesting from there, too. We were there in the middle of their summer and not a station was to be heard day or (the short) night (John Sampson, July 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) I've always wanted to spend some time in Antarctica, interested in assisting with scientific work, backpacking, and MW DXing using full- size Beverages (Bruce Conti, NH, ibid.) When we were there, we visited Palmer Station (a US research station) for a couple of hours. They had several long antennas, but not long enough for a Beverage, strung at various places. I asked about them but no one we talked to knew any specifics, other than they were for some sort of long range communications test. I've also seen (but don't remember details) where the US researchers have something like internships available for extended stays down there (John Sampson, ibid.) If anyone is REALLY serious, the U.S. staffing for Antarctica is handled by Antarctic Support Associates (a private firm) on behalf of the National Science Foundation. Commitments start at just 6 months (over winter) and they have quite a communications infrastructure. Be the first on your block to use an Antarctic Beverage antenna (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) I spent some time at McMurdo in the southern hemisphere summer of 1979 while I was in the U.S. Coast Guard. We conducted space and atmospheric weather research, plus some iceberg surveys. The whole time I was there the MW broadcast band was dead and a lot of the time so were HF frequencies, thanks to the radio aurora oval. To winter over you have to pass a rigorous psychological test similar to the U.S. Navy submariner service, due to the isolation, boredom and cramped living quarters. A bright spot mentally for hams is the HF station. 73, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Plant City, FL, USA, EL87WX, ibid.) Florida Space & Atmospheric Weather Institute: http://www.kn4lf.com/fsawi.htm KN4LF Daily Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf5.htm I wonder if any MW signals would make it during winter? Perhaps a Beverage would catch any low angle signals that sneak under the auroral dome. I'm sure that I could survive the six months isolation, especially if I could bring my DX cats. However I'm probably too old at this point to meet the physical and psychological standards, even though I'm not crazy, just insane (and a mediumwave DXer)... (Bruce Conti, Nashua NH, http://members.aol.com/baconti/bamlog.htm ibid.) Yes, some MF signals would make it under the auroral oval due to low arrival angle. Of course it would vary from hour to hour (Thomas Giella, KN4LF, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB changes via Kunnunura (KNX) effective from July 21: SPac 0800-1200 English NF 11750* 050 kW/120 deg, ex 0700-1200 on 11770 1800-2030 English NF 11765# 050 kW/120 deg, new additional txion SoAs 0100-0130 Urdu NF 15420 075 kW/307 deg, new txion in new lang 0130-0330 English NF 15420 075 kW/307 deg, new additional txion 1230-1700 English NF 15390@ 075 kW/307 deg, ex 1230-1730 on 15480 1700-1730 Urdu NF 15405 075 kW/307 deg, new txion in new lang * co-ch 0800-0855 Voice of Turkey in Turkish # co-ch 1800-1827 VOIROI/IRIB in German @ co-ch 1230-1256 RRI in Romanian (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, July 21 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC SAYS IRAQ COVERAGE "VINDICATED" AFTER PROBE | Text of report by Radio Australia on 21 July Radio Australia's parent body, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, has delivered its response to Communications Minister Richard Alston's complaints alleging biased and anti-American coverage during the Iraq war. Stephanie Kennedy reports the ABC upheld two of Senator Alston's complaints and rejected 66 others. [Kennedy] Last month, Senator Alston made 68 complaints about the ABC's current affairs programme "AM". The minister believed the programme's coverage of the Iraq war had been biased and anti- American. The 68 cases were referred to the ABC's Complaints Review Executive, an independent office. It upheld two of Senator's Alston's complaints and rejected 66, and it also rejected the inference contained in the minister's complaint that the ABC's coverage was biased. The ABC's managing director, Russell Balding, says he is satisfied with both the process and outcome of the investigation, adding the "AM" programme and its staff have been vindicated. Mr Balding says the ABC's war coverage was second to none and he stands firmly behind the ABC's programmes. The minister's office says Senator Alston will now examine the findings before commenting. Source: Radio Australia, Melbourne, in English 0300 gmt 21 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) AUSTRALIAN RADIO ADMITS TO SARCASM BUT DENIES BIAS IN IRAQ WAR COVERAGE http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030721/wl_mideast_afp/australia_iraq_media_030721043105 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ABC SENDS ALSTON PACKING ON BIAS By Matt Price July 22, 2003 THE ABC has delivered a humiliating rebuff to Communications Minister Richard Alston, with an internal inquiry clearing the broadcaster of bias while claiming he lacks understanding of news reporting and the ABC charter. . . http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6790952%255E2702,00.html (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** BENIN. 7210, R. Diff. du Benin (presumed) 2250-2255* July 19. Pop vocal music in French. Abrupt disappearance at 2255. Very tentative reception, but follows their usual habit of an abrupt non-signoff at the end of their transmission. Poor signal with much QRN and QSB (SINPO 24222). (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Hi Jim, Cotonou on 7210.3 is coming fairly good here in Italy right now at 2140 UT. The reception is slightly clearer on USB, although 7210 is free. No T/S at TOH, but just a short ID at 2210 after a long interview over the origins and the effects of the colonial system in Africa. Then back to back both western-style music and afropops. It was gone at recheck at 2303. Too many statics, alas, to afford a good recording. Thanks for the tip, I always overlook those few Africans in the 41 mb. Ciao (Renato Bruni, http://www.faiallo.splinder.it ibid.) ** BRAZIL. A Rádio Verdes Florestas é emissora brasileira que emite, pela freqüência de 4865 kHz, entre 1030 e 1400 e, após breve intervalo, entre 2100 e 0300. Os estúdios estão situados no seguinte endereço: Rua Mário Lobão, 81, CEP: 69980-000, Cruzeiro do Sul (AC). Os transmissores estão situados na Estrada do Aeroporto, no quilômetro 2, no bairro Nossa Senhora das Graças, naquele Município. Os telefones da emissora são os seguintes: +55 68 322 3309 e +55 68 322 2634. E- mail: florestas@nauanet.com.br. As informações são do biólogo Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), em mais um trabalho voluntário em prol do dexismo brasileiro! A Rádio Clube do Pará transmite, em ondas curtas, pela freqüência de 4885 kHz. Desde Tefé (AM), Paulo Roberto e Souza indica sítio com resumo da história da emissora: http://www.radioclubedopara.com.br/i_historia.htm. A Rádio Difusora Acreana, que transmite pela freqüência de 4885 kHz, enviou farto material de divulgação ao colega Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS). Além de convidar Fantinelli para visitar Rio Branco, o apresentador Antônio Fiori disse que "nasceu no estado do Rio Grande do Sul e reside há 30 anos na Amazônia". Entre o material enviado, destaque para revista com a história da emissora (all: Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 20 via DXLD) See also SAO TOME ** CANADA. Federal Cabinet ministers have upheld a broadcast licence issued to a new multicultural radio station in Toronto despite allegations it has ties to the Tamil Tigers terrorist group. http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=B21E5D01-3C9F-45E7-BDF0-3FF1B65E92C7 (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** CHINA. O Departamento de Espanhol da Rádio Internacional da China enviou mensagem a todos seus ouvintes pedindo comentários a respeito de um possível aumento em suas transmissões. Deixaria de emitir apenas 30 minutos e passaria a levar ao ar uma hora de programação, em cada emissão que faz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 20 via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. RADIO CANDIP IN BUNIA HEARD ON SHORTWAVE 21 JULY Radio Candip, broadcasting from the town of Bunia in northeastern DRCongo, was heard on its usual shortwave frequency (5066.3 kHz) on 21 July. This is the first time the station has been heard since 8 July. The French news agency AFP reported on 9 July that the station had been closed down by the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) because of a dispute over airtime access. Source: BBC Monitoring research 21 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 11815, REE, 2019-2021 July 13, SINPO=55544. Programa en español. Fortísima señal, entrevistando a un músico español, tocando música del entrevistado. Los "bigotes" de ésta emisión se perciben aún sobre los 11825 kHz (¡!)(Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 2000 UT, Radio Havana, Cuba, 11760 kHz in English with news, sports, etc. and ongoing (Robert Thompson, TX, swl at qth.net via DXLD) What now? English not supposed to be until 2030-2130, and indeed when I checked July 22 at 2017 it was in French (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. CUBAN JAMMING DEMANDS A FIRM RESPONSE By Stephen Johnson, WebMemo #319 July 22, 2003 For nearly four decades, Cuba has maintained sophisticated electronic intelligence-gathering and offensive capabilities, which range from tapping U.S. phone conversations to jamming radio communications signals and launching computer viruses. To date, U.S. decision-makers have done little more than work around them, since they were never considered serious threats. Washington should reconsider that stance in light of the following events: . . . http://www.heritage.org/Research/LatinAmerica/wm319.cfm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 4781.4, Radio Oriental, Tena, 1040+, July 20, Spanish. Music program conducted by female. TC: "son las 5 de la mañana con 40 minutos en el territorio continental", Announcement and ID as: "al mundo entero les cantamos con amor desde Oriental", 35443. Past weekend I was in General Lavalle, 259 km south-east from Buenos Aires, with my dear friends Nicolás Eramo and his son: Nicolás Jr., Marcelo Cornachioni and Norberto Pugliese. General Lavalle is a very small town over Ria de Ajo, near the Argentina Sea ("Mar Argentino"). We were in two rooms for fisherman but we could make two antennas in the hotel`s garden. 73's & 55's (Arnaldo Slaen, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 6210, Radio Fana full data card received in 5 months for a compact disc of my reception and $1. Address on QSL card "Near Black Lion Hospital in front of Sweden Embassy." (Jill Dybka TN, NASWA Flashsheet July 20 via DXLD) ** FIJI [and non]. ZJV, Fiji Broadcasting Co. QSL, from 1937, nicely illustrated, so one hardly needs to buy the original: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2940962052&category=697 And VPD, when it was run by AWA: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2941170517&category=697 And this week`s RVi Radio World has some old recordings of Fiji, plus multilingual IDs from KATB-570 Guam, KMTH Radio 92, Midway, which Frans admits he had never heard of before, and KLEI, K-Lei, Kailua, Island Radio Magic, Hawaii, via http://www.rvi.be/rvi_master/uk/radio_world/index.html Next week: more Pacific islands to visit. The files should only be up for one week at a time (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. If you ever had a sticker from NDR, you probably saw Antje; she was there in various poses and formats. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/efaz/docmain.asp?doc={CAE20BEF-937D-4F4D-B5D5-D3CEE2B9FF7D}&rub={F1B72E86-3783-11D4-A3AA-009027BA22E4}# ANTJE THE WALRUS DIES [unfortunately, not illustrated] After 20 years as the nationally recognized mascot of NDR, the regional broadcaster in northern Germany, Antje the walrus died in her sleep on Thursday morning. Officials said the cause of death was old age: Antje, 27, was one of the oldest known walruses in the world and the star attraction at Hagenbeck's Tierpark zoo in Hamburg, where she had lived since 1976. Adults and kids gathered at the zoo to pay homage to Antje, who will be stuffed and placed in the city's Zoological Museum. ak July 18 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** GERMANY. The Kiel-based Power Radio has been probably closed down. Both URLs http://www.power-radio.de and http://www.power612.de only contain a "this website is not available at present" message and some vague reports indicate that the Kiel-Kronshagen transmitter (612 daytimer, 0400-1700 only) was yesterday on but with an open carrier only. No more recent observations available so far (Kai Ludwig, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Since July 19 all foreign language programming of Deutsche Welle originates from their new headquarters at Bonn. Only the German service still broadcasts from the skyscraper at Cologne already abandoned by the majority of the staff by now. The previous live studio of the German service was already dismantled; at present the programming originates from one of the small studios with only one announcer booth previously used by the foreign language sections. The final switch-over to Bonn is still scheduled for August 4 at 0900 UT as previously reported. It is understood that the skyscraper will be handed over to the municipal authorities of Cologne; any decisions about the fate of the building will be in their responsibility. Some measures against the asbestos contamination were already taken, so it appears that there is a chance for this impressive landmark to remain, contrary to the belief of some jokers who already say that Deutschlandfunk programming should be taped when the Deutsche Welle building will be blown up. (Deutschlandfunk broadcasts from another skyscraper beneath the Deutsche Welle building, so ...) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND [non]. Re DXLD 3-128, DXing from Greenland: He is Borge Haagensen, VE7VB, and at the end of 2000 I made 3 programs in Danish about his experiences at a.o. places Station Nord, and with many more audio clips than heard on CBC, which also resulted in a web site with his extraordinary photos --- unfortunately, in Danish only. The first photo is Borge in the short wave studio (click to enlarge): http://www1.dr.dk/pubs/nyheder/html/programmer/kortboelge/peary.jhtml 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4052, R. Verdad, 0313-0340 July 9, SINPO=55444. Música de órgano, himnos. Excelente señal y audio. 0326 invitación en español e inglés a los oyentes para enviar sus informes de recepción, ofreciendo verificarlos. Dirección: Apartado Postal 5, Chiquimula, Guatemala. 1210 July 20 AUSENTE, la frecuencia está libre (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Hello there, Glenn. I have checked both 1430 and 2860 kHz several times during the past week, regarding the Radio Cultura affair, but I couldn't hear anything there. Sorry, can't help here! 2200, HRVA Radio Tiempo, San Pedro Sula, 1821- July 13, SINPO=45554. Frecuencia harmónica (2 x 1100 kHz) con programación local, anuncios comerciales, música popular. 4820 Voz Evangélica 1222 July 20 AUSENTE 4832 R. Litoral 1223 July 20 AUSENTE (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. R. Litoral, 4832.0, partial data card, 3 page letter in Spanish, progrma schedule in 10 months. Verie signer: Mario Eduardo Bonifacio Castillo, Gerente. They broadcast daily 1100-1600, 2200-0500 UT. Mainly in Spanish; other languages are: Miskito 2200-2400 daily, Garifuna 0000-0200 daily, English 0400-0500 weekends (Takeshi Sejimo, Komoro city, Nagano, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo July 8 via DXLD) Reproduced letterhead/card says: Radio Litoral, HRLW, 4830 kHz, Un Ministerio de la Misión Comunión Cristiana de Honduras, Apdo. 888, La Ceiba, Atlántida; radiolitoral@psinet.hn Tel.: 504-441 5973. The program schedule shows the English hour consists of: 10:00 pm Música en Inglés; 10:30 pm Searchlight. In Spanish, there is nothing resembling a newscast or anything to do with current events; but then this is another station absolutely preoccupied with an imaginary afterworld (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONG KONG. HONG KONG RADIO STATION'S LICENCE RENEWAL IN DOUBT | Text of report by Radio TV Hong Kong audio web site on 22 July The Executive Council has held talks on the renewal of a licence for Commercial Radio. The commerce secretary, Henry Tang, will brief the media on the outcome this afternoon. Executive councillor Tsang Yok- sing said the government would handle the licence renewal in a reasonable manner. The issue has raised concerns after the Broadcasting Authority warned the station's outspoken programme host Albert Cheng about unfair treatment of two officials during his shows. Pro-democracy politicians said the warnings amounted to censorship and feared the government might link them to the station's licence renewal. Source: RTHK Radio 3 audio web site, Hong Kong, in English 0600 gmt 22 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) HONG KONG STATION TO REMAIN ON AIR DESPITE CONTROVERSIAL TALK SHOW HOST | Text of report by Radio TV Hong Kong audio web site on 22 July The Executive Council has agreed to renew the licence of Commercial Radio for another 12 years. But there will be a mid-term review in six years. There was speculation that the radio station would only get between three and five years, after the Broadcasting Authority received complaints about the station's controversial talk show host, Albert Cheng. Source: RTHK Radio 3 audio web site, Hong Kong, in English 0800 gmt 22 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Our Dutch friend's DX report reminded me about Iceland being a DX possibility. Here is a link to a staton list: http://www.tvradioworld.com/region3/isl/Radio_TV_On_Internet.asp If we can't get TA FM DX, maybe MA (Mid-Atlantic) FM DX is a better shot (Curtis Sadowski, July 20, WTFDA via DXLD This is an incomplete list... FM 95.7 and Blygjan 98.9 are missing for Reykjavík (two you can listen to on line). (Matt Sittel, NE, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. To prepare for U.S. psychological warfare through Radio Free Asia, the communist North is strengthening education for its people by mobilizing Korean War veterans as instructors, the report said. . . http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200307/kt2003072215232611990.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) Since everyone in NK has been brainwashed since infancy, what more preparation could they possibly need? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. SHELLING KILLS 20 IN SINGLE EXPLOSION; PRIVATE RADIO STATION DAMAGED | Text of report by Italian-based Missionary Service News Agency (Misna) web site on 21 July With the rebels from LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy) pursuing their relentless offensive on the Liberian capital Monrovia, the Mamba Point neighbourhood was the target of shelling last night. The building which houses Radio Veritas, the Catholic radio station, was partially destroyed by two heavy artillery shells. Ecclesiastical sources told Misna that this happened on Saturday [19 July]. The neighbourhood, in which embassies and humanitarian organizations are located, was shelled heavily. A massive explosion in a Freemasons hall in which people were taking refuge killed 20. "The number of victims is certainly great in the Mamba Point neighbourhood. Bodies litter the streets," a local priest who spoke on condition of anonymity told Misna. With the rebels trying to take the presidential palace which is being defended by loyalist forces, the head of state, Charles Taylor, clearly affirmed his position: "To all our men and women under arms: I say that I will not leave the country - that I will not move a millimetre - until an international peacekeeping force arrives. I am not doing this for the sake of power, which I intend to relinquish ... [ellipsis as received] I am doing this because the rebels have no respect for human life." Source: Misna news agency web site, Rome, in French 21 Jul 03(via BBCM via DXLD) I was afraid that this would happen again. I think it is the third time that RV was destroyed (Mike Dorner, LA, of Catholic Radio Update, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Los colegas de Radio Canadá Internacional y Radio Nederland estamos ofreciendo una QSL especial por haber grabado y difundido de forma conjunta un programa único de contacto con el oyente: "Contestación a la Correspondencia" de RCI y "Cartas@RNW.nl". Si bien los programas vía Canadá ya se difundieron (el domingo 6), los oyentes tienen una última oportunidad de escuchar uno de los programas especiales a través de Radio Nederland y ganarse una QSL especial. Más info: http://www.rnw.nl/sp/toolbar/cartas@r... [truncated]. El programa de "Contestación a la Correspondencia y Cartas@RNW.nl" se difunde este miércoles 23 de julio, por onda corta hacia Sudamérica a eso de las 0000 UT por 15315, 11720 y 9895 kHz. Hacia Norte y Centroamérica a las 0200 UT por 6165 y 9845 kHz (Jaime Báguena, RN, July 22 via Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. The RadLon test via 1008: see UK [non] ** OKLAHOMA. DTV TABLE OF ALLOTMENTS, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK. Proposed Amendment of the DTV Table of Allotments for this community. (Dkt No. 00-104). Action by: Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau. Comments Due: 09/08/2003. Reply Comments Due: 09/23/2003. Adopted: 07/11/2003 by FNPRM. (DA No. 03-2283). MB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2283A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2283A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2283A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) KAUT-43 wants its DT channel to be changed from 42 to 40 with 1000 kW at 475 m. Why??? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. En El Comercio, de Lima se informa que Panamericana suspendió sus transmisiones a las 12:05 p.m. Administración Delgado Parker presentó acción de amparo y denunció a funcionarios del MTC. Hubo lágrimas al momento de desconectar la señal. . . http://www.elcomercioperu.com.pe/Noticias/html/2003-07-18/Lima0030829.html (via Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. 5020, NO IDENTIFICADA, 0042+ July 13, SINPO=22422. Cumbias, anuncios de la hora "7 de la noche con 46 minutos", anuncios comerciales, varias menciones de Chachapoyas. Se escucha un poco mejor por 5019 kHz. Al regresar a ésta frecuencia a las 0110 UT estaban transmitiendo un rezo del rosario: "Cuarto misterio, presentación de Jesús en el templo" y los incesantes "Dios te Salve María" y "Padre Nuestro". El QRM proviene de 5025 kHz donde emite la cubana Radio Rebelde. ¿Qué emisora es ésta peruana? (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Horizonte, Chachapoyas (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. Re: `Reyna` de la Selva: No comenté el dato anterior en su momento (DXLD #2171, Nov. 2/02), pero hace exactamente un año recibí un correo electrónico del señor José David Reina, Gerente General de la empresa `Radio y TV Reina de la Selva`. Al firmar no indica su segundo apellido pero creo que es Noriega. En algún momento mandaron imprimir una tarjeta QSL muy escasa en donde se lee `Reina de la Selva`. Una reproducción de la misma apareció hace varios años en una revista diexista española. Allí un colega español relató las impresiones de su visita a la emisora, la cual la describía un tanto despectivamente como ``cutre`` (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Entonces parece no deletrearse REYNA como dije, sino es un apellido, no sólo la palabra que significa Queen. En 2-171 fue Alfredo Cañote que deletrea el nombre Reyna, sin discutirlo (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. Proud of some of your QSLs? Those must pale in comparison to the CERTIFICADO DE VISITA that Takayuki Inoue Nozaki displays, issued January 6, 1995 [sic] by Radio ``Nor Andina``, Jr. José Gálvez 602, Celendín, which I here retype: ``Hacemos constar que el día domingo 7 de octubre del año 2001 [sic], fuimos honrados con la presencia de nuestro amigo oyente de Tokio, Japón, TAKAYUKI INOUE NOZAKI, quien en forma heróica y placentera viene recorriendo diferentes lugares de la República del Perú, con el propósito de estudiadr diferentes medios de comunicación. Como muestra de gran reconocimiento y agradecimiento a la vez nos permitió elogiar la buena labor en esta estación radial, RADIO NOR ANDINA Empresa Individual de Responsibilidad Limitada Agradecemos infinitamente su gentil visita, deseándole siempre éxitos en sus labores y asimismo mantener su sintonía en onda corta de los 4460 kHz en la banda tropical de 65 metros. Desde Celendín, el cielo azul del Edén, en la Provincia del mismo nombre, Departamento de Cajamarca en la República del Perú, le emitimos el presente certificado como un gran recuerdo para usted, nuestro amigo oyente de Japón, a quien siempre lo recordaremos con el mayor deseo de manterer nuestra amistad international. Muy atentatmente, Miguel Alcántara Guevara, Gerente-Proprietario`` This accompanies a lengthy article by TIN about the station, which in fact he visited twice, in 1995 and 2001, accounting for the mixup in dates. Next time I drop in on a radio station, I think I shall ask for just such a certificate. The wording could hardly be improved upon (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Glenn, Transmissions from Poro on MW are from the Harris DX-1000 on 1143, and from the Continental ("CEMCO") on 1170, running about 700+ kW last time I heard. Lots of spare parts from Rasom (Thailand) were sent to Poro to help keep it running until the site change takes place. According to my lists of CEMCO transmitters (I have them dated 7/10/72, 3/77, 1/79, 8/90, and 11/90 and I think they stopped at that point, after acquiring Collins' transmitter product line from Rockwell), the model 105B and (1/2)105B transmitters all went to VOA, so the one at Poro is the last one still operating. It is shown as having been delivered in 1954. So when it finally goes out of service (probably next year when the new Poro site is commissioned) it will have been in operation for 50 years (Ben Dawson, WA, July 20-21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More exactly the IBB online schedule says that the 1143 transmissions were shifted from PHP B to PHP A from 11 July and then PHP B started on 1170 on 19 July. This seems to mean that the still fully operational CEMCO transmitter from 1953 has been brought back in full service on 1143, while the Harris DX1000 unit from 1995 is now serving on 1170 (Olle Alm, Sweden, 21 July, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, thanks that Bernd Trutenau discovered the unID station on 1170 kHz --- as from Poro-PHL, given in the latest IBB frequency and language online list. 1170 kHz which came on air on July 9th, test at approx 1200-1700 UT. First, I thought coming from well known Udorn Thani Shortwave site in Thailand. Olle Alm in an e-mail of July 11: The long range BBG plans included a second high power MW transmitter in Thailand. Is that what they are now preparing for? "1000 kW for the Thailand (Udorn) Transmitting Station". (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX July 11) On July 11, I asked also Alan Davies to monitor this new service, but he was away, travelling on Indian subcontinent ... What do you mean? What's your opinion? How is the 1170 kHz channel occupied in SE Asia, like in INS or THA ? (wb) "In the IBB sched, 1143 kHz is still listed 1100-1230 and 1330-1800 at 332 deg and 1300-1330 at 262 deg towards VTN. 1143 kHz is listed for PHP transmitter A and 1170 for PHP transmitter B, but I'm not sure of the significance of that. The two are not scheduled to be on air simultaneously (Alan Davies, Delhi-IND, July 21)" Hi, here are some more links with background material: http://home.att.net/~philsite/wallace-1b.htm (note: text "U.S and RP sign $3.3 Million Land Lease Deal" refers to 2002) for comprehensive reconstruction projects (incl. new transmitter building) at the site in connection with the handing-over of the IBB ground to the Philippine state some years ago and subsequent lease by IBB: http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2002/08-August/09-Aug-2002/FBO-00134923.htm and another one: http://www.hatdaw.com/papers/dawson.pdf 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Base Turnover To The Philippines United States turned over the Voice of America facilities to RP The Voice of America (VOA) facilities in La Union and Baguio City was recently turned over to the Philippine government through the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), the lead agency spearheading the conversion of former baselands. US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard and BCDA Chairman Rogelio L. Singson signed an agreement during the turnover ceremonies held in Poro Point, San Fernando City, La Union on October 15. The VOA facilities in Poro Point covers 102 hectares, and the turnover will facilitate and enhance its development as a freeport and special economic zone complete with tourism and commercial facilities. The VOA property in John Hay, Baguio City, which covers 30 hectares, has also been turned over to BCDA. John Hay's development as a world- class eco-tourism destination, complementing Poro Point's tourism and commercial facilities is envisioned to make Northern Luzon the ideal tourist and business location. In a lease back agreement between BCDA and the US Embassy, the International Broadcasting Bureau, which runs the VOA broadcast, will leave its remaining facilities, including the powerplant, for use by BCDA as payment for three years' stay in a 13- hectare area to continue its operations in China and Vietnam. The bureau also has the option to lease some ten hectares as permanent site in Poro Point if they wish to continue to operate in the area. The turnover closes the 1963 agreement that allowed the US to set up and operate radio broadcasting facilities in the former Wallace Air Station, now known as Poro Point, and the former Camp John Hay (from the Wallace site linked above, via gh, DXLD; not sure what year this refers to) International Broadcasting Bureau (Philippines Station) Tinang: Barangay Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac Tel: (045) 982-0254 / 982-0255 / 982-3442 / 982-3443 Fax: (045) 982-1402 Poro: Poro Point, San Fernando, La Union Tel: (072) 888-2747 / 888-2773 / 888-5003 / 888- 5121 Fax: (072) 888-51 33 The Philippines Transmitting Station (PTS) is a large and complex International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) overseas facility. The mission of this Station is to transmit Voice of America (VOA) programs. Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), and Radio Liberty (RL) to selected target areas. These programs are fed from the main IBB studios in Washington D.C. via satellite. No programs other than PBS are originated in-country. The transmitted programs are broadcast to listening audiences in China, the USSR, East Asia, Southwest Pacific, Africa, and South Asia in as many as 13 languages using both short and medium wave frequency bands. The Philippines Transmitting Station has long been a part of the Philippine scene--having begun broadcasting from a transmitting station located at Malolos, Bulacan shortly after World War II. That facility was subsequently granted to the Government of the Philippines in 1969 after the construction of the Tinang facility. The Station is staffed by six (6) American Foreign Service and one (1) PIT personnel, assigned on a rotational basis. PTS is also a significant contributor to the local economy, employing 100 direct hire and 8 contract technical and administrative personnel. In addition, a significant number of personnel of numerous diverse skills derive their employment from various services and maintenance contracts throughout our two facilities. The Management and Administrative offices are located at the 2,400 acre Tinang Transmitter facility located 85 miles north of Manila near Concepcion, Tarlac. The Tinang Transmitter Plant includes twelve 250,000-watt and three 50,000-watt transmitters with 31 large, high-gain curtain antennas suspended between towers 400 to 500 feet high. Commercial power is used to run all equipment and is obtained from a 230,000-volt highline through our own 20-megawett power substation. Construction of a standby 8,000,000-watt power generating plant was completed in 1995. The Poro Transmitter Plant in La Union Province, 180 miles north of Manila, has a one million-watt medium wave transmitter, and one (1) MW 3-pattern array antenna. Power can be generated at the Poro Power Plant with an installed capacity of 6,000 kilowatts, however commercial power is currently utilized. All of the Station facilities are linked via satellite circuits for program distribution. Telephone, satellite, and VHF radio form the communications network. A small business office is manned at least once a month at the US Embassy's Manila Annex Building on Roxas Boulevard. Last Update :: 05/21/2003 (from http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/rp1/wwwh3027.html via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXLD) 1170 has apparently been tested occasionally from Poro since a longer time, see e.g. http://www.hatdaw.com/papers/lockwood.pdf (February 2003): HF and MW (AM Radio) Experience: International Broadcasting Bureau, Poro Point, Philippines: MW Antenna Frequency Change: For this project, Mr. Lockwood performed all of the antenna computer modeling analyses in the field that were used in the tuneup of the revised antenna pattern. This project, with the operation of one antenna pattern of the Poro site on 1170 kHz rather than the 1143 kHz normal operation of the station required substantial analytical activity at the site. This efficient design and adjustment activity took place in a few days. He also assisted the Poro station staff in re-tuning the antenna monitor equipment, and in putting the station's former MW transmitter back into operation on the revised frequency for the tests. Bruce Portzer's Pacific Asian Log http://www.qsl.net/n7ecj lists 1170 from Poro with occasional tests at 800 kWd already in the March 2003 edition (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The other link above leads to a 9-page CV for Ben Dawson, who has been involved in lots of fascinating projects, including:- Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers Benjamin F. Dawson, P.E., Electrical Engineer / President Poro MW Antenna Frequency Change: Prepared preliminary design, made all field changes, and supervised measurements to implement frequency change for antenna pattern to allow tests on 1170 kHz. Poro Allocation Studies for Operation on 1170 kHz and Udorn Medium Wave Radiation Study (Allocation Analysis): Prepared analysis of the allocation conditions based on both national and ITU frequency allotment regulations (Geneva '75 Agreement standards), and prepared report showing allowable radiation for each site on this frequency. (via gh) [Transmitter swap on 1143 and 1170 suggested by Alm] That seems indeed the case, and it was this old transmitter that was used for the tests on 1170 in earlier months: [as in Lockwood above] (Bernd Trutenau, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Since I am still providing design data to IBB for the new antenna/transmitter site down the road from the existing one, I'll ask somebody which transmitter is now on which frequency. I'll be surprised if they have swapped them this soon, however (Ben Dawson, July 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, 1143 used to shift unpredictably to 1147.5, presumably to avoid Chicom jamming and\or the Taiwan station, tho this is not likely to appear in IBB schedules. Does this still happen? (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. UKRAINE. 7434.64 (drifting), R. Krishna Loka, 0132-0200 July 9, frequency was drifting steadily: 7434.90 at 0147, 7435.00 at 0157. Initially programing was as Anker described some time ago, English talk about meditation with translation into Russian (I presume); then at 0133 was Indian-style Hari Krishna music interspersed with serene talks, ID at 0158. This is supposed to be a 150-watt station, but it seemed a lot stronger. At times it was very clear. Does anyone know more precisely where this station is located? (Jean Burnell-NL [sic], DXplorer via DXLD) Recent reports in DXLD have it in Orël, Russia; I thought Burnell moved to NS, or was he back in NL on a DXpedition? (gh, DXLD) ** SAO TOME. Heard VOA "Daybreak Africa" program from São Tomé relay at 0530Z July 19 on 7290 kHz with SIO 333 reception (Grundig Sat. 800, 40M dipole). (Ben Loveless WB9FJO, Michigan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) O clima de instabilidade política em São Tomé e Príncipe também foi pauta na Rádio Nacional, de Brasília (DF). Nesta semana, a emissora conversou com um locutor de emissora daquele país. A informação é do sítio Comunique-se e foi publicada em http://www.radiobase.blogger.com.br/ (Célio Romais, @tividade DX July 20 via DXLD) Glenn, I didn't see this piece when it first appeared in The New Yorker last October, but it could be interesting to you as a backgrounder on US relations with São Tomé. From the Archives: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?030728fr_archive02 (73- Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 15170, BSKSA, 0302-0305 July 20, SINPO=45444 en Árabe. Hombre habla y luego de una pausa comienzan los cantos coránicos. Buena señal y audio fuerte y claro (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, a nice soporific in UT-4, -5 (gh) ** SAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI RADIO AND TV GO GLOBAL Molouk Y. Ba-Isa -- Arab News Staff If you`re abroad this summer and feeling homesick, download Saudi TV and radio over the Internet. Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Fouad Ibn Abdul-Salam Al-Farsi, announced that Saudi radio has started an experimental transmission over the world wide web. Dr. Al-Farsi said the Kingdom`s Internet offerings will include the general radio program, the second-channel radio program, the Holy Qur`an radio program, the European radio program in English and French, the music radio program, Urdu radio program and other radio programs in various languages. The transmission of these programs can be downloaded through http://saudiradio.net For computers using browsers displaying English language only, go directly to http://saudiradio.net/indexen.php At the same website, beta transmission of Saudi television has also begun. In tests by Arab News, the radio programs were clearly audible even using a dial-up Internet connection. However, over dial-up, video streaming of the TV channels was disappointing. A broadband connection is highly advised to watch the TV programs. Even then, don't expect much. The image that appears on the screen is small --- really only suitable for close up, one-on-one viewing (Arab News Compunet 22 July 2003 via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]: Freq changes for FEBA Radio: 1200-1230 Daily TIBETAN 15355 DHA 250 085 deg, ex 15525 DHA, re-ex 15605 SAM 1515-1530 Daily NUER 12125 MEY 250 007 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1530-1545 Daily DINKA 12125 MEY 250 007 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1545-1600 Daily MAKONDE 12125 MEY 250 032 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1600-1630 Thu-Sun AMHARIC 12125 MEY 250 019 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1600-1630 Mon-Wed GURAGENA 12125 MEY 250 019 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1630-1700 Daily AMHARIC 12125 MEY 250 019 deg, ex 12070 MEY, re-ex 11885 MEY 1700-1730 Daily OROMO 6180 DHA 250 230 deg, ex 9590 DHA Fri/Sun (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, July 21 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. 9600, R. Singapore Int`l, 1300-1332 July 20. Five-minute news summary at 1300, then YL hosting a program of sultry Latin tunes, including "Babalu" by Desi Arnaz; no Celia Cruz tunes noted; news again at 1330. Checked back at 1359 to hear closing announcement for 9600; guy also said "You can continue to listen to programs from Mediacorp Radio on 6150 kHz". Good signal on 9600; 6150 had faded out (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot randomwire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** UGANDA [non]. EXILES IN GERMANY REPORTEDLY TO LAUNCH SHORTWAVE STATION | Text of report by Ugandan newspaper The Monitor web site on 18 July Ugandan exiles living in Germany plan to launch a radio station. Mr Godfrey Elum Ayoo said in a statement on Wednesday [16 July] that Radio Rhino International-Africa (RRIA) would help overcome the [ruling National Resistance] Movement's control of the free and independent press in Uganda. "RRIA is a declaration of an airwave campaign in the liberation, protection and promotion of the freedoms of _expression and the rights to information by the press, mass media and the people of Uganda," Ayoo said in an e-mailed statement. Ayoo said that the shortwave radio station would be based in Köln, Germany. The radio would broadcast in English on daily events throughout Africa. The station would go on air next month, Ayoo said. Ayoo has been living in exile since 1986 when the Movement captured state power. Source: The Monitor web site, Kampala, in English 18 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. The early BBC Prom on Monday July 21 provided a better webcast (with video) than previously, running at 75.0 kbps, which allowed somewhat less jerky video and acceptable audio. During the interval, Charles Hazelwood was back, but only wearing a plain light-blue denim shirt! Perhaps my bringing it up first thing upon turning on the computer, when plenty of memory was available, had something to do with the faster SureStream? And the playbacks at 1300 UT --- at least on Tue July 22, the repeat of Saturday night was the original tape complete with ambiance, not re-announced in the studio as last year. On July 22, Hazelwood was wearing a light blue checked shirt, even tho his interval interwiewee violin soloist was in white tie (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC VERSUS BRITISH GOVERNMENT -- 21/07/2003 20:27 - (SA) London --- For all its carefully-won reputation around the world as a model of probity and fairness, over the decades the BBC has managed to annoy British governments of pretty much every political persuasion... http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1390672,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) AS BLAIR'S SUPPORT FALLS, BACKERS BLAME BBC --- By Glenn Frankel, Washington Post Foreign Service, Tuesday, July 22, 2003; Page A11 LONDON, July 21 -- Supporters of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is facing the worst political crisis of his six years in office following the apparent suicide of a senior government weapons expert, today sought to shift the blame for the controversy to the BBC. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25249-2003Jul21?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Comment --- DON'T ATTACK THE BBC - YOU CAN'T WIN The British public won't forgive such shameless scapegoating John Tusa, Tuesday July 22, 2003, The Guardian You can always tell how big a hole a prime minister or government is in by the vehemence of their onslaught on the BBC. Judging by the passion now being aimed at the corporation, from the chairman, Gavyn Davies, downwards, the government feels it is in a bigger hole than it dares to admit even to itself. As a displacement activity, a diversion from finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, it can't be beaten. But a quick look back at similar instances of attacking the usual scapegoats suggests that the policy doesn't work and the public doesn't believe that the BBC is responsible for whatever situation the government has put the country in. Scapegoating the BBC did not work when the then head of BBC current affairs, Dick Francis, observed that Argentinian mothers grieved over lost sons as much as their counterparts in Plymouth. Nor did it work when Peter Snow, on Newsnight, noting that the late-breaking account of fighting in the Falklands was often more accurately reported from Buenos Aires sources, uttered the immortal caveat: "Now, the British - if they are to be believed..." Both Snow and Francis were assaulted under the general banner of "Whose side are you on?" As was Kate Adie in her reporting of the US air strikes on Libya, savagely attacked by Norman Tebbit. During the first Gulf war, the Saudi government regularly lobbied the Foreign Office to curb the broadcasts of the BBC Arabic Service -which they alleged was biased towards Saddam Hussein, and staffed overwhelmingly by Palestinians, who carried a nasty sneering innuendo in their voices to indicate the broadcasters did not accept the "impartial" BBC line. I commissioned independent research, seen only by myself and senior colleagues, which comprehensively disproved every allegation of bias. We were backed by the director general, Michael Checkland, and the governors. Similarly, Gavyn Davies and the current director general, Greg Dyke, have rightly stood fast and supported their journalists. What must be infuriating for Downing Street news manipulators, for that is what they are, is that they still expect the BBC to be different after all these years. "We appointed Gavyn Davies! Isn't his wife Gordon Brown's political aide? Isn't Greg a party supporter? Don't these people know we can snuff out the BBC charter next time round?" What Downing Street seems incapable of realising is that independence is so bred in the bone at the BBC that capitulating to governmental pressure would not only be impossible, but it would be wrong for everyone at the BBC, and for the national culture too, and ultimately for governments of every stripe. What is so transparent is Downing Street's opportunistic assault on Today's Andrew Gilligan. The veteran Gavin Hewitt and the academic Susan Watts of Newsnight are out of the firing line. As journalists they are held to be beyond reproach. Gilligan is more controversial, or some say more risky - and the sound of colleagues running to volunteer unattributable doubts about his qualities is not a pretty sight. Because the point is that if Gilligan were wholly wrong, it would not alter the substantive charge against the government in the slightest - though it would leave his career in tatters. Nor would it undermine BBC journalism as a whole one jot. Gilligan might consider saying: "OK, as Kelly's friend Tom Mangold has said, my source thought the government dossier was a bit 'hyperbolic'. I changed 'hyperbolic' to 'sexier'. My choice, and my responsibility. But does it alter the story? And is using more lurid language a hanging matter?" Of course, the Campbell/Gilligan row is far more than a "Whose side are you on?" row. It is a "Did the government mislead the country?" question, one where reputations and careers can be lost, and no doubt will be. But even if Gilligan were to be found seriously at fault, it would not prove the government was right about going to war on its endlessly repeated claims that Saddam Hussein had ready-to-use weapons of mass destruction. Pursuing Gilligan, and the BBC, deals with none of the real issues still waiting to be answered. It's as if Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell know that some political heads will roll after Lord Hutton reports. To preserve their self- esteem, they will continue their BBC quarrel to ensure that BBC heads roll too as part of the general carnage. But the public may wonder whether such wilful damage to one of the country's main independent sources of news and culture isn't too high a price to pay to salve some politicians' hurt feelings. John Tusa is managing director of the Barbican centre and was MD of the BBC World Service from 1986-92. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** UK [non]. Updated schedule for BVBN via VT Merlin Comm. and DTK T- systems: ME 13710 WER 250 kW / 120 deg 1900-1930 Thu Arabic 1900-2000 Fri-Sun English 15680 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg 1515-1800 Sat/Sun English 1530-1700 Mon/Tue English 1530-1730 Thu English 1530-1800 Wed/Fri English 1700-1745 Tue Russian 15750 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg 1615-1730 Mon-Fri Arabic 1700-1800 Sat/Sun English 17595 JUL 100 kW / 135 deg 0845-1015 Fri Arabic EaAf 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg 1630-1700 Fri-Tue Amharic 1630-1730 Wed/Thu Amharic CeAf 13725 JUL 100 kW / 175 deg 1900-1915 Mon-Thu English 1900-1930 Fri/Sun English 1900-2000 Sat English EaEu 5970 JUL 100 kW / 060 deg 1800-1815 Mon/Wed-Fri English 1815-1830 Mon/Wed-Fri Russian 1830-1845 Mon/Wed-Fri English 1800-1815 Tue English 1815-1830 Tue English or French 1830-1845 Tue English 5970 WER 125 kW / 060 deg 1800-1845 Sat Russian 1845-1900 Sat English 1800-1830 Sun English 1830-1900 Sun Russian 1900-1930 Sun English WeEu 5975 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg 0700-0750 Mon-Fri English 0700-0815 Sat/Sun English SoAs 7210 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg 0030-0100 Daily Bengali 9610 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg 0200-0230 Daily Hindi 11805 ??? ??? kW / ??? deg 0200-0230 Sat/Sun English 15600 WER 250 kW / 090 deg 0130-0200 Mon-Sat Hindi 17540 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg 0200-0230 Sat English 0230-0245 Sat Hindi 0245-0300 Sat English or French 0230-0330 Sun English/Hindi 17655 JUL 100 kW / 090 deg 1530-1600 Mon/Thu/Fri English 1600-1615 Mon/Thu/Fri Hindi 1530-1600 Tue Urdu 1600-1615 Tue Hindi 1530-1615 Wed Hindi/English/Hindi 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, July 21 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re Radio London tests on Flevo 1008 kHz: Radlon Media testing 1008 kHz --- A test transmission from Flevo on 1008 kHz was observed here in Hilversum as of 0900 UT this morning. The transmission ended abruptly at 0925. Officially, the next test is scheduled for Tuesday 22 July at 1100 in preparation for the transmissions of commercial broadcaster Radlon Media, which plans to broadcast to the UK. The test will be made using the directional pattern previously used for Dutch public network Radio 1, but will be made at the full power of 400 kW (Radio 1 used 180 kW). A low power test was already conducted on Friday afternoon, according to radio.nl. Listen to the test: http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rnw/medianetwork/radlon030721.rm The address for reception reports is Radlon Media Limited, PO Box 7336, Frinton-on-Sea, CO13 0WZ, UK. Tel: +44 1255 67622. For listeners in Europe the address is Radlon Media, PO Box 11122, 3505 BC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Quality Radio, the Dutch partner of Radlon, is also busy preparing the other mediumwave frequencies it won in May. Radio 10 FM is currently using 1395 kHz with reduced power. Transmission provider Nozema is carrying out maintenance on the antenna for 828 kHz, while a new radio ship has to be found for 1224 kHz, since the Communicator has been sold to a new owner in the UK and is now undergoing repairs in Ijmuiden (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 21 July 2003 via DXLD) I hope the programmes --- if they ever start --- are better than the rubbish on their test CD. It's full of very dated American drop-ins that may have been funny 30 years ago, but haven't stood the test of time. These all came off the various jingle collections that Ray Anderson produced in years gone by. I hope this isn't the sort of stuff they're planning to broadcast. Or, as John McEnroe would put it, "you can't be serious!" Andy Sennitt • 7/22/03; 3:59:08 AM It's about 35dB over S9 here on my NRD-525 here in Hilversum :-) Actually the part of the test I'm listening to at the moment has better music, and they just played an original Big L jingle! But they are ruining the effect by playing totally inappropriate drop-ins that had no place in the original Big L programmes and, IMHO, should have no place on this one! It sounds very self-indulgent. Andy Sennitt • 7/22/03; 4:32:28 AM I'm sorry to say that today's test confirmed my worst fears. When they issued a press release that spells the name of the transmitter site two different ways, both of them wrong, and gives incorrect technical information (claiming the direction pattern is NE/SW), I was not optimistic. Andy Sennitt • 7/22/03; 7:42:46 AM BTW there's a lot of misinformation floating around on some UK media forums. 747 kHz is *not* Radio 1, which is now only on FM, but Radio 747 (formerly Radio 5), a network with an audience share of 0.8%. And since 1 July it has been moved from Flevo to Lopik, from where it transmits omnidirectionally with a power of 60 kW. The permitted transmitter power was reduced from the original 120 kW because a lot of new homes have been built near the Lopik transmitter site in recent years. The fact that some people in the UK report that 747 was actually stronger than 1008 today is down to the lower frequency used, but mainly I suspect because most of the power on 1008 was being directed back into The Netherlands. Why they didn't use a single vertical mast for this test is beyond my comprehension: it's what we expected them to do. The words foot and shooting spring to mind :-) (Andy Sennitt • 7/22/03; 8:58:50 AM, all from Media Network blog via DXLD; last item also via Kai Ludwig) 1008 khz not well received in most of UK Initial reports from the UK on today's tests by Radlon via Flevo 1008 kHz are not encouraging. The tests, which were carried out with a power of 400 kW, were heard with poor signal strength in the London area, and not at all in major cities further north such as Sheffield. This may have something to do with the antenna pattern used, which was actually directional away from the UK! Media Network expects further tests to be carried out using different configurations in the coming weeks (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 22 July 2003 via DXLD) The 1008 KHz tests from Flevo are a cracking signal over East Yorkshire. Second strongest signal on the MW in Scarborough, and about 3 mV/M in Hull, though the audio is not as strong as I would have set it! (Paul Rusling, July 22, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Radio London tests received well here in Bedford on communications receiver and also on domestic radios. Good choice of music. Look forward to full time broadcasts (Colin Ferris, ibid.) Here in Caversham (45 miles west of London) reception of the Radlon test was very good on communications receiver with external aerials, but unfortunately it was very weak or non-existent on reasonably sensitive hifi tuner, domestic portables and car radio. Even at full power, 1008 kHz is very much weaker in the daytime than 747 or 675 kHz from Holland here. Don't forget reports (on domestic receivers, hifi tuners etc) are wanted by Radlon at this email address: bigl@r... [truncated] (Alan Pennington, Caversham UK, BDXC-UK July 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. IBB stuff: PHILIPPINES, SAO TOME ** U S A. Note in the Spanish item in 3-129 about WRMI being jammed by Cuba: CONIC is calling for the US government to increase the power of WRMI (an unlikely scenario, unless WRMI itself wants to pay for a 500 kW transmitter) (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re question posed in DXLD 3-129, "Can anyone explain how Pennsylvania Dutch relates to the Low German, or Plautdietsch, dialect currently broadcast over HCJB to Mennonite groups around the world? (Michael W. Enos, Tallmadge, OH, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST)"... The term currently used, "Pennsylvania Dutch", is not accurate and that is the key to understanding. As per the website of the Pennsylvania Dutch Welcome Center http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml "Although Lancaster Amish are Pennsylvania Dutch, all Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish. The Pennsylvania Dutch are natives of Central Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster and its surrounding counties. Unlike the Amish, they are not all one religion. Instead, their common bond is a mainly German background (Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania Deutsch, or German)." However, they speak High German, not Low German, and that is a major difference. You'll see from the website why broadcasts would be aired to Mennonite groups per se, but not why the switch in languages/ dialects. For more information on the acceptance of the term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' versus the long forgotten 'Pennsylvania Deutsch', see Charles F. Kerchner, Jr.'s web page at http://www.kerchner.com/padutch.htm (Bill Matthews, OH, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: WMLK plans ** U S A. Sept. 16 is the application deadline for rural public TV stations to apply for aid to put their digital signals on the air. The Agriculture Department is making $15 million available, according to a press release. http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/07/0258.htm APTS sought the aid as part of a strategy to find federal money beyond the CPB appropriation, as President John Lawson wrote in a commentary http://www.current.org/funding/funding0309federal.html this spring. (Current, posted at 9:48 AM EST July 22, via DXLD) ** U S A. INTERESTING CENTRAL ILLINOIS TV HISTORY SITE Hi Folks, Doug Quick, the newscaster at WICD ch. 15 Champaign IL is the local historian for Central Illinois broadcasting. He has a detailed TV history page at: http://www.soltec.net/~rdmlq/CentralIllinoisTVHistory.html I thought those few history buffs in the group might find this of interest (Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. About 1 AM today Tuesday (OK last night) I noticed TV atation WIFR Ch 23 Rockford back on the air. A few hours before (when I turned on the TV at about 11PM) I seen color bars with CBS audio (letterman). Then shortly after before 1 Am the video appeared as well (with a blasted info-merical). I'm on cable here and the picture is OK but a bit of snow (but not bad), so as can be expected it appears that a alternative site / tower is in use ?? (Dave Zantow, Janesville WI to Tim Noonan, via DXLD) This was the station whose tower was felled by storm Yes, It's indeed low power. I wonder what tower height they are using....? http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/399307.html more pictures: http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/379652.html (Tim Noonan? Via Dave Zantow, DXLD) Viz.: Low Power Signal Established from WIFR --- Rockford --- Andy Gannon It's been over two weeks since powerful winds leveled 23 WIFR's 731- foot tower. we are happy to report we are now able to transmit our signal over the air to many of our viewers who are not subscribers to Insight Communications Cable. Depending on where you live in the stateline area, that signal may be a little fuzzier than what you are accustomed to. We ask that you email 23 WIFR at talkto23@wifr.com and describe your picture and tell us where you live. Our engineers will do whatever they can to try to enhance the signal. The construction of a permanent tower is still a few months away. We thank you for your patience while we were not able to transmit an over-the-air signal (via Dave Zantow, WI, DXLD) ** U S A. WTOP'S NEWS/TRAFFIC MAKES RATINGS MUSIC By Paul Farhi, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, July 22 All-news radio station WTOP likes to tweak its Washington area rivals by promoting itself as the station that "doesn't play songs." Annoying? Maybe. But not playing songs just paid off handsomely for WTOP. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25807-2003Jul21?language=printer (via Tom McNiff, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW RADIO STATION SEEKS SEED MONEY --- By Michael Keating PORTSMOUTH --- Tom Bergeron is known to millions as the host of "Hollywood Squares" and "America's Funniest Home Videos." But to thousands of Seacoast residents, he is also known as one of the great former disc jockeys at WHEB-FM 100.3, where he spun records from 1980 to 1983. Bergeron, who lives part of the year in Lee, was one of about 25 people who attended a "Coming Out" party/news conference at The Press Room on Friday morning, where board members of WSCA-FM discussed their plans to raise funds so that the new low-power 100-watt community radio station can begin broadcasting . . . http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07192003/news/40216.htm (Portsmouth NH Herald July 19 via Arite Bigley, DXLD) Also see DXLD 3- 124 ** U S A. In VERMONT, the Radio Free Brattleboro gang are back in the studio --- but not on the airwaves, just yet. After being silenced by the FCC a few weeks back, RFB has resumed broadcasting some of its shows on its Web site, http://www.rfb.fm while it seeks a new way to get its signals out to the locals (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch July 21 via DXLD) ** U S A. THE FCC UNDER FIRE --- THE COMMISSION'S CONTROVERSIAL LOOSENING OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES MEETS STEADILY RISING OPPOSITION By VIVECA NOVAK, Sunday, Jul. 20, 2003 Populist outrage is threatening to undo a controversial effort by the FCC to loosen restraints on media megaliths. In the Senate last week, seven Republicans joined 28 Democrats to schedule a rare "resolution of disapproval" to overturn new FCC rules that would let companies like News Corp. and Viacom expand their media holdings in local markets. Then in the House, defecting Republicans fueled a 40-to-25 committee vote to reverse part of the FCC's action. Now it appears that the chief architect of those rules, FCC chairman Michael Powell, may not stick around for the fight. According to industry sources, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell has told confidants he'd like to leave by fall, and three of his four top staff members are putting out job feelers. (Powell has denied he's leaving soon.) His most likely replacement, sources say, is either Rebecca Klein, who is head of the Texas public-utility commission and was on the staff of Governor George W. Bush, or FCC commissioner Kevin Martin, who helped the Bush team count votes in Florida in 2000. Powell rammed through the new rules --- allowing a single company to own TV stations that reach up to 45% of the national market, an increase from the old 35% cap, and lifting the ban on a company's owning both a newspaper and a TV station in the same market --- on a party-line vote in June. But groups as disparate as the National Organization for Women and the National Rifle Association are decrying the move. In a new Pew Research poll, respondents most familiar with the FCC's action opposed it by roughly 10 to 1. Still, it has the support of key g.o.p. leaders, and President Bush has threatened to veto any bill overturning it. Republicans who are breaking ranks on the issue face growing party pressure. On the morning of the vote, Congressman Zach Wamp, a Republican from Tennessee who voted to kill the FCC plan, spotted House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin, who backs it. "I kind of ducked to the left," he said, "went around a column and down three flights of stairs." --- With reporting by Eric Roston From the Jul. 28, 2003 issue of TIME magazine (via Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. REVISITING LOW POWER FINALLY, A BAD WEEK FOR BIG MEDIA IN WASHINGTON Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com, 07.21.03 http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=15320 For the first time in memory, this past week has been a bad one in Washington, D.C. for enormous broadcast conglomerates. The massive media ownership deregulation pushed through the FCC last month by Republican chairman Michael Powell generated a remarkable amount of resistance from a burgeoning, and relatively new, media democracy movement. Deregulation opponents had vowed to override the FCC by taking the fight to the Republican-controlled Congress. It seemed like a futile notion, but Wednesday, the powerful, Republican- run House Appropriations Committee panel took the first step toward doing exactly that, voting 40-25 to block the portion of the FCC's decision that expanded from 35% to 45% the percentage of national TV households one company's stations could reach. The vote wouldn't affect other portions of the FCC decision, and it would still need to be reconciled with a Senate bill; the White House has vowed to veto the House move. Nonetheless, even if it goes no farther -- and it will - - the House vote is an important measure of just how widespread dissatisfaction with corporate control of America's media has become, and that such dissatisfaction transcends usual ideological labels. But beyond the headlines, another development on the media democracy front last week may have far greater long-term implications for the ability of ordinary people to be heard on the airwaves. Before Dubya came to power and Michael Powell assumed the FCC's reins, the media democracy movement that is now bedeviling him cut its teeth on another FCC fight -- Low Power FM (LPFM). A 1999 decision by the FCC, when it was under Democratic control, created a vast new category of non-commercial, low power FM stations. The stations were to be locally run, with a radius of about 2-3 miles, and promised to give access to the airwaves to thousands of community, church, and activist groups across the country. It never happened -- at least, not as originally envisioned by the FCC. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and National Public Radio mobilized Congress to effectively gut the program by passing as law a more stringent set of technical requirements. The NAB/NPR bill eliminated over 80% of the proposed stations, including most of the ones in larger cities and towns. Commercial broadcasters, as well as NPR, claimed (despite the FCC's claims to the contrary) that the FCC's original criteria would create unacceptable interference to existing stations. Congress bought the idea, and as a result, while some Low Power FM stations are now broadcasting, and many others are in the pipeline, only one open frequency for a low power station is available in any of the country's top 50 markets -- as opposed to over a dozen each that would have been available in some cities under the original proposal. That was three years ago. Last week, however, results came back in from a technical study that Congress ordered as part of its legislation, a study intended to determine definitively whether the original, more lax FCC guidelines would in fact pose a threat to existing stations. The verdict: almost never. The study, farmed out by the FCC to Mitre Corp., conducted field research and also asked for listener feedback, using the relatively poor-quality analog receivers common in many households rather than the much higher-quality receivers the FCC had originally used to determine interference levels. The researchers still found almost no problems, either from complaining listeners or from their own field readings. In the mostly rural areas where it's been available, the volume of applications for LPFM facilities has far exceeded the FCC's expectations, proving that there's an enormous demand for such voices. The FCC, of course, is now in different, more business-friendly hands, and is probably disinclined to revisit the previous commission's proposal. And in the intervening three years, big media corporations as well as NPR affiliates have rushed to install new translators that would now block some possible LPFM frequencies in larger cities. But the upshot is that media activists now have the data to go back to the FCC and to Congress demanding both that the LPFM program be expanded to its original scope and that a moratorium be placed on new translator applications until the LPFM question is re-examined. More broadly, for years the NAB, as the lobbying arm of the country's largest media conglomerates, has had free run of Capitol Hill; it has been among the most effective of the trade lobbying groups, with "triumphs" like the appalling Telecommunications Act of 1996 to its credit. Its LPFM reversal in 2000 was another such triumph -- but now, media activists and other broadcast lobby opponents can use the LPFM example to discredit the piteous cries of well-heeled lobbyists. The damage that LPFM would supposedly cause to broadcasters simply didn't exist, and the case for re-instating the original proposal is overwhelming. Now, with any luck, a powerful new form of community and neighborhood broadcasting can be made available to the vast majority of the country's people. For over 70 years, publicly owned airwaves have been leased out essentially at no charge to a broadcast industry increasingly dominated by a handful of homogenous (and often dreadfully idiotic) voices. For the last quarter- century, radio and television have gotten farther and farther away from the notion of local programming, local ownership, and community service. Finally, the trend may be reversing (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) OPENING UP THE AIRWAVES --- By Glenn Harlan Reynolds 7/22/03 A while back, I challenged FCC Chairman Michael Powell to stand up for free expression on the Internet. Now, undeterred by the lack of any visible response, I'm going to go that one better, and challenge him to stand up for free expression on the radio. Because as things stand now, the FCC is a major barrier to free speech, and the only justification for its position has just been exploded. How big a barrier? This big. . . http://www.techcentralstation.com/1051/techwrapper.jsp?PID=1051-250&CID=1051-072203B (via Harry Helms W7HLH Las Vegas, NV DM26, and Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. 7/20/2003 --- 99-25: REC Files Emergency Motion An effort to put the dismissed applications back on the table. REC has filed an "Emergency Motion To Reinstate Applications" in an effort to temporarily reverse the Commission's decision on March 17, 2003 to dismiss hundreds of LPFM applications because they were "deadlocked" and unable to file major changes because they were short spaced on the third-adjacent channel. These applicants filed prior to the rule being changed as a result of congressional action. REC is asking to temporarily reinstate these applications so the outcome of the comments on the MITRE report as well as any subsequent congressional action and eventual rulemaking. On March 24, one week after the dismiisals; REC, along with several other stakeholders filed a Petition for Reconsideration via the FCC's "9-11" e-mail filing process, which has never worked properly since it's inception. REC has also involved the Office of the Inspector General of the FCC in on this proceeding due to the previous issues of trying to use the e-mail filing process. REC's motion should appear in ECFS under MM Docket 99-25 on Monday. 7/21/2003 --- REC releases LPFM rankings by population Where does your LPFM rank? Today, REC Networks has released a listing of 630 LPFM stations and permits and the approximate populations that they serve. Our listing uses the same census tract data that is used on our LPFM search and FM query tools. Tracts are counted if either the service (60dBu) or the fringe (53dBu) contours cross the Census Bureau's designated coordinates for the tract. An LPFM station's population may actually be more than the values shown in this report. A copy of this report can be found at http://www.recnet.com/LPFM_Census_Ranking.xls in Excel spreadsheet format. What if my station does not show up? This will happen if the Census Bureau does not have a designated Census Tract within 8 km of the station. Why do I appear twice? Possibly because you have an amendment that moves your station to another location that affects your population change. The determine which one is your current statistic, check the FM Query. 7/17/2003 --- First LPFM to give way for a full power FM station also some additional FCC housecleaning in SoCal. This week's FCC LPFM activity in the dismissal department includes the first LPFM forced off the air to make way for a full power station and the FCC does a little "housecleaning" while they are at it. In Taylors, SC, the license to cover for WFBP-LP has been denied due to a recent short-spacing by Greenville-Spartanbug broadcaster WGVC. Who originally asked for in MM Docket 01-110 to downgrade WGVC, which was originally licensed to Newberry from a Class C3 to A and then move it to Simpsonville. WGVC later counterproposed their own proposal and made the Simpsonville allotment a higher rated Class C3. WGVC is on the first adjacent channel to WFBP-LP. WFBP is short spaced by 48km to WGVC. There is no other channel that WFBP-LP can move to. More information about this story is at: http://www.ccbroadcasters.com/brandnewstory.htm To see a channel report for this station, see: http://www.recnet.com/cgi-bin/lpfm/lpfm8.cgi?r=chanrpt&input_type=dec&lat_dec=34.911&lon_dec=82.3521&cha=291&sta_class=L1 Unfortunately, the LPFM service is secondary. LPFM stations must give way for full power stations that are new, move their transmitter or increase their power. LP-100 stations are protected from translators on their co-channel and first adjacent channel. In Southern Calfiornia, two "junk" applications in Los Angeles and Lennox that have been sitting for years on KRTH's first adjacent channel have finally been dismissed. There is still one additional application that still needs to be dismissed there. An LPFM application in Banning that is short spaced to a drop-in over in Hemet has also been dismissed this week. We are still waiting for some controversial applications in the Tucson area to be dismissed. These applications are holding up a local tribe from getting their construction permit. (Since this story was published, the FCC did some additional housecleaning on Friday and Monday. Looks like the FCC is trying to clean up the database before the upcoming MX window.) (REC via DXLD) ** U S A. New (?) TIS in Albuquerque I was in ABQ a few days ago, and heard a TIS on 1640 that I hadn`t heard before. It`s IDing with the call sign KOB20. The announcement says it`s operated by the Sandia Labs Emergency Operations Center, and they are giving information about traffic through construction zones on the Lab. I don`t see this one listed on the FCC TIS query page, though (Mike Westfall, Los Álamos NM, July 21, NRC-AM via DXLD) As a station belonging to a branch of the federal government, it may not need a license from the FCC (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) It`s KOP20 1640 kHz, it has been on the air for a number of years. They also give weather and closings due to weather, changes in Kirtland AFB gate closings, changes in base alert status. I have even heard DOE meetings broadcast, including when big shots from Washington are here (Evan WB5HAM Newlon, Albuquerque, ibid.) ** U S A. My first IBOC experience --- I am in the midst of a brief visit to New York, writing from an internet cafe on 42nd St. near Times Square. No attempt to DX, but I heard the incredible IBOC slop on either side of WOR-710. A horrid SWOOOOSHHHHH noise, much worse than the conventional slop from, say, WCBS-880. I'm still convinced IBOC will die a swift, unlamented death. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, July 21, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. WHERE TIMING TRULY IS EVERYTHING --- INTERNET, CELL PHONES RELY ON MASTER CLOCK'S PRECISION --- By Monte Reel, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, July 22, 2003; Page B01 Harold Chadsey spends his days helping determine the official time observed by the U.S. Department of Defense and, as a result, the rest of the country. He is working to develop clocks accurate to a few hundred trillionths of a second. He monitors the temperature around some of his more delicate pieces of timekeeping equipment because he fears even a half-degree swing might throw them out of whack. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25431-2003Jul21?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Are you aware of any single side band frequencies equivalent to the Air force "MARS" network for the army, navy/marine or the coast guard to 13.927, 7.635.5, and 4.577? I have not been able to find any. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Sincerely yours, (Bruce Weiss, Richmond VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Who can help, and what is the significance of the frequencies mentioned? (gh, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. EN VENEZUELA EXISTE PLENA LIBERTAD... Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. En Venezuela, como nunca antes en 40 años, el derecho a manifestar y a mostrar oposición está plenamente vigente. Si usted está en desacuerdo con el proceso revolucionario, puede hacer uso de su legítimo derecho a disentir. Lo que sí no está permitido en Venezuela -ni en ningún país del mundo- es la propaganda de guerra en los medios de comunicación masivos, ni la incitación a la rebelión militar, ni la apología a la destrucción o eliminación del gobierno a través de métodos no democráticos. Es precisamente la vía ilegal (la de la propaganda de guerra), la que medios privados de comunicación y oposición --- en gran mayoría --- han utilizado para lograr un cambio drástico en el panorama político venezolano. De allí, los feroces ataques a --- por ejemplo --- la Ley de Responsabilidad Social de Radio y TV (Radio and TV law). Lamentablemente, muchos "opositores" en su delirium trémens, hablan de dictadura y de vía hacia el ¿comunismo?, y claman por la inmediata llegada de los "marines" estadounidenses como fórmula mágica para solucionar los problemas de Venezuela. ¿Qué país quieren este tipo de personas? Es una interrogante que ni los mismos "oposicionistas" saben explicar. Las diferencias en las democracias se confrotan en la discusión seria y en las urnas electorales. Que esperen hasta el término del mandato del presidente Chávez y demuestren esa "so-called" mayoría que afirman tener. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A medida que se acerca el 19 de Agosto, fecha que según la Constitución (Auspiciada por el mismo Chávez) se deberá el iniciar el proceso del Referedum Revocatorio, el miedo del régimen al mismo se hace cada vez más evidente. Las Declaraciones del mismo Comandante del Ejército Jorge García Carneiro el pasado domingo, donde expresa "que aquí no habrá ningún referendum", demuestra el total desconocimiento de lo firmado en la Mesa de Negociación y Acuerdos (OEA, Gobierno y Oposición) donde se comprometian las partes a realizar el referendum revocatorio como única solución a la actual crisis política que vive Venezuela desde hace más de un año. Chávez no tiene escapatoria y él lo sabe; por ello trata de intimidar a toda costa a los medios que no le son afectos, para así acallar el clamor de nuestro pueblo por salir de este gobierno de manera pacífica y democrática a través de los votos. ¿Cuál es el miedo --- entonces Chávez si cree que tiene la mayoría? Después del 19 de Agosto, si Chávez persiste en no realizar el referendum demostrará ante el mundo su actitud autoritaria y perderá su legetimidad de origen como Presidente de la República. De allí en adelante vale todo! (Jorge García Rangel, Barinas, Venezuela, July 22, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. A quick check of the morning domestic services of Voice of Vietnam today confirmed that five frequencies are in use at the 2200 sign-on: 9530 7210 5925 6020 and 5975. 9530 is co-channel with the Brazilian 6020 is co-channel with RN-Bonaire 5975 is co-channel with BBC-Antigua and China Nationmal Radio 5925 is clear 7210 is clear The morning Hmong Service is noted at *2200 on 5035 and 6165, but co- channel on 6165 with China National Radio and Chad. Regards! (Bob Padula, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia. Receivers: DR49, FRG8800, ATS808A. Dipoles: 5 MHz, 12 MHz, July 20, EDXP via DXLD) ** UNIDENTIFIED. 1680: Uma escuta meio intrigante. Um sinal telegráfico que vinha e sumia alternadamente, mas que se identificou por V7B. Alternava-se com sinais telegráficos ZO. Aqui vai um pedido de auxilio aos que leem esta informação para nos informar, se souberem, de que se trata (Rudolf W. Grimm, São Bernardo, SP - Brasil, http://www.radioways.cjb.net @tividade DX July 20 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. INDIA. 5075, All India Radio (presumed) 0230-0300/ July 20, SINPO=35333. Idioma desconocido. Dos hombres hablando rápidamente, no pude discernir ninguna ID a 0230. Luego de un silencio comienza una mujer quien varias veces menciona "Kaashmer". 0242 música inconfundiblemente hindú. La señal va mejorando: 0243 SINPO=45544. Repetidas menciones de la palabra "Bahârâtâ", "Afgânistâa", "Pakîstann"... aparentemente son titulares de noticias. 0300 Otra mujer habla y el tranmisor sale del aire (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HFCC A-03 and SW Guide do not list India or anything else on 5075. Last year we had several reports of V. of Pujiang, Shanghai, China on that frequency, but at that hour would not propagate. For that matter, 0830 local is a bit late for India too (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DRM +++ Dear Colleagues, to Mexico, Station Juelich can offer DRM transmissions on 12080 kHz from 0015 to 0100 UT (1915-2000 local time) starting UT July 31 until August 3. Program will be Deutsche Welle English. Feedback would be appreciated. Best regards, Guenter Hirte, Deutsche Telekom, T-Systems, Juelich phone: +49 2461 697310 fax: +49 2461 697372 e-mail: guenter.hirte@t-systems.com (via Jeff White, DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ TCI --- A DIELECTRIC COMPANY TCI, which became part of Dielectric in 2001, has supplied antennas to many of the US shortwave broadcasters. Dielectric is the largest antenna supplier in the world. They cover the frequency range from MF to UHF. They install and service antennas, as well as manufacturing them. Dielectric started out in 1942. They have provided 70% of all the TV transmitting antennas in the USA. SPX, a Fortune 500 company that began in 1911 as the ``Standard Piston Ring Company,`` acquired Dielectric in 1998. Dielectric consists of five companies with about 800 employees: Dielectric (antennas, transmission lines, switches, combiners/filters, power splitters) Brookstone Telecom (cellsite construction, antenna and line installation, microwave installation, base station installation, equipment rental) Central Tower (manufactures and installs towers in the USA, provides inspection and maintenance services) Flash Technology (aviation obstruction lighting systems, monitoring of tower sites for power outages and lighting outages, repair and preventative maintenance for tower sites) TCI (largest supplier in the world of HF and MF antenna systems) TCI has done projects in 106 countries. In fact, 80% of TCI`s business is outside the USA. By way of contrast, 90% of Dielectric`s business is inside the USA. TCI sells much in the way of HF antenna systems, transmission lines, balanced line and coaxial switches, and baluns to shortwave broadcasters, the military, and to government entities. TCI has made over 60 MF installations at the 600 kw level, and several dozen in the 1-2 megawatt range. TCI also provides surveillance systems that acquire, listen to, and locate most kinds of wireless transmissions. These systems find application in spectrum monitoring and management, and in government and military intelligence. Dielectric features the world`s broadest antenna product line. And they install what they sell. They can design, fabricate, and install antenna systems. Installation services range from technical consulting, to supervision of a local crew, to full turnkey jobs. (Ron Wilenski, summary report of presentation at the NASB 2003 Annual Meeting in Aug NASB Newsletter, July 16 via DXLD) PRIVACY ALERT AS CORDLESS CONVERSATIONS FALL PREY TO GOSSIP SCANNERS By Sue Lowe July 18 2003 Cordless phone users watch out --- your more geeky neighbours may be listening in. Equipment available for $250 from electronic stores is allowing nosey neighbours to eavesdrop on their street's cordless phone conversations. The radio scanners are popular with radio enthusiasts who can legally tap into police and emergency services radio communication, but possibly more fun on a quiet day is to illegally tap into the local gossip. Elizabeth, a Herald reader who asked not to be identified, said she recently had problems picking up her email. She phoned her internet provider's help desk and was asked for her name, date of birth, address, phone number, username and password, all of which she provided over her cordless phone. "When I had finished the call, I received another call from a person who lives close by to tell me that everything I had said he had heard over a radio scanner. He told me that anyone within a fair distance who was on a scanner could have gained all the information necessary to access all of my internet activities," she said. She immediately phoned her provider and changed her passwords using an ordinary phone. Perry Lanham, an avid scanner user and member of the aus.radio.scanner internet newsgroup, said he bought his device to listen to aircraft communications and CB radio. "I believe that there are many people that purchase these radio scanners for listening to their neighbours private phone conversations, simply because they can," he said. "Anyone could do it. They just need to know what frequency, and away they go. Almost every standard scanner is capable of picking up cordless phone transmission." The Australian Communications Authority said the scanners were not covered by existing legislation when used to listen to radio communication. However, all forms of eavesdropping on phone conversations is illegal under the 1979 Telecommunications Interception Act. A spokesman for the Commonwealth Bank said phone banking would not be affected, as all transactions are driven by keypad entries, rather than spoken details. Panasonic, one of the leading cordless phone providers, said it does include a warning in their manuals, saying that "appropriately tuned radio equipment and other cordless phone systems in close proximity may be used to monitor and possibly interrupt conversations". Mr Lanham's advice to cordless phone buyers was to avoid the older analog phones and buy a more secure digital, spread spectrum phone. This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/17/1058035138857.html (via Rob Williams, DXLD) Surprise PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ THE SHORTWAVE GUIDE Don't judge a book by its cover. Read Mika Palo's in-depth assessment of the latest edition of this guide to shortwave broadcasts: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/booklist/html/swguide.html (Media Network . (22-07-03) via DXLD) "BROADBAND RECEIVING ANTENNA MATCHING" New technical article: I have published a new on-line technical article. The PDF version of the article can be accessed at http://www.qsl.net/wa1ion/bev/bb_antenna_matching.pdf Zipped Word DOC version is at http://www.qsl.net/wa1ion/bev/bb_antenna_matching_doc.zip If you have any trouble loading these, use the links on my RF Circuits Page http://www.qsl.net/wa1ion/index.html (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, USA, July 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) SURF'S UP: OVER THE AIRWAVES By Kurt Blumenau Sunday, July 20, 2003 Milford (MA) Daily News If the Internet had never been invented, we probably would have gotten big into shortwave radio. One technology is cutting-edge, the other is old-school, but they're not that far apart in some ways. Shortwave radio fans, just like Internet surfers, have a window on the world from the comfort of their own den. And, like Internet users, they can never be entirely sure the person on the other end is who they claim to be (not until they get a station verification card in the mail, anyway.) This week, then, Surf's Up tunes in to shortwave radio. Check out what we dialed up: (mentions shortwave related websites, alas omitting worldofradio.com ) http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/local_regional/colblumenau07202003.htm (via Kim Elliott, Artie Bigley, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SPACE WEATHER: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS ***Now Accepting Submissions*** Bookmark this page... the first journal devoted to the emerging field of space weather begins publication in fall 2003. Whether you are an engineer, systems designer, scientist, or forecaster, Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications will be a valuable source of information. This online publication will contain: peer-reviewed articles presenting the latest engineering and science research in the field; up-to-date news and feature articles on government agency initiatives worldwide and space weather activities of the commercial sector; and an exchange of ideas in letters and opinion articles. About the Editor Louis J. Lanzerotti, consulting physicist at Lucent Technologies' Bell Laboratories and distinguished research professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has been named Editor of the publication. Lanzerotti will work with an international Editorial Advisory Board of distinguished scientists and engineers. More information If you're interested in contributing to Space Weather, see the author guidelines. Manuscripts can be submitted online at http://spaceweather-submit.agu.org/ Read the 8 April 2003 Eos article . [104kb PDF] [hotlinks on site] Subscribe Online access to Space Weather will be FREE for 2003 [but not 2004+]. A quarterly magazine digest will be available free upon request beginning fall 2003. To receive information about subscribing to Space Weather or to receive the FREE print magazine, please send an email to: spaceweather@agu.org. Please include your name, title, organization, and email address. http://www.agu.org/journals/sw/ (via SEC User Notes 41, July 2003 via DXLD) THE HIGH LATITUDE IONOSPHERE AND ITS EFFECTS ON RADIO PROPAGATION by R. D. Hunsucker, J. K. Hargreaves, October 2002, Cambridge University Press, 617 pp. Here`s what the publisher says about this great addition to the Space Weather field: The physical properties of the ionized layer in the Earth`s upper atmosphere enable us to use it to support an increasing range of communications applications. This book presents a modern treatment of the physics and phenomena of the high latitude upper atmosphere and the morphology of radio propagation in the auroral and polar regions. Chapters cover the basics of radio propagation and the use of radio techniques in ionospheric studies. This book includes many examples of the behavior of quiet and disturbed high latitude HF propagation (SEC User Notes 41, July 2003 via DXLD) SAME SUN. DIFFERENT VIEWS Long considered a constant, the sun is under new scrutiny as scientists discover that small changes in solar output may lead to significant changes in Earth's climate patterns. . . [illustrated] http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0717/p12s02-stss.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-129, July 20, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1191: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330, 7445 15039 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415, 5100-CUSB? WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1191.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WRMI --- WOR 1191 confirmed on IBC Radio via WRMI, Sat July 19 on 15725, starting at 1804. Also scheduled Sundays at 1800, started July 20 at 1801, but quite distorted, taking webstream and much worse than I hear it myself (Glenn Hauser, KS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO ON WJIE --- Reconfirmed Sunday July 20 at 1630 on 13595 -- WOR #1179, now three months old (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS I listen weekly to your program and being a long time {1954} SWL and welcome your info (Sheldon Newman) I enjoy it [DXLD] very, very much. Thanks, (Serafin Pagan, Nicaragua) SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Re: Time to evaluate WOR affiliates Glen[n] - I listen to WOR on WWCR at 0230 UT Sunday. It comes in very well here in Park Ridge, Illinois (Chicago area). Thanks for all of the great work you do! (Phil Chapleau) Hello Glenn! You want reaction from your listeners. Yes, I was listening in with pleasure to WOR last night on 7445 kHz [RFPI]. Good signal with fast fading (Björn Malm, Ecuador) G'day mate, Glen here from Victoria, BC, Canada. I am listening and have been for years, although I now listen via the internet to your program via World Radio Network. Cheers, mate, (long time short wave listener and amateur radio operator, Call VE7SDX, Glen Tate) Hi Glen[n], I found a picture of you in an old 1968 or 69 WRTH. I wonder what you look like now! Real high school photograph. Anyway I think I have quite possibly been listening to your shows since your No. 1; OK. I haven't sent in any information as I simply haven't had any of interest to forward to you to my point of view. Somebody by the way is putting out your shows a week late on a pirate station in Ireland on shortwave and if I miss getting you on a Saturday morning on World Space Radio I normally get your show the following week from this shortwave pirate; obviously you cannot acknowledge that this is happening but personally I would say the more listeners the better by any means. Keep up the good work. Best wishes PS: What has happened to the trains and their shunting? (Mike Evans, UK) If you are referring to train sounds on WOR tapes, the studio is still not soundproofed against sounds from outside such as trains on sidetracks not far away. That seems not to have been a problem lately, perhaps because of time of day I usually record, although if such sounds, or Vance AFB training jets do intrude, WRN have prevailed upon me not to let them be heard, in the interests of professionalism, so I pause the tape and wait for them to go away (gh) ** AFRICA. Sorry Folks! There were quite many errors in the latest version of Africalist, so I replaced it again today. http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Dear Alokesh, Greetings from HCJB, Ecuador. I have been working on getting some webpages created for HCJB Australia on the http://www.hcjb.org website. You may be interested to look at the webpage: http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-210-page-1.html This page has the HCJB Australia Broadcast Schedule from 21st of July. You can also see the programme schedules by selecting on the links on that page. The current schedule can be found at the end of the "International Shortwave Broadcast Schedule" page: http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-6-page-1.html Please forgive me if you already have this information, but I trust that knowing where the official broadcast schedule for HCJB Australia is will be helpful to you and many other DXers. 73 Best regards (Dave Yetman, Engineer, HCJB -------------------------------------------------------------- Ing. David G. Yetman (Kiwi in exile) HCJB WORLD RADIO Plantel de las Antenas Av. Interoceánica y Amazonas Pifo, ECUADOR HCJB Australia - The Voice of the Great South Land HCJB Ecuador - The Voice of the Andes .... That all may hear -------------------------------------------------------------- (via Alokesh Gupta, India, DXLD) DXPL airs on the evening releases only, to SAs unchanged Sat 1430, then on 15390, but the Pacific airing moves to Tuesdays! At 0830 on 11750. If I am not mistaken, Allen Graham did not give the new DXPL time on his July 19 show, tho he did give the new frequency schedule. BTW, now than Ken MacHarg is doing it, TFRL seems to be running longer; this week I timed it at 5.5 minutes, plus intro and outro. 11765 and 11750 are 50 kW at 120 degrees; 15420 and 15390 75 kW at 307 degrees from Kununurra. Some of the other semi-secular sounding titles: Regional News, daily 0900 on 11750, 1400 on 15390 followed until 0915, 1415 by Commentary weekdays, Focus weekends Destination Au/As/NZ/Pac, M-F [does this really mean UT Sun-Thu??] 1800-1830 on 11765; M-F 0200-0230 15420 Music of Au/As/NZ/Pac, M-F 0800-0830 11750, 1230-1300 15390 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6036.68, Radiodifusoras Trópico (presumed), 0915-1002 July 17. Noted Spanish comments from a man with some music. Signal faded in and out and was covered at times with splatter. Signal last heard at 1002. Overall the quality was threshhold (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6037.5, R. Em Trópico 2330 to 0005* on 17/18 July (Bob Wilkner, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Any IDs? ** COSTA RICA. I have had another UT -6 station moving around. 3rd harmonic 4230 (from 1410 kHz) and 4260 (from 1420 kHz). It was Radio Pampa, Costa Rica. Björn Malm, La Prensa 4408 y Vaca de Castro, Quito, Ecuador (+593 2) 2598 470 JRC 535 – HF 150. MFJ 616 – MFJ 1025. 12m LW + 24m LW + Longwire Magnetic Balun 73s from (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. PROGRAMAS ESPECIALES EN HONOR A CELIA CRUZ Noticias de WRMI Sábado, Julio 19, 2003 En Miami esta tarde, miles de personas están participando en varias misas y celebraciones en honor a la cantante cubanoamericana Celia Cruz, quien murió el pasado miércoles. Casi todos los programas cubanos en Radio Miami Internacional están preparando ediciones especiales para honrar a Celia Cruz este fin de semana. Estos incluyen: 2300-2359 UTC sábado: Foro Militar Cubano 0000-0030 UTC domingo: Conversando entre Cubanos 0030-0045 UTC domingo: La Hora de Chibás 0100-0200 UTC domingo: Radio Revista Lux 1015-1030 UTC domingo: La Hora de Chibás 2300-2359 UTC domingo: Radio Revista Lux 0030-0130 UTC lunes: Radio Oriente Libre 0130-0200 UTC lunes: Conversando entre Cubanos 1030-1130 UTC lunes: Entre Cubanos Todos estos programas se transmiten en 9955 kHz. DENUNCIAN INTERFERENCIA CUBANA A WRMI El siguiente informe del corresponsal cubano Carlos Serpa en la Isla de Pinos/Juventud aparece en la edición de Julio 19/20 del programa Radio Revista Lux en Radio Miami Internacional: "Héctor Pachá García, delegado de la Confederación Obrera Nacional Independiente de Cuba, CONIC, en Isla de Pinos, denunció a la corresponsalía de Lux Info Press que el régimen de Fidel Castro interfiere las transmisiones de Radio Revista Lux, órgano radial de la Federación Sindical de Plantas Eléctricas, Gas y Agua de Cuba en el Exilio. El programa que sale todos los sábados a las 9 de la noche [hora de Cuba] y domingos a las 7 de la noche por la frecuencia de Radio Miami Internacional en 9955 kilohertz, banda de 31 metros, en emisión especial a Cuba y el mundo de habla castellana, está acompañado de un ruido que impide captar con calidad la emisión. En Nueva Gerona, capital municipal de Isla de Pinos, la CONIC ha hecho un monitoreo de las transmisiones radiales, captándose la señal, pero con mucha dificultad. La corresponsalía Lux Info Press, efectuó un sondeo en la localidad rural de La Majagua, donde confirmó que la señal, a pesar de sufrir una interferencia, es escuchada por los vecinos del lugar. "El régimen de Castro le preocupa el mensaje que envía Radio Lux. Por eso, hoy mas que nunca, es necesario que su mensaje sea escuchado. Es propósito nuestro enviar una carta al Gobierno de los Estados Unidos solicitándole potenciar las transmisiones de Radio Miami Internacional," precisó Pachá. La Confederación Obrera Nacional Independiente de Cuba realiza actualmente una campaña de divulgación entre los habitantes de Isla de Pinos sobre la labor informativa que realiza Radio Revista Lux como tribuna de denuncias a los abusos y desmanes que realiza la dictadura castro-comunista contra los trabajadores y la población en general." Jeff White, Gerente General, WRMI Radio Miami International 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4, Miami, Florida 33172 USA Tel +1-305-559-9764 Fax +1-305-559-8186 E-mail: radiomiami9@cs.com http://www.wrmi.net (via DXLD) ** CUBA. U.S. THINKS CUBA JAMS RADIO WAVES TO IRAN By HARRY DUNPHY, Associated Press Writer July 18 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030718/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_cuba_jamming_4 WASHINGTON --- The United States has called in Cuban representatives and asked them to investigate whether jamming of broadcasts to Iran originates on or near the island, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday. He said the meeting took place in Washington on Thursday. A senior State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, "We are giving them the chance to find it and close it down." Boucher said, "We raised the jamming with the government of Cuba. The interference with Loral Skynet commercial satellite transmissions appears to emanate from the vicinity of Cuba and does appear to be intentional." Iran's Islamic government has accused U.S.-based satellite stations of stoking pro-democracy protests by providing unfiltered information in the country. While Cuban authorities have long jammed U.S. government broadcasts to their own country just off the coast of Florida, blocking transmissions to a third country in a distant hemisphere would be unprecedented, a U.S. official said earlier this week. In Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban National Assembly, denied the accusations as an anti-Cuban ploy of the United States. "You never know what they'll come up with to justify aggression against the island," said Alarcón, a top adviser to President Fidel Castro on U.S. affairs. Alarcón's comments were distributed by the Cuban news agency, Prensa Latina. Kenneth Tómlinson, who oversees the Voice of America, as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, said Wednesday "this has ominous implications for the future of international satellite broadcasting." Iran itself can't block the programming because the signals must be jammed over the Atlantic Ocean where the satellites are positioned. U.S. officials believe Iran contracted with Cuba to do the job this month, on the eve of the four-year anniversary of large-scale student protests, "to block the flow of news in a time when they obviously thought they were going to loose control of their own people," Tomlinson said. He said an interference signal jamming the satellites has been tracked to a facility near Havana --- a claim based on information provided by the satellite service providers (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) The LA Times jamming story also (via Sydney Morning Herald via Rob Williams, DXLD) CUBA RECIBE UNA QUEJA DE ESTADOS UNIDOS POR INTERFERIR EN LAS SEÑALES DE SATÉLITE El departamento de Estado estadounidense pidió formalmente al gobierno cubano que investigue acerca de las interferencias de la señal de satélites estadounidenses que difunden en dirección de Irán, ya que dichas interferencias provienen de Cuba. El portavoz del Departamento de Estado, Richard Boucher, indicó asimismo, que solicitó al gobierno cubano poner fin a estas prácticas. El martes, la BBC indicó que el origen de estas interferencias se localizaba cerca de La Habana y que estas obstrucciones de la señal impiden a los iraníes, quienes poseen un satélite de televisión, recibir programas estadounidenses en Irán. RCI CyberJournal 18/Jul/2003 (via Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DXLD) ** CUBA. CUBA DENIES JAMMING BROADCAST The Cuban Government has denied that it is intentionally jamming an American satellite TV broadcast to Iran. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3080891.stm "Cuba has never undertaken nor will it ever undertake these types of interruptions in US television satellite transmissions," a Cuban Foreign Ministry statement said. However, officials promised to bow to US requests that they investigate whether signals originating in Cuba could be unintentionally interfering with the broadcasts. Last week the US said it was investigating a rogue signal detected from Cuba. Click here to see how jamming works http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3080891.stm#al The jamming was first discovered on 6 July when the government-funded station Voice of America launched a daily Persian-language programme aimed at Iran's domestic audience. The Los Angeles-based Iranian television network National Iranian TV (NITV) - which promotes reform in Iran - has also had its signal blocked. The foreign ministry statement did admit that Cuba routinely does block some broadcasts - notably the US-funded Radio and Television Marti, beamed to Cuba itself. "Cuba, within its rights, has interfered, interferes and will continue to interfere only the illegal transmissions of radio and television that the government of the United States makes to our country," the statement said. "We do so with the sovereign right to defend our broadcast air space from the subversive radio and television aggression that, violating international law from the first years of the revolution, have been carried out by the American government," it added. Iranian crackdown On Friday US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the interference appeared to be intentional. The signal is thought to come from a monitoring complex outside Havana set up by the Soviets during the Cold War to eavesdrop on the US. Iran saw widespread demonstrations last month against the conservative clerical establishment. Hundreds of reformers have been arrested and there has been a crackdown on the free press. US officials say Cuban President Fidel Castro could be in league with the Iranian government to stop Iranians from receiving satellite television. President of NITV Zia Atabay told the BBC that when Iranian students and writers come out of jail, the first thing they do is grab the phone to do an interview with the station, and invariably criticise their government (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Loral SpaceNet just filed for bankruptcy. I talk to those guys every day doing news uplinks back to the network (CBS). Friday (7/18) I talked to one of their operators and he said he got paid but he wasn't sure if the check was good (LOU KF4EON Johnson, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. RFE/RL RADIO WAITS FOR US MONEY TO MOVE FROM PRAGUE CENTRE - RADIO SPOKESWOMAN | Excerpt from report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 17 July: The planned moving of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) from the Prague centre cannot be carried out in haste, RFE/RL spokeswoman Sonia Winterova told CTK today. [passage omitted] Winterova said that the transfer of RFE/RL is an expensive matter and, in addition, the money for it must be first approved by the US Congress. "Concerning the time, one cannot push the US Congress to hurry up - they (the congressmen) have their own pace, their rhythm, and this is not under our control," she added. [passage omitted] On Tuesday [15 July], [Czech Foreign Minister Cyril] Svoboda also explained that the contract on the lease of the building of the former Czechoslovak Federal Assembly expires in December 2004 so there is a time pressure for an action. Winterova, however, said she did not consider this an obstacle as, in her opinion, there was no problem to ask for the contract extension. [passage omitted] The US-funded RFE/RL was established in 1949 in order to spread news to and support democratic values in countries behind the Iron Curtain, including the then communist Czechoslovakia. Originally seated in Munich, it moved to Prague in 1995. [passage omitted] Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1709 gmt 17 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) RADIO FREE EUROPE FINALLY PICKS NEW SITE Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has confirmed the relocation of Radio Free Europe from the center of Prague. The move was agreed during Svoboda's meeting with his U.S. counterpart Colin Powell. The U.S. party has not disclosed the new address. (HN 4) . . . From http://www.pbj.cz/user/article.asp?ArticleID=182424 (Prague Business Journal 18 July via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** EASTER ISLAND [non]. SOUTH AMERICAN PIRATES --- Times UT RADIO COCHIGUAZ will be active hoisting the pirate flag, on its NEW frequency of 11430 kHz USB, relaying on this opportunity to RADIO MAHUTE, a PHB (Polynesian Heritage Broadcasting) group production, in charge of Motu He, which has the function of being the general producer and dj. All vernacular IDs are and will be, in Rapa Nui language. Sat, 19 July 2003, 2100-2200 Radio Mahute Sun, 20 July 2003, 0230-0330 Radio Mahute For reports write to: (Please add return postage) Radio Mahute, Casilla 159, Santiago 14, CHILE. email: mahuteradio@yahoo.fr V= QSL Radio Cochiguaz, Box 159, Santiago 14, CHILE. FFFR, ;-) Cachito, Radio Cochiguaz op. http://www.geocities.com/rcochiguaz (via hardcore dx via DXLD) Now at 2115 UT surprisingly good readable signal of Radio Cochiguaz with its Rapa Nui program on 11430 USB vy73 (Harald Kuhl, Alemania July 19, ibid.) Amigos de la lista, Estoy escuchando ahora com muy buena señal la Radio Mahute via R. Cochiguaz en los 11430 kHz modo USB con muy bonitas músicas polinesias. La condición de recepcion es local. Un gran saludo, (Samuel Cassio Martins, São Carlos, Brasil, July 19, Conexión Digital via DXLD) PIRATE (South American) 11430U, Radio Mahute via Radio Cochiguaz, 0228 tune-in with Interval Signal (Flute) with the Condor Pasa and IDs in English, Spanish and Quechua. Radio Mahute sign-on at 0230 with Polynesian and up-beat South Pacific flare. Between songs managed to catch IDs as "Radio Mahute" and "Ici Radio Mahute". Initially the signal was quite good, but gradually deteriorated to poor after 0305 hours (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Alberta, July 20, DX'er since 1965, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Hei Glenn, Voice of Tigray Revolution noted this Friday evening 1805 UT only 6350 kHz. 5500 kHz kept silent, no signal at all. Radio Fana excellent on 6940 kHz, very poor copy on 6210 kHz. Question is: how to hear the External Service of Radio Ethiopia?! I´ve heard them only once on 9560 kHz, 16 UT in English. Voice of Turkey had problems with their transmitter, I suppose. Really nothing to do with reception conditions. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) El Servicio Nacional de Radio Ethiopia (100 kW), posee el siguiente esquema de emisiones en Amárico, Oromo y otras lenguas locales: HORA UTC KHZ 0300-1100* 5990, 7110, 9704.2 1100-1400 5990, 7110, 9704.2 (Sáb y Dom) 1500-2000 5990, 7110, 9704.2 Nota: (*) Un segmento de noticias locales en inglés se irradia de Lunes a Viernes de 1030 a 1045 UT. Buena recepción en Argetina a partir de las 0400 UT en 7110 KHz. QTH: Audience Relations, Radio Ethiopia, P. O. Box 654, Addis Ababa, Etiopia (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital July 19 via DXLD) ** GABON [and non]. Hi Glenn, Africa No. 1 was heard today with strong signal on 15475 kHz, 18 UT with programme in French in parallel with 9580 kHz. This frequency is poor for Finland. The outlet of 15475 kHz is really interesting, used at least by three international broadcasters: Africa Numéro 1, LRA36 from Antarctica and Voz Cristiana from Chile. I can enjoy all of them in lovely light summer evenings like this around 18-21 UT. It has been pretty hot here in former capital of Finland, today 31 degrees. The highest temperature ever in Finland dates back to 1914. It was 35,9 degrees and it was in Turku! 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We are hitting 40+ routinely past fortnight daily (gh, Enid, DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.12 GBC / VOG 0843-0920 subcontinental music mixed with country and western, "Good morning the time in Georgetown is... Congratulations to Mr and Mrs ....on the ...anniversary.. Good morning to all of our wonderful listeners ..very happy Birthday to ... and his family in Orlando Florida..... (Robert Wilkner, FL, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3291.2, 19/07 0255, Voice of Guyana, Georgetown, E, talk OM, music instrumental, talk OM, mx pop 24432 RFA (Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Cochabamba, Bolivia, radioescutas via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. Quito 19/07/2003 10:57:31 a.m. 2859.98, unID Radio Cultura (Radio Futura??), unknown QTH. Mark Mohrmann had an unID on 2860 kHz. Checked the channel, 2859.98 kHz, at 0230 UT and there it was: Radio Cultura-IDs by female, sometimes just ``Cultura`` or ``La nueva cultura``. I`m not 100% sure it is ``Cultura``, could also be ``Futura``. Close down 0300 UT with ``14-30 amplitud modulada`` and TCs UT –6. ``Radio Cultura (Futura?) número uno en el valle de....`` Not very strong signal. Later: 19/07/2003 11:03:54 p.m. Hello again Amigo Glenn! 2859.98H, HRSJ Radio Futura, Tocoa (Honduras). 19th of July 2003 - 0200 UT. I have just finished listening to Mark Mohrmann`s (and others in USA) unID on 2860 kHz Saturday evening. 3 hours with quite bad reception with moments of fair to good signal. 3 hours with mostly latinamerican "funk" and "rap" music, a phone-in program with telephone number 4 46 21 21. After 0230 UTC "Música de recuerdos". Close down 0300 UT with prefix. It is my opinion that the name of the station is "Futura" not "Cultura". ID 0200 UT: "...oyentes. Muy buenas noches, Radio Futura HRSJ que transmite en su frecuencia ...de 1430 amplitud modulada... haya sido [de su] más completo agrado. Hemos oferecido a Ustedes la más... programación musical, educativa, cultural, deportiva e informativa. ...gracias a nuestro fuerzo, a la voluntad de dios y a la confianza del comercio, a la industria... Radio Futura... muy buenas noches". Ex-Radio Mundial. Harmonic from 1430 kHz 73s from (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador. ARC-SWB América Latina bjornmalm2003@yahoo.com Björn Malm, La Prensa 4408 y Vaca de Castro, Quito, Ecuador (+593 2) 2598 470 JRC 535 – HF 150. MFJ 616 – MFJ 1025. 12m LW + 24m LW + Longwire Magnetic Balun DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. Voice of Indonesia can be reached via voi@rri-online.com email ID. URL http://www.rri-online.com 73s, (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. ESA TO BUILD A DEEP SPACE GROUND STATION IN CEBREROS (Spain) http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=12120 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAN. NEWSPAPER ACCUSES STATE RADIO OF GIVING RADIO BANDS TO PRIVATE COMPANY | Text of report by Iranian newspaper Iran web site on 16 July; ellipses as received throughout: The Voice and Vision [radio and television] has given one of its radio bands to a private company offering pager services. According to the Iran correspondent, the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone handed the supply of pager services to the private sector in accordance with the implementation of item 124 of the Third Development Plan. Along the same lines Estiman San'at, Setareh Tala'i based on Kish Island and Ertebatat-e Sayyar started setting up a national pager network. Sorush Computer, Faramin San'at and Sima Rasana started a network in Khorasan, Gilan and Kerman provinces. The above-mentioned companies went through the legal process and obtained permits from the Ministry and have invested a great deal of capital into the venture. Last year a so-called private company called ... in Mashhad printed advertisements in the newspapers in an effort to sell pager services. This company did not have a permit for this activity. Investigations by the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone indicated that the Voice and Vision had undertaken an illegal act handing over its 88-108 megahertz band, which is solely for radio broadcasts, to ... company for the purposes of providing pager services alongside radio usage. Permits to allow usage of radio frequencies are issued to companies by the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone by specifying the kind of service to be provided. As part of this process the Voice and Vision has obtained this Ministry's permission to use some bands for radio frequencies. The Voice and Vision's illegal activity has caused the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone and the Khorasan Communications Office to lodge a complaint against the Voice and Vision. A court has issued an order halting .. company's activities. . Despite this verdict and court order ... company has printed another advertisement in one of Khorasan province's newspapers. This time it is trying to sell pager services as part of a joint venture with the Voice and Vision. One informed source told the Iran correspondent: "The Voice and Vision has a huge budget and is illegally competing with private companies, which has put in danger investment in those private firms." Source: Iran web site, Tehran, in Persian 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) {this could be a case of SCA -- use of FM subcarriers for paging, as is common in USA, where it is a viable side market to broadcasting without disrupting broadcasting} ** IRAN [and non]. LUGAR: IRAN DEMOCRACY ACT NOT SUPPORTED BY WHITE HOUSE --- An Eye for Iran --- Not all lawmakers are quiet about the protests in Tehran. By Jim Geraghty, National Review Online June 18, 2003 http://www.nationalreview.com/geraghty/geraghty061803.asp (via Nick Grace, CRW via DXLD) more on satellite jamming: see CUBA ** IRAQ. IRAQ MEDIA NETWORK BROADCAST FROM ARBIL | Text of report by Monitoring research on 19 July Iraq Media Network broadcasts from Arbil, northern Iraq, for one hour (1500-1600 gmt) daily on 11137 MHz, horizontal polarity, via Hotbird satellite - same frequency as Kurdistan Satellite TV of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. The programme is repeated the following day at 0800 gmt. The broadcast is carried by Kurdistan Satellite, still using the old logo which consists of a circle around the map of Iraq with "Iraq Media Network" outside the circumference of the circle. The IMN broadcast begins with information on broadcast information as detailed above, and gives the following contact numbers: 0088 216 7744 3275 and 0044 702 864 6132. The programmes include local news, music and national news in brief (teletext), mostly on coalition activities, including news from Basra and other southern governorates. Source: BBC Monitoring research in Arabic 19 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** KOREAS. SOUTH KOREAN BROADCASTER TO HOLD AMATEUR SINGING CONTEST IN PYONGYANG | Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 16 July: South Korea's state-run KBS television will hold an amateur singing contest in Pyongyang next month jointly with North Korea's Korea Central Television, KBS said Wednesday [16 July]. KBS said 20 residents in the North Korean capital and singers from both Koreas will take part in the two-hour programme on 11 August to be emceed by South Korean entertainer Song Hae and a North Korean female broadcaster. The South Korean broadcaster said the event will testify a real inter- Korean broadcasting exchange as about 70 North Korean entertainers and technical staff are expected to support the event while the North will mobilize broadcasting equipment for it. KBS and the North Korean broadcaster have agreed to air the programme simultaneously in the afternoon of 15 August, the anniversary of Korean liberation from the Japanese colonial rule in 1945. The amateur singers are expected to show off their singing ability with Korean folk songs and other song titles on inter-Korean reunification. KBS plans to dispatch a 20-member staff and two singers to Pyongyang on 5 August to prepare for the event. The upcoming singing contest will likely pave the way for broadcasters of the two Koreas to resume inter-Korean broadcasting exchanges, which have stalled amid the North's standoff against the United States over its nuclear weapons programme. Last year, KBS and the North Korean broadcaster aired live a performance of the KBS Orchestra and the North's state-run orchestra from Pyongyang and the South Korean MBC television held a performance of South Korean singers in Pyongyang. Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0029 gmt 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Radio Mesopotamia, émission du 11-07-2003: L`écoute a été effectué de 0850 à 0905 UTc sur 11530 kHz, jusqu`à 0900 que de la music Kurde qui ressemble étrangement à la musique Turque. A 0900 UTc annonce du nom de la station avec adresse et une émission commence (Mohamed Kallel, July 17, France?, Tunisia? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6045, XEXQ Radio Universidad (tentative). Been trying for this station for weeks during the 1200 hour, which is just after sunrise. There is usually a strong carrier on the frequency and sometimes I can hear a Chinese language station, although it is weak. Got a bit closer today. Classical music at 1215-1230, then the Chinese faded in. I thought at first it might have been the Chinese with the classical music, but I heard what I thought were the two of them mixing at 1240. The music was a bit weaker by this time. Just bits of pieces of classical fading in by 1247, nothing like the weak, but steady, reception I had had at 1215. I had a look at their website http://www.uaslp.mx/rtu/ which gives the contact address published elsewhere. They did have a bit on the MW which gives an idea of the programs they run on shortwave: Radio Universisdad XEXQ 1460 kHz. Esta estación se encarga de difundir diversos programas educativos y cultruales, entre los cuales destacan programas de la RAI italiana, La Voz de Alemania, En Concierto, Titanes de la Música, Actualización Magisterial, etc.... Esta estación también transmite por Onda Corta, en 6.045 MHz, Banda internacional de 49.62mts. The studio number is listed as 4 (8) 26-13-48 and their fax number is 4 (8) 26-13-88 (Hans Johnson, WY, Jul 19, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Me too, trying for it, that is. July 19 at 1238 a quick check of 6045 had some classical(?) music, but atmospheric noise level too high. Should make it with quiet conditions, and later sunrises, China permitting (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heard here also this morning (7/19), with XE anthem right at 1200 UT, then YL talk until 1210, then into classical music. Fair/poor with a noisy band at 1200, but improved nicely to peak around 1225. QSL'ed this one in 1989 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100- foot randomwire, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 690, XEN was blasting in loud and alone Monday morning at about 3:57 AM Central time [0857 UT]. Full call ID, "La 69" several times, phone number, website, more. Interesting in that Fresnillo is the usual Mexican on this frequency for me. XEN had never been this loud before, and the only other audible Mexican at this time was XEX - -- power increase or odd atmospherics? (Eric Loy, Champaign IL, July 15, Corazón DX via DXLD) XEN is advertising new 100 kW power. True or hype, I don't know (David Gleason, CA, July 16, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS. R. London to test from Flevo 1008 kHz: see UK [non] ** NETHERLANDS. ANOTHER FINE MESS Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, has announced the setting up of a task force to find solutions to the reception problems affecting public broadcasters since the introduction of the Zerobase FM frequency plan. The task force - comprising representatives from the Ministry, the broadcasters and the transmitter operators - has been given until 1 October 2003 to come up with solutions. But how did we get into this situation? http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/ned030718.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter July 18 via DXLD) THAT RADIO SONG Dutch radio went through a shake-up recently. Now that the dust has settled, we identify the changes and take a look at the new and some of the old players in the industry. Aaron Gray-Block writes. http://www.expatica.com/index.asp?pad=34,35,&item_id=32844 Good overview of the complicated Dutch broadcasting scene. 73 (Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO BOSS AND RNZ TOLD TO TALK --- 18 July 2003 Radio New Zealand and its head of news Lynne Snowdon have been ordered back to the negotiating table over her ongoing employment dispute. Ms Snowdon has been absent from work for seven months after a falling out with RNZ chief executive Sharon Crosbie over budget and staffing issues. She has been on sick leave since January after her doctor diagnosed she was suffering from depression triggered by a very stressful work environment. In June, the Employment Relations Authority ordered RNZ to take Ms Snowdon back and pay her $3000 in compensation. RNZ then appealed, arguing Ms Snowdon should first undergo a psychiatric assessment. . . http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2572551a11,00.html (Dominion Post via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. PNG Updates and Journals On June 5th 2003, Life Radio Ministries, Inc. President Joe Emert, began his trip to Papua New Guinea to meet with EBM President Gerald Bustin and HCJB Engineer Sam Rowley and his wife Grace. Together they are to meet with the official of the PNG government to finalize plans to put a short wave station on the air. In addition to meeting with the government officials, this team will meet with Ron Cline, CEO of HCJB and President of HCJB, Dave Johnson. Rev. Bustin and Ron Cline will hold two Radio Rallies to thousands at the coliseum in Port Moresby. here are some of Joe's thought's and pictures from that trip. http://www.wmvv.com/png%20updates.htm Links to 8 journals follow, the last of which including: Journal # 8, Wantok Radio Light, Papua New Guinea Trip Journal of Joe Emert, President, Life Radio Ministries, Inc. Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Dear Friends, This will be my final Journal from this trip to Papua New Guinea. My e-mail capability was down for a few days but I`m back on-line now. I`m in Honolulu, working my way back home, and will arrive Thursday afternoon. Our final workday in PNG was Monday. We had an excellent final meeting with the `Pangtel` officers. You may recall that `Pangtel` is the government regulatory agency for broadcasting. They reconfirmed two very important items for the PNG Christian Broadcasting Network… 1. They reconfirmed that they are granting a short-wave license with which we can broadcast to the entire Nation. Because it is short-wave, governments around the world share information and the nearby countries to Papua New Guinea must `sign-off` on the frequency we have been granted so as to insure we will not interfere with a station in another country. This could take another month. 2. They indicated that they wish to assist us by immediately reserving all 26 (or more) of the FM stations around the country! This will effectively `lock-in` these frequencies for our use. Other broadcasters are rapidly learning the power of radio in this country and are rushing to seek licenses. Just like in the United States, listeners prefer to listen on FM due to its high quality. However, the short-wave will fill in where FM cannot reach. . . (Joe Emert, Wantok Radio Light via DXLD) Elsewhere the SW is specified as tropical band From a previous journal, #6 of June 14: There is so much to do yet to finish the job of bringing Christian radio to 5.3 million people. Unbelievably, M-TV, the USA based sexy, raunchy, music video service is offered here in Port Moresby and at other locations in the country. The cataclysmic media changes forced on these shy, private, precious people, (whose Pidgin word for `kissing` is `no no` and is only between husband and wife behind closed doors) is damaging their family structures, lifestyles, and very health. Is the Christian radio alternative needed here? Yes! A thousand times yes! If we can enjoy it in the United States then we must share it with others who so desperately desire it (ibid.) ** PERU. 5486.69, La Reina de la Selva, 1016-1045, Julio 15, música peruana, muchos anuncios de la hora por OM. Se repite en numerosas identificaciones la expresión: "La Reina", se indica una lista de números telefónicos. Llega con excelente señal (Roberto Wilkner, Estados Unidos, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Como ya se ha informado en DXLD, la palabra es un apellido deletreado REYNA (gh) ** PERU. Hola amigos, aquí algunas noticias sobre las emisoras peruanas en onda corta. Escuchas del día 17 de julio del 2003. Radio SAN MIGUEL desde Sondor en Piura al norte del Perú. Escuché por los 6538 kHz con buena señal a las 0110 hasta las 0230 con música folklórica, ID a las 0130 ``disfrutan RADIO SAN MIGUEL DESDE SONDOR,`` anuncios, ``estamos en la onda corta.`` Tengo entendido que Radio difusora Huancabamba transmitía por los 6535.9 pero ya no está en aire. Radio VIRGEN DEL CARMEN desde Huancavelica. Escuché por los 4885 a las 1130 UT con señal de débil a buena, su programa de 6to aniversario; coincide con la fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen. Llamé por teléfono y mi saludo salió al aire y me prometieron verificar mi reporte de recepción por medio de carta. Noticias, ID Radio VIRGEN DEL CARMEN en sus tres frecuencias desde Huancavelica, Perú. Radio PERU desde San Ignacio --- Cajamarca. En los 5637. Programa musical a las 0100 con saludos de cumpleaños y anuncios varios, ID a las 0120 ``Saludos a los que están en sintonía de Radio Perú desde san Ignacio``. Radio SANTA MONICA desde el Cuzco --- Perú. Transmite por los 4965 khz con mejor señal que Radio La hora en 4855 khz, programa musical a las 0030 ut. ID entre temas musicales, "Santa Monica". (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES, CHIMBOTE, PERU, July 18, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. PANAMERICANA TV TAKEN OFF THE AIR BY THE GOVERNMENT | Text of report by Radio Programas del Peru web site on 18 July Panamericana, the country's main television station, went off the air at exactly 1200 (1700 gmt), after the government decided to temporarily suspend its transmission license. The signal was suspended after Gunter Rave, host and journalist of the television station ended an interview with Francisco Diez Canseco, president of the Peace Council. It must be said that the government decision went into effect today after the management`s disputing control of the television station were duly notified. Television viewers who were watching the Panamericana programming first saw the channel's logo and then heard a sound that indicated that the order had been finally obeyed and that it was going off the air. Source: Radio Programas del Peru web site, Lima, in Spanish 18 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES [and non]. Changes at the IBB site in Poro: new frequency since 19 July is 1170 kHz with VOA in English at 1900-2200, beamed at 332 degrees. (Source: IBB online schedule) (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, July 20, MW-DX via DXLD) And 1143 remains in use at earlier hours, 1100-1800; Strangely enough, IBB is now using both 1143 and 1170 from more than one site: Philippines 1143: 1143 1100 1200 VOA R CHIN PHP A 332 1143 1200 1230 VOA P ENGL PHP A 332 1143 1300 1330 VOA S VIET PHP A 262 1143 1330 1500 VOA T1 CANT PHP A 332 1143 1600 1700 VOA P ENGL PHP A 332 1143 1700 1800 VOA P ENGL PHP A 332 12345 [M-F] Dushanbe 1143: 1143 1200 1230 VOA AFG DARI DB B 999 1143 1230 1300 VOA G UZBE DB B 999 1143 1300 1400 RFE RL13 UZ DB B 999 UAE 1170: 1170 0000 2400 FRD FRD PE DHB A 000 Philippines 1170: 1170 1900 2200 VOA P ENGL PHP B 332 Note that Philippines 1143 is the A transmitter, and 1170 is the B transmitter --- even tho the times do not overlap; is B not the megawatt? (IBB online schedule July 20 via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {1143 used to shift to 1147.5, to avoid jamming? Still?} ** SAO TOME. VoA at Pinheira is still kicking. Dear Wolfgang, Thanks for your long message re the various reports on STP, which, of course, have been on our TV stations too, mainly on RTP of course. As I write, 2210, 1530 kHz is putting a very strong signal with some QSB and occasional stronger QRM de CVA, but the K9AY is "taking care" of the situation! I tried 4950 yesterday at around dinner time, and it was working too, so suppose it was on today. Some 45 tourists are reported to be "stuck" in the islands, and the Portuguese government is considering the evacuation of Portuguese nationals, if necessary. I suppose Anker Petersen of the DSWCI is happy for having planned his trip back in March, hi! Best 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX via DXLD) 1530 STP is fine --- as is the rest of the station and staff. The 'coup' was relatively 'peaceful' and occurred a couple of days ago. If you want a 'hoot', take a listen to the RA cuts at this URL: http://africa.ibb.his.com/RMSPlayer/cgi-bin/PlayerCGI.acgi?brd=VOA&loc=LUAN&lng=ENGL&frq=1530&day=1&btm=0000&etm=2400&sound_da=yes [make sure you get ALL of the URL -- it's long and it'll probably 'wrap' in most email clients] It's a bunch of 20 seconds samples taken from our Luanda, Angola remote monitoring system -- propagation across the seawater path between STP and Luanda is pretty good! (Bill Whitacre, IBB Monitoring, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** SPAIN. Spanish DX club AER inform you that the new update of "Spain on MW" list ("España en onda media") was uploaded at http://www.aer-dx.org/listas/eaenom.htm This list is 3 free PDF files sorted by frequency, location and station name and is updated by our member Martín Estévez, ee@aer- dx.org The data of every station are: kHz, station name, network, KW, transmitter location, postal address, QSL info, phone and fax, local programs New in this update: RNE-R1 San Sebastián with 25 kW, RNE-R5 San Sebastián with 10 kW Address of both stations: Paseo de los Fueros 2, 20006 San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa. Spain. phone of both stations: 943427305, fax of both stations: 943428128; e-mail of both stations: emisora.ss.rne@rtve.es. Till next one! -------------------------------------------------- Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, COORDINADOR GENERAL -------------------------------------------------- AER http://www.aer-dx.org info@aer-dx.org (via hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Please check your satellite feed for the 11905 transmission. The audio is being broadcast twice due to a satellite delay. It is difficult to listen to (Bill Harms, Maryland, July 16, to swissinfo, cc to DXLD) Glenn, this is in response to a reception problem on Swiss Radio International's transmission at 2200. I heard an echo (Bill Harms, Elkridge, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Mr Harms, Thank you for your email and bringing this to our attention. Our technical department has checked the studio output and satellite link and found no irregularities. The cause of this delay might be because the signal is sent out from both Sottens and Montsinéry at the same time. As the signal must first be sent to Montsinéry (2 x 36,000 km) this causes a delay of several milliseconds, which makes listening to a programme very difficult. This can also happen at one station, when the distribution of a signal is on several layers, i.e. wave lengths, thus creating a second signal similar to an echo. As these signals are not intended for North America, it is difficult to say how this can be improved. However, should you notice this on 11905 KHz (Montsinery relay) again, please give us the date and time (in UT). We will have someone look into this problem. Sincerely, (swissinfo/Swiss Radio International English Department, Nancy Hartmann, July 18 via Harms, DXLD) Hi Glenn: SRI was absent from 9885 2330-0000 7/19. They were good with a little flutter on 11905. I wonder if there is a connection between their being off of 9885 and the earlier "echo" problem (Bill Harms, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. R Taiwan Int's Mailbag Time's Global Exchange segment is a fun and interesting way to exchange ideas and experiences from various cultures. Every month, we pose a new question to listeners, and every week we choose a few listener's answers to read in Mailbag Time. These listeners will receive souvenirs from RTI and some answers will be shared in Taipeiwave, the English Service newsletter. So join our global exchange and write us at natalie@cbs.org.tw Here is our topic for August: Share your hottest memory! Where, when and what were you doing during that ultra hot experience? Broadcast Time: Mailbag Time can be heard every Saturday in Hour Two and on Sunday in Hour One. (RTI web site via Swopan Chakroborty Kolkata, India, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. CBS BOARD PICKS NEW CHAIRMAN The Taipei Times Tuesday, July 15, 2003 Lin Fung-cheng beat out incumbent Chou Tian-rey, whose term finished last month following a stormy three years in the radio station's hot seat . . . http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2003/07.15.2003/Taiwan4.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K. Another year to develop it has brought little improvement in BBC Proms (video) webcasting. For the first night of the Proms, July 18, the video feed finally came alive at 1830, at 45 kbps, but the audio portion sounded like about 8, unlistenable --- so we had The option of seeing some jerky pictures and awful audio, or no pix and decent 44.1 kbps audio on the BBC Radio 3 stream. The choice was made even easier by the loss of video after the first selexion, replaced by a permanent slide, so we never got to see the pianist in action. Back to the video for the interval interviews and features, which were mainly talk. Video kept working for Ivan the Terrible music, and it would have been nice to stay with it for the subtitles, not to mention all the action by the narrator, in the choruses and orchestra, but to get anything out of the music, it was back to audio-only. Last year`s host with the loud shirts, Charles Hazelwood, was not to be seen, so there was less of a loss there. As I switched back and forth, it appeared that radio and TV versions had the same host, Stephanie Hughes, instead of different ones as last year. And the two feeds were more or less simultaneous instead of half an hour offset. I missed the Saturday live cast, and a quick check of the video for the early Sunday once again found the Proms slide up --- does this mean no one is getting it, or just those of us too late to get in on the available capacity at the moment? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. TRUST ME, I'M BRITISH --- By Tim Burt Published: July 17 2003 16:41 The reception area at White City, the BBC's sprawling television complex in west London, is eerily silent and almost deserted. At this time of night, there is only one other visitor: Ben Bradshaw, the government minister. The Labour politician has cycled from Westminster for a grilling on Newsnight, the BBC's current affairs flagship. He removes his bicycle clips and helmet, collects his security pass and sits in the corner, eyes closed, preparing for the ordeal ahead. Bradshaw, a former BBC presenter, has spent the past few weeks lambasting his one-time employer. The young minister --- perfectly groomed for the studio --- has emerged as a government rottweiler: condemning the BBC's coverage of the war in Iraq, attacking presenters for lack of impartiality, demanding abject apologies over the "dodgy dossier". As a result some BBC executives would prefer Bradshaw to keep out of the studios. But the assistant producer smiles when she arrives to collect him, ensuring his safe passage along the maze of corridors, up stairs, past empty cafeterias to the studio. If Bradshaw took a wrong turning he would miss Newsnight altogether, ending up in BBC World's cramped newsroom. There, BBC World journalists and editors are still digesting the government's criticism of its war coverage. Before the furore, the international newsroom was basking in plaudits from around the world - particularly from the US. Ratings in America have soared. BBC presenters such as Mishal Husain have a cult following. Whatever Downing Street's view, the BBC has become a valued news source for liberal America. . . http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562483416&p=1012571727132 (via Larry, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Glenn, Here's some exciting news for us in the UK (Mike Terry, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADLON MEDIA LIMITED, PO BOX 7336, FRINTON-ON-SEA, ESSEX, CO13 0WZ ENGLAND -- PRESS RELEASE 002 Embargoed until 12.01 - 20th July 2003 "RADIO LONDON TEST BROADCAST" Radio London will conduct further engineering tests at 12.00 (UK Time) [1100 UT, 1300 CEDT] on [Tuesday] 22nd July, 2003 for approximately two hours on 1008 kHz from the Flovoland [sic] transmitting site in the Netherlands. The transmitter will be operated at 400 kilowatts with 95% peak modulation using an Optimod 9200 processing. This will enable our engineers to ascertain coverage in the UK. The current aerial pattern produces a figure eight pattern pointing NE - SW and our study will enable us to work on plans to alter the antenna pattern to produce a better signal into our target areas. Radlon Media Limited would welcome reception reports from anywhere in Europe. We are mainly interested in reports from listeners using standard domestic equipment, i.e. Hi-fi units, portable radio's and car radio's rather than full sinpo reports using communications equipment and long wire aerials. Please either post them to the address at the top of this press release of e-mail them to bigl@radiofab.com All reports will be acknowledged. PROGRESS REPORT We have received an enormous amount of correspondence, mainly by e- mail, many questions have been asked, and at your request, we are happy to give the following progress report:- FUND RAISING Our fund raising has been rather slow. This time of year many people are away on vacation and we have lost a few weeks because of this. However, response has been very encouraging, despite what are difficult times for the radio industry. We now need to start closing deals and this is what our team are currently focusing on. Opportunities to invest in this project are still available with investments starting at £10,000. Anyone interested should contact us ASAP. ENGINEERING On Thursday 17th July, 2003, our engineers made a full appraisal of the transmitter site at Flavoland on the Netherlands. The site also transmits the Dutch public broadcaster Radio 1 on 747 kHz so any changes that we may wish to make have to be compatible with their requirements. From our findings we can now evaluate the aerial patterns and work on commissioning a full report on the antenna and recommend changes. We also evaluated the suitability of the AEG Telefunken 600 kilowatt transmitter, which is 20 years old and may not be capable of producing positive peak modulations now used by many commercial broadcasters in Europe. So we need to await the full report in order to make our final deliberations. The tests next Tuesday will also give our backers an indication of our signal strength, when engineering adjustments are made at a later date, our engineers are confident that a further 6db of signal will reach the UK. It is also our plan to broadcast in AM stereo (although not on our current tests) and we will watch the progress of DRM, which looks set to revolutionize the AM dial. PROGRAMMING The Radio London & Big L brands will be used to launch our Gold format. Much in attitude has changed since Radio London last attracted a significant audience and the station sound needs to be tuned to current market trends. Commercially, it is important to attract and please an audience, of hopefully 1 or 2 million listeners and not a minority group, so emphasis will be on the music and presenters whilst retaining some of the magic and fun that the original station produced. WEBSITE There is no official Radio London website at the moment, although we are working on this at the moment. In order to avoid confusion, please ensure that all correspondence regarding the re-launch of Radio London is addressed to the contact phone numbers, fax and e-mail in this press release. FOR FURTHER COMMENT OR CLARIFICATION PLEASE RING RAY ANDERSON 01255 676252, FAX: 01255 850528, E-mail: bigl@radiofab.com (via Mike Terry, DXLD) Next Tuesday UK time 12 (midday) to 3.00 pm is the planned time for tests, from a source at the station. Not sure what power though. Will 400 kW propagate well over the UK? It`s a clear channel here in Bournemouth so I live in hope (but with some doubt about the project for reasons probably best kept to myself). I shall miss it as I have to be at work (work gets in the way of a lot of things I would like to do - but is necessary to pay for most of them!). [Later:] I now have seen definite reports of tests last Thursday afternoon; the signal was on and off and weak in London, playing oldies music for about an hour only. I am starting to feel more optimistic about the project from seeing other postings. I wish it success as it may be a breath of fresh air (Mike Terry, UK, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RADLON MEDIA TO TEST 1008 KHZ ON TUESDAY Dutch media site http://radio.nl reports that a test transmission on 1008 kHz is scheduled for Tuesday 22 July at 1100 UT in preparation for the transmissions of commercial broadcaster Radlon Media, which plans to broadcast to the UK. Media Network understands that the duration of the transmission may be about one hour. The test will be made using the directional pattern previously used for Dutch public network Radio 1, but will be made at the full power of 400 kW (Radio 1 used 180 kW). A low power test was already conducted on Friday afternoon, according to radio.nl. Quality Radio, the Dutch partner of Radlon, is also busy preparing the other mediumwave frequencies it won in May. Radio 10 FM is currently using 1395 kHz with reduced power. Transmission provider Nozema is carrying out maintenance on the antenna for 828 kHz, while a new radio ship has to be found for 1224 kHz, since the Communicator has been sold to a new owner in the UK and is now undergoing repairs in Ijmuiden (Media Network blog July 20 via DXLD) I thought they'd re-engineered Flevo MF to make it omni directional? Seems a little strange to run a service targetting a UK audience if you're pointing the signal *away* from the target area (as Flevo MF was in its Radio 1 days as I understand it) ... Still, I'll have a listen. Radio 1 was audible here in N.W. England during daytime, albeit weakly (Ray Woodward, 7/20/03; 3:33:48 AM, ibid.) MONEY THE STUMBLING BLOCK FOR "RADIO LONDON" A press release issued today by Radlon, the company which plans to launch the commercial station Radio London broadcasting to the UK from Flevo on 1008 kHz, suggests to me that it could be a very long time before we hear any regular programmes. Confirming the upcoming test transmission on Tuesday, Radlon concedes that: "Our fund raising has been rather slow. This time of year many people are away on vacation and we have lost a few weeks because of this. However, response has been very encouraging, despite what are difficult times for the radio industry. We now need to start closing deals and this is what our team are currently focusing on. Opportunities to invest in this project are still available with investments starting at £10,000. Anyone interested should contact us ASAP." Note the complete absence of any information about firm commitments to invest so far. The language is deliberately vague. When I was involved in the past with two attempts to get commercial radio stations on the air --- albeit shortwave ones --- there was lots of "encouraging response" but very little hard cash. A small group of us invested, and lost, our own money while most "supporters" were content with buying a T-shirt. Call me cynical, but I've been there. At the moment, the minimum figure of £10,000 suggests that Radlon is looking beyond the anorak community for investment, and that's a wise move. As has been shown by the experience of Radio Caroline over the years, these people are often prepared to help in a practical way --- many of them are frustrated would-be broadcasters who hope to make useful contacts --- but they tend to be tight-fisted when it comes to parting with their money. Indeed, Radlon realises that it needs to look beyond the anoraks for its audience if it's going to be commercially viable: "Commercially, it is important to attract and please an audience, of hopefully 1 or 2 million listeners and not a minority group." The problem is that now is not the time to be launching new media projects from scratch in Europe, especially if you're a small company. The media industry is consolidating: recent deals have strengthened the position of the European media giants like Sky and SBS. Economies of scale help to sustain the industry through tough times. A newcomer with no proven track record is not going to be seen as a wise investment by many people. I'd love to be proved wrong, and for Radio London to be a success --- if only because there's something inherently unsatisfactory in good Dutch broadcasters being unable to secure frequency space while a high power transmitter capable of national coverage sits idle (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog July 20 via DXLD) ** U K. The [former Radio Caroline ship] Ross Revenge has moved to Rochester, not a stone's throw from the historic Castle and Cathedral, and is open for visitors in her new location on August 2nd and 3rd. The point of embarkation is Strood Pier, in the centre of Rochester just by the road / rail bridges over the river. Trips start from 11am. The boarding charge, including the short boat trip, is £5.00, and merchandise will be available on the ship. If you would like to visit the Ross Revenge, please call the trip organiser, Vaughan on 07890 279049. Please only call during evenings or at the weekend. We need advance bookings so we know how many people we must accommodate. (announced on air by Roger Day, also on Radio Caroline website: http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/news.htm (via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. HF BANDS FOR CLASS B LICENSEES SOON The RSGB has learned from the RA that a Gazette Notice will be published shortly which will announce the end of the Morse requirement for access to the HF bands in the UK. From the date of the Gazette Notice all Full and Intermediate Class B amateurs will automatically have Class A privileges and will be allowed to operate on the HF bands with their existing callsigns. Watch the RSGB website at http://www.rsgb.org for the latest news (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News Script for July 20 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. US CONGRESS APPROVES MIDDLE EAST TV NETWORK The US House of Representatives has approved the creation of a US- funded Middle East TV network. House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde said that the new network will "greatly contribute to an enhancement of our efforts to combat the misinformation and propaganda that contribute to the rising anti-American sentiment in the region." Funding for the network will come out of the $1.3bn allocated to international broadcasting. Congressional officials said it would broadcast 24 hours a day, delivering a mix of news and entertainment. However, there could be delays in getting the green light as the proposal forms part of a $30 billion foreign aid bill which still has to pass Senate. That's by no means a foregone conclusion due as Senate disagrees with the Bush administration's decision to drop a measure supporting the UN Population Fund, and may block the passage of the bill (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 18 July 2003 via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, Regarding the DX Programs list problems mentioned in the latest DXLD just posted. The Real Amateur Radio Show on WBCQ is only on every other week, alternating with the Piss and Moan Net, another of TimTron's shows. I have no way of getting in touch with the author of the query or I would contact him directly. Can't help you with the DXing With Cumbre problems as I don't know when it's on either! Hope this helps (John H. Carver Jr., Mid-North Indiana, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. I heard WBCQ this morning (19 JULY) between 0400- 0500 UT on 9330 kHz (exactly 9329.74) in LSB relaying Christian Media Network in English, being accompanied by jammers. After a final announcement at 0459 the station closed down one minute later. Also the jammer closed down at the same time but resumed and closed several times after that. WBCQ is no more heard on 5100 kHz after short appearance on this frequency around 14 JULY. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hard to believe someone would be deliberately jamming CMN/WBCQ (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WMLK PLANS TO BROADCAST IN PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH Hi Glenn: I thought you might be interested in the following item: I noticed that in the June 2003 issue of the Assemblies of Yahweh publication, The Sacred Name Broadcaster, Elder Jacob O. Meyer mentions the following in his Radio Message article titled, "Yahweh's Created Beings - Part 5", concerning future short wave broadcasts in the Pennsylvania Dutch tongue over WMLK: "I already have one or two other volumes of Pennsylvania Dutch New Testaments, but I wanted this particular volume because I will soon be speaking in this dialect (or language, if you please) over our newly enlarged WMLK shortwave radio transmitter." Can anyone explain how Pennsylvania Dutch relates to the Low German, or Plautdietsch, dialect currently broadcast over HCJB to Mennonite groups around the world? Thanks (Michael W. Enos, Tallmadge, OH, July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PIRATE, United Patriot Militia Radio, 6925. 7/19/03 0209- 0229. Most fair signal with lots of thunderstorm cracks. Request for donations for a Bingo Ball machine, Bingo numbers read, winner on on- line, parody? of Steve Anderson, parody of militias, and mention of a "last chance Bingo." (Bill Harms, MD, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U S A. A long letter from manager Deborah S. Proctor on WCPE`s 25- year struggle as The Classical Station: http://wcpe.org/news.shtml (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hello All -- a quick check of my "bellwether" frequencies on the commute this morning turned up someone on 99.7 playing a cover version of the Stylistics "Stone in Love With You", IDing as "Jukebox Radio". My first thought was "Oh crap, the old folks home near me put in a closed-circuit FM system and it's leaking like a sieve -- -there goes 99.7." There is a satellite delivered old-time programming service that some rest homes subscribe to that features about 4 different channels of programming, including nostalgia, old radio programs, and a couple of other formats, then they rebroadcast it on open FM channels, supposedly in the building, but I know of one in Havre de Grace MD that leaks so bad you can hear it from one end of town to the other --- they're on 99.9, 107.1, 102.3, and one other channel, and darn near drove me nuts trying to ID, until I finally looked up the slogan in Yahoo and found this service. Drove up to the nursing home building, and sure enough, signal was wall to wall! I've found one in NE Baltimore, too. But, after an internet search, I now believe I caught "Jukebox Radio" WJUX 99.7 from Monticello, NY. Format seems right on. Was in mono. NEW ONE! Heard in York, PA on Sony XR- C6100 car radio. 6,000 watts ERP---Nothing else unusual on other channels, and after a few minutes, it was gone. Will check the freq again when I go home tonight past the nursing home, just to be sure. Hope it's empty! 73 and good DX, (Bruce WB3HVV Collier, York, PA, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. LIGHTNING KNOCKS OUT 3 RADIO STATIONS BY PHILLIP CASTON Of The Post and Courier Staff Story last updated at 7:18 a.m. Saturday, July 19, 2003 Three local radio stations have shut down temporarily after a lightning bolt destroyed 95 percent of the broadcasting company's equipment Friday afternoon, the program director said. At about 2:15 p.m., a bolt of lightning struck Kirkman's Broadcasting Inc. radio tower at 60 Markfield Drive, Program Director Stew Williams said. Williams said he was in a meeting during the thunderstorm when he heard a loud snap, then felt the charge moving across the roof of the building. The bolt fried many of the electrical wires in the building, and small electrical charges were coming out of employees' keyboards, Williams said. "I heard all three radio stations go off the air, and I thought, 'This can't be good,' " Williams said. The following radio stations, according to Williams, will be off the air for one to two weeks as a result of the blast: WJK 950 AM, WQNT 1450 AM and ESPN Radio WQSC 1340 AM. A rough estimate of the total damage is $100,000 to $150,000, Williams said. No one was injured, and there was no fire in the building, he said. "It's scary to think that in a blink of an eye, Mother Nature can do so much damage," Williams said (Charleston SC Post & Courier, via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. IBIQUITY FIRES GLYNN WALDEN --- Supposedly for cost reasons, and I'm certain it has absolutely, positively nothing to do with IBOC's technical problems: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3589 (Harry Helms, W7HLH Las Vegas, NV DM26 NRC-AM via DXLD) This is quite surprising, as Glynn Walden has been a central figure in IBOC development since day one. He is, or was, basically "Mr. IBOC". He was also the one who was preparing Ibiquity's long-delayed report to the FCC on the AM IBOC nighttime tests. Maybe he couldn't figure out a way to put a positive spin on the results, and that was the last straw? Interesting times in IBOCLand (Barry McLarnon, Ont., ibid.) That's why I found the news of his abrupt departure so remarkable and a strong indication that IBOC still has big, perhaps unsolvable problems. IBOC = DOA??? (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV, idid.) ** U S A. Center for Public Integrity has a searchable database to find out who really owns your local media outlets: http://www.openairwaves.org/telecom/analysis/default.aspx (via Wisconsin Public Radio, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC'S MEDIA RULING TARGETED --- THE WASHINGTON TIMES [Moony] A bipartisan group of 35 U.S. senators introduced legislation Tuesday to override a decision last month by the Federal Communications Commission to loosen restrictions on media ownership. The FCC last month voted to ease ownership restrictions that some called outdated in an era of fast-changing technology - despite complaints that the action would concentrate media power in a few hands. The changes would lift the national broadcast "cap" - or reach of any single company - to 45 percent of the national market from 35 percent, and let TV, radio and newspaper companies buy each other more freely. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted last month to overturn the FCC decision, and to reinstitute the 35 percent cap and limit cross-ownership deals in all but the smallest markets. Feeling the need for a more emphatic expression of their displeasure and hoping to force a speedy Senate vote on the matter, the senators agreed to sponsor the one-paragraph resolution. It says that "Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to broadcast media ownership." Lawmakers said at a press conference they hoped to bring the matter to a vote by the end of the month. "I think that the FCC in this case clearly made a decision that's going to lead to more concentration, less diversity, fewer choices in the opportunity for people to view or hear or read ... the news," said Sen. Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, one sponsor of the resolution. The relatively unusual tactic of introducing a resolution means that the FCC-rules changes will come up for a quicker-than-usual vote before the full Senate, possibly as early as the end of the month. "It'll force the FCC to redo it. It doesn't leave you without any rules, it just says ... we disapprove of these rules, and the FCC has to do it again and get it right," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat. "We are moving to roll back one of the most complete cave-ins to corporate interests I've ever seen by what is supposed to be a federal regulatory agency," Mr. Dorgan said. Twenty-eight Democrats and seven Republicans, including Mr. Lott of Mississippi and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, signed the petition. Under the rarely used 1996 Congressional Review Act, which was pushed by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, only 30 senators' signatures are needed to force a full Senate vote, Mr. Dorgan said. The FCC, led by Chairman Michael Powell, approved rules June 2 that make it easier for companies such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to acquire newspapers and TV stations. The rules, which were opposed by groups as disparate as the Consumers Union and National Rifle Association, got more than 1 million letters of criticism from individuals. An FCC spokesman declined to comment. Mr. Powell has said the new rules adapt to a media landscape that now includes competition from the Internet, hundreds of cable operators and satellite broadcasters. "The sponsors have a good chance of getting it passed in the Senate," said former Rep. Thomas Bliley, Virginia Republican, who was House Commerce panel chairman from 1995 to 2001. "But I don't see anything passing the House because of opposition from the leadership and the fact it's not that much of a hot-button issue out there." Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, is leading the other Senate push to roll back the FCC media-ownership proposal. The Senate Majority Leader, Tennessee Republican Bill Frist, has not said when the full Senate would consider the panel's bill, if at all. "The McCain committee legislation could sit on the calendar forever, if Frist didn't want to bring it to a vote," said Mr. Dorgan's spokesman, Barry Piatt. "But the full Senate has to consider our congressional veto." The Senate is likely to consider the resolution by September, Mr. Piatt said. If the Senate passes the veto, it automatically goes to the full House for a vote, he said. President Bush, whose administration has endorsed the FCC rules, would have to sign the congressional veto for it to become law (via Fred Vobbe, July 17, NRC- AM via DXLD) HOUSE PANEL OKS OWNERSHIP CAP ROLLBACK In a major defeat for the TV networks, the House Appropriations Committee voted 40-25 Wednesday to approve a rider to an appropriations bill that would roll back the cap on the national TV ownership to 35 percent. In its controversial June 2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission's GOP majority raised the cap to allow broadcasters to acquire TV stations reaching 45 percent of the nation's TV homes. But the rider, offered by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the appropriation's committee's ranking minority member, would knock the cap back by barring the FCC from spending any money to authorize acquisitions that would exceed the old limit. The committee vote crossed party lines, with such leading Republicans as Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., voting in favor of the measure. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., voted against the amendment, warning that White House officials had threatened to recommend a presidential veto of the appropriations bill if the cap amendment were attached. Before taking its historic roll- call vote on the cap issue, the committee rejected by voice vote an amendment offered by Rep. Anne Northrup, R-Ky., that would have extended the rollback to resurrect an FCC rule that bars broadcasters from acquiring daily newspapers in their markets. Rep. Obey said that while he personally supports the idea of overturning all of the FCC's media ownership deregulation, he believes that widening the rollback beyond the cap at this point would kill the rollback rider altogether. "My head overruled my heart when I found out where the votes were," Rep. Obey said. "The way to win this argument is to take this on a piece at a time." Like several of his committee colleagues, Rep. Obey argued that a rollback is crucial to preserve local media diversity. "We're in danger of shutting off the blood supply to democracy," Rep. Obey said. In their debate on the measure, some committee lawmakers made clear that they had scores to settle with major media companies. Rep. Wolf, for instance, said he was upset that NBC "literally shut us out" when the Peacock Network announced a short-lived initiative to run hard liquor ads a couple of years ago. "I can't believe the level to which commercial television has sunk," added Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. "It's literally a garbage pit." Leading the charge for the networks at the session was Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., who argued that the regulations were unwarranted in the face of the diversity of sources of information now available to the public on TV and the Internet. "We have almost unlimited sources of information today," Rep. Kolbe said. The committee vote came as a vicious slap to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who was reportedly lobbying Appropriations Committee members personally to kill the amendment before the vote, in part on grounds that media ownership issues are under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee. Rep. Obey said Rep. Tauzin had made clear that he would block any effort to roll back the FCC's deregulation, even though a majority of his Commerce Committee members have publicly endorsed rollback initiatives. The Appropriations Committee vote was also a blow to the National Association of Broadcasters, which recently announced that it had joined forces with the networks to fight any rollback legislation. NAB, which previously supported a rollback to 35 percent, said it feared that so much sentiment had built up against the ownership deregulation on Capitol Hill that it wouldn't be able to prevent lawmakers from approving rollback legislation that included provisions targeting elements of the FCC's deregulation moves that NAB's members support. Despite NAB's bailout, the Network Affiliated Stations Alliance, representing 600 affiliates of ABC, CBS and NBC, has continued to support legislation to reinstate the 35 percent cap. Rep. Obey cited the group's position while arguing in favor of his rider amendment. In the wake of the vote, Fred Reynolds, president of the Viacom Stations Group, said that because of the way the rider was written, it might not require his company to divest any TV properties-even though Viacom currently holds stations reaching about 40 percent of the nation's TV homes. He also said it appeared clear that the broadcast networks were getting hurt by the grudges that Republican lawmakers harbor against CNN news coverage and Democrats hold against Fox News Channel. "This issue is very confusing because a lot of people don't understand where your cable system ends and TV station begins," Mr. Reynolds said. Before the appropriations bill can become law, it must be approved by the full House and the Senate and signed by the president. The leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee have already publicly endorsed rollback initiatives. In an alert Wednesday afternoon, Legg Mason Equity Research said the Appropriations Committee vote "markedly increases the chances that some form of the legislation will ultimately be enacted." Added the firm, "We are skeptical the president would veto the spending bill over this amendment, given that support seems to be spreading like a prairie fire." In the wake of the vote, Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Rep. Tauzin, said the lawmaker would continue to fight. "This limits our options but does not eliminate all of them," Mr. Johnson said. "This fight is far from over. Unfortunately to some people this was more about settling old scores than it was on setting a sound telecommunications policy for America. This was their chance to use the networks as a punching bag." Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the NAB, said, "Given the actions already taken in the Senate, our concern remains that it is unlikely, if not impossible, to limit congressional re-regulation of broadcasting to a 35 percent rollback of national TV ownership rules." (from http://www.tvweek.com via Shoptalk Magazine 7/17/2003 via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. BROADCAST BAND UPDATE, by Greg Hardison This could be the beginning of a new era of Bipartisan Camaraderie up on the Hill, as eleven Republicans (including the infamous wannabe- Klansman Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi) have joined the Democratic efforts to reverse the June 2 FCC ruling. Sadly interesting that the two main bones of contention seem to be A) Co-ownership of Newspapers, with co-market Broadcast outlets, and B) Television Program Content. Regarding Point A) Such co-ownership situations literally date back to the beginning of Broadcasting, with many such scenarios alive and well in many major U.S. markets. The Chicago Tribune has been under the same corporate roof as WGN Radio and TV since approximately the Mesozoic Era; anyone familiar with the 3rd largest market knows it ain't dominated by NO one company! The Trib owned KTLA(TV)/Channel 5 in Los Angeles for several years prior to it's purchase of The Los Angeles Times; so far the Tribbies have been in no hurry to gobble up electronic media outlets in either burg. For more than fifty years, Cox Enterprises has "dominated" the Atlanta market, owning both daily fishwrappers (The Atlanta Journal & The Atlanta Constitution), along with WSB AM & FM Radio (AM 750 historically ate the Ratings alive all through the 1960's --- and has returned to doing just that, here in the latter-day Millennium), also WSB-TV (the South's first regularly-licensed TV station) --- and nowadays, also owns three other FMs, all having been moved into Atlanta from smaller cities within a 60 mile radius. In recent years, Atlanta has grown into a top-ten market in terms of Broadcast revenues, with strong numbers being raked in by Clear Channel (1 AM and 5 FM- Radio outlets), Infinity/CBS (2 FMs and 1 AM), Jefferson- Pilot (in the market since the late 60's, with one-each, AM & FM, both strong performers), Gannett (30-year owners of WXIA-TV) and Fox (WAGA- TV), with myriad smaller independent broadcasters emphasizing such formats as Gospel/Religion (and Salem's just sort of hanging on there, incidentally, with two AMs and one VERY expensive FM relocated from Athens). All of this accomplished as Cox ADDED to their Atlanta media stable. Remember, the first nails were driven into that stable in the 1940's! Now just to add to the mudlike clarity of the situation, comes this from the July 12 edition of The Los Angeles Times: "Clear Channel must cut stations --- The firm's San Diego setup, which includes outlets in Mexico, exceeds new FCC limits. By Jeff Leeds, Times Staff Writer Radio giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. will have to bid adiós to much of its clout along California's southern border. Under provisions in the fine print of last week's federal order establishing new media ownership rules, the San Antonio-based company must reduce the number of stations it owns or controls in the San Diego listening area over the next two years, either by cutting ties to some of its five affiliated Mexican stations or selling some of its seven U.S.-licensed stations. The Federal Communications Commission's recent regulatory overhaul lets broadcasters keep clusters of radio stations whose reach exceeds the limits of new marketplace boundaries. But regulators didn't extend that protection to Clear Channel's exotic affiliate agreements — in which the company bulked up its San Diego presence by making side deals with Mexican stations that broadcast north of the border. The arrangements created one of the biggest radio powerhouses ever built in a U.S. market. Clear Channel captures an estimated 44% share of San Diego's $165-million radio market. That is the company's biggest slice of any of the nation's 20 biggest cities and roughly triple the share its nearest rival holds in San Diego, according to research firm BIA. Clear Channel probably will have to shed at least four stations to comply with the changes." -- San Diego is another market with strong performers owned by Jefferson- Pilot (KIFM, KSON and an AM brokered to Multicultural Broadcasting Co.), Infinity (KYXY and KPLN), as well as Midwest Television Inc. (who?? think KFMB AM/FM/TV, together for several decades), and relative newcomer Hispanic Broadcasting (proprietors of KLNV & KLQV) - -- not to mention the strong influence of L.A. radio outlets; KFI, KNX, KLAC, KABC and KSPN all slam near-City grade signals into SD. Hmmm... it may appear that NO ONE uniform strategy will adequately apply, as different markets exhibit different strengths and weaknesses, dictated by (among other issues) Geography (what else is seen and heard by market-dwellers?), Demographics (how OLD is the market? Has it been a huge city since the early days of electronic media, such as NYC or Chicago? Is market growth relatively new, as in the case of post-WW2 San Diego --- or, as in Atlanta example, has mega-growth occurred as a product of 1960's prosperity? Or, as a third model, Los Angeles...where urban growth has pretty much chronologically paralleled the rise of airwaves-usage, through the 20th Century?) Which "model" should the FCC cater its policies to? There's evidently an abundance of circular-thought going into the overall issue, not necessarily aided by Congressional mud-heads, or highly paid and produced Corporate Lawyers-who-would-be-Policy-Makers. I don't pretend to have the answers --- perhaps you do? Any and all comments are welcome, and will be duly reprinted unless requested otherwise), obscenities and all. WHILE WE'RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: San Diego market gorilla Clear Channel has come to the res-Q. CC outlet KPOP will soon share its single non-directional broadcast tower with Salem's KCBQ, a market veteran which was faced with the loss of its license due to the sale and upcoming development of the Santee land, on which its multi-towers have been situated for many years. KCBQ has always suffered from an extremely-directional signal, designed to protect co-channel stations in San José (at all times), and Tulsa (at night). The mighty Q will most likely be forced to reduce its daytime 50,000 watts to a lower level, as well as its nighttime 1500 watt allocation, in order to avoid having to use directional transmission patterns. Two ironies jump out of this pile: A) In the "glory" days of Top-40 Rock, these two outlets were intense rivals, with KCBQ/1170 running PAMS jingles and slightly-accelerated turntables (I KNOW I'm not the only one who remembers that!), and the old KGB (now KPOP/1360) doing the SD version of the Drake Format, leached down the coast from KHJ. Clear Channel is generally being lauded for its engineering generosity; no doubt an exchange of Dollars is the primary consideration here --- space rented on the KPOP stick, and bucks saved by Salem's not having to purchase expensive tower-site land in America's Finest City. The other irony is a bit more perplexing: despite the trumpeted Sharing Of The Stick, the FCC files (as of July 18) show KCBQ at its present, ill-fated transmitter site --- and also with a Construction Permit to transmit from a site just a few miles to the West, near San Vicente Reservoir --- with an increased nighttime power of 4500 watts. WANNA BUY A STATION? --- Smith Broadcasting of Santa Barbara has announced that its mostly-syndicated News-Talk outlet KEYT/1250 is on the block. Smith, while retaining KEYT-TV Channel 3 (the Central Coast ABC affiliate for many decades), says it's losing too much moolah in the Radio operation. Also for many decades, 1250 was the parking spot of KTMS, the South Coast's traditional News-Talk facility, formerly associated with ABC Radio News and ABC Talkradio (back when ABC was a real network --- ah, nostalgia!) Smith picked up the Radio facility in the early 1990s; shortly thereafter the KTMS "intellectual property" was nabbed by Clear Channel, which received usage of the venerable call-letters for its 990-AM Santa Barbara outlet. Nowadays, one will hear much of the syndicated Clear Channel/Premiere roster on KTMS/990, while KEYT/1250 features much from the AP News Net, as well as ABC's last credible vestige, Bob Brinker, and his weekend financial show. Innuendo has it that Salem wants 1250 for more Christian/Conservative Talk; another rumour has the facility going Spanish, under one of several possible buyers. This comes on the heels of Clear Channel taking over the marketing for the city's oldest broadcaster, Classical-format KDB (on FM 93.7 only, since about 1990 or so), in lieu of the outright sale of the station to God-knows-who. Something smells fishy from a Management angle, if one observes the long-term: what is preventing these two outlets from being economically viable, in a relatively-affluent market, today versus thirty years ago? Broadcasters' wages have not gone up significantly --- only proportionally --- in Santa Barbara. Competition has come in the form of the aforementioned KTMS/990, and for KDB, only in the guise of USC's Classical relayer, KFAC/88.7 FM. Again, I don't pretend to have the magical solutions --- but basic gut tells me some folks have dropped the Marketing ball, somewhere along Hwy. 101. DIGITITIS RELAPSE: Still no clear direction anywhere regarding Digital Broadcasting --- and its inherent engineering/adjacent-channel reception problems exhibited on both AM and FM. But, an interesting idea has emerged from (of all places) the U.S. International Broadcasting Board, the bureaucratic collective designated to oversee the Voice Of America, and various psy-ops facilities targeting audiences in Cuba, Iraq, Iran and the former Soviet bloc. A number of prominent Shortwave broadcasters worldwide are participating in DRM, which digitizes these transmissions, returning almost FM-quality sound response (as many claim) to listeners thousands of miles away. Of course, most SW broadcasts are in AM mode --- thus leading to many of the same adjacent-channel hash problems noted in domestic broadcasts. But the idea of utilizing a little-used section of the Shortwave band, from 21 to 26 Megahertz, for low-to-medium power domestic Digital broadcasts has been born amongst the discussion-maelstrom. If eventually implemented, the plan would open up an entirely new Broadcast band for high-plus-fidelity Radio service, which would in- turn reduce the controversies surrounding Low Power FM, and its effects on established higher-powered commercial broadcasters. Yeah, it would take some marketing, but the idea would also open up a completely new market for receivers, which could be manufactured in all-Digital mode. No "in-band" combining of Digital and pre-existing Analog signals would be required --- as there ARE no "pre-existing" domestic Analog signals on this band. Currently-strained allocations for Low Power FM stations would be relaxed. Seems like a great idea; I'm sure it'll never happen. Until the next, Peace and Prosperity -- GREG HARDISON (via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. There seems to be a Spanish voice station, broadcasting music and voice (unable to secure ID) that comes in most evenings (local) around 0200 UT till ? on 10 MHz interfering with WWV/WWVH. I can only assume it is a pirate broadcast of some form as I doubt any country would authorize that frequency for a broadcast station (Bob Combs, New Mexico, hard-core-dx July 18 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LMEE Te informo en nombre de la AER que la LISTA MUNDIAL DE EMISIONES EN ESPAÑOL que mantiene en su sitio web es actuaziada contínuamente. Como se sabe se ofrece GRATIS en tres listados PDF, ordendos por hora de emisión, por emisora y por radio país. http://www.aer-dx.org/listas/lmee.htm Además, como complemento a esta lista, la AER te ofrece también GRATIS la LISTA DE DIRECCIONES POSTALES DE EMISORAS INTERNACIONALES QUE EMITEN EN ESPAÑOL. http://www.aer-dx.org/listas/direcciones.htm En la sección LISTAS del web de la AER se ofrece GRATIS otras listas de interés para el radioescucha: http://www.aer-dx.org/listas/ Un saludo (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, COORDINADOR GENERAL, July 18, Conexión Digital via DXLD) DRM +++ Hi Glenn, In answer to your question in DXLD: We shall be dropping the Media Network version of the DRM schedule ASAP and incorporating Klaus' version, as he is encouraging other Web sites to do also. One definitive version of the schedule should benefit all of us :-) 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For some time now we've been trying to maintain an accurate schedule of DRM transmissions on our Web site. Now Klaus Schneider in Germany has voluntarily taken over the task, and we've slightly reorganised the DRM dossier so you'll find the current schedule on a separate page at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_schedule.html Through a simple piece of Javascript code, what you see on this page actually resides on a Web server in Germany. If you have any observations, corrections or amendments, please send them directly to Klaus using the E-mail link at the top of the schedule page (Media Network newsletter July 18 via DXLD) [drm-se] MEXICAN NATIONAL SHORTWAVE MEETING JULY 31-AUGUST 3 Dear Jeff, As I mentioned before in a previous e-mail, Bonaire doesn't have a "Mexico" antenna connected to the DRM transmitter. But we would like to support your festival and we have decided to perform the following DRM transmission from Bonaire. 31 July - 3 August 2330-0030 UTC 15525 kHz Programme: RNW Spanish We will cancel our regular DRM transmission to the USA during these four days and do this transmission instead. BUT: as Mexico is only in the sidelobe of the USA antenna the signal won't be very strong so you really need a good outdoor antenna to get something useful. Also we will transmit in a robust mode (Mode B, 16QAM, 14 kbps). This will not give the best audio quality but there's a higher chance of success. Alternative AM frequencies with the same Spanish RNW programme can be found on: 9895 kHz from Flevo to the Northern part of South America + Carribean 11720 kHz from Flevo to the Eastern part of South America 15315 kHz from Bonaire to the Southern part of South America So you can compare AM to DRM. We would like to receive some feedback of reception quality preferably via the logfile which can be created with the software receiver. Hope this will do. Kind regards (Jan Peter Werkman, Radio Netherlands, PO Box 222, 1200 JG Hilversum The Netherlands, Tel: +31-35-6724449, Fax: +31-35-6724429, GSM: +31- 653116538, http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm.html (via Jeff White, DXLD) TRANSMISIONES ESPECIALES EN DRM DE RADIO NEDERLAND-BONAIRE Radio Miami Internacional y la Asociación Nacional de Radiodifusoras de Onda Corta (NASB) de los Estados Unidos están organizando una demostración del nuevo sistema de onda corta digital, DRM, durante el Encuentro Nacional de Diexistas Mexicanos en Tizayuca, Hidalgo, México, del 31 de julio al 3 de agosto. Durante los cuatro días del evento, que será asistido por oyentes de onda corta de todo México, Estados Unidos y otros países, la planta transmisora de Radio Nederland en Bonaire, Antillas Holandesas, transmitirá el programa en español de dicha emisora diariamente de las 2330 a la 0030 UT en 15525 kHz en DRM con 10 kilovatios. Normalmente, se transmite el programa en inglés para los Estados Unidos durante este horario. Se realizarán pruebas con variaciones en la modulación durante estas transmisiones en español para ver cómo llega la señal en el centro de México. El mismo programa en español de Radio Nederland se puede escuchar simultáneamente en forma analógica en 9895 y 11720 kHz desde Holanda, y en 15315 kHz desde Bonaire (Jeff White, Gerente General, WRMI Radio Miami International, 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4, Miami, Florida 33172 USA, Tel +1-305-559-9764, Fax +1-305-559-8186, E-mail: radiomiami9@cs.com http:/www.wrmi.net (via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WORLDWIDE TV-FM DX ASSOCIATION For those of you who were able to be part of the WTFDA 2003 experience --- and those who missed it --- I've just finished putting up three pages' worth of pictures and stories from last weekend's convention. Check it out (and send me your pictures, too!), right here: http://www.fybush.com/wtfda2003.html (And thanks again to everyone who helped make the convention a success!) s (Scott Fybush, NRC-AM via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ HOBBY BECAME HUGE ENTERPRISE Eimac's tube-building company took off during WWII, grew with advent of TV. HAM radio enthusiasts Bill Eitel and Jack McCullough started out making vacuum tubes for themselves and other hobbyists . . . http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~1519492,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) PROPAGATION ++++++++++++ CUMBRE PROPAGATION REPORT Flare activity has been quite low over the past week, in the last couple of days there has been only a barely noticeable C class flare. The earth was under the effect of a coronal wind stream until July 14, which with a southward bias to the magnetic field led to storm conditions in the first part of July 13. We entered another wind stream on July 15 with major storm activity noted for a period on July 16. This effect is in the process of easing. Depressions of 15 to 30% are being observed in some of the Southern Australian/NZ sites so far today (UT Day) due to coronal hole high speed solar wind stream effects. Lower than normal MUFs may be observed in these regions for the rest of the day today and after local dawn tomorrow. Note that the Northern Australian region MUFs have remained near normal. MUF forecasts are for slight depressions possible at times for mid-high latitudes otherwise mostly near predicted monthly values. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, July 18, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-128, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1191: WWCR: Sat 1030, Sun 0230 on 5070, 0630 on 3210, Wed 0930 on 9475 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 WINB: Sun 0032 on 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415, 5100-CUSB? WORLD OF RADIO ON WRMI: IBC Radio, which expands its time on WRMI this weekend, plans to carry WORLD OF RADIO, tentatively Sat & Sun 1800 UT on 15725. WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1191.html ** ALASKA. The foundations for the second transmitter of 100 kW at KNLS, the Gospel shortwave station in Alaska, have been poured and all of the underground electrical work is completed. The transmitter has been completed and it is currently undergoing testing at the factory (Adrian Michael Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan July 20 via DXLD) See also MADAGASCAR! ** BELARUS` [and non]. Sergei Alekseichik from Hrodna, Belarus`, shared with me some of his MP3 radio recordings. You can access them on http://dxsignal.info/listen_eng.htm. I hope this small page will grow into a good audio archive -- so, if you have a wish to put samples of your recordings there, you are welcome! The page is in the draft version at the moment, I'm planning to change its look in the future. 73! (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. ASIAN RADIO LICENCE OKAY GRAHAM FRASER, NATIONAL AFFAIRS WRITER OTTAWA --- The federal cabinet yesterday upheld the CRTC decision to grant an FM radio licence in Toronto to Canadian Multicultural Radio. CMR will broadcast on frequency 101.3, primarily for the South Asian communities of Greater Toronto. After the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission granted the licence in April, two unsuccessful applicants asked cabinet to overturn the decision, saying CMR had connections to the World Tamil Movement, or the Tamil Tigers. "There were some loose, unsubstantiated allegations of fundraising activities for the Tamil Tigers," Gary Jessop of Blake Cassels & Graydon, CMR's lawyer, said in an interview. CMR promised the CRTC that it would provide the majority of its programs in Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Also, discussions have been held with the Filipino and Farsi communities and programs are being planned in Malayam, Telugu, Bengali and Sinhalese. (Toronto Star July 17 via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) OTTAWA (CP) --- The federal cabinet has upheld a radio licence granted by the CRTC to a Toronto company with alleged links to a South Asian terrorist organization. The new station, to be launched this fall in Toronto at 101.3 FM, has denied ties to extremists and insists it is the target of a smear campaign by opponents of its plan to broadcast to the city's ethnic communities. Allegations of terrorist ties were brought to the attention of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission last summer by Sri Lankan Canadians, who wrote letters opposing a radio licence application by Canadian Multicultural Radio. The letters claimed the numbered company behind the radio bid was tied to the World Tamil Movement. The letters also claimed movement volunteers had gone door-to-door in Tamil neighbourhoods in Toronto to intimidate Sri Lankans into supporting the radio licence bid. The CRTC approved the licence on April 17. The CRTC said only a few of thousands of responses to the proposed station raised concerns about terrorism and the station responded to all allegations in full. The Privy Council Office subsequently received 47 petitions seeking an appeal of the decision. They were referred to the Department of Canadian Heritage, which made a recommendation to cabinet. Several of the petitions alleged a link to the Tamil Tigers, also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Though the organization has not been banned, the federal government has frozen its assets since the fall of 2001 on suspicion of terrorist links. The radio station's chief operating officer has said some of those who complained were supporters of competing bids (via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) A follow-up to the item about a new Toronto FM station I posted the other day. The application has been approved. GOVERNMENT DISMISSES ALLEGED TERROR LINKS, UPHOLDS RADIO DECISION http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/article.asp?id=20507 (via Mike Brooker, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. DXing history article Hello fellow NRC members, I have been commissioned by the Canadian Communications Foundation to write a short article for their web site at http://broadcasting-history.ca/index2.html on DXing and its pursuits during the founding days of broadcast radio. It is a site created by and for the broadcasting community so the DX article is being written in more non-technical terms (at seas as it relates to DX, hi hi.). So I'll not be writing about the MWA, the SSS, SRS, SSB at signoff, the K-Index, Vactrols, and Kiwa mods. It'll mostly be a plain English account of the relationship between DXers and broadcasters and how they cooperated to improve the science of radio in the first half of the 20th century. To that end I am seeking any notes, quotes, logs or anecdotes that may have appeared in ancient or more recent bulletins that would help me explain and illustrate our fascination with MW DX. The web site is primarily focused on Canada, of course, so I am mainly looking for submissions by Canadian DXers and/or US/foreign loggings of Canadian stations. If any of you have material that you think may be useful I would certainly appreciate seeing it! Loggings and stories are best, as well as pictures (permission to publish would be required from the owner). I've already scanned in some of my QSL card collection, but it only goes back to the early-1970s. I'm placing full credit in footnotes for all sources that I am able to use. Anyway, if any of you have images, scans, old logs, bulletins etc. that may shed some light on the early years of DXing as it relates to Canada, I would much appreciate it! Thanks, (Brent Taylor, Doaktown, NB, July 15, NRC-AM via DXLD) Brent, The article sounds as if it will be very interesting! I'm looking forward to reading it! If you haven't looked at it already, I might suggest checking the history page of CFRB's website. It gives a lot of info on that station`s history, including how they came to become the first station in the British Empire to be allowed to go to 50,000 watts (as "payment" for them having to vacate 860 for 1010 back in the late 1940's (CBC took 860 over for CJBC, now Toronto's French station, but back then, the flagship of their "Trans Canada network-- CBL 740 already headed the Dominion network). Also, it should be noted that some Canadian stations were aligned with the American Networks (I think CFRB was tied in with CBS at one point). Anyway, good luck with the article, and let us know when it is posted! Feel free to look at my logbook at http://ontarioamdxer.tripod.com/ (Eric Conchie, Tweed, ON, ibid.) Thanks for the tips, Eric! I've looked at CFRB's history and the rest of the Canadian broadcast history articles at the Foundations's web site. It's interesting stuff indeed! In fact the Rogers company is a part of the group funding and promoting the foundation, so I don't think they'll mind the promo, hi hi. I'm quite well along and I have already had the first 50% or so submitted to the foundation and approved. So I'm quite happy about getting phase two completed and seeing what they think of it. Of course I'm particularly interested in what my fellow DXers think! I've also managed to find a very nice image of a CFRB EKKO stamp which I am quite anxious to use. I'm having fun at it. I'll let you know when it's up. Thanks again (and nice logbook on your site, I gave it a look). :-) (Brent Taylor http://www3/nbnet/nb/ca/btaylor ibid.) Brent, I can't add anything re Canadian stations, but perhaps you should mention a program that once was broadcast over Pittsburgh's KDKA and their SW station W8XK. This was "Messages to the Far North" and went on the air on Saturday nights, I think once a month. These messages were sent out mainly to Canada's northern outposts like the North woods, NWT, Hudson Bay area, etc. I presume they were being sent by friends and families who lived in the U.S.A. and southern Canada. It was a most interesting program and I often listened. And of course, DXers all over North America listened in and sent letters to KDKA along with reception reports (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, ibid.) Fascinating! I had never heard of that program, Ben. Thank you very much for the head's up on it! I'll do some digging and see if there is anything else I can find out. What you have told me is sufficient for mention by itself. Thanks again! (Brent, ibid.) Brent, I really appreciated the info on KDKA's Far North broadcasts following my bringing this up. I particularly appreciate the reference to KDKA's Bill Beal who announced many of these programs. I personally knew Bill Beal when I lived in Pittsburgh and have been to his house. His wife, Cynthis [sic], was a friend of my sister's. I am sorry to hear of his death. And I now know that these were weekly Saturday night broadcasts. If anything else on your subject comes to mind I'll send it (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, Pa., ibid.) Wow, Ben, it is a small world. There are four paragraphs below from the middle of my piece, and your quote appears in the third one: While DXers were proud of their accomplishments, Broadcasters too prided themselves in their ability to send their signals to far flung listeners. The broadcasters and the DX listeners enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, as they communicated and cooperated with one another. Pittsburgh's KDKA, the first commercial station in North America, specifically directed programming to distant listeners. Ben Dangerfield of Wallingford, PA, reminisces about those broadcasts, called "Messages to the Far North." "These messages were sent out mainly to Canada's northern outposts like the North woods, NWT, Hudson Bay area, etc. I presume they were being sent by friends and families who lived in the U.S.A. and southern Canada. It was a most interesting program and I often listened. And of course, DXers all over North America listened in and sent letters to KDKA along with reception reports." These reception reports Ben Dangerfield speaks of were usually answered by stations with special post cards, which ham radio operators were already calling "QSLs" - their abbreviated code for a confirmation of reception (Brent, ibid.) ** CHINA [non]. MOLDOVA --- On 15 July, China Radio International started to use 1467 kHz (Pridnestrovskiy radiotsentr in Maiac) for transmissions towards Russia and Ukraine. According to Vadim Alexeev, Russia in open_dx on 16 July, these transmissions are carried out with a new antenna arrangement for 80 degrees. The transmissions on 1548 kHz are beamed at 245 degrees towards Balkan. For more info, see Glenn Hauser's DX LISTENING DIGEST http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld3127.txt (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MW-DX via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. 7435.0, RTNC, Lubumbashi, 1755-1810 (fade out), Jul 13, Vernacular talk, Congolese instrumental music and pop song by choir. Best before 1800 when Voice of Russia signed on with German on 7440. Until then: 13232 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Glenn, Now this is interesting! The notion that the Soviets would have installed satellite jamming equipment in Cuba certainly makes sense. 73, (Harry Helms, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: CUBA JAMS BROADCASTS TO IRAN, U.S. SAYS --- Officials say TV signals from several L.A.-based stations and the Voice of America are blocked. By Monte Morin and Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writers http://www.latimes.com/la-me-irantv17jul17,0,16810.story American officials say Cuba is jamming international television broadcasts from several Los Angeles-based stations and the Voice of America, knocking out all programming critical of the Iranian government and supportive of pro-democracy demonstrations raging there. Although the Caribbean nation has long blocked television broadcasts from the U.S. into Cuba, authorities and satellite operators said Tuesday that they are convinced that the island nation is now interfering with Iran-bound broadcasts. "Cuba's jamming of satellite transmissions is illegal and interferes with the free and open flow of international communications," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal agency that oversees all U.S. non-military broadcasting. "This action is illegal, represents a major threat to satellite communication and must be stopped." Calls seeking comment from the Cuban Consulate in New York City were not returned Wednesday. Signals from Iranian TV programmers in Los Angeles and the Voice of America turned to static July 6, the day the Voice of America launched a daily, 30-minute, Persian-language television news program. Government sources and correspondence between broadcasters and the company that owns the affected satellite, Loral Skynet, said the source of the jamming is an old Soviet listening post "in the vicinity of Havana." The reported jamming followed several weeks of pro-democracy protests in Iran, public disturbances that Iranian officials blamed on television programs broadcast from Los Angeles. On Wednesday, owners of those stations said that they believed Cuba was probably promised money and oil for the act and that they have appealed to the federal government for help. "This is like an act of terrorism," said Zia Atabay, who operates the National Iranian Television network in Los Angeles. "It's like someone going into a newspaper and shutting down the presses and burning all of the paper." Atabay's station produces a 24-hour-a-day broadcast of news, politics, cooking programs, pop music videos, comedy and pre-revolutionary romance films. Several other area stations beam political programming into Iran as well and say they have encountered interference. Kayvan Abbassi, whose family opened Azadi Television six months ago, said operators have tried several times to avoid the jamming by changing their signal, but have still lost their connection. "The first time it took them five hours to jam it," Abbassi said. The next day, "It took them minutes." Loran, the company that owns and operates Telstar 12, the affected satellite, released a brief statement on the problem Wednesday: "Engineers at Loral Skynet have identified the source of the interference, which was coming from outside the United States. We have reported the situation to the FCC and State Department, who are now pursuing the matter. As of midday Monday, the interference has stopped." Despite Loral's statement, Atabay and others insisted that the jamming continued Wednesday. "It's still happening; two junk governments are doing whatever they want to this superpower," Atabay said. "It's sad." The broadcasting board urged satellite communication providers to stop giving service to countries that jam transmissions into Iran. "The BBG calls upon the international community to censure the states that have caused the interference," the nine-member board said in a unanimous resolution. Times staff writer Robin Wright in Washington contributed to this report (via Harry Helms, DXLD) see also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Radio Prague 11600: In response to a QSL request to http://www.radio.cz/en/report Radio Prague send seven blank QSL cards from their 1997 set in 4 days. You can see the cards at http://archiv.radio.cz/qsl/1997.html The only one from that year that the did not sent is the Olomouc card. I asked for a QSL from there 1997 set and this is what I got (Bill Harms, MD-USA, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. EQUATORIAL GUINEAN MINISTER, CHINESE ENGINEERS DISCUSS RADIO STATION MAINTENANCE | Text of report by Equatorial Guinea radio on 15 July Three main themes featured in the discussion between Minister of Information, Tourism, and Culture Agustin Nze Nfumu and the group of Chinese engineers in charge of maintaining the infrastructure of Radio Bata during an audience that the information chief granted the engineers from that Asian country on 14 July. There was the need to coordinate and draw up the number of Equatorial Guinea technicians who will take part in an intensive maintenance course in respect of the new equipment from 29 September to 11 November 2003 in China, given that the Malabo and Beijing governments have signed a new cooperation agreement on the maintenance of the new radio transmission equipment recently acquired by the government. Another issue discussed during the audience was that ensuring regular electricity supply for the normal functioning of this equipment. The meeting saw the presence of the manager of Radio Bata, Sebastien Elo Seko, and the regional delegate for information and tourism. In the course of the discussion, the Chinese engineers, after congratulating the government on the climate of peace reigning in the country, further expressed their satisfaction at government's project to set up rural radios in all provincial headquarters of the country. Minister Agustin Nze Nfumu thanked the engineers for successfully installing the new radio equipment at the short wave transmission centre, after disclosing that the government had bought an electric generator to keep the radio regularly supplied with energy. This did not prevent the ministry from engaging in the procedure for the signing of an agreement for the imminent arrival of engineers for the maintenance of the equipment of Radio Bata equipment on the mainland. Source: Radio Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, Malabo, in Spanish 0600 gmt 15 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ERITREA. INFORMATION MINISTER DENIES ARREST OF VOA REPORTER | Text of report in English by Eritrean Ministry of Information's Shabait web site on 16 July There have been reports indicating that a local Eritrean reporter for the VOA, Aklilu Solomon, has been arrested in Asmara. Upon Shabait.com's inquiry on the incident, acting minister of information, Mr Ali Abdu, said "Youths in the tens of thousands have gone to Sawa [Military] Training Camp in the past years in compliance with the government of Eritrea's proclamation on the National Service Programme. Many dodgers who tried to avoid fulfilling their national obligations were also reminded and made to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. Therefore, we do not see any reason for giving briefings on why nationals are made to fulfil their duties. We cannot entertain addressing the issues of individuals when the core of the matter remains to be nothing but the realization of what they need to carry out as nationals. It is only natural to say that an Eritrean has to observe the laws of Eritrea." Source: Shabait web site, Asmara, in English 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) So he was conscripted by force? ** GERMANY. From August 15 to August 17, 2003 the conference of the European DX Council (EDXC) will take place in Königstein (near Frankfurt), Germany. The event is organized by the Rhein Main Radio Club (RMRC). On this occasion a special broadcast of the ADDX-Media magazine will be transmitted on Sunday, August 17, 2003, hosted by Hans Werner Lange and Markus Weidner. Schedule: 1900-1929 UTC analogue on 3965 kHz 1930-1959 UT, digital (DRM) also on 3965 kHz. The magazine will be transmitted via Jülich, analogue with 100 kW, digital with 40 kW. The antenna will be non directional. From about 2000 UT that day the program will be available as an audio file also: http://www.addx.de Reception reports will be confirmed with a special QSL card. Please enclose return postage (German 55 Cent stamp or 1 IRC from abroad). Please direct your letters to the following address: ADDX, Medienprogramm, Postfach 130124, D-40551 Düsseldorf, Germany. Michael Schmitz, ADDX Regards, (Willi Passmann (Editor), July 16, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GUAM. The third replacement transmitter at KSDA AWR on the island of Guam entered regular service at 1000 UT on Thursday May 15. This unit was previously installed at Langefontein in South Africa though that station was never commissioned for regular broadcasting. This third unit on Guam is now on the air as KSDA2 and it replaces the older Thomson unit that was procured by High Adventure Ministries for installation at their station on the island of Palau. The two remaining transmitters from South Africa are scheduled to commence regular service on Guam in September this year and January next year (Adrian Michael Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan July 20 via DXLD) ** GREENLAND [non]. DXing from Greenland --- You might want to check out this story on the CBC's web page. It's a feature they did a couple of years ago on one of their radio shows. http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/thismorning/lfnsound/sound_collectors/sound_collectors_121799.html You can hear the whole show by clicking on the little speaker icon beneath the writeup. It's an interview with a man who DXed and taped AM stations in Greenland in the early 1950's. It includes recordings of KING Seattle and KFAB Omaha. The gentleman now lives in Victoria BC (Bruce Portzer, WA, IRCA via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. During a holiday in Roatán, Honduras, on Jul 08-10 I found these SW stations active: 3325, R Maya, Barillas, difficult to understand, strong noise. 3360, La Voz de Nahualá, Nahualá, difficult to understand, strong noise. 3370, R Tezulutlán, Cobán, difficult to understand, strong noise (Massimo Cerveglieri, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD) Not reported since Dec 1999! (DSWCI Ed., ibid.) ** HONDURAS. During a holiday in Roatán, Honduras, on Jul 08-10 I found these SW stations active: 3249.4, R. Luz y Vida, San Luís, with very bad modulation AM, difficult to understand. 4819, La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa. 4832, R. Litoral, La Ceiba. 4960, R. Buenas Nuevas with very bad modulation AM, difficult to understand (Massimo Cerveglieri, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD) I wonder if this is R. HRET, Puerto Lempira which used to be heard on 4960.1? R. Buenas Nuevas is also the name of the Guatemalan station heard as late as Jun 2003 on 4799.8 (DSWCI Ed., ibid.) ** HONDURAS. unID 2859.9, weak or absent 0850-1030, strong 0100, "Radio Cutltural..." IDs (Bob Wilkner, R75 NRD 535 R7 ~ Pompano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. More WorldSpace channels disappear --- The two Arabic music channels Haneen and Killa Musika seem to have disappeared from Afristar West beam. Killa Musica was there yesterday, but gone today. I'm not sure when Haneen was last on. Radio Congo has also vanished. I have written to the London office to ask what has happened to them, but not received a reply yet. There seems to be less and less to listen to on WordSpace these days (Dave Kenny UK, worldspace-radio yahoogroup via Daniel Say, DXLD) As I've said before, I'm very new to Worldspace, but one of the things which disappoints me is the lack of stations/imput from northern Europe. The only BBC station is the World Service for west Africa. Europe is not catered for at all. It seems the assumption is made that no one either in northern Europe or from northern Europe is interested in what's going on when they are away from home. WRN 2 carries some European station, but not the BBC and, as far as I can make out from their schedule published on the WS web site, no other news station from Britain. RTE, from Ireland, is on it 3 times a day. Radio bloody New Zealand is on it, but no Radio 4 (David Mixwell, July 15, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. Glenn: The company that determined that VOA and other Persian-language satellite broadcasts were being jammed via Cuba is Transmitter Location Systems of Chantilly VA http://www.tls2000.com 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Satellite jamming: see CUBA, and INTERNATIONAL VACUUM just above ** LITHUANIA. Conflict over 1386 kHz: see RUSSIA ** MADAGASCAR. The organization known as "World Christian Broadcasting Foundation" owns and operates the Alaskan shortwave station, KNLS, at Anchor Point. This same organizaton, WCBF, has been granted approval by the president of Madagascar to build a shortwave station on his island for coverage into the Middle East. However, work on the projected new station in Madagascar will not begin until the second transmitter is on the air in Alaska (Adrian Michael Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan July 20 via DXLD) Looking for more info on this, I first went to http://www.knls.org where I could find no mention of the Madagascar project, nor even a link to the parent organization WCBF! Then I searched on World Christian Broadcasting and Google found http://www.worldchristian.org which immediately changes to http://wcb.faithsite.com/ --- but again, not a word about Madagascar, even when doing a site search (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010, R TV Malagasy, Antananarivo, 1801-1902*, Jul 07 and 08, French program with talks, songs and a distinctive selection of local tunes so different from the rest of Africa; the broadcast ended with the national anthem and what it seemed to be the station anthem too. On Jul 07 reception was a poor 25331, but on Jul 08 it was noted with a fantastic 45332. Only noise and fading did disturb such a superb signal, and it was the first time I've ever received Madagascar so well. East Africa reception is always tough for us here, particularly towards SE Africa, like Moçambique (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD)) ** MOLDOVA. Relays on MW: see CHINA ** PERU. 5486.66, Reina de la Selva 1040-1055 17 July [Wilkner-FL] 5471.87, tentative Radio San Nicolás 1105, noted, needs work, would like full ID, 17 July (Bob Wilkner, R75 NRD 535 R7 ~ Pompano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. The new program from Moscow started at 1900 on both 1215 and 1386 with "Voice of Russia presents the programme Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio" announcement, and it is quite obvious that this is an attempt to attract young listeners. It would be interesting to learn where these programmes are actually produced since this hardly sounds like the output of the existing ul. Pyatnitskaya studios with Oktava MS219 mikes used at some distance, Mechlabor open reel tape recorders etc. So I guess the origin of these broadcasts should be either a refitted VoR studio or probably, with the reported participation of Radio Rossii in mind, Ostankino instead. By the way, recently there were some discussions about an unID station on 1386 broadcasting noting but music. So let me draw your attention on this from Bernd Trutenau: "Reports of the RBWI channel marker on 1386 kHz (25 kW, Giruliai, 2000-2100 UT) are also welcome." -- A transmitter from the former 1107 network I guess (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. /LITHUANIA. Monitoring shows that the Bolshakovo transmitter on 1386 kHz continues to sign off at 2000, contrary to the new schedule (s/off 2100) that was distributed in the DX press on the last days. The usage of 1386 kHz is being discussed between Lithuania and Russia on high governmental level. The Lithuanian position is that the Geneva Plan 1975 assignment for a 1000 kW transmitter in Kaunas gives Lithuania the right for an exclusive use of this frequency, while the Russian side has been proposing a time sharing model. The talks will continue until a solution is found. Radio Baltic Waves International is license holder for the use of 1386 kHz on Lithuanian territory since March 2002 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, July 17, MW-DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 7436.5, R Veda, Oryol, 0225-0302*, Jul 13, Russian religious, closing with ID by woman: `Radio Veda`, ex R Krishnaloka, 44444 (Torre Ekblom, Finland, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. The VOA São Tomé relay has been operating normally since the coup. 73 (Kim Elliott, VOA, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOA 4950 kHz was on air as usual. 73, (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, July 16, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Dear Glenn, I visited the IBB transmitter site at the Pinheira Plantation on the east coast of the island of São Tomé four months ago, so this morning I asked the Transmitting Station Manager, Mr. Charles Lewis, about the status. He replied at 1055 hours: "Anker, So far, our operations have not been affected. We do not have any sense of danger to us at this time. Regards, Charles" When I visited him, he told me that out of the total manning at this IBB station of 85, about 80 are Santomean employees. The relations to the local population have always been good. I travelled a lot by car and aircraft during the two weeks I was on these two islands and I only saw one or two military trucks with soldiers onboard, so the Army was not dominant on the roads at that time. The Parliament was closed for holidays. It is located at the coast in the southern part of the capital São Tomé which has a population of just 30,000 inhabitants. Remember that São Tomé and Príncipe is the smallest, independent state in Africa with a total of about 140,000 inhabitants. The Presidential Palace, the Government buildings and the Central Bank are located near the harbour in downtown São Tomé, 1 kilometre from the Parliament. In between, still at the coast, I passed the radio and TV Building of Rádio Nacional on Avenida Marginal 12 de Julho. It is just a large, two store bungalow in a nice garden. From there the radio and TV-programs are produced and transmitted via microlink to various FM and TV transmitters on the hilltops, and for MW 945 kHz down south to the IBB site four kilometres away. The U.S. operate and maintain this transmitter for the Santomean Government together with the VOA transmitters, but has nothing to do with the programs. The international airport is located 3 km north of downtown São Tomé. There is only one direct flight per week from and to Europe and that is by TAP Air Portugal which arrives with an Airbus Monday mornings at sunrise from Lisbon and returns a few hours later. Other flights go to nearby countries with smaller planes. I checked the VOA São Tomé transmissions on SW around 0600 and 1700 today here in Denmark and heard them as follows: 6045 French 0530-0600 SINPO 23322 6095 French 0530-0600 SINPO 22322 // 6045 7290 English 0530-0600 SINPO 15111 (beam 138 degrees) 7290 English 0600-0630 SINPO 35343 (beam 020 degrees) 9830 English 1630-1700 SINPO 32433 // 9850 9830 Port. 1700-1730 SINPO 32433 9850 English 1630-1700 SINPO 12111 // 9830 15730 Swahili 1630-1730 SINPO 25444 This confirms that the VOA transmissions from ST are not affected. On 7290 I heard at 0600 the program "Daybreak Africa" where the VOA from Washington reported that in São Tomé, the coup makers had taken control of the Government buildings, the Radio and TV station, the Central Bank and the International Airport. So far there had been no casualties (Anker Petersen, Denmark, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. THE FEBA RADIO QSL ODYSSEY AND THE FUTURE OF QSL'S FROM THIS LONG TIME STALWART BROADCASTER. NOW THAT THEY DO NOT OWN TRANSMITTERS Last week, I received a vague no data "good to know you were able to listen" e-mail reply from Angela Brooke, Supporter Relations in the United Kingdom in one day for a report for 9465 FEBA Radio via Moosbrunn, Austria. Angela went on to say FEBA no longer owns its own transmitters and that they could no longer verify listener reception reports. In my reply I indicated that since they bought the transmission time and knew what they were broadcasting, answering reception reports was quite possible for them to undertake. The following day I received a very nice reply from Mike Procter, Head of Specialized English, in Cyprus. He provided a nice confirmation statement mentioning that the broadcast was relayed over ORF in Austria. He went on to ask about how they should look at QSL'ing (e-mail replies, Feba postcard replies, standard QSL cards or just forward reports to transmission agency). I responded that postal QSL cards was the way to go because not all SW listeners had Internet access and transmission agencies may not be responsive which could make listeners look unfavorably at FEBA. I'm hopeful that Mike in Cyprus will become the location for QSL cards for FEBA Radio transmissions. Further communication with both the Cyprus and United Kingdom offices over the next few days yields more on this topic. Mike Procter indicates that to my questions as to whether reports should go to the UK office or to Cyprus that the frequency management and transmitter allocation is done in UK. "Here in Cyprus we would only be able to verify "Spotlight" placngs and not other programs. (The Arabic dept. is also here but I don't think they know how to deal with reception reports)." He wasn't sure "how the folks in UK would respond to reports from outside the intended reception area. Now that we are not a transmitting entity there seems to be ambivalence there." Mike certainly is correct in that assessment. He did promise to pass along my suggestion about providing contact information to Passport to World Band Radio and the WRTH. Also, he indicated that my suggestion of a full data e-mail attachment similar to what HCJB-OZ has used would be considered. From the reluctant UK office came additional information from Angela Brooke. She noted that FEBA Radio is "using several different service providers. In order to simplify broadcasting, the individual programmes (mostly lasting 15 or 30 minutes) are combined into programme blocks of 1 hour or more. Some blocks include programmes in two or more languages. The information listed on our programme schedule gives details of programmes which are expected to be broadcast. What is actually aired can sometimes differ for technical reasons. Our service providers do eventually provide confirmation about the blocks which were actually broadcast, but this does not help with confirming a reception report for a particular programme and this type of confirmation would be more difficult and time-consuming to achieve." Thus since "Feba's purpose is to communicate the Gospel by radio and we concentrate on trying to provide our listeners with a good quality signal" it appears that the UK office continues to be somewhat reluctant to get into the reception report business. Angela notes "the work is funded by donations from churches and individual believers and we have to try to use their gifts wisely. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made and I am afraid that this is one of them." However, a final piece of correspondence from Angela Brooke shows a softening of the anti-QSL position as she indicated that she understands the disappointment to SW listeners about not issuing QSLs and that she would share our correspondence "with the Director concerned --- on his return." The director she mentioned was apparently on the road during our e-mail exchange. The final word on all this came in my last e-mail from Mike Proctor in Cyprus who offers additional insights into the matter: "When you stop operating your own transmitters you also lose the infrastructure you have in place to manage them. It was from 'somewhere in this infrastructure' that a staff member acted as QSL secretary in Seychelles." Mike goes on to note, "For the moment we have just one tiny department (in UK) that manages what transmissions are placed where, and one look at our schedules will be enough to show that this is one busy department. My guess is that they just don't have the capacity to handle QSL's right now. I wish it were otherwise, and maybe in the future they'll figure out a way." In his final comments, Mike says, "I am copying our exchange to UK. I think and hope it may be helpful for us (Feba in general) to figure out what - if anything - we can do with reception reports in the post Seychelles era." I'm not sure what this all means but in summary it appears the United Kingdom office is reluctant about becoming the QSL Bureau for FEBA R while the Cyprus office is eager to help out but feels limited in its ability to actually confirm the transmissions. Mike Proctor has been very positive and helpful; perhaps he can help convince the UK office to be the issuers of official FEBA verifications from the various transmitter sites that will be used for broadcasts. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks and months "in the post Seychelles era". (Rich D`Angelo, PA, DXplorer July 8 via BC-DX via DXLD) Surely FEBA realise that QSL-collecting DXers can`t possibly have any genuine interest in their gospel-huxter programming in incomprehensible languages. See also QSL info below (gh, DXLD) ** SOMALIA. MYSTERY "AMERICAN-BASED" FM RADIO SAID HEARD IN MOGADISHU | Text of report by Canada-based Somali Balcad web site on 16 July An FM radio station called DOY [as published] is being heard in Mogadishu. The American-based radio station broadcasts programmes in English and Spanish [as published] on terrorism, US military operations, nuclear weapons and sports. The radio station had been heard previously in Mogadishu before it disappeared for several months. Nobody knows why it has hit the airwaves again, but many people see it as an intimidation tactic in which America hopes to demoralize the Somali people. Source: Balcad web site in Somali 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** TAIWAN. Invito a todos los amigos a escribir sus palabras para la celebración de 75to aniversario de RTI, pues aquí la emisora celebrará una fiesta a finales de julio en donde nosotros expondremos todas las tarjetas (sean las enviadas por correo ordinario, o las enviadas por internet) de todos los oyentes del mundo en la sala de exhibición. Muchas gracias por tomar tu tiempo en la colaboración. http://www.cbs.org.tw/spanish Un abrazo (Bonnie Cheng, SECCION ESPANOLA DE RADIO TAIWAN INTERNACIONAL, via Nicolás Eramo, July 17, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** U K. The 109th season of the BBC Proms opens with a tribute to the Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev who died 50 years ago. The combined forces of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and two choruses under Leonard Slatkin perform his dramatic score to Sergei Eisenstein`s film `Ivan the Terrible`. From July 19 [thru mid-September] BBCWS Americas: Sun 0501, 1901 Europe: Sun 2101 W Africa: Sun 1301 You can also watch this performance live, as well as each performance during the first two weeks of the proms at http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/watch/index.shtml We do hope that Charles Hazelwood will reprise his rôle as presenter for this year`s webcasts. His insights, as well as his wardrobe, were striking! (Ivan Grishin, July ODXA Listening In via DXLD) Otherwise one may listen to all the concerts on BBC Radio 3, far more than BBCWS gives you. Main time for live broadcast is 1830 UT, but there are variations especially when there is a double bill, the first one starting somewhat earlier. The First Night of the Proms, described by Ivan above, is upon us, Friday July 18 at 1830-2045 on BBC Radio 3. Selected concerts, about one a week, some overlapping, are available on demand via: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/listen/ Some of the concerts are expected to be repeated during the week following, in the local afternoon (morning here), but based on previous years, these lack the live ambience, as a studio announcer introduces the recorded music instead of the original live announcements. It is also traditional to repeat some of the previous summer`s Proms during Xmas season (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. MILLER IN COURT BATTLE OVER LICENCE FEE Ciar Byrne, Wednesday July 16, 2003, The Guardian Sunday Times columnist Jonathan Miller today appears at Guildford crown court in the latest round of his battle against the BBC licence fee, which he claims is in breach of his human rights. Miller will face Ben Emerson QC, who has been hired by the corporation to prosecute him over his failure to pay the £116 licence fee. He will argue that the fee is incompatible with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was incorporated into English law by the Human Rights Act, which entitles individuals to a private and family life. "My theory is that the lawfulness of the licence fee has expired without anyone noticing," Miller wrote in today's Daily Telegraph. He argued that this was partly because of the Human Rights Act, and partly because "the reason the BBC licence was ever legitimate in the first place has expired in the white heat of technology". "I can choose from hundreds of channels, with more providers than ever. There is no possible justification for a constantly expanding BBC, paid for by a blanket impost on television sets and even broadband computers," Miller said. "It is like being told to give more and more money to the Guardian to be allowed to read the Sun." Giving evidence to the culture and media select committee yesterday, the BBC's board of governors said the current rate of TV licence evasion in the UK was 7.2%. When the costs of evasion and collecting are combined, the BBC earns 12.7% less from licence fees than it would if 100% of television owners paid up. The corporation aims to reduce this figure to 9% of the total by the end of its current charter period, the governors revealed. Miller's case is one of at least four currently being fought against the licence fee. Jean-Jacques Marmont, a 60-year-old man from Oxfordshire who was prosecuted for licence fee evasion in 1992, has launched proceedings against the BBC representing a group of licence- fee payers In a separate case the so-called "Liverpool six" - five single parents and an asylum seeker - are claiming the licence fee is an unfair tax that targets poorer people. Miller also threw down this challenge to the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies: "I will buy a licence fee under the following conditions. You must stop prosecuting poor people. And you must open the BBC to a full and open debate in which the rest of the country can share in the discussion of your future." (© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** U K. Thunderstorms affect Orfordness mediumwave services We just got word from Merlin Communications that last night's thunderstorms that swept across this part of Europe damaged the mediumwave transmitters at Orfordness which broadcast BBC World Service programmes. Priority was given to getting 648 kHz back on the air. It seems to be operating normally as of 1600 UTC, but as it's always so strong here it's hard to tell whether the station is operating on full power and/or with a different antenna. There have been no DRM transmissions on 1296 kHz today (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog July 17 via DXLD) ** U K. BBC REPORT GIVES A FUZZY PICTURE Matt Wells and Jason Deans, Thursday July 17, 2003, The Guardian The controversy over the BBC's annual report deepened yesterday as the corporation faced further accusations of obfuscation. Analysts at rival channels claimed the BBC under-reported expenditure on digital services and played down executive bonuses. Rivals were also incensed by its decision to schedule the Fame Academy talent show against ITV1's Pop Idol on Saturday nights, two days after the BBC's annual report said the corporation strived to be "distinctive". The BBC insisted its accounting procedures had been designed to be more transparent, and not to bolster the case for the renewal of its charter in 2006. However, the BBC's decision to change its accounting methods for the second year running has made it difficult to analyse its spending. This year, apparently following a request from the select committee for culture, media and sport, the BBC stripped out costs such as marketing, PR and newsgathering from the channel budgets. These are reported separately - but critics say they should also be totalled up, to make comparisons easier. BBC1's budget, for example, would have topped -L-1bn for the first time, had the accounting procedure not been changed. The cost of expansion into digital broadcasting would be well over -L-400m - far more than the -L-279.9m claimed in the annual report. Details of the full remuneration awarded to Rupert Gavin, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, are only revealed in a footnote. This shows he was paid -L-45,000 by an incentive scheme, on top of his separately reported performance bonus of -L-62,000, taking his total pay to -L-407,000. Jana Bennett, the director of television, received a -L-167,000 relocation package when she moved from the Discovery channel in the United States. BBC chairman Gavyn Davies, said this was common in businesses such as Goldman Sachs, where he was formerly chief economist. Critics pointed out, however, that the investment bank, unlike the BBC, is not publicly funded. The tone of the report infuriated MPs on the select committee. Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda, compared it to an Enron report, but later apologised for the reference to the failed energy firm. Committee chairman Gerald Kaufman said it was full of "euphemistic phraseology" and said the BBC should be brought fully under the remit of the independent regulator, Ofcom. Mr Bryant wrote to Mr Davies apologising for the Enron remark, but added: "I merely wanted to make the point that by making no criticism of the performance of the BBC and by resorting to virtually adulatory language, this year's governors' assessment, as contained in the annual report, undermines their claim to independence." A BBC spokeswoman denied any deliberate move to play down the corporation's spending, but accepted that between -L-15 and -L-20 of every -L-112 licence fee went on digital projects. "It's absolutely wrong to say we've slimmed down our spending figures for charter renewal or anything else." She defended the BBC's digital expenditure: "We don't apologise for incurring these costs. We've been charged by the government with driving digital take up, which is why we got a generous licence fee settlement. We are spending that extra money on digital services, as intended by the government." ITV reacted angrily to the BBC's announcement yesterday that it would put Fame Academy on Saturday nights - leading to a clash with Pop Idol. An ITV spokeswoman said: "Scheduling Fame Academy head to head with Pop Idol is clearly not in viewers' interests. We're disappointed the BBC has deliberately gone down this route." The BBC said it was "locked in" to an early evening slot because of the national lottery draw. Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (Via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. We've been assigned 5.100 MHz for our 4th frequency. It will be 50 kW / compatible sideband. Al has been running tests, and some simulcasting of 7.415 MHz and 9.330 MHz over the past week. I still don't know what will be programmed on it in the long run, but for now, listeners will hear either Christian Media Network, or the simulcast audio from 7.415 MHz during the evenings. We should have all testing and adjustment completed within about 2 weeks. It's currently running at low power [about 3 KW]. Reception reports can be sent via e-mail to: wbcq@gwi.net I'm trying to get Tasha interested in producing a "WBCQ Highlights" weekly e-mail newsletter. Also, fans of old time radio theater will find episodes of Suspense, The Shadow, Fibber McGee and Molly, X minus 1, Lum and Abner, The Life of Riley, and many others as the summer replacement for "Tasha Takes Control", heard on Friday nights at 9-10 pm Eastern [UT Sat 0100-0200] / 7.415 MHz (Michael Ketter / WBCQ, July 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1191, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Thanks for the wonderfully useful DX Programs list maintained on the WoR website. I realize that keeping this updated is a lot of work. Here are a few notes about some entries that I've noted over recent months when trying to listen, usually to Cumbre on the weekends. UT SATURDAY 0430-0500 WHRA DXING WITH CUMBRE AF/ME 7580 Not on in May, GCN there instead -- I don't think it's there now either. 0500-0530 WHRI DXING WITH CUMBRE 5745 7315 KWHR 17780 The program on 17780 was something else in both May and July. On July 12 the 5745 and 7315 airings were NOT in parallel. Both had dead air at the start time, then 7315 began the program. 5745 had a station ID and contact info, and then DXw/C began from the beginning. 1930-2000 WHRI DXING WITH CUMBRE N&SAm/Carib 9495 Not on July 5th. Had been good in June. 2230-2300 WHRI DXING WITH CUMBRE N&SAm/Carib 9495 Not detectable in May & June or early July. 2300-2330 WBCQ THE REAL AMATEUR RADIO SHOW NAm 7415 Something else is on here instead 7/12/03 UT MONDAY 0230-0300 WHRI DXING WITH CUMBRE 5745 No signal here 6/22/03 0300-0330 KWHR DXING WITH CUMBRE SPac 17510 Gospel music show "Turn Your Radio On" is consistently here instead I've been printing out the list and then making notes on it as I tune and listen, so this is compiled from several past editions' annotations. But I did check these against the latest on-line version and these lines are in there. So maybe you want to make some notes about these entries if the program producers still claim they are valid broadcast times. Regards & 73, (Will Martin, MO, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I recently entered a number of Cumbre changes which Wolfgang Bueschel sent, presumably derived from the WHR website. (You can search for the program title and get a display of all the airtimes.) Imaginary and inaccurate listings by WHR have been the norm forever, and I have been sorely tempted to delete all DWC listings as a result. I really don`t have the interest to research that myself, knowing that the info will likely be wrong in many cases, anyway. Also, one of the WHRI transmitters is often off the air for weeks at a time, something you would never know from consulting the website (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: A new GAO report about U.S. international broadcasting is now available at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-772 http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d03772high.pdf 73 (Kim Elliott, IBB, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC UPDATES, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS In a recent FCC rule-making, the change from four broadcast seasons a year to two broadcast seasons a year for FCC-licensed International Service was made official. The Commission`s Order will be put in the Federal Register any day now. It will become effective 30 days after being put in the Federal Register. The frequency/hour fee per season will not change, because that is set by Congress. Effectively, the annual fees for HF broadcasters are cut in half because of the official reduction of seasons from four to two. This change will be in effect for the B-03 Season. The next HFCC meeting will be held in Norway the last week of August. The deadline for submitting B-03 requirements to the HFCC is July 18. The following HFCC meeting will take place in the United Arab Emirates the second week of February 2004. Russia is slated to host the conference following that. The FCC has almost completed updating their HF database to include the items that the HFCC requires. The FCC would appreciate if all those broadcasters who can would submit their requirements in the HFCC format. (Prior to his presentation, Tom distributed forms showing the HFCC format.) The Notice of Inquiry regarding power line use for distribution of broadband carrier transmission will be going out soon. See the FCC website. There is concern that this mode may interfere with reception of shortwave (Tom Lucey FCC summary reports of presentations at the NASB 2003 Annual Meeting in Aug NASB Newsletter, July 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. IBB Report and Update (Spectrum Management Division) John Wood/Del Carson/Dan Ferguson/Bill Whitacre John Wood gave an overview and report on the Spectrum Analysis Program. They`ve been heavily involved in preparations for WRC-03, both for USA interests and for Inter-American interests (CITEL). Recommendations were developed regarding additional allocations for broadcasting in the 4-10 MHz range. Much monitoring and scheduling data was analyzed to arrive at a conclusion that around 250 kHz additional would adequately address co-channel collisions, and that around 850 kHz of additional frequency allocations would cover both co-channel and adjacent band collisions. Del Carson of IBB Leasing reported that this year they have their highest leasing budget ever (approximately $13 million), largely due to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. After the Iraq war, this will probably decline for budgetary reasons. At present, IBB is leasing about 150 hours per day on non-IBB facilities (about 90 hours for RFA; about 60 hours for VoA and RFE/RL). Of the leased time, about 86% of it is shortwave. The main trends Del sees in shortwave are privatization of facilities (many old state-run transmitters now in private hands), a lot more sharing of time on facilities (such as Merlin with VOA, for example), and consolidation (fewer stations overall). The IBB uses satellite distribution mostly for program delivery to local outlets rather than for direct broadcasting. There are not very many consumer satellite receivers at present. Dan Ferguson of IBB Frequency Management told of adding three major services in the past year: a 21-hour-per-day Persian service for Iran called Radio Farda, a Pashtu and Dari Afghan service that`s on shortwave 20 hours per day, and in March the Arabic Radio Sawa service was increased to 24 hours per day on shortwave. Bill Whitacre of IBB Frequency Monitoring related that 60 Remote Monitoring System sites are active. Additionally, they employ a major network of human monitors. They`ve been doing some monitoring work for the HFCC verifying whether or not coordinated transmissions are in fact taking place. This effort has turned up many ``wooden transmitters``---cases where more frequency hours are coordinated than are actually used. The HFCC makes contact with major offenders. Resolving this problem is a process, not a one-shot effort (summary report of presentations at the NASB 2003 Annual Meeting in Aug NASB Newsletter, July 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. WCPE *89.7 Raleigh NC, The Classical Station, is celebrating its silver anniversary on Friday July 18. Thruout the day will air stories and interviews giving a retrospective of its 25 years of broadcasting. Also CD and ticket giveaways; also via C-band satellite relayed by some other stations [such as KCSC 90.1 OK overnight], and internet http://www.wcpe.org (FMedia July via DXLD) ** U S A. The city council decided not to sell the venerable classical music station WRR 101.1 Dallas TX (July FMedia! via DXLD) Fornever? ** U S A. WBIX 1060 Natick MA is a Boston-area business talk station with 40 kW daytime, but with a CP for 50 kW days, 2500 W nights; 24 hour operation is expected by September. It`s local, live most of the time, according to GM Jerry Charm, whi had been GM of classic rocker WZLX 100.7. An exception is a 3 pm program from CBNBC. ``AFAIK, no other station in the country is doing what we`re doing, local and live, unlike the traditional ones that just throw an unending sream of numbers and statistics at you or all syndicated,`` Charm said. Recent guests include MA Governor Mitt Romney to ``a guy from VT producing yogurt from water buffalo milk who`s ready to do a national rollout.`` Once the power increase and expanded hours come about, ``we`ll have a fully competitive signal with all the other AM stations in the city,`` said Charm (July FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. WAMC *1400 Albany NY becomes noncommercial. It was WHTR and before that WABY (July FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. NY gets all-Russian station: ``People`s Wave Radio``, a.k.a. ``Narodnaya Volna`` said it has launched 24\7 Russian-language programming on WKDM 1380 in New York, offering news\talk and entertainment to Russian-speaking listeners in the tri-state area (July FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. An article in the business section of the Minneapolis [Star]-Tribune, contributed by reader John Ebeling, called attention to the independent-minded KSTP stations, which include TV-5 and 45, and KSTP-FM 94.5 and WFMP 107.1 Coon Rapids MN, which had moved from New Richmond WI as WIXK-FM. It mentions how the stations, now owned by Stanley S. Hubbard and family, might be prime targets for takeovers by large, out-of-town media empires, now that the FCC has liberalized ownership rules in TV. The Hubbards are now in the second and third generations of ownership, after founder Stanley E. Hubbard died in 1992. The children and grandchildren, unlike in so many other families, show great business acumen. Indeed, they may be interested in acquiring properties, such as has marked Hubbard expansions in Albuquerque NM and into Rochester and Albany NY. Revenues, however, are down, and Hubbard sold its United States Satellite Broadcasting to DirecTV in 1998 for $1.3 billion. It also let its news-gathering Conus satellite company go belly-up, laying off 130. Stanley S. Hubbard insists the company is not for sale. ``I think it`s been 30 years since we received a real offer. Everybody knows we`re not for sale.`` (July FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. The 5-year grace period, by which an AM station could operate both in the regular band and the expanded band of 1610 to 1700 kHz is nearing an end. Stations will have to decide which permit they will keep. Most expanded-band AM stations, according to an M Street study, have migrated from near the top of the AM band, like 1550 kHz. Thus KADZ 1550 Arvada CO is turning in its license in favor of KDDZ 1690. The stations migrating are not the ones that caused interference to other AM stations. Interference continues at the same levels in the lower and middle parts of the dial. Too, the presence of large numbers of radios that tune in the expanded band has taken a long time to come about, which might be instructive for digital audio broadcasters (July FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. The steering committee studying IBOC wrote: ``DAB subcommittee members who attended the NPR demonstration do not consider the audio quality demonstrated by the Ibiquity 36 kbps PAC technology to be suitable for broadcast.`` This is seen as unwelcome news for a new system whose rollout was seen as imminent. This puts the onus on Ibiquity Digital Corp. to solve he problem, and soon. Members of the committee also expressed concern about FM, and they have concerns about effects on FM/SCS and data services. Radio World chides Ibiquity to get a handle on what ``better`` audio via IBOC means and get it done, as quickly as possible. It is better to fix this now than wait to dump a problem in the laps of receiver makers and consumers. ``We urge Ibiquity to be as forthright and as open as possible with the industry as it seeks solutions to this problem.`` Clear Channel Communications had planned to transition one AM and seven FMs to ``HD Radio`` this year, which seems to be a modest pace. Uncertain is how the glitch in the digital system would affect the timing of new digital receivers and ICs for the system. Too, there`s concern consumers will find out about the delay and be shaken, especially if some units get into the hands of customers and have to be returned. Also affected would be those who are developing ancillary data procedures for the system. Those sources favor reducing the main audio channel of digital transmissions to 64 kbps in order to accommodate data (July FMedia! via DXLD) Breaking News: IBOC COULD BE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE Media Network has learned that Ibiquity, which developed the IBOC digital AM system adopted by the FCC in preference to DRM, is to part company with three of its top managers. Sources say that the three are E. Glynn Walden, vice president of broadcast engineering; Rick Martinson, vice president of program management; and Gerald Marcovsky, senior legal advisor. The changes, reportedly made for cost reasons, are effective at the end of the month. All have been involved with IBOC development for several years. Walden has been the "face" of digital radio for many in the United States radio industry; he has been involved in the technical development of IBOC technology since 1989 and was the main liaison between Ibiquity and broadcasters, said sources. Martinson was appointed director of digital radio broadcast development in 1996, and Marcovsky joined the company in 1998. Ibiquity had no comment other than to say it continues working on the IBOC system (Andy Sennitt, MN blog July 17 via DXLD) The people at the company`s top level were making serious dollars; the big hidden secret is it doesn't work at NIGHT on AM. Have heard the tests on 1670 and 730 am in the Washington DC Market; the adjacent channel buzz is just part of the problem (Lou Josephs, ibid.) ** U S A. 'BEER FOR HOMELESS' BLASTED By Ben Davey July 2 2003 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825441944.html A US "charity" that raises money to buy alcohol for homeless people was today attacked by the Salvation Army for adding "fuel to the fire". Gerard Byrne, social program secretary of recovery services with the Salvation Army in Sydney, said the idea was a dangerous stunt. Promoting themselves as a legitimate charity, Beer for the Homeless is the brainchild of talk radio personalities from WGOW-FM Chattanooga, Tennessee, who believe it will reduce begging by treating the homeless more equitably. On their website, the group writes: "Merely because one has no home does not mean that one is somehow a second-class citizen and is no longer allowed the simple pleasures that society allows to those lucky enough to put a roof over their head. "Beer For The Homeless steps up and strikes a blow for equality and human rights. Through this website, we will raise money to purchase and distribute beer to those who want it. Good old fashioned 100% American beer." In response to criticism that their unique philosophy is socially irresponsible, the liquor dispensers defended their brand of charity as being a beneficial, even dignified cause. "We feel that by our actions we are actually helping the homeless. No longer will they have to panhandle and annoy citizens in public asking for money, nor will they take government aid money to use on beer. But Mr Byrne said: "If something like that was introduced here there would certainly be serious concerns from community groups and the government alike." Byrne said that he initially thought the idea was a joke but was shocked when he saw pictures of the group distributing alcohol to homeless people. "It looks like a cynical publicity stunt by the radio station with beer 'babes' employed to hand out the beer," he said. "Since drugs and alcohol are a prominent factor in homelessness, providing them with alcohol is morally and ethically questionable." "It just adds fuel to the fire." The organisation asks for donations via credit card and claims that 70 per cent of all monies raised are used to buy beer, with the remaining 30 per cent spent on transport and website maintenance costs (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Glenn, I took a quick look at the http://www.wgow.com website, but couldn't find any reference to the "beer for the homeless." 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, a fortnight has passed, so perhaps WGOW have been shamed out of it by now, if this was not in fact a put-on (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PIRATES OF THE AIRWAVES --- UNLICENSED BROADCASTERS: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE OR LAW BREAKERS? Not everyone is content with the listening options available on radio today. The Pirate Radio movement has been tetering on the brink of illegality for some time and its proponents seem to feel the risk is worth it. Your About.com Radio Guide recently conducted an email interview with John Anderson who has been reporting on and studying the microradio movement in the United States for the last five years, and maintains a website devoted to free radio and culture jamming at Diymedia.net. John has worked professionally as a radio journalist for commercial stations in Indiana and Wisconsin, and reported on stories for networks like ABC, CNN, and the BBC and is an anchor for the Workers Independent News Service. He is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. . . http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/aa090602a.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ORDERS CIVIL JUDGMENT AGAINST RICHARD I. ROWLAND FOR UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATION. The FCC announced that in the US Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, US District Judge Honorable Gregory A. Presnell granted judgment in favor of US to collect a civil penalty against defendant Richard I. Rowland in the amount of $10,000. News Release. News Media Contact: David Fiske at (202) 418-0500 EB. Contact Lisa Fowlkes at (202) 418-7450, TTY: 1(888) 835-5322 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) viz.: The below is certainly the satellite-fed militia radio programming that was reported to me by several previously, from Longwood and listed on my page at 97.1 MHz (Terry Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 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 -- DRAFT -- FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ORDERS CIVIL JUDGMENT AGAINST RICHARD I. ROWLAND 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 District Judge, Honorable Gregory A. Presnell, granted judgment in favor of the United States to collect a civil penalty against Defendant Richard I. Rowland. The court ordered judgment against Rowland in the amount of $10,000 plus costs. The judgment is the result of an investigation that began in May of 2000. The Commission`s Tampa, Florida Field Office received a complaint of an unlicensed broadcast station operating in the Longwood, Florida area. Commission agents determined that Rowland operated an unlicensed radio station on the frequency 97.1 MHz from a Longwood, Florida address on numerous dates in the year 2000. Rowland`s unlicensed radio operation led to the seizure by U.S. Marshals and Commission agents of his radio station equipment in 2001. In addition, the Enforcement Bureau imposed a $10,000 monetary forfeiture on Rowland for multiple violations of operating an unlicensed FM radio facility, in violation of Title 47, United States Code, Section 301. After Rowland refused to pay the forfeiture, the Commission filed suit for collection through the United States Attorney in federal district court. The case was brought by the United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division. 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 forfeitures 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 $10,000 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: July 15, 2003 NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: David Fiske (202) 418- 0500 Above is also at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.txt (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html DX LISTENING DIGEST; also via Mike Terry, DXLD; also ARRL summarized via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. New York City ARES obtains distinctive call sign: New York City Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) now has its own vanity call sign, WC2WTC, to commemorate the September 11, 2001, activation following the World Trade Center terrorist attack. ``This special call sign also reflects on those who were affected by the devastation,`` said New York City District Emergency Coordinator Charles Hargrove, N2NOV. ``For those of us who worked at the World Trade Center, this call sign will forever remind us and others why NYC ARES exists -- to aid our community in times of need, with specialized skills in a professional manner.`` Hargrove, who worked at various jobs in the World Trade Center for 16 years, says the WC2WTC call sign will be used during special events, emergency operations or other activities ``that warrant the need for listeners to know that NYC ARES is on the air providing a much-needed service.`` (ARRL July 17 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. HOUSE PANEL VOTES TO BLOCK FCC'S NEW MEDIA RULE By Dan Morgan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, July 17, The House Appropriations Committee moved in a bipartisan vote yesterday to block the Federal Communications Commission from easing a rule that limits ownership concentration in commercial television markets. An amendment approved in a 40 to 25 vote applies to a June 2 FCC decision that would allow networks to acquire stations that reach as much as 45 percent of the national television audience. By preventing the FCC from spending money to carry out its ruling, the committee's action effectively would keep the current limit of 35 percent. The vote followed a broader effort in the Senate to reverse an FCC decision to ease rules that prevent one company from owning television stations and newspapers in the same market. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D- N.D.) has signed on 28 Democrats and seven Republicans to support a "resolution of disapproval" that would overturn the agency's ruling. That measure has been placed on the Senate calendar for expedited consideration, but no date has been set for debate. The House committee vote marked the start of a lobbying battle on Capitol Hill between big broadcasters such as NBC and CBS and members of Congress representing small communities who fear that the independence of local stations could be lost in a new wave of consolidation and buyouts. Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) yesterday warned of a "Wal-Mart syndrome" affecting local stations. Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), who offered the House amendment, said the FCC rule change threatened the future ability of independent television stations to provide programming consistent with local community values. Defenders of the recent FCC ruling said that critics were exaggerating its impact and that networks had to get bigger to continue providing free broadcast television. The White House supports the FCC ruling. The White House budget office said it would recommend that President Bush veto the fiscal 2004 spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments unless the Obey amendment was deleted. The House committee's action yesterday was also opposed by Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC. "This is exactly not the way to do this," said Tauzin, who supports the FCC's action. "The Appropriations Committee is the last place you should be making this decision." Tauzin hinted that he might try to delay consideration of the spending bill by the full House floor next week, as had been planned. Republican and Democratic opponents of easing the media concentration rules said Tauzin had made it clear that he would not allow legislation overturning the FCC decision to pass through his committee, even though a majority support it. "If we don't move here absolutely nothing will happen," Obey said. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in support of the amendment. Many lawmakers used the occasion to express their disapproval of broadcast television trends. Wolf cited "garbage" in television advertising and programming. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) called commercial television "a garbage pit." The Appropriations Committee vote let stand other parts of the FCC's ruling, such as the easing of limits on media cross-ownership. A Republican amendment that also would have pared back that part of the ruling was defeated on a voice vote. Staff writer Frank Ahrens contributed to this report. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) HOUSE PANEL ADDS VOICE TO OPPONENTS OF MEDIA RULE By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times July 17, 2003 T he recent decision by federal regulators to loosen media ownership rules, already under fire in the Senate, took another blow in Congress yesterday. This setback was dealt by the House Appropriations Committee, which approved a budget amendment that would make it harder for big broadcasting companies to acquire more television stations. The vote represented a defeat for Michael K. Powell, the Federal Communications Commission chairman, who has led the effort to change the rules. It was also a rebuke to the Republican House leadership and the Bush administration, strong supporters of the commission's efforts. A White House spokeswoman, Claire Buchan, said last night that the "president's senior advisers would recommend a veto" if a bill including the amendment ultimately reached his desk. By a vote of 40 to 25, with 11 Republican members deserting their leaders to join the 29 Democratic committee members, the appropriations committee approved a measure that would effectively block the commission from enforcing a new rule that would permit broadcasters to own stations that reach more total households across the country than they do now. Under that rule, the television networks could own stations that reach as much as 45 percent of the nation's households. The previous rule, which the appropriations committee would reinstate, capped ownership in most cases at 35 percent. If it becomes law, the legislation would have the most immediate impact on two networks CBS, which is part of Viacom, and Fox, a unit of the News Corporation. They own television stations reaching about 40 percent of households. The networks were permitted temporarily to exceed the regulatory limit with the expectation that the cap would be reconsidered. The major networks and the stations they own have lobbied vigorously to ease the 35 percent cap, and they have been joined by other media companies in backing a new commission rule one the House committee did not address yesterday that would make it easier for one company to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market. The amendment's sponsor, Representative David R. Obey, Democrat of Wisconsin, said yesterday that the vote was a victory for those seeking to keep big media conglomerates from getting even bigger and perhaps from squelching smaller voices in the process. "This amendment preserves the needs of local control, so local views have a chance to counterbalance New York and L.A. executives," he said in a statement. "Networks that own larger shares of markets can ignore local concerns, and even punish stations that refuse to air network shows or change their time slots." Like similar legislation passed last month by a Senate committee, Mr. Obey's amendment was a response to complaints from hundreds of thousands of constituents who have descended on Congress in recent weeks. The opponents of greater media concentration represent an unusual political coalition that stretches from the National Rifle Association and some religious conservatives to the National Association for Women and Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. The battle over the amendment passed yesterday is expected to be a bruising one, and committee leaders said that the full House might take up the measure as soon as early next week. And with the White House threatening to veto any effort to curb the federal commission's authority, stopping the new rules from going into effect still appears to be an uphill struggle. "The fight is far from over," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Representative Billy Tauzin, Republican of Louisiana and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Tauzin is among the commission's most vocal supporters in Congress. "Many of the rules simply don't make sense in a 21st century marketplace," Mr. Johnson said. In the Senate, where opposition to the new commission rules is believed to be even more intense than in the House, a broadly bipartisan group of the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation on June 19 that would not only restore the 35 percent cap but would also make it harder for a company to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market. The House committee turned back an effort by one member, Representative Anne M. Northup, Republican of Kentucky, to introduce an amendment that would have gone as far as the Senate committee. Supporters of Mr. Obey's amendment feared that Ms. Northup's proposal was too sweeping to win bipartisan approval. Nonetheless, even some opponents of the new rules said they were amazed that the 11 Republicans who defied party leaders included two House subcommittee chairmen, Ralph Regula of Ohio and Ernest J. Istook Jr. of Oklahoma. "The Republican leadership with White House backing is usually very disciplined in holding their Republicans on the party line," Gene Kimmelman, senior director for public policy for Consumers Union, said. "This breathes new life into the effort to overturn the F.C.C. decision." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) LOCALISM'S LAST STAND By William Safire, Op-ed columnist, New York Times Thursday, July 17, 2003 Posted: 6:50 AM EDT (1050 GMT) http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/07/17/nyt.safire/index.html WASHINGTON -- General managers of 75 stations owned and operated by the Big Four television networks swept into a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. Big Media's lobbying purpose was to squelch the bipartisan movement in Congress to nullify the Federal Communications Commission's cave-in to the networks' lust to gobble up more independent stations. Before the vote, the majority whip Roy Blunt, on Tom DeLay's orders, leaned on GOP members to allow the FCC cave-in to be financed. The National Association of Broadcasters, which had been supporting its many independent members against the networks' expansion, flip-flopped in panic because NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox threatened to bolt the lobby. But to everyone's amazement, the networks' power play was foiled. Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia urged his GOP colleagues to vote their consciences, and an amendment to hold the cap on a huge conglomerate's ownership to 35 percent of the national TV audience was passed by a vote of 40 to 25. Here is what made this happen. Take the force of right-wingers upholding community standards who are determined to defend local control of the public airwaves; combine that with the force of lefties eager to maintain diversity of opinion in local media; add in the independent voters' mistrust of media manipulation; then let all these people have access to their representatives by e-mail and fax, and voilà! Congress awakens to slap down the power grab. Or at least half of it. In Sen. Ted Stevens's rollback-to-35-percent bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, an amendment protecting localism had been added to stop the growth of cross- ownership of TV stations and newspapers in single cities. But that amendment won't fly; as the Commerce chairman, John McCain, told me, "The fix is in on cross-ownership." Media General and The New York Times Company are becoming more influential nationally, and The Tribune Company dominates news coverage in Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Long Island. I scorn all polls except those that support my views. According to this week's Pew Research poll about the FCC plan (to break the ownership barrier and permit media crossover), "By roughly 10 to one (70 percent to 6 percent), those who have heard a lot about the rules change say its impact will be negative." Nearly half of those polled had heard about this issue, despite conflicted media coverage. This growing grass-roots grumbling against giantism is getting through to legislators ordinarily cowed by network-owned station managers or wowed by big-media campaign contributions. Unfortunately, the any- merger-goes FCC chairman, Michael Powell, has derided objections to his diktat as "garbage," and the White House strategist Karl Rove dismisses the depth of voter resentment that Democrats will be able to exploit next year. Catch the way the liberal Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, who put forward the Appropriations measure that passed yesterday, reaches out to social conservatives. He complained about the way prime-time network programming forced local affiliates to air film of Victoria's Secret models in their less-than-full regalia, a sight he does not consider suitable for his 7-year-old. Obey & Co. is stealing traditionalist Republican clothes, scanties and all, and many GOP candidates don't want to offend a core constituency. Eco-cons as well as libertarians may snicker, but Republican Rep. Richard Burr of North Carolina observed that 26 independent NBC affiliates had recently exercised their right to refuse to telecast "Maxim's Hot 100." If independents are gobbled up with the FCC's blessing, more decisions affecting local mores will be made in Rockefeller Center. Is that what George Bush stands for? Yesterday's victory in a House committee was only a skirmish about half the battle, and that only about delaying the funds for the FCC's misbegotten action by a year. Speaker Dennis Hastert could shoot it down in Rules, or block an embarrassing vote on the more comprehensive Burr rollback on the House floor. But public opinion is on the march. Some in-house pollster should awaken President Bush to a bipartisan sleeper issue that could blindside him next year. William Safire is an op-ed columnist for the New York Times (via Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Radio Tashkent International has now its own homepage: http://ino.uzpak.uz (in Uzbek, English, Russian) (Station info via Wolfgang Büschel-D via Bernd Trutenau-LTU, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Como decimos en criollo aquí en Venezuela: - Cualquier persona que diga que determinado funcionario público está actuando en Casos de Corrupción aún presentando las pruebas correspondientes, pués sencillamente caerá en las "Cómodas Masmorras" de las cárceles del país. Incluso humoristas, y caricaturistas, de hoy en adelante no podran hacer alusión a personajes del estado, so pena de ir a la cárcel. Incluso si este servidor se atreve a protestar con un cacerolazo o una pita en plena vía pública, pués también podría ir preso. ¿Qué le parece? "La Robolución y su forma de impartir justicia en mi país es muy democrática" ¿Qué tal? (Jorge García Rangel, Barinas, Venezuela, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. Calls Assigned to *96.9 in Charlotte Amalie: WTJC-LP (July FMedia! via DXLD) Despite WTJC, without the -LP, already being assinged to 9370 in NC (gh, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Emission de 29-06-2003: L`écoute à été effectué de 0600 à 0630 UTc sur 7460 kHz. ``El Idaha el watania lljoumouria elarabia elsahrawia el watania``. Les émissions commencent par des verses du Kor`an + une émission ``tahiyate Sabah``, ce qui veut dire en arabe `le bonjour du matin` avec une rubrique sur la reine Belkis et une commémoration de la mort du poète arabe Nizar Kabani (Mohamed Kallel, July 17, France?, Tunisia? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QSLing ++++++ E-MAIL RECEPTION REPORTS Compiled by Ian Cattermole, Blenheim, NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES JULY 2003 These days I send 95% of all reports by e-mail. While many international broadcasters accept e-mail reports most will verify by conventional snail-mail QSL cards. It is therefore important to include postal address for that reason, and also, I believe a common courtesy to let the station know just who you are and where you live. Some verify by a simple e-mail message and recently there seems to be a trend to what they call e-cards which is a printed QSL card sent electronically. Some of these are quite attractive with many colours while others are simple black and white. Advantages of using e-mail reports are of course, cost saving in postage and instant delivery and ease in referring back to a sent report. They must also be a great time-saver to the recipient, especially those who reply by e-mail. Over recent years I have been indexing e-mail addresses which did not appear in WRTV and PWBR publications. Of course some do now appear in later editions. Here is a list of e-mail addresses from my index. COUNTRY BROADCASTER EMAIL ADDRESS AFGHANISTAN. V. of Afghanistan. afbc2001@hotmail.com Radio Afghanistan. radioafg@yahoo.com ARMENIA. Voice of Armenia. armen@arm.r.am AUSTRALIA. Voice International. Dxer@voice.com.au HCJB. english@hcjb.org.au AUSTRIA. TWR-Europe. eurofreq@twr-europe.at AWR transmissions. letters@awr.org AZERBAIJAN. Azbak Radio. root@aztv.baku.az BANGLADESH. Radio Bangladesh. rrc@aitlbd.net or dgbetar@drik.net BELARUS. Radio Hrodna/Minsk. RadioGrodno@tut.by BELGIUM. TDP (Ludo Maes) tdp@tijd.com RTBF. rtbf@rtbf.be BHUTAN. Radio Bhutan. bbs@bbs.com.bt BOLIVIA. All station with e-mail on: http://www.schoechi.de/as-bol.htm BULGARIA. Radio Bulgaria. rbul@nationalradio.bg CLANDESTINE. World Falun Dafa Radio. editor@falundafaradio.org Chan Choi Moi (CTM) ctm@radioctm.com CONGO. Radio Okapi. schleger@un.org COSTA RICA. RFPI. radiopaz@rasca.co.cr [No: info@rfpi.org --- gh] CROATIA. V. of Croatia. zklasan@hrt.hr or D.Pavlic@hrt.hr CUBA. RHC. radiohc@ip.etecsa.cu DOMINICAN REP. R.Amanecer. adra@codetel.net.do or amanecer@tricom.net ENGLAND. BFBS. marina.haward@bfbs.com Bible Voice BC. mail@biblevoice.org GERMANY. RDW. Adelheid.Lucas@dw-world.de (best address) ITALY. RAI. raiway.hfmonitoring@rai.it IRRS. reports@nexus.org JORDAN. Radio Jordan. Zada@jrtv.gov.jo LIBYA. Voice of Africa (ETC) africavoice@hotmail.com MOLDOVA. Radio Moldova. rmi.engl@mail.md NIGERIA. V. of Nigeria. vonlagos@fiberia.com or dgovon@nigol.net.ng PALAU. T8BZ. bentchan@hotmail.com PNG. R. Independent Mekamui. svoron@hotmail.com PERU. R. San Miguel cococabanillas@hotmail.com SAUDI ARABIA. IRAN [sic]. Sawt-al-Islah (Alislah) info@islah.org SOUTH AFRICA. S.A.R.L. armi@intecom.co.za R. Veritas. veriprod@iafrica.com SWEDEN: IBRA info@ibra.se and eva.skog@ibra.se USA. KVOH. mail@highadvenure.net or kathy@highadventure.net WEWN. gtapley@ewtn.com Radio Free Asia. iwanciwt@rfa.org Remnants Hope Ministry. remnantshope@hotmail.com Radio Africa Int. (UMC) dfrantz@tennessee.com [incorrect! Frantz is at WWRB] Radio Sawa. comments@radiosawa.com WJIE (new address) doc@wjie.org Radio Farda. comment@radiofarda.com Gospel For Asia. (GFA) gfaradio@mygfa.org Pan American Broadcasting. info@panambc.com ZIMBABWE. SW Radio Africa mail@swradioafrica.com Additional sources of e-mail addresses are of course WRTV and PWBR and a very good website is http://www.dxer.de/emailliste Sometimes additional e-mail addresses can be obtained by going to a particular stations` webpage For those seeking addresses for Latin American stations a very good site is Eldorado For LA Dxers found at http://www.members01.chello.se/mwm/eldorado.html (Ian Cattermole, Blenheim, New Zealand, July NZ DX Times, alphabetized by gh for DXLD) Although I personally got out of QSL hunting about 15 years ago, many in the hobby continue to do so. It's bad enough when a small Indonesian station doesn't reply, but it spells impending doom for the collection of QSL cards when the international broadcasters drop the service for budget concerns. From a few contacts that I do have in international broadcasting, they were getting frustrated replying to several QSL requests from the same person for the same program - i.e. trying to verify the same broadcast on each frequency and for each repeater transmitter. Although these individuals, some of whom are ODXA members, did not destroy QSL collecting, they have damaged it severely (Mark Coady, ODXA via DXLD) See also SEYCHELLES [non] PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ The W5YI Report to QRT The W5YI Report, dubbed ``America's Oldest Ham Radio Newsletter,`` has announced that it's ceasing publication with its July 15 issue. Begun some 25 years ago by Fred Maia, W5YI, as a service to the Richardson (Texas) Wireless Club, The W5YI Report evolved into a twice-monthly paid-subscription compilation of ham radio and -- more recently -- electronics industry and Internet-related news printed on distinctive pink paper. Maia, 68, sold his company, W5YI Group, which included The W5YI Report and the W5YI-VEC, to Larry Pollock, NB5X, in 2000. Maia agreed to continue editing the newsletter for another three years, but now he wants to give it up, although he will continue his monthly column in CQ. Current subscriptions to The W5YI Report will be fulfilled with CQ subscriptions starting with the August issue (ARRL July 17 via John Norfolk, DXLD) DRM +++ For all of us who use analogous receivers we have to get used to this new kind of interference (in former days it was East bloc jamming !). But the good news is that these DRM transmitters now have reached a more acceptable bandwidth than during the first tests where it was usual to hear their ``white`` noise 20-30 kHz on each side of the transmitted frequency. I measured the bandwidth of the broadcasts, using the most narrow bandwidth on my receiver, and in most cases the noise disappeared 6 kHz to each side of the transmitted frequency! In two cases it was 7 kHz. But that is not more than the wellknown sideband QRM from adjacent strong analogous transmitters (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window July 16 via DXLD) Please note: You can now find a list of DRM broadcasts compiled and permanently updated by OM Klaus Schneider, Germany, at: http://www.wwdxc.de/drm.htm (WWDXC via DXLD) What about the official DRM version and the Media Network version? DRM UPDATE -- TECHNICAL AND MARKETING One idea about a secondary application of DRM technology is to provide local service on the higher HF bands that don`t see a lot of use---21 and 26 MHz. This could be accomplished using low power transmissions (500 w-1 kw), and would provide a service comparable to FM in quality. Don gave recognition to Mike Adams for his efforts in arranging for test and demonstration of DRM transmissions, and to Herb Jacobsen for his work in developing a DRM capable transmitter exciter. About six types of DRM exciters are ready for marketing (shortwave and mediumwave). Wide mediumwave usage of DRM is necessary if it is to find sufficient support for practical shortwave application. At WRC-2003, around a dozen DRM transmissions at various frequency ranges will be broadcast into the Geneva area. Several of the participating broadcasters have committed to continuing with DRM transmissions after this special demonstration period. Receiver manufacturers expect to have consumer-type DRM-capable receivers available by the end of 2004. These receivers will be capable of working with other modes (eg. AM/FM), and may be customized to the market in which they will be distributed (i.e. models for Europe may differ in some regard for models intended for sub-Saharan Africa). At this point, Don anticipates that making a DRM-capable receiver will increase the cost by about $50.00 above the cost of a comparable receiver without DRM capability. Specifications and standards for implementing DRM technology are worked out, improved, and available. Some DRM features are still being tested relating to channel width, with simulcast (both analogue and digital simultaneously) approaches, and with automatic selection of the best receive frequency (when multiple options are available). Another aspect still under test is the application of DRM technique to single-frequency networks, such as are commonly already used in Europe for public broadcasting (to cover an entire country with a service using one frequency on multiple synchronized transmitters). Don is pushing within the DRM group for the preparation of a ``how to`` manuel for broadcasters. This would explain at a user`shortwave level how best to make application of DRM technology. The DRM signal has much more energy, proportionally, near the edges of the occupied channel than does a double sideband transmission. This raises the possibility for much more adjacent channel interference by a digital transmission as compared to an analogue transmission. Tests and analytic work show that, for an adequate interference protection ratio, a digital signal must be operated at about 7 db less power level than would be appropriate if it were a regular analog AM transmission being used. That this factor was not observed in the past on-the-air tests, and because some DRM test transmitters were not adjusted to comply with the DRM-specified emission ``mash``, resulted in many complaints by listeners of major interference (excessive occupied bandwidth), for some DRM test transmissions (Don Messer, IBB, summary report of presentation at the NASB 2003 Annual Meeting in Aug NASB Newsletter, July 16 via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-127, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1191: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB [and 5100-CUSB?] Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825, Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070 Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330 ... on RFPI 7445, 15039 Sun 0032 on WINB 12160 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: [from early UT Thursday] Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1191h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1191.html [from Thu] WORLD OF RADIO ON 7485, 6200: Re DXLD 3-124: The relays of World of Radio on 7485 Sunday mornings UT are being made by Irish pirate Ozone Radio International. They have now moved to 6200 and heard announcing they would be relaying World of Radio 0925 July 13th (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. Radio Nacional de Angola, en 4950 kHz, el 15/07, a las 0437 UT, con SINPO 35433. Usualmente ni se escucha por estas latitudes; captación excepcional. Noticiero a las 0500 UT y comentarios sobre una feria internacional que se lleva a cabo en Luanda (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARUBA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. La emisora Antillana 1270 kHz (PJ-8), de Aruba, ahora se identifica como "KISS 107.5 MHz" y algunas veces como Radio 1270 AM STEREO. Captada el pasado 12/07, a las 1721 UT. Transmitía soka y música POP. SINPO 33553. Ignoro desde cuándo se llama así (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CABINET MAY UPHOLD RADIO RULING --- By SIMON TUCK, With a report from Shawn McCarthy, Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - Page A7 OTTAWA -- The federal cabinet is expected to announce today that it has upheld an earlier decision by its broadcast regulator to grant a licence for a radio station to a Toronto company that says it has been unfairly linked to terrorists. Ottawa will say that it found no evidence that a numbered company behind a bid for a new ethnic radio station in Toronto is affiliated with the World Tamil Movement, government sources say. The WTM is believed to be a key fundraiser for the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group that has been fighting a bloody civil war in Sri Lanka for more than three decades. The new station is to be launched this fall over the FM band at 101.3, a rare licence opportunity in the area. S. Sivakkumaran, chief operating officer of Canadian Multicultural Radio, the group behind the radio station, denied any connection between his company and any terrorist groups. He said members of the Sinhalese-Canadian community and Tamil groups that had also wanted the radio station licence started the rumours. "It's a whole big smear campaign." The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the federal broadcast regulator, approved the licence application in April despite the objections of some Sri Lankan Canadians. After its initial ruling, the government received 47 petitions asking for a reversal. The federal cabinet, which has come under some pressure in recent months to outlaw the Tigers, discussed the matter earlier this month and has until midnight tonight to rule on the matter (Globe & Mail July 16 via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) The original CRTC decision approving this station may be found on their website: Search for Broadcast Decision 2003-115. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL EXPANDS MW/SW BROADCASTS TO EASTERN EUROPE China Radio International will soon increase its medium wave broadcasting to Europe though WRN Transmission. Starting from 15th July WRN will provide high power medium wave transmitters in Eastern Europe for broadcasts to former Yugoslavia in Serbian, to Romania and Moldova in Romanian and to South West Russia and Ukraine in Russian. The broadcast in Russian will be a new 2-hour programme on news, current affairs and features about China. Times and frequencies are: Romanian: 1700-1730 UT (2000-2030 Bucharest local time) on 1548 kHz Serbian: 1730-1800 UT (1930-2000 Belgrade local time) on 1548 kHz Russian: 1430-1630 UT (1830-2030 in Western Russia, 1730-2030 in Ukraine) on 1467 kHz AM This extension to the east follows on from the highly successful use of a facility in Luxembourg on 1440 kHz (208 metres), which has greatly increased CRI's audience for its English, French and German programmes in Europe. Medium Wave broadcasts has been used in Europe because there are far more radios with the AM band than SW. Kind regards (Tim Ayris, Broadcast Sales Manager, World Radio Network, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Let`s see --- 1548 would be Moldova 1000 kW; and 1467 Moldova 500 kW, right? What about the expanded SW referred to in the headline? (gh, DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. La Voz de tu Conciencia: Here is part of a recent mail from Russell M. Stendal: 6010 has been silent for a while, and Stendal is out at Lomalinda right now to fix the transmitter. 5910 will soon be ready with programs for listeners abroad, partly in English (Henrik Klemetz, July 3 via Dxplorer via DSWCIDX Window via Cumbre DX via DXLD) We just got back after putting 6010 on the air. One of our engineers made an impedance bridge that allowed us to fine tune the antenna so that it now resonates exactly on our frequency (it ended up about 50 cm longer than what we had calculated according to theory). Here in Colombia the performance improved noticeably (it will be interesting to see if there is any improvement internationally). We also made some adjustments to the height (now at 11 meters) and to the angle (the delta is pointing due north with the orientation of the dipole exactly east-west) and to the overall impedance (now at 550 ohms). The power is at 4200 watts and as soon as we install a new voltage regulator we may be able to up the power by a thousand watts or so (we are licenced for 5000 watts and I believe the specs say plus or minus ten percent). (via Klemetz Jul 5 via Dxplorer via DSWCI DX Window via Cumbre DX via DXLD) "Alcaraván Radio se ha movido a la frecuencia de 6009.96 kHz". Así escribí en mi mail anterior. Era en la mañana, en la noche la misma fecha de nuevo estuvo en 6009.78 kHz. Hoy, hace una hora aproximadamente la encontré en 6009.98 kHz, exactamente en la misma frecuencia como Parinacota. Solamente he notado HCJB a veces y muy temprano en la mañana con "bajo alemán" en 6010.00 kHz (Björn Malm, Ecuador, July 15, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CONGO. Buena señal de Radio Congo, Brazzaville, en los 5985 kHz, a partir de las 2030 UT aproximadamente (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. 7435.0, RTNC, Lubumbashi, 1755-1810 (fade out), Jul 13, Vernacular talk, Congolese instrumental music and pop song by choir. Best before 1800 when Voice of Russia signed on with German on 7440. Until then: 13232 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window via Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 6105, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, good signal, well understood. Heard in Honduras (Cerveglieri, DSWCI DX Window via Cumbre DX via DXLD) Reactivated! (DSWCI Ed., ibid.) ** CUBA. Heard Radio Rebelde with ID and Mesa Redonda Informativa on July 14, 1149-1215 on 9600 and also 11655. I haven't found the 11655 listed anywhere (Silvain Domen, temporarly on hoilday in Camden, NC- USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We`ve had several reports of it in DXLD ** CUBA. Jamming US satellite broadcasts to IRAN: q.v. ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Desde Santo Domingo, SUPER Q FM (100.9 MHz), captada el 15/07, a las 0326 UT, en los 4959.86 kHz. Emitía un tema de Sérgio Mendes (remix) y la canción de Avril Lavigne "Complicated". SINPO 45533 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. A recent report doing the rounds in the international DX news outlets indicated that R. Oriental in Tena, Napo was currently off the air. However, I noted it in operation on July 13 and then again tonight (July 16), at around 1000 on both occasions. Fair level on 4871.4 (Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), Australia, EDXP via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Deutschlandfunk Longwave Donebach 153 kHz is cut off daily (weekdays Mon-Sat) approximately 0610-1900 UT due of the ANNUAL maintenance by TELEKOM T-systems. This lasts weekdays till July 28th, 2003. Sehr geehrter Herr Bueschel, Ihre Vermutung stimmt, der Sender wird durch die Telekom gewartet, und ist deshalb bis zum 28.07. immer von 08:10 Uhr bis 21:00 Uhr ausser Betrieb. Das sind Richtzeiten. Wir bedanken uns für Ihr Verständnis. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Bernd Förster DeutschlandRadio Sendernetzbetrieb Tel.: +49 30 8503 8112/8113 Fax.: +49 30 8503 8119 e-mail: bernd.foerster@dradio.de (via Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Re unID 2859.98: Mark, Big signal here this evening, spoiled by incessant QRN. Lots and lots of "R Cultura" IDs, but nothing else I can parse out to ID further. My latest WRTH is 99 - nothing likely in there. 73 (Jay Novello, NC, via Krueger, DXLD) Logged here GMT 0155-0259* 16 July. No solid info for you yet --- but I can tell you it's definitely Honduran. Frequent female canned "Cultura, Cultura, Radio Cultura" slogans, live M DJ with a couple of clear mentions of Honduras. At 0252, "Radio Cultura... potencia en vatios" and at 0258, closing ID by M mentioning "HR(-- H?)... la voz... muy buenas noches." Then off without anthem at 0259. Nothing in the 2003 WRTVH that matches, though of course several 1430 kHz entries. Lots of over-Florida and post Gulf hurricane QRN to mess things up, though the signal was quite strong and on 2859.98 here as well. Format mostly SP dance/"urban"-type (whatever that sound is called -- really noticed a proliferation of that on most XE FM'ers during E-skip a few days ago; not much of the old norteñas/tejano/ranchera stuff of past left, it seems). (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. WHY NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS The Economic Times (India) Wednesday, July 16, 2003| DEVLIN ROY TIMES NEWS NETWORK [WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2003 02:27:29 AM] NEW DELHI: The morning papers are full of news, the internet streams news from all over the world, TV carries news live, even mobile phone SMSs carry news. But there's no news on India's new private FM radio channels. Why? Because when the government decided to open FM radio to private entry three years ago, it barred private FM broadcasters from broadcasting news and current affairs. This return to the command and control mindset of the 1970s lets state-owned radio broadcast news but excludes private channels from this activity. The government has no FM policy: instead, there are agreements between the government and FM broadcasters. These are governed by the archaic Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 and Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933. Clause VII of the main agreement states that the license is for free-to-air broadcasts of audio, excluding news, current affairs and any other services under jurisdiction of the department of telecommunications (DoT). Meanwhile, schedule A of the agreement has a different spin, defining 'broadcast channel' as FM radio stations and their services as 'provided by the licensee, including entertainment, education and information dissemination...excluding news and current affairs.' But what's the difference between news and information? Dictionaries say that news is 'information about important or interesting recent events or newly received or noteworthy information.' Information is defined as 'items of knowledge or news'. Are government rules, which allow FM to air information, but not news, all about semantic quibbling? Can news be broadcast as long as it's called 'information'? Worse, Article VI of the agreement says that licensees shall emphasise programming to promote national integration, religious harmony, scientific temper and Indian culture. If a scientific programme about India's projected moon mission is broadcast, will the law be broken? Radio reaches more people cheaper than newspapers, the internet or TV programming. Given that, blanking news and current affairs from radio makes no sense. Radio programming becomes a featureless hotchpotch of bhangra and film music. Ironically, while Indian-owned channels can't broadcast news, dozens of overseas radio and TV channels, including BBC, Voice of America, CNN, Fox News and even PTV are free to broadcast to Indian homes. These restrictions have also strengthened the monopoly powers of state-owned AIR, which operates FM, MW and SW frequencies through 333 transmitters, dishing out popular music, news and other content to nearly 99% of the population. In a 1995 judgement, the Supreme Court, alarmed at the government's grip on broadcasting, said that airwaves were public property to be used to promote public good and expressing a plurality of views, opinions and ideas. In practice, organisations that are considered mature enough to provide news through print and TV, are barred from doing the same over radio. No other democratic country has similar curbs. None of America's 14,000-plus radio stations, 2,000-odd stations in Spain or the 1,000-plus each in Italy, France, Greece and Australia are barred from airing news and cultural affairs. In fact, many stations are solely news channels, including specialised ones for community radio. Remember, even tiny Sri Lanka has about 20 radio stations. In Nepal, Radio Sagarmatha, run by a body of environmental journalists, broadcasts 10 news and sports bulletins, two news magazines, a current affairs' morning show, editorials, Newari language programs and 75 minutes of BBC Nepali service every day. There are regular programs on good governance, gender issues, environment and other public matters, folk music, weekly live classical recitals, contemporary music and regular programs on the visual and oral arts. Even in Pakistan, which has recently issued FM licences to 60-odd private players, the government has said that there will eventually be no control over airing of any sort of content over private TV or radio stations, music or news. Given these global trends, should India lift senseless curbs on FM news? Or should it continue with curbs on the freedom of speech and expression, eroding the foundations of our democracy? (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. WILL THE REAL VOICE OF INDONESIA PLEASE STEP FORWARD If you've ever tried to find some information on the Voice of Indonesia, you've probably, like me, ended up with lots of links to the Indonesian language http://www.rrionline.com website. Following an e-mail from the Voice of Indonesia's English service, however, it turns out that their official site can be found at: http://www.rri-online.com (note the subtle difference) which has news from Indonesia and information about VOI in English, French, German, Chinese and Indonesian. Curiously, if you search for this site in Google it doesn't come up at all, and everyone seems to link to the Indonesian only site. One for the bookmarks! (Daniel Atkinson, England, July 16, swprograms via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. AS SATELLITE ORDERS SLUMP, LORAL AND BOEING FACE TROUBLES --- July 16, 2003 By BARNABY J. FEDER Weakened by a long slump in new orders, two large companies that manufacture satellites, Loral Space and Communications and Boeing, released bitter financial news... [registration required] http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/16/technology/16BIRD.html?ex=1059355716&ei=1&en=316b95abd10860b3 (via Jim Moats, DXLD) ** IRAN. BBG CONDEMNS CUBA'S JAMMING OF SATELLITE TV BROADCASTS TO IRAN Washington, D.C., July 15, 2003 - The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) today condemned Cuba's jamming of U.S. international broadcasts to Iran, calling the action a "deliberate and malicious" effort to block Iranian audiences from gaining access to truthful news and information. The BBG, the federal agency which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcasting, also urged providers such as Intelsat and Eutelsat to stop giving service to countries that have jammed satellite transmissions to Iran, where pro-democracy advocates have staged repeated demonstrations against the ruling Islamic government. "The BBG calls upon the international community to censure the states that have caused the interference," the nine-member board said in a unanimous resolution. "The BBG strongly condemns the deliberate and malicious interference with its legitimate efforts to impart truthful, objective, and balanced news to its Iranian audience." "Cuba's jamming of satellite transmissions is illegal and interferes with the free and open flow of international communications," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the BBG's chairman. "This action is illegal, represents a major threat to satellite communication and must be stopped." The jamming was first detected on July 6, the day the BBG's Voice of America (VOA) launched a daily, 30-minute, Persian-language television news and analysis program, News and Views, aimed at providing information to the millions of people who have access to satellite TV in Iran. The program, broadcast from 9:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. in Iran, features original, in-depth news reporting from Iran, world news round-ups, analyses of issues and events and special interest and cultural features. Two other weekly VOA Persian-language television programs, Next Chapter and Roundtable with You, are also jammed. The BBG said service providers have said the source of jamming is located near Havana, Cuba, which is about 90 miles from the coast of the United States. The resolution urged the State Department and the Federal Communications Commission to "lodge an appropriate formal protest against the government of Cuba for this unwarranted and wrongful interference." (BBG press release July 15 via DXLD) Plus: RESOLUTION ON THE JAMMING OF SATELLITE BROADCASTS TO IRAN Whereas: http://www.bbg.gov/_bbg_news.cfm?articleID=86&mode=general (BBG press release July 15 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. STATE-RUN INTERNET SITE RESURFACES WITH NEW CONTENT, DESIGN The internet site of the Iraqi State Company for Internet Services at http://www.uruklink.net/ is back on the web with a new design and content. It provides links to eight Iraqi newspapers, publications and news sites, including links to: - Al-Zaman, an independent newspaper run by Sa'd al-Bazzaz that prints in London, Baghdad and other locations, at http://www.azzaman.com/ - Nida al-Rafidayn - newspaper of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq - at http://www.nidaa-arrafidain.com/ - Al-Naba, a Shi'i news network associated with Ayatollah Sadiq al- Husayni al-Shirazi, at http://www.annabaa.org/index.htm - Al-Majrashah, an Iraqi satirical newspaper issued by a number of volunteer journalists abroad, at http://muntada.net/maj/index.html - Al-Nahrayn Encyclopedia, an extensive Iraqi news site and portal, at http://www.nahrain.com/ - The Iraqi Home, an Iraqi bimonthly (once every two months) newspaper issued by the Iraqi community in the Netherlands, at http://iraqhome.8k.com/ - Iraq Today, an internet news page that focuses on Iraqi affairs and developments, at http://iraqtoday.net/ - Iraq For All Network, a news network, at http://www.iraq4allnews.dk/ The site also provides active links to the BBC Arabic Service, Radio Sawa and Radio Monte Carlo. It also provides links to two web-based e-mail services - one for inside Iraq at webmail.uruklink.net:8383; and one for outside Iraq at mail.uruklink.net:8383 The site features a "news" section, which appears to be under construction. The following copyright information is observed: State Company for Internet Services (Iraq) SCIS 2003 Prior to the fall of Saddam Husayn's regime, the site http://www.uruklink.net hosted all official Iraqi daily and weekly newspapers, all Iraqi government web sites and several sites for Iraqi universities and organizations. The site disappeared from the Internet just before the fall of Saddam Husayn's regime on 9 April. Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** IRELAND. RTE Radio 1 is again broadcasting on LW 252 kHz. I noticed transmissions started at 9 am (0800 UT) today (Tuesday). Yesterday RTE was on all afternoon from approx 1300-1615 UT. The audio on 252 is very good - it sounds much better than BBC R4 which is noticeably muffled on LW compared to the RTE transmissions (Dave Kenny, July 16, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. ISRAEL SAYS BBC TV CAN RESUME "BALANCED, FACTUAL" REPORTING Israeli Government Press Office director Daniel Seaman has said the BBC can resume its reporting in Israel if it observes neutrality. He said the corporation was biased against Israel and he accused it of favouring the Palestinian version of events. He said instead of fair criticism, the BBC "crossed the line into vilification and demonization of the State of Israel". The following is the text of a commentary by Seaman in English published by Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post web site on 15 July: Media reaction to Israel's decision to re-evaluate its relationship with the BBC has tended to ignore the reasons why it was taken. While the decision's merits can be argued, any evaluation of Israel's grievances should be based on whether the BBC adheres to universal standards of journalistic ethics. In short: Does BBC coverage of Israel meet the tests of integrity, impartiality, honesty and accuracy? Recycling malicious falsehoods that have been documented and independently disproved is a clear measure of lack of integrity. Months after a UN investigation concluded there was no evidence of a massacre in Jenin, BBC anchors and the BBC web site still implied doubt as to what really happened. In a recent programme allegations were again raised about Israel's use of a "mysterious" gas in Gaza, ignoring the fact that medical experts refuted this hoax over two years ago. Adopting the narrative and terminology of one of the sides to a conflict is not impartiality. The BBC goes out of its way to state that the Temple Mount is called "Haram al-Sharif" by the Arabs, implying an Arab claim to the site. This in itself is not a problem - except that the same consideration is not extended to Israel. The West Bank is never "known by the Jews as Judaea and Samaria". The BBC goes so far as to accommodate the Hezbollah terror organization when it describes the UN-recognized Israeli border with Lebanon as "disputed." Similarly, Israeli settlements are "illegal" and the territories "occupied" rather than disputed. Undermining the credibility of sources by implying doubt, by questioning and conditioning is disingenuous, especially when it is applied to only one side of an issue. Israeli sources reported by the BBC almost always "allege," while Palestinians "report." When hard evidence is presented by Israel, such as the photo of an infant Palestinian dressed as a homicide bomber, its authenticity is questioned. Yet Palestinians levelling the most ludicrous of accusations against Israel are quoted verbatim. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is often assigned a militant adjective such as "extreme right-wing" or "former general," something that is almost never done when describing a Palestinian leader. Those working in television are keenly aware that how something is said or what is shown can be much more important in creating and solidifying an image than actual content. In this respect the Israeli position repeatedly suffers in the BBC's treatment of regional stories, a fact readily demonstrated by any objective analysis of its videotape archives. The use of camera angles, hidden cameras, cinematographic techniques of insinuation and innuendo, intonation - even rhetorical questions - can create a sinister, even diabolical image of an interviewee, cast doubt on his point of view and raise unofficial concern about his character and intention. Beyond that, Israel's position has repeatedly suffered through the focus on only those points that support a particular view. Contrary information is omitted in a manner that can only be regarded as knowing and deliberate. Such treatment of highly complex Middle East issues does not represent "legitimate criticism." It is not an objective attempt to expose the truth, but defamation aimed at creating prejudice. This kind of reporting does not require an official Israeli response; it demands a legal defence. To discuss or debate such baseless accusations only lends them credibility. In the past, defamation of Israel was neatly packaged in the claim of holding Israel to a "higher standard." Such pretense has now evolved into "creative journalism," in which all means are justified in order to depict Israel as a sinister society, one whose arrogance and total disregard for international law is the real menace to world peace and stability. Thus the BBC can draw a moral equivalence between the premeditated murder of innocent men, women and children in Israel by Palestinians and their supporters and Israel's justifiable actions of self-defence. Criticizing Israel's policies is the BBC's prerogative. However, an accumulation of grievances over a number of years leads us to believe that the BBC has crossed the line from valid criticism into vilification and demonization of the State of Israel, to such an extent as borders on delegitimization of the nation itself. A direct cause of incitement, such treatment reinforces acts of anti-Semitism and violence against Israelis and Jews worldwide. The BBC can continue to operate freely in Israel. Israel is an open democracy embracing freedom of the press. But only at such time that the corporation acknowledges its responsibility to provide its viewers and listeners with an honest, balanced and factual account of events in the Middle East will the government of Israel restore cordial cooperation. Source: The Jerusalem Post web site, in English 15 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. PLANS FOR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RADIO ADDRESS DROPPED | Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap President Roh Moo-hyun has shelved his plan to make a weekly radio address beginning this week because of differences with a broadcaster over how to handle the programme, a presidential press secretary said Wednesday [16 July]. Acting on a request from the presidential office of Chongwadae [Blue House - presidential offices], state KBS Radio 1 had scheduled to air the president's pre-recorded speech for about five minutes between 0700 and 0800 every Friday. "The president has pushed for the radio address as a way of personally explaining public issues to the people, but provisionally cancelled the plan due to a difference of opinion with the broadcasting station", said Lee Hae-sung, the chief presidential spokesman. "KBS radio producers seemed to view the radio address as part of their news programmes, in which the president simply appears as a guest", Lee said. The KBS radio producers wanted to discuss the subject of Roh's speech every time before it is delivered, while the president simply wanted to borrow the media as a way of delivering his speech, he added. The spokesman hinted, however, that Roh may change his decision, saying that there is still "much room" for negotiations. Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0813 gmt 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. See UGANDA ** MADAGASCAR. Otra cosa increíble --- Radio Madagasikara (¡al fin la capto luego de 17 años!) en la frecuencia de 5010 kHz, a las 0412 UT. Locutor y temas musicales autóctonos de la isla. Muy interferida por la ahora sobremodulada YVTO, 5000 kHz. SINPO 22432. Desvanecimiento contínuamente acentuado, hasta desaparecer a las 0432 UT (15/07). 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [non]. FCC rules signal confusion for cross-border broadcasting Clear Channel's stations in Mexico may cross the line By Rachel Laing UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER July 15, 2003 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20030715-9999_1b15radio.html Clear Channel Communications' grip on the San Diego radio market could be loosened by the Federal Communications Commission's recent media- ownership rule changes. The San Antonio-based radio conglomerate, which owns or operates 11 local stations, might be forced to sell or end leasing agreements with at least four stations under the new FCC rules. The changes to the FCC rules affecting San Diego concern Mexican radio stations that Clear Channel operates. Before the rule changes the FCC approved early last month, stations broadcasting from Baja California did not count in the U.S. ownership limits. Those limits allow a single company to own or operate up to eight radio stations in a market, with no more than five stations per band. While Clear Channel owns only seven U.S. stations that broadcast in San Diego – five FM and two AM – it was able to increase its presence in the market legally through operating agreements with four Mexican FM stations that broadcast out of Tijuana but whose operations are in Clear Channel's Kearny Mesa complex. The arrangement has given Clear Channel an estimated 45 percent share of the San Diego market, which is about three times the share held by Jefferson Pilot Communications, Clear Channel's closest rival here. With the new rules not taking effect for two years, Clear Channel lobbyist and spokesman Andy Levin said it's too soon to tell what action the company will take to comply. "There are several options to get to the right number," Levin said. "You can terminate contracts with Mexican stations or sell our owned stations. That's a decision to be made." Darrel Goodin, general manager of Jefferson Pilot in San Diego, said the company had filed a grievance with the FCC a year ago, asking the agency to close the loophole that allowed Clear Channel such a dominant position in the local market. Goodin said that while Clear Channel is not in violation of the letter of the law, exemption of foreign-owned stations from the ownership limits allowed the company to skirt the "intent and spirit" of the law. "They have nine FM signals, and that enables them to control the competitive environment" in precisely the way regulations had been drawn up to prevent, Goodin said. According to Goodin, controlling five FM stations in a market forces a company to focus on finding the profitable niche for each station, which serves the marketplace by offering variety. But he asserted that with nine stations, Clear Channel has the luxury to wield its influence for the express goal of stifling competition. Goodin contended that after leasing Mexican station XHCR, which had a classic country and oldies format, it immediately changed the format to mimic the contemporary country format of Jefferson Pilot's KSON. This was not an effort to compete head to head with KSON, Goodin said, but rather an effort to gain just enough of KSON's audience to knock the established country station out of the top five FM stations so that another Clear Channel station could take its place. Advertising buyers who purchase air time are often under directives to buy spots in the top five stations for a particular age group or other demographic. But Mike Glickenhaus, who manages the local cluster of stations for Clear Channel, said Goodin's assertions were nonsense. "It is totally absurd that any company would take a multimillion- dollar radio property just to screw around with another company," Glickenhaus said. "That would not be a good business decision by any measure." Glickenhaus said it's not worth speculating at this point on how Clear Channel will comply with the new regulations because it's still unclear precisely how the company would be in violation. That's because the new rules change how markets are defined, and that may lead to some haggling over how far over the limit the company is in San Diego. The current rules define market boundaries by the intersection of signals in an area, whereas the new rules define a market based on geographical regions drawn by the Arbitron radio ratings service. Foreign stations that are considered to be part of a particular market by the media research firm BIA will no longer be exempted from ownership rules as they currently are. In most markets, holdings that exceed the limit under the new market definitions will be grandfathered in. But foreign-owned stations won't be. Glickenhaus said some stations could be difficult to define. For instance, he said, the company's XTRA AM sports news station is Mexican-owned and broadcasts from Tijuana, but all its sales operations, programming and most of its listeners are in Los Angeles. The company considers it a Los Angeles station. But it still has a listener base in San Diego, he said, which means it could possibly be counted as a San Diego station. "There are going to be a number of situations that don't fit the mold," he said. "It's a little too early to tell where this will go." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. While this is somewhat a work in progress, most of Radio Netherlands' programming can now be enjoyed on-demand, with the latest edition of each feature program now available -- no longer do you need to figure out which archived English broadcast contains the program you're looking for. Not all programs are available yet -- Newslink was one program absent when I just checked -- but the basic framework is in place. I've already sent Andy Sennit and Pepijn Kalis some organizational ideas -- e.g. making sure the existing individual program web pages link to the most recent audio -- but it's great to have RNW join the ranks of the on-demand world! http://www.rnw.nl/distrib/realaudio/html/english.html (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Radio Kaduna, 4770 kHz, fuera del aire a las 2247 UT. Parece que no hay señal desde hace horas (12/07). (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4770, R. Nigeria, Kaduna, 0532-0545, 16/07, English. Continuous pop ballads by YL, ID over music, "This is the English service of Radio Nigeria, Kaduna", followed by an unintelligible announcement. I think this is signing on at 0530 instead of usual 0430 as I have not logged this at 0430 in over a week; can anyone else verify this? I will check tonite (Scott R. Barbour Jr., NH, Sangean ATS 818, RF Systems MLB-1, RS longwire w/ RBA balun, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. On July 14 I received a verification letter for an E-skip reception of KOTV, channel 6, Tulsa OK on May 30, 6:22 AM CDT. The letter was sent by Gerald Weaver, Asst Director of Engineering. Nothing unusual about that. But, in addition, he also sent me a video tape of a segment of the 6 o'clock news in which the local news anchors try to stump the weather guy about the "E Layer", and quote extensively from my QSL letter. Over his head with the subject, confusing ducting with skip, the weather guy finally refers to me as the Einstein who can explain it. They put my screen shot photo on camera showing their morning sports guy. They were quite amused by my old TV set which has knobs and dials, and suggest that in addition to the verification, the station should also send me a new TV. The female anchor says that my reception of the station is better than hers down the street from the station. My TV, by the way, is an old GE B&W model, vintage unknown. Perhaps this is a first, an on-air TV verification? Scott, too bad I didn't have this in time for the WTFDA convention! (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Oriente 99.5 MHz, escuchada en los 6190 kHz, el pasado 12/07, a las 2219 UT. SINPO 33532 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio San Antonio (desconozco el QTH), transmitía boleros y anulaba totalmente a Radio Amazonas de Venezuela, en 4939.97 kHz, a las 2345 UT, el 12/07 (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Russian International Radio --- Here is their current MW schedule: 1143 kHz via Kaliningrad/Bolshakovo 1200-1700, 1800-2100 1215 kHz via Kaliningrad/Bolshakovo 1900-2100 1386 kHz via Kaliningrad/Bolshakovo 1200-1500, 1900-2100 1494 kHz via St.Petersburg/Popovka 1500-1700; 2000-2100 (from August 10) (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, hard-core-dx via DXLD) see TANNU TUVA ** SAO TOME. MILITARY COUP IN SÃO TOMÉ Diplomats seek talks with army officers after they seize power in the West African state of São Tomé and Príncipe. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3070355.stm [illlustrated] Efforts are under way to hold talks with the leaders of the coup which toppled the government of the West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe on Wednesday. Rebel army officers in the tiny former Portuguese colony seized the prime minister and other cabinet members in the dawn coup which appears to have been largely bloodless. Gunshots and exploding rockets and grenades were heard around 0300 GMT and sporadic firing continued throughout the morning but there are no indications of casualties. The Portuguese ambassador is due to meet the coup leaders later on Wednesday to discuss their grievances and Sao Tome's foreign minister, speaking from Lisbon, said his government wished to open a dialogue. Portugal is calling for condemnation of the coup by its other ex- colonies and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has already appealed for a speedy return to "constitutional order". Sao Tome and Principe, one of the world's poorest states, has offshore oilfields which are due to begin producing within the next four years. Alex Vines from the Royal Institute for International Affairs told BBC World that he suspects that control of the oil money is behind the coup. OIL-FUELLED FUTURE Sao Tome has one of the world's highest foreign debts Oil production expected to start in 2006-7 The auctioning of oil permits in 2004 is due to net $100 million Sao Tome will receive 40% and Nigeria 60% of eventual oil revenue Last year, the United States was considering increasing military co- operation with the Sao Tome Government amid reports that the US was trying to buy more West African oil. The rebels appear to have exploited the absence of President Fradique de Menezes who is reported to be on a private visit to Nigeria. The rebels took control of government buildings, state TV and radio, the central bank and the airport. Their leader, named by the Portuguese news agency Lusa as Major Fernando "Cobo" Pereira, made a speech on national radio ordering all members of the government and parliament to report to police stations. 'People on streets' Political analyst Antonio Agiar in Sao Tome told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the capital was pretty calm by around 0700 GMT and the sound of shooting had stopped. "There are people on the streets but less than usual," he said. The Portuguese ambassador in Sao Tome, Mario de Jesus Santos, said there had been only sporadic shooting and that he was unaware of any "physical confrontations". Mr Santos was due to begin talks with the coup-leaders around midday, Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz said in Lisbon. His Sao Tome counterpart, Mateus Meira Rita, said his government also wanted to engage in talks aimed at the "immediate restoration of constitutional order". Mr Meira Rita said the coup had been led by a unit of soldiers who had received training in South Africa. 'Violation' The Portuguese news agency Lusa reports that Lisbon is set to urge condemnation of the coup at a meeting of the Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries (CPLP). A Portuguese "official source" told the agency that an emergency meeting of the CPLP had been convened to discuss the "unacceptable violation of a democratic regime". Along with Prime Minister Maria das Neves, National Assembly President Dionisio Dias, Defence Minister Fernando Daqua and Natural Resources Minister Rafael Branco were also seized. Mr Branco is considered a key member of the government as he handles the oil portfolio. Published: 2003/07/16 12:05:02 GMT © BBC MMIII (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) SAO TOME, São Tomé and Principe - Troops rebelled and detained the prime minister Wednesday in São Tomé and Principe, a tiny island nation off western Africa and one of the world's poorest countries, which has been in turmoil since the recent discovery of oil. Shots were heard before dawn, and Prime Minister Maria das Neves was arrested by renegade soldiers, Portuguese state radio Radiodifusão Portuguesa reported. Other senior government officials, including Oil Minister Rafael Branco, were also detained. Sporadic gunshots could still be heard six hours later in the capital São Tomé, though it was not clear whether the shots were from fighting or were fired into the air as a warning. No injuries were reported. The streets of São Tomé and Principe's capital were mostly empty. Public buildings and shops remained closed. In a brief statement read over state radio Rádio Nacional de São Tomé, Maj. Fernando Pereira - the head of military training and a participant in the rebellion - ordered all government officials and lawmakers to report to police headquarters. Health Minister Claudina Cruz and Justice Minister Justino Veiga, as well as about 30 lawmakers out of the 55 who sit in Parliament, handed themselves over to the mutineers, a police source said on condition of anonymity. President Fradique de Menezes was out of the country, on a private visit to Nigeria. The rebels have not said why they mutinied, nor was it immediately clear who was leading the rebellion. Soldiers in recent months have complained about low pay and poor living conditions. The country's armed forces number about 600 troops. The Portuguese ambassador in São Tomé, Mário de Jesus Santos, was due to meet the leaders of the revolt later Wednesday to discuss their grievances. Army officers rebelled in 1995, forcing the government to step down and hold new elections. They gave up their attempt to take power after the United States and the European Union threatened to cut off vital aid. The rebellious soldiers took control of the presidential palace, the parliament building and the airport. They also seized the central bank and the state radio and television headquarters in the capital of the former Portuguese colony. The Portuguese ambassador said the city was calm. "We are waiting for some clarification from the leaders [of the revolt] as to what they want," he told Portuguese radio. Das Neves was the country's first woman prime minister, appointed in October. Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who is also president of the African Union, urged the mutineers to give up their apparent power grab. "We condemn this coup and demand that its perpetrators restore constitutional order," Chissano said, quoted by the Portuguese national news agency Lusa. São Tomé and Principe, off the coast of Gabon, has a population of about 140,000 and is one of the world's poorest countries. But recent discoveries of oil in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea have brought hopes of quick economic advancement. The United States has made diplomatic overtures toward São Tomé and Príncipe hoping it and other countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea can provide a more stable source of oil than the Persian Gulf. But feuding among rival political parties over the oil wealth has caused political instability in recent years. The turmoil has stalled plans to explore the oil reserves. Since Menezes began his term in September 2001, he has fired four prime ministers and dissolved Parliament once. In January, Menezes revoked a decree that called for early elections and the dissolving of Parliament after striking a deal with lawmakers eager to trim his powers. Offshore development had been planned in conjunction with Nigeria. International tenders for development of the oil reserves were recently opened, though the results are not yet known (Fox news via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) COUP IN SÃO TOMÉ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/16/world/main563537.shtml (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) RADIO IN SAO TOME SAID STILL ON AIR, APPARENTLY "INFILTRATED" BY COUP MAKERS | Text of report by Portuguese TV for Africa on 16 July News just in - which has been confirmed by RTP's [Portuguese TV's] correspondent - is that a coup has been carried out in Sao Tome and Principe. There are soldiers on the streets and leaders have been detained, including the prime minister. The coup took place at 0300 [local time, the same as gmt [sic]] today, at a time when President Fradique de Menezes is out of the country on a private visit to Nigeria. The soldiers - and everything points to the fact that it was the soldiers who carried out this coup - have taken control of the television and the radio, and their broadcasts have been suspended [as heard - see further reporting below]. According to what is known, the situation is still very confusing as it is not known who has really taken over power in the country. On the line I have our correspondent, Ricardo Mota. Good day. Is there any more information about what is happening? [Mota] No. Here in Sao Tome and Principe it is 6.30 in the morning and the information is very scarce. Everything indicates, and as you have just said, that the coup started at three o'clock. Gunshots were heard sporadically throughout the capital city. I have just arrived at the RTP Africa offices and during my journey I saw some soldiers, but there is no panic or open conflict. I can confirm the detention of Prime Minister Maria das Neves, as well as some ministers, namely the infrastructure and natural resources minister, defence minister, as well as the interim president, who is the National Assembly president, Dr Dionisio Dias. The information is scarce in terms of who is carrying out this coup. Everything indicates that the command forces within the armed forces are not involved in this coup, but rather another faction. This is information that I state with some caution as there is no confirmation. No communiqué has been issued by those who carried out the coup. Meanwhile, the people woke up a little shocked by the gunshots that were heard sporadically during the night. To date and according to the scarce information, there is nothing serious taking place. It can be confirmed that the detained government members have been taken to the barracks, which has also been taken over by a faction of the armed forces. [Announcer] The information is scarce because, I'm not sure if you have been able to confirm, but the radio and television have suspended broadcasts. [Mota] In relation to the television this has not happened. At this moment I can say that I am watching RTP International which is broadcast via (?TVS) [presumably state-owned Televisao Sao Tome e Principe] as (?TVS) only starts broadcasting at 1800. Right now I am also watching RTP Africa. Therefore, if the television has been taken over it is still functioning normally. In relation to radio, I heard the radio from 4.30 this morning. I had the perception that the radio has been infiltrated [by the putschists]. Meanwhile, there are people who have said that a warning was issued, asking the people to stay at home and not to take to the streets. The information that we have been receiving comes from people who have gone to work. They say that in certain sections of the city the concentration of troops is more significant, especially close to public buildings and ministries. I saw two jeeps with troops, but this seemed normal. [Presenter] We are certainly going to follow what is happening in relation to this coup as it is still not known who is trying to take over power. Source: RTP Internacional TV, Lisbon, in Portuguese 0630 gmt 16 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) SAO TOME RADIO NOW SAID TO BE OFF THE AIR FOLLOWING COUP State radio in São Tomé is now off the air, Portugal's RTP Internacional TV reported at 0855 gmt on 16 July as part of its coverage of the overnight coup. (Earlier, an RTP reporter in Sao Tome had said that the radio was still broadcasting.) Source: RTP Internacional TV, Lisbon, in Portuguese 0745 gmt 16 Jul 03 One wonders if there will be any effect on the VOA relay. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here`s the current IBB schedule for ``SAO``; of course, if the station is off, some of the same transmissions could be backed up by other sites, such as ASCENSION, BOTSWANA, MOROCCO, etc., without notice or any local IDs, depending on transmitter availability. 15410, for instance is normally taken over by Morocco after 1700, but something was still audible there at 1600. Current Frequency Schedule Report Jul.16,4:40:0,2003.GMT [all VOA] FREQUENCY TIME NET LANG XMTR AZI DAYS 1530 0300 0430 B ENGL SAO A 040 1530 0430 0500 F PORT SAO A 040 1530 0500 0530 F HAUS SAO A 040 1530 0530 0600 F FREN SAO A 040 12345 1530 0600 0630 B ENGL SAO A 040 1530 0630 0700 B ENGL SAO A 040 67 1530 1600 1700 B ENGL SAO A 040 1530 1700 1800 F PORT SAO A 040 1530 1800 1830 F PORT SAO A 040 12345 1530 1830 1900 F FREN SAO A 040 1530 1900 2000 F FREN SAO A 040 1530 2000 2200 B ENGL SAO A 040 1530 2200 2230 B ENGL SAO A 040 12345 4950 1900 2030 B ENGL SAO 05 030 4950 2030 2100 B ENGL SAO 05 030 67 4950 2030 2100 F HAUS SAO 05 030 12345 4960 0400 0430 B ENGL SAO 05 030 4960 0430 0500 B ENGL SAO 05 030 4960 0500 0530 F HAUS SAO 05 030 4960 0530 0600 F FREN SAO 05 030 12345 4960 0600 0630 F FREN SAO 05 030 12345 6045 0500 0530 F HAUS SAO 01 000 6045 0530 0600 F FREN SAO 01 000 12345 6045 0600 0630 F FREN SAO 01 000 12345 6080 0300 0430 B ENGL SAO 04 138 6080 0430 0500 B ENGL SAO 04 138 6080 0500 0630 B ENGL SAO 04 138 6080 0630 0700 B ENGL SAO 04 138 67 6095 0330 0430 F KNKR SAO 02 100 6095 0430 0500 F PORT SAO 02 124 6095 0500 0530 F HAUS SAO 02 020 6095 0530 0600 F FREN SAO 02 020 12345 6095 0600 0630 F FREN SAO 02 020 12345 7290 0300 0430 B ENGL SAO 03 138 7290 0430 0600 B ENGL SAO 03 138 7290 0600 0630 B ENGL SAO 03 020 12345 9710 1500 1530 F HAUS SAO 04 020 9830 1600 1700 B ENGL SAO 01 335 9830 1700 1800 F PORT SAO 01 335 9830 1800 1830 F PORT SAO 01 335 12345 9830 1830 1900 F FREN SAO 01 335 9830 1900 2000 F FREN SAO 01 335 9830 2000 2030 F FREN SAO 01 335 9830 2030 2100 F FREN SAO 01 335 67 9830 2030 2100 F HAUS SAO 01 335 12345 9830 2100 2130 F FREN SAO 01 335 12345 9850 1600 1700 B ENGL SAO 02 138 9850 1700 1800 B ENGL SAO 02 138 9850 1800 2200 B ENGL SAO 02 138 9850 2200 2230 B ENGL SAO 02 138 12345 11975 1700 1730 B1 SHON SAO 04 138 12345 11975 1730 1800 B1 ENGL SAO 04 138 12345 11975 1800 2200 B ENGL SAO 04 100 11975 2200 2230 B ENGL SAO 04 100 12345 11990 1500 1530 F HAUS SAO 03 335 12035 2100 2130 F FREN SAO 03 020 12345 13695 1500 1530 F HAUS SAO 01 000 13725 0330 0430 F KNKR SAO 01 114 13725 0430 0500 F PORT SAO 01 114 15410 1600 1700 B ENGL SAO 04 124 15730 1630 1700 F1 SWAH SAO 03 100 15730 1700 1730 F1 SWAH SAO 03 100 12345 15730 1730 1800 F PORT SAO 03 100 15730 1800 1830 F PORT SAO 03 138 12345 15730 1830 1900 F FREN SAO 03 076 15730 1900 2000 F FREN SAO 03 076 15730 2000 2030 F FREN SAO 03 076 15730 2030 2100 F FREN SAO 03 076 67 15730 2030 2100 F HAUS SAO 03 076 12345 (excerpted by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Monitoring 15730, the usual VOA sign-on procedure was heard weakly at 1628 July 16, *not* including ``This is the Voice of America transmitter in São Tomé, signing on!`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI ARABIA TO UPGRADE DAMMAM BROADCASTING STATION Saudi Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Fouad bin Abdul-Salam Al-Farsi, signed an 80 million Riyal (US$21.4 million) contract on Tuesday for setting up a new radio transmission station in Dammam to replace the existing one. The project, which is scheduled for completion in 30 months, will broadcast three services on mediumwave and three on FM to cover Dammam city and the surrounding region (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 16 July 2003 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. See CANADA ** SWITZERLAND. Dear Mr. Harms, Thank you for your email. swissinfo/ SRI radio programmes will continue until 2005; however we no longer broadcast on shortwave to North America. Some listeners in North America have been able to pick up our programmes directed to South America at 2330 UT via 9885 KHz (Sottens) and 11905 KHz (Montsinéry). You may also want to visit our website http://www.swissinfo.org You'll find our radio programme, text, pictures and videos online. Sincerely, English Department swissinfo/SRI (via Bill Harms, MD, DXLD) Does this mean that SRI will stop broadcasting on SW? (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bill, Nice to hear from you. Yes, they are phasing out SW area by area (gh to Bill, via DXLD) That would be a serious mistake if SRI were to give up SW entirely (Harms, ibid.) ** SYRIA. OVERVIEW OF THE MEDIA - JULY 2003 | Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring Media Services on 16 July 2003 Overview The government and Ba'th Party own and control most of Syria's print and broadcast media. The domestic and foreign press are censored for material deemed threatening or embarrassing to the government, and criticism of the president and his family is not permitted. In 2000, after Bashar al-Asad became president following the death of his father Hafiz al-Asad, he authorized the country's first private and non-Ba'th Party newspapers in nearly 40 years. Political discussion groups mushroomed, and media reform appeared to be under way. However, after a brief period of increased press and political freedom, the efforts to consolidate reform stalled - a situation many analysts blamed on Bashar's dependence on his late father's ageing conservative support base. Following a crackdown that began in early 2001, during the following year the government prosecuted and jailed several pro-democracy activists. In the words of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), "the state-owned papers that had exhibited uncharacteristic panache in their opinion pages in 2000 today reflect the rigid style of previous years, displaying unwavering support for the government. Although the satirical weekly Al-Domari has mocked officials and some government policies, it, like all newly licensed private and party papers, largely avoids criticizing the regime." The passage of a new press law, first announced by Bashar in 2001, dashed all hopes of a media revival. The law imposes a range of restrictions against journalists, including requiring periodicals to obtain licences from the prime minister, who can deny any application not in the "public interest". Publications can be suspended for up to six months for violating content bans, and the prime minister can revoke the licences of repeat offenders. To date, some 15 private newspapers and magazines have been established, and publications from abroad are allowed to circulate. Curbs on the broadcast media are less onerous than on the print sector. Many TV viewers have access to foreign TV broadcasts, usually via satellite. Private, commercial FM radio stations are being licensed, but they cannot broadcast news or political content. Internet access continues to expand, and the country boasts dozens of internet cafes. The government remains Syria's sole internet provider. The press There are three main newspapers: Al-Ba'th (Ba'th Party paper); Al- Thawrah (The Revolution - government daily); and Tishrin (October), as well as the English-language Syria Times. Recent years have seen a modest proliferation of privately-published newspapers and magazines, the first such titles to be openly circulated since the early 1960s. In 2000 and 2001, three new party papers and two private papers were introduced in the country. There were new press laws in 2001. But while they permitted independent publications, they also spelt out the penalties for crossing the political line. New papers Sawt al-Shaab and Al-Wahdawi are pro-government and lack a critical edge, according to the CPJ. An independent, and at times satirical, voice was Al-Domari (The Lamplighter), edited by sacked Al-Thawrah cartoonist Ali Farzat. "Although we are an experiment and in terms of popularity it has been a success, we face many official obstacles. But what we have done is break the barrier of fear," said Farzat. However, Information Ministry rules limited its distribution, and the state advertisers' slice of the profits and pressure to censor some of the content led to the suspension of the paper, reported the World Press Review web site and Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres. In 2002, the government licensed at least three additional private publications - an insurance magazine, an advertising publication, and a political-cultural magazine called Abyad wa Aswad (Black and White), which is run by the son of the Syrian army chief of staff. Links: Al-Ba'th - http://www.albaath.com Al-Thawra - http://www.thawra.com Tishrin - http://www.teshreen.com Syria Times - http://www.teshreen.com/syriatimes Television Many TV viewers have access to foreign TV broadcasts, usually via satellite. There are no restrictions on the use of satellite receiving equipment. State-run Syrian TV operates domestic channels broadcasting in Arabic, English and French, and a satellite service which offers news bulletins in English, Hebrew and Spanish in addition to Arabic- language programmes. Improvements in the three state TV channels and pan-Arab news and entertainment channels have built ever-greater TV audiences. Links: Syrian Arab television - http://www.rtv.gov.sy Radio Syrian Arab Republic Radio is the state-run broadcaster, which also operates Radio Damascus, the external service, which broadcasts in several languages including English. In 2002 the government set out conditions for licensing private, commercial FM radio stations. But it ruled that the stations could not broadcast news or political content. In May 2003 the government gave initial approval to license four private commercial FM radio stations. Arabic-language programmes from Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, the Arabic-language French radio station of the Radio France Internationale (RFI) group, have been audible on FM in Damascus since March 2003, when the station set up a relay station in Ajlun in Jordan. In September 2002 a clandestine opposition radio targeted at listeners in Syria was monitored broadcasting material condemning the Syrian government and its human rights record. The station, which identified itself after a few weeks as The Arabic Radio, has a web site with the following URL: http://www.arabicsyradio.org Links: Syrian Arab Republic Radio - http://www.rtv.gov.sy The Arabic Radio - http://www.arabicsyradio.org News agency The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) provides general news services in Arabic, English and French. Links: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) - http://www.sana.org Internet Internet access continues to expand; the country boasts dozens of internet cafes. In December 2001 some 60,000 people were estimated to be online. An April 2002 forecast said the number of Internet subscribers would grow at an annual rate of 43% between 2001 and 2006. The government is Syria's sole internet provider and blocks content about Israel, sex and Syria's human rights record, as well as sites that allow access to free internet e-mail. However, web surfers appear to have little trouble evading the restrictions by using proxy sites or dialling into internet service providers outside the country. Source: BBC Monitoring research 16 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** TANNU TUVA. RUSSIA. Effective 1 July, transmitter in Kyzyl, Tuva (6100 kHz) is on the air with Mayak audio, instead of relaying Radio Rossii. According to my S meter, they increased the power to approximately 10...15 kW. Now frequency is steadily audible in Novosibirsk during the daytime. Broadcasting time must be 2200-1400. (open_dx - Igor Yaremenko, Novosibirsk, Russia, via Signal July 16 via DXLD) ** UGANDA [and non]. Dear Partners, In our previous newsletters we have told you of our work in Monrovia, Liberia. We wanted to establish a beachhead there so that we could once again blast the Word of God back into the Middle East. However, Doc Burkhart, our shortwave manager here in Louisville, Kentucky, telephoned me and asked that we urgently pray for our staff and friends in Liberia. Terrorist activities and threats of war had caused an evacuation of all Americans in Liberia. This information quickly brought back a flood of memories of all the heartache and difficulties High Adventure had suffered only three years before in May of 2000. At that time, Isaac Gronberg had telephoned me to say that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was pulling the Israeli Army off the South Lebanon/Israel border. The High Adventure Lebanese staff had to run for their lives. Our American Engineering staff hurriedly moved our equipment to the safety of Israel. Suddenly, the ferocious terrorists took over the area where we had been for thirty years. Now, once again, we had anticipated a secure, safe location in Liberia but heard the all too familiar terrorist activity and threat of war. Doc and I continued with our conversation. I reminded him that we had not been comfortable for several months with the deteriorating situation in Monrovia. I recalled that Don McLaughlin, the Director of High Adventure Global Broadcasting in Canada, recently told me of an open door in Uganda in which the government would grant us a license to broadcast from Kampala. God has sent a great outpouring there and a base has been established – a place where we could now raise up a tower and transmitter to reach the world. The Lord was right on time! Doc ended his conversation with me and called Don in Canada. They discussed the upheaval in Liberia. Bob Rodgers was contacted and it was agreed that the Holy Spirit was forbidding us to go any further into Liberia. We had a problem, however, as Paul Hunter was loading the equipment at that very moment into a huge shipping container directed toward Monrovia! We found out later that Hunter was only minutes away from completing the shipment information when an inspector informed him that he did not have all of the documentation that was needed. The shipment would be delayed until the next day. God had sovereignly stepped in and stopped the delivery. The equipment was immediately redirected to Uganda and our staff returned safely to America. Now, from Uganda we will be able to provide superior coverage to the Middle East as our weapons (transmitters) of mass salvation and deliverance beam a more powerful signal from Uganda. In Uganda, we have partnered with Bishop Grivas Muisisi. The Bishop oversees twelve rapidly growing churches and provides housing to 375 children who have been orphaned by the AIDS virus. In addition, he has 20 children in his own home. Uganda President Yoweri Museveni is addressing the AIDS epidemic in his country with United States President Bush. We have been told that there are hundreds of documented healings of this disease in Uganda. Many Christians there are crying out to God for a great revival. Post Office Box 197569 • Louisville, KY 40259 • Phone (502) 968-7550 • Fax (502) 968-7580 http://www.highadventure.org • Email: mail@highadventure.net (Jackie Yockey, July High Adventure Ministries newsletter, tnx to tip from Andy Sennitt, via DXLD) ** U K. BBC vs ISRAEL: q.v. [held over from previous issue] ** U S A [and non]. Hello Everyone, woke up early this morning, and I decided to monitor the WYFR 3955 kHz Merlin Skelton tests at 4-5 UT. 75 mb log at 0350-0357 UT: 3975 S9+20 dB on Kenwood (7 diodes shining on Sony 2010) R Budapest in Spanish til 0357 UT c-down. 3995 S9+60 dB on Kenwood (10 diodes shining on Sony 2010) DW Wertachtal, powerhouse as usual. 4005 S=6-7 thiny Vatican radio in un-readable language. Noisy. 75 mb log at 0400-0500 UT: 3955 S9+30 dB on Kenwood (7-8 diodes shining on Sony 2010) WYFR GERMAN service, Crash start at 04.00:09 UT! Program audio four[!] seconds behind \\ 9985 kHz direct from Florida. Latter starts S9=+40 dB til 0420 UT, then decreasing to S=9 +0 dB, like \\ 9355 Engl sce. But WYFR 7355 English still keeps S=9 +30 dB til 0500 UT. WYFR 3955 cut midst in playing WYFR hymn at 05.00:01 UT 3995 S9+40 dB on Kenwood (10 diodes shining on Sony 2010) DW Wertachtal, powerhouse as usual. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Rush Limbaugh, big fat liar, claims still to be on WRNO SW! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) His official site still lists WRNO: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rush.guest.la.html ``Our international audience can hear Rush Limbaugh on a commercial shortwave radio station out of New Orleans USA: station WRNO Monday thru Friday 1200 to 1500 (12noon to 3PM) New York City time - 1600 to 1900 UTC. as of October 25, 1998 to March 28, 1999 10:00AM - 5:00PM CST (1600-2300 UTC) - 7.395 MHZ* 5:00PM - 10:00PM CST (2300-0400 UTC) - 7.355 MHZ 10:00PM - 10:00AM CST (0400-0600 UTC) - 7.395 MHZ *This is a temporary frequency allocation. Please stay tuned for an announcement of our return to 15.420 MHZ`` (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) ** U S A. 5100, USA, WBCQ (tests), 2302-2333, 15/07, EG. Christian Media Network programming with ads for colloidal silver, water filters, religious program mentioning broadcasting on "WBCQ 9335", real "fire and brimstone". Good (Scott Barbour, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I also noticed 5100 paralleling 9330 instead of 7415. The RTTY on the lower side continues to be an annoyance (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. KCBQ, 1170, San Diego CA gets to stay on the air after its current transmitter site gets paved over. The Salem station told its listeners it might have to go dark in September, when its six-tower site in Santee is due to become a Home Depot --- but now it`s won a reprieve. While KCBQ fights with county officials about its plans for a new site up in the hills above Santee, it`ll operate at much lower power form the tower of Clear Channel`s KPOP, San Diego (1360), covering the city but losing its suburban signal after dark. KMYR, 1410, Wichita KS, has returned to air June 6 with Adult Standards, ``Music You Remember``, just six days after losing its transmitter building in a fire. Instead of its pre-fire 5000/1000 watt direxional signal, the standards station is running under STA with 250 watts into a single tower until it can get more of its transmission facility rebuilt (M-Street Journal via Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News July 14 via DXLD) ** U S A. KTIM, 1510, San Rafael CA, 6/30, format has returned to Classical, ex-C&W (100000watts.com via Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News July 14 via DXLD) Yay! ** U S A. KFUO AM WENT WITH IBOC There was a blurb in the business section of the St. Louis Post- Dispatch for Tuesday July 15th that KFUO-AM, 850 kHz, has started using IBOC. (They phrased it as HD Digital Radio from Ibiquity.) Since that is a daytimer, I suppose it isn't of much import to the MW DXing community. I tuned across the 830-870 kHz spectrum after reading that during the day and did hear the buzz on adjacent frequencies, but there seemed to be an awful lot of noises and buzzes and distinguishing the IBOC-caused noise from all the others was beyond me. The blurb seemed to imply that this was the first AMer here in St. Louis to implement IBOC. If it does improve their signal quality for the small amount of classical music they do air on the AM side, and if it is daytime only, I suppose it is a good thing. I seldom tune KFUO- AM myself, but KFUO-FM is our only classical resource left and one of the few local stations I listen to with any frequency. 73, (Will Martin, St. Louis, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES TO BLOCK FCC FROM EASING LIMITS ON TV STATION OWNERSHIP --- By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press, 7/16/03 12:56 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House committee voted Wednesday to block federal regulators from letting companies purchase larger numbers of television stations, ignoring a Bush administration veto threat and handing a setback to the commercial television networks. By a bipartisan 40-25 vote, the House Appropriations Committee voted to derail a new Federal Communications Commission rule that would let a single company own TV stations reaching 45 percent of American households. That new rule replaced a 35 percent limit, which has been favored by smaller broadcasters and an amalgam of groups ranging from the National Rifle Association to consumer advocates. The Appropriations Committee's approval of the provision, which was attached to a must-pass spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments, breathed new life into an effort by congressional opponents to undo the June 2 FCC decision. Separate House and Senate bills to thwart the new FCC have bogged down, having run into opposition from pivotal committee chairmen. Even so, with the White House threatening a veto, House Republican leaders backing the administration and continued opposition from the major commercial broadcast networks, the prospects for the provision approved on Wednesday were unclear. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., sponsor of the amendment, cast it as an attempt to keep national corporations from dictating what will be aired on local television stations. He and others complained about prime-time broadcasts of Victoria Secrets models and other programming they said was unsuitable for young children. "I don't want ownership factors to get in the way of districts like mine from being able to preserve their own cultural attitudes," Obey said. Supporters of the new FCC rules said they reflected the growing competition that large network broadcasters face from cable and satellite television and the Internet. Blocking those rules won't change the programming, they said. "It doesn't matter whether they're owned by a guy in that town or a conglomerate," said Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas. Obey's amendment did not affect other parts of the FCC decision that ended many of the prohibitions against a single company owning newspapers and broadcast stations in the same community. Prior to approving the amendment, the committee by voice vote killed an effort to broaden it by also blocking the part of the FCC ruling having to do with joint newspaper-broadcast ownership. The sponsor of that amendment, Rep. Anne Northup, R-Ky., said she wanted to contain the expansion of all media organizations, not just television networks. But Obey said her proposal, if approved, would have spelled the defeat of the entire amendment by increasing the number of groups -- and lawmakers -- opposed to it (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. BERKELEY RADIO PIRATES BROADCAST DESPITE FCC INTERVENTION, THREATS --- By AL WINSLOW Special to the Planet (07-15-03) Berkeley Daily Planet Edition Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=07-15-03&storyID=16999 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been trying to silence Berkeley`s pirate radio broadcasters for 10 years. The broadcasters continue to broadcast, but they say it`s getting harder. ``[The FCC] is starting to pick on people who have property, who have something to lose,`` said labor activist Michael Delacour, who quit Berkeley Liberation Radio (104.1 FM) last year after being threatened by the FCC with a fine of up to $100,000. ``I was afraid they were threatening my retirement,`` said Delacour, 65, who receives a pension from the Boilermakers` Union. A current broadcaster—``Captain Fred``—said the ranks of Berkeley Liberation Radio have thinned and that some local pirate stations—such as Queer Kids Radio and Vulcan Radio, an anarchist music station—went off the air entirely after getting an FCC letter. ``Typically, what happens is they get a letter called a notice of liability and a letter threatening dire consequences if they don`t go off the air,`` Captain Fred said. Another broadcaster—``DJ Advocacy``— added: ``Usually, for most people, that`s all the warning they need.`` DJ Advocacy said broadcasters use pseudonyms because, ``Basically, the FCC doesn`t know who we are. They didn`t know where to send the letter to, so they sent it to Delacour.`` The May 6, 2002, letter to Delacour, five-time Peace and Freedom Party candidate for mayor and Berkeley`s best known usual suspect, reads: ``[The FCC] has received complaints from residents ... concerning interference to reception of FM broadcast signals ... investigation revealed that you lease space at Skyline Studios ... and that that space is used by the illegal radio station known as Berkeley Liberation Radio ... You are hereby officially advised that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid license ... may subject the operator to penalties of a maximum criminal fine of $100,000 and/or one-year imprisonment, a civil forfeiture up to $11,000 or seizure of the equipment for the first offense.`` When shown the letter, the Berkeley civil liberties lawyer David Beauvais said, ``They`re intending to chill people out with it. That`s the point.`` The radio station is breaking the law, he said, and the FCC is enforcing it. ``It`s a civil disobedience kind of thing, and when you do civil disobedience, you`ve got to take your lumps,`` Beauvais said. The FCC made good on its ``seizure of the equipment`` threat Dec. 11, storming the Berkeley Liberation Radio station at 2427 Telegraph Ave. at 55 Street. The pirate station now operates in another location. The station has no paid employees and costs $600 a month for rent and $20 for a phone, according to Captain Fred. What is broadcast is virtually anything. Berkeley pirate broadcasters have aired a Marxist interpretation of the news, regular readings of articles from the local newspapers, shows on animal rights, parenting, bicycle liberation and the experiences of gay Afro-Americans, articles by adult film actress Nina Hartley, programs by the Peace and Freedom Party and the Libertarian Party, and an on-air appearance by then- Mayor Shirley Dean. A lot of it is for enjoyment, Delacour said. ``It`s a form of therapy. You can sit in a room and talk for a couple of hours without anyone interrupting. You can be the disc jockey you always dreamed of since you were a kid.`` Tony McNair, a Berkeley homeless activist, was alone in the one-room station at 11 a.m., broadcasting the tape of a San Francisco anti-war rally. He said about a dozen men in blue jackets with FCC or U.S. Marshall written on them, came in carrying sledge hammers and a battering ram. ``They yanked me out by the shirt and slammed me up against the wall and held guns pointed at my head,`` McNair said. ``They kept saying, `Who are the leaders? Who are the leaders?``` McNair said the raiding party turned off the station and removed all the equipment, including a computer and its records. He was let go an hour later, after an Oakland policeman ran a warrant check on him, he said. The station, though, was back on the air in four days and continues to broadcast. It now costs about $1,000 to fully equip a micropower station and the cost is about to plunge again, according to Free Radio Berkeley founder Stephen Dunifer. Barred by federal court order from broadcasting, Dunifer is collaborating with other transmitter engineers throughout the country to find ways to reduce equipment costs. ``We`re ready to introduce a $100 kit that, with other equipment you can get at a hardware store, will let you broadcast four to six miles, which is really all you need, for $500,`` he said. ``As long as equipment costs can be kept low, these raids are really not that effective. They cost a lot and there is the indirect cost that storm troopers coming in and stealing a microphone is not the best image the FCC wants to project in terms of free speech issues,`` Dunifer said. Dunifer advocates flooding the country with so many micropower stations the government will be powerless. ``If it becomes popular enough, mainstream enough, the FCC could face having to go into a rest home to stop an 80-year-old woman from broadcasting Glenn Miller,`` he said. Because they come and go so often, it`s hard to estimate how many unlicensed stations operate in the country. Dunifer estimates hundreds. One Web site lists 21 by name in California, including six in the Bay Area. The FCC regularly reports shutting down about 200 a year. Broadcaster Suzan Rodriguez, using her real name --- ``I don`t care who knows who I am`` --- said prior to her regular Friday morning show on Berkeley Liberation Radio, ``We`re not going to just roll over.`` ``Micro-radio is the last platform for the people to have a voice in a country where the government is bent on gagging our voices. Dissent is the American way. Our country was founded on dissent,`` she said. Meanwhile, it`s not certain the FCC has rid itself of Delacour. ``Actually, I made a bad decision,`` he said about quitting the station. ``I had other things going on, like fighting an eviction, but I wish I`d stayed with it and not chickened out.`` (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) It looks like Frank Charlie Charlie is now saying you can make big fines slow through repeat offenses. I wonder if they're going to make any decisive moves against the well-known pirates in San Francisco and Berkeley any time soon (Joel Rubin, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ORDERS CIVIL JUDGMENT AGAINST RICHARD I. ROWLAND FOR UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATION. The FCC announced that in the US Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, US District Judge Honorable Gregory A. Presnell granted judgment in favor of US to collect a civil penalty against defendant Richard I. Rowland in the amount of $10,000. News Release. News Media Contact: David Fiske at (202) 418-0500 EB. Contact Lisa Fowlkes at (202) 418-7450, TTY: 1(888) 835-5322 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236551A1.txt (via radioman390 via Joel Rubin, DXLD) ** U S A. TODD MUNDT SHOW: Our final show is July 25th. Nothing lasts forever, except maybe an Adam Sandler movie, which only SEEMS that way. And like all things - summer, the sweet innocence of childhood, "Hee Haw" - the Todd Mundt Show is ending on July 25th. Todd has decided to do other things. He will continue to host Morning Edition on Michigan Radio from 5am to 9am. He will also be working with our sister station, Michigan Television on various public television projects. It`s been a good run. (from http://www.toddshow.org/goodbye.asp via DXLD) ** U S A. REUNION --- ALUMS RECALL WEBR'S SWITCH TO ALL-NEWS By JOHN F. BONFATTI, News Staff Reporter, 7/13/2003 Some of the more familiar voices in Buffalo news radio history filled Romanello's Roseland restaurant as alumni of WEBR radio gathered for a reunion Saturday night. Gathered by former WEBR anchor Mark Hamrick, about 20 former staffers glanced through a scrapbook of photos and reminisced about the days after the station switched from an oldies format to an all-news format in 1976. "That station was such a unique situation because we had a lot of young, highly talented people working together at a special time," said Hamrick, who went on to work for AP Broadcast in Washington, where he has been business editor for the past seven years. WEBR, located at 970 on the AM dial - a spot now used by its successor, WNED - was one of the first radio stations in Buffalo, originally going on the air in 1924. It was the first commercial radio station to be purchased by a public radio station in 50 years when the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association bought it in 1975. The switch in formats the next year made it the first public all-news station in the country. more at: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030713/1035826.asp (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** U S A. NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Anarchy on the Airwaves Chet Flippo 07/10/2003 (NASHVILLE SKYLINE is a column by CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo.) http://www.cmt.com/news/display/1473736.jhtml In the fascinating Stanley Kramer doomsday movie On the Beach, there`s a pivotal scene where a submarine crew -- survivors of a nuclear holocaust -- scan the radio waves in vain looking for signs of life elsewhere in the world. Finally, a ray of hope! There`s a mysterious signal coming over the airwaves -- but it`s a sort of clicking, like Morse code. A search team from the submarine goes ashore in San Diego to find the source of the signal. And they find it. In an otherwise lifeless city, in an otherwise lifeless radio station, there`s a Coke bottle that`s become entangled in the window shade cord and -- blown by the breeze through the window -- it`s tapping out a nonsensical message through the radio`s board. Is that where big radio is headed? A signal with no message? Mainline radio executives this week appearing before Congress to defend their boycott of the Dixie Chicks sounded defensive and finally … afraid. Their justification of the Chicks boycott as a business decision rather than a political one is shamefully transparent -- especially when they claim that listener response ``forced`` the boycott. And it is demonstrating to listeners that big radio is not responsive to their wishes. As corporate radio increasingly becomes homogenized and chases the dollar through any means necessary, listeners increasingly look to alternatives. Not just in country radio, where airplay at major stations equals chart success equals album sales and ticket sales on tour. That`s still the mainstream model -- but it should not be the only country outlet for listeners. These days though, it`s not so much a case of ``either or`` -- having to choose between either mainstream or underground radio. It`s now a case of having a much larger tray to elect from. Not since the days of true pirate radio with offshore stations like Radio Caroline have so many alternatives to big commercial radio been emerging. Country fans, especially, are looking to satellite radio such as XM and Sirius. And more and more, people are turning to the Internet for radio alternatives . And size no longer matters When your favorite radio station is on wheels, what does that tell you? In a world of 100,000- watt mega stations, tiny WDVX transmits with a puny 200 watts from a 14-foot trailer in rural Tennessee. Thanks to the Internet, though, WDVX.com is a giant among stations. It`s nonprofit and commercial-free and it plays many strains of American music, with a focus on bluegrass. That WDVX trailer will be rolling into downtown Knoxville later this year. It`s been lured away from its spot at the Fox Inn Campgrounds in Clinton, Tenn., as part of the development of the Gay Street area of downtown Knoxville. WDVX has already been transmitting live concerts from downtown Knoxville, and its new site will have an adjacent 75- seat auditorium for live shows. Internet stations such as WDVX and lively WNCW on the campus of Isothermal Community College in Spindale, N.C., are proving that size doesn`t matter. As long as they can exist with even marginal support, such viable alternatives are going to be sought out by listeners with an ear for adventure. You should be able to hear George Strait and Bruce Springsteen, Merle Haggard and Norah Jones, Joe Nichols and Alison Krauss, Delbert McClinton and Allison Moorer, Roscoe Holcomb and Lightnin` Hopkins, Tracy Chapman and Ben Harper, Ani DiFranco and Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley and Ralph Stanley, Billie Holiday and Charley Patton, T-Bone Walker and Lyle Lovett, Dolly Parton and Etta James, Miles Davis and the Carter Family, Bill Monroe and the Jayhawks. Specialized radio outlets for that music are here and they`re growing. In this limitless future of MP3 streams, iPods and satellites, personal radio is an inevitability. Our own CMT.com radio stations have demonstrated the enormous listener appeal of customized radio. The day is coming when your personal iPod will transmit your own personal radio favorites to you on demand. Visitors to Microsoft founder Bill Gates` mansion are given visitors` passes that are embedded with chips containing the visitors` own personal preferences in music and art. Each room in the house is programmed to play that music and show those images on the wall. That`s about as personal it gets -- until the day when you get your government-provided computer chip installed in your brain. Let a thousand radio alternatives bloom (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. INTERVIEW --- CIGAR DAVE, TURNING OVER A FAMILIAR LEAF By ANTHONY VIOLANTI, News Staff Reporter, 7/14/2003 The legend of Cigar Dave started in North Buffalo nearly 30 years ago. It all began when little David Zeplowitz would climb up on his grandfather's knee. Grandpa Abe used to smoke Gold Circle cigars, and young Dave relished the smell of a stogie wafting across the room. "My grandfather always smoked cigars and I loved to be around him, and I loved the aroma," said Zeplowitz, 39, known to radio fans as Cigar Dave. He now lives in Tampa and hosts the weekly Cigar Dave Show, syndicated to nearly 100 hundred stations, with an estimated audience of about 800,000 listeners. The two-hour program has been on the air for eight years and is heard locally at 7 p.m. Saturdays on WBEN-AM 930. Zeplowitz as Cigar Dave offers a throwback to the Rat Pack era, a time of smokes, cocktails, thick steaks, off-color jokes and guy talk. On the air, Cigar Dave is known as "The General," and weaves tales of sports, good times and a "harem" of female admirers, not to mention detailed information on the art of smoking cigars. Some may call the program politically incorrect, but Cigar Dave couldn't care less. "My show is about going back to simpler times and I'm unapologetic about it, no matter what the pleasure police say," Zeplowitz said in a telephone interview. And just who are the pleasure police? "All those nannies telling you what not to do," Zeplowitz said. "Too many people think that we shouldn't do anything that is enjoyable. Their lives are so miserable the only way they feel good is to make people unhappy. Let me worry about myself. I have the right to smoke cigars and eat steak." He admits that high doses of beef and tobacco can clog the arteries and the lungs. "I tell people to enjoy things in moderation," said Zeplowitz, who only smokes a few cigars a week. "A little steak, a little wine, a good cigar; what's wrong with that? Have it in moderation and you will be fine." more at: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030714/1048822.asp (Via Fred Waterer, Ont., DXLD) ** U S A. WORKER DIES FROM 450-FOOT RADIO TOWER FALL http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/6309282.htm Posted on Tue, Jul. 15, 2003 Associated Press HOOKSTOWN, Pa. - A worker repairing an antenna on a radio tower Tuesday morning fell about 450 feet to his death, authorities said. The 26-year-old man, believed to be from Paducah, Ky., was pronounced dead at the scene before 11 a.m., the Beaver County Coroner's office said. The victim's identity was being withheld pending notification of family, state police Trooper Randall McPherson said. The worker, a subcontractor for World Tower Co. Inc. of Mayfield, Ky., was working on a 490-feet-tall radio tower in Greene Township, near the Ohio border. Another man working on the tower at the time said he believed each man was secured to his harness, McPherson said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating, McPherson said (via Mike Terry, DXLD) What station??!! News - 400-Foot Drop Kills Radio Tower Worker" The link: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/2334066/detail.html State Police, OSHA Investigating GREENE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A man died Tuesday morning after falling about 450 feet from a radio tower while he was repairing an antenna, WTAE's Sheldon Ingram reported. Authorities say the 26-year-old man, believed to be from Paducah, Ky., was pronounced dead at the scene in a remote area of Greene, Beaver County. His name has not been revealed. The man was working on a tower used by WOGF Froggy 104, of East Liverpool, Ohio. He was a subcontractor for World Tower Co. Inc., of Mayfield, Ky. State police Trooper Randall McPherson said the man and a co- worker were apparently both wearing their harnesses and were attached to the tower, looking at each other, when the fall happened. As of now, the death is being considered an accident. State police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are continuing to investigate. Oddly enough, this station is currently running a promotion called "Leap for Life"! (via Jerry Rappel, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. STILL NO WORD ON WHY TOWER FELL Shiloh Woolman, Managing Editor http://www.theomahachannel.com/ketv7/2315531/detail.html POSTED: 12:15 p.m. CDT July 7, 2003 UPDATED: 5:25 p.m. CDT July 8, 2003 OMAHA, Neb. -- Crews returned to the site of Friday's KETV tower collapse at 72nd and Crown Point Monday. They are hoping to determine what brought down the 1,200-foot tower and begin to assess how and when the station will be able to rebuild. Slideshow: Photos From The Tower Collapse http://www.theomahachannel.com/ketv7/2315531/detail.html http://www.earthsignals.com/add_CGC/KETV_TWR.jpg The main broadcast tower for Channel 7 fell to the ground Friday at 11:09 p.m. Neighbors reported hearing the guy wires snap, but they mistakenly thought the noise was fireworks. "All of a sudden I heard this noise like a jet and the tower just fell on top of itself," said Tracy Oliver, a witness to the collapse. "The lights went out as it went down." KETV was upgrading the tower with new HDTV technology. No one was hurt in the fall and Channel 7 is still being broadcast from an auxiliary tower near the station at 27th and Douglas streets. KVNO is not so lucky, however. The classical music station had an antenna on the tower and it has no backup location. For the indefinite future, KVNO can be heard on the Internet KVNO (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. HAM RADIO ASSISTS RELIEF EFFORT AS CLAUDETTE HITS TEXAS COAST NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 15, 2003--Now that Hurricane Claudette has made landfall at Matagorda Bay on the middle Texas coast, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has secured operations, and Amateur Radio Emergency Service teams have begun to aid relief organizations. The HWN had activated on 14.325 MHz to gather observed or measured weather data and storm damage reports as the stormed headed toward the Texas coast. When a storm threatens, HWN relays reports to forecasters via WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. ``We secured the Hurricane Watch Net as Hurricane Claudette has moved inland near Port O`Connor, Texas, and ceases to be a serious threat,`` said HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP. The National Hurricane Center expects Claudette to weaken as the storm`s eye moves further inland. ARRL South Texas Section Manager Ray Taylor, N5NAV, says the storm came ashore a bit earlier than anticipated. The ARES station at the Texas State Emergency Operations Center has been on the air since July 13, he said. ARES crews also have been helping the Baptist Men`s Kitchen, Red Cross and The Salvation Army relief efforts. An FCC-declared general communications emergency for the Texas coastal area for 7285 kHz (days) and 3873 kHz (nights) remains in effect. The FCC says amateurs are required to refrain from using those frequencies, plus or minus 3 kHz, unless they are taking part in the handling of emergency traffic. The declaration remains in effect until it`s rescinded. A hurricane warning remains in effect along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to High Island. A tropical storm warning remains in effect north of High Island, Texas, to Sabine Pass. As of 1600 UT, Claudette was some 15 miles west-northwest of Port O`Connor, Texas moving to the west-northwest at nearly 12 MPH and packing maximum sustained winds near 80 MPH with higher gusts. Intense rainfall resulting in possible flooding seems to be the major threat, with the NHC predicting up to eight inches of rain along with storm surge flooding of four to six feet above normal. Isolated tornadoes also are possible. Taylor said parts of South Texas already are saturated from previous heavy rains. WX4NHC has requested that amateurs submit weather and damage reports from affected areas via the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz and via IRLP SKYWARN Node (Dallas Reflector) 9455. Non-IRLP repeaters will be linked via the Cactus Intertie System to cover a large area of Texas. Texas Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) Coordinator Mel Goodwin, KI5WT, has advised SATERN members to listen to the emergency net on 7.285 MHz daytime. The SATERN net meets on 14.265 MHz weekdays at 1500 UT. The Salvation Army has put disaster relief teams on notice for immediate activation. Canteen units are equipped with Amateur Radio gear. The Salvation Army already has opened two shelters in Corpus Christi and another in Freeport is housing some 25 residents mostly from the flooded Surfside area. Another shelter was scheduled to open in Lufkin. The Salvation Army reports it has four shelters on standby in Cameron County and another in McAllen to handle any storm-related evacuees. The International Space Station crew of Commander Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUO, and NASA ISS Science Officer and Flight Engineer Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, were able to see Hurricane Claudette from their unique vantage point 240 miles above Earth. NASA says the Expedition 7 team captured ``spectacular video`` of the storm as it made landfall. (The video will be broadcast on NASA Television.) Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-126, July 15, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1190: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445/15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1191: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB [and 5100-CUSB?] Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039 Sun 0032 on WINB 12160 ** AFRICA. OK, OK. As many people had problems with the zipped file and the server doesn't handle normal .xls-files properly, I've now uploaded AFRICALIST as zipped .doc (60 kB, editable) or standard .pdf (120 kB). http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist/ (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. HCA (HCJB Australia) changes wef 21st July '03 0100 0130 UT - 15420 South Asia URDU Daily 0130 0330 UT - 15420 South Asia ENG Daily 1230 1700 UT - 15390 South Asia ENG Daily 1700 1730 UT - 15405 South Asia URDU Daily 0800 1200 UT - 11750 South Pac ENG Daily 1800 2030 UT - 11765 South Pac ENG Daily Regds, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Right now (0237 UT) I'm listening to what I presume is Radio Gaucha on 11916.2 kHz (all databases say it's 11915). Male announcer in Portuguese which I "no comprende". It looks like the Brazilians are going to be coming in well tonight. SINPO 34333 on the R-390A, just barely discernible on the Yaesu VR-5000. Sloper antenna. 73 de (Phil, KO6BB Atchley, CA, July 15, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** CANADA. Aboriginal Voices Radio's CFIE (106.5 Toronto) has been granted a power increase. It'll go from 350 watts to 1100 watts from its First Canadian Place transmitter; right now, it gets killed by co- channel interference from WYRK (106.5 Buffalo) as close in as Etobicoke! And the CRTC is getting out of the low-power business: it announced last week that it will no longer require parks information, traffic information and weather stations to submit to its licensing procedures as long as they're less than 100 watts on AM, 50 watts at 60 meters on FM. Those stations will still have to get technical approval from Industry Canada --- and, this being Canada, will have to pledge to comply with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' guidelines on gender portrayal! (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch July 14 via DXLD) ** CANADA. NEW RADIO STATION AIMED AT GREEK COMMUNITY NTR Thursday, July 10, 2003 Montreal's Greek community will be able to listen to a new FM radio station this winter that will broadcast primarily in Greek on the frequency of 105.1. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission recently granted Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio the license to launch the new commercial station. The station, which will be known as CKIQ-FM, will aim its broadcasts primarily at the city's Greek community, but will also broadcast in Armenian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian and Tagalog. CKIQ will also integrate certain elements of its programming in French and English. (c) Copyright 2003 NTR (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. RADIO STATION ACCUSED OF LINK TO TAMIL TIGERS --- SMEAR CAMPAIGN ALLEGED: Cabinet to decide this week whether to revoke licence Stewart Bell, National Post, Tuesday, July 15, 2003 http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id=330749D2-F735-4CF7-B2E7-B2422654F6EA TORONTO - The federal Cabinet is to decide this week whether to cancel a radio licence granted by the CRTC to a Toronto company with alleged links to a South Asian terrorist organization. The new station, to be launched this fall in Toronto at 101.3 FM, denies any ties to extremists and insists it is the target of a smear campaign by opponents of its plan to broadcast to the city's ethnic communities. But government officials are concerned by allegations the broadcaster is affiliated with the World Tamil Movement (WTM), a fundraising front for the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan terrorist group. The RCMP is aware of the allegations and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has been advising the government on the matter. Cabinet is to decide by tomorrow whether to overturn the CRTC decision. The allegations come as the Cabinet is taking criticism for failing to outlaw the Tamil Tigers under Canada's Anti-Terrorist Act. Stockwell Day, the Canadian Alliance's foreign affairs critic, has launched a campaign to ban the group. Allegations of terrorist ties were brought to the attention of the CRTC last summer by Sri Lankan Canadians, who wrote letters opposing a radio licence application by Canadian Multicultural Radio. The letters claimed the numbered company behind the radio bid was tied to the WTM. The letters also claim WTM volunteers had gone door to door in Tamil neighbourhoods in Toronto to intimidate Sri Lankans into supporting the radio licence bid. The CRTC approved the licence anyway on April 17. Denis Carmel, a CRTC spokesman, said of the "thousands and thousands" of responses to the proposed station, only a few raised concerns about terrorism and the station responded to all the allegations in full. "We felt there was a competitive process and people were being a little too passionate," he said. "The language of these letters was vague and there was a lot of interventions, most of them favourable." The Privy Council Office has since received 47 petitions seeking an appeal of the decision. They have been referred to the Department of Canadian Heritage, which has made a recommendation to Cabinet. It must announce its decision by July 16. Several of the petitions allege a link to the Tamil Tigers, also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE. Though the organization has not been banned, the federal government has frozen since the fall of 2001 on suspicion of terrorist links. "It is well known in the Sri Lankan community that the people who are behind the licence ... are the fronts for the LTTE's major organizers in Canada," said one petition. The station denies the claims. S. Sivakumaran, the radio station's chief operating officer, said some of those who complained were supporters of competing bids. The company has tried to track them down to serve them with defamation suits, but has not been able to find them, he said. "I don't even know if some of these people exist." He said the station has responded to each of the allegations in detail and will make its written response available after the Cabinet decision is announced. "It's a smear campaign," he said. "I could sense that, from having looked at these appeals, it's a joint effort by some of the members of our community who did not get the licence and some of these same people wrote support for the other applicants during the application process." The allegations do not concern members of the radio station team but rather their relatives and friends, he said. "They are trying to say that he's got a friend of so-and-so, he's got a relative. We're in no position to comment about a third party. It's ridiculous.... "Post-Sept. 11, everyone's worried about terrorist link and terrorist things and whoever is doing the strategy for these guys has told them to write stuff like this because it gets everyone anxious and everyone's attention. "If [members of the station's board] have any links, I'd be sure that the Privy Council would get the RCMP and CSIS to give them a report." He said neither agency had contacted the company concerning any investigation. The Tamil Tigers have frequently used terrorist tactics such as suicide bombings and political assassinations during a two-decade insurgency that sought independence for the island's ethnic Tamil minority. The violence was financed largely by expatriate Tamil communities, particularly in Canada. CSIS has estimated the Tigers raised millions in Canada through front organizations and crime. The Tigers agreed to a ceasefire last year and entered peace talks with the government. But they walked away from the negotiations in April and there have been reports the LTTE is preparing for renewed war. "I can tell you for sure that concerns with respect to security that have been expressed, the RCMP is aware of them," said François Jubinville, of the Privy Council Office. The RCMP confirmed it was aware of the allegations but would not comment further. "It's not our practice to identify who or what might be the subject of a criminal investigation," Corporal Benoit Desjardins said. "We are aware of it, but in regard to is there an investigation, I cannot comment on whether there is one or not." (via Mike Brooker, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. VETERAN OF OLD HAPPY GANG RADIO SERIES, EDDIE ALLEN, DIES AT AGE 82 --- Canadian Press Monday, July 14, 2003 http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=604a2dd3-d7dc-409f-8dc4-b9a2204465c3 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. If Clear Channel is going to buy WWV ("give us 20 minutes, we'll give you 20 minutes"), can CHUM Ltd. buy CHU? With a change to slogan "the Chew", or "Tock 3330/7335". Horrors, they're one of the few Canadian stations still using a call letter ID. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CUBA. RHC is providing decent signals here in Europe. Try 9820 for Habana's 0200 US service. Regards and 73's (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yawn ** CUBA. Since RHC incessantly beats the drum about 5 Cuban political prisoners in the US --- and I`d dearly like some OBJECTIVE info about their cases --- it is only fitting that we refer you to info about Cuban political prisoners in Cuba, who are held in appalling conditions, unlike whatever is going on with PPs in the US. One case is that of Martha Beatriz Roque; search on her name and you will find pages such as this with links to many others: http://www.marporcuba.org/marthabeatriz/ ``Cuba --- último territorio esclavo en América --- Patria o suerte, ¡pensaremos!`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. DENUNCIAN QUE CUBA INTERCEPTA SEÑALES DE EXILIADOS IRANÍES Tomado de la edición electrónica del diario "El Nuevo Herald" con fecha martes 15 de julio del 2003. Nota: informacion ya aportada en inglés por Glenn Hauser http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/news/world/cuba/6304036.htm (El Nuevo Herald | 07/15/2003 | via Óscar de Céspedes, FL, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 5009.68, Radio Cristal, *1028 -1040 11 July. National Anthem , "la emisora Radio Cristal... en todo el país... transmite...", many mentions de Santo Domingo. "Ésta es Radio Cristal..." (Icom R-75, JRC NRD 535, Drake R7, Pompano Beach, Florida, US, Bob Wilkner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. VOICE OF AMERICA CORRESPONDENT REPORTEDLY ARRESTED | Text of report in English by Eritrean opposition Awate.com web site on 12 July On 8 July, Eritrean security officers arrested Mr Aklilu Solomon, the Asmara-based correspondent for Voice of America (VOA.) The security personnel were described as armed and wearing plainclothes. The reporter's home was rummaged and his telephone line was forcefully unplugged from the wall. The reporter has disappeared since and his grieving mother has been informed by the security officers that they do not know of his whereabouts and that she should report his case to the police department. On 20 June, VOA had reported the announcement of the names of Eritrean soldiers killed in the Eritrea-Ethiopia war of 1998-2000. In contrast to the government-owned media who reported that the families of the deceased had received the news with "cheers, ululation and victory-to- the-masses chants," Mr Aklilu Solomon, who covered one of the announcements held at the cultural hall in Geza Banda Tilian (a neighbourhood in Asmara) reported of families "wailing and crying," and fainting and described the city as "engulfed in a cloud of sadness." While searching his home, the arresting officers accused the reporter of compiling news to "please the enemy." Mr Aklilu Solomon, who is 32, was raised in Ethiopia and moved to Eritrea in 1992, shortly after the nation achieved its independence from Ethiopia. The Tigriyna broadcast of the Voice of America is popular among taxi drivers, students and members of the Eritrean military. Source: Awate.com web site in English 12 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) The following statement was made by Voice of America (VOA) Director David Jackson regarding the detention of a VOA reporter in Eritrea: Washington, D.C., July 15, 2003 -- "We strongly object to the detention of Voice of America reporter Aklilu Solomon. He has distinguished himself as a journalist by telling the world of the urgent needs of the Eritrean people during the drought which has afflicted his country, and all of us at the Voice of America are proud of his contributions. His reporting has put VOA at the forefront of this important humanitarian story. We demand that Eritrean authorities free him immediately." (VOA press release July 15 via DXLD) CPJ CONDEMNS ARREST OF VOA STRINGER IN ERITREA The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the arrest of Eritrean journalist Aklilu Solomon, an Asmara-based stringer working for the Tigrigna service of the Voice of America (VOA). It brings to 18 the number of journalists currently under arrest in Eritrea. State security officers arrested Solomon on 8 July and took him to an undisclosed location. Ten days earlier, the authorities had stripped him of his press accreditation for reporting on the families of soldiers who died during Eritrea's 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia. Solomon had reported that the families were anguished over the soldiers' deaths, contradicting earlier claims by the state media that the families had celebrated when the government publicly announced the names of the dead. On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 3 2003, CPJ named Eritrea one of the world's 10 Worst Places to be a Journalist. "With Aklilu Solomon's outrageous arrest, the government has eliminated one of the few remaining sources of information about Eritrea," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "We call on Eritrean authorities to immediately release Solomon and his 17 colleagues, and to cease persecuting the independent press." (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 15 July 2003 via DXLD) ** INDIA. This afternoon I noticed AIR booming out (today was a great 90 degree DX zone from Europe) on 11620 as // 13710 from 1330 to 1500 in English. Perhaps Jose can indicate whether Bangalore has more than 6 transmitters since using both 9425 and 10330 for much of the day indicates they may have recently increased capacity (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Summer A-03 schedule of All India Radio: ARABIC 0430-0530 13620 15770 17845 1730-1945 9910 11585 13620 BALUCHI 1500-1600 1071 6165 9620 11585 BENGALI 0300-0430 and 0800-1100 594 1445-1515 and 1600-1730 1134 BURMESE 0100-0130 9950 11870 13630 1215-1315 11620 11710 15415 CHINESE 1145-1315 11840 15795 17705 DARI 0300-0345 9845 9910 11735 13620 1315-1415 7255 9910 ================================================================= ENGLISH 1000-1100 1053 13695 15020 15260 15410 17510 17800 17895 1330-1500 9690 13710 1745-1945 7410 9445 9950 11620 11935 13605 15075 15155 17670 2045-2230 7410 9445 9575 9910 9950 11620 11715 2245-0045 9705 9950 11620 13605 ================================================================= FRENCH 1945-2030 9910 13605 13620 GUJARATI 0415-0430 15075 15185 17715 1515-1600 11620 15175 HINDI 0315-0415 11840 13695 15075 15185 17715 0430-0530 15075 15185 17715 1615-1730 7410 9950 11585 12025 13770 17670 1945-2045 7410 9950 11620 2300-2400 9910 11740 13795 INDONESIAN 0845-0945 15770 17510 17860 KANNADA 0215-0300 11985 15075 MALAYALAM 1730-1830 7115 12025 NEPALI 0130-0230 594 3945 6045 7250 9810 0700-0800 7250 9595 11850 1330-1430 1134 3945 4860 6045 7410 11775 PERSIAN 0400-0430 11730 13620 15770 17845 1615-1730 7115 9910 PUNJABI 0800-0830 and 1230-1430 720 PASHTO 0215-0300 9845 9910 11735 13620 1415-1530 7255 9910 RUSSIAN 1615-1715 11620 15140 SARAIKI 1130-1200 702 SINDHI 0100-0200 1071 5990 7125 9635 1230-1500 1071 6165 9620 11585 SINHALA 0045-0115 1053 11985 1300-1500 1053 9820 15050 SWAHILI 1515-1615 9950 17670 TAMIL 0000-0045 1053 4790 9835 9910 11740 11985 13795 0115-0330 and 1100-1115 1053 1115-1215 1053 13695 15050 15770 17810 17860 1215-1300 and 1500-1530 1053 TELUGU 1215-1245 13695 15770 17810 THAI 1115-1200 13645 15410 17740 TIBETAN 0130-0200 9565 11900 13700 1215-1330 7410 9575 11775 URDU 0015-0100 1071 6155 9595 0100-0200 6155 9595 11620 0200-0430 1071 6155 9595 11620 0830-1130 702 1071 7250 9595 11620 1430-1600 702 3945 4860 6045 1600-1730 702 1071 3945 4860 6045 1730-1930 702 1071 4860 6045 (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** IRAN. Hola Glenn: Saludos cordiales en la distancia. Con mucho pesar te informo que continua la amenaza contra la onda corta; esta vez le ha tocado el turno a La Voz de la Republica Islamica de Iran, IRIB. He recibido de ellos un e-mail de ellos del cual te doy algunos fragmentos de interes a continuacion: "... el servicio exterior de la Voz de la Republica Islamica de Iran, pretende estudiar el caso de eliminar la onda corta, para asi sustituirla por el internet; ya que algunas autoridades opinan que conseguir las transmisiones de la Voz de la Republica Islamica de Iran, resulta mas barato a traves del internet..." "... solicitamos que tenga la gentileza de comunicarnos cuanto antes (De ser posible hasta mañana) sus opiniones al respecto, teniendo en cuenta las circunstancias económicas existentes en su país..." Por ahora me despido hasta un próximo QSO. Solidariamente, (Julio Trenard, Apartado Postal 41, Cumaná 6101, Venezuela --- Visita mi pagina web: http://usuarios.lycos.es/trenard July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IRIB is thinking of cutting off SW in favor of less expensive internet, and the Spanish section, at least, needed listener reaxion by tomorrow = today! Another slightly premature idea, but should we tell them? IRIB has really built up its external SW services in the last sesquidecade, to become one of the major players with scads of 500 kW transmitters, which no doubt are expensive to maintain and power --- and they are no doubt needed for more and more jamming instead, as a number of the broadcast transmitters they have purchased are already otherwise unaccounted for (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Ich beobachte bereits seit 11.00 Uhr UTC einen Sender auf 15810 kHz der Wort-Programme in Persian ausstrahlt. Nachmittags setzten Stoersender ein. Bei der 15810 KHz scheint es sich um die Voice of Iran zu handeln. Die Programme werden leicht zeitversetzt auch ueber 15750 via Frankreich ausgestrahlt (Andreas Tschauder, Austria, A-DX July 9, via BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. IRAQ Voice of Mojahed (presumed) observed on July 7: 0300 -0510 and 1400-1725 on 4650, 5350, 5650, 6450, 6750, 7010, 7750, 8280, 8550, 8950, 9250 with talks in Persian and jammed by Iran (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX July 7 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. THE MEDIA IN POST-WAR IRAQ - 15 JULY 2003 | Text of report by BBC Monitoring Media Services dated 15 July 2003 New publications continue to appear in Iraq at a prolific rate. Over 100 daily and weekly newspapers have become available since the fall of Saddam Husayn's regime in April 2003. Independent radio and TV stations, however, have been slower to emerge. The Iraqi Media Network, operated by the US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, continues for the time being to dominate domestic broadcasting. International broadcasters such as the BBC, Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East and the US-run Radio Sawa are all available on FM in Baghdad and some other Iraqi cities. Internet services are on offer in the capital, and the state internet service provider, Uruklink, is back in operation after several months offline. The following new Iraqi press and broadcast sources have been traced since the previous 5 June 2003 issue of "The media in post-war Iraq": NEW RADIO BROADCASTS IN IRAQ SINCE 5 JUNE 2003 Radio Monte Carlo on FM in Baghdad Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale, is on FM (93.5 MHz) in Baghdad for 24 hours a day, it was announced on 13 July. Previously the station had broadcast to Iraq only on mediumwave. NEW TV BROADCASTS IN IRAQ SINCE 5 JUNE 2003 Al-Thaqalayn TV This channel, affiliated to an Iranian cultural institute of the same name, is targeted at viewers in Iraq and broadcasts religious programmes, the Tehran Times newspaper reported on 14 July. People in Iran's Ilam Province can watch the programmes as well, the report noted. NEW IRAQI PRESS SINCE 5 JUNE 2003 [exhaustive list snipped for DXLD; if anyone really needs it, please contact the editor] POST-WAR BROADCAST MEDIA --- RADIO FM BAND IN BAGHDAD (MHz) 89.0 - BBC World Service in Arabic 89.9 - Iranian Payam network in Persian 90.1 - Iranian Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic 92.3 - Continuous US pop music 93.0 - Iranian Javan (Youth) network in Persian 93.5 - Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East 95.0 - Voice of Freedom from Baghdad in Arabic (operated by the PUK) 97.4 - Continuous US pop music (as 92.3) 97.7 - Continuous US pop music (as 92.3) 98.1 - BBC World Service in English 98.3 - Iraqi Media Network, Radio Baghdad in Arabic 100.4 - US Radio Sawa in Arabic 107.4 - Continuous US pop music (as 92.3) AM/MEDIUMWAVE (kHz) 531 - (Iranian) IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 540 - Radio Kuwait Main Programme in Arabic 558 - IRIB Radio Farhang network in Persian 576 - IRIB Arabic Service 585 - (Saudi) BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 612 - IRIB Arabic Service 630 - Radio Kuwait Koran Programme in Arabic 657 - Unidentified station in Arabic and Kurdish 666 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 693 - Information Radio in Arabic 711 - IRIB Ahwaz regional in Arabic 720 - Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic 729 - Abu Dhabi radio, UAE 756 - Iraqi Media Network in Arabic 783 - BSKSA 2nd Programme in Arabic 819 - Syrian Arab Republic Radio Main Programme in Arabic 864 - Radio Nejat in Persian 900 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 936 - BSKSA Koran Programme in Arabic 954 - Radio Qatar in Arabic 972 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1026 - Iraqi Media Network, Radio Baghdad in Arabic 1134 - Radio Kuwait Main Programme in Arabic 1161 - IRIB Arabic Service 1170 - (US-run) Radio Farda in Persian 1206 - Voice of Israel in Arabic 1224 - IRIB Arabic Service 1233 - Radio Monte Carlo Middle East in Arabic 1251 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1269 - Radio Kuwait Modern Arabic Music Service 1296 - Voice of Azerbaijan in Azeri - Radio Liberty relay 1314 - (US-run) Radio Free Iraq via Abu Dhabi 1341 - Radio Kuwait 2nd Programme in Arabic 1350 - Turkish-English Christian broadcast 1395 - Voice of Armenia in Armenian 1440 - BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 1449 - IRIB World Service in Russian 1467 - BSKSA General Programme in Arabic 1476 - Emirates Radio, UAE, in Arabic 1485 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1503 - IRIB Radio Sarasarye network in Persian 1521 - IRIB Radio Farhang network in Persian 1539 - (US-run) Radio Farda in Persian 1548 - (US-run) Radio Sawa in Arabic 1566 - Radio of the Land of the Two Rivers in Arabic 1575 - Radio Al-Mustaqbal 1575 - Radio Asia, UAE, in Urdu 1593 - (US-run) Radio Farda in Persian Iraqi Media Network, Voice of New Iraq - operated by the US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Has also identified as Republic of Iraq Radio from Baghdad and Voice of Free Iraq (Sawt al- Iraq al-Hurr). Broadcasts on 98.3 MHz FM in Baghdad. On 27 May 2003 the station was observed on 1026 kHz announcing as Iraqi Media Network, Radio Baghdad. The US-run radio now has a satellite relay in addition to the mediumwave 1026 kHz relay. Satellite details are Hot Bird, 13 degrees east, 11137 MHz, horizontal polarization. Radio Nahrain Since the end of March 2003, Radio Nahrain, also known as Twin Rivers Radio, has been transmitting on FM on 100.4 and 94.6 MHz from a location south of Basra. It has also been monitored on 909 kHz mediumwave. The station is operated by British forces, but was due to be taken over at some stage by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Voice of Freedom, Voice of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan radio in Arabic and Kurdish is operated by the PUK. It broadcasts daily from 1000-1900 gmt on 95.0 MHz. Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 and broadcasts on behalf of the 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. 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, broadcasts for one hour a day on shortwave 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 is 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 Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Radio Azadi, Voice of the Communist Party of Iraqi Kurdistan 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 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 radio 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 broadcasting 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: http://www.iran.mojahedin.org and the satellite is Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west. Al-Mustaqbal [The Future] radio is operated by the Iraqi National Accord. TELEVISION The Iraqi Media Network launched on 13 May. 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, includes 30 minutes of news each night, including a local news segment, the report said. The station began broadcasts amid squabbling between its US and Canadian advisers, and complaints from its Iraqi journalists about "American censorship", international agencies reported. Since around 20 June both the Iraqi Media Network and another digital TV channel, Twin Rivers TV, have broadcast to Iraq from Eutelsat W1, located at 10 degrees east. Karbala - a local TV channel was launched on 16 April, according to United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi TV on 6 May. Similar small-scale local channels are reported to be operating in Najaf and Kut, according to BBC News Online reporter Tarik Kafala, who visited the stations in June 2003. 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 from 1700-2200 gmt. Mosul TV was the "first station" to resume transmission in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Husayn, 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 and broadcasts on behalf of the 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. The 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. KurdSat, the television station of the PUK, has expanded its broadcasts to Kirkuk and Khanaqin The KDP's television station Kurdistan TV now beams its programmes to Kirkuk and Mosul. The Iraqi newpaper Al-Qabas reported on 3 June that eight million satellite dishes would be imported from the United States, Japan, Korea and China. TV BAND IN BAGHDAD (sound frequencies in MHz) VHF 194.75 - Pro-coalition Media Network Television 222.75 - Unidentified Persian broadcast (possibly Al-Alam TV) UHF 484.75 - Pro-coalition Media Network Television 508.75 - Iranian Television First Channel 532.75 - Iranian Television Regional Service 604.75 - Pro-coalition Media Network Television 644.75 - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Radio (in parallel with radio transmission on 4025 kHz) IRANIAN BROADCAST MEDIA ACCESSIBLE IN IRAQ TELEVISION The Iran-based Al-Alam 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 Iraqis, who cannot afford 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 programming. It broadcasts on the 13 degrees East Hot Bird 1-6 satellite daily at 0500-2300 gmt. Its web site is located at http://www.sahartv.com Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran television in Arabic is based in Tehran and sponsored by the state-run Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It broadcasts daily to Iraq on the satellite parameter 11172 MHz V (6.8 MHz) 62 degrees East Intelsat 902. Al-Thaqalayn TV This channel, affiliated to an Iranian cultural institute of the same name, is targeted at viewers in Iraq and broadcasts religious programmes, the Tehran Times newspaper reported on 14 July. People in Iran's Ilam Province can watch the programmes as well, the report noted. 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 Baqr al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI], according to the Tehran- based Baztab web site. The channel was untraced when checked from 5-7 July 2003, and may no longer be operational. A search of internet sites on 6 July revealed that the channel has left Intelsat 902, Hot Bird and Arabsat. RADIO Voice of the Mujahidin First observed on 17 April and broadcasting in Arabic, 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 - broadcasts in Arabic and supports the Iranian-sponsored Shi'i group, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI); believed to transmit from Iran. The station was untraced when checked from 5-7 July 2003. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Major international radio and television stations, such as pan-Arab satellite television stations, the BBC Arabic and World service radio, US Radio Sawa, the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East and US- sponsored Radio Sawa and Radio Free Iraq are available in Iraq. BBC World Service is now 24 hours a day in Arabic on FM in Baghdad and Basra. The FM frequencies are 89.0 MHz in Baghdad and 90.0 MHz in Basra in Arabic. In Basra, the World Service can also be heard in English on FM on 88.0 MHz. Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East is now on FM on 93.5 MHz in Baghdad for 24 hours a day. Radio Sawa is on FM in Baghdad (100.4 MHz), Arbil (100.5 MHz) and Sulaymaniyah (88.0 MHz), as well as on 1548 MW. Since mid-May 2003, Libya has been broadcasting specifically to Iraq in Arabic. The shortwave broadcasts carrry the following announcement: "This is the general centre for broadcasts beamed from the Great Jamahiriyah: A message to the people of the two rivers [Iraq]." Libya broadcasts to Iraq daily on 7245, 9605 and 11660 kHz at 1800-1900 gmt. [see also LIBYA] Syrian Arab Republic Radio is the Syrian state-owned radio's external service. It broadcasts on shortwave on 12085 and 13610 kHz. It has also been heard in Iraq on the MW frequency of 819 kHz between 1100 and 1145 gmt. Its satellite parameters are 11572 MHz H (7.2 MHz) on 16 degrees East Eutelsat W2, and 3803 MHz LCHP 40.50 W NSS 806. Its broadcast times are 1100-1145, 1350-1450, 1830-1915 and 2215-2315 gmt. Radio Kuwait is the state-owned Kuwaiti radio. It can be received in Iraq on the MW frequency of 504 kHz at 1100-1145 gmt. Voice of Israel is Israel's state-owned radio. It broadcasts daily in Arabic on shortwave at 0300-2115 gmt on 5915 kHz and 12150 kHz. Access to all broadcast media is limited by the availability of electricity, radio and TV sets and the satellite equipment. INTERNET Uruklink, the Iraqi state internet service provider, was observed back in operation on 12 July after several months offline. The web site at http://www.uruklink.net includes links to live audio streams from the BBC Arabic Service, Radio Sawa and Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East. The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that is administering postwar Iraq has launched a web site http://www.cpa-iraq.org The web site carries transcripts of speeches by CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer and other officials, fact sheets on Iraqi ministries, public service announcements, press releases and official documents such as regulations and orders issued by the CPA. An official source at the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced at the end of June 2003 that internet services to private subscribers in Baghdad would be resumed soon, and would be "free of charge", Al-Shira newspaper reported. SECURITY AND THE MEDIA The International Federation of Journalists on 7 July warned that Baghdad is "still a deadly war zone where no journalist's safety can be guaranteed," after a weekend in which a sniper shot and killed a British freelance and an Australian TV soundman died of wounds he received in a grenade attack a week previously. Their deaths brought the official media death toll of the war in Iraq to 19 journalists and media staff killed, with two journalists still missing. For a full list of media victims in the war in Iraq see the IFJ web site: http://www.ifj.org/ Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. NEW TELEVISION STATION LAUNCHED IN MOSUL | Text of report by Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) newspaper Al-Ittihad on 14 July The governor of Ninawa, Ghanim Al-Basu, has launched the Ninawa television station, which covers an area of 100 km. It will reach all the administrative districts and subdistricts in the governorate. It is the second television channel after Mosul television channel, which broadcasts only to the city of Mosul. The city has also an independent radio station, called Ninawa radio broadcast. The two television stations broadcast from 1700 to 0200 [local time - 1400-2300 gmt]. The commander of northern operations region, Brig-Gen David Petraeus, also attended the launching of Ninawa television channel. Source: Al- Ittihad, Baghdad, in Arabic 14 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. PRANK MESSAGE VIA GOOGLE MOCKS WMD SEARCH By MATTHEW FORDAHL, AP Technology Writer, July 14 The hunt for weapons of mass destruction isn't going so well in Iraq.It's not going so well on Google, either. Type "weapons of mass destruction" into the Internet search engine and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button. What you'll get is an authentic- looking error message created as a lark by a British pharmacist now enjoying his 15 minutes of Internet fame. "These Weapons of Mass Destruction cannot be displayed," it reads. "The country might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your weapons inspectors mandate." No hacking was involved — or necessary. Anthony Cox, 34, of Birmingham, England, created the site in February to get a few chuckles from friends. Those friends — and friends of their friends — started linking to his page from their sites and Web diaries. The number of links to a particular site is a major factor that Google considers when indexing pages to be returned via its search engine. The "lucky" button takes users to the top-ranked page for a particular search. Cox, previously best known on the Web for his day job of studying drug safety, says he had no idea the page would reach the top of the list for WMD searches. "It was really just a private joke among a few individuals and then I sent it off to a newsgroup," he said. "It just spread like wildfire throughout February. ... And then it started to die down during the war. During that time it had accumulated links from other Web sites, which pushed it up the Google page ranking system. "Then it just went through the stratosphere in terms of hits," he said. "It became even more funny that Google couldn't find any WMD." Cox's site isn't the only popular page to take a tongue-in-cheek approach to serious queries. Type in "French military victories" and hit the "lucky" button. A page designed to look like it's from Google asks, "Did you mean: French military defeats." Mountain View, Calif.-based Google declined to comment on specifics, but a spokesman confirmed that those sites are at the top of the list because they scored the highest under the company's automated system. For users who hit the regular search button, Google returns 1.4 million pages on the search "weapons of mass destruction." Though Cox's joke is on top, the remainder are mostly serious. Cox says the number of hits reached a crescendo during the week of July 4 and has not showed any sign of slowing down. He's received hundreds of e-mail messages, including from weapons inspectors who found it amusing. A number of e-mails criticized Cox, who said he was not against the war. "It's been widely seen as anti-war, but that's not what my intention was," he said. Cox does not spare "Old Europe" either. "If you are an Old European Country trying to protect your interests, make sure your options are left wide open as long as possible," it reads. "Click the Tools menu, and then click on League of Nations. On the Advanced tab, scroll to the Head in the Sand section and check settings for your exports to Iraq." Cox says he hasn't experienced any major repercussions from the joke. "I don't have the White House or Donald Rumsfeld breathing down my neck yet," he said. "There hasn't been a SEAL extraction team to get me yet." On the Net: Cox's site: http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ Google: http://www.google.com (via Daryl Rocker, NY, DXLD) ** IRELAND. RTÉ are running another transmitter test on 252 kHz today with a relay of RTÉ Radio 1 parallel MW 567 kHz. Observed from tune in at 1340 UT. I understand that no decision has been taken over future use of the LW transmitter so this is likely to be another short test (Dave Kenny, Caversham, July 15, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. I was told, that at Sharon's press conference last night in London, a reporter asked him about plans to cut KI's Short Wave service. He said he had not heard about it, and it should not be allowed to happen (Doni Rosenzweig, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ===== NEW ARABIC-LANGUAGE RADIO STATION TAKES TO THE AIR By David Ratner Gaon Communications Group has `ambitions of coexistence' From Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=317979&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Israel's only legal, commercial, Arabic-language radio station was dedicated yesterday on the outskirts of Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh, upon a hill topped with pine trees. Radio A-Shams is the 14th radio station to be created within the framework of the Second Authority for Television and Radio. The Second Authority is pinning big hopes on the new station, particularly after the stinging failure of Radio 2000, which operated in Nazareth between 1996 and November 2000. That station suffered an economic failure and during the October 2000 Arab Israeli riots, a problematic content aspect came to light in its broadcasts. Radio A-Shams is getting a head start. First, the Second Authority, rather than designating A-Shams a northern station broadcasting just to the Arab public in that region, decided to designate it a sectorial station aimed at Israel's entire Arab population. Reception will be beefed up in Jerusalem, Ramle, Lod and Jaffa. Second, A-Shams owners should provide a strong foundation for the station: Businessmen Suheil and Amal Kram control 51 percent of the station; the Gaon Communications Group - owned by Yehoram and Benny Gaon - holds another 20 percent; Sami Shimon owns 16 percent of A- Shams shares; Robar Asraf 10 percent; and Yazid Hadid 3 percent. The invitation to the opening indicated the station is situated in "Nazareth-Ein Hahoresh," but the site is far from Nazareth and close to the homes of Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh. The station was established on land owned by Soheil and Amal Kram that was once a Histadrut labor federation-run convalescent home. Yesterday's opening was like a vision of the New Middle East. The broadcast center housing the studios, called by senior Second Authority officials the most impressive in Israel, was stuccoed in orange and surrounded by an expanse of green grass upon which sat together Jews and Arabs, senior Christian figures and business people, Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy head of the Islamic Movement and its most senior figure not currently in detention. Mira Awad, star of "My Fair Lady," sang at the event, accompanied by guitarist Ron Lauer. "The joint establishment of the station brings more business," Yehoram Gaon said. "In the past, there hasn't been nearly any business between Arabs and Jews. This radio is not a place where investors are looking for big money; we certainly have ambitions of coexistence and cooperation." Despite Gaon's expressions of utopia yesterday, business is business. The Gaon Communications Group is responsible for handling Radio A- Shams' marketing, while the Krams will deal primarily with the station's day-to-day operations. Some $1 million were invested in the establishment of the new station. Investors note the potential for advertising and sponsorships in the range of NIS 5 million annually. There is also the technical side. The station will broadcast a program - similar to that of other regional stations - including Arabic and foreign music, with a separate news and current events department. While there will be light programming, unlike regional stations in the center of the country, profanities will neither be uttered nor alluded to. Sports will hold a big slot in the programming lineup; the station is pleased with the standing of the two Arab soccer teams in the Premier League and has already secured rights to broadcast their matches. But the pride of A-Shams is centered on the new station's news bureau. Because the station is not able to purchase Hebrew news broadcasts from other stations, it is forced to produce its own news reports. A- Shams is thus employing eight field reporters who will be spread out between Fasuta in the north and Jerusalem in the south. Veteran newsman Mustafa Abd Elhalim, who heads up the A-Shams news department, said there will be five-minute news reports every hour between 6 A.M. and midnight. The station will also broadcast three extended news programs of two hours total and "light" two-hour current events programs every morning. Nava Bat-Tzur, the Second Authority's deputy general manager for radio affairs, said the authority will not dictate A-Shams content but will monitor the station's as it does those with all stations operating under its authority. "We have the experience of what happened with Radio 2000. During the October 2000 riots, they broadcast inciteful mosque sermons, they referred to the Israel Defense Forces as the `occupation army.' We didn't force them to change, but we were certainly involved. I have no doubt that A-Shams will walk a fine line; but it will need to find its own way." Gaon also said the news bureau will be independent. "I wouldn't want to them to come to loggerheads with the state. All in all, this is my homeland but the station will certainly be free to reflect the public it is serving," he said. News manager Elhalim said he was still undecided. For example, Elhalim said he will not refer to the "Israel Defense Forces" - an expression that does not sit well with the Arab public - when reporting on IDF operations. On the other hand, he will not allow the use of the term "occupation army." Elhalim said the solution will be to simply use the term "army." News reports dealing with suicide attacks raise another problem. The Arabic word "shahidim" - martyrs - will not be used on A- Shams, but neither will the word "terrorists." The happy middle ground, for the meantime, is "life-taking operations." (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) {WTFK???} ** KURDISTAN. TURKEY: RADYO DUNYA SUSPENDED FOR AIRING KURDISH SONGS | Excerpt from report by German-based Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Politika web site on 15 July Radyo Dunya, which broadcasts locally in Adana, was closed for one month by the Radio and Television High Council [RTUK] for airing Kurdish songs on the programme entitled the "History of the Kurdish Language and Literature." Another ban on the broadcasts of Radyo Dunya was imposed by the Telecommunications Institution Mersin Regional Directorate. The broadcasts of Radyo Dunya were temporarily suspended on the grounds that it occupied a frequency over the "Air SS and Communications Systems". [passage omitted] Source: Ozgur Politika web site, Neu-Isenburg, in Turkish 15 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** KUWAIT. Re DXLD 3-124, DRM on 15110 Still in effect? No --- the DRM transmissions on 15110 ceased on or about July 10 and the station is now transmitting AM signals once again. I wonder if they have regained their audience in South Asia? 73s, (Noel Green, England, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. V. of Liberty, 11515v: The station is now off the air, here's the latest info from Morgan Freeman, received in connection with an email confirmation of my report from May 13: ``This station is located in Monrovia Liberia and it is in the middle of a war right now. We are not broadcasting becasue we ran out of fuel and the banks are closed. As soon as the troops get their and the banks open we will be on the air.. Thank you so much. please see if you can here our other stations 17.775 13.595 7.490 thank you`` (via Mika Mäkeläinen, Finland, July 15, dxing.info via DXLD) i.e. KVOH, WJIE and WJIE --- KVOH yes, WJIE no (gh, OK, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non] via FRANCE??: LJB service in Arabic to Iraq noted in USB mode: 1203-1303 on 17600 (55444) ||||| new additional transmission 1800-1900 on 11660 (53543) co-ch China Radio International in Mandarin Chinese/French in AM mode (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** MALTA. Re 998.85: Hi Stig, Salvo Miccichè and I, here in south Italy, noted Radju Malta out of frequency since last year. We sent also a couple of email to PBS (Roberto Scaglione, Italy, http://www.bclnews.it DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALTA [non]. /ITALY: Frequency change for Voice of Mediterranean in It/En via ROM 100 kW / ND 1700-1800 Mon-Sat NF 6185 (55555), ex 9605 to avoid BBC in Hindi/Urdu (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** PALESTINE. PALESTINIAN RADIO HEARD AGAIN AFTER "TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION" Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine which is usually heard with good reception on the FM frequency of 90.7 MHz, was unheard at tune in at 0400 gmt on 15 July. The station abruptly became unheard at 1522 gmt on 14 July. At 0642 gmt on 15 July, the station was heard again on the FM frequency of 90.7 MHz. The announcer welcomed listeners back on the air and said the station would now resume transmission "following a technical malfunction in the radio station's transmitter". The announcer added that Voice of Palestine could now be heard on the FM frequencies of 90.7 MHz and 99.5 MHz. The station then carried music and a review of Arab press. Palestinian TV (Gaza, in Arabic) continues to be heard with good reception since tune in at 0400 gmt on 15 July and is carrying regularly scheduled programming consisting of newscasts, talk shows and children's programmes. Palestinian news agency Wafa web site (Gaza, in Arabic) continues to carry normal traffic on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories. Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 0642 gmt 15 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) N.B.: DXLD country headings often differ from those used by sources quoted. BBCM used to head items like this ``WEST BANK & GAZA`` but now they come with no country heading at all (gh) ** PERU. Hola Amigos! 1610 kHz es Radio Sabor... desde Paucarpata, Arequipa. PERÚ Hello my friends! 1610 kHz is Radio Sabor, from Paucarpata, In Arequipa, PERÚ. 73 (Alfredo `Space Master` Cañote, Perú, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1610.10 per Malm ** PUERTO RICO [non?]. 5446.5, Armed Forces Radio and Television at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico verified an e-mail report with a Word attachment in 1 day from April Ball, Broadcast Operations Specialist indicating "The signal originates from Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Station, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico." My reception report was consist with published reports that initially put this freq as coming from the Florida Keys so the reply is somewhat confusing. I have not heard from them for my 7 MHz report and a follow up e-mail inquiry about tx sites has gone unanswered (Rich (D`Angelo, NASWA Prez, DXplorer July 13 via Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Starting from this afternoon a new Russian broadcaster (program) is on the air. Unfortunately, I do not remember their exact mediumwave schedule via our high-power transmitters (I will define it tomorrow), but here are some details (UT): 1215 kHz 1900-2100 1386 kHz 1900-2000 or 2000-2100 1494 kHz 1500-1700 1494 kHz 2000-2100 (starting from August 10) Just checked them at 1500 on 1494 kHz: news at the beginning, ID at 1504 as "Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio --- Rossiya vsegda s toboi" (= "Russian International Radio - Russia is always with you"), a lot of Russian modern lyric pop songs, at 1518 they announced their schedule as 1600-0100 Moscow time (=1200-2100 UT). I could not find any // SW frequencies during my short monitoring at beginning of the hour. My friend Alexander Beryozkin (he is a well known Russian DXer from St. Petersburg too) just informed me that Russian International Radio is a joint project of our Voice of Russia and our Russkoye Radio (latest one is a world's biggest FM network including more that 700 local FM transmitters here in Russian and in the CIS). No any information about their postal/e-mail addresses yet. If you will check any of these MW frequencies please send me a copy of your possible future messages to any DX electronic lists (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, July 15, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** RWANDA. Yes, Rwanda is in the clear from 2027 to 2100 [on 6055]. Nice signal here in south Italy (Roberto Scaglione, http://www.bclnews.it Italy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAO TOME. The fellow in Massachusetts who reported receiving IBB/VOA São Tomé is almost surely correct in his ID of it, as Glenn points out. Just for fun, I did a couple of fast calculations of anticipated signal strength from Sao to Boston using various formulae from ITU and FCC. The distance is about 9000 km. Depending upon the formula used, the 10% time signal at SS + 2 or at midnight (some formulae use one and some the other) could be as much as 115 uV/m, which is certainly a receivable signal. The azimuth from São to Boston is about 312 degrees true, and São radiates an ERP of about 2 megawatts in that direction. (Referenced to the nominal 300 mV/m/kW/km. The major lobes of the antenna pattern are at about 330 and 110 degrees.) Nice to see that it's working so well after the tower replacement and Graham Powell's consequent readjustment! (Ben Dawson, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. LTTE flap in CANADA: q.v. ** SYRIA. I have heard noise within 25m from Syria 12085 when it has been operating mornings. Currently it is not on air. There are supposed to be 4 X 500 kW THO of 500 kW at Adra, but I have some doubts about this, having never heard 4 simultaneous Syrian frequencies on air. And why continue to operate this faulty unit on 12085 if there are two others available? A strange situation (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX July 12 via DXLD) ** U K. BBC vs ISRAEL: q.v. ** U K. BBC NORTH AMERICAN AUDIENCE "INCREASES BY 70%" SINCE 2001 According to the BBC's Annual Report and Accounts, published today, the BBC's audience in North America has increased from 2.3 million to 3.9 million since shortwave transmissions of the World Service were dropped in July 2001. That's an increase of 70%. BBC World Service coverage of the conflict in Iraq was taken by 353 US public radio stations compared to 265 in March 2002. The BBC says that, on average, 22% of "opinion formers" in Boston, New York and Washington listen to the World Service each week. The full report is available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/report2003/ [link also via Daniel Say] Andy Sennitt comments: Raw figures, of course, only tell part of the story. Many of the people who used to listen to the BBC on shortwave did so for many hours a week, taking in a whole range of programmes covering music, the arts, science, and sport as well as current affairs. Most of the people listening to the BBC via public radio stations will only hear news and current affairs, and usually in small doses (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 15 July 2003 via DXLD) ** U K. The BBC as the offspring of the Church of England? ANGLOSPHERE: ANTI-DISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM --- By James C. Bennett, United Press International, Published 7/14/2003 8:07 AM WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- One of the interesting differences within the Anglosphere is the variety of ways to run national broadcasting industries. Anglosphere newspapers are all alike, financially speaking -- they are all pretty much privately financed enterprises -- but each Anglosphere broadcasting system is structured in its own way. The two principal models are the American one of privately owned networks supported by advertising revenues, and the British one of a tax-supported organization, the British Broadcasting Corp., governed by a politically appointed board, that is supposed to provide a "national" voice representative of the whole nation and its various viewpoints. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Anglosphere nations tend to fall somewhere in between these two models, although the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. resembles the BBC substantially. What is interesting about the two competing models is the way they echo, in certain ways, the differing approaches to the organization of religion that have historically held sway in each country. Interestingly enough, this parallel continues to be instructive today, as both the Church of England and the BBC are increasingly subject to debate over whether they should be disestablished. . . http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030713-113006-7095r An interesting thesis (via Harry Helms W7HLH Las Vegas, NV DM26, DXLD) ** U K. SALARY BILL FOR TOP BBC MANAGERS UP BY 13% Executives face grilling by MPs over Yentob's extra earnings Matt Wells, media correspondent, Tuesday July 15, 2003, Guardian The salary bill for the BBC's most senior managers went up by 13% in the past year, the Guardian has learned. According to a leaked copy of the BBC's annual report, due to be published today, the total amount paid to its executive committee - which includes the director general, Greg Dyke, and TV supremo Alan Yentob - rose from -L-4.707m in 2001-02 to -L-5.316m in the last financial year. The report also shows that Mr Yentob, the director of drama, entertainment and children's programmes, was paid an extra -L-20,000 for presenting the arts documentary series Imagine - in total, he took home -L-321,000. Senior BBC executives will be questioned on the report by the Commons select committee for culture, media and sport today. . . http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4712507,00.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC TO DEFEND BALANCE AS CHIEFS FACE MPS By Tim Burt and James Blitz, Financial Times; Jul 15, 2003 The BBC will today issue a strong defence of the corporation's impartiality as a Commons select committee prepares to question executives over its public service remit and finances . . . http://makeashorterlink.com/?H14C11645 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC CHIEFS ROASTED BY MPS By Vanessa Allen, Chief Reporter, PA News 15 July 2003 Senior BBC executives were today criticised for producing a "complacent" annual report as they appeared before a committee of MPs. The 133-page review of the BBC's performance and accounts was likened to "an Enron annual report" by Chris Bryant, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. "This is just about the most complacent report I have ever seen," he told senior representatives of the corporation. He said he had been unable to find any major criticism of the BBC's performance. . . http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=424683&host=3&dir=62 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. THE death of Hamilton Duckworth, head of the BBC's Arabic Service 1976-81, must have added significance in the wake of the Iraq war. Full article: http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/obituaries.cfm?id=768892003 (via G. Pollard, July 15, DXLD) ** U K. PIRATE DJS OFFERED CHANCE TO GO LEGAL By Ian Burrell, Media and Culture Correspondent 15 July 2003 Media After being branded the scourge of the airwaves for more than 40 years, pirate radio DJs are to be offered the chance to win their own shows on legal stations. The Government's radio authorities have approved a controversial scheme being launched today by Kiss 100 to give pirate broadcasters the chance to perform lawfully to a national audience. Four pirate radio DJs will be allowed to play on Kiss for two hours each, with the winner promised his or her own show on the station. The Radio Authority, the government agency that approves licences for legal broadcasting, has given its approval to the scheme in the hope that it will encourage the pirates to respect the law. Mike Phillips, the authority's senior programme and advertising officer, said: "It's a good way to try and lure people away from illegal stations." Mr Phillips said he hoped other legal radio stations would set up similar competitions. The authority is concerned at the proliferation of pirate stations. The Radiocommunications Agency, aligned to the Department of Trade and Industry, made 1,000 raids on stations last year and increased prosecutions by 145 per cent. Mr Phillips said: "There are a couple of pirate stations I listen to because they are a cut above the ones who only go on air to give shout-outs to their mates down the road. It would be nice if some of the better-run stations did take up the Kiss offer." Kiss, which broadcasts to 1.5 million people in the London area and a further million nationally on digital radio, has been warned not to mention the frequencies of unlicensed stations on air. The launch of "Pirate Radio Soundclash" also marks a return to its roots by Kiss, which was once Britain's best-known pirate station, but is now a mainstream broadcaster in the Emap media empire. Before it obtained its licence in 1990, Kiss gave a platform to DJs such as Trevor Nelson, Tim Westwood, Judge Jules and Danny Rampling, now some of the biggest names in British dance music. The four semi-finalists will play back-to-back one evening in September. Listeners will be asked to vote for the DJ worthy of a three-month contract to present a show. (c) 2001 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. On the IBB front I was delighted to catch both Vietnamese and Korean RFA coming thru with good strength and totally unjammed betwenn 1400 and 1500. Needless to say all Mandarin is still overwhelmed by the crashing cymbals (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No further details ** U S A. Re R. Farda non-QSLing: The problem for international broadcasters is that as budgets have been cut, the amount of secretarial time available for filling out QSL cards is limited. When cuts are made, they're made as far as possible outside the areas of programme production and delivery. Sending out QSL's is not seen as a "core business", particularly for stations like Radio Farda which frankly don't need reports from people beyond their target audience. If you receive anything at all, it's done as a courtesy. The other problem is that - present company excepted - the standard of reception reports these days is often appalling. Nobody takes the trouble to learn how to do it properly (though we still have Writing Useful Reception Reports on our Web site). I see some reports that are sent to Radio Netherlands by E-mail, and frankly if it were up to me I'd send the reports back with a standard covering letter explaining why they could not be verified (I did this years ago when I did some QSL'ing for World Music Radio. If you have a QSL card bearing my signature you have a real rarity because I didn't send out many.) Trying to check these bad reports is time-consuming and explains why more and more broadcasters are automating the process. I agree that an automated QSL is not like a "real" QSL, but frankly sometimes it's all you're going to get. Having said that, at Radio Netherlands the reports are still checked by human beings :-) (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands (which does not necessarily endorse my personal opinions), hard-core-dx via DXLD) see also ERITREA ** U S A. The NASB continues to grow. We want to welcome our newest member, KAIJ in Dallas, Texas, directed by Mike Parker. KAIJ was originally founded as KCBI back in the 1980's, and the call letters were changed when it was sold to its current owners. Also recently joining us is Word Broadcasting, which operates WJIE in Kentucky and KVOH in California. KVOH had already been an NASB member through its former operator, High Adventure Broadcasting, but WJIE is completely new to us. NASB's membership now stands at 14 organizations representing 18 of the 25 FCC-licensed shortwave stations. Our newest associate member is VT Merlin Communications, which operates the world's largest shortwave transmitter network. Some of our NASB members are affiliated with Merlin. You'll find an article about them elsewhere in this Newsletter, and you'll be able to meet them personally at next year's NASB annual meeting. The NASB Board has approved a one-year publicity campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the Association and its members (and associate members) among shortwave listeners in the three primary target areas of NASB member stations -- North America, Latin America and Europe. (Eleven of our 14 members broadcast to Europe and North America; 10 broadcast to Latin America.) We are putting together a large professional display with photos of all of our member stations, and we will take it to the largest gatherings of shortwave listeners on each of the three continents. The first event will be the Mexican National Meeting of DXers and Shortwave Listeners to be held in Tizayuca, Hidalgo (just north of Mexico City) July 31-August 3, 2003. The second event will be the Shortwave Listeners Winterfest in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania in March of next year. And finally there's the European DX Council Conference to be held somewhere in Europe in the summer of 2004. I am happy to report that as of this writing in mid-July, already over half of our members have sent their photos for the display and a great variety of items to be handed out to listeners at the meeting in Mexico -- program schedules, stickers, pens, keychains, t-shirts, bags, pennants and many other promotional materials. I have also been asked by the meeting's organizers to give a presentation about the NASB and our participation in the recent HFCC Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. Many shortwave club leaders, publication editors and program producers attend these meetings, and our objective is to introduce the NASB to these people and obtain contact information so we can provide them with news releases and articles about our future activities. We will also have the chance to chat with listeners about their likes and dislikes, listening habits, etc. And we will be able to meet colleagues from various Mexican and international shortwave stations who also attend the meeting. This campaign is being carried out at a very modest cost and should provide us with a lot of free publicity in the future which will reach our listeners and potential listeners in our primary target areas. We want to thank WSHB, which has loaned us a very nice professional display for these events. It would have cost us over $1000 to buy such a display (Jeff White, July NASB Newsletter via DXLD) ** U S A. WRMI WELCOMES IBC RADIO ON WEEKENDS Beginning July 19, 2003, the IBC (International Broadcasting Corp.) Radio Network will be broadcast for 28 hours each weekend on WRMI. IBC Radio, like WRMI, believes in the concept of commercial shortwave broadcasting. Its weekend programming is an eclectic format consisting of excerpts of newscasts and other programs from various international broadcasters, old-time radio theatre (such as "The Twilight Zone"), music programs, commercial announcements and much more. Frequent spots during its programming invite shortwave listeners to invest in the medium by becoming shareholders in the International Broadcasting Corporation, a publicly-traded company http://www.ibcradio.com IBC Radio Network will be broadcast on WRMI at 1200-2200 UT Saturday on 15725 kHz, 0300-0900 UT Sunday on 7385, 1400-2000 UT Sunday on 15725, and 0300-0900 UT Monday on 7385 kHz. Incidentally, WRMI has a new QSL card featuring tourist attractions in the state of Florida which listeners will receive for all correct reception reports sent to WRMI, P.O. Box 526852, Miami, Florida 33152 USA. WRMI will take part in the NASB (National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters) exhibition at the National Meeting of Mexican DXers in Tizayuca, just north of Mexico City, from July 31 to August 3. Shortwave Listeners and DXers from throughout Mexico -- and some from the U.S. -- will be at the event, as well as representatives from Mexican and international shortwave radio stations. A demonstration of DRM digital shortwave reception will also take place at the meeting. Listeners from any country are welcome to attend. The meeting itself is free of charge; attendees pay for their own food and accommodations. For more information, write to: info@wrmi.net. Jeff White, General Manager, WRMI Radio Miami International 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4, Miami, Florida 33172 USA Tel +1-305-559-9764 Fax +1-305-559-8186 E-mail: radiomiami9@cs.com http://www.wrmi.net (July 14 via DXLD) Arriving almost simultaneously was this; so now we know what the `discussions` were about --- (gh) For Immediate Release --- IBC RADIO NETWORK ACQUIRES LARGE BLOCKS OF SHORTWAVE AIRTIME ON WEEKENDS SANTA MARIA, CA -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- July 14, 2003 -- International Broadcasting Corporation (OTCBB:IBCS) reports that its discussions with International Shortwave Station WRMI are progressing positively. WRMI is a 50,000 watt International shortwave station based in Miami, Florida. In the first phase of discussions, IBC Radio Network http://www.IBCradio.com has acquired four large blocks of shortwave airtime on the weekends. The schedule is as follows: [EDT, judging from UT timings above from WRMI itself] Saturday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on 15725 kHz (10 hours) Saturday 11:00 p.m.-Sunday 5:00 a.m. on 7385 kHz (6 hours) Sunday 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on 15725 kHz (6 hours) Sunday 11:00 p.m.-Monday 5:00 a.m. on 7385 kHz (6 hours) This expanded shortwave airtime will increase worldwide awareness of International Broadcasting Corporation, its products and services, as well as IBC Radio Network and its strategic partners and advertisers. In light of this expansion, the IBC Radio Network schedule will be adjusted for maximum benefit. About IBC Radio Network IBC Radio Network is a unique radio service focused on providing niche programming not found on major radio networks. On the air 24 hours per day, seven days per week, the service provides pioneering shows like "Stock Talk LIVE," the very first 7-hour long, fully interactive business radio talk show focused exclusively on micro-cap stocks each and every stock market day. "The Lou Gentile Show" and "Encounters," explore the world of the paranormal. "Late Night Extreme Talk," and "Talk Show America" tackle some of the hottest political issues of our time. "Sound Explorer with Wade Gordon," traces the humble origins of synthesizers to the digital glory of today. "Changesurfer Radio" discusses cloning, futurism, space, technology and a multitude of other fascinating topics. "Old Time Radio" provides a glimpse into the history of radio, with old time radio shows from the early part of the 20th century. Hosted by Stacy Keach, "The Twilight Zone®" Radio Series is a new radio drama provided by Falcon Picture Group. Each episode is a radio adaptation of the popular science fiction television series and stars some of Hollywood's hottest celebrities. "The Shortwave Report" and "Shortwave Radio Network" is a compilation of English language shortwave radio programs from different countries all over the world, making IBC Radio Network a "one stop shop" for worldwide broadcasts. Shortwave Radios are available online at http://www.ibcradio.com/shortwaveorder.htm About International Broadcasting Corporation International Broadcasting Corporation is a developmental stage company that endeavors to develop successful publishing, media, and broadcasting related businesses and ventures. The Company is focused on developing and providing both online and offline information and entertainment content through three units -- IBC Radio Network http://www.IBCradio.com IBC News Network http://www.ibcnn.com and IBC Entertainment Group http://www.cultmoviesonline.com Statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements." Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including the demand for the Company's services, litigation, labor market, and other risk factors identified from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Contact: International Broadcasting Corporation Daryn P. Fleming, 805-938-5573 [805 = Los Ángeles] invest@ibcmedia.com Source: (International Broadcasting Corporation, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBC RADIO NETWORK ACQUIRES LARGE BLOCKS OF SHORTWAVE AIRTIME ON WEEKENDS (ON WRMI) [same] http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.071403/231955673&directory=/google&header_file=header.htm&footer_file= (via Kim Elliott, Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Hi Glenn, Here`s one I've meant to ask you about for some time. Recently while doing my frequency monitoring (don't ya just love it when ya have to put in an "all nighter") I observed once again something interesting. According to my freq database, I have listed Dr. Gene Scott's University Network from Russia as; 0000-0200 9940as; 0300-1600 17765as; 1700-2300 9940as. Has anyone EVER heard either of these frequencies at any hour? I never have in my many hours of monitoring, and I wondered if you had. Is this station active? Maybe some of your readers might enlighten me, and I could do some updating for MT. Could there be a new freq for these hours? I'm not a big fan of 'Doc", but you have to admit he is entertaining to watch on satellite. (W3/20). (Gayle Van Horn, Monitoring Times Frequency Manager, QSL Report, SWBC Logs Columnist Grove Enterprises, the publisher of Monitoring Times magazine Telephone: 828-837-9200/ FAX: 828-837-6100 http://www.grove-ent.com gaylevanhorn@monitoringtimes.com Your NUMBER ONE source for current worldwide English shortwave frequencies...updated monthly! Why look anywhere else ? DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. This morning I quickly checked the Family Radio test on 3955 at 0445: Only a weak signal, hardly better than WYFR 9985 and on the other hand much weaker than Wertachtal 3995 (which however already suffered from noticeable daytime absorption), indicating that this was indeed Skelton. Of course an absolutely disappointing result for a single-hop transmission (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Bill, Any chance of reviving your TIS info site? 73, (Glenn to Bill Harms, via DXLD) I have given up (for now) on the TIS site. With the proliferation of BC stations which inhibits long distance DX of TISs, up-to-date information which can be found at the FCC's site for local government TISs, time commitments here, it become more of a chore than a fun thing to do. I think there is a need to assemble a Federal government TIS list and maybe a low-powered unlicensed TIS list, and I might try to tackle that (Bill Harms, Elkridge MD, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. And here in Rochester, we heard a rather high-power signal calling itself "100.9 the Pirate, Rochester's Rock Station" over on the west side of town last week. (We also heard one in Burlington, VERMONT when we were up there a few weeks back - "Radio Free Burlington" on 87.9.) (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch July 14 via DXLD) I just took a listen for the Rochester pirate, and easily got it. After one classic rock song, the announcer said, "Now here's another 70's request on The Pirate 100.9 FM stereo The Rock of Rochester". The signal is very stable and is quite strong even here on the east side of town in Penfield (~~~Tim Katlic~~~Rochester, July 14, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re used vehicle promotions on public radio: WRVO in Oswego, NY has has had a similar promotion as well for quite some time, though I have not heard it in the past few weeks (Roger Chambers, NY, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On KUNM it`s not just cars, but motorcycles and boats they want (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. The Todd Mundt Show is a daily hour of interviews on Michigan Radio and a number of other public stations http://toddshow.org/stations.asp We had heard rumors that it was coming to an end and now the website http://toddshow.org/ says ``Our final show is July 25th`` Check daily topics at the site; airs M-F 1706 and 2406 UT on Michigan Radio (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. AFTER ITS REBELLIONS, A NEW KPFK Michael Hiltzik, July 14 2003 Among the hallmarks of truly independent thinkers is that they're impossible to manage. This is why productive research labs are often hives of unkempt corporate rebels and why conferences of anarchist political parties invariably deteriorate into, well, anarchy. The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-golden14jul14,0,1144689.column (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. PBS, CNN NOT SO ARTFUL AS DODGERS EXECS CAN'T SPIT OUT ANSWERS TO CRITICS http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/15/DD227485.DTL (Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle via Current, DXLD) ** U S A. JOHN TWEEL, EERILY ATTUNED TO DAN RATHER'S FREQUENCY By Jane Horwitz, Special to The Washington Post, Tuesday, July 15, 2003; Page C05 Actor John Tweel's portrayal of Dan Rather in "Kenneth, What Is the Frequency?" is so accurate it's almost spooky. Cherry Red Productions' original play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 11 p.m. [= 0300 UT Sat & Sun] through Aug. 9 at Source Theatre. Getting the voice was tricky but not daunting. The CBS News anchor, says Tweel, "sounds like a normal guy, which is kind of tough. He has a Texas accent. He has the clipped cadences, the formal sense of speech, [as if] he's checking everything he's saying to make sure it'll come out right." The real problem was acting Rather. "All the situations that we placed Dan Rather in -- getting beaten, on a train, at a party . . . -- I took my own reactions, what I would do in those situations . . . and put on top of all that Dan Rather's voice and mannerisms," Tweel said. Cherry Red's hip, ironic, even (Heaven forbid) existential play examines the weirdness that took place in October 1986 on New York's Upper East Side when Rather was accosted by two men who kept asking him, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" while they beat him up. A convicted felon and psychiatric patient named William Tager confessed to the attack, but playwrights Ian Allen (Cherry Red's artistic director) and Monique LaForce don't buy that version. Their play is based on a December 2001 essay in Harper's Magazine by Paul Limbert Allman and additional research by LaForce (a research librarian by day). In a nutshell (oddly appropriate, but we digress), the writers believe Rather was attacked by people connected to fiction writer Donald Barthelme. Rather and Barthelme (who died in 1989) were fellow Houstonians who had plenty of opportunity to cross paths, they say. And Barthelme's prose contains the phrase "What is the frequency" and the name Kenneth. Allen says he was "captivated" by Allman's article, noting, "It seemed like such an interesting puzzle." Says LaForce: "It's an exceedingly bizarre incident that happened to a very famous and well-known person that has never been solved. So I think people find [it] very fascinating." In the play, the attack on Rather is reenacted several times, "Rashomon"-style. It ends with a puppet show written in Barthelme's avant-garde style. "We wanted people to understand that this is make-believe," Allen says. "The puppet show is actually the leap of faith . . . a bridge to get to the point where we can actually believe in these theories." (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. WTAM outage TONIGHT! FYI for anyone wanting to poke around 1100 tonight. Message below from Dave: "WTAM 1100 will be off tonight at 12:06 A.M. (presuming a storm free night) and will most likely be down until 2:30 A.M. Wednesday morning. We need to recheck our base impedance for both main and aux. towers and perform some other routine maintenance. Anyone DXing tonight might enjoy this.... Dave Szucs, Director of Engineering, Clear Channel Radio Cleveland" (via Paul Jellison, CC Cincinnati, July 15, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. U.S. X-BAND AT A GLANCE July 2003 Compiled by Tony King, Greytown, New Zealand 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 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KDZR Lake Oswego OR Disney KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/religious/life issues WTNI Biloxi MS ``news,Talk, AM1640 WTNI`` ABC News 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. CP10 kW nites WCNZ Marco Is FL `Newsradio 1660` AP nx. WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN KRZX Waco TX ``Newstalk KRZX`` (off 0600 UTC) 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`` WJNZ Ada MI Urban/AC KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KTFH Seattle WA ``The Bridge, AM 16-80 KTFH Seattle.`` 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 1 kW 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` (July NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** U S A. ZCZC AG47 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 47 ARLB047 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT July 14, 2003 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB047 FCC DECLARES COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY FOR TEXAS COAST The Federal Communications Commission, in cooperation with ARRL South Texas Section Manager Ray Taylor, N5NAV, has declared a general communications emergency for the Texas coastal area due to Tropical Storm Claudette. The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued the declaration under the authority of Section 97.401 of the FCC rules. Effective immediately, the FCC said, the frequencies 7285 kHz (days) and 3873 kHz (nights) require protection. ``Amateurs are required to refrain from using those frequencies, plus or minus 3 kHz, unless they are taking part in the handling of emergency traffic,`` said the declaration from James Daily, Chief of Homeland Security within the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. The declaration remains in effect until it's rescinded. NNNN /EX Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Previous info about this was under INTERNATIONAL WATERS where we wish it would stay UNIDENTIFIED. Hello from Vermont, Can anyone down south get a handle on this Unidentified presumed LA harmonic I've been hearing the past few nights? 2859.98, 0136-0259, Spanish announcer, mentions "la voz de la noche" (maybe a program?), LA pop music and ballads. Fair to poor signal strength up here, and naturally a lot of QRN. Weak but pretty consistant so far. If you get a chance to listen and hear anything let me know. Thanx. Take care & 73's de (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, July 15, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ FIRHAV 2004 Came across this info on the FRC (Cuban Amateur Radio Federation) website. They're organizing an international ham radio conference in Havana called "FIRHAV 2004" for the week of March 15-18, 2004. Looks like it would be an excellent opportunity to combine a winter vacation away from our cold winter weather with ham radio! The programme looks quite interesting too including, DX, contesting, digital modes, space communications, VHF/UHF/microwave, Emergency/Community Service and equipment experimentation. Complete details are at http://www.frc.co.cu/firhav/firhav3.htm 73 (Bob Chandler, VE3SRE Ham Radio Editor, "Listening In" Magazine, ODXA, July 14, via DXLD) WRC 03 The ITU's World Radiocommunications Conference 2003 (WRC 03) just ended at the beginning of July in Geneva. There were three main items on the agenda of interest to HF broadcasters. According to reports we have received from Don Messer and John Wood of the IBB, amateur radio operators were given an additional 100 kHz of spectrum from 7100-7200 kHz in Regions 1 and 3. In Region 2 (the Western Hemisphere), their allocations remained the same, but as a consequence of the amateur realignment agreement, 7350-7400 kHz was allocated to Region 2 for the broadcasting service, effective March 29, 2009. This doubles the existing 7 MHz band allocation of 7300-7350, which will be implemented in 2007. The old requirement that HF broadcasters convert to single sideband transmissions was eliminated, and the new regulations permit (and encourage) transmissions in the DRM digital mode. Unfortunately, the U.S. plan to give broadcasters extra spectrum between 4 and 10 MHz (apart from the 7 MHz band situation) was tabled until the 2007 conference, but of course the FCC will continue to allow out-of-band broadcasting on a non-interference basis (Jeff White, July NASB Newsletter via DXLD) Previous unofficial report said the boundary would be 7450 instead of 7400, if that really matter (gh, DXLD) And finally, we were happy to accept the generous offer of WEWN to share expenses so that we can have an official NASB representative at the next HFCC shortwave frequency planning conference August 25-29 in Tromsö, Norway. Our rep there will be WEWN's Dennis Dempsey. We urge the frequency managers of all of our member stations who will not have representatives in Norway to send Dennis copies of your B03 schedules so that he can check for any inaccuracies or collisions at the HFCC Conference. Dennis' e-mail is: ddempsey@ewtn.com (Jeff White, July NASB Newsletter via DXLD) DRM +++ At the Mexican shortwave meeting, we will have the pleasure of hosting the first-ever demonstration of DRM (digital shortwave) reception in Mexico at our NASB booth. Thanks very much to Adil Mina of Continental Electronics for this suggestion. The DRM Coalition (of which NASB is a member) is supporting us with dozens of brochures about DRM and CDs showing the difference in quality between analog and digital shortwave broadcasts. The Ten-Tec corporation is providing us with one of its new RX-320D DRM-ready receivers. VT Merlin is providing us with a license for the software necessary to use with the receiver. The Mexican organizers are providing a PC, external speakers and a longwire antenna. And Kim Elliott of the Voice of America is loaning us a sound card for the event. It is expected that we will be able to demonstrate reception of live DRM broadcasts from Sackville, Canada and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, among other sites. And speaking of DRM, Mike Adams of FEBC was our NASB rep at the recent inauguration June 16th of regular DRM broadcasts which took place at the WRC 03 Conference in Geneva. Elsewhere in this Newsletter, Mike reports that the inauguration went extremely well, and no doubt many of you saw the publicity for the event in trade publications and even the general-interest media around the world. Mike is working on a proposal for a possible joint NASB DRM program in the not-too-distant future (Jeff White, July NASB Newsletter via DXLD) ### POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you want to hear what Broadband over Power Line (BPL) sounds like, go to http://www.qsl.net/rsgb_emc/pltsounds.html This could be our future. This was forwarded to me by our chief engineer here at KSMU, who's a ham --- glad ARRL is trying to fight this, but how much influence do they still have...? (Randy Stewart/Springfield MO, NRC-AM via DXLD) Despite diminished influence over what it once had, ARRL probably still has more influence than one might expect. I wouldn't underestimate them. I would hope that the broadcast indutry would use its far greater influence to oppose this as they'll certainly be harmed as well (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) I'll tell you what is going to ruin AM radio.... That is the car manufacturers. I recently rented a 2003 Lincoln Town Car. This car has like 500 watts of Alpine stereo in it. The AM really sounds terrible. I wrote a letter to Ford Motor company, and their response was that they had to narrow the bandwidth of the AM section to 3 khz so that they can be ready for IBOC. Even though this car received all kinds of stations on AM, the audio sounded like a continuous phone call. Worst car radio I ever heard and that's the way it is (Paul Smith W4KNX Located in Sunny Sarasota Florida, ibid.) They have had an EXCEPTIONAL amount of complaints on this. There's even a recall. The stock radios are far worse. Re write and tell them that that isn't so, stations running IBOC will have 5 KhZ audio, and even WOR has been getting satisfactory results testing IBOC with 6.2 KhZ audio. And tell them that you WON'T purchase one of these vehicles if the audio on the AM is so bad. The VISTEON IBOC radios ( not the Alpine ones) have AM Stereo.....though those may not make it into the Ford cars until later. Powell E. Way III, ibid.) BPL will kill AM IBOC. Most AM stations are already unlistenable in the car while driving through city/urban environments due to overhead powerline noise. Listening to any of the Boston metro area AM stations in downtown Nashua is futile day and night whether it's 50 kW WBZ or regionals like 800 WNNW. AM basically doesn't work until I get out on the freeway, away from powerlines. I can't imagine IBOC having the ability to overcome such noise as it is. BPL will be the nail in the coffin if AM broadcasters don't make themselves heard (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 16 JULY - 11 AUGUST 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels with predominantly low level activity. Early in the period, activity is expected to be at low levels with the possibility for an isolated M-class event from Region 409. Regions 397 and 400 are due to return to the visible disk on 23 July and 27 July respectively. These regions may also have the potential for isolated M-class events. No greater than 10 MeV proton events at geosynchronous orbit are expected during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 16 – 18 July, 20 – 28 July, 30 July – 02 August and again 09 - 11 August on due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. On 18 – 20 July, a coronal hole is expected to produce minor storm levels. A large southern coronal hole is due to return on 23 - 27 July and may produce periods of major storm levels. The trailing portion of this large coronal hole will be in a geoeffective position on 29 July – 01 August and is expected to produce minor storm levels. A third returning coronal hole is expected to be in a geoeffective position on 07 – 09 August and may produce major storm levels. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jul 15 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 Jul 15 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jul 16 125 20 4 2003 Jul 17 120 20 4 2003 Jul 18 120 20 4 2003 Jul 19 115 15 3 2003 Jul 20 115 20 4 2003 Jul 21 115 25 5 2003 Jul 22 115 15 3 2003 Jul 23 120 15 3 2003 Jul 24 125 30 5 2003 Jul 25 125 30 5 2003 Jul 26 130 25 5 2003 Jul 27 130 20 4 2003 Jul 28 130 15 3 2003 Jul 29 135 15 3 2003 Jul 30 135 15 3 2003 Jul 31 140 20 4 2003 Aug 01 140 20 4 2003 Aug 02 130 25 5 2003 Aug 03 135 25 5 2003 Aug 04 135 15 3 2003 Aug 05 125 10 3 2003 Aug 06 120 10 3 2003 Aug 07 120 25 5 2003 Aug 08 120 20 4 2003 Aug 09 125 15 3 2003 Aug 10 125 15 3 2003 Aug 11 125 25 5 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1191, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-125, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1190: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445/15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html ** BOUGAINVILLE. PNG: RADIO INDEPENDENT ME'EKAMUI BACK ON AIR Me'ekamui Government hardliners' statement / RADIO INDEPENDENT ME'EKAMUI back on air --- Dear Friends and Supporters, Hello and greetings from Me'ekamui Government hardliners in the Solomon Islands [Honiara]. Francis Ona still remains the wild card in the eyes of the PNG Government and their supporters and funders. We are still fighting for self-determination or independence with not going through step by step, meaning Autonomy or State Government rather than Independence. We believe that the system of going through step by step will not get anywhere or at last we will go back to PNG. Therefore, our stand is that if anybody or any government wants to negotiate with us, they must negotiate independence, no more no less. RADIO INDEPENDENT ME'EKAMUI is back on air again after been off air for some time. Crucial parts have been brought across in the middle of last month, and reception is very clear here in the Solomons. Me'ekamui Government hardliners (via M. Watts-AUS Jul 1, 2003 in PNGSA-ML for CRW via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4924.97, Rádio Educacão Rural, Tefé. July 2003 - 0200 UT. After having heard several "Radio Cura" IDs and also an "R.C.R." I sent the recording to our member Christer Brunström/CB, who directly heard it was Rádio Educação Rural in Tefé. "Radio Cura" and "R.C.R." could be names of a program. Thanks Christer! 3375.15, Rádio Municipal, São Gabriel da Cachoeira. July 2003 at 0100 UT. This station has for many years been listed as "Radio Nacional..." but I think they instead give ID as "Radio Municipal...". Does anybody know of any change of name? The station has a somewhat dull modulation so it is difficult to be 100% sure. QRM from two stations only a few Hz below in frequency -- one SS and one PP. Listen to the recording from this occasion: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ An audio clip, for the first time with a Brazilian station (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 13, translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson for DX Listening Digest) De acuerdo al nro. 214 del boletín Dexismo la Rádio Nacional de Tabatinga, AM, no volverá a la frecuencia de 4815 kHz luego del traspaso por parte de Radiobrás a la Prefectura del Municipio de Tabatinga. No se informó si continuará identificándose como Rádio Nacional o si ya cambió de nombre como le acaba de acontecer a la Rádio Municipal (ya no Nacional) de São Gabriel da Cachoeira, AM, que transmite en 600 y 3375 kHz. Este último cambio de nombre lo reporta desde Quito, Ecuador, el colega Björn Malm. ¿Alguien sabe cuándo se efectuaron estos cambios? (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, radioescutas via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. ZYJ260 RÁDIO ALVORADA DE LONDRINA ON AM & SW Londrina, July 4 (CRU) --- One of the older Catholic radio stations in Brasil is ZYJ260 Rádio Alvorada (Radio Dawn) de Londrina 970 AM. Two years ago this month, Padre Sílvio Andrei SAC became the new director, adding the station to his duties as chief advisor on mass media for the Archdiocese of Londrina, spiritual director of the Fundação Mater et Magistra of the archdiocese, and correspondent to the bishops` television network, Rede Vida de Televisão. Padre Andrei also does a good deal of on-air work. He handles three programs daily: ``Microfone de Deus,`` brief segments handling questions from listeners, heard daily from 8:30 in the morning until noon. In the afternoons he can be heard in ``A Tarde é Nossa`` (The Afternoon is Ours) with moments of prayer, from noon until 3:30 p.m. Finally, between 5 and 6 p.m., he handles the program ``Diálogo com Deus.`` This last opens with a prayers, unforgettable music, additional prayers, reflections on the work of San Vicente Palotti, the founder of the Palotines order, a witness of the faith, the segment on ``God Arranges My Life,`` Blessing of water and other objects, and program wrap-up. Database Londrina: ZYJ260 Rádio Alvorada de Londrina 970 AM (5,000 watts días, 1,000 watts noches), y ZYG641 en 4865 khz (5,000 watts). Diocese of Londrina. Fundação Mater et Magistra de Londrina. Rua Dom Bosco, 145, 86060-340 Londrina PR. Teléfonos: (43) 3347-0606, fax 3347-0303 E- mail: pascom@arquidiocesedelondrina.com.br Padre Sílvio Andrei, SAC, director. 0400-1200 horas. Website: http://www.dialogocomdeus.com.br/radio.html The diocesan webpages do not list the shortwave station (Catholic Radio Update July 14 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 5955, Rádio Canção Nova, via Rádio Gazeta Universitária, 0950-1000, July 13. Portuguese. Complete ID, slogan: "A Voz Católica", 34443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina) 5955, Rádio Gazeta Universitária (New name????), São Paulo, 1000-1006, July 13. Portuguese. Pips. Complete ID by male. Programa "Jornal", Other ID as: "agora, a Gazeta é Universitária", 34443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRASIL. A Rádio Alvorada, de Rio Branco (AC), transmite pela freqüência de 2460 kHz, entre 0800 e 0200. Endereço: Avenida Ceará, 2150, Jardim Nazle, CEP: 69900-460, Rio Branco (AC). O endereço eletrônico do diretor José Severiano é o seguinte: severian_jose@brturbo.com. As informações são do Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM). (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 14 via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Hola Amigos DXistas! Alcaraván Radio se ha movido a la frecuencia de 6009.96 kHz. Durante bastante tiempo ha ocupado 6009.78 kHz. QRM de HCJB 6010.00 kHz con alemán o "bajo alemán", transmisiones para Sudamérica. HCJB no está en el aire en esta frecuencia cada día. 73s de (Björn Malm, Ecuador, July 14, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Well, the current HCJB SW transmission schedule at http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-6-page-1.html claims 6010 is used only at 0930-1030 but seven days a week, in high, and then low German: 0930 1030 6010 100 155 S. America 1111111 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Did you know RHC has a DX program in French? And more great listening on Saturdays: 5 contre le terrorisme (Programme consacré aux 5 Cubains prisonniers politiques aux États-Unis) En alternance: HIT PARADE DE LA MUSIQUE CUBAINE ET RENCONTRES HERTZIENNES (En collaboration avec le club de Dxeurs francophones "Amitié Radio") and Sundays: LA SEMAINE À CUBA (Résumé de l`actualité des 7 derniers jours); LE MONDE DE LA PHILATÉLIE (Collaboration de nos auditeurs, émissions cubaines); RÉPONSE À TOUT, RÉPONSE À TOUS (Programme élaboré avec les lettres des auditeurs, réponse à toutes leurs questions sur Cuba) You may be disappointed, however, if you believe the frequencies posted, as we have heard the 2000 broadcast on 9505 and 11760 instead of: EUROPE 11670 KHZ-25M 2000-2030 UT 11670 KHZ-25M 2130-2200 UT CARAÏBES 6180 KHZ-49M 2200-2230 UT 6180 KHZ-49M 0000-0030 UT AMÉRIQUE DU NORD 6180 KHZ-49M 0030-0100 UT 6180 KHZ-49M O130-0200 UT (Glenn Hauser, from RHC website July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. More on satellite jamming for IRAN: q.v. ** ECUADOR. Quito 12/07/2003 11:28:25 a.m. Tomorrow, Sunday my wife and I will go to Riobamba to sign a contract with Miguel, a building contractor and father to our Indian godchild Carolina. After a long time of thinking we finally decided to build another floor on top of our little one etage house. Has this something to do with DX? Yes, on top of the big roof terrace we will add another ``floor`` with one tiny room, 3x4 meter. A work-room containing among others my radio equipment. A nice view towards the airport and TL (Tore Larsson) suggested in a mail that I can work extra as an aircraft coördinator...". Nothing of real excitement has occurred during the last 14-days; I have some additional unID LA stations but will come back later. Some various notes from Avenida La Prensa: 4781.38, Radio Oriental, Tena (Ecuador) is now active (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 13, translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson for DX Listening Digest) see also BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, PERU, UNIDENTIFIED ** INDIA. All India Radio (AIR) heard this morning, 14 JULY, from tune-in at 0315 and still on the air at 0445 UT on 15085 kHz. Weak to fair signal, the language could be Hindi? I am not sure. Not // 15075 kHz. I think I have not heard AIR on this frequency and at this time before. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia), hard-core-dx via DXLD) SW Guide still has Iran on 15084, but not during this time period; AIR scheduled on 15075 in Hindi and Gujarati (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. FM RADIO'S WEAPON: LOCAL NEWS, WEATHER AND TRAFFIC --- By SARAH ANDERSON, Special to The Advocate From http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/071303/bus_biz2001.shtml Satellite radio providers flaunt their crystalline sound, nationwide broadcast area and extensive station selection, but opponents complain something is missing -- Louisiana spice. XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. has NASCAR auto racing but no Tigers sports. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. offers 16 news and weather streams, but you won't hear about the traffic jam on the 10-12 split. If satellite radio services continue to win over FM listeners, local flavor could be jeopardized, some Baton Rouge radio executives said. "We don't want to think about that," said John Gallent, manager of alternative station KLSU. "The job of a DJ can be taken away pretty quickly." But many FM bigwigs aren't too worried about the new technology, which provides listeners with niche programming, everything from Caribbean music to the BBC World News. "If people want to hear prehistoric Hungarian folk music, that's great they have a place for that," said Paul Cannell, program director for Citadel Communications, which houses six of its 200 radio stations in Baton Rouge. Satellite radio will never be able to offer the personality hometown stations have, so AM and FM are here to stay, Cannell said. The two formats complement each other well and encourage healthy competition, said Bob Murphy, director of programming for Clear Channel Radio Inc., which also owns six Baton Rouge stations and also has a 3 percent ownership stake in XM. "One thing we understand is that people, when they wake up in the morning and are heading to work, want local news, local traffic and local weather," said Murphy, who also co-hosts the 96.1 The River morning show "Murphy, Sam and Jodi." "It (satellite radio) will continue to make radio stations focus heavily on the community," Murphy added. The role of FM could get narrower as satellite radio expands, but Jim Collins, vice president for corporate communications at Sirius, said the two most likely will coexist, since satellite systems don't override AM/FM sets. "We're not trying to supplant regular broadcast radio," Collins said. "There will always be a place for local broadcasts -- weather, news and sports. "We see ourselves as an enhancement rather than a replacement." Gallent said he worries about local artists, who don't have a national radio outlet like KLSU offers. They may have a harder time breaking into the music scene if national programming edges out small-town broadcasting. Gallent guessed that in a decade, FM would take a backseat to satellite radio. XM and Sirius have seen subscriptions soar in the last year -- XM's sales have more than tripled since midyear 2002. But FM audiences will probably stay tuned in for a few more years, attracted by the intimacy local stations provide, Gallent said. "The more you have a personalized DJ, the more people like to listen to the music," he said. However, the corporatization of many American radio stations could lead them to early graves, Gallent added, referring to radio giants such as Citadel, with its 200 stations, and Clear Channel, which operates about 1,200 radio stations. The conglomerates intertwine local programs with syndicated shows and often overlap from one station to the next, Gallent complained. But, as market-driven businesses, radio stations have to provide popular music and programming to appeal to wider audiences, Murphy explained. Although the university-owned, nonprofit KLSU isn't as affected by market forces as most stations, Gallent said he doesn't plan on going down with the FM ship. "After we graduate," he said, "hopefully we'll be able to get jobs with XM to save ourselves." (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. U S A. MUSEUM SHIPS WEEKEND ACTIVITY The Museum Ships Special Event, sponsored by the USS Cassin Young ARC, will take place between 0001z, July 19th to 2359z, July 20th. Over 72 ships and submarines will be taking part in this world-wide event. For a list of stations, please visit: http://www.qsl.net/ww2dd/event.html Look for NA5DV to be active from the historical San Jacinto Battleground State Park in south Texas. The Houston Vintage Radio Association is restoring the original radio room with vintage radios and will be operating the station on this Special Event weekend. Look them up at: http://www.hvra.org Members of USS Kidd ARC will operate W5KID in Baton Rouge, LA, aboard the USS Kidd, DD-661, with a minimum of two stations through the weekend. They will periodically put out a beacon on the APRS network, so you can go to the following Web page for updates on the frequencies where they are operating at: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=w5kid Lightship Columbia WLV-604 will be active as W7BU during the Museum Ships Weekend. QSL via W7LY. A #10 S.A.S.E. envelope will get you a certificate from the last Lightship to see service on the Pacfic coast. Fred Lesnick, VE3FAL, will be operating from aboard the Tugboat James Whalen on Saturday, July 19th, from 10 am to 4 pm local time. This is also in conjunction with the annual HarborFest, so lots of people will be in and out. He is going to be putting up a 40 foot vertical that was given to the owner when one of the Canada Steamship Lines ships was scrapped in Thunder Bay. A picture of the Whalen is on the following Web page at: http://www.city.thunder-bay.on.ca/index.cfm/fuse/html/pg/297.htm (KB8NW/OPDX July 14/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. Weather broadcasts on 12789.9 and other frequencies are from Coast Guard station NMG in New Orleans (Mike Cooper, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. IRAN PAID CUBAN EXPERTS TO DISRUPT SATELLITE DEBKAfile Special Report July 9, 2003 The ruling mullahs also managed, in a move unprecedented in the annals of broadcasting, to jam the signals that Farsi-language television stations in Los Angeles send via ground stations to satellites that beam the anti-government programs into Iran. The tactic was a departure from partially successful attempts in the past to block transmissions from the satellites themselves, jamming that touched off protests by ordinary Iranians and even reformists. This time, DEBKAfile's sources report, Iran paid Cuban experts handsome fees to disrupt the uplink itself, stopping even exiled Iranians in Canada and Europe from tuning in. The United States has not protested this violation of its airwaves, although owners of the Farsi-language television stations in Los Angeles intend to complain to President George W. Bush and demand an inquiry (Excerpted from "Tehran Police Drive Wedge between Islamic Vigilantes and Students") http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=520 (DEBKAfile Jul 9, 2003 via N. Grace-USA for CRW via DXLD) See also USA ** IRAN. IRANIAN MINISTER CRITICIZES JAMMING OF SATELLITE SIGNALS The Iranian minister of post, telegraph and telephone, Ahmad Mo'tamedi, has criticized the practice of jamming satellite pictures. "As far as the technology is concerned, we should use its benefits and minimize its damage," he said. "We believe that the current method that is used to deal with satellite pictures is not right ... we should not ban the principle of satellites, but define the legitimate satellites and sign agreements under which good satellite channels can be offered to the people for viewing," Mo'tamedi added. In his view, the current practice of jamming satellite signals had not been done through legal channels, it had created problems for satellite channel users and had harmed telecommunications systems. On the subject of filtering Internet sites, the minister said that Iran might be among the last to use filtering software, and it had not gone to extremes in the methods used. The following is the text of a report: "Minister of post, telegraph and telephone: Jamming is not done through legal channels", published by the Iranian newspaper Yas-e Now web site on 12 July: The way in which satellite pictures are now being dealt with has not had and will not have favourable results. In other words, we should not ban satellites. We should define the legitimate satellites in various ways. Dr Ahmad Mo'tamedi, minister of post, telegraph and telephone who was speaking in an interview with ISNA, discussed the best ways of countering new technology, and namely satellites. He also commented on the existence of satellite jamming in the country and said: I do not think that throughout the country and in various sectors, individual decisions can deny the principle of the existence of satellites and its benefits. However, there have always been concerns given the absence of control over receiving satellite pictures and the threat against our country's culture. But this is not exclusive to Iran. Western countries too have similar concerns. Therefore, it is right to seek ways to deal with this issue. But as far as technology is concerned, we should use its benefits and minimize its damage. He added: The main point is the method of countering this. We believe that the current method that is used to deal with satellite pictures is not right and it does not and will not have a favourable outcome. In other words, we should not ban the principle of satellites, but define the legitimate satellites and sign agreements under which good satellite channels can be offered to the people for viewing. He noted: We should use the benefits of this technology. Thus, satellite jamming is wrong. Even if in the short-run it appears to be a correct solution, it should be done through legal channels. But this is currently not the case; and this has created problems for those who use satellite channels. It has also harmed telecommunication systems as well. Speaking about the measures adopted by the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone on this issue, Dr Mo'tamedi said: There is a law on this. First, the point of transmission and the frequencies can be found and based on the law and established instructions, immediate steps can be taken to gather equipment without taking the case to court. However, in government-related sectors the issue cannot be directly dealt with. In the recent case, things progressed according to the law. The legal phases should be completed, and as soon as we receive the orders, we will start to collect the jamming equipment. Referring to the filtering of Internet sites, he said: This is a prevalent principle in the world. We may be among the last countries that are using filtering software. During the past few years, the highest figures on filtering have been in the Persian Gulf littoral states where the Internet is 100-per-cent government-controlled. This is not an issue that has to do only with the Third World countries. It also applies to the Western countries. However, the methods that are used are different. He added: In some countries, a number of ISPs filter immoral sites, something that has been welcomed by families. In cases where national security is threatened or individuals are insulted, filtering is carried out by the government. In our country, too I believe that despite the millions of sites, we did not go to extremes in the methods that we used, and we are always open to criticism and review. He recalled: According to the decision by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council - a decision that was confirmed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly and signed by the president - a three-man committee comprising representatives of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, the Voice and Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Intelligence Ministry has been formed and assigned the duty of filtering obscene Internet sites and sites that are against national security. Within this context, the duty of filtering immoral sites has been assigned to telecommunications as a matter of principle, and thus far, no-one has criticized this filtering. However, this committee believes that the critical sites should not be blocked. Speaking about the number of sites that have been made public, he said: I think that these are about 160-170 in number, with the exception of the sites that have been identified as being indecent. Among these about 50 per cent are sites of counter-revolutionary groups and of the Monafeqin [hypocrites - pejorative for the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization], as well as offensive sites; and one cannot expect that action will not be taken against these sites. The remainder is sites that insult religions. About seven to nine news sites too have been blocked. Specifically, two sites were allowed to operate 24 hours later after criticism and examination. Since that date, we have not received any protests. Dr Mo'tamedi noted: The important point here is the existence of more precise regulations so that as the first step, some sites can be warned and then - after going through the various phases - they can be countered and closed down as the last phase. We may set a difference especially among the domestic sites and the sites that are directed from abroad. News sites should be registered in a place such as the Ministry of Guidance. Of course, the intention behind this is not in order to issue a permit. But by registering, if there is a complaint the issue can be followed up. He added: The mere approval of Internet regulations at the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council should not mean that all the other regulations should be questioned, since this council's regulations have been very helpful in the development of the country's IT. Mo'tamedi said, as regards assessing the resolutions by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council on the Internet and their conformity with the views of experts: Because of the absence of laws in the Internet sector, during the past two years there has been confusion over permits to Internet cafes or over ISPs and ASPs (international terminals) and these centres have always been cautious in continuing their activities. He added: Therefore, a relevant draft regulation was prepared by the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Ministry and was discussed at the Supreme Council of Information Dissemination. At that time, this council's decision was thought to have been sufficient. But because of the cultural aspect of the issue, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council stated that this regulation should be discussed at this council. He went on to say: After going through a process, this regulation went to the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council and over six sessions, more than 90 per cent of the initial regulation was discussed and compiled. Generally speaking, we are satisfied with this outcome since we were able to issue the permits for Internet cafes and more than 300 ISPs and to define ECP, POP, and IDC so that the private sectors could carry on operating. In other words, private sectors will be more confident when there is a law, even if incomplete. He clarified: The conditions in these regulations are more progressive and better in comparison to similar regulations in other places. Merely because something has been approved in one place or another should not mean that the entire regulation should be questioned, since this regulation has been very helpful for the country's IT development thus far, even though there are shortcomings. We believe that the major laws such as laws on Internet offences, electronic trade, and electronic signature should be approved by the Majlis. Source: Yas-e Now web site, Tehran. in Persian 12 Jul 03 p 15 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 4691.0, *0127-0135, Clandestine, 29-06. Voice of Mojahed, Farsi. Opened with martial music by orchestra and was jammed, 0128 jumped to 4670.2 and the jammer followed 0129, 0130 Drums, short announcement, fanfare and ID: "Seda-ye Mojahed, seda-ye Mojahedine Khalq Iran". Talk about Iran and short orchestral interludes. 43443. The jammer was also heard on 5350, 5640 with talk jumping to 5660, 6460, 6750, 7000, 7050, 8240, 8350 and 8600. Mojahed 2 on 7070 seems to be off the air (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Dinamarca, receptor AOR 7030, longwires 40 metros, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. MOSUL TV FIGHTS FOR INDEPENDENCE - by Andy Sennitt, 14 July Coalition efforts to rebuild the Iraqi media appear to be running into serious difficulties. There are now clear differences between some local military commanders and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad over the best way to run regional stations. A case in point is the TV station in Mosul, in northern Iraq, where the local military are opposing efforts by the CPA in Baghdad to take over the station and integrate it into the structure of the Iraq Media Network.. . [illustrated] http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/mosul030714.html (RN Media Network July 14 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. "COMICAL ALI" LEAVES BAGHDAD, MIGHT NOT EVER RETURN DUBAI, July 11 (Reuters) --- Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who earned the nickname "Comical Ali" during the U.S.-led war on Iraq, made a sudden appearance in Abu Dhabi on Friday, saying he might not return to his homeland. "When I leave I always have in my mind that I might not come down this road again, but I hope and pray to God that I can return to Baghdad one day," he said on Abu Dhabi Television. Sahaf, 63, became an unlikely media star during the war, winning his stripes as a hero to many in the Arab world while Western audiences gasped and then chuckled at his bravado. He earned his unflattering nickname for proclaiming the defeat of U.S. forces even as American troops advanced into Baghdad, and for his habit of handling loaded weapons during news conferences. "Hopefully, all of them (Arab countries) are our nation, but you always hope to return to your homeland with your memories," said Sahaf, who was shown arriving at the airport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Sahaf said he had mixed feelings about leaving Baghdad. "I have the same feeling as any ordinary citizen...It didn't mean much to me to be a minister. But this time I have really mixed feelings, of sadness and hope," said Sahaf, who was met at the airport by a UAE delegation. The station showed excerpts of Sahaf talking on the plane, flagging an interview to be shown at 2000 GMT. Sahaf, who was not on the U.S. "most wanted" list, was freed last month after he surrendered to U.S. forces in Baghdad. In the Arab world, Sahaf gained fame for his colourful use of the Arabic language, using archaic insults to describe the U.S. and British invaders which had Arab commentators debating their meaning and poring over dictionaries. He branded the British and U.S. leaders "an international gang of criminal bastards," "blood-sucking bastards," ignorant imperialists, losers and fools. In his first interview last month after Baghdad's downfall, also with Abu Dhabi Television, Sahaf defended his press briefings during the conflict. "The information was correct but the interpretations were not," he said, adding: "I did my duty up to the last minute." The former information minister spawned a mini industry in the West with Sahaf T-shirts, mugs, dolls and videos, and a host of websites poking fun at his rhetorical style. 07/11/03 08:27 ET (via AOL Canada News via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA - cuts From Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=317546&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y PLANNED CHANGES AT RADIO, TV STATIONS PUT ON ICE By Anat Balint Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Director General Yosef Barel announced yesterday that he had reached an agreement with Industry and Trade Minister Ehud Olmert to freeze all planned changes in the broadcasting hours of Voice of Israel radio stations and IBA television stations until a committee headed by Ra'anan Dinur, the director general of Olmert's ministry, finishes formulating a reform program for public broadcasting. According to the government's decision, the committee will submit its conclusions within two months. The panel has yet to commence its work. Barel announced as much yesterday in a letter he sent to the chairman of the Knesset's Education Committee, MK Ilan Shalgi (Shinui), in advance of a committee discussion to take place on Wednesday about planned changes at the IBA. Barel's plan to consolidate broadcasts on Reshet Alef, the Voice of Music and Reka (which airs programs focusing on new immigrants) into one culture channel will not happen in the near future, following the announcement, and the same is true of his plan to cancel the Mediterranean channel's Arabic-language satellite broadcasts and merge them with Channel 33's programs. Olmert vehemently opposed the closing of these stations, in particular the Voice of Music and Reka. He was not alone; Many MKs and extra- parliamentary organizations had voiced their vociferous objections to the closure of the stations. The committee headed by Dinur was set up as part of a government decision prompted by the Finance Ministry to cut around NIS 200 million from the IBA budget by 2006 through a reduction in the television license. It was decided that at the same time as the budget cut, a program of reforms would be devised for the public broadcasting structure. Dinur's committee will include representatives of the Finance and Justice Ministries who will soon be joined by public representatives to be appointed by Olmert and Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid. In his letter to Shalgi, Barel wrote that he agrees that the committee should be the one to formulate a policy on the appropriate budget for every radio and television station and the justification for its existence (Ha`aretz via Doni Rosenzweig, July 13, DXLD) ** LEBANON [non]. Amuse yourself by comparing this very rough translation with the original(?) French in 3-123. Morse becomes walrus below (gh): [sic:] Voice of Free Lebanon --- Radio Free Lebanon. [Date ?] Broadcast begins with a code walrus. Nationalist safety of free Lebanon + one patriotic song + one man who asks the Lebanese living outside the Lebanon to return [to ?] Bayrouth + announce Radio Lebanon Free Lebanon the radio of the love, the peace and the revolution. + a song of Fairous. + another announcement ' the voice of liberation'. The political comment: the approach of the fine of governance of the family Asad (M. Kallel, Tunisia, Jul 10, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) WTFK? ** MOUNT ATHOS. HELP ``MAY`` BE ON THE WAY! Last week it was announced that Monk Apollo does not have a working radio, so this means Mount Athos (SV/A) is now silent. The members of the Northern Ohio DX Association have decided to help Monk Apollo get back on the air. Since NODXA has not heard of any other organization stepping forward to help, they have decided to try to collect funds to purchase another radio for Monk Apollo. Currently, NODXA is looking for ``PLEDGES ONLY`` to see if there is enough interest to help supply Monk Apollo with another radio. Once NODXA is sure that there is enough interest, there will be an address announced to where to send the donations (also some other details). For now, please send your ``PLEDGES ONLY`` to: kb8nw@arrl.net (KB8NW/OPDX July 14/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. LITTLE PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR MORE BUDGET CUTS AT RN An independent survey carried out by the research bureau TNS NIPO shows little support amongst the Dutch public for further budget cuts at Radio Netherlands. 840 people were interviewed between 24 and 30 June 2003. 27% said they listen to Radio Netherlands when they're abroad - equating to around 3 million listeners. 37% of those questioned said they were opposed to further budget cuts, compared to 22% who declared themselves in support of cuts, and of those who supported cuts 3 out of 10 said they would change their opinion if it meant that Radio Netherlands would cease to exist. Two thirds of those who said they listen to Radio Netherlands declared that they were opposed to cuts. Asked to choose between scrapping Radio Netherlands and other cost-saving measures such as getting rid of the radio orchestras, 37% of those who expressed an opinion supported Radio Netherlands against 22% who wanted to preserve the orchestras. The survey was carried out on the initiative of TNS NIPO itself, and was not commissioned by Radio Netherlands (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 14 July 2003 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. 5775, 11.7 2000, Radio Abeokuta via IRRS with a very boring talk program in native language. Gave their www-address and mail in English. S 3-4, but difficult to hear. BEFF (Bjorn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALESTINE. PALESTINIAN RADIO UNHEARD FROM 1522 GMT 14 JULY Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine in Arabic abruptly became unheard at 1522 gmt on 14 July. The radio broadcast only music from 1300 gmt until it became unheard without prior announcement. Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 1522 gmt 14 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) All frequencies missing, or was there only one and what was it? (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. 5940.18, 4.7 0200, Radio Bethel with a number of ``gloria`` and ``dios`` in ``La Palabra de Dios``. The cassette with the program can be ordered from the given address. QSA 3-4 (at the same time no trace of the "neighbour" Melodía, normally much stronger, on 6042.6 this night) JE/RFK (Jan Edh/Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4930.37, Radio San Miguel has moved after being on 4929.90 kHz for a long time. - 5470.82, Radio San Nicolás now active again. Information earlier sent via email and "SWB América Latina": Ondas del Suroriente is now active daily. The unID on 4780.89 kHz has not returned: July 3: Reactivated Peruvian! 5067.11, Ondas del Suroriente, Quillabamba, la provincia de Convención, el departamento de Cusco. July 2 2003 - 0000 UT. This station has been off air during several years, at least absent here in Quito. Decent audio but somewhat weakly modulated signal. A format of variation with news, Peruvian music, ads, "leyendas" (sort of radio theatre) and comunicados. Male ID - "Radio Suroriente". Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de La Convención, cuya capital es Quillabamba. Sus distritos son: Huayopata, Echarate, Maranura, Ocobamba, Quellouno, Santa Ana, Santa Teresa, Vilcabamba; con una población total de 152,576 hab. (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 13, translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson for DX Listening Digest) ** PERU. 13565.62, Radio Ondas del Pacífico, Ayabaca, 2316-2330, July 12. Spanish. Music (local vals), TC: "son exactamente las 6 de la tarde con 18 minutos"; ID by male: "...Radio Ondas del Pacífico", 24332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. STATE RADIO TRAILS INTERNET BROADCASTING | Text of report in English by Saudi news agency SPA web site [Whilst an American would take this headline to mean that radio is behind, or in second place to internet, the British usage of `trail` means announces, promotes, or publicises {as in a movie trailer} --- gh] The Minister of Culture and Information Dr Fouad bin Abdul-Salam Al- Farsi announced on Sunday [13 July] that Saudi Radio has started an experimental transmission on the Internet. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Dr Al-Farsi said the Kingdom's broadcasting networks include the general radio programme; the second-channel radio programme; the holy Quran radio programme; the European radio programme in English and French; the music radio programme; Urdu radio programme and other radio programmes in various languages. The transmission of these programmes can be downloaded through the web site of the ministry: http://www.Saudiradio.net He noted that this step comes within the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier and their keenness to support the mass media work to achieve its noble goals. He added that this step will be followed by additional steps in the Television field through the web site of the ministry. Source: SPA news agency web site, Riyadh, in English 1247 gmt 13 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) At last, we can hear BSKSA in English, which they refuse to put on SW except by accident. At 1519 UT July 14, I found a link at http://www.saudiradio.net/indexen.php to `European Broadcast`, embedded wm player, which at the moment was in French. WRTH 2003 has English at 1000-1300 and 1600-2100. There`s some really nice art on the website, on a green theme, natch. If you click on ``latest news`` that turns out to be in Arabic. It would be nice to have a program schedule of English. At 1559 UT the French broadcast wrapped up with a few tones which might be mistaken for a timesignal, and immediately into English, giving lots of FM and AM frequencies and mentioning the internet cast. 1600 recitation from the allegedly Holy Qur`an (in Arabic of course), followed at 1605 by translation, 1607 commentary about it, and 1611 another feature, ``How I became a Muslim``, apparently spoken by an American. 1625 came a program summary, for 7:30 to midnight local time, here converted to UT for Monday; poor modulation and diction made it impossible to understand all the words: 1630 The Position and Role of Women in Society --- An Islamic Perspective [this actually ran from 1626 to 1633, introed and outroed by birds chirping] 1640 ??? Eastern Treasures 1900 Islamic Morality 1910 ??? Magazine 1930 News Brief 1933 Sa`udi Women on the Road to Success 1950 Space and Science 2000 Monday Night ??? 2030 ??? Challenges 2040 Today`s Diary 2045 Late Night News 2050 Holy Qur`an 2100 Sign-off IDs are as ``R. Riyadh``. Everything is backwards, with the news coming penultimate instead of second and the program summary first. The sound is rather choppy as received here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. RADIO VERITAS ON 92.7 FM IN MAY-JUNE IN JOHANNESBURG; TO RETURN IN AUGUST - SEPTEMBER Johannesburg, July 7 (CRU) --- Radio Veritas of South Africa, which broadcasts daily for several hours over the Meyerton shortwave transmitters on 3280 and 7240 kHz, was on the community radio frequency 92.7 FM in May and early June. Father Emil Blaser, OP, the director, answered a Catholic Radio Update e-mail: ``We were on FM in Johannesburg from the 12th of May to the 8th of June. Hence will be back on the same frequency and area during August-September 2003.`` Database Johannesburg: Radio Veritas 92.7 FM & on Meyerton shortwave transmitters: 7240 kHz from noon until 1 p.m., and 3280 kHz from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., local time. Director Fr. Emil Blaser, O.P., Radio Veritas Productions, 36 Beelaerts St., 2139 Troyeville, South Africa. Tel.: +27 (11) 624-2516 or 624-2517; fax 614-7711. E-mail: info@radioveritas.co.za.Website: http://www.radioveritas.co.za (Catholic Radio Update July 14 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. On the program Radio Club on July 13th, Deanelle Baker replied to a letter from Henry Riceborn of Houston, Texas. In response to his request for a QSL, she replied that unfortunately Radio Nacional de España has ceased sending QSLs due to staffing and budget constraints. In the future when QSLs are resumed, Deanelle said, please do not send money or IRCs, as what limited services that exist for listeners are free. By the way, the English service for North America on 15385 kHz, is on only at 0000-0100 UT, and not repeated at 0100-0200 as some sources continue to report. Chances are this will switch to the winter frequency of 6055 kHz in the fall, but it is doubtful that this second hour repeated broadcast will be resumed any time soon (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAHITI. 738, RFO Papeete, Jul 12 1001 - Woman with news items in French to 1003, then male and female announcers with poss. ID or slogan. 'Bonjour Papéeté' at 1004. Fair level. Much better at 1135 with French rock and roll tune. Also strong at times on Jul 13. This station was a comparison target as Don, John, and I compared different impedance ratios of matching transformers. Earlier during the day we measured the Beverages' impedances from 6 MHz on down with test equipment, and discovered that our Beverages had impedance >1250 ohms on mediumwave (Guy Atkins, Grayland WA DXpedition, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Hi Glenn, Testing is reported for operation on 1359 and 1503 kHz from the former 585 kHz site near Fangliao, in southern Taiwan. (Above from a reliable source 14/7-2003) Best 73s (Ydun Ritz, Denmark, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) By what station? ** U S A. WBCQ kept 5100-CUSB on the air just long enough to simulcast WORLD OF RADIO 1190, UT Mon July 14 until 0513, tnx; no closing or sign-off was given (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Radio Farda QSLing: Note of warning: I sent an inquiry (non- report) via this same webpage http://www.radiofarda.com and my comment was sent back to me with the same verbiage added that: a) they did not have QSL cards yet, however b) they were able to verify my "report." So my comment was "verified." It appears that this comments section is an auto-mated response page. Try and type "anything" on this page, and see what you get in 2-3 days. This is why I DO NOT accept e- verifications. I want to see paper!!!!! The frequencies of R Farda are listed on the VOA listings as "VOA." You may wish to get your QSLs through VOA for these sites. I sent some reports but am still awaiting replies by mail (Konnie Rychalsky, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U S A. U.S. BEGINS TV BROADCASTS TO IRAN PBS NewsHour July 7, 2003 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/media_watch/july-dec03/iran_07-07.html The U.S. government launched a new Persian-language television broadcast in Iran on Sunday, beaming 30-minute nightly newscasts to the millions of Iranians watching satellite television. The Voice of America-produced program, News & Views, will be broadcasted across Iran by satellite from 9:30 pm to 10:00 PM local time, featuring original news reporting and aimed at Iran's younger population. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S. international nonmilitary broadcasting, including VOA, decided to launch the program after student protests against the Iranian government last month. Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the BBG, said the new program intends to provide Iranians with an alternative to government-controlled newscasts. "By reporting what's happening in Iran today, we can help further the struggle for freedom and self-determination in Iran," Tomlinson said in a press statement July 3. "If ever there was a time when the people of Iran need sound, factual reporting on their country, it is now." The program includes world news summaries, analysis of issues and events and cultural features. The new show will feature reports contributed from inside Iran, as well as Washington, New York, Los Angeles and around the world. The BBG already broadcasts two weekly television programs in Farsi: Roundtable with You, a 90-minute discussion show, and Next Chapter, a weekly newsmagazine. The BBG also funds Radio Farda, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, youth-oriented Persian-language radio service. News & Views, scheduled to run through at least September 30, is expected to cost up to $500,000 and will use existing VOA staff and Radio Farda stringers in Iran. Satellite television -- while banned by the Iranian government -- is a top source of news in Iran, where some 70 percent of the population, roughly 67 million people, is under 30. American officials hope the new U.S.-funded broadcast will complement the work of the National Iranian Television, NITV, a satellite channel operated by Iranian exiles based in Los Angeles, Calif. Iranian clerics have blamed NITV's 24-hour daily broadcasts for fomenting dissent and student protests last month. The Iranian government has also accused the U.S. of bankrolling the NITV and of using the new program to interfere in its internal affairs. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher last week rejected Iran's allegations that the U.S. sought to intervene through its new satellite broadcast. "We don't consider that providing information is getting involved or interfering in anything," Boucher said at a briefing July 3. "The Voice of America provides information. It's a standard tool of our public diplomacy to help inform people overseas," Boucher added. The show's premiere of News & Views included the first of a special series of reports on events leading up to the fourth anniversary of the Iranian government's July 9, 1999 violent crackdown on student uprisings in Iran. Fearing more student protests this week, Iranian authorities have banned rallies for Wednesday July 9, postponed university examinations, and closed dormitories, the British Guardian reported Monday (PBS NewsHour Jul 7, 2003 via N. Grace-USA for CRW via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. PSYOPS GET NEW BASE OF OPERATION Associated Press July 1, 2003 http://www.nbc17.com/news/2305173/detail.html FORT BRAGG -- The military unit responsible for winning over the hearts of the country's foes has a new center of operations -- a windowless complex with state-of-the-art digital television and radio production rooms, studios and printing presses. The U.S. Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group showed off its $8.1 million Special Operations Forces Media Operations Complex on Monday, giving people a rare look inside the Pentagon's central production center for psyops products such as fliers, posters and television and radio segments. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the unit has targeted civilians and enemy troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 150 million fliers, all of them produced at Fort Bragg and many of them printed there, have been spread over those countries, said Col. James A. Treadwell, the 4th POG's commander. About 16,000 hours of radio messages produced by the group were transmitted to Afghan listeners and another 4,000 hours to Iraqis, he said. The psychological operations campaign in Iraq reportedly cost tens of millions of dollars and has been called the biggest in history. It centered on Arabic-language leaflets and radio and television scripts designed by the 4th POG to encourage mass surrenders and erode support for Saddam Hussein. Psyops troops are still in Iraq, but their efforts have shifted to winning over civilians. Like a marketing company, psyops soldiers often perform marketing studies before designing their products. They also conduct detailed analyses of results. Army officials say it still may be a few months before the official report on the Iraq effort is complete. Civilian experts say the campaign probably had mixed results, but still probably saved thousands of lives on both sides by calming some of the Iraqis. The staff of the complex is also supporting nearly 900 psyops troops spread across 13 counties, Treadwell said. The unit had been working out of offices scattered around the base, many of them predating the Vietnam War. The Pentagon's willingness to invest in the new media complex is a sign of its growing confidence in the value of psyops, Treadwell said. "This facility marks past success and emphasizes our potential for future contributions," Treadwell said. The four new presses can print 1 million leaflets in a single day. The new, fully digital presses and audio and video equipment could cut production time by 20 percent or more (AP Jul 1, 2003 via N. Grace-USA for CRW via DXLD) UNIT CELEBRATES NEW MEDIA HUB By Kevin Maurer, Fayetteville (NC) Observer July 1, 2003 http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=military&Story=5728562 The 4th Psychological Operations Group on Monday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its $8.1 million media operations complex. The complex will serve as a central production hub to transmit leaflets and other propaganda to units around the world. About 75 people attended Monday's ceremony. Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and Col. James Treadwell, 4th Psychological Operations Group commander, cut the ribbon. Since Sept. 11, 2001, psychological operations soldiers have been at the front of the war on terrorism. The soldiers produced leaflets warning Iraqi air defense crews not to attack coalition aircraft, as well as radio and television broadcasts urging Iraqis not to destroy the country's oil wells. Central Command credited the broadcasts with saving the oil wells. In Afghanistan, psychological operations units produced a leaflet that showed Osama bin Laden dressed in western clothes to convince Taliban fighters that the al-Qaida leader had deserted them. The 3rd Psychological Operations Battalion, which will run the new facility, produces the 4th Psychological Operations Groups' print, radio and television broadcast and audio-visual products. The battalion supports 850 psychological operations soldiers in 13 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. The unit has produced about 150 million leaflets for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The unit also has produced about 16,000 hours of radio programming for operations in Afghanistan and 400 hours for Iraq. Soldiers said the new facility is an improvement on the group's World War II-era quarters and is designed to house the group's print, audio and audio-visual production equipment. ''It is much bigger. The old space was about two-thirds this size," said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gelin, who supervises the printing presses. Gelin said the old buildings also lacked air conditioning. The new facility brings the battalion under one roof. Sgt. Rodrick Jackson, a graphic artist, said the newer equipment will also speed up production because he can digitally transmit the finished product directly to the printer. The new facility has four Heidelberg presses that can produce 250,000 two-sided four-color leaflets in 24 hours. ''We will no longer have to transfer products. All of our work will be done in a digital format, which increases our timeliness and quality," Treadwell said. Maj. Michael Lilley, the 3rd Battalion's executive officer, said the digital transfer will cut production time by about 30 percent. The 51,746-square-foot complex also has two video studios and two audio studios. Construction of the complex started in December 2001 and ended April 2003. Over the next five years, the complex will get an additional $8 million in audio and video production equipment, an electronic archive system and satellite dishes (Fayetteville (NC) Observer Jul 1, 2003 via N. Grace, USA for CRW via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. I doubt if I'll be up to hear the WYFR tests at 0400- 0500 via 3955 reported by Kai! A low frequency in that band should also cover the UK, but I think they could count their maximum audience using the fingers of one hand at that hour! I note that today`s sunrise in London is 0459 [I assume 0359 UT?] so it will be interesting to see just how well 3955 propagates into Europe. Sunrise at Skelton should be slightly earlier (Noel R. Green, UK, via Ludwig, DXLD) I also do not know if I will be up during any of the scheduled tests (which I guess are a \\ing of WYFR 9985). And indeed it appears to be a bit strange to use 75 metres for this slot, since at this time the sun is to rise in Spain and Portugal while all other parts of Europe are already under bright daylight. Of course so far Skelton is only a bet, no real information about the transmitter site is available yet. At Jülich a use of 75 metres would make more sense, although there should be hardly a risk for a 49 metres signal from there to skip over Germany at this time (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PACIFICA RADIO NETWORK IS RETURNING TO ITS BERKELEY ROOTS The move from Washington is the culmination of efforts by disaffected listeners, who charged the network was going mainstream. AROUND THE DIAL By Steve Carney, Special to The Times, July 12 2003 When the leftist Pacifica radio network packed up its offices and left Berkeley for Washington, D.C. one night in January 2000, critics said it was the most tangible evidence yet that the organization had abandoned its radical roots. But by the end of the month, Pacifica will be back in Berkeley, where it was founded by a peace activist after World War II and where it pioneered listener-supported radio. The move is the culmination of several years of protests, lawsuits and boycotts by disaffected listeners who charged that Pacifica management was making the network corporate and mainstream. Their pressure finally ousted the board of directors last year. "It's one of the last great reform steps of the reform administration," said the network's executive director, Dan Coughlin. "It's symbolic of Pacifica returning to its roots, returning to its mission." The Pacifica Foundation operates five radio stations nationwide, including KPFA-FM in Berkeley and KPFK-FM (90.7) in Los Angeles, and provides news and public affairs programs to nearly 100 other public stations. The foundation board fled Berkeley after bitter fights with irate listeners and KPFA staff. Management even shuttered the station for two weeks after removing popular staff, which led to protests outside the station. When the activists took over the foundation in January 2002, they discovered a $4.8-million deficit, which Coughlin said has been pared to $900,000. The move to Berkeley cost the cash-strapped network about $200,000, he said, but that was offset by support from KPFA and extra donations from subscribers across California. "A lot of listeners have stepped forward and basically funded that shift. There was a great outpouring," he said. Coughlin said the network would operate mirror offices in Washington until July 31, when the transfer of operations to Berkeley would be completed. A bureau will remain at the network's station, WPFW-FM, in Washington. He said the network's reaction to the war in Iraq and other Bush administration policies has helped Pacifica shift its focus from divisive infighting by "reasserting its traditional mission around peace and social justice programming." The reservoir of traditional financial support in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the pool of available producers and programmers that had been left behind make the move's advantages more than symbolic, Coughlin said. He also cited the benefits of the Bay Area's artistic and literary tradition, which he said "will help nurture and help Pacifica grow and strengthen in many ways." KPFK [Los Ángeles], meanwhile, is rearranging its programming and increasing its Spanish-language offerings to better reflect the audience it says it is trying to reach. In the changes, scheduled to be complete Tuesday, the station will air Spanish-language news from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, followed by 90 minutes of Spanish public affairs programming. Music programs in that time slot, such as "Rhapsody in Black" and "Restless Soul," get pushed to late night. In a message to listeners on the station's Web site http://www.KPFK.org program director Armando Gudino said the moves will broaden the station "in the area of political consciousness, cultural awareness and the empowerment of all communities that contribute to the well-being of humanity. "Change is difficult and growth is even harder," he continued, and that surely could describe the cancellation, after 32 years on KPFK, of "Heartfelt Music," which aired Saturdays from 8 to 10 a.m. Deanne and John Davis, hosts of the program with a playlist that included folk, bluegrass, Americana, country and inspirational music, were philosophical about the cancellation in an online message. They cited the station's desire "for more public affairs programming and ethnic diversity" as the reason behind the change, joking that they're "too white and middle class." Another KPFK institution being cut back is "The Car Show," which since 1973 has featured news, advice and listener calls on all things automotive. The program, with hosts Art Gould and John Retsek, formerly aired Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It now will air from 1 to 2 p.m., starting next Saturday. Although some listeners will cheer the addition of programs such as a Saturday youth arts and culture show, others are greeting the loss of longtime favorites with fear and loathing -- reactions similar to those that greeted programming changes made by former KPFK general manager Mark Schubb, who questioned the relevance of some shows the station was airing. The greatest uproar came in October 2000 when he axed "Folk Scene," hosted by Roz and Howard Larman and a three-decade institution on the station. The show was restored last year after Schubb was fired, one of the casualties in the Pacifica listener counterrevolution. In this month's changes, "Folk Scene" moves from Sunday nights to "Heartfelt Music's" old Saturday-morning time slot. Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A TAMPA PIRATE RADIO ACTIVIST SAYS... DEBASING DEMOCRACY? A Tampa pirate radio activist says an FCC proposal favoring media conglomerates can be detrimental to us all. By BILL DURYEA, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times, published July 13, 2003 On June 2 the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 (three Republicans versus two Democrats) to enable media conglomerates to gobble up more radio and television stations and newspapers in the same market. One of the people most alarmed by the increasing consolidation of mass media is Kelly Benjamin, a former Tampa City Council candidate and sixth-generation Tampa resident, who operated a pirate radio station in the 1990s that was shut down by the government. Benjamin, 28, spoke with the St. Petersburg Times about fomenting democracy on the left of the dial. Times: You've got experience trying to be a small media outlet in an environment that's becoming more and more consolidated. Tell us a little bit about your radio station. Benjamin: The station started in the fall of 1995 down in Ybor City before Ybor was going through the whole gentrification process that it's going through today. There was a community of people down there - a lot of artists and punks and hippies. It was a ghost town. There were pretty cheap rents. A friend of mine had an old Army transmitter that he got from scouring thrift shops. We eventually bought a kit. We were pretty low wattage. Times: How many watts? Benjamin: Initially it was 30 watts. We were mainly trying to serve as a community media source for the Ybor City area, the punks and the squatters and the people down at Ybor Pizza and Subs, and a couple of the shops down there, like Three Birds (a bookstore). Times: How far did your signal go? Benjamin: It was a couple of miles. We were on the air about six or eight months at (Blue Chair Records) and then right about the winter time, Adams City Hatters, which was right next door, got a knock on the door from the Feds. Times: What were you playing? Benjamin: It was pretty diverse, rants about the gentrification of Ybor City, about rents skyrocketing overnight, the new clientele the bar district was drawing down there. We were using our voice to dissent against that and playing music that appealed to us. Cookie- cutter, mainstream radio was not serving the people in our demographic. Times: What FM frequency were you broadcasting at? Benjamin: 87.9. Bottom left-hand side of the dial. We weren't interfering with any other frequencies. The Feds started giving us a lot of harassment anyway. Times: What form did that take? Benjamin: Our first official visit from the FCC came in, I think it was February '96. They banged on the door. They started threatening us --- two years in prison or a $10,000 fine if we continued broadcasting. They said they had a legal right to enter and inspect our transmitter. We played sort of a cat and mouse game with my lawyer sending their lawyer letters for a while. In the meantime we started to go full thrust and come out of the closet about the station and start to get mainstream media attention. We had a full range of DJs coming in. People playing jazz, hip-hop, punk. We had local bands coming in playing live. People who were sitting at home on house arrest with their ankle bracelet who couldn't come out to the show could at least hear the shows on the radio. It was a real experiment in civic participation on the airways to kind of see this community develop around this media source. It created this collective consciousness, people getting involved, getting excited about something as the area was changing around them. Times: Why was it a violation of the law that you were running a radio station? Benjamin: The FCC mandates, according to Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, that all radio broadcast on the FM and AM bands are subject to licensing by the FCC. In order to get that license you have to have some serious corporate connections or serious money. Times: How much money? Benjamin: Just the application fees alone and the lawyers' fees to figure out the application, you're talking about $20,000. And then the licenses themselves are around $50,000. But they didn't even offer licenses for what we were doing --- low-power broadcasting, anything under 100 watts. We eventually went to a 24-hour schedule, moved to another location, raised our antenna about 80 feet, boosted our wattage to about 80 watts. We had a digitally stabilized signal that wasn't interfering with any other signal in town. We felt it was important that the airways not be seen as some golden soapbox that you have to have millions of dollars to have access to. Times: And it's worth reminding people that the airwaves do belong to the public. Benjamin: Exactly. If you look at the demographics of how the licenses are issued around the country, there is a pretty small number of stations owned by minorities. When it comes to the large 1,000-watt stations, they're all being gobbled up by Clear Channel, Viacom and Cox Enterprises. There's basically four or five media conglomerates around the nation that control what everyone sees and hears and reads. Now with this recent ruling, the FCC and the neo-conservatives in there have tried to consolidate it even further. When we first started out, honestly, we were having fun. We didn't see this as part of a greater movement. But as we started networking more heavily with other stations around the country we realized this is more of a genuine struggle for a true democracy than people just going around playing records. Times: How many pirate broadcasters were there at the time? Benjamin: At one point there was eight stations on the air in Tampa. And nationally, the FCC said there was over 1,000 pirate stations. In the Miami-Dade area, there was tons of immigrant-operated radio stations, people coming from countries that didn't have an equivalent to the FCC. Times: The FCC made a major change in 1996 and loosened up the rules affecting the number of radio stations one company could own in a market. How much did ownership of stations in this area change? Benjamin: That's really when a corporation like Clear Channel came to power. They might have owned a dozen radio stations. But because of that ruling they were so incredibly lethal. The FCC allowed a cap to be lifted. The reason there is a cap is so there would be much more localism, much more opportunity for competition and diversity on the airways. What the FCC allowed was, maybe instead of owning three stations in one market, they said you can own five stations in the AM and 10 in the FM and one or two cable channels. Times: After the 1996 ruling Clear Channel went from 43 stations nationwide to more than 1,200. Locally, they own eight stations. Benjamin: One of the positive things about this most recent ruling (June 2) is that it has really thrust the issue into the public consciousness. It's made ownership of the media into a political issue, which it should be. A lot of mainstream networks did not want to cover this issue at all until they saw there was a groundswell of grass-roots opposition to what the FCC was proposing. If we have unequal distribution of the media we're never going to live in a true democracy. If you're a millionaire you're going to have your voice amplified by many more stations, many more frequencies. That was particularly evident with this war that we just had. Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting did a study (about war coverage). There was no interviews with academics, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) or people who were at all doubtful about it. All the people who were interviewed were either former or current generals or bigwigs in the military. They all had a pretty right-wing, hawkish agenda. I think it was something like out of 700 interviews they found that less than 2 percent were at all critical of the war. (Actually, of 1,617 on-camera interviews observed during three weeks, 64 percent of subjects were categorized as "pro-war.") Times: Were you nervous broadcasting? You'd been informed what the penalties were. Benjamin: It was more a reckless collision course with destiny at that point. We were seeing how far we could take it. Times: Why didn't they just shut you down? Benjamin: The FCC was a little overwhelmed, with a thousand radio stations across the country. What are they going to be able to accomplish with limited manpower? The truth is in the summer of 1997, the National Association of Broadcasters had a meeting with the FCC in Las Vegas. The NAB was paying good money to have this captive audience and all these pirate stations were getting on there for free, stealing listenership. They asked the FCC to start enforcing the law. Times: What happened when they raided you? Benjamin: My girlfriend and I were in bed, about five minutes before the alarm clock goes off. We heard rustling in the bushes. They surrounded the house. They started banging. They brought out the U.S. marshals and the local police, so they had about a dozen people there. Times: They had guns? Benjamin: Yeah, they had guns. They were drawn, but they weren't pointed at me. I was just in my pajamas and they realized I was just a long-haired kid. They kept us handcuffed on the front porch for a good couple of hours. Went to jail. Got out that afternoon. My girlfriend was substitute teaching at the time. They let her go so she could go teach. She was a shambles. I got out of jail about the time she got out of school. The gist of that was that because of the raids, the FCC started to question the amount of access that everyday people have to the airwaves. They opened up this petition for rule-making. Times: But even though the rules were relaxed to allow for low-power broadcasts you still have the decision on June 2 that is going to further consolidate ownership of the media. Benjamin: There's only been a handful of stations that have benefited from that rule anyway. They claim that in cities like Tampa and New York there's too much crowding on the bandwidth to allow for a low- power station, which is a completely bogus argument. There's precedent in other countries. Stations are able to serve their local communities. That argument has been debunked by a number of academics. Times: Describe for me some of the most significant changes under the new rules. Benjamin: They're saying now that a television station can be owned by the same company that owns a newspaper in the same market. That's unprecedented, except here in Tampa (Media General owns the Tampa Tribune and WFLA-Ch. 8) and one or two other instances around the country where there has been some experiments to see if that really hinders localism and diversity. Times: One of the worst-case scenarios critics are describing is that in one city, one company could acquire up to three television stations, eight radio stations, the cable television system, cable TV stations and the only newspaper. Why should we be afraid of that? Benjamin: It's a huge threat because the opportunities to engage in debate, serious critical examination of critical issues that affect our lives, is limited if we have one or two sources of information rather than if we had 10 sources. Times: What if people like it this way? What if this is the will of the people and not the will of the corporations? Benjamin: This has been the most hotly contested decision the FCC has ever made, and the most commented on proposal. Times: They received more than 700,000 comments, didn't they? Benjamin: More than any other comment period in the history of the FCC. They were 99 percent against relaxing the ownership rules. That speaks for itself. How many of those commissioners have been lobbied, been put up in luxury hotels, traveling all around the country, traveling all around the world on the bill of Cox and Clear Channel, the people they're supposed to be regulating? Times: The FCC proposed these rule changes, they're not official, they have to be approved by Congress. What's going on now? Benjamin: There's been some backlash in Congress, some mounting resistance from surprising places. You expect it from some of the more liberal congressmen, but Trent Lott has come out and said, "This is the FCC's big mistake." In fact, they drafted some legislation to try and counter the FCC proposal. Times: Why would there be this bipartisan opposition given that it was such a partisan decision at the FCC? Benjamin: The Republicans see a liberal conspiracy in the media and people on the other side see a right-wing conspiracy. So both of them are on the same page when it comes to diversity of opinion. Times: How many pirate stations are there now on the air in Tampa? Benjamin: Not many. In Ashcroft's America, a lot of people who have transmitters at home aren't using them because there's kind of a chilling environment right now for anyone who expresses dissent against the status quo. It's a much different environment right now than it was six years ago. Times: How come you're not doing it? Benjamin: I'm moving on, fighting different battles, running for office, trying to finish school, trying to make a living. Other people have taken the reins. I know there's at least one. Times: Who's that? Benjamin: If you search for them, you'll probably find them. I'm not going to rat them out. The above feature is posted at: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/13/Floridian/Debasing_democracy.shtml (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DXLD) Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html ** U S A. PUBLIC FIVE TO ONE AGAINST MEDIA CONCENTRATION --- PEW POLL By WILL LESTER, The Associated Press, 7/13/03 2:07 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- The more Americans learn about federal changes that lift restrictions on companies owning different media outlets in the same city, the less they like it, a new poll suggests. The public has been increasingly concerned in recent years about the independence of the press. New rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission allowing more concentrated ownership appear to have heightened those fears, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Half in that poll, 50 percent, said they think allowing companies to own more broadcast and newspaper operations in the same city will have a negative effect. Only 10 percent said that would have a positive effect. About a third said in February that the concentrated ownership of media outlets in a city would have a negative effect. But few people at that time had been paying much attention to ongoing efforts to change the media ownership rules. Seven in 10 in the new poll said they think news organizations are often influenced by powerful people and organizations. "Over the last 20 years, people have had growing doubts about whether the press is really independent or influenced by powerful forces," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. "They have growing concerns about that influence." The FCC decided in early June that individual companies can own television stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same city. Critics of the decision said the new rules will lead to ownership of the media by a few giant companies that can control what people see, hear and read. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, said the worries about the new ownership rules are probably related to "the suspicion the public has about corporate power." The public has mixed feelings about how much objectivity it wants in news coverage. A majority of people say they want the media to offer neutral coverage. But when asked if they think it is good for coverage to have "a strong pro-American point of view," seven in 10 said "yes." The poll found that 22 percent say they most often turn to Fox News for news coverage. That's up from 16 percent in January 2002, though still slightly behind CNN at 27 percent. The Fox audience is significantly more conservative and Republican than the audience for network news and CNN, the poll found. The recent problems experienced at The New York Times when reporter Jayson Blair fabricated material in stories apparently has had little effect on public attitudes about the media. Most people already were cynical about the media's accuracy and response when mistakes are made. Improvement in the news media's public image after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has largely disappeared, according to the poll. But the public perception about the patriotism of those in the media is still slightly higher than it was before the attacks. People tend to see the news media as liberal rather than conservative, by a 2-1 margin. The poll of 1,201 adults was taken from June 19 to July 2 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. ------ On the Net: Pew Research Center: http://www.people-press.org (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. It can hardly be coincidental that on both Colorado Public Radio and KUNM I hear promotions about donating used vehicles to support the stations. What a brilliant idea; I bet it`s nationwide at various stations. Wonder if NPR has contracted with a certain used-car dealer to handle all this (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ENSLEY, 90, HAS HIS SHARE OF FISH STORIES Harold Ensley hosted a television show on angling for 48 seasons... http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030713/2046914.asp (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) Originates in Kansas ** U S A. Altho KKSU is long gone, K-State Research & Extension is still producing the weekly half-hour public affairs interview show PERSPECTIVE. The past month`s are available in Real and MP3 at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/radio/perspective.htm On another program`s page there is a link to affiliate lists, which includes Perspective on such stations as KGGF-690 Coffeyville KS, which apparently does not have a website (or none linked), and KSAL- 1150 Salina, which does not really show it on its typically vague commercial station schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, MONITORING REMINDERS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. 6010.2, 4.7 0205, Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo played tangos at a lovely tempo. Sometimes very disturbed. At 0240 some talk with program information, ID, etc. JE/RFK (Jan Edh/Ronny Forslund, Sweden, SW Bulletin translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rare to be nocturnal UNIDENTIFIED. 4960.45, unID LA SS, unknown QTH (Perú?). July 2003 at 1050 UT. This is just now the station of most interest for me. Unfortunately rather weak and also heard only at two occasions: June 28 at 1130 UT and July 10 at 1050. Federación Shuar can be rather weak early mornings and this station comes through with Indian language, maybe "quichua". Perhaps it is also there in evenings but then Federación is tremendously strong. 5046.22, unID LA SS, unknown QTH (Perú?). July 2003 - 1140 UT. I think I heard a "Radio Integración" ID but very uncertain. During at least a year I have had this one as unID, always with weak signal. UT -5. Information earlier sent via email and "SWB América Latina". July 1: 4780.89 unID LA SS, unknown QTH. July 1 2003- 0045 UT. The dominants of the frequency are off air at the same time and then I think of Radio Coatán and Radio Oriental. Also Radio Satélite seems to be off. This can lead to surprises. The program was Mexican music like for instance Juan Gabriel and Bronco. Nothing directly that indicates the country. Lousy signal and thunderstorms but sometimes decent signal at least when music. Both name and QTH are given but unfortunately I can only get a phonetic: "...desde Jilicaca (???)", "...desde la provincia de... el departamento de la Batra (???) ...Radio Vadana (???)...". Despite this vague description somebody can find out what is said, yes then a medal is waiting. Close down at 0054 UT. 73 from BM i Quito! bjornmalm2003@yahoo.com (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 13, translated by SWB editor Thomas Nilsson for DX Listening Digest) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Glenn: I saw your comments on BPL and was very encouraged to see an avid SWL as yourself opposing BPL. I had just seen Ed Hare,W1RFI of ARRL give a talk on BPL. Obviously this must be stopped, or both SWL and Amateur Radio will vanish. The proposed potential RF Interference levels are incredibly high. More comments from your listeners are highly encouraged. They can visit the FCC ECFS site http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ and by clicking search for filed comments, entering 03-104 under "Proceeding" make Reply Comments to the ARRL's Comments, my comments as well as yours or anyone else's, including the Power Industry's. 73 (Mike Masterson, WN2A (and SWL), July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ More shortwave as art... ...in Magnetic North, Haynes uses an eight-channel sound system that broadcasts the sounds of short-wave radio and various electronic disturbances, with very little that can be understood as traditional, decipherable communication. Is this the sound of decay? ''Maybe,'' says Haynes, a connoisseur of alternative music who writes free-lance pieces for various publications. . . http://tennessean.com/entertainment/arts/archives/03/07/35818159.shtml?Element_ID=35818159 73 (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ GERMAN WW2 NAVY SIGNALS MUSEUM ON GUERNSEY German Naval Signals Headquarters St. Jacques, St. Peter Port, Guernsey. The Headquarters of the German Naval Commander Channel Islands (Seeko- Ki) were originally established in Guernsey at the neighbouring La Collinette and La Porte Hotels in the Summer of 1942 Radio communications were a vital part of operations at Seeko-Ki Headquarters and the powerful radio transmitters and receivers were first housed in the loft of La Collinette Hotel before the decision was taken to build the permanent bunkers in the hotel grounds. Work began in the Autumn of 1943 and the Signals Headquarters, under the command of the Naval Signals Officer (M.N.O.), Oberleutnant Willi Hagedorn, was operative on 1st February 1944. The adjoining Seeko-Ki bunker, linked by a short tunnel, and detached generator bunker were completed at a later date. The M.N.O. Headquarters handled all the important radio signals traffic for the German forces in the Channel Islands; especially after the Allied landings in Normandy. Messages were transmitted and received by naval codes using the Enigma enciphering machines on a variety of frequencies operating under the station callsign 'Flu'. The bulk of traffic passed through Naval Headquarters in Paris and, during the final months of the war, directly with Berlin. The Signals Headquarters bunker has been restored by members of the Channel Islands Occupation Society (Guernsey) in cooperation with Fortress Guernsey. Many of the original fittings are retained, including the ventilation and heating systems. The rooms have been re- fitted and equipped to as near original condition as possible, based on detailed information supplied by the former Naval Signals Officer and other German personnel. Equipment has been loaned by private individuals, the States of Guernsey Museum Services and the extensive collection of communication and signals collection of the German Occupation Museum. As a footnote to the above, an Enigma enciphering machine is actually located at the museum although I'm not certain if this is the original machine. 73 (Lionel Roithmeir, July 13, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ RADIO ACTIVE REVOLUTION Software radio promises to transform gadgets and challenge the authority of broadcasters, writes Ben Hammersley Ben Hammersley, Thursday July 10, 2003, The Guardian Upgrades are a fact of modern life, but now it seems that absolutely everything we've taken for granted as fixed technology is being uprooted. Terrestrial television is turning digital, as is domestic radio; cell phones are moving to 3G and laptops now include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. If it had a radio circuit before, it's being ripped out and replaced with something new and, if it didn't, it's getting one. Everything is being connected, digitised, upgraded, beefed up, accelerated and meshed, and the trusty radio and television sets we have today will be useless in a few years. All this progress presents a problem. Any change in the technology, from, say, ordinary TV to digital terrestrial, requires a whole new radio circuit. Receiving and understanding the signal means using electronic devices designed for that particular signal - which is why your television is not a cellphone. All this upgrading, however, is expensive for both the user and the service provider. Furthermore, it is creating huge problems for the emergency services and the military, where differing budgets and upgrade cycles means that their radios can't talk to each other - with potentially fatal consequences. The answer may well soon be here. In a positive move, the first handheld software radio was unveiled in Washington in May. Instead of specialist radio hardware, a software radio uses a simple receiver to throw the entire contents of a range of frequencies into computer memory, where software - and not hardware - does the signal processing. Vanu Inc, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, took an ordinary, off-the-shelf Hewlett-Packard iPaq personal digital assistant and, using only a simple radio receiver and an upgrade to the Linux operating system, was able to demonstrate the device working as an FM radio. An expensive way to listen to Radio 4, for certain, but it is the first step in solving the real problems of cost and incompatibility. The original attempt to fix this involved a technology called software defined radio. This uses expensive digital signal processors (DSP), and a special type of chip that can be programmed to change its own wiring, to achieve the desired effect. But that is expensive technology, and not very easy to work with: the DSPs, for example, each have their own internal workings that must be mastered, and by the time you have done that, there is a newer, better DSP on the market. Software radio, on the other hand, uses ordinary PC technology to achieve the same result. By taking advantage of the yearly increases in processor speed, a software radio can use a very basic receiver to throw everything it can hear into memory, and then have ordinary commodity hardware and standard programming languages process the signal. Technology that 15 years ago could never have handled the large amount of arithmetic needed is now perfectly capable. It is also getting cheaper and more powerful every year, and because it is all written in standard computer languages, techniques learnt today do not go out of date. With a software-defined radio circuit, building in the ability to talk with many different types of radio circuit becomes a programming issue, and not a physical limitation. As new standards are developed, it will no longer be necessary to buy new equipment. In the future, a downloadable patch is all you will need to upgrade your television, radio, or mobile phone to the next standard. This is already the case for industrial equipment. Vanu Inc ships mobile phone base stations that run on ordinary PC equipment, which can be changed between standards as the operator sees fit. The average commercial lifespan of a mobile phone base station is 10 years - so by using software radio equipment, the network operator need not worry about how much a new cellphone standard will cost to roll out. Given that all the base stations are networked together anywhere, one guy with a laptop can upgrade the lot. Since a software radio can listen to multiple standards at the same time, the potential is there for a specialist rural company to provide base station services, expanding coverage across more remote areas. This, of course, makes the market much more interesting. Although the founder of Vanu Inc, Vanu Bose, says he thinks that while software radio mobile phone handsets are three to five years out, once they arrive, the potential for a national phone network to jump from new standard to new standard without too much fuss is greatly increased - but without the associated handset churn. In other words, whereas now the power in the phone market is all with the handset manufacturers, whose embrace, or not, of any new network feature decides its fate, come software defined phones. The network will be able to upgrade their services en masse, without having to wait for Nokia or Ericsson to come on board. This is not just a matter of transmission standards, either: while switching from GSM to 3G to 4G and beyond suddenly got a lot easier, the inherent ability of software-defined devices to upgrade their software via the network itself means that upgrades to the user interface, to the features of the phone itself, could become much simpler to provide. Vanu Inc is not the only one working on this, of course. Intel, the chip manufacturer, is well aware of the advantages of the idea - and of its place in making it happen. The company has done extensive research, as has the free software community - the code behind the GnuRadio project is freely downloadable from its site http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/gnuradio.html This Free Software approach has many people worried. Software radio transmitters have the potential to allow anyone, with cheap PC equipment and an antenna, to set up their own radio or television stations. Low powered and low budget, for sure, but this is another case of technology overtaking the regulations. Currently, the frequency bands used by television and radio are heavily regulated. The justification is that there is finite space for different stations, or else they will interfere with each other. In the era of software radio, many people think this is nonsense: when both the transmitters and the receivers can be instantly upgraded to increasingly improved transmission standards, interference ceases to be a problem. In fact, many people believe that interference itself is a concept used as an excuse for the poor equipment of the past century. David Reed, the technologist and co-author of the paper that defined the architecture of the internet, told Salon.com: "There's no scarcity of spectrum any more than there's a scarcity of the colour green. We could instantly hook up to the internet everyone who can pick up a radio signal, and they could pump through as many bits as they could ever want. We'd go from an economy of digital scarcity to an economy of digital abundance." This presents an interesting problem for the regulatory bodies in charge of the frequency bands. Whereas their work was previously defined by a concept of scarcity - that there were only a few frequencies, and that these need to be bid for and carefully licensed - technology such as software radio, and the techniques you can use when you have it, is proving this assumption completely false. The capacity of a frequency band is, in fact, plentiful. This puts the incumbent broadcast authorities in a bit of a pickle. The real estate of their assigned (and paid for) frequency allocation loses its value. If, technically, all a newcomer has to do to start broadcasting terrestrial television is to provide a URL, most likely within the signal itself, to a place the TV can download the correct patch - a patch to enable the TV to receive a method of transmission that does not interfere with existing broadcasts - then why do we need to regulate these bands at all? Why should a mobile phone network pay billions of pounds for a slice of spectrum, when software radio, and its associated technologies, would allow thousands of networks to use the same band without interfering. If the capacity of the ether can be made plentiful, why can't you or I have our own TV or radio station? For industries based on either scarcity of frequencies, or the need to continually replace our equipment, software radio is a nightmare. For the rest of us, however, it will mean greater choice, cheaper gear and faster-moving technology. Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) This skirts the line between being on or off topic for this list, but given the historical importance of Grundig AG to international broadcasting, I thought the following would be of interest and perhaps worthy of some conversation here. I own several "true" Grundig radios (i.e.: developed and/or manufactured in Germany/Europe) and can attest to the high quality of their construction and performance, typically over decades (John Figliozzi, swprograms July 7 via DXLD) GRUNDIG JOINS LIST OF FAILURES Monday, April 14, 2003 Posted: 1303 GMT ( 9:03 PM HKT) MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Loss-making Grundig, Germany's best- known maker of televisions and radios, became the country's latest high-profile corporate failure on Monday when it filed for insolvency after failing to find a partner to bail it out. The move, concluding years of decline for a group which rose to prominence during Germany's postwar years, adds to a list of company failures that has grown relentlessly as the country's economic growth has stagnated. "We have made an insolvency filing,'' Guenter Moissl, finance chief of the German consumer electronics maker, told Reuters. He declined to comment further. A court in the southern German town Nuremberg, where the company is based, confirmed the filing. Banking sources said Grundig's creditors had decided not to extend credits of over 200 million euros ($214.9 million). Grundig had been fighting for years to find a partner to ensure its survival but had become a shadow of its former self. It currently employs just 3,500 people worldwide compared with over 10 times that number in the late 1980s. A Grundig supervisory board member told Reuters last week the company faced insolvency after Turkish appliance exporter Beko dropped plans to buy a majority stake. The failure of that deal came just a month after the company said talks had ``gone quiet'' with another possible buyer, Sampo Corp, one of Taiwan's largest consumer appliance makers, for a controlling stake. Grundig, whose listed peers include Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, produces television sets, video and DVD players. It was once the biggest radio manufacturer in Europe and had sales of 1.3 billion euros in 2001. It joins a growing list of famous German corporate names including building giant Holzmann, engineer Babcock Borsig and stationery maker Herlitz in Europe's largest economy. According to the Federal Statistics Office, insolvency filings in Germany totalled 84,428 last year including the self-employed, helping to push jobless numbers well above four million. Historic The failure of Grundig, founded by a Nuremberg electrician who began making radios after work in the 1930s, comes after 20 years of growing pressure from cheaper and more efficient Asian rivals, which bridged the quality gap that had set Grundig apart. The European Commission said late last year it had allowed Bavaria, where the company is based, to guarantee a 45 million euro loan aimed at keeping Grundig in business for at least six months so it had time to decide on its future. While parts of the business have attracted interest, notably the still well-regarded Grundig brand name and an extensive sales network, due diligence work has invariably shown up major problems that have scared buyers off. "After detailed work and evaluation, it was decided not to buy the shares in Grundig AG,'' Beko said in a statement last week, without providing details. Industry observers said the firm was too small to compete on the world market with Asian giants such as Sony Corp or Samsung Electronics and that management failures over the years had also contributed to its collapse. "Catastrophic'' was the word used by one banker who examined the company's books on behalf of a potential buyer. "They didn't even have a clear idea themselves what they were making. The accounts were a complete mess. It was completely unclear exactly what you would have been getting into.'' (CNN.com Business via John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) This is old news but perhaps of interest. We have already learnt that the demise of the original Grundig does not affect Grundig SW radios marketed in the US under that brand (gh, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-124, July 13, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1190: RFPI: Sun 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445/15039 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415, 5100? WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html WORLD OF RADIO ON 7485 Dear Glenn, Just returned from a 4 week vacation. I can tell you that last Sunday (July 6) I heard your World of Radio of June 24 in Ghent, Belgium, on 7485 kHz at 0935 UT, as broadcast by a probably British pirate. 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not to be confused with WJIE, 7490, where we are supposedly still scheduled Sat 0930, Sun 1030. BTW, after a period of improved modulation on 7490, I am not hearing that or 13595 at all lately, including at 1630 Sun July 13 when WOR 1179 might have appeared yet again (gh) WORLD OF RADIO ON RFPI Anomaly: I heard WOR 1190 open on RFPI 7445 kHz at 0203 GMT 12 Jul 03. 73 de KB9NXD (Michael A. Mathis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So was already half an hour late; also noted after 1430 Sat, another half hour late (gh) ** AFRICA. In the past few weeks there have been quite a number of interesting developments in the African SW broadcasting scene, so I made just another update of africalist: http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist This is still a list of almost all subsaharan africa SW broadcasters sorted by frequency and country, zipped .xls-file (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have problems opening that format, and wish you would just skip the zipping and the xls (gh) ** ANTARCTICA [non]. FCC ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY CALL SIGN GOOF The FCC has issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) in an effort to rescind a vanity call sign it issued in error to a Virginia amateur. Last August, the FCC`s Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division (within the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau) erroneously granted the request of Richard L. Smith of Chesapeake, Virginia, to have the call sign KC4USH. The Branch is responsible for issuing all amateur license and call sign grants. The Commission says that since the KC4USA through KC4USZ call sign block has been made available to the US Navy for the use of amateur stations in Antarctica, the KC4USH call sign should not have been issued to Smith, a General-class licensee who used to be KG4UKV. The FCC now wants Smith to take back his former call sign (along with a refund of his vanity application fee, of course). The MO&O was released July 3 and signed by D`wana Terry, Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division. The FCC will not issue a modification order until Smith has received notice of the proposed action and has a chance to protest, something he must do in writing within 30 days (ARRL Letter July11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) QSO/QSL him while you can!!! (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. FEEDER: 5400-L, Radio 101, Buenos Aires, 0400-0430, July 9, Spanish, musical program, comments by female announcer, ads., IDs "La 101", "Ud. escucha la 101", "La 101 solo igual a vos", 24442, // 101.1 MHz FM (Eramo, Argentina) 5400-L, La Red AM 910, Buenos Aires, 0944-0948, July 10, Spanish, program "Puntos de Vista", ID "La Red AM 910", 24442, // 910 KHz, (Nicolás Eramo, Villa Lynch, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Glenn, Tuned into R. Vilnius around 2345 UT 9875 kHz on July 12, 2003. Wanted to know who was causing QRM. Tuned down to 9870 and heard English. Sounded familiar so I listened to 9870 instead of R. Vilnius as originally intended. Got positive ID at 2358 UT as R. Austria Int. Male announcer gave new mailing address. The mailbag program began. After 2 letters the signal abruptly cut off. Was the signal cut off intended? Or, was there a problem? I believe intended. Checking the ORF website for the latest skeds http://roi.orf.at/english/en_schemadownload.html I see 9870 was in use until 0000 UT. What is the purpose of cutting off in mid sentence? I know ORF is currently having difficulties, but this is sloppy and will turn away potential listeners. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surprised they are still doing a mailbag, even a fraxional one (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. ZW7S - II BRAZILIAN NATIONAL SCOUT JAMBOREE will be active from July 12nd to 19th, 2003, day and night operating on World Scout frequencies plus Echolink as ZW7S e PY2RAR. JOTA HF Voice Calling Frequencies 3590, 7090, 14190, 21190, 28590 kHz 14290, 18140, 21360, 24960, 28390 kHz (DX) Band, Frequency and mode will be displayed at http://www.radioescotismo.com.br/zw7s and through DX-Telnet. Amateur Radio is an attraction to 2.000 participants and there will be an special QSL Card celebrating the activity. Radio Scouting Team: PY2RAR, PT7HI, PS7NF, PY4SLC, PY5ZC, PY5ISA, PU5VIV and PY5EI. QSLs: via Bureau or Direct to the manager, together with a SASE, to receive ZW7S QSL Card. QSL manager: PY2RAR - Ronan A Reginatto Avenida 1, 2091 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil 13503-250 e-QSLs to zw7s@radioescotismo.com.br (Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA. Re Beehive Radio: Note that this one is also in the WRTH- 2003 as station 15). (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sombok ka Mum on 105.0 ** CHINA [and non]. Alan Davies reports from Kolkata: Going back to those newish Chinese high- and super-power transmitters, I would suggest that there are at least 2 of them on each of the 'new' CNR frequencies, as below (1134 and 1377, tentatively from Lhasa, were not audible in early year 2000 from here, but are now very strong, so both appear to be new arrivals). 1134: At this location there are at least 2 transmitters audible carrying CNR-1 at night with echo effect characteristic of Chinese MW transmitters sharing same channel and programming but with different delays in the audio feeds. One is very strong, sometimes dominating over the AIR 1000 kW station located a few 10s of km from here, and I would guess Lhasa as possible site. WRTH lists Lhasa on this frequency but with Xizang PBS Ch (maybe they have listed the right location and frequency but wrong network?). (Alan Davies in Kolkata, 1 July) In daytime, very weak carriers are just about detectable here on 1134 and 1377 both with roughly the same bearing as 594 Lhasa, but direction finding from hotel rooms can be misleading. On 1134 at night, the strong CNR-1's audio is slightly behind that of the weaker co-channel CNR-1 transmitter(s). (Alan Davies in Guwahati, 6 July) Late at night I'm hearing CNR-1 on 1116 kHz from around 1600 and CNR-2 on 1260 kHz from around 1355. Not sure if these are new unlisted frequencies or relays via known local stations, but if so, most likely Sichuan and the Tibet local respectively (Alan Davies in Guwahati, 6 July) 1377: In Calcutta, dominant signal is strong Xizang PBS Chinese service // 5935, 7170 and other SWs. I suspect location is Lhasa, and bearing seems to be same as Tibetan-language service on 594 kHz. The CNR-1 station audible in Indonesia and elsewhere in SE Asia must be from a different site. Henan Province was mentioned in a QSL from CNR (Alan Davies in Kolkata, 1 July) Now in Guwahati, Assam. Here the CNR-1 signal on 1377 is audible at night under Tibet-Ch and is in the clear for a few minutes after Tibet signs off at 1730, so there are definitely two or more transmitters on the channel (Alan Davies in Guwahati, 6 July) 1593: Weak CNR-1 just audible in Calcutta under AIR Bhopal. In SE Asia, the signal is much stronger, with early fade in at Surabaya around 1115, same time as Taiwan transmitters on 1521, 1539 and 1557, suggesting site in SE China (maybe Fujian / Zhejiang / Jiangxi area). But Scandinavian DXers also report a CNR-1 signal with propagation characteristics suggesting Xinjiang or nearby as probable location of 'their' CNR-1 signal (Alan Davies in Kolkata, 1 July) (all ARC via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Domestic Latin broadcasters are currently making a strong showing on our bands. Little is heard, however, from Colombia. This once-strong radio country used to have shortwave broadcasters all over the tropical bands some 25 years ago. But times have changed and all but a handful of broadcasters have disappeared from the shortwave spectrum. That is why I was delighted to hear La Voz de tu Conciencia in Lomalinda, Meta, Colombia. Noted on 6009.9 kHz, I have been monitoring this frequency for some weeks now. As previously reported, I had noted a very strong signal from R. Mil, Mexico City and several other stations underneath. However, on July 11 the Colombian was well above R. Mil and anything else on the frequency. First noted at 0710 with a religious program and many mentions of "La Palabra de Dios" (the word of God), "El Señor" and "Cristo". The program lasted nearly an hour. Then, after 0800 a popular music program and a very clear ID for La Voz de tu Conciencia and many mentions of Colombia. If you want to QSL Colombia, this may be a good chance. But make sure you are listening to the right station, because Mexico and Chile are also on the same frequency! Good luck! Regards (Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), Receivers: Yaesu FRG100, Sangean 909, Antennas: 14 MHz dipole, 5 MHz T2FD, July 13, EDXP via DXLD) {also URUGUAY, q.v. in this issue} ** CUBA. Jamming US satellite broadcasts to IRAN: q.v. Sounds like a topic for DXUL ** CUBA. RADIOS GRATIS PARA CUBA En su programa "La Hora de Chibás" del 12 de julio en Radio Miami Internacional, el locutor Mario Jiménez hizo a todos los oyentes en Cuba la siguiente oferta: Si le envían un informe de recepción de uno de sus programas, él les enviará completamente gratis un pequeño receptor portátil de onda corta marca Bell and Howell. Esta oferta está abierta solamente para los oyentes en Cuba. "La Hora de Chibás" se transmite cada sábado a las 8:30 p.m. hora de Cuba (son las 0030 UT domingo) en la frecuencia de 9955 kHz. Informes se deben enviar a: Mario Jiménez La Hora de Chibás P. O. Box 451132 Miami, Florida 33245-1132 Estados Unidos de América (Jeff White, WRMI, July 13, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Radio Federación Shuar, Sucúa; 7-3-03; 4960 kHz; 0929-1015 UT; Shuar language (no Spanish); Andean-sounding pop music, spoken segments by male announcer, and a bit of traditional solo singing by female singer. Could not positively ID; otherwise, what I heard matches WRTH info; SINPO 44333; Icom R71A with dipole for 60 meters; (John Sandin; Merriam, KS; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Caught most of this week`s DXPL on HCJB, 15115, Sat July 12 until 1259:30. Then played an ID claiming that they were still on both 15115 and 12005. Quickly flipped to 12005 but nothing there. Probably never was, tho it could have just gone off. More likely, this is another of countless HCJB ID announcements that have not been updated since their drastic cutbacks May 31. On WINB, the correct edition did play from 0001:40 UT Sunday on 12160 and ran to the end at 0031:10 or so. After long pauses and ID, correct WOR 1190 started at 0032. On WWCR, the correct DXPL also played UT Sun 0200 on 5070; I wonder if they had it in time for the Sat 0900 airing? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 1017: AIR Chennai B (mostly in English and Hindi) has moved to 1017 kHz ex-1395. AIR Mysore has reportedly moved from 1017 kHz to FM, thus vacating the channel. 1332 AIR Mangalore 1332 kHz is now silent and replaced by FM 100.3 MHz. AIR Mangalore is still relayed on 1089 kHz from nearby Udipi. 1224 AIR Kolkata 1224 kHz, which went inactive in early 2000, was on air this morning (1 July around 0500 UT) relaying AIR Kolkata FM 100.2 MHz. I'm not sure whether this is a regular transmission or some kind of test (Alan Davies in Kolkata, 1 July, ARC via DXLD) ** INDIA. COMMUNITY RADIO BROADCASTING by W. D. Mathur With the advent of community broadcasting, a whole new exciting world awaits listeners in far-flung areas where radio listening revolves around community centres. . . http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dx_india/message/772 (via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india via DXLD) Archives of this group are public ** INDONESIA. Hello DX-ers. In fact one would not expect mid-summer in Central Europe to be a good time for reception of weak RRI stations in the 60 m band. However, the experience over the last few weeks has shown that reality is different. Two recently reactivated RRI stations from Irian Jaya (Wamena on 4870 kHz and Fak Fak on 4790 kHz) are regular guests in our evening hours (s/on around 2000 UT). Although signal strength is low, they now offer some unique reception opportunities of stations not heard in the past. In discussion about this topic with Belgian and Dutch fellow DX-ers, we all noticed that RRI Fak-Fak on 4790 kHz carries a rather unusual program. After s/on (varying from 2000 to 2015 UT), invariably at about 2030 (until 2100) the program format changes to an endless repeat of one melody and song. An audio file of this can be found at http://www.dxa.be/dxsounds/MyFavoriteRRIFakFakmx.rm (made by Guido Schotmans, Belgium) Nice to listen to (if reception quality would be a bit better), but also in Indonesia an endless repeat of the same thing cannot be the magic way to attract listeners. Does someone of the list readers (Australians ?) know what this type of program is for ? Just a lack of creativity of programing staff in the early morning hours, or a special reason ? (Regards, Aart Rouw, Bühl, Germany via HCDX via SW Bulletin via DXLD) ** INTERNATINAL VACUUM. When C-Span stopped offering BBCWS on an audio subcarrier of its analog C-band satellite signal, I drew some consolation from the fact that WVGN, an NPR station in the US Virgin Islands carried in digital on KU-band on Telstar 5 carries BBCWS overnight. But I find feature programs are not available. Imagine my surprise to hear the announcement "You're listening to BBCWS News on Sirius." (Which follows the non-legal ID "You're listening to member- supported WVGN, your NPR station for the Virgin Islands.") Are Sirius and BBC now authorizing their signal for use by rebroadcasters? I thought PRI had the lock on BBCWS distribution in the U.S. (Mike Cooper, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Resultantly, we have also lost BBCWS on local cable TV in Enid, where one of the public access channels used to run it some 11 hours per day/night. Notice refers to BBC cancelling contract with C-SPAN, and it`s replaced by C-SPAN 1 Audio. Altho as previously reported here, BBCWS blames C-SPAN! Which is it? And why not replace by WRN instead? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. HOW SATELLITE IS SAVING THE RADIO STARS David Coursey: I'm a radio fan, but had feared for its future --- until I discovered satellite radio You may not believe this, but it's 1:50 a.m. and I've gotten out of bed and come downstairs to write this column just so I can tell you how much I love "It". No, not the column. Or almost falling down the darkened staircase as my size 12.5s slid out from under me. No, I'm here to tell you how much I love It, a special programme that's been running continuously for the past 10 days on XM Satellite Radio (currently only available in the United States), in which every record that's made the pop music charts since the Depression is being played back in chronological order. . . http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t479-s2137423,00.html (ZD Net UK July 11 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FORECASTS ON AIR The HHS [?] is on USB 4317.9, 8503.9, 12789.9, voice and fax with latest info on all tropical storm and hurricane forecasts, weather maps and satellite photos. Try putting all 3 frequencies in memory and check each for best reception. I am getting a decent signal with just the built in whip antenna and have my old computer interfaced from the ats-909 from the line out to the soundcard to decode the fax. Careful tuning is crucial (charleysx, July 13, DX-398 yahoogroup via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. MUSEUM SHIPS SPECIAL EVENT SET: The USS Cassin Young Radio Club will sponsor the annual Museum Ships Special Event July 19-20 (UTC). Seventy museum vessels -- including everything from aircraft carriers and battleships to submarines and tugboats -- are expected to participate in the event. While most vessels are in the US, several are in Europe. Stations set up onboard participating vessels will use SSB and CW (as well as other modes, including AM, PSK31 and IRLP) on various HF amateur frequencies. All of these museum ships are open to the public. More information, including suggested frequencies and a list of participating vessels, is available on the USS Cassin Young Radio Club Web site [at] http://www.qsl.net/ww2dd/event.html which will be updated as new information is available (ARRL July 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) Well, now that the new year has started, let`s put aside July 19 and 20, 2003 for this year`s Museum Ships Special Event. The operating time will be from July 19 0001Z through 2359Z July 20. The ships listed below will using SSB and CW on various frequencies on all the Amateur HF Bands. All of these museum ships are open to the public so that all may experience what it was like to live and work on a ship. Please visit this page for updates to the event information as it unfolds. If the callsigns of the ships are underlined you may click on the callsigns to send email to the ham radio contact for that ship. Here is the list of participating ships for the year 2003 Museum Ship Event. Please let us know of your participation for this year. We need more ships! I will add ships to the list as I am notified of their participation. Note: If anyone knows of any ships that want to participate please have them contact me so I can add them to the list. Also please send me corrections. We now have 70 participating ships/stations! This list is the official participants that will be counted towards a certificate. NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN QSO's USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi Texas W5LEX USS Saratoga Aircraft Carrier Rhode Island WA1USA USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, Alabama W4BPR USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB USS New Jersey Battleship Camden, New Jersey NJ2BB USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, N.C. NI4BK USS Texas Battleship Houston, Texas NA5DV B/S Georgious Averoff Cruiser Athens, Greece SX1MBA H.M.S. Belfast Cruiser London, England GB2RN USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, New York W2PE USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA. K1USN USS Barry Destroyer Washington DC W3MAD ORP Blyskawica Destroyer Gdynia, Poland 3Z0BLY USS Cassin Young Destroyer Boston, MA. WW2DD HMCS Fraser Destroyer Canada VE0NED HMCS Haida Destroyer Hamilton,Ont.Ca VA3XJF USS Kidd Destroyer Baton Rouge, La W5KID USS Laffey Destroyer South Carolina NT4HI USS Orleck Destroyer Orange, Texas KD5ULS USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY N2USN HMS Smaland Destroyer Sweden SK6SL USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, New York W2TU HMS Plymouth Frigate Birkenhead, England GB2PLY HDMS Peder Skram Fregate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN USS Albacore Submarine New Hampshire NM1JY B143 Submarine Zeebrugge Belgium ON4BRN USS Batfish Submarine Oklahoma WW2SUB USS Becuna Submarine Philadelphia, PA WB2LNR USS Clamagore Submarine South Carolina NJ4DU USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, Ohio K8KRG USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama KG4HDP USS Lionfish Submarine Fall River, MA. W2SUB USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT. N1S HMS Onyx Submarine Birkenhead, England GB0NYX USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT USS Requin Submarine Pittsburgh, PA. NY3EC U-5075 Seehund Submarine Quincy, MA. WW2MAN USS Silversides Submarine Michigan "K8ROH USS Torsk Submarine Baltimore, MD K8ROH U 995 Submarine Laboe, Germany DL0MEL LST-325 Landing Ship Chickasaw, Alabama WW2LST USS Potomac C G Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. W6P USCGC McLane W-146 C G Cutter Muskegon, MI. W8BXS HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder NL PI4MRC MS Deneb Minesweeper Frankfurt, Germany DL0MFF MV Pluto Minesweeper Hameln,Germany DF0MV MV Keihassalmi Minelayer Turku, Finland OI1AXA SS Jeremiah OBrien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6TR SS Lane Victory Victory Ship San Pedro, CA W6LV SS Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, California K6YVM MV Cap San Diego Freighter Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH LS Columbia Lightship Astoria, Oregon W7BU LV Elbe1 Lightship Cuxhaven, Germany DL0CUX LS Helsinki Lightship Hamina, Finland OH5AD LS Planet Lightship Birkenhead, England GB2LBL LS Westhinder Lightship Belgium ON4BRN/LGT FYRSKIB XXI Lightship Denmark OZ7DAL RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO SS City of Milwaukee Passenger Ferry Manistee, Michigan K8GWW EX MS Dresden Freighter Rostock, Germany DL0MCM SS Soldek Coal Carrier Gdansk, Poland SO6Y/2 SS St. Erik Ice Breaker Stockhome, Sweden 8SOHRA CSS Acadia Survey Ship Nova Scotia, Canada VE0MMA Angel's Gate Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA MV Frederic Mistral Tugboat Vienna, Austria OE6XMF/FM James Whalen Tugboat Ontario, Canada VE3FAL MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven, Germany DK0SN HMS Hugin Patrol Boat Sweden SK6HUG US Naval Academy Shore Station Annapolis, MD W3ADO Work eight of the participating ships and send a copy of your logs to: Mark Starin, K1RMC 457 Varney Street Manchester, NH 03102. You will then receive a certificate and QSL card. For QSL cards for the other ships please QSL direct to them. EVENT FREQUENCIES. While the participating ships will use any valid amateur frequency the ships will try and stay near the following frequencies: SSB CW 3860 kHz 3539 kHz 7260 kHz 7039 kHz 14260 kHz 10109 kHz 18160 kHz 14039 kHz 21360 kHz 18099 kHz 24960 kHz 21039 kHz 28360 kHz 24899 kHz 50160 kHz 28039 kHz EVENT PSK 31 OPERATIONS 14.070 MHz 10.142 MHz 18.100 MHz 21.070 MHz 28.120 MHz EVENT AM OPERATIONS 3885 kcs 7290 kcs 14286 kcs 29.12 MHz EVENT IRLP OPERATIONS Reflector 9600 channel 8 so to connect enter 9608 The USS Cassin Young will be on this reflector. EVENT APRS Some of the ships will be running an APRS station using the ship ICON. If a participating ship can operate an APRS station please notify Bob WB4APR@AMSAT.ORG, and myself w1qwt@arrl.net. The following ships/stations will be APRS: USS Cassin Young, Boston, MA W2PE USS Little Rock, Buffalo, NY NJ2BB USS New Jersey, NJ K6JOB Jerimah Obrien, California K1USN USS Salem Quincy MA. W3ADO US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD On most Saturdays there are members of the USS Cassin Young Radio Club on board. Call WW2DD on 145.39 FM -600 kHz or 53.33 Mhz down 1 Mhz and if someone is aboard then they will answer (from http://www.qsl.net/ww2dd/event.html via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. U.S. SATELLITE FEEDS TO IRAN JAMMED JAMMING SIGNALS ARE COMING FROM CUBA, SOURCES SAY By Robert Windrem, NBC NEWS PRODUCER http://msnbc.com/news/936772.asp?0dm=N1APN NEW YORK, July 11 --- U.S. government officials as well as Iranian Americans and communications satellite operators confirm that all U.S.-based satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed out of Cuba, one of Iran`s major allies and a nation increasingly dependent on Iranian oil. ``WE ARE well aware of the jamming,`` said one senior U.S. official familiar with intelligence on the matter. He said that it was almost certainly done as part of an effort by the Iranian government to eliminate dissent during a week of renewed student protests and the inauguration of Voice of America`s Farsi-language television programming to Iran. Asked if the jamming were being done out of Cuba, the official would only say that it was ``within the realm of possibility.`` Late Friday, however, three sources associated with the broadcast services confirmed that Loral Skynet, the operator of the Telstar-12 satellite used by the broadcasters, had determined the jamming was probably emanating from ``the vicinity of Havana, Cuba.`` One of the sources said that Loral, working with transmitter location expert TLS Inc. of Chantilly, Va., had further fixed the location as ``20 miles outside of Havana.`` Cuba`s main electronic eavesdropping base, at Bejucal, is about 20 miles outside of the Cuban capital. The base, built for Cuba by the Russians in the early 1990`s, monitors and intercepts satellite communications. Iran and Cuba have had increasingly close relations over the past several years with Iran supplying Cuba with oil. Cuba has extensive jamming experience, regularly interfering with the signal of the U.S. government-financed TV Martí. Over the past several months, private Iranian-American groups have begun increasing their broadcasts into Iran using Telstar-12, a communications satellite over the eastern Atlantic. All are trying to encourage protests against the regime in Tehran. Iranians, using small satellite dishes, have been able to receive the broadcast, whose mix of news, entertainment and exhortations to protest have gained a large audience, particularly in Tehran. Then on Sunday, the Voice of America began its Farsi-language broadcasts. Not long afterward, the jamming began. Over the past few days --- as the fourth anniversary of the country`s most widespread protests approached — the broadcasts have been jammed, not in Iran but in the Americas, according to officials and investigators. The Farsi language broadcasts, by the Los Angeles-based ParsTV, Azadi Television and Appadana TV, are uplinked in the US via Telstar- 5, which is over the United States {sic*}. They are then turned around at the Washington International Teleport in Alexandria, Va., where they are joined by the VOA broadcast and uplinked again to Telstar-12 over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. {* a geosynchronous satellite cannot possibly be ``over the US`` --- it is OVER THE EQUATOR, but at a longitude visible from the US} It is the Telstar-12 uplink that is being jammed, say investigators for companies working with the broadcasters, cutting off broadcasts not only in Iran but in Europe and the rest of the Middle East as well. The jamming could emanate from anywhere within the satellite`s uplink footprint, which covers all the Eastern United States, the Caribbean and South America, say investigators. In the past, the Iranian government, using high-power transmitters on towers in cities such as Tehran have been able to jam it locally. The fact that TV viewers elsewhere can`t see it was the first hint that the jamming was happening on this side of the Atlantic. Loral, which operates the satellite, declined comment on what it is doing in response. But in a letter that Loral Skynet`s Peggy Courter sent to Atlanta DTH, which manages the satellite services for Azadi, was quite clear in laying out its findings. The interference, it reported, had begun at 5:35 p.m. EDT on July 5, which was just after midnight in Tehran and shortly after the VOA began its broadcasts. After running a series of tests, wrote Courter, ``Skynet concluded the interference was caused by a third party`` and asked TLS to investigate. TLS was able to find the ``probable source of the interference`` on Friday afternoon, identifying it as Havana. ``The jamming appears to be linked to the anniversary of the student uprisings,`` said one investigator for a company working with the broadcasters who preferred to remain anonymous. ``It`s malicious, not a prank. For us, it began yesterday, continues today. Not only are the Iranian signals jammed, but those of other nearby broadcasters are as well. We have a Chinese client who is being jammed. ``There are ways of determining the location of the interference,`` he added. ``It is complex and time-consuming. Basically, you look at minimal interference other nearby satellites are experiencing and then you triangulate.`` As for the actual jamming, its simply a matter of aiming a strong signal at the uplink transponder on the satellite and overwhelming the Farsi language broadcasters` signals. Said the investigator: ``You need a dish, some power, not too much. You put up a test pattern ... and do a sweep and find the transponder on the satellite you want to jam. It could even be smaller than the standard 6-meter dish. It could be a small dish with a lot of power.`` BBC`s Media Monitoring Service, which provides capsules of various foreign TV broadcasts for subscribers, described the jamming as ``a mysterious, interfering signal, rendering the broadcasts unwatchable.`` It reported problems began on Sunday, the day VOA began its broadcast, with the worst jamming taking place over the past two days with the jamming extending to all the Farsi-language broadcasts emanating from the United States. Late Wednesday, monitors reported that jamming had become sporadic. The anniversary of the student demonstrations, the largest since the fall of the shah in 1979, was Wednesday. The senior U.S. official said the Iranian government ``is concerned that these broadcasts have encouraged the student demonstrations and this is one way to stop that encouragement.`` Robert Windrem is an investigative producer for NBC News, based in New York (MSNBC via DXLD) What`s next, sharia law in Cuba? Probably would be an improvement (gh) ** IRAN [non]. NORWAY/IRAN, 15790 at 1630-1730 UT Mon-Sat only, HPR[?] in Persian from Kvitsoe-NOR. HPR - Who is this? (wb df5sx) [Observer mentioned Radio Sedoye Yaran, 250 kW 095 degr.] New time and freq for R. Sedoye Yaran in Persian via KVI 250 095 deg 1630-1830 Mon-Sat NF 15790 (55544), ex-1800-2000 on 7525 (Observer-BUL 267 Jul 8, 2003 via W. Büschel-D for CRW via Büschel, DXLD) ** IRAQ. FRENCH RADIO MONTE CARLO GAINS FM FREQUENCY IN BAGHDAD | Text of report by French news agency AFP Paris, 13 July: RMC-Moyen Orient [RMC-MO - Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East], a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale, broadcasting to the Arab world, now has an FM frequency (93.5) in Baghdad, it was announced by the pan-Arab radio in a statement today, Sunday. RMC-MO has previously broadcast to Iraq only on medium wave. Since 21 April it has been broadcasting, in particular, a programme every Saturday from 1900 hours to 2000 hours [not clear whether gmt or French time - RFI usually operates on gmt], presented by Fayez Maqdisi and called "Hello Baghdad - this is Paris speaking", in which Iraqis from the diaspora and from Iraq express their views. The Arabic-language French radio, based in Paris and part of the RFI state-owned group, has an editorial team of 35 journalists and 40 correspondents around the world and says it has 15m listeners in the Arab world and in the Arab- speaking communities of the diaspora. Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in French 1007 gmt 13 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. SHARON SHUNS BBC OVER DOCUMENTARY The confrontation has been building for some time as the Israelis become exasperated with critical reporting by foreign journalists. But it has been particularly infuriated by the BBC because of the volume and depth of its coverage and because some of its outlets are easily accessible in Israel. World Service radio can be heard on medium wave rather than the more difficult short wave. Until recently, the BBC's international television broadcasts were available on Israeli cable television. That service was dropped during the Iraq war, officially because of a dispute over its cost. . . http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,996062,00.html 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. From a DRM schedule: 0600-0800 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait English 0800-1100 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait Arabic (Observer, Bulgaria, via EDXP via DXLD) Still in effect? ** LAOS. 702, Vientiane City Radio (Sathaani Witthayu Krajaisiang Nakhong Luang Wiengchan, or however you want to spell it, sometimes the 'Krajaisiang' is dropped in IDs) now operates 2330-1000 (announced and observed). The Vientiane City Radio station is located in the compound of the Department of Information and Culture of Vientiane Prefecture in Manthatulath Road, Ban Xieng Yuen, Vientiane. Inside the compound is a building marked in Lao 'Vientiane City Radio Broadcasting and Television Station'. Hard to believe that TV and radio studios can both be squeezed into the tiny building, but there is a tall lattice tower there with what appear to be 8 vertically polarized vertically stacked dipoles for Band II. The MW transmitter must be located elsewhere. 1030 is now inactive, although it's still announced by the foreign language services. I'm not sure about Pakse 1370 kHz. I'd expect the carrier at least to be audible after dark, but there's not a trace here. Possibly it's changed frequency (All items: Alan Davies in Vientiane, May 30, ARC via DXLD) ** LATVIA. Radio Gold 945 AM in Riga will be (read: was to be -oa) on the air with test transmissions (Ulbroka 945 kHz, 20 kW) on Friday 4 July from 1300-1900 (nonstop music) and Saturday 5 July at 1500-2100 (Live DJ). The station is planning to buy a 2.5 or 5 kW DRM transmitter in autumn (Bernd Trutenau via MWDX 26.6.2003 via ARC via DXLD) ** LITHUANIA {and non}. Radio Baltic Waves International (RBWI) will confirm all correct reception reports of the 1557 kHz transmissions (150 kW, Sitkunai). Reports should be sent by snail-mail and contain audio tape of the broadcast. Address: Radio Baltic Waves International, Vivulskio 7-405, Vilnius LT-2006, Lithuania. Schedule: 1800-2000 UT China Radio International in Russian 2000-2030 UT China Radio International in Polish 2030-2100 UT China Radio International in English 2100-2200 UT China Radio International in Chinese Reports of the RBWI channel marker on 1386 kHz (25 kW, Giruliai, 2000- 2100 UTC) are also welcome. RBWI Press Release, 11 July 2003 (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) So the music tape that is received daily until sign off just after 2100 is a "channel marker"?. No ID ever heard, only Dave Brubeck`s Take Five, Unsquare Dance??? BTW, what has happened to VoR on 1386 with sign off at 2100 - not heard in the last days. 73 (Gunter Lorenz, Freising, Drake R8B, EKD300, EKD500, Grahn GS3-SE+ML-1-S, MWDX via DXLD) Yes, that is how RBWI calls it. It's a CD, btw, not a tape. VoR has agreed to reduce the usage of Bolshakovo 1386 kHz by one hour since 1 July. The current schedule is: 0900-1200 VoR German 1200-1400 VoR Russian 1400-1500 VoR English 1500-1900 VoR German* 1900-2000 VoR English *) includes Radio Santec relays (via all VoR German service frequencies): daily 1555-1600, Tue/Sat/Sun 1730-1800, Wed 1830-1900. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, ibid.) ** MALTA. I don`t remember having seen it before, but Radju Malta is on 998.85 kHz 24 hours a day. Noted on this slightly off channel frequency for more than a week now (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Sliema, Malta via MWC e-mail news 25.5.2003, via ARC via DXLD) ** NIUE. The tiny Pacific island country of Niue that Amateurs know as ZK2 or IOTA OC-040 is the first country to have a country-wide open WiFi or 802.11 radio link to the internet, using the world-wide license-free 2.4 GHz band. This WiFi network is also free and open to anyone on or visiting the island nation, including yachties and business travellers. Niue is often cited as the largest upraised coral atoll in the world, that ``should better be called the world`s largest electronic component, a virtual `pie network tank` or `capacitive resistance tank` `` because ``Niue has no natural Earth ground, and therefore actually appears to an energy source as a giant capacitor-resistor floating on the ocean floor some thousands of feet down. Add to that the dielectric constant of ocean water, with a fresh water lens floating in coral and it makes Niue a very interesting specimen of electrical properties.`` For further information, look up on the internet, http://www.niue.nu (Reporter Peter Ellis VK1KEP, Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This item will not qualify for http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/tinytrap.html ** PERU. 1166.4, R. Nuevo Amanecer is the AM outlet of R Nuevo Amanecer on 4650 kHz. The AM outlet broadcasts 1030-2300 actually using 0.75 kW. Maximum power is 1.5 kW. Nominal frequency is 1180 kHz. Studio address: Jirón Grau 501, Celendín, Provincia de Celendín, Departamento de Cajamarca (TIN = Takayuki Inoue Nozaki in Relámpago DX via RNM via ARC's LA News Desk for July via Tore Larsson, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. World-Band Radio Day is Coming! Ladies and gentlemen, On October 3 [2003] the European Broadcasting Union will be celebrating World-Band Radio Day in Moscow. Our Russian colleagues, the Voice of Russia and Mayak radio companies, will fill you in on whatever You want to know about Russian life. Live interviews with leading Russian politicians, scientists, businessmen, cultural celebrities, reports and sketches about life here in Russia - the choice is Yours! Your answers to this survey will give us an idea about what You really want to know about Russia. Please answer our questions! The programs You will be selecting participants and subjects for will be aired by public radio stations in Your own countries. To answer the survey in English, Russian, German, Spanish, French or Italian go to: http://www.radiomayak.ru/quest/?referer=aHR0cDovL3d3dy52b3IucnUvbmF2YmFyLmh0bWw=&langID=0 (via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 9, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 3923.9, Radio Samorodinka (Russian pirate from Moscow, 40 W) with talk and a couple of ID. 233 at 2100. Log from last night (July 11), heard at my summer-QTH about 150 kilometer south of Stockholm, Sweden. The conditions this night was good, but there was, as always in summertime, QRN from thunderstorms. Receiver: NRD-535D Antennas: 20 and 75 meter wire antennas (Claes Olsson, Norrköping SWEDEN, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** RWANDA. It`s a pleasure every summer to hear Radio Rwanda on 6055 kHz with very strong signal, even S 9 1735 UTC. Language was local, I think. Unfortunately R Slovakia International came on frequency with their German program 18 UT. Goodbye Rwanda.... It`s nice to hear Rwanda on 6055 kHz every summer. In wintertime the 49 mb is far too crowded and upper frequencies keep silent. 73`s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Isn`t Rwanda in the clear again after 2030? (gh) ** SOMALIA. BROADCASTS HEARD AGAIN FROM RADIO GAALKACYO Broadcasts from Radio Gaalkacyo have been heard again on shortwave after a lengthy absence. Radio Gaalkacyo is based in the town of the same name (alternative spellings include Galkayo and Galcaio) in the self-declared autonomous state of Puntland in northeast Somalia. It is currently being heard in the local evenings on the shortwave frequency of 6980 kHz (an adjacent channel to its previous frequency of 6985 kHz). News bulletins in Somali are broadcast at 7 and 8 p.m. (1600 and 1700 gmt). Observations indicate that the station continues to support the Puntland regional authorities led by Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad and based in the Puntland capital Garoowe. Gaalkacyo has been the scene of fighting in recent days. On 10 July Radio Gaalkacyo reported that Puntland leaders had called on the clans involved in the clashes to stop fighting. Source: BBC Monitoring research 11-12 Jul 03 [Chris Greenway, Kenya] (via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. Hi pirate friends. We are working now to change the crystal of 11440 kHz since the frequency is occupied in LSB mode, we will move then to 11430U in the next days. Now, we are trying to obtain a crystal for the mentioned frequency or, to move 1 or 2 kHz down, not more is possible. On this weekend, if the frequency of 11440U kHz is free, then may be some operations. FFFR, (Cachito http://www.geocities.com/rcochiguaz Radio Cochiguaz, Box 159, Santiago 14, CHILE, July 11, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. 1602, Radio Dellen. Time again for the yearly event of MW (AM) broadcasting by Delsbo Radioklubb. Radio Dellen from Delsbo is on the air on MW 1602 kHz 24 hours a day with relay of Radio Ljusdal live programs 06-15 UT (08-17 SST) daily. Power is estimated at 100 W ERP and we will be on the air until 22.00 UTC (00.00 SST) on Monday, July 14. Reception report can be sent to this address: Radio Dellen, Light Valley Media, Box 90, SE-827 23 LJUSDAL, Sweden. You can also mail us at radiodellen2003@hotmail.com but if you would like a QSL card, please send sufficient return postage (Swedish stamps, IRC or a $ bill). E-mail reports will be verified by e-mail if we don't receive any return postage. Since the year 2000 we have been broadcasting on 1602 kHz on a temporary license, normally during two weeks. Last year we even were on the air for one full month using the name of Radio Dellen. We went on the air for the first time from Thunvalls Fäx in Färila in the summer of 2000 and made another special broadcast from the same location in 2001. Last year the transmitter - an old marine transmitter with an output power of about 50 W - was moved to the vicarage of Fredshammar in Delsbo, near the lake of Ava. An 18 m. vertical mast was erected at the site. (From the station's website at http://www.rock.x.se/radiodellen.htm ) The station has been easily audible during daytime in Härnösand after the power increase (Olle Alm, Arctic Radio Club via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. 531, Beromünster is normally broadcasting with 600 kW, but on May 8th lightning destroyed the supply cable. The current power is 180 kW and will remain so until the end of September. Information from Stephan Widmer, Distribution Manager Radio, SRG SSR, Bern (Bengt Ericson, ARC via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. The Swiss AR Society, USKA has received from their Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) information which in part told them: Due to the decision WRC03 to drop morse code as part of the licence test, the OFCOM will release a letter to all CEPT 2 licensees in Switzerland containing a temporary permission to use the short wave bands. With this provisional agreement it is possible to save a lot of time until the ordinance is changed. Immediately after reception of this letter the CEPT 2 licensees are allowed to use the short wave bands according to the Swiss prescriptions with their present call signs. As the Swiss AR Society points out, ``this ultra-fast procedure of our national Telecommunication Authority in favour of the waiting amateurs is doubtless a result of the excellent agreement between the committee of USKA and the responsibilities of OFCOM.`` (The committee of USKA via Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** SYRIA. At 1915 July 11 I found an awful noise on approximately 11900, spreading at least 20 kHz up and down. After some research I found that the weak audio in the noise was in parallel with 13610 and 12085 Syria in French. The noise was also audible around approximately 11720 (2x the distance from 12085 to 11900). 12085 has low audio and both 13610 and 12085 have a problem with mains hum (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. R Taiwan International revised new schedule --- Programs ----------- Radio Taiwan International's English Service produces two hours of programming every day. Show schedules, along with the times, frequencies and target areas, are listed below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hour One--Times / Frequencies / Target Areas Time (UTC), Frequency, Target Area 0200-0300 9680 North America 5950 North America 15320 Southeast Asia 11875 Philippines 0300-0400 15125 South America 0700-0800 5950 North America 0800-0900 9610 Australia, New Zeal., Phil., Indonesia 1200-1300 7130 Japan & Korea 1400-1500 15265 Southeast Asia 1600-1700 11550 South Asia 2200-2:00 15600 Europe Hour One--Show Schedule Minutes Program Name Host Sunday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Great Wall Forum various '30-'60 Mailbag Time Paula Chao & Natalie Tso Monday `00-'15 News various '15-'45 Jade Bells & Bamboo Pipes Carlson Wong '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Tuesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Culture Express Huang Wen-ling '30-'45 Trends Natalie Tso '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Wednesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taiwan Today Huang Wen-ling '30-'45 Instant Noodles Andrew Ryan '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Thursday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Discover Taiwan Doris Owyang '30-'45 New Music Lounge James Ho '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Friday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taipei Magazine Carlson Wong '30-'45 People Natalie Tso '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Saturday '00-'15 News various '15-'45 Groove Zone Ellen Chu, Andrew Ryan '45-'60 Kaleidoscope Huang Wen-ling Hour Two--Times / Frequencies / Target Areas Time (UTC) Frequency Target Area 0200-0300 15465 Japan & Korea 0300-0400 9680 North America 5950 North America 15320 Southeast Asia 11875 Philippines 1100-1200 7445 Southeast Asia 1700-1800 11550 South Asia 1800-1900 3955 Europe Hour Two--Show Schedule Minutes Program Host Sunday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Great Wall Forum various '30-'60 Asia Pacific Radio Australia {NOTE: RA via RTI} Monday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taiwan Economic Journal Carol Wei '30-'45 Stage, Screen and Studio Doris Owyang '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Tuesday '00-'15 News various '15-'45 Jade Bells & Bamboo Pipes Carlson Wong '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Wednesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 New Music Lounge James Ho '30-'45 Confucius & Inspiration Beyond Carol Wei '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Thursday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 News Talk Paula Chao '30-'45 Life Unusual Carol Wei '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Friday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Formosa Outlook Paula Chao '30-'45 Taiwan Gourmet James Ho '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Saturday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Kaleidoscope Huang Wen-ling '30-'60 Mailbag Time Paula Chao & Natalie Tso ----------------------------------------------------- Central Broadcasting System, No.55 Pei An Road Taipei, Taiwan. R.O.C. http://www.cbs.org.tw ---------------------------------------------------- 73 (via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. One lone verification to report in with. QSL CLANDESTINE (China), 8300.10, New Star Broadcasting Station. Full data card with frequency indicated. This in response to a French report sent to CBS, Taiwan, with reply in 106 days. The card has all the details necessary for verification except for the Language of the Broadcast as French(?) v/s illegible (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, DX'er since 1965, Cumbredx mailing list July 12 via DXLD) ** THAILAND. Some Radio Thailand networks have changed their hours. 891 and 918 kHz now close at 1700, while 819 kHz continues past that time (probably to 2000?). 918 kHz carries BBC World Service news in English most hours on the hour. 927 Radio Thailand Bung Kan (Nong Khai Province) appears to have started operations on 927 kHz. There's a weak RT signal audible in Nong Khai town, but I haven't caught any local IDs I'm afraid. (Alan Davies, 30 May) 1206, Thor Phor Neung (1st Army Area), Pranburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province has reactivated 1206 kHz. Heard this morning in Bangkok with many clear IDs (Alan Davies, 25, 26 May, ARC via DXLD) ** TIBET. New high-power MW: see CHINA [and non] ** U K. More lessons from Orwell's list Saturday July 12, 2003 The Guardian Timothy Garton Ash (Under the blanket, July 10) is right to draw parallels between the media machinations of No 10's strategic communications unit today and the information research department in the 1940s. However, I cannot share his confidence in the media's independence of spirit, then and now. He cites the refusal of Ian Jacob, the head of the BBC's European Service during the early cold war, in one instance to adopt the IRD's anti-Soviet terminology. What he doesn't tell us is that Jacob actively supported the establishment of the IRD in 1948 and the dissemination of its anti-communist propaganda on the BBC afterwards. This link between the BBC and government was of course kept secret from the public. Today, the BBC overseas service is still obliged to seek guidance from the Foreign Office. What is remarkable is how few people, here and overseas, know that. Dr Tony Shaw Senior lecturer in history University of Hertfordshire a.t.shaw@herts.ac.uk (Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 via Daniel Say, BC, DXLD) ** U K. COMMENT & ANALYSIS: THE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER IS AN INSTITUTION WORTH PRESERVING --- By Michael Prowse, Financial Times; Jul 12, 2003 http://tinyurl.com/gsmq Greg Dyke, the BBC's director-general, and Gavyn Davies, the chairman of its board, must wish that they were not embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Blair government over the BBC's coverage of the Iraq war. Ministers will deny that the dispute has any bearing on the negotiations that are shortly to begin over the renewal of the BBC's royal charter, which expires at the end of 2006. But given a dispute of this ferocity, such denials cannot be taken at face value. In the 1980s, the Thatcher government made "reform" of the BBC a priority after becoming incensed by what it regarded as biased broadcasting. Angered by the BBC's claim that Downing Street "sexed up" intelligence briefs so as to convince a sceptical public of the merits of military action against Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair just might conclude that a publicly funded broadcaster of the BBC's size and influence is no longer needed. This is a real risk for two reasons. The first, ironically, is that the BBC's renaissance under Mr Dyke has provoked much resentment. Some of its commercial rivals are now lobbying hard for a different approach to public service broadcasting. When Mr Dyke took over in 2000 few expected the BBC to regain its old self-confidence so quickly. Many doubted that it could compete financially with the big commercial broadcasters. He proved them wrong - and not just because a generous funding formula ensured that his revenue rose steadily while an advertising famine eroded theirs. He has also managed the BBC adroitly, significantly raising cost efficiency while also boosting morale - something that had eluded his predecessors. Resentment alone might not be dangerous. The larger problem is that it has become hard to defend the BBC in its present form, given the presuppositions of much public debate. The fashion these days is to view most things in economic terms. With the arrival of pay TV, the tendency is to think of broadcasting as just another market. Consumers can surely purchase their news and entertainment from competing private sector sources. Perhaps there is a small "market failure" because commercial companies fail to supply enough "merit" goods such as educational and cultural broadcasting. But how can this justify the scale - and distribution - of present subsidies? Why raise nearly -L-2.6bn through a compulsory licence fee when the BBC spends much of its cash producing programmes that are indistinguishable from those of its commercial rivals? Why not privatise or wind up the parts of the BBC that duplicate commercial broadcasting, leaving a smaller core devoted to high-quality programming that meets a genuine "public interest" test? And why not make subsidies available to any private broadcaster willing to produce programmes that meet the same public interest test? Such questions are hard to answer unless the terms of the debate are widened. The public consists not just of consumers buying goods and services but also of citizens who collectively make up a democratic community that has an interest in values, such as open, informed debate, that private bodies have no direct reason to promote. Given globalisation and technological change, the BBC is now just one operator in a market driven mostly by commercial interests: its share of total broadcasting revenue has already fallen to about 28 per cent from 44 per cent a decade ago. The question is whether a powerful public corporation can better promote the public interest in broadcasting than subsidies scattered across a predominantly commercial industry. Does the public interest need a face, a history and the coherence that a single institution represents? One reason for arguing that it does is that Britain has an excessively adversarial public culture. Most people think of public bodies as controlled by partisan governments. But the BBC is institutionally atypical: it is publicly financed but, by virtue of its charter, not a creature of government and still less of party politics. In standing up to intense pressure from Downing Street over coverage of the Iraq war, Mr Dyke and Mr Davies have performed a considerable public service. Even though both have close links with the Labour party, they have upheld the BBC's independence and reasserted its right to disagree with politicians over what constitutes the public interest. The ideal of acting impartially and of trying to represent the interests of all citizens is easily ridiculed. With the exception of the judiciary, it is hard to think of many institutions of which it is asked. It is certainly not expected of governments because, in Britain, they are usually formed exclusively from the members of one political party. Nobody, for instance, expects Mr Blair to listen impartially to all groups in society when devising education or healthcare policies. Rather than building a consensus, he pursues policies that Labour voters, or prospective voters, are likely to support. The Tories have as little regard for the overall public interest when in office. In politics, the common good is achieved indirectly if at all - and in zigzag fashion, as one political party wins temporary control of the machinery of government from another. It is easier to represent a faction than to try to be impartial. And there is no guarantee that the BBC's director-general and board will always reach the right judgments. Nor is it possible to define precisely what constitutes the public interest, which is one reason why an attempt to pursue the goals of public service broadcasting by offering targeted subsidies to private companies would probably fail. There would have to be criteria for such subsidies and they would always be too narrowly drawn. But one sign that the BBC is currently getting its judgments about right is that it is simultaneously under attack from both Labour and the Tories. Mr Dyke has also had to field complaints of bias from Teresa May, the Conservative party chairman. The UK's broadcasting ecology is still much admired. Continental European countries have state broadcasters but often fail to insulate them from political pressures. The US has always suffered from an over-commercialised broadcasting system. It would benefit greatly if a public institution of comparable stature to the BBC were able to scrutinise the partisan policies of its politicians and help set the tone of public debate. As consumers Britons may sometimes resent the licence fee; as citizens they would have much to lose from the BBC's dismemberment (Financial Times via Mike Cooper, DXLD) see also ISRAEL ** U K. Trouble and strife --- by Michael Vestey [reviewing the book:] THE FUN FACTORY: A LIFE IN THE BBC By Will Wyatt, Aurum Press, £20, pp.363, ISBN:1854109154 Will Wyatt opens this account of his 34 years at the BBC with the attempts by himself and John Birt to prevent Greg Dyke becoming the 13th director- general of the corporation. Birt wanted one of his own protégés to succeed him, Mark Byford, then director of regional broadcasting, in the hope that Byford wouldn`t reverse any of his massive and debilitating structural changes, as Dyke might and indeed did. Wyatt, then deputy to Birt and with no claim to the job, convinced himself that Dyke`s financial donations to the Labour party ruled him out. The two began plotting, seemingly unaware that the chairman of the governors, Sir Christopher Bland, was determined to have his former colleague at LWT. Dirty tricks were afoot. . . http://www.spectator.co.uk/bookreview.php3?table=old§ion=current&issue=2003-07-12&id=1651&searchText= (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) see also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** U K. Facelift for Auntie --- Major redevelopment work has begun at the BBC's most famous building, Broadcasting House in London W1. The redeveloped complex, due for completion in 2007, will be home to all the BBC's national radio networks, its national and international news operations, and the World Service, which will move back into Broadcasting House for the first time since it was forced out by bomb damage in 1941. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/bbc030711.html (Media Network Newsletter July 11 via DXLD) ** U K. Mediasound moves to USA --- Just a short note to let you know that MediaSound has now moved onto servers in the USA. This move gives us additional capacity when the number of listeners increases. Broadband The broadband stream has been increased to 64K to provide better quality. Dial Up: We have re-introduced a server aimed at users who have dial up access to the internet. Please see the website for details of how to listen - http://www.mediasound.net If you experience any problems please let me know. Cheers, (Alan Maylin, July 11, via Paul David, DXLD) ** U S A. Hello, Glenn, Well, in case you missed Allan Weiner last night, he announced the frequency for the new WBCQ transmitter. It is 5100. He expects to be testing it this weekend, though he did not give times. He did not say when regular broadcasts will start, or what they will contain, but, the authorized schedule, when it does start, is 0from 2200 to 0700 [sic] UT. I suspect that, especially during the summer, it will be fairly late in the evening before the signal starts to come into Alabama, or, even more, into Oklahoma. Transmission mode will be USB with reduced carrier, as in transmitters 2 and 3 (Except, of course, 9330 is LSB.) 73, (Tim Hendel, AL, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Greetings Glenn, I just learned that WBCQ has been approved by the FCC to commence operations on its fourth service. The new frequency will be 5.100 MHz, authorized for operation between 2100 and 0600 [sic] UT. They will be simulcasting 7415 in the next few days, before being dedicated to more free speech programming. I'm sure Allan will have more details forthcoming on his show this evening (Friday July 11, 2003). Also, I wanted to mention to you that Dr. Scott Becker and I have implemented an online program guide and schedule for WBCQ programming. Our goal is to (eventually) allow listeners to interactively add their own show reviews and help us keep this resource up to date and informative. The online program guide can be found at http://www.zappahead.net/wbcq It's not officially sanctioned by or associated with WBCQ, but is meant to be a resource for the listening community. Regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Programs by title with times and frequencies, hotlinks (gh, DXLD) WBCQ is testing right now (2145 UT) on 5100 kHz, CUSB. The signal in coastal New Jersey is fair but stable, and interference free. This ought to be a killer frequency after dark! They are playing rock music, announcing that this is a test, and giving the High Street snail mail and wbcq@gwi.net email addresses (Dan Srebnick - NJ, Grundig Satellit 800, 130' inverted L, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Inaudible here at various checks Saturday afternoon, and still inaudible at 0045 UT Sunday, but not surprising as 7415 is poor-fair until there be full darkness path in summer. Recheck at 0220 found it there, in C-USB, LSB suppressed, \\ 7415 which was quite a bit better. Troubled by some RTTY around 5097. I expect 5100 will be useful to lessen the skipzone around Monticello, especially come winter nights. Check UT Mon 0445 if WOR is being simulcast. I guess the intermittent R. Liberia International on 5100 was considered dispensable (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5100 13.7 0145 WBCQ på ny frekvens, banjo og satire, ID. //7415. O=4 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin via DXLD) WBCQ have recently (11th Jul. 03) started transmissions on 5100 kHz (50 kW), between 2100 and 0600 ut. Here in Guernsey, Channel Isles (UK) I monitored WBCQ on 5100 kHz at 0245 13th July). The Alan Sane show was heard until 0300. SINPO 35434. [Icom IC-R75 - 30m copper wire ant.] RAO for now (Robin Ban, SWBC, July 13, SWBC via DXLD) Noted here in Wyoming with a good signal and "Al Gore Men of Action" parody ad 0324 // 7415 (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Haven`t heard WJIE at all for several days, altho 7490 enjoyed a brief period of improved modulation before that. At 1630 check Sun July 13 for another repeat of WOR 1179, no trace of any signal on 7490 or 13595. No doubt they are preoccupied by what`s going on in Liberia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Effective June 15th, The Herald Broadcasting Syndicate's remaining shortwave station, WSHB reduced its Monday thru Thursday schedule. The new schedule is available at the following URL: http://www.tfccs.com/GV/shortwave/wshb.jhtml (Jim Moats, July 8, MT messageboard via DXLD) Both transmitters off the air 0800-1600 ** U S A. WRMI Schedule/Horario Effective July/Julio 1, 2003 Days are local days in the Americas; times are UTC. Días son días locales en las Américas; horas son UTC. [gh deleted gospel huxters, leaving only:] MONDAY-FRIDAY/LUNES-VIERNES To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 1000-1030 La Voz de la Junta Patriótica Cubana (español) 1030-1130 Entre Cubanos (español) Note: This transmission from 0900-1200 UTC is temporarily not aired on Tuesday and Thursday. To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1330-1430 Stock Talk Live from IBC Radio SATURDAY/SABADO To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 0900-0930 Radio Vaticano (español) 1000-1100 Foro Militar Cubano (español) To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1200-2200 Music To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 2300-0000 Foro Militar Cubano (español) The following are Sunday UTC. Los siguientes son domingo UTC. 0000-0030 Conversando entre Cubanos (español) 0030-0045 La Hora de Chibás (español) [See also CUBA] 0100-0200 Radio Revista Lux (español) 7385 kHz to North America/7385 kHz para Norteamérica: 0200-0230 Wavescan (English) 0230-0300 Viva Miami (English/español) 0300-0900 Solid Rock Radio (English) SUNDAY/DOMINGO To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamerérica en 9955 kHz: 0930-1000 Viva Miami (español/English) To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1230-1300 Viva Miami (English) 1300-1330 Wavescan (English) 1400-2000 Solid Rock Radio (English) 2030-2100 Wavescan (English) To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 2300-0000 Radio Revista Lux (español) The following are UTC Monday. Los siguientes son UTC lunes. 0030-0130 Radio Oriente Libre (español) 0130-0200 Conversando entre Cubanos (español) 7385 kHz to North America /7385 kHz para Norteamérica: 0230-0300 Wavescan (English) (WRMI website via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. "Good evening Zimbabwe... you`re listening to Studio seven..." That was an ID on 17895 kHz 1730 UT, probably coming from Briech, Morocco. No sign of English to Zimbabwe 1730-1800 UTC on other frequencies 11975 - and 909 kHz mentioned in 2003 program guide supplement. Really, "supplement" has arrived instead of original guide. I wonder, where`s my copy of VoAGuide. It`s always useless, very badly late. What`s the problem, VoA???? I can only laugh at president Bush. He called the president of Zimbabwe Mkabe or something similar. Definitely it went wrong. Mugabe is correct. What`s the name of Canadian PM, president Bush?! Something too difficult to you, I think. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My hands are clean. Mkabe sounds pretty close tho (gh) ** U S A [non]. Family Radio announces test transmissions in German: July 14 till July 18 0400-0500 on 3955. This frequency points to Skelton, especially since the latest DTAG schedule update released just a few days ago shows no such tests (and default choice on 75 metres at Jülich is 3965). ---Ursprüngliche Nachricht--- Testsendung von WYFR Family Radio testet eine neue Morgenfrequenz. Julie Hesse: "Wir haben eine neue Frequenze 3955 KHz zum ausprobieren vom 14. Juli bis 18. Juli von 04.00-05.00 (MESZ 06.00) Uhr. Es wäre für uns eine grosse Hilfe wenn Sie diese Frequenz anhören und uns per E-Mail Bescheid geben. Bitte senden Sie Ihren Report bei 21. Juli." (Julie Hesse 11.7.2003) international@familyradio.com Im jüngsten Sendeplan 040703.txt von T-Systems Jülich erscheinen die Sendungen nicht. Insofern kommt wohl eher Merlin in Großbritannien als Sendepartner in Betracht. Mit beiden ist Family Radio im Geschäft. (Dr Hansjoerg Biener via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** U S A. KQED TACKLES MONEY WOES By Judy Silber, CONTRA COSTA TIMES http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/business/6280463.htm [illustrated] Hard times have finally caught up to KQED, the Bay Area's public television and radio stations. Reductions in corporate donations this year will force KQED to cut operating expenses by about 10 percent, or $5 million for the 2004 fiscal year, management has told employees. About half the cuts will come from cutting payroll. In a memo to employees Thursday, KQED president Jeff Clarke said it's impossible to make significant cuts without affecting employees. KQED wages and benefits for its 248 employees are 46 percent of the station's approximately $45 million budget. He outlined three options for the staff to consider during the next few weeks. The most severe would eliminate about 40 positions. A second option would impose unpaid mandatory seven-day vacations on all employees as well as some layoffs. The third would reduce the work week to 36 hours with fewer layoffs. Clarke also said the cuts could include a combination of layoffs and early retirements, mandatory unpaid vacation, and cuts in hours. The severity of KQED's current fiscal crisis is a surprise, said Kevin Wilson, president of the national association of broadcast employees and technicians, local 51. While other public broadcasting stations have had to lay off people, KQED remained untouched until now. KQED is one of the most popular public stations in the country. And individual membership remains high, at more than 200,000. But in 2003, corporate donations are expected to fall by as much as 30 percent, Clarke said. The station is expecting to receive about $6.5 million to $7 million, compared with about $9 million donated in 2002. At the same time, dues to PBS and NPR, which supply much of KQED's programming, have increased and the station is still working to comply with federal regulation that forced a conversion to digital broadcasting. "The bottom line is, we're looking out at the landscape and the economy doesn't appear to be improving," Clarke said in a telephone interview. "We've got to cut our budget." Some staff members reacted angrily to the memo and the news that some jobs may be lost, accusing KQED's management of misappropriating funds. "They were giving hiring bonuses. They gave bonuses at Christmas," said one outraged staff member who didn't want to give his name. He said there are too many managers per worker and extra perks like a van to BART that could easily be eliminated before jobs. And he said the purchase of a station in Sacramento and expansion of KQED's Web site were unnecessary. But Clarke said the Sacramento station purchase and Web site expansion come from a different source of funds than salaries. He also said he will hold conversations with staff and the union to solicit input on the predicament, and that cutbacks would come from all parts of the organization. Despite the cuts, Clarke said KQED's programming will not suffer. "We're doing everything we can so that it won't have an impact on programming at KQED," he said. However, union president Wilson said it's too early to tell. "With less staff, you would expect less local production," he said (Contra Costa Times July 11 via Current, DXLD) more at: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6280151.htm (via Current, DXLD) ** U S A. FLEDGLING RADIO STATION WANTS TO BE A VOICE FOR CITY By Nancy Cicco PORTSMOUTH --- That fresh crackle of enthusiasm you`re hearing about town is the voice of a new Portsmouth radio station primed to hit the airwaves. On Thursday, founders of WSCA-FM, a noncommercial radio station, spoke of their passion to bring such an outlet to Portsmouth as alternative to the glut of huge, powerful media companies they say have more to do with corporate profits than community involvement. ``It`s needed everywhere, if you ask me,`` said Bruce Pingree of the 100-watt radio station recently sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission. ``The conglomerates are just getting too big,`` Pingree, booking manager at the Press Room Restaurant in Portsmouth, got in on the ground floor of the radio enterprise with a cadre of like-minded radio rebels who joined forces in 2000 in order to make the new radio station a reality. On May 19, after a three-year fight, the FCC awarded the fledgling WSCA-FM a construction permit that will allow the founders to build a broadcast studio. Listeners will find the 100-watt station at 106.1 on the FM dial. The station will reach listeners within a 5- to 10-mile radius of Portsmouth, an area that encompasses Rye, New Castle, Greenland and Newington, and Eliot and Kittery in Maine. The next hurdles WSCA-FM founders need to clear are finding a studio space of 1,000 to 2,000 square feet and raising seed money for the equipment. Stone and Pingree said they hope to raise $50,000 to $75,000 to get the venture on the air. Volunteers with specialty skills related to radio are also welcome to jump on the bandwidth bandwagon. The station`s call letters stand for ``Seacoast Alternative,`` . . . http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07112003/news/38767.htm (Portsmouth NH Herald via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WAL-MART URGES ITS TOP SUPPLIERS TO ADOPT RADIO TRANSMITTERS By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated Press Writer, July 10 LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Wal-Mart wants its top 100 suppliers to slap tiny radio transmitters on all products they provide to the retail giant in an effort to better track merchandise while driving costs down. The technology is intended to provide automatic coordination of goods going into and out of Wal-Mart's 103 distribution centers, replacing what Wal-Mart uses now -- bar codes that are scanned. As products tagged with radio transmitters get within range of a reader, the distribution center's system automatically picks up the location of the product and details about what's on the pallet, Wal- Mart spokesman Tom Williams said. "It's almost like a voice coming into range of a microphone," Williams said. "It's a unique, quick and efficient way to gather information on a pallet of goods as it comes into a distribution center." If the technology moves to the shelves, shoppers could see some significant changes. The labels could allow customers to breeze through a checkout line with all their items being read via radio frequency at once. Williams said Wednesday the company wants its top 100 manufacturers to have the system in place by 2005 on all Wal-Mart products. By 2006, the company wants all its other suppliers to use the technology. Radio transmitters have promise for retail shelves, as well. With the transmitters on individual products, stores can get signals from areas that need restocking, protect against theft, and determine other product movement (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. HEY, BUDDY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE PUTTING THAT WATER TANK Is fresh water good for an AM station? Not in this case, at least. Our friends at the CGC Communicator newsletter point us to an article in the newspaper Public Opinion of Chambersburg, Pa. Officials there have asked the FCC to step into a dispute between the government and an AM radio station. The station is WCBG. The borough complains that its attempt to build a water tank near the station's four towers has been thwarted since last fall because workers complained of receiving RF burns. The local newspaper has hired an attorney to try to force Verstandig Broadcasting to cease operating long enough for workers to finish the 2-million-gallon tank. "According to officials, possible solutions to the problem call for the borough to move the water tank, pay for moving WCBG's operation or buy the radio station," the article stated. "No cost estimates were available but all of the options would be costly, officials said." CGC adds its own observation: "Complicating the situation are allegations that the storage tank interferes with WCBG's signal - presumably warping its radiation patterns." (Radio World Daily newsbite July 9 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) RADIO CONFLICT: PENNSYLVANIA TOWN DISCOVERS WATER AND RADIO WAVES DON`T MIX Officials in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania have asked the FCC to intercede in a dispute between that township and Radio Station WCBG on 1590 kHz. This, as the borough hires a Louisiana attorney to try to force the owners of the radio station to cease operating long enough for workers to finish a 2-million-gallon water storage tank project in the nearby Chambers-5 Business Park. Chambersburg`s effort to build a new, elevated, 150-foot-high water storage tank on land adjacent to WCBG`s towers have stalled because workers complained of receiving RF burns. Complicating the situation are allegations that the storage tank interferes with WCBG`s signal, presumably warping its radiation patterns. WCBG operates 5 kW non-directional daytime and, 1 kW directional at night. The whole story is on-line at http://tinyurl.com/g1dk (CGC via Amateur Radio Newsline July 11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. WNIN SIGNAL IMPROVEMENT FLOPS By MAUREEN HAYDEN, Courier & Press staff, July 11, 2003 EVANSVILLE [IN] -- WNIN-PBS9 hoped to blast its viewers into the digital age with a new broadcast tower that would improve and expand the local public broadcasting station's reach, but just the opposite has happened. Ever since the station switched over in April to a new $3.5 million tower project south of Boonville, Ind., some viewers have been calling to complain that the picture on their screen is worse than before, or just plain gone. Meanwhile, listeners to WNIN's sister radio station, at FM 88.3, have found static on occasion instead of the usual fare of classical music and National Public Radio. Station officials blame the problem on a "split beam" broadcast signal from a faulty antenna and subsequent attempts to rectify it. But they're not completely sure of the cause of their woes, nor do they know how long it may take to fix it. What they do know is that they have a technological mess on their hands that's already resulted in a big drop in viewership, and may not bode well for an on-air fundraiser scheduled for August. When WNIN president and general manager David Dial realized the extent of the problem, his first reaction included the phrase, "Oh, holy smoley E" The project was meant to elevate WNIN's presence in the area, launch its entry into digital television, and widen its footprint by replacing its analog transmitter and antenna. The result was supposed to be a better picture for the station's television viewers, a broader range of up to another 20 miles for the television signal, and a sharper signal for radio listeners. But it didn't quite work that way. "The day after we went on air (from the new tower) people started calling us, saying, 'I can't get a picture,'" Dial said. Initially, he thought only noncable viewers were affected But more calls started coming in, including calls from some cable viewers reporting fuzzy signals. Attempts to figure out the problem caused more woes. When engineers climbed the tower to inspect the antenna, both the radio and TV broadcast signals had to be shut off. Dial was alarmed when he saw the monthly Nielsen Media Research ratings, which measures television viewership. In the month after the new tower went up, WNIN's viewing audience dropped 25 percent -- from about 75,000 households to about 52,000. For WNIN, viewership translates into money. The nonprofit station relies mostly on financial donations from viewers to pay for programs and to pay staff. The dilemma now is to pinpoint and fix the problem. Dial believes the problem lies with the antenna itself, manufactured by the Dielectric Communications, based in Maine, the nation's largest manufacturer of high-power television and FM broadcast antenna systems. Dial said replacing the antenna could take several months. Dielectric wants to further investigate the problem, said spokeswoman Sally Rich. Rich didn't know the details of the WNIN matter, but said the company wants happy customers (INKY.com via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO UNDER FIRE OVER FREE-SPEECH CLAMPDOWN Fri July 11, 2003 08:23 PM ET By Bill Holland WASHINGTON (Billboard) --- Natalie Maines' controversial comments about President Bush are echoing ever louder in Congress and starting to rattle windows in the radio industry. Cumulus Broadcasting -- which banned Maines' group, the Dixie Chicks, from all 50 of its country stations after her remarks at a London concert in March -- was the latest to feel the sting of a mounting backlash against media consolidation. In congressional hearings held July 8, Dixie Chicks manager Simon Renshaw led the charge against Cumulus and the radio business. He revealed his office had had death threats during the ban and he had uncovered evidence that the effort was "orchestrated" in part by "right-wing political" groups. . . http://reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=3077850 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC REACTING, SLOWLY, TO FCC RULING BY BRIAN LAMBERT, St. Paul Pioneer Press Polls are a snapshot of a moment and all that, but when one reported that 70 percent of Americans still haven't heard of the recent FCC ruling further deregulating much of the media around us, the number sounded about right. Before the June 2 vote, few of the people I run with were aware of what was up with the FCC, and virtually none was clear on the details. (I know, I know. They're friends of mine, so consider the source.) After the vote - which, if it stands, will allow major corporations to expand the number of TV stations they own across the country, marry ownership of newspapers and TV stations in individual markets and so on - the average citizen still appears far more informed as to what color Scott Peterson is dyeing his hair today and where Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore went for dinner last weekend. But the FCC and Congress are hearing from citizens who have followed the Great Giveaway, and those folks are pretty upset about it. According to a spokeswoman in FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, the FCC has taken more than 2 million calls and e-mails since June 2, the vast majority registering disagreement with the decision. (Adelstein was one of the two commissioners to vote against further deregulation.) Three pieces of legislation floating around Congress are designed to roll back the FCC's June 2 rule changes. Senate Bill 1046, sponsored by Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, would return the so-called ownership "cap" - the percentage of the population covered by stations owned by a single company - to 35 percent from the 45 percent the FCC approved. The corresponding House bill is Resolution 2052. Meanwhile, also in the House, where anti-deregulation forces see much tougher slogging for rollback/repeal initiatives, Rep. Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vt., is proposing House Resolution 2462, titled the "Protect Diversity in Media Act," which would rescind everything the FCC just approved and --- this is important - prohibit the FCC from opening the same can of worms under the guise of fulfilling its obligation to conduct a biennial review of broadcast ownership rules. (That clause was mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and has been thoroughly gamed by pro-deregulation forces.) Since the June 2 vote, supporters of deregulation have been clucking that, look, the sky hasn't fallen. Disney hasn't bought the New York Times, and Comcast hasn't bought Disney. Therefore, this repeal fervor is just more fringe hysteria. Sen. John McCain's Commerce Committee is at center court on the FCC issue. A hearing earlier this week illuminated the Orwellian consequences when one company controls the switch to hundreds of media outlets across the country. At issue were the Dixie Chicks and the now-infamous boycott of their music after singer Natalie Maines' remarks to a London audience. Cumulus Media owns 250 radio stations (none in the Twin Cities area). Without regard to regional attitudes, it yanked the Chicks from each of its country music stations. The company's president, Lewis Dickey Jr., defended the move to McCain, saying, "There was a groundswell of negative reaction by our listeners against the band.? " That may have been true, but Dickey's decision made no accounting for the varying depth of that reaction, which by all indications, was far stronger in certain parts of the country than it was in others. The point being, when your finger controls hundreds of stations, one attitude, one point of view suddenly fits all (via: Shoptalk 7/11/03 & http://www.tvweek.com via Frederick Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NAB ABOUT-FACE ON FCC OWNERSHIP RULES In a jarring about-face, the National Association of Broadcasters has decided to oppose all pending legislation that would roll back the Federal Communications Commission's recently enacted rules changes that relaxed media ownership limits. The NAB has also reached out to the major networks to join with it in its new position, apparently seeking to head off the formation of a competing trade group that would represent network interests. Until Tuesday, under orders from its affiliate-dominated board of directors, the NAB had been lobbying vigorously to win legislation that would roll back the FCC's decision to relax the cap on national TV ownership. The cap was lifted to let broadcasters acquire stations reaching 45 percent of the nation's TV homes after the three Republican FCC commissioners voted for the change. The two Democratic FCC commissioners voted against the change. The NAB's marching orders have long been to keep the cap at 35 percent -- a level the association has maintained for years is vital to checking the power of networks over their affiliates. But industry and congressional sources said NAB officials have decided to give up the cap fight because they fear they won't be able to win legislation that would focus on the cap alone -- and that any measure approved by an increasingly heated Congress would be likely to be loaded down with provisions reversing FCC deregulation that key NAB members support. Those include the relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross- ownership restrictions. The sudden change brought an angry rebuke from Rep. John Dingell, D- Mich., the ranking member on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce: "The NAB's decision to reverse itself on the issue of the national television ownership cap is an unfortunate retreat from its proud history of support for localism, diversity and competition in the broadcast marketplace. My efforts, and those of my colleagues, to repeal the FCC's ill-advised decision to raise the ownership cap to 45 percent will not be deterred. And I remain confident that many of NAB's own members will continue to support us." Sources said NAB President and CEO Eddie Fritts has also asked representatives of the Big 4 TV networks to join NAB in its fight against any legislation. All of the networks bailed out of the association over the past several years in a dispute over the cap issue. One source said NAB's change of direction on the cap issue could also take wind out of the sails of the Local Broadcasting Alliance, a new organization that the networks have been planning to launch to represent the interests of their owned-and-operated TV stations in Washington. A major test of the newfound industry unity could take place next Wednesday when the House Appropriations Committee is slated to consider an FCC appropriations bill. Sources expect the committee to consider a rider that could roll back much of the deregulation the FCC voted to adopt on June 2. An NAB spokesman declined comment on the association's new legislative strategy. But the NAB's Mr. Fritts has scheduled a briefing with reporters Thursday at which he is expected to announce the association's new plan (via: Shoptalk 7/11/03 & http://www.tvweek.com via Frederick Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. The long awaited report on LPFM has been posted to the FCC's electronic Comments section. What it boils down to that unless you are within 100 feet of a 100 watt LPFM, there is no interference from Low Power FM. Now, if we can get our politicians to let us put them on the 3rd adjacent frequency, there will be thousands of frequencies becoming available in all areas (provided translators don`t take them all). You need Acrobat to view it, but all 700 pages + + + are available for viewing at: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cginative_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514285087 If the link is split on your computer, paste it back together... If the above doesn`t work then This link will get you to the FCC's ECFS. Proceeding number 99-25 http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi BTW, the proceeding which many of us from the NRC have commented on is 99-325 IBOC interference (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Located in Sunny Sarasota Florida http://www.amtower.com NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. To a friend of radio, RIP As president of the Museum of Television and Radio for two decades, Robert Batscha was that semi-rare media historian who didn't let radio disappear in the shadow of television. While much of the museum's growth during his tenure focused on television, it did not ignore its radio collection. Several years ago, it launched a radio festival, and it has played host to a number of live radio shows - most recently Harry Harrison's final broadcast on WCBS-FM. The preservation of radio history has been so fragmented that institutions like the museum are critical, and under Batscha, radio's unique value was not ignored. Batscha died of cancer on July 4, at age 58. He will be missed. David Hinckley, Originally published on July 12, 2003, (c) 2003 Daily News, L.P., via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. 60 METERS: A LOOK AT NIGHT ONE ON THE NEW GENTLEMEN`S BAND Its being called the ``New Gentleman`s Band`` by some. At least that`s what monitoring the first availability of the new 60 meter band as it opened to the East Coast on July 3rd. Newsline`s Don Wilbanks, was listening in from the deep South: The `New Gentlemen`s Band`` may well be a title that will stick on 60 [sic] meters. Even as the new frequencies came to life, there was none of the on-air pushing and shoving that`s so prevalent on other bands like 20 and 40 meters. Instead, those observing, operating and posting their thoughts to the Internet seemed to agree that calm and order was the way most approached 60 meter operation. Ron Wray, WB5HZ, was one of those listening in. He says over the qrz.com website that it seemed as if someone had kicked an anthill at 11:00 PM Central time. That`s when hundreds of stations were conducting simultaneous QSO`s on all five frequencies. According to Wray, there were explosions of activity that continued throughout the night as each time zone jumped onto the new band in sequence. And Wray notes the apparent success of the 50 watt effective radiated power limit. He says that from his location in Dear Park Texas, the low power limit made it so that no one signal was sufficiently strong to completely control any particular frequency. And because of this amateurs were able to make solid contacts despite the unbelievable level of QRM. Robert Harper, AFZ0H, of Park Hills Missouri was another early user of 60 meters. In his posting to QRZ, Harper said that he was very impressed by the discipline of the amateur community on opening night. Despite the noise and the crowd, everyone seemed to keep a level head. He says that it was an atmosphere that reminded him of the ``good ol` days,`` adding that he cannot recall when he last observed such gentlemanly behavior under such crowded conditions. And Bill Collins K8NQC, may have summed it up best. In his QRZ note he said that multiple QSO`s on the same frequency will greatly help the utility of the band. He adds that the absence of big signals is really a plus. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in New Orleans. So far there seem to be no complaints about the new spot frequencies that comprise the current 60 meter ham radio allocation. In fact, one ham was heard to say that the rest of high frequency Amateur Radio can learn lessons in sportsmanship and courtesy by simply tuning in (ARNewsline(tm), from QRZ.com and other sources) (AR Newsline July 11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. 999, Radio Terra, Uzbekistan. A private radio station called Radio Terra from the Uzbek capital Tashkent has been heard on the frequency of 999 kHz. DXer Alexander Polyakov reports on Signal DX No. 102a that reception quality is excellent in the region around Tashkent. It is unclear when exactly this station has hit the airwaves. The station has a flashy website offering program and station information, photos and a discussion forum. Contact info is given as Glavpochtamt, a/ya Radio Terra, 700000, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Telephone: 998-71-136-2261, or email 105@radioterra.uz (Dxing.info via MWC e-mail news 26.6.2003 via ARC via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. There seems to be a Vietnamese station operating on 981 kHz. Heard last night after 1400 carrying VOV-1. No idea of the location, I'm afraid (Alan Davies, somewhere in Asia, 30 May, ARC via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. RUSSIA/VIETNAM. 7115 at 1300-1400 UT, DGV in Vietnamese from Chita-RUS. Who is this? Religious? Oppositional? (wb df5sx) (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder whom you are quoting; DGV?? ** VIETNAM [non]. Re: GERMANY: But NHS is not explained. What's that? (gh, DXLD) NHS = ? New Horizon Service ? [See this old logging:] [GERMANY to VIETNAM]. 15775, Chan Troi Moi, ex-15715, excellent at 1328*, opening with anthem-like music, ID by lady, into program of all talk, occasional music bridges, many mentions of Sadaam Hussein and Iraq, all Vietnamese. Anthem-like music again at 1428, and closed program at 1430 with ID by woman in English, "The Vietnamese broadcast of New Horizon signing off." Very brief pause, and then a program from another broadcaster began. Via DTK Juelich? I was listening in LSB. At 1400 I thought a program segment began with the CTM announcers talking over low background music, but it turned out that at least from that hour the music was from another, even more powerful station co- channel, the latter on USB only, so when I was in LSB I was just getting the spillover. Not sure what the station was, but it was very strong (Jerry Berg-MA-USA, DXplorer Apr 12, 2003; via BC-DX April 19) 1330-1430 49,50 100 kW 70 degr VOH Chan Troi Moi or New Horizon, High Adventure VoHope, in Vietnamese (BC-DX #621, April 19, 2003) Glenn, see: http://www.clandestineradio.com/intel/vietnam.htm NHS = ? New Horizon Service ? Yahoo search ``chan troi moi`` results in a lot of URL hits: http://www.fva.org/radio.html Radio Broadcasts to Vietnam ... Regarding Chan Troi Moi broadcasts, people in Western United States, South Pacific, and in some regions of Russia have reported good signal reception. ... cached | more results from this site http://www.vietchristian.net/chantroimoi http://www.lmvntd.org/avl/demo0696/0696bai4.htm Document Top Secret du Bureau Politique largement divulgué à l'extérieur. Note éditorial: Les membres de l'Alliance Vietnam Liberté (AVL) à l'intérieur viennent de recevoir ce document classé Top Secret et signé par M. Dao Duy Tung, membre du Bureau Politique, instance suprême du Parti Communiste Vietnamien. Nous vous traduisons texto ci après pour toute fin utile. L'émission Chan Troi Moi, mentionnée dans le document est une émission indépendante, diffusée des informations destinées aux vietnamiens vivant au Vietnam. CHAN TROI MOI (Nouvel Horizon) : émission en langue vietnamienne sur la longueur d'onde de 31m (9965 KHZ), chaque jour de 22 h à 22h30, heure locale du Vietnam. Adresse pour le courrier: P. O. Box 48, Nishi Yodogawa, Osaka 555, Japan. P.O.Box 957 Cypress, CA 90630, USA (all via Wolfgang Büschel, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. NO IDENTIFICADA, 4890, 0545, programa religioso en español, locutor con acento caribeño-centroamericano, escuchada desde las 0515 hasta las 0600, a partir de esa hora la señal se volvió muy débil. SINPO 24322. ¿puede decirme alguien de qué emisora se trata?. (Julio 11). (Manuel Méndez Reinante, costa de Lugo, España, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable, 8 metros, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Doesn`t sound like R. Macedonia, Perú ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary June 17 2003 through July 7 2003 Tabulated from email status daily Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Etc. 6/17 123 38 5 moderate minor 9 18 122 40 5 moderate minor 9 19 120 45 5 strong minor 10 20 123 20 2 minor minor 5 21 117 14 2 no storms no storms 5 22 115 26 3 minor minor 7 23 110 15 3 no storms no storms 7 24 114 22 3 minor no storms 6 25 115 29 3 minor no storms 6 26 116 18 3 no storms no storms 8 27 119 18 3 no storms no storms 7 28 124 34 3 moderate minor 8 29 124 33 4 moderate minor 8 6/30 127 25 3 minor minor 8 7/ 1 128 24 2 minor no storms 6 2 131 15 3 no storms no storms 4 3 135 13 3 minor no storms 3 4 132 17 4 no storms minor 7 5 140 23 3 minor minor 6 6 142 21 3 no storms minor 6 7/ 7 130 12 2 minor minor 2 ********************************************************************** (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) What does etc. refer to??? RECORD-BREAKING TRANS-ATLANTIC SPORADIC E ON VHF/FM In GB2RS last week, we reported the extraordinary VHF propagation on the 26th of June, when two VHF-FM DXers received broadcast stations from Newfoundland and Bangor, Maine, in North America. One of them, Paul Logan, from County Fermanagh, has contacted GB2RS to say that he also logged radio station WFRY in Watertown, New York, on 97.5 MHz at 2015 UT on the 26th of June. The station has since confirmed his reception report. Paul says the distance is 3049 miles, which breaks the previous Band 2 Sporadic E distance record, held by Todd Emslie in Australia, who had received a station in American Samoa at 2739 miles. (From The RSGB Sunday 13 July, 2003 (actually Friday evening) http://www.rsgb.org/news/gb2rs.htm via Mike Terry, DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-123, July 11, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1190: RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230 on 7445/15039 WWCR: Sat 1030 on 5070, Sun 0230 on 5070, Sun 0630 on 3210 WINB: Sun 0030 on 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS UPDATED JULY 11: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hi Glenn, Just had to drop a quick line and say hello, after seeing that you`re as active as ever in the shortwave scene! My 12 year old son recently dusted off my old Icom IC-R70 and is having a ball listening to various broadcasts, and adding pins to his world map as he logs new stations. I have to admit, it`s rekindled my interest a bit as well. Many things have changed in the 20 years I`ve been away from it, but a lot has remained pretty much the same, as well. I shouldn`t be surprised to see that, after all these years, ole GH is still the best source of up-to-the-minute information. Well done! (Scott McClellan, Battle Creek, MI, July 9) Hello Glenn, First of all many thanks for providing the DX community with information over the years. Your newsletter is a very valuable resource that is appreciated by many all over the world. All the best (from Sweden Ronny Forslund, Radio Dellen) See also PLC abottom ** ANTARCTICA. TERRITORIO ANTARTICO --- 15476, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, desde Base Esperanza, en el Territorio Antártico, chequeada la frecuencia el pasado martes 8 y ayer 9 de Julio, pero ninguña señal fue detectada, inactiva. [Luego:] Más sobre la inactividad temporaria de LRA36: 15476 khz, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, está inactiva desde el pasado martes 8 de Julio por causas de una fuerte temporal antártico que rompió dos de los tres brazos que tiene la antena irradiante rómbica. Esto tomará sus [sic] días en arreglarse según me han informado hace unos instantes de Base Esperanza. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, July 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Ya está en el aire Radio Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, Antártica Argentina en los 15475.95 kHz. Abrió emisiones a las 1822 UT con la canción "Color Esperanza" de Diego Torres. ID en varios idiomas. SINPO 44444 (Hugo López C., SWL - CE3 TIB, July 10, ibid.) Me alegro que esté nuevamente en el aire, Hugo, pero si difunde esa música, entiendo si el transmisor se quiere apagar sólo! (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. My daily monitoring of the 49 mb provided a nice surprise: 6080 R. Anhanguera 9/7 2245-2350 At 2245 with Voz do Brasil, but wiped out by splats from 6075. Then getting better with sports in // 4915 with IDs and usual canned "Goias!" short jungle with echo effect. It's unlisted in latest Morhrmann list http://www.sover.net/%7Ehackmohr/sw.htm and to my knowledge must have been off air since January 2002 (Renato Bruni, JRC 525, 70m longwire, Parma, Italy http://www.faiallo.splinder.it Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. Hemos estado en Canadá. También estuvimos con los colegas de RCI en Montreal. Quizás te interese publicar y difundir una noticia que será del agrado de los caza QSL. http://www.rcinet.ca/Scripts/default.asp?s1=Programmes&s2=ProgrammeLangue&s3=24 http://www.rnw.nl/sp/toolbar/cartas@rn.html El pasado domingo 6 de julio (22.30, 00.30 UTC e internet) se transmitió a través de RCI en español una original audición dentro del programa de contacto con los oyentes. Contestación a la Correspondencia de Radio Canadá Internacional y Cartas@RN de Radio Nederland transmitieron un programa conjunto. Por primera vez juntos en la onda corta compartiendo las misivas de los oyentes. Radio Nederland retransmitirá el programa el domingo 13 (con repetición el miércoles 16) y una segunda parte el domingo 20 (con repetición 23 de julio) en todas sus emisiones. Los informes de escucha enviados a ambas emisoras (o a una de ellas) serán verificados con una QSL donde llevarán los logotipos de RCI y RN. Radio Canadá Internacional, Apartado 6.000, Montreal, Canadá correo-e: correo@cbc.ca Radio Nederland, Programa Cartas@RN, Apartado 222, 1200 JG Hilversum, Holanda correo-e: cartas@rnw.nl En el mes de agosto Radio Nederland transmitirá en el programa Radio-Enlace un reportaje sobre Radio Canadá Internacional con interesantes declaraciones (Jaime Báguena, Radio Nederland, July 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6030, CFVP still in the clear on UT Mondays [when R. Martí is off]. 0417 with S7 signal and ID (Hans Johnson WY, Jul 7, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CANADA. Low Power stations in Canada (100 watts or less AM, 50 watts or less FM) no longer need a licence. That includes our Canadian AM & FM Weather Radio stations! This will mean lots of more unID stations. See the CRTC notice at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2003/pb2003-35.htm (William Hepburn, Ont., July 10, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. CRTC CONSIDERS IMPORTING AL-JAZEERA CANADIAN PRESS http://tinyurl.com/gnbi Canada's broadcast regulator is inviting public comments beginning Friday on proposals to import the signal of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network, sometimes referred to as the Arab world's CNN during the Iraq conflict. Calling Al-Jazeera's coverage in the Middle East anti-Semitic, the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith Canada have promised to intervene against it. "By granting them a licence, the kind of stories that they carry could contravene the Criminal Code," warns Keith Landy, CJC president, referring to what he calls the network's racist and hate content. Ron Singer, the CJC communications spokesman, says they are still putting the final touches on their formal brief. The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, though, has argued that carriage in Canada would "broaden the horizon of the Canadian public" on Middle Eastern issues. The organization has also made the point that many Canadians are already spending up to $100 a month using the TV black market to watch the channel via the U.S. DirecTV satellite service. "Opposition to Al-Jazeera's presence undermines Canadian core values of freedom of thought and speech," NCCAR executive director Mazen Chouaib said Wednesday. "Keeping Al-Jazeera from the Canadian market would serve extremists, alienate moderates and deal a blow to our collective freedoms." The Canadian Arab Federation also calls the CJC's opposition extreme and disingenuous. "Allowing Al-Jazeera to broadcast in Canada tests our fundamental commitment to free speech," says Raja Khouri, the federation's national president. "A free and healthy society is one in which all voices may be heard." But Landy asks what Khouri might say to a station that referred to Arabs as apes and pigs and Muslims as murderers and worms to be exterminated. "For that is how Jewish people are described on Al-Jazeera." But Khouri says Al-Jazeera's policy is to get both sides of the story. "While any hateful speech is contemptible, the views of the people who make the news should not be confused as the views of the station that airs it." Videotron, the Montreal-based cable company, was one of the first to apply to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for carriage last February after it was persuaded by Al- Jazeera representatives that there was a customer demand. The application is supported by the Canadian Cable Television Association. However, Taanta Gupta, communications vice-president for Rogers Cable, says there hasn't been a huge demand for them to pick up the Arab- language service. And Tim McGee, president of Bell ExpressVu direct- to-home satellite service, says the same. "There are applications into the CRTC to put it on the available list. We will monitor that and make a decision if and when the CRTC makes it available." Al-Jazeera incurred criticism from Muslim countries during the recent war that it was too pro-Western, others were impressed by its balance, while still other critics denounced the news channel's broadcast of inflammatory taped statements from Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Originally a proposed creation of the BBC and a Saudi private interest, the idea collapsed over the issue of Saudi censorship. In 1996, the Emir of Qatar and other Arab financiers provided the necessary funding, although much of the network's revenues are said to come from the sale of images to U.S. and other western broadcasters (Toronto Star via Fred Waterer, DXLD) See also QATAR ** CANADA. FANS COMFORT JILTED DAVIS --- Is the popular morning talk- show host a victim of the radio ratings war? NICK MCCABE-LOKOS ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER Erin Davis has more close friends than she'll ever know. For the last 15 years people have been woken up by her voice. She's been there when they stepped out of the shower. She's followed them to work. She's consoled them when loved ones were sick. Played them songs when family members died. So when Erin Davis, 40, was fired three weeks ago from the morning show she hosted with Bob Magee on CHFI, her listeners were mystified, angry and hurt. "I got a call on a Saturday at the cottage and was told I didn't have to bother coming back to work on Monday," said Davis by telephone as she and her husband Rob drove toward Ottawa for a brief vacation. Since her last show on Friday, June 13, Davis has been inundated with e-mails sent by former listeners to her personal Web site. People have expressed their sympathies and explained how Davis has touched their lives. "I've got an inbox now with close to 3,000 e-mails in it. It's just been astounding," said Davis as she took a break from answering people's messages, the computer still sitting on her lap. Davis says if she answered 100 e- mails a day, it would take her a month to get through them all. And despite the amount of time it takes to write back, each person is getting a personal message. "These people, they wrote so much from their hearts that it would be a great disservice to them to send them some b.s. form letter. So that's why I feel they deserve responses. They may have to wait till September but I'm going to get through them all." more at: http://tinyurl.com/gnbw [illustrated] (Toronto Star via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** CHINA. This morning (10 July) CNR-1 was well heard on 17910 from just before 0400 to past 0500. I cannot find a natural explanation for this signal, neither on-channel jamming nor a mixing product. The time span coincides with VOA Tibetan and some CBS transmissions. Maybe one of these emits a spurious signal on 17910 and attracts jamming? The CNR delay on 17910 was equal to 15490 and one each on 17880, 15270 and 13760 and belongs to the double satellite delay group (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Hmmm, I heard R. Rebelde on 15570; and previously as in 3-110 it was reported on 15075. Could the latter have been a punch-up error? (gh, DXLD) ¡Saludos, Glenn! Ayer (Jul. 10 UT) yo estuve escuchando programas de Radio Habana Cuba sobre 15010 kHz, alrededor de las 0040-0050 UT. La calidad de recepción era mala (25321), en paralelo con 15230 kHz (SINPO aquí es 55544). No encontré ésta frecuencia de 15010 kHz en ninguna de las listas que tengo... ¿será una frecuencia normal o será algún producto? Intentaré sintonizar nuevamente hoy (UT Jul. 11) (Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probable producto. Busque si funcione alguna emisión cubana (talvez releve) al mismo tiempo en 15120, la mitad entre las dos frecuencias (gh) {o mezcla de 15450 y 15230 para 15010, pero nada en 15450?} ** CUBA. 670, R. Rebelde, Arroyo Arenas: Listening on 670 looking for Torreón, when at 0100 CDT on 7/10 R. Rebelde took over the frequency with slogans, promos, etc., almost as if they are testing a high power outlet here. Still in at 0915 with a few bars of the famous Cuban anthem head on "Radio Habana Cuba", into sports at 0925. 3 hours after SUNRISE! Must be testing 150-500 kW, probably the later, if it stays in all day! I've got an open water path straight to Cuba, but at 1000- 1200 miles even their 50 kW stations don't make it here daytimes! I'll keep it monitored. 73's de Steve/AB5GP [Later that same day:] heard at 1400 CDT with a few notes from the Cuban anthem (same one as Radio Habana Cuba plays). Poor-fair with salsa and Cuban music 1451. Steady signal no fading. 1000+ mile daytime reception. I need to take a measurement. Woman DJ in Spanish with announcements 1452 (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach, TX, Times in CST[sic], July 10, IRCA via DXLD) http://www.stevenwiseblood.com/ At 0230 UT July 11 check, not much on 670, but by 0238 it faded up, a lot stronger than Chicago which did not need to be nulled --- but that could just be solstitial and/or prevailing propagation conditions, so am not prepared to draw conclusions about power hike (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Havana FMs as of January 2003, according to someone I know who was down there with an RDS Radio. Freq Station RDS PS 90.3 R. Progreso PROGRESO 91.7 CMCK R. Coco 93.3 R. Taino TAINO 94.1 CMBQ R. Enciclopedia 94.9 R. Ciudad de la Habana 96.7 R. Rebelde REBELDE 98.3 R. Metropolitana METROPOLIT 99.1 R. Musical 99.9 R. Cadena Habana 101.5 R. Reloj 106.3 R. Progreso PROGRESO 106.9 Habana Radio 107.9 R. Rebelde REBELDE (Rich Shaftan, NJ, July 9, WTFDA via DXLD) ** EGYPT. THE VOICE OF THE ARABS IS SPEECHLESS AT 50 Kamel Labidi, The Daily Star, 7/10/03 On July 4, Egypt`s Sawt al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs) radio station, once the most influential broadcast medium in the Middle East and North Africa, turned 50. This occurred amid general indifference and an unprecedented increase in the number of dissenting Arab voices on the airwaves from Morocco to Qatar. Mohammed Fayek, an information minister under the late president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, described the station this way: ``Sawt al-Arab was a nationalist project aimed at helping Arabs turn the page of colonial occupation and division of their nation into small entities and build a better common future.`` Fayek is one of Nasser`s few followers to have metamorphosed into a human rights defender. His conversion came after he served a 10-year jail term for political reasons under Nasser`s successor, Anwar Sadat. Nasser and his fellow Arab nationalist Free Officers, who toppled King Farouk in July 1952, used Sawt al-Arab to raise Arab awareness about foreign hegemony and the dispossession of the Palestinians, but also to settle scores with Arab regimes opposed to Egypt`s regional influence. The station`s audience rose, particularly after the 1956 nationalization of the Suez Canal: ``People used to have their ears glued to the radio, particularly when Arab nationalist songs were broadcast calling Arabs to raise their heads and defend their dignity and land from occupation,`` said Abdullah Sennawi, editor of the Nasserite weekly Al-Arabi. Sawt al-Arab had a galvanizing effect on Arabs striving to end colonial rule and topple frail and decaying monarchies in Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen and later Libya. ``No other Arab country was able to play such a role,`` said Fayek. Like many Egyptians, he nostalgically recalls the days when the most populous Arab country was also the most influential regionally, no matter how much Nasser`s police state abused human rights and silenced its critics. Many Arabs recall the thundering voice of commentator Ahmed Said calling for independence, Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine from ``the sea to the (Jordan) river.`` Conversely, the Egyptian media, particularly Sawt al-Arab, attacked Arab leaders opposed to Nasser, portraying them as ``lackeys of colonialism and imperialism.`` In 1965, Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba provoked Nasser`s ire (and prompted Said`s insults) when he called on Palestinians and Arabs to face reality and accept the 1947 UN partition plan dividing Palestine into two states. For Sennawi, Sawt al-Arab ``played a pioneering role in radio journalism in the region --- that went hand in hand with Egypt`s leading political role under Nasser.`` He explained the station`s eroding popularity as the result of a ``lack of an Egyptian leadership role after Nasser`s death.`` However, Arab nationalists like Sennawi play down the fact that Sawt al-Arab`s credibility was shattered after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Ironically, Arabs learned of the humiliating Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza from Western media. Sawt al-Arab ignored the defeat, trumpeting fictitious Egyptian military successes over Israel. Though the impact of Sawt al-Arab is today insignificant, even inside Egypt, Arab rulers and their information ministers still seem influenced by the station`s style, which played on listeners` emotions without respecting their right to be informed. Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf was not the only Arab official to have adopted Sawt al-Arab`s method of disinformation. Sahhaf`s popularity may have had something to do with his entertaining linguistic skills, but also with the high illiteracy rate in the Arab world and the lack of human rights education. The estimated illiteracy rate among adult Arabs is 43 percent, higher than the international average, ``and even higher than the average in developing countries,`` according to the 2002 Arab Human Development Report. Sahhaf`s former colleagues, tasked with keeping the media on a tight leash, recently met in Cairo at the 36th session of the Arab Council of Information Ministers. They issued the usual boilerplate political injunctions, but Syrian Information Minister Adnan Omran, who previously chaired the council, surprised everyone when he acknowledged that Syria had achieved nothing during its chairmanship. Even a plan to improve the image of Arabs abroad, especially in the US, was not implemented, he remarked, ``for lack of funds.`` Like the founders of Sawt al-Arab, the information ministers seemed unaware that the best way to improve the Arab world`s image was to let independent journalism, the rule of law and transparency gain ground in their respective countries. Meanwhile, money is being wasted as Arab governments, notably Saudi Arabia, pour money into the coffers of influential public relations firms to improve their image in the US --- all to no avail as long as their societies remain closed. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sawt al-Arab aired nationalist songs by the great Egyptian diva Umm Kalthoum and the singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Perhaps there is a cautionary tale in the fact that those same songs were played by state-controlled Iraqi television and radio before the fall of Baghdad on April 9. Kamel Labidi is a freelance journalist in Cairo. he wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR (via AL-Jazeerah July 10 via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** GERMANY. New edition of DTK T-Systems schedule A03web07 04.07.2003 Gesamtplan frq start stop ciraf ant azi type day from to loc pow broad includes: 15775 1330 1430 49,50 202 70 218 1234567 300303 261003 JUL 100 NHS (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) But NHS is not explained. What`s that? (gh, DXLD) ** HAWAII. DEATHS --- FUSAYO KOIKE WAILUKU, Maui (AP) -- Fusayo Koike, whose Japanese-language show was a fixture on Maui's radio waves for nearly 50 years, died Monday. She was 93. "The Yamato Program" first aired on KMVI in 1947 and featured Koike and her husband, Haruo, providing music, news, death notices, information on club activities and live interviews with visiting entertainers and officers from Japanese training ships that called at Kahului Harbor. Koike was born Feb. 23, 1910, in Keahua Camp on Maui. In 1942, when she was pregnant with her second child, her husband, a scholar and Japanese language teacher, was held at an internment camp on Maui and later transferred to a camp in New Mexico. Koike moved in with her parents and was working at a plantation store when Haruo returned home after three years of internment. In 1947 she was offered a job as a radio announcer at KMVI. A couple of months later, Haruo joined the show, and the Koikes were on the air six days a week. When her husband died in 1977, Koike kept the program going herself. She gradually scaled back the number of shows per week before retiring in 1994. She was honored with a proclamation signed by President Reagan in recognition of having the longest-running ethnic radio show in America (APn 07/04 0445 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13855, AFRTS Keflavik, 0640-0715, July 11, English, returned after some weeks of absence, strong and clear on USB, many announcements for VoA, AFN-sportsreport and finally ID as "AFRTS Washington" at 0700. 44444. Best 73's (Bjarke Vestesen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strange to be announcing about VOA ** INDIA [and non]. BBC, VOA ALLOWED TO USE AIR STATIONS ON RECIPROCAL BASIS The Prasar Bharati [broadcasting] Board of India decided to allow British Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America to use the All India Radio platform to broadcast some of their programmes; provided the AIR is allowed to use their radio stations to air its own programmes. Since both public broadcasters are governed by rules which do not permit them to raise revenues, the Prasar Bharati has decided to market the programmes they bring in and keep the revenue. Also, in the case of VOA --- which does not have a domestic channel --- the Prasar Bharati has retained the option of charging the broadcaster a slot fee if the AIR does not want to air programmes on its overseas radio stations. A decision to this effect was taken after both BBC and VOA approached the Prasar Bharati. While the Board warmed up to the idea on a reciprocal basis, it has been stipulated that neither broadcaster would air programmes relating to news or remotely connected to current affairs. The Prasar Bharati was apparently influenced by the manner in which private television channels --- be it NDTV or Aaj Tak --- entered the business using the Doordarshan platform. Wiser by the experience, it decided to make use of the window of opportunity opened by the request of BBC and VOA to its own advantage and take AIR's programmes on to other media vehicles (source? via Prabakar, July 11, Monitoring Times via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. INDONESIA'S RADIO REVOLUTION By Kalinga Seneviratne JAKARTA --- The hundreds of community-owned radio stations beaming local music and people's voices across the huge Indonesian archipelago today reflect a sea change from the Suharto years, when a handful of the former president's business cronies dominated the local media. Today, five years after Suharto's ouster from power, people such as Ali Pangestu, coordinator of the Indonesian Community Radio Network, say that they are enjoying the dividends that democratic change is bringing to a media landscape where all newspapers were owned by Suharto associates and all radio and television were in government hands. . . http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG11Ae02.html (Asia Times July 11 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SATELLITE RADIO GETS ROUGH RECEPTION AT HOME Outside the car, the signal gets spotty By Edward C. Baig Some pairings are meant to be. Take satellite radio. I'm convinced this wonderful technology was destined for the automobile. I've become such a devotee of XM Satellite Radio in my Honda that I sometimes regret reaching my destination, because I'm so caught up in the nostalgia of the '60s channel or drowning in the blues at Bluesville. I get equally positive vibes from XM rival Sirius. I'm not the only one: XM claims more than 690,000 subscribers; Sirius, 100,000-plus. Why not? Each delivers 100 channels of static-free, mostly ad-free coast-to-coast radio, organized by musical genre or by sports, news and other specialties. So satellite radio should be a natural for the home too, right? Not necessarily. Outside the car, we are no longer captive to the dashboard radio or CD; we've also got TV, PCs and books. If you subscribe to satellite TV or digital cable, you can also listen to multiple music channels via those services. But even if satellite radio is your top choice, you might run into challenges. As I frustratingly discovered, reeling in signals in the house proved more difficult than when I was at the wheel . . http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030709/5307578s.htm (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. Hurricane Watch Net activating for Claudette (Jul 10, 2003) -- The Hurricane Watch Net will activate today at 1800 UT on 14.325 MHz to track and gather reports for rapidly developing Tropical Storm Claudette. HWN members share storm information with forecasters via WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center. Claudette is forecast to become a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches landfall near Cozumel, México, later today or tonight. At 1500 UT, the government of México issued a hurricane warning for the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, from Chetumal to Cabo Catoche. A tropical storm warning is in effect along the northern and western coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula. The government of Belize has issued a tropical storm warning from Belize City northward to the Belize-México border. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Grand Cayman. The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 16 MPH with maximum sustained winds of nearly 70 MPH. This motion could bring the center of Claudette near or over the northeastern Yucatán Peninsula late tonight or Friday (ARRL July 10 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NHC RELIES ON HURRICANE INFO FROM HAMS By ADRIAN SAINZ, The Associated Press, 7/10/03 9:28 AM MIAMI (AP) -- Max Mayfield and his team of hurricane forecasters were poised to downgrade Hurricane Michelle to a tropical storm when they got the call from a ham radio operator. A sailboat near the Bahamas was reporting 100 mph winds, directly contradicting satellite reports showing Michelle was losing steam and becoming disorganized. Michelle had already killed 17 people as it blasted through Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Jamaica. With the Bahamas in its path, forecasters had to decide whether to believe the satellite or the ham radio. They chose the report from the ham radio, scrapping plans to downgrade Michelle and keeping Hurricane warnings for the Bahamas. . . http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?n3645_BC_FL--Hurricane-HamRadi&&news&apadvisories (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAN. IRANIAN 'HATE' BROADCASTS CONTINUE INTO IRAQ Al Alam TV, Tehran's version of al Jazeera, remains an obstacle for coalition troops in Iraq. Its slick presentation and high-powered transmitters are still dominating the 'ratings war' on a playing field that's understandably empty. While the propaganda mouthpiece for the Iranian mullah's interests in Iraq stops short of advocating attacks against the coalition the bias in its programming is clearly meant to incite violence. But to what end? Al Alam TV is clearly an attempt to shatter the confidence of the Iraqi people in the U.S., which they hope will lead to instability and usher in another Lebanon - the same scenario that seems to be hoped for in Damascus. And if the graphic video and timely press releases from anti-American snipers aren't enough to send the message to U.S. intelligence analysts, Al Alam TV provides its own news scroll on the bottom of the screen - in English (Nick Grace, CRW Washington, Jul 11, Media Network blog via DXLD) BBC Monitoring has been publishing daily analyses of the content of Al-Alam TV, the Iranian service in Arabic which reaches into Iraq. Here are their latest conclusions (gh, DXLD) AL-ALAM TV CONTENT SURVEY 10 JULY 03 | Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring Middle East desk on 10 July . . .In terms of consistency in the use of what could be described as loaded language, Al-Alam TV talks both about the "Zionist government" and "Israel" and about the "Zionist war minister" and the "Israeli defence minister". There does not seem to be any specific reason why one term is used instead of the other. Al-Alam TV is at pains to present itself as an objective channel. The following trailer clearly sums up this pretension: "Events are unfolding rapidly one after the other. Those in a position to speak are competing with one another. Al-Alam network opens up another area of freedom for the viewers to make their voices heard and enable them to express their opinions because what goes on concerns them." Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 10 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Iraqi call signs being issued: Fred Matos, W3ICM/YI3DX, reports that he has issued 25 YI calls since he has been at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Baghdad. Matos, of Annapolis, Maryland, is on assignment in Baghdad and tasked with setting up an Iraqi telecommunication authority. Matos has a 100 W rig with him and is trying to gain access to antenna space on the roof of a former Republican Guard palace. QSL via S57DX (The Daily DX via ARRL July 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI AUTHORITY LAUNCHES WEBSITE. The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that is administering postwar Iraq has launched a website http://www.cpa-iraq.org The website carries transcripts of speeches by CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer and other officials, fact sheets on Iraqi ministries, public-service announcements, press releases, and official documents such as regulations and orders issued by the CPA ("RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July via RFE/RL Media Matters July 11 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. BAGHDAD BANDSCAN I have a good friend (non DXer) who's currently in Baghdad with the U.S. Army Reserves. I spoke with him the other night and asked if he could get ahold of an AM radio and do a bandscan. Here is what he sent me. I believe the receiver used was the stock receiver in a Toyota Prado (sp?) SUV. If you want any more details about these signals, feel free to email him directly I'm sure he wouldn't mind monitoring on a "when he has time" basis. He speaks English and Chinese but not Arabic, Farsi, etc etc. Anybody know what any of these are? Just curious. Interesting to see a 702 and a 711 signal, I'd think they'd interfere with each other, unless it was just a case of the scan function in the radio stopping on both frequencies for a single, relatively strong signal? Also, I don't know if this was taken at night or daytime. My friend also mentioned to me that he normally listens to a BBC World Service outlet in Baghdad on 98 MHz FM (Earl Higgins, St. Louis, MO, USA, IRCA via DXLD) james.-@us.army.mil [truncated] wrote: Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 21:23:31 -0700 Subject: AM stations hey got signals -- 540 576 612 630 657 702 711 972 1026 later, james --- Smile, make the world wonder what you are up to.. 1 914 360 3572, SPC James Hsiau, HHD, 1138th Engr Bn, APO AE 09335 (via Earl Higgins, IRCA via DXLD) ** ITALY. Radio Rasant on the "Astrid-Lindgren Prize" via IRRS- Shortwave As every second week-end in the month, we are announcing another program from Radio Rasant, a student's radio production from Sundern (Germany). This week program contains features on the "Astrid-Lindgren Prize", as well as plenty of music to suit everyone. Radio Rasant via IRRS-Shortwave can be heard at the following times on Saturday July 13, 2003: 1030-1130 CE[D]T (0830-0930 UT) on 13840 kHz 2130-2230 CE[D]T (1930-2030 UT) on 5775 kHz repeated on Sunday July 14 at the same times and frequencies. Check: http://www.radiorasant.org email: info@radiorasant.org IRRS-Shortwave is now on the air daily to Europe on 5775 kHz at 1900- 2130 UT (2100-2230 CE[D]T) and on Sat & Sun also on 13840 at 0800-1200 UT (1000-1400 CE[D]T). Check http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules for schedules and http://mp3.nexus.org for our 24 hrs streaming audio service. 73, Ron -- 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 (via Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Toshi Ohtake, del JSWC, me ha mencionado que como ya muchos lo saben, la NSB (Radio Tampa), de Japón el próximo 1 de Octubre 2003 cambiará de nombre. Por esa razón, están editando una nueva QSL que confirmará todos los reportes recibidos entre el 1/7 y el 30/9/03. Aquí se la escucha muy bien en las frecuencias de: Programa # 1 : 3925, 6055 y 9595 khz en // Programa # 2 : 3945, 6115 y 9760 khz en // Sus programas son en japonés y es una excelente verificadora (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, July 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Perhaps the most bizarre is North Korea, whose government broadcaster holds a contest for listeners every year. They invite ``our foreign friends`` to submit lyrics for a birthday song to sing the praises of the Great Leader, Kim Jong-Il (Sue Hickey, NF, CIDX Forum, July Messenger via DXLD) Er, isn`t he the Dear Leader? ** KURDISTAN. IRAQ/TURKEY: TURKISH KURDISH GROUP RESUMES RADIO BROADCASTS FROM NORTHERN IRAQ | Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA Kirkuk, 11 July: After a long hiatus, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), self-styled now as the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (Kadek), resumed its radio transmission on Friday [11 July] from an area in northern Iraq. MENA correspondent in northern Iraq said almost all bulletins broadcast so far warn PKK/Kadek members inside and outside Turkey against being fooled by the amnesty bill which is being mulled by the Turkish parliament. The would-be law offers PKK/Kadek members a pardon in return for their return to Turkey and supplying information about the activities of their organization. The radio described the bill as tantamount to an insult to all the organization, demanding full clemency to include first of all their leader Abdullah Ocalan, now jailed on the Turkish prison island of Emrali. Without a total amnesty, the bill would yield no radical solution to the problem in southeast Turkey, said the radio. Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in English 1402 gmt 11 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Dear MENA: would it be too much trouble at least to name the station, if not the frequency? (gh, DXLD) ** LEBANON [non]. VOICE OF FREE LEBANON -- RADIO LIBAN LIBRE Les émissions commencent par un code morse. Salut nationaliste de Liban libre + un chanson patriotique + une homme qui demande au libanais vivant hors du Liban de retourner a bayrouth + annonce radio Liban Liban libre la radio de l`amour, la paix et la révolution. + une chanson de Fairous. + Une autre annonce `la voix de libération`. Le commentaire politique : l`approche du fin du gouvernance de la famille Asad (Kallel.Mohamed, location unknown, July 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Merci, mais quelle est la fréquence, Kallel? (gh) ** LIBERIA. Latest info on V. of Liberty, 11515v, received 7/7: Our Church has started two Radio stations in Monrovia Liberia. We have an FM that reaches Monrovia and a shortwave that reaches the Muslim areas of Northern Africa. We have remained on the air during this war. We have been the only ones offering hope to these people but now we need your help. We need your prayers and we need Pastors and bible teachers to do radio programs and we need your support. Please email me morgan@wjie.org and I will send you photos and send me your fax number and I will fax you letters from Liberia. In Christ (via Jarmo Patala, Finland, July 10, dxing.info via DXLD) Doc Burkhart`s take on the Liberian situation and US involvement: http://www.wjiesw.com/NewsUpdate.htm (via gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RN joint broadcast and QSL with RCI: see CANADA ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. LARGE LIST OF NON-MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE FM TRANSLATOR APPLICATIONS PUBLISHED - PETITION TO DENY PROCEDURE OUTLINED A large number of FM translator applications was filed in March, in response to a public filing window. Now, the Commission has released a list of timely filed "singleton" applications that are not mutually exclusive with other applications submitted at that time. Here is the list: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2095A2.pdf All applicants shown have been asked to submit complete FCC Form 349 applications by August 29, 2003. FCC staff will then study the applications for acceptability and "CDBS-generated Public Notices" will list those applications determined to be acceptable for filing. A Petition to Deny must be filed within 15 days following the release of the pertinent Public Notice. Note that all of the California applications shown are in the commercial portion of the FM band (Channels 221-300). Since all entries are listed by channel number, the following web tool may be used to convert channels to frequencies: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/findvalues.html#FMFREQUENCY To read more about this important proceeding, see: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2095A1.doc (via CGC Communicator via Fred Vobbe, NRC-FMTV via DXLD) Here`s the Oklahoma portion; Educational Media Foundation = gospel huxters, but note the legitimate public radio stations involved: OU apps for Ada, Shawnee and Seminole, presumably to extend KGOU Norman - -- which OUGHT to be statewide; Chickasha for KCCU Lawton: In call cases, ``BNPFT`` appeared in the first column, removed here 20030311AJQ 141595 ADA OK 240 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030311AJS 141599 ADA OK 251 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030317IFL 150396 ADA OK 286 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030311AFF 142233 ALVA OK 229 GREAT PLAINS CHRISTIAN RADIO, INC. 20030317KVJ 147238 ANTLERS OK 235 K95.5, INC. 20030317FMD 153227 ANTLERS OK 281 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317JKF 156927 ARDMORE OK 271 THE SISTER SHERRY LYNN FOUNDATION 20030317JKN 156939 ARDMORE OK 299 THE SISTER SHERRY LYNN FOUNDATION 20030317KWD 147243 ATOKA OK 225 K95.5, INC. 20030317FMK 153233 BARTLESVILLE OK 289 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317LXK 157891 BIXBY OK 299 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030317KTQ 157301 BRISTOW OK 268 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030311AMM 142416 CHICKASHA OK 261 CAMERON UNIVERSITY 20030314BVJ 140527 CHICKASHA OK 265 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030311AKR 142431 DUNCAN OK 300 THE SISTER SHERRY LYNN FOUNDATION 20030317IHO 154557 EL RENO OK 261 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030310BHT 138882 EL RENO OK 265 CSN INTERNATIONAL 20030310BHR 138885 EL RENO OK 276 CSN INTERNATIONAL 20030314BWP 140496 ENID OK 222 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030317HQS 156415 ENID OK 227 E-STRING WIRELESS, LTD 20030317GBF 148125 GOLDSBY OK 253 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030317IHT 154564 GROVE OK 255 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317KPR 157239 HENRYETTA OK 271 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030314BWA 140510 HENRYETTA OK 275 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030317IHV 149514 HOBART OK 273 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317KYP 147250 HUGO OK 241 K95.5, INC. 20030317IHX 154570 HUGO OK 262 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030310BHJ 139146 KENO OK 247 CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC. 20030317KNH 157028 LAWTON OK 234 FRED R AND EVELYN K MORTON 20030317KPF 157040 LAWTON OK 247 FRED R AND EVELYN K MORTON 20030317KOQ 157037 LAWTON OK 288 FRED R AND EVELYN K MORTON 20030313BJQ 140455 LEXINGTON OK 290 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030317IIB 149518 LINDSAY OK 257 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317LFQ 157289 MCALESTER OK 298 K95.5, INC. 20030317FNJ 153252 MUSKOGEE OK 285 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030317DZQ 155787 NEWPORT OK 276 CALVARY CHAPEL OF TWIN FALLS, INC. 20030317BIF 145396 NORMAN OK 276 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030313BIQ 140182 NORTH ENID OK 291 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030310BHO 142069 OKLAHOMA CITY OK 221 CSN INTERNATIONAL 20030312AWV 139527 OKLAHOMA CITY OK 231 COMMUNITY BROADCASTING, INC. 20030317KEE 142082 OOLOGAH OK 234 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030317IIN 146382 PAWHUSKA OK 233 EDGEWATER BROADCASTING INC. 20030312APU 142080 PAWHUSKA OK 257 THE LOVE STATION, INC. 20030317LRH 157750 PRUE OK 300 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030317LMB 157688 PRYOR OK 260 JOHN JASON BENNETT 20030317JJY 156917 PURCELL OK 245 THE SISTER SHERRY LYNN FOUNDATION 20030317DZC 147381 SAND SPRINGS OK 293 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030311AIY 141575 SEMINOLE OK 252 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030311AJD 141580 SEMINOLE OK 276 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030311AJJ 141583 SEMINOLE OK 297 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030311AIS 139404 SHAWNEE OK 251 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 20030314BXG 140491 STILLWATER OK 292 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030314BVS 140516 TAHLEQUAH OK 263 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030312BBO 140427 THE VILLAGE OK 238 COMMUNITY BROADCASTING, INC. 20030314BFL 140310 TULSA OK 232 SHAMROCK COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 20030317DYO 147372 TULSA OK 255 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION 20030317KKE 157206 UNION CITY OK 290 CHARLES EDWARDS 20030317LAU 147258 VALLIANT OK 293 K95.5, INC. 20030314BYJ 140450 WAGONNER [sic] OK 281 EDUCATIONAL MEDIA FOUNDATION (via gh, DXLD) ** PALESTINE. PALESTINIANS TAKE STEPS TO REDUCE MEDIA INCITEMENT By Mohammed Assadi RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 9 - The Palestinian Authority has instructed local media to tone down anti-Israeli rhetoric in accordance with a U.S.-backed peace plan, and called on Israeli media to exercise restraint.. . http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters07-09-104629.asp?reg=MIDEAST (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Adán Mur, from Radio América, told me the new schedule for Radio América,: 1480 KHZ, 1 KW, ZP20 Radio América, Ñemby 1590 KHZ, 0.2 KW, Radio Villeta, Villeta 9905 KHZ, 0.2 KW, ZP20 Radio América, Villeta 15185 KHZ, 0.2 KW, ZP20 Radio América, Villeta (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, July 10, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** PERU. 9504.78, Radio Tacna, Tacna, 1045-1050, July 9. Spanish. News from CNN. Local ads: "Librería La Esperanza atiende diariamente..."; announcement and ID as: "Radio Tacna!! ...con sus jornadas deportivas, estará junto a usted... con Radio Tacna... fútbol profesional peruano..."; 33422 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** QATAR. TV Preview --- AL-JAZEERA, A CHANNEL TO ANOTHER WORLD By Ken Ringle, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, July 10, 2003; Page C01 For those Americans who see the Arab world only dimly across a vast cultural gulf, "Exclusive to Al-Jazeera," a documentary showing tonight at 10 on WMPT and WETA, is TV viewing as arresting as it is instructive. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35827-2003Jul9.html (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) Saw it on OETA; See also CANADA ** SOMALIA. Glenn, other friends, Following the tip in DXLD, I checked this out and heard Radio Galkayo on 6980 today at 1600. Good to have them back. A reasonable signal here in Nairobi, but spoilt by low audio level. Meanwhile, the audio on Radio Hargeysa 7530 has become more-or-less worthless. Regards, (Chris Greenway, Nairobi, Kenya, July 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Radio Exterior de España: Programa Dexista: "Amigos de la Onda Corta" (em Espanhol) - Apresentado na Transmissão para a Europa, aos sábados, dentro da emissão de 1100 UT nas frequências de 13.720 e 15.585 KHz. - Apresentado na Transmissão para o Japão, aos sábados, dentro da emissão de 1100 às 1159 UT na frequência de 9.660 KHz - Apresentado na Transmissão para a África, aos sábados, dentro da emissão de 1800 UT na frequência de 17.755 KHz. - Apresentado na Transmissão para as Américas, aos domingos, dentro da emissão de 0100 às 0200 UT nas seguintes frequências: 6.055 KHz para a América do Norte, 9.535 e 15.160 KHz para a América Central e em 6.020, 9.620, 11.680 e 15.160 KHz para a América do Sul. - Apresentado na Transmissão para o Iriente Médio, aos Domingos, dentro da emissão das 1600 UT, na frequência de 21.610 KHz (REE via Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - MG - Brasil, July 9, radioescutas via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Radio Dellen is broadcasting on a temporary license on 1602 kHz until 2200 UT on Monday, July 14 (midnight local time) and the last four hours of the broadcast we will have many guests on the show, wellknown performers, radio profiles and many more. So far Radio Dellen has received many reports from the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland) and also Germany. Further info about our station can be found on http://www.rock.x.se/radiodellen.htm (Ronny Forslund, Radio Dellen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The two weeks with Radio Dellen 1602 kHz on air are soon gone, but still we have one great evening for DX-ers. Although most of the program will be in Swedish some parts also will be in English. Monday night (July 14th) from 1800 up to 2200 UT (when Radio Dellen is closing down) there will be a special program hosted by Ronny Forslund and with some other members in Delsbo Radioklubb (DRAK) participating. There will be DX-tips, interviews with DX-personalities and much more. And of course some nice music. You´re welcome to phone in to the last transmission. Our number is +46 (0)651 15519. Or you can mail us on: radiodellen2003@hotmail.com For more information, and more updates closer to the program, please visit: http://www.rock.x.se/radiodellen.htm Welcome to listen to Radio Dellen 24 hours a day up to July 14th. 2200. Best regards (Jan Edh, Hudiksvall, Sweden. July 11, dxing.info via DXLD) ** SYRIA. 13610, R. Damascus, 2124-2142, 09/07, English. OM with news re GW in Africa, ferry sinking in Bangladesh. Arabic pops into commentary re Israel and Palestine. Full ID at 2137, "You are listening to Radio Damascus, the External Service of the Syrian Broadcasting System" followed by "Review of the Syrian Press". Good music audio; vox audio ranged from whisper-quiet to booming, QRM splatter via 13615, WEWN (Scott R. Barbour, Jr. NH, Sangean ATS 818, RF Systems MLB-1, RS longwire w/ RBA balun, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SYRIA [non]. ARABE RADIO -- ÉMISSION DU 20-06-2003 Les émissions sont commencées par 07 minutes du Koran et après une chanson islamique. La première émission du jour est `kayr kalem ma kala wa dal` ce qui veut dire `le mieux des paroles c`est parle peu avec une qualité meilleur`. L`émission consiste a une femme qui lie une information de l`actualité syrienne et un homme qui commente en critiquant le gouvernement Syrien et le partie Bath. Fin brutale des émissions à 1530 UT (Kallel.Mohamed, location unknown, July 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Merci, mais quelle est la fréquence, Kallel? (gh) ** TIBET. In 3-117, we had a schedule; it subsequently dawned on me, but I forgot to bring it up until now, that just as happened last year, the schedule for this station was in LOCAL time, not UT!! This becomes obvious when you notice that the earliest time is 0650 and the latest 0135. If this were UT, it would be very odd indeed not to sign on until the local afternoon and then run until sunrise or so. Again assuming Tibet is now on UT+8 like its Chinese imperialist masters, here is the schedule converted by subtracting 8 hours. BEWARE in the future of schedules from this station! The last portion about the English broadcast, strangely enough, was really in UT already, at 1630 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) China Tibet PBS Tibetan channel is scheduled [corrected] 2250-0735 on 594 4905 4920 5240 6110 6130 6200, 0950-1700 4905 4920 5240 6130 6200 7385 9490, 2250-0200 7125 7385, 1000-1535 9490 9585, 0950-1735 6110. English programme is 1630-1700 on 7385 (Sergey Kolesov, Ukraine, July World DX Club Contact via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. New Turkmen traffic rules ban smoking and mobile phone conversations [AND listening to radio] -- Source: Hoovers UK, 2003-04-19 Intro: In a resolution signed on 31 March 2003, our esteemed [Turkmen] President Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy [Nyyazow] the Great has approved the introduction of [new] traffic regulations which are to come into force as of 1 May this year. The document clarifies the duties and responsibilities of drivers, pedestrians, passengers and officials concerning the safety of traffic movement. The new regulations, updated to meet the present-day requirements, introduce certain measures such as a ban on smoking while driving a car, holding [mobile] phone conversations, listening to the radio and other measures all aimed at ensuring safety of movement and ensuring the mutual coordination and respect of its participants. http://www.tobacco.org [!] (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXLD) ** U K. SACKED BBC PAIR BEGIN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS Owen Gibson Thursday July 10, 2003 The Guardian The two BBC World Service journalists sacked by the corporation after it claimed to have spent £1m defending "malicious and vexatious" claims from the pair have started legal proceedings against BBC governors. Since the controversial sackings in February, Adli Hawwari, a Palestinian, and Dr Abdul-Hadi Jiad, an Iraqi, have consistently claimed the BBC flouted employment law by dismissing them without a fair hearing. Backed by the National Union of Journalists, they have organised a series of protests and pickets of BBC buildings, the latest coming yesterday when they campaigned outside the Radio Festival in Birmingham during a speech by the director general, Greg Dyke. Dr Jiad said today the two men and their supporters yesterday came face to face with Mr Dyke for the first time since they were sacked. "He was just blank-faced. I asked him to check if I had ever been warned or disciplined prior to my sacking and told him that we had been sacked on unfounded grounds. We spoke to him again on the way out and he told us to speak to his people." The two men are being represented by Imran Khan, the lawyer who acted for the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence in their case against police, who has issued proceedings demanding to see all the BBC's documentation on the case. Their solicitor, Lawrence Davies, has already written to the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, asking him to reconsider the corporation's decision to deny the two men an appeal hearing, which they say is in contravention of employment law and the European Human Rights Act. Mr Davies replied that he was standing by the decision of Mr Dyke and World Service chief Mark Byford to dismiss the men, who worked as producers in the Arabic department. The case is expected to come to court in November. Dr Jiad said today he was confident of success. "We have recovered from the initial demonising onslaught from the BBC. Firstly because the claims were unfounded and secondly because people up and down the country don't believe their claims. The response from our colleagues, trade unions and other journalists here and abroad has been tremendous," he said. The BBC claimed at the time the men had "made spurious and malicious complaints against colleagues", affecting the health and morale of staff. The pair had been involved in 17 employment tribunals and 20 appeals and had spent 51 days in court and numerous other hearings over the past five years. The NUJ, backing the two men, said the corporation's charges were "riddled with half-truths and falsehoods, attempting to justify their illegal action" and that its actions flouted the BBC's own internal guidelines (© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003, via Daniel Say, DXLD) BBC PENSION FUND COMES UP £1BN SHORT Final salary scheme will stay in place Nils Pratley Thursday July 10, 2003 The Guardian The BBC yesterday moved to reassure staff that it remains committed to offering final salary pensions as the corporation revealed that its pension fund will show a deficit of more than £1bn in next week's full-year accounts. The results, due to be presented to parliament on Tuesday, are nevertheless expected also to demonstrate the large gap between the BBC's cash resources for programming and those of its terrestrial rivals. Spending on content will have risen by 35%, or £616m, since Greg Dyke became director general three years ago, while BBC Worldwide, the corporation's main commercial arm, is understood to have generated £123m of cash last year, a rise of 16%. The pension fund deficit of £1bn - calculated under the new FRS17 accounting standard - compares with a surplus of the same amount a year ago and partly reflects the general decline in stock market values. The BBC described FRS17 as "contentious", even though John Smith, its director of finance, is a member of the Accounting Standards Board which introduced it. Under traditional actuarial methods, the fund has a surplus of £207m, down from £441m a year ago. It has 55,000 members, who are entitled to pensions worth two thirds of their final salary; the BBC wrote to them yesterday saying it is determined not to follow the example of many quoted companies in abandoning defined benefit schemes. "We see it as a key part of the overall remuneration package, and it is one of the benefits of working for the BBC which we wish to remain," wrote human resources director Stephen Dando. Mr Smith added: "The fund is healthy: it earns more income from its investment and contributions than it pays out. "It is essential that we take a long term view and do not get swayed by the ups and downs of the stock market and the short term impact it has on the scheme's value." He added that the modest bounce back in stock markets since the balance sheet date means that, even under FRS17 rules, the deficit is now £245m lower. Despite that bullish assessment, the BBC has already started to increase its contribution to the scheme from 4.5% of salary to 6%, and staff will begin the same process from next year. The BBC's increased spending reflects a three-year revamp of BBC1 under Mr Dyke and the launch of digital services, such as BBC4, and an expanded digital radio offering. The increased contribution from Worldwide - one of the most politically sensitive areas of the BBC, given the potential for cross-promotion - has been led by The Office, which has been sold to 60 countries and achieved sales of 1m on DVD and video within four months of its release. Other successes included Blue Planet and three children's programmes, The Tweenies, Bob the Builder and Teletubbies, now a perennial money spinner. Sharply higher content spending, however, means that the BBC's accounts are likely to show that the corporation is in debt for the first time since 1995. The BBC is legally obliged to limit its borrowing to £200m, and it is thought the figure is well within that ceiling at about £74m. It means, however, that the corporation has spent the £244m proceeds from the sale of its transmitter business a few years ago. That sum was always earmarked as funding for the launch of new channels. By 2006, the end of the BBC's current charter, the corporation should still be able largely to eliminate the debt. The licence fee will rise at 1.5% above inflation until then, and more effective collection is generating an extra £50m a year. Next week's accounts are understood to show that evasion rates have fallen from 7.9% to 7.2%. Mr Dyke and Gavyn Davies, the BBC chairman, will appear on Tuesday before the commons select committee for culture, media and sport to be questioned on the accounts. Guardian Unlimited (© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** U K. Speech given by BBC Director-General Greg Dyke to the The Radio Academy - Radio Festival in Birmingham 8 July 2003 http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/dyke_radio_festival.shtml (via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) Very long and wide-ranging, on topics such as; de-regulation in the US; BBC buildings, and programming; new local radio station for Coventry, etc. (gh, DXLD) ** U K. HIGH STAKES IN GOVERNMENT FEUDS WITH BBC --- The British and Israeli prime ministers both claim the broadcaster is unethical and reckless. --- By William Wallace, Special to The Los Angeles Times LONDON -- With its dulcet tones and extensive reach into the synapses of the nation, the British Broadcasting Corp. has a presence in British living rooms that long ago earned it the affectionate nickname "Auntie." The public broadcaster still is regarded as the default channel on big national occasions in Britain. And in the digital age, the BBC has evolved into a global, round-the-clock news brand, with a pedigree as the gold standard of independent journalism. But Auntie also has a sharp tongue. And at the moment, the BBC's words have embroiled it in unusually nasty and high-stakes clashes with two prime ministers: Labor leader Tony Blair at home, and Ariel Sharon in Israel. The two leaders have accused the BBC of being reckless and unethical in recent coverage. Both prime ministers have fought back ferociously, contending the broadcaster's lofty reputation makes it impossible to shrug off stories they believe are wrong. These are not polite protests. Sharon's government has severed relations with the BBC, denying it access to officials and refusing to rule out forcing the BBC to close its operations in Israel. The Israeli government's outrage followed the worldwide broadcast last month of the documentary "Israel's Secret Weapon," which examined the country's alleged development of biological, chemical and nuclear arms and included a claim that Israeli forces used a mysterious new gas against Palestinians in Gaza in February 2001. The Israeli government also has long-standing complaints about how it is portrayed on the BBC. The broadcaster's overall attitude toward Israel is "verging on anti-Semitic," spokesman Danny Seaman told British newspapers last week, adding that the BBC had an agenda "to delegitimize Israel [that] showed some of the attitudes once familiar in [the Nazi journal] Der Störmer." The BBC issued a statement defending its reporting and said Seaman's choice of words was "unfortunate." For his part, Blair contends the BBC did nothing less than "lie" when it ran reports suggesting that Downing Street manipulated British intelligence information last fall in order to - as the BBC report put it - "sex up" the case for war with Iraq. Facing persistent criticism over the failure to uncover the banned weapons on which he largely based his case for war, Blair said he could not allow claims of doctoring intelligence information to go unchallenged. "You could not make a more serious charge against a prime minister, that I ordered our troops into conflict on the basis of intelligence information that I falsified," Blair said in an interview Sunday with the Observer newspaper. "The charge happens to be wrong." On Monday, both the broadcaster and the government rushed to claim victory after a parliamentary committee studying the handling of intelligence on Iraq issued its report. The findings were sufficiently vague to allow each side to assert it had been exonerated. There is no sign anyone is ready to kiss and make up. The BBC's battle with Blair is perhaps the most ill-tempered exchange between broadcaster and politician in recent memory. In an open letter to Downing Street, the BBC's director of news, Richard Sambrook, accused the prime minister's office of trying "to intimidate the BBC in its reporting of events leading up to the war and during the course of the war itself." Relations between the occupants of Downing Street and the rich broadcaster, which boasts eight TV channels, 10 radio networks and an annual budget of $4.25 billion, are, by nature, perennially fraught. Blair's office already had a reputation for confronting and castigating journalists whose stories it didn't like, a culture nurtured by Alastair Campbell, the prime minister's acid-tongued communications director. "Alastair's attitude is you should keep the pressure on the media the whole time, keep them on the defensive," said Lance Price, Campbell's former deputy at Downing Street. "Especially the BBC. He likes to prod the beast and see how it reacts. And it works." Campbell's tirades over coverage he deems unfair to Blair are legendary at the BBC. "Let's just say a letter from Alastair is no rare thing," one senior BBC journalist told The Times. The reporter said he had seen some of the private correspondence Campbell sent to BBC executives during the Iraq war, and the language was "very, very bitter." The current storm, which has been front-page news in Britain for two weeks, stems from one controversial BBC radio report. On May 29, the broadcaster quoted a single, unnamed official who alleged that in the months leading up to the war, Downing Street insisted - against intelligence advice - on pushing the dubious claim that Saddam Hussein's regime could launch chemical or biological warheads in as few as 45 minutes. Campbell and Blair first tried privately to get the BBC to retract the allegation. When the BBC refused, and after what he described as "a sheaf of correspondence," Campbell took his argument into the public arena. On June 26, in testy exchanges with the House of Commons committee investigating the use of intelligence on Iraq, Campbell said he found it "incredible that people can report, based on one single, anonymous, uncorroborated source, that the prime minister, the Cabinet, the intelligence agencies, people like myself, connived to persuade Parliament to send British forces into action on a lie." "Until the BBC acknowledges that is a lie, I will keep banging on, that correspondence file will get thicker, and they had better issue an apology pretty quickly." Instead, the BBC fired back with its own accusations. In another open letter, Sambrook said Campbell was "conducting a personal vendetta against a particular journalist whose reports on a number of occasions have caused you discomfort." That prompted Campbell to show up unannounced at the studios of rival broadcaster Channel 4. In a moment that would be comparable to White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer storming ABC's World News Tonight to trash the journalism at NBC's Nightly News, Campbell walked onto Channel 4's live evening news broadcast for an extraordinary 10-minute finger-jabbing attack on the BBC. "I don't want 12 pages of weasel words, sophistry and a defense of unethical journalism," he said of the BBC. "Far better would be a 12- word apology." The BBC said it would not apologize. On Sunday, the broadcaster convened a meeting of its board of directors, which reviewed the reporting that went into the original story and then came out counter- punching. The board "emphatically rejects Mr. Campbell's claim that large parts of the BBC had an agenda against the war," its members said in a statement. "We call on Mr. Campbell to withdraw these allegations of bias against the BBC." The BBC's refusal to cave in has astounded critics. For one thing, the broadcaster's top executives are Labor government appointees. Chairman Gavyn Davis, an economist, is a close friend of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown (Davis' children were part of Brown's wedding party and his wife, Sue Nye, works as an unpaid advisor to the minister). And Director-General Greg Dyke, the BBC's senior day-to-day executive, was widely regarded with suspicion by his journalists when he was appointed in 1999 because of his personal links to Blair. His arrival aroused public anxiety about whether the BBC would keep its independence, especially after it was revealed that the independently wealthy Dyke had donated more than $70,000 to the Labor Party (critics took to calling the BBC the Blair Broadcasting Corp.). But he has shown feistiness in his defense of BBC journalists during the current furor. "We all think Greg has come through wonderfully," a BBC journalist told The Times. The broadcaster also is operating under the shadow of having to apply to renew its 10-year charter, or license, in 2006. That charter is awarded at the government's discretion, and several official reviews of how the BBC provides its services are pending. Meanwhile, private broadcasters and hostile right-wing newspapers have begun grumbling about the license-fee arrangement that provides the BBC with about 90% of its revenue. Each household in Britain pays $183 annually for the right to have a television, something critics describe as a cultural poll tax. For their part, both Downing Street and the Israeli government insist the issue propelling their anger is the BBC's responsibility to a higher standard of journalism. Tabloid newspapers can tailor their coverage to conform to particular political views, Campbell told the House of Commons committee, saying he happily did so himself back when he was an "avowedly pro-Labor, anti-Conservative" editor of the Daily Mirror. "The BBC is different," he said. "The BBC has got a deserved reputation around the world, but when they have bad journalism amid the good they have a responsibility to admit that." Seaman echoed that theme in an interview in Jerusalem with The Times. "It's the organization we have a problem with," he said. "If it had been any other organization, it wouldn't have mattered so much." "But because of the reputation of the BBC and because of the history, it compounds the disappointment." Times staff writer Megan K. Stack in Jerusalem contributed to this report (via Shoptalk Magazine via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) GOVERNMENT STEPS UP PRESSURE ON BBC By James Blitz and Tim Burt, Financial Times; Jul 09, 2003 The feud between the government and the BBC was rejoined last night when the Ministry of Defence claimed it had identified the source of allegations that Downing Street "doctored" dossiers on Iraqi weapons and that he was not "involved in the process of drawing up the intelligence parts of the report". . . http://tinyurl.com/gnsa (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. SURVIVAL LESSON FROM A BBC COMPANY MAN BY STEFAN STERN --- Financial Times; Jul 09, 2003 Organisations have survived delayering, downsizing, right-sizing and restructuring. Company man (and woman) has survived too. But when the writer Anthony Sampson published Company Man: the rise and fall of corporate life in 1995, he described a world in which the old-style organisation or corporation had, in his view, almost vanished. . . http://tinyurl.com/gnrk (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. EUROPE: BBC WORLD NOW FREE-TO-AIR IN EUROPE | Text of press release by BBC Worldwide on 10 July BBC World, the BBC's commercially funded 24-hour international news and information channel, is now broadcasting free-to-air across continental Europe on the Astra 1H satellite at 19.2 degrees east. With this new satellite position, BBC World has become available in an additional 2.4 million households across Europe, in particular France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. Jeff Hazell, Director of Distribution, BBC World, said: "We are delighted that BBC World is now being broadcast in digital on Astra 1H. This new orbital location will further strengthen our distribution in Europe, making the channel more accessible to cable and satellite platform operators." Source: BBC Worldwide press release, London, in English 10 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. Save VoA/RFE! --- Ask Your Member of Congress to Help Save Baltic Language Radio Broadcasts --- July 8, 2003 Washington, DC (JBANC) --- The House subcommittee that deals with funding for Baltic language radio services is scheduled to begin deliberation of the State Department Appropriations bill on Wednesday, {July} 9. Floor votes on both appropriations and authorization bills are also possible in the coming days. Please contact your Members of Congress to ask them to support the restoration of funding to the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Baltic language services. For the Appropriations bill, it is especially important to contact Chairman Bill Young (R-FL) of the House Appropriations committee and Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) of the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) subcommittee. Other important members to contact are Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (D-WI) and CJS Ranking Member José Serrano (D-NY). Other CJS subcommittee members are: Harold Rogers (R-KY), Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Charles Taylor (R-NC), Ralph Regula (R-OH), Vice Chair David Vitter (R-LA), John Sweeney (R-NY), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Bud Cramer (D-AL), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN) A complete list of Appropriations committee members and contact information can be obtained by visiting http://congress.org (U.S. Congress/House Appropriations in the drop down menu). Talking Points --- Language in both Senate and House versions of the State Department Authorization bill supports saving the services. The Senate bill (S.925) asks for restoration of $8.9 million. The House bill (H.R. 1950) supports a two-year buffer before any of the 14 language services, including Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian, can be eliminated. The authorization language should be supported. Please mention that the language promoted by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Joseph Biden (D-DE) in the Senate authorization bill and Congressmen Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) in the House bill favors the restoration of the language services. Please remind your Members of Congress that by losing broadcasts to the Central and East European region and the Baltic countries, the United States is risking losing leverage for its public image there. American public diplomacy has been on the defensive and it is too early to let go of its presence in the region. It is vital that America's voice be heard. Baltic language broadcasting offers objective news and analysis about America and the world. /A press-release from The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc./ (via Sergei Sosedkin, July 9, DXLD) ** U S A [non?]. Hi Glenn, We got this as spam in the RCI e-mailbox, but I thought you'd like to see it. I wonder if the [1620-40] station they mention is that Hasidic pirate in the NYC area [1710] which has often been mentioned in DXLD? 73 (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In case you haven't heard, there's a new program making waves (Tsunami style) on the radio: Living With Moshiach "Living With Moshiach" can be heard live every Tuesday evening, 9:00, on the clear, strong signals of 620-AM, WSNR, a station with a listening audience of 25,000-50,000 people per program. * Living With Moshiach can also be heard at *** Talklinecommunications.com ***(live simulcast), Chabad.info (all week), and (twice daily) on Radio Moshiach And Redemption [1620-40]AM. Hosted by Rabbi Eliezer Gold, Living With Moshiach features various experts on the Rebbe's teachings on Moshiach and Redemption, and focuses on the relevance of these teachings to our current era. * Living With Moshiach invites your suggestions, advertisements, and participation. Simply pick up the phone and dial {718} 467-8330 or by email: livingwithmoshiach@verizon.net Learn about Moshiach -- http://www.moshiach.com (via Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. A LOS ANGELES RADIO STATION JOINS OTHERS IN SUSPENDING MICHAEL SAVAGE The number of radio stations that have pulled controversial radio talk-show host Michael Savage off the air following antigay remarks he made on his since-canceled cable TV program has grown to five. Los Angeles's KRLA-AM (870) suspended Savage Nation on Tuesday . . . http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?id=9216&sd=07/11/03 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) SAVAGE APOLOGIZES FOR REMARKS THAT LED TO FIRING Michael Savage, the conservative talk-show host fired by cable news channel MSNBC for wishing AIDS on a caller, on Tuesday apologized for his remarks. . . http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?id=9205&sd=07/10/03 (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. MORNING RADIO CO-HOST SUES STATION THAT FIRED HER Posted Monday, July 7, 2003 - 7:38 pm, By Andy Paras, STAFF WRITER A former Upstate radio personality says she was fired for opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Roxanne Cordonier, who went by the name Roxanne Walker on the air at WMYI-FM/MY 102.5 in Greenville [SC], alleges she was belittled, reprimanded and ultimately fired on April 17 for disagreeing with her co-hosts on the "Love and Hudson" show. WMYI, its parent company Clear Channel Communications, Bill McMartin, the company's regional vice president and general manager and Greg McKinney, station program director, are all named as defendants in the suit . . http://www.greenvilleonline.com/news/2003/07/07/200307079700.htm (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW RADIO SIGNAL TO GIVE BOOST TO SMALL AIRPORTS By LESLIE MILLER, The Associated Press, 7/10/03 7:05 PM HERNDON, Va. (AP) -- Airplanes will eventually be able to land in bad weather at thousands of small airports thanks to a radio signal switched on early Thursday morning at the Federal Aviation Administration's command center. It took nine years, nearly a billion dollars and a team of space scientists to get the satellite-based signal to do what it's supposed to: tell pilots where they are in the air within 5 feet. The system corrects the global positioning system's signal, which is only accurate within the space of a football field. Federal aviation officials said turning on the signal was a huge step forward in exploiting the potential of GPS for air traffic control. Once the system is fully deployed, the FAA will be able to phase out some of its expensive ground-based navigational aids. "It is a form of rocket science," said FAA chief Marion Blakey, acknowledging the project is several years behind schedule and over budget. Still, she said, the wide area augmentation system represents a huge technological leap from the days before World War II, when pilots navigated by following bonfires on the ground. The new system works like this: Signals from GPS satellites, which get distorted in the ionosphere, are received by a network of ground reference stations. The stations correct the signals and relay them through a master station, which relays them back up to communications satellites. Pilots receive those signals in the cockpit. Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, predicted small airports will flourish because they will no longer need at least $2 million worth of ground-based navigation systems for planes to land on their runways in bad weather. The system will also allow airline pilots to fly shorter, more direct routes and faster descents, so more planes will be able to land per hour, Blakey said. Charlie Keegan, the FAA's associate administrator for research and acquisitions, said the system will make it safer and easier to fly. Pilots using the wide area augmentation system can fly their approach to the runway by aligning the plane with a line on a display in the cockpit. The FAA has designed 560 approaches for 281 airports and will design another 300 within a year, Keegan said. Only a dozen or so pilots now use the wide area augmentation system with ground-based backups in their planes, he said. The FAA hasn't certified receivers yet, but expects to do so by this fall. Boyer said 25,000 private pilots have a receiver that can receive the new signal with a minor upgrade. Japan and Europe are building similar systems that will be compatible with that in the United States, creating a worldwide navigation capability. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said commissioning the system "moves us closer to realizing the aviation potential of GPS and the precision it can add to the world's safest and most complex airspace system." ------ On the Net: Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov Wide area augmentation systems: http://gps.faa.gov/Programs/WAAS/waas.htm (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. GOODBYE BAR CODES: PACKAGES WITH TRANSMITTERS ON THE WAY By EMILY GERSEMA, The Associated Press, 7/9/03 3:09 AM WASHINGTON (AP) -- Razor blades and medicines packaged with pinpoint- sized computer chips and tiny antennae that eventually could send retailers and manufacturers a wealth of information about the products -- and those who buy them -- will start appearing in grocery stores and pharmacies this year. Within two decades, the minuscule transmitters are expected to replace the familiar product bar codes, and retailers are already envisioning the conveniences the new technology, called "radio frequency identification," will bring -- even as others are raising privacy concerns. A grocery store clerk will know immediately when the milk on the shelf has expired, for example, and replace it before a customer can choose it. Stores could quickly pull from the shelves tainted and damaged products that are recalled or have expired, especially important in health care items. "It would help you manage your inventory a lot better," says Todd Andrews, spokesman for the Rhode Island-based CVS pharmacy chain that will soon test the chips and antennae on its prescription medicines. CVS's 4,000 stores fill millions of prescriptions each year but many customers forget to pick them up. "If you could utilize RFID technology to tell you that a prescription is in the waiting bin, maybe the product could say: 'I've been here 10 days and I haven't been picked up yet.' Then, you could call the patient," Andrews says. The technology builds upon the UPC (Uniform Product Code) symbol and bar codes that, when read by a scanner, enable manufacturers and retailers to keep up with their prices and inventories. A computer chip smaller than the head of an ant and a thin antenna attached to a bottle, box, can or package will alert retailers and suppliers when a product is taken off a store shelf or moved out of a warehouse. A radio signal is beamed to an electronic reader, which then delivers a message to a computer in the store or factory. CVS, Procter & Gamble and The Gillette Co. are among the 100 retailers and manufacturers that have put up a total of $15 million for research on the new tags at the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other Auto-ID labs at the University of Cambridge in England, Adelaide University in Australia, Keio University in Japan and USG-ETH in Switzerland are also working on the technology. Radio frequency identification technology is not new. The tiny chips and small antennae already are familiar to workers equipped with security cards that, when waived in front of a receiver, unlock the doors to their offices or relay information about the bearer to a guard. The technology's potential for sending retailers and others information about consumers is already raising privacy concerns, however. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of a watchdog organization, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said retailers should be required to disable the tags before a consumer leaves a store. "Simply stated, I don't think most people want their clothes spying on them," Rotenberg said. "It's also clear that there could be some very invasive uses of these techniques if merchants use the tracking technology to spy on their customers after purchase." Researchers developing RFID tags for products so far have focused on the supply chain and limited the range at which a product could be detected. Once their use becomes universal the cost of the tags could be as little as a nickel each, they say. Sanjay Sarma, the lead researcher at the Auto-ID Center in Massachusetts, says that by adding more functions to the chip, installing a battery and attaching a longer antenna, a receiver far away could read all the information on a chip, including its exact location. Homes equipped with receiver-readers could alert consumers when they are running low on orange juice or their prescription for heart medicine is about to expire. Hooked up to a national network like the Internet, the at-home devices could also provide details to marketers about a family's eating and hygienic habits. Sarma acknowledges that gigantic privacy concerns the technology raises, saying one way to address them would be letting consumers disable the chips once they leave a checkout counter. "Any technology can be abused and we've got to be prepared, be watchful for the abuse," Sarma said. Ron Margulis, a spokesman for the National Grocers Association, said the privacy concerns are far outweighed by the benefits of RFID. Retailers, he said, could respond much more quickly to product recalls and prevent people from becoming ill from tainted products. "You do give up a bit of privacy but the benefit could be that you live," said Margulis. ------ On the Net: Auto ID Center: http://www.autoidcenter.org/main.asp (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 11735, Radio Oriental, Montevideo --- Los pasados dias 8 y 9 de Julio, he escuchado a una emisora emitiendo en español entre 1955-2025+. Escuché el nombre 'Oriental', pero no la pude identificar al 100% debido a un fuerte heterodino en la misma frecuencia por interferencia cuando estaba buscando a Radio Tanzania desde Zanzíbar. También, mucha molestia de un 'jamming' con música china en 11740 khz. Puede ser la reactivación de Radio Oriental, estoy seguro en un 95%. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, July 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. R. Tashkent is also running a contest called ``The Friendship Bridges`` where you can win ``great prizes`` -- last time I won a videotape and I can`t watch it because it`s in European format! The questions are too long for me to get into here right now, but they deal with things such as ``when did your country establish diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan`` If you want the questions e-mail me or better yet, check out the station`s Web site (Sue Hickey, sue.hickey@warp.nfld.net CIDX Forum, July Messenger via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MUSEA +++++ HISTORIC RADIO PICTURES Chalk Hills Educational Media`s Virtual Museum is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preservation and presentation of historically and culturally interesting inventions, events and places. There are some photos of various AM radio installations back in the 1930s and 1940s at the The Historic Radio Pictures page: http://www.chalkhillmedia.org/Musem/historic_radio_pictures_page.htm (Sheldon Harvey, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ RADIO AS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT People tend to think of radio and music as two separate things. Fortunately for the human race, some folks have thought "outside the box" when it comes to these. The results of using radios as instruments, including radio sounds in compositions, has enriched the collective whole of art and culture. Various people have discovered that radios are great sound sources. Artists like John Cage, as long ago as 1942, had performers tuning AM radios and the resultant output of the receivers was considered to be the "music." Other composers have taken recordings of radio signals and mixed them in with their compositions. Karlheinz Stockhausen was renowned for his blending of short wave signals in with his ensemble's music. His Hymnen and Kurzwellen albums are good examples of this. Stockhausen also wrote interpretive scores for short wave receivers. The latter part of the twentieth century was filled with people sampling radio sources and mixing them in with tunes. From The Beatles' I Am The Walrus to assorted avant-garde groups like Can, various musicians discovered how beneficial such a merger could be. Bands like Negativeland even made a career of this. One excellent work of theirs is Time Zones, a piece using such divergent elements as Radio Moscow broadcasts, WWV's leap second announcement, ham radio repeater chatter, and AM talk show samples. The British group Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark cleverly used the scan function of a Sanyo short wave radio to create a catchy riff on Radio Waves. The one factor which links all these different talented people is that they weren't afraid to try radically new techniques. They viewed radio, not just as a way to deliver music but to actually compose it. Since there will always be those who refuse to be in lock step with everybody else, society is sure to continue having it's creative element coming up with new uses for technology. Yours, (Bruce Atchison, freelance writer and electronic music composer http://gideon.www2.50megs.com ve6xtc@telusplanet.net July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?" --- Screaming Lord Sutch See Bruce`s website for free downloads of some of his own compositions and to order his CDs (gh) DB'S AND S-UNITS In DXLD 3-122 [AUSTRALIA] David Hodgson KG4TUY was quoted with a technical argument about the reason hams may not be able to communicate when the band is open from the USA to Australia for higher power signals like Radio Australia. His argument contained some technical inaccuracies you should be aware of: "The difference between 100 kW and 1 kW is over 18 db." This statement is true but inexact. The power difference between 100 kW and 1 kW is exactly 20 dB. "Assuming you had a nice solid S9 copy of RA, 30db below that, would be S0." The accepted standard for SW receivers is 6 dB per S-Unit. Thus 30 dB would be the equivalent of 5 S-Units. So if a signal measures S-9 on a receiver whose design corresponds to the 6 Db per S-Unit standard, a signal 30 dB below that level should measure S-4. "Even though SSB is a more efficient mode then AM 30+db more signal is a huge difference." SSB transmission has a 6 to 9 dB advantage over AM depending on whether one is dealing with peak or average power. There were several articles about this in the ham literature in the 1950's as the war raged between the proponents of this new fangled technology and the AMers. One article in the 1970's by an AMer, gasping for air as his ship slowly sunk below the waves, attempted to show that AM was more efficient if sync detection was employed on the receive end and the sideband energy was coherently added between the upper and lower sidebands. The outcome of this flap was a general consensus that 6-9 dB was probably a representative advantage for SSB under conditions and using equipment normally used by hams. The analysis by Mr. Hodgson ignores the fact that SWL's typically use a fairly non-directional pattern receive antenna simply because they normally do not use yagi antennas. Hams on the other hand normally do use beam antennas at 21 MHz. The receive gain of such an antenna must be factored into the analysis in addition to the transmit gain. That will reduce the advantage Radio Australia has over a full power ham station by about 9 dB since the ham link typically has a yagi at both ends at this frequency. So SSB and receive antenna gain will narrow the advantage by as much as 18 dB (9dB SSB plus 9dB receive antenna gain). Instead of the calculated 30 dB advantage, Radio Australia to a non-directional receive antenna would only have a 12 dB advantage (30 dB minus 18 dB) or about 2 S-Units. Bottom line is that one should have had an S-7 path for two first class ham stations if the RA signal on AM was S-9. A better explanation for the absence of 2 way ham conversation is more likely related to the time of day. At 2315 UT on Monday, July 7, it is mid-day Tuesday in the more populous areas of Southeastern Australia. Most of the mates were probably toiling while their billy boiled as they quaffed a Foster's while they waited for Matilda to quit waltzing and make some bloody lunch. You did not hear anything from North America at this time because the skip is normally to the west near sunset and your first hop from Enid, OK probably landed in the Pacific Ocean. 73, ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And see next item -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ POWERLINE COMMUNICTIONS +++++++++++++++++++++++ Glenn: I have done my very small part concerning the fight against BPL by letting the FCC know my views during their NOI via the Electronic Comment Filing System, making a donation to the ARRL spectrum defense fund, and perhaps most importantly, I`ve discussed the BPL issue at length, with other hams over the air both locally on a 2 meter repeater, as well as over a number of hf frequencies. With the further deregulation of media ownership by the FCC in early June, I think we will see even more of a decline in the diversity of view points expressed over commercial media, than we have so far. There are some very real free speech issues at hand when one entity owns most of the media outlets in a major market. I think it`s inevitable in such a situation that a subtle manipulation of public perception will take place, dictated by the political bias of the media owners. Fewer and fewer people will have direct control over what the masses see on TV, hear over the radio, and read in newspapers. With this in mind, I think it is important that short wave radio in general, and amateur radio in particular, be preserved. There is no commercial motivation and little commercial value (outside the manufacture of radio gear) to short wave listening or ham radio. These hobbies exist not because of profit, but because a shared love of the medium of radio which dates back to the earliest days of experimentation. Certainly this same spirit motivates you, Glenn, in your production of DXLD. In the process of doing so you are providing a valuable forum for the exchange of ideas that would not be possible by any commercial outlet. The FCC`s recent position on deregulation of media ownership, and especially the commission`s unreserved support of BPL, show that the FCC has a definite agenda when it comes to promoting the interests of corporations and the process of money making over other interests such as amateur radio and public utilities. This agenda appears to be so strong among some commissioners, that there is a willingness to disregard the protection of radio spectrum of licensed services even including police departments, ambulance, and other "first responders" who are licensed for operation well below 80 MHz, i.e. in the proposed range of BPL. The publication of books, the internet, and short wave radio are perhaps the last forums of pure free speech we have. The medium of television and radio in this country are increasingly manipulated by the power of profit, and the effect this is having on our liberty is alarming. For the first real response to the FCC concerning BPL by the ARRL check out: http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2003/07/08/?nc=1 Thanks again Glenn for providing a medium for my thoughts and views. 73, (David KG4TUY Hodgson, TN, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO STAMPS ++++++++++++ EKKO EKKO stamps that were printed back in the 1920s and 1930s by the American Bank Note Company for the EKKO stamp company in Chicago. The American Bank Note Company printed many items, including money for foreign countries in addition to postage stamps. Postage stamps are ``legal documents`` which is why you will find them on old documents, canceled, such as birth certificates, etc. These stamps were issued to AM broadcast band stations. Just do a search on EKKO STAMP; for starters: Adventist World Radio included the EKKO on their QSL card: http://www181.pair.com/otsw/AWR-Stamps.html ``the 1920s broadcast radio's equivalent to ham radio's QSL cards`` Some nice close ups of the stamps: http://www.antiqueradio.com/gilbertcombs_ekko_6-97.html Like the stamps that were made for the mattress tags, whiskey caps, etc. the EKKO stamps are known as ``cinderellas`` to the stamp world, although unlike the others mentioned, are not depicted in stamp catalogs: http://www.rigastamps.com/cindprim/columns/ekko/ This link actually shows the EKKO stamp album: http://home.earthlink.net/~mri/ This site actually has a ``proof of reception`` form and card: http://uv201.com/Misc_Pages/letterheads_6.htm http://www.uskafr.ch/articles/hb9rs/hb9rs_qslstamps.pdf (Konnie Rychalsky, July 7, swl at qth.net via DXLD) One of the best places to get info on these stamps is: http://home.earthlink.net/~mri/ They are on EBAY all (most of) the time, usually go for $5 plus per stamp. KFI (Los Angeles) gave them out a few years ago with QSL cards (70's), although they were not the EKKO printed stamps varieties. I recall one not to long ago (within 10 years) from some AM radio station or another, but can't put my finger on it right now. A slight clarification: ||Like the stamps that were made for the mattress tags, whiskey caps, etc. the EKKO stamps are known as ``cinderellas`` to the stamp world, although unlike the others mentioned, are not depicted in stamp catalogs|| One major difference here. While all of these stamps mentioned above are called "cinderellas" (a term used to mean non-main stream stamp issues), only the items that actually resemble stamps should be considered as cinderellas. The prime difference is that most of these stamps (caps, etc) were issued by some form of government in order to show proof of a "tax" having been paid on the item. They were usually printed by the government and issued as some form of revenue stamps (items). The EKKO and other "radio verification" stamps were issued as a promotional affair to get people interested in listening to radio stations and trying to hear all 50 states (for awards). These "stamps" were also printed by a private printing company. Quite a large hobby developed around the collecting of these items. Hence, they aren't ever going to show up in "Stamp Catalogs". You can get them (not cheaply) at a lot of stamp dealers, internet auctions, and yes Martha, even estate sales from time to time (the last being the cheapest way to get them). Hope this helped somewhat. Check out the above site and all your questions will be answered (Bob Combs, KCA6RC New Mexico, ibid.) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ SHETLAND ISLANDS WEB RECEIVER SOON Javaradio plans to have a new web receiver in the Shetland Islands soon, maybe in about a month. I believe the receiver will be an Icom PCR 1000. The return of Prague Javaradio still hasn't happened. You can find Javaradio at http://www.javaradio.com/ Independent web receiver in Zamora, Spain hasn`t been online for a while, as far as I know. I hope this radio isn't gone for good. Likewise Visualradio web radio in Switzerland may be gone also (Bradford Wall, San Bernardino, California, USA, July 3, EDXP via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ CUMBRE DX PROPAGATION REPORT Three M class flares have occurred over the last week, On July 6, 9 and 10, all causing fadeouts. Solar wind speed was elevated due to coronal hole effects until July 7, leading to only fair conditions over high latitude paths. A coronal hole windstream is currently affecting the earth, with possible minor storm periods in the geomagnetic field for the next 2 days. Solar wind speed is not that high at present but is quite southward oriented causing the elevated levels. After July 12 this should calm and good conditions are forecast until July 18; however isolated M class flares are still a possibility which may cause some fadeouts. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, July 11, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-122, July 9, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1190: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825; Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070, Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039; Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330 on 7445/15039 Sun 0030 on WINB 12160 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html [from Thu] MUNDO RADIAL on WWCR. The new July posted schedule shows a third airing, Tue 2130 on 15825, in addition to Wed 2100 and Fri 2115, all on 15825 (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL: See AUSTRALIA [and non] ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB-AUSTRALIA --- I was invited to attend a meeting with HCJB-AUS management here in Melbourne on June 30, to discuss a number of issues concerning programming, signal effectiveness, the possible introduction of a special feature known as "Australian DX Communications", publicity, and professional frequency management. Unfortunately, the meeting was cancelled at the last moment, and I have now disassociated myself from the Australian-based arm of HCJB. Sorry! (Bob Padula, EDXP World Broadcast Magazine July 2, used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) Well, per previous, it looks like they adopted Bob`s proposal of splitting broadcast time into morning and evening blox (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. APPARENT LACK OF 15M HAM ACTIVITY Glenn: For the last several years I have enjoyed and appreciated the hard work you have put into DXLD. I know of no other single person who over the decades has done more to enhance and promote the hobby of SWLing, then you. For this reason, I found your observation of the apparent lack of 15 meter ham activity particularly disturbing. Please allow me to make a few observations of my own. The tone of your comment implied there is an indifference, or worse, laziness in the amateur radio community when it comes to taking advantage good HF band openings. I can tell you this is simply not the case. The ham bands are buzzing with DX activity. If anything, the opposite is true. It is not uncommon to have pileups of 30 or more stations on one frequency all trying to reach some far off operator. The difference between 100 kW and 1 kW is over 18 db. This is just transmitter power. I do not know what RA uses for an antenna, but I bet it's got a little more gain then the typical ham radio installation. But let`s say very conservatively the RA antenna has a gain of 12 db over a very nice, high gain, amateur radio station beam antenna. Now you are talking about a difference of around 30 db between RA and a ham station! Assuming you had a nice solid S9 copy of RA, 30db below that, would be S0. Even though SSB is a more efficient mode then AM 30+db more signal is a huge difference. There is simply not a usable propagation path for low power amateur communications between Australia and the USA during this time of year at the time and frequency you were listening. The fact you could hear RA well, did not mean there was automatically a band opening for SSB amateur communications. Having said all this, one can hear and work, on a fairly regular basis, VKs on 20 and 17 meters late at night in the summer, here in the USA. The last Australian I worked was VK7GK in Tasmania, on 25 May, on 17 meters. I was using only 100 watts SSB, and a simple half wave wire dipole. It was 0555 or 5 minutes to 1:00 AM local time. The last comment you made: "If that`s all the interest they have in 14m (sic), it might as well be turned over to PLC = BPL" is perhaps the most ignorant thing I`ve ever seen you put into writing. BPL is a serious threat, which looms not just over amateur radio, but all users of the HF and the lower VHF spectrum. The FCC appears to be a proponent of this technology. In its recent NOI (notice of inquiry), the commission asked for comments on how to better facilitate BPL, which included the distinct possibility of rewriting part 15 regulations to allow even higher levels of broadband RF interference, than is currently permitted. The last thing we need now is some one who is well respected in the SWL community like yourself, publicly stating it does not matter whether BPL is implemented or not, because there is no real interest in amateur radio spectrum by those who are licensed for operation there. As a licensed amateur operator, I strongly disagree with your assumption. I suggest that the reason you heard no ham activity is that there was not an effective band opening for low power communications (despite your good reception of RA), rather then some wide spread disinterest on the part of hams. Considering the harmful nature of your comments, I respectfully suggest you publicly retract the referred to statement. 73, (David KG4TUY Hodgson, TN, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All right, I so retract! Elsewhere in DXLD, below in this issue no exception, it should be clear we have been publicizing and opposing the BPL threat. I was trying to stir up some comment, and it seems I succeeded. I am not the first, however, to bemoan hams listening rather than calling to probe band openings; hams themselves do that (Glenn) {See also discussion at bottom of 3-123 on dB and S-units, and David`s follow-up under PLC} ** CAMBODIA. Re Beehive Radio: Hi Glenn, The frequency is 105.0 MHz according to Alan Davies' list of radio stations in Cambodia I found at http://asiaradio.crosswinds.net/cbglocs.htm 73, (Andy Sennitt, Holland, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. SUMMER SOUNDS ON CBC RADIO http://www3.cbc.ca/sections/newsitem_redux.asp?ID=2894 CBC Radio enters the months of July and August with a plethora of intriguing new programs for Canadians to experience. It's also a time when some of the best programming produced in the past year is offered again for listeners who may have missed out the first time around. Two highlights of the summer schedule are City States and Carnegie Hotel. City States explores issues facing Canada's cities on CBC Radio One. Eighty percent of Canadians live in cities; two thirds live in 27 major urban areas. The series looks at Moncton, Prince George, Quebec City, Thunder Bay and more-each program examining municipal politics from the perspective of local politicians, residents, and activists. On CBC Radio Two, Carnegie Hotel presents fictional stories each week about the secret backroom life of hotel living and those who work there, mainly told by the Carnegie's proprietress, Bea de Preville. A mix of pop, jazz and classical music underscores the emotional threads of the stories. The program can hook you on the storyline or simply offer the enjoyment of an eclectic mix of music. The CBC Radio One schedule will include the following new and or refurbished programs: MONDAY & FRIDAY Connections - 7:30 p.m. (8 NT) Showcasing documentaries from public broadcasters from around the world. MONDAY Workology - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) Reprising a program that calls itself "The home of the one-hour workweek," with Jane Farrow. TUESDAY Prime Time Quirks and Quarks - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) *also heard Saturday - 12 p.m. (12:30 NT)* The best of this award-winning science program, hosted by Bob McDonald. WEDNESDAY Best of Dispatches - 7:30 p.m. (8 NT) Encore editions of this respected international affairs show, hosted by Rick MacInnes-Rae. Global Village - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) *also heard Saturday - 7 p.m. (6 AT, 6:30 NT)* Host Jowi Taylor brings music and news of music from around the world. THURSDAY Writers and Company - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) *also heard Sunday - 3 p.m. (5 CT, MT, PT)* Exploring in depth the lives, thoughts and works of remarkable writers from around the world, with Eleanor Wachtel. FRIDAY Talking Books - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) Host Ian Brown and his guests have their say on written works of all kinds. Friday Nights with Outfront - 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) *also heard Monday-Thursday - 11:45 a.m. (12:15 NT)* The best shows from the past year of Outfront, with host Garvia Bailey. SATURDAY City States - 9 a.m. (9:30 NT) Looking at common problems and challenges facing different Canadian cities. Go! - 10 a.m. (10:30 NT) The audio buffet of Canadian life and leisure returns with host Brent Bambury. Grooveshinny (every other week as of July 12) - 11 a.m. (11:30 NT) The continuing musical cage match between a musicologist, a recording artist, and some nobody dragged in off the street. Brent Bambury presides. National Pastime - 11:30 a.m. (12 NT) A satire of sports and sports broadcasting. Best of Quirks & Quarks - 12 p.m. (12:30 NT) *see Tuesday above* The best of this award-winning science program, hosted by Bob McDonald. SUNDAY Laugh and a Half - 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) Comedy classics with host Walter Rinaldi. New programming on CBC Radio Two includes: FRIDAY Global Village in Performance - 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) Jowi Taylor and special guest co-hosts present diverse world-music concerts. SATURDAY Connecting - 6:30 p.m. (7 NT) Showcasing the best live performances and studio sessions produced and recorded by CBC crews across Canada. Carnegie Hotel - 7:30 p.m. (8 NT) A mix of music and storytelling inspired by hotel life, hosted by Lisa Christiansen. [the same one on CJAD? Ricky] SUNDAY Compas (July 6, 13 & 20 only) - 5 p.m. (5:30 NT) Exploring the sounds of Latin Music, with host Guadalupe Jolicoeur. Combined with all the regular features of the program schedule, it's going to be a great summer for listening to CBC Radio. Regular fall programming resumes after Labour Day on Tuesday, September 2. For daily listings and further information, go to: http://cbc.ca/radioguide (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CANADA. Re: WWV if Clear Channel took it over: I'm not sure if they were aware of CHU before I told them about it but CBC "What a Week", IIRC had an "all time all the time" radio station bit (Joel Rubin, NY, July 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Except for jammers, there seems few actual CNR transmissions audible. 17605 17580 and 17550 were heard, and also what seemed CNR on 17705 until 0700 // 17605. I don't know of anything that needs jamming on this frequency, so maybe only a coincidence it went off at 0700.? Best 73s (Noel Green, UK, via Olle Alm, DXLD) Hello all, CNR-1 on 17705 and 17435 are spurious transmissions caused by jammers on 17525+17615. The latter are usually strong here and arrive on a southerly path. The same site also seems to be active on 15290 and 13670 during the 0300-0700 span. There are also jammers from other sites on these channels. It seems that more jammers have been thrown in recently, explaining the increased echoing pointed out by WB. The delays, as heard here, can be divided into three groups: None = Beijing, for instance on 17550, 17605 Single satellite delay (one hop) Double satellite delay (two hops or other kind of very long delay) The difference within each group generally is only moderate. Of the jammers audible here, one has retained the severely distorted type of audio. At 0300-0700 it is used on 15150. One or two others are slightly overmodulated. Otherwise the audio is very clean with a high degree of modern processing (from the satellite circuit?). (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 5955.0, L.V. DE LOS CENTAUROS. Villavicencio, Colombia. 1620-1700* Jul 6. Ajustando su señal a la frecuencia asiganda luego de varias semanas (ex – 5958) presentado el programa Reminicencias, con música del recuerdo. Mencionaron el No. telefónico 6623666 para reportar sintonía, así que llamé y luego de unos minutos me fueron enviados saludos. Luego de terminar el programa a las 1658 y de una idedntificacion propia de Caracol salió del aire (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Hola Amigo DXista Rafael Rodriguez y Otros! Mis felicitaciones a Caracol, Villavicencio! Por fin se ubica en 5955.00 kHz, como nos informa Rafael en su mail. "Siempre" ha ocupado una frecuencia "al lado" por ejemplo 5957-5958v kHz. El 5 de julio la encontré en aproximadamente 6007 kHz pero solamente ese día. Buena señal con mala calidad de sonido. Primero pensé que haya sido Alcaraván Radio porque estuvo mencionando a menudo el departamento de Meta, pero un control mostró Alcaraván ocupando 6009.78 kHz. 73s de (Björn Malm, Ecuador, ibid.) Como señala el Colega Malm efectivamente el dia 5 de julio se presentó una mezcla entre estas dos emisoras colombianas a mi paracer se debió a los ajustes de L.V de los Centauros para ubicarse ya en los 5955 KHz (Rafael R., ibid.) ** CONGO DR. Interesting signals this morning from the United Nations station RADIO OKAPI, Kinshasa, using 6030. Noted in period 2200-2300 via shortpath, carrying lively African songs, and programming in African dialects. This frequency is usually blocked by Radio Martí, Greenville, but that station inaudible this morning! Regards! (Bob Padula, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia, EDXP via DXLD) *2200 scheduled on 6030, altho that`s well before LSS at midsummer (gh) ** CUBA. Cuban Fmers --- This is a list compiled from several sources in internet; the David Sharp's list is quite old but is included here. MHz Radio Location Source 87.8 Coco ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 89.5 Taíno ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 90.3 Progreso ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 90.5 Musical ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 90.5 Guamá ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 91.7 "Coco, CMCK" Habana http://www.radiococo.cu 92.1 Rebelde ? http://www.rrebelde.cu 92.1 Taíno ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 92.7 Rebelde ? http://www.rrebelde.cu 92.9 Manatí ? (Condiglist thread) 93.5 DobleV CMHW ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 93.5 Cadena Agramonte Camagüey http://www.cadenagramonte.cubaweb.cu/programacion.htm 93.7 Enciclopedia ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 95.1 Musical ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 95.5 CMKS Guantánamo http://www.cmksradio.islagrande.cu 95.9 Reloj ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 96.7 Rebelde ? http://www.rrebelde.cu 97.7 Coco ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 98.7 Ciudad de la Habana http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 98.9 Ciudad del Mar Cienfuegos http://www.rcm.cu/historiarcm/historia.htm 99.3 Siboney ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 99.9 Cadena Habana Habana http://www.cadenahabana.islagrande.cu/ 100.7 Cadena Habana ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 102.1 Metropolitana ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 102.9 Rebelde ? http://www.rrebelde.cu 102.9 Metropolitana ? http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 104.9 Cadena Habana ? [104.0] http://ddsradio.20m.com/carib01.html 106.7 Ciudad del Mar Cienfuegos http://www.rcm.cu/historiarcm/historia.htm Also a interesting link (in Spanish) about 92.9 is: http://www.jrebelde.cubaweb.cu/2003/julio_septiembre/jul-1/la.html LA 46 ESTÁ EN EL AIRE Juan Morales Agüero LAS TUNAS. --- Con la inauguración de la emisora CMLD, Radio Manatí, en el municipio tunero del mismo nombre, el país cuenta con 46 centros de ese alcance, entre las 71 emisoras que existen hoy nacionalmente. La nueva planta transmite en frecuencia modulada con sonido estereofónico una programación variada, cuatro horas al día, de lunes a domingo por los 92,9 megahertz. . . Regards (Humberto Molina, El Salvador, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So we have the callsign too; says it is on the air only 4 hours per day, but in stereo, contrary to Bill Nollman`s catch (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Tuning around at 1628 July 9, I came upon Vatican IS on 15570; but at 1630 up came ``Rebelde, La Habana, la emisora de la Revolución``, 12:30 timecheck, and some frequencies mentioned, I think for the Caribe, but missed them. SAH and signal weak; perhaps Vatican continued but on a less favorable beam, so I checked 11655 and found Rebelde much better there and in the clear; nothing audible on 9600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. La Voz del CID transmitted from EL SALVADOR: q.v. ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Hoy me llevé tremenda sorpresa al sintonizar los 4960 kHz porque pensé que iba a toparme con Cima 100. Pues no, este 09/07 a las 0241 UT, capté la emisora juvenil "SUPER Q FM" 100.9 MHz, desde Santo Domingo. La frecuencia exacta es 4959.87 kHz, con SINPO de 24322. Emitía un tema techno pop de Gigi D'Agostino, luego reggae-rap estilo The Noise (puertorriqueño), Toni Braxton "Unbreak my heart", Bob Marley "Buffalo Soldier", Bacilos "Viejo" y hasta algo de merengue. La monitoré por casi una hora. Locutor muy dinámico que presentaba el espacio como "Tu empujón". Jingles con efectos de voces y sonidos, muy buenos. Para ironías de la vida, el locutor de la ID oficial de la estación es el venezolano Alejandro Rhode, quien labora en Planeta 105.3 MHz, en Caracas. El teléfono de SUPER Q FM, anunciado por el DJ de guardia es el 5414-009. Sería bueno llamarlos para ver si confirman con una QSL. Suerte en la escucha. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You never know which station of the group they will put on SW (gh) ** ECUADOR [non]. Here are all the times of DX Partyline via WWCR, as in new posted schedule dated July 1, with UT corrected for DST: Sat 0900 5070, Sun 0200 5070, Tue 0930 9475, Thu 2000 15825. Note that two of these precede WORLD OF RADIO, and another is at the same time on a different day (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. El cubano anticastrista Luis Posada Carriles, actualmente preso en Panamá, dio una entrevista para el periódico salvadoreño "La Prensa Gráfica" http://www.laprensagrafica.com/especiales/2003/carriles Además el periódico ha realizado una investigación alrededor de sus declaraciones. Una parte es interesante en cuanto la Voz del Cid, la conocida radio clandestina para Cuba, la cual es ubicada por "fuentes ex-gubernamentales" en el Cuartel del Batallón Atlacatl, San Andrés sobre la carretera que de San Salvador conduce hacia Santa Ana. Transmitiendo entre los años 1983 a 1997, según las mismas fuentes, la radio estuvo bajo supervisión directa de Húber Matos. Esta revelación, y otras, de "manera oficial" ha causado bastante revuelo ya que eso supone que la emisora funcionó 5 años después de firmados los acuerdos de paz; el gobierno salvadoreño había aceptado anteriormente la existencia de la radio pero en el marco de la guerra (Humberto Molina, San Salvador, El Salvador, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. The first Deutsche Welle service to broadcast from the new headquarter at Bonn will be the Russian one, starting on July 19. The German program is to be produced at Bonn from August 4. The switch will probably take place at 0900 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Glenn Hauser, With reference to info on India in DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-121, July 8, 2003, I would like to clarify that 10330 kHz is via Bangalore 500 kW (not 50 kW as mentioned). Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. ANALYSIS: US-BASED IRANIAN SATELLITE TV, RADIO DISRUPTED | Text of editorial analysis by Martin Peters of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 9 July 2003 In the week that Voice of America TV rolled out a nightly Persian- language news programme, and with the launch of another US-based radio station beaming into Iran, the satellite carrying these and other services has been targeted by a mysterious, interfering signal, rendering the broadcasts unwatchable. A raft of opposition, pro-monarchist TV and radio stations, originating in the US and intended for viewers in Iran, has been easily available to anyone in the Middle East with a modest satellite dish directed towards the Telstar 12 satellite. The jamming of satellite signals is not a new phenomenon. The earliest recorded instance can be traced back to April 1986, when viewers of the Home Box Office channel were surprised to find programming interrupted by a caption, signed by "Captain Midnight", criticizing a recent HBO price hike. A year later the Playboy Channel suffered a similar indignity. In December 1995, programmes from Med-TV, a Kurdish station broadcasting to Turkey, were disrupted. Monitoring observations implied deliberate jamming, but an identification of its origin could not be made. Med-TV's satellite service providers suspected deliberate sabotage, as the incident took place during a scheduled live debate which included a contribution from the then Chairman of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. A report in the Turkish national daily Sabah claimed that the Turkish authorities were to blame. In China, the outlawed Falun Gong broke into satellite transmissions from state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). Previous attempts by the movement were limited to hacking into local cable systems and replacing bona fide programming with their own material. In September 2002, the satellite carrying CCTV programming to China was hijacked by Falun Gong and used to distribute "cult propaganda" across the entire country. The Chinese authorities claimed they were certain that the interfering signal was originating from Taiwan's capital, Taipei, and demanded that the "Taiwan province" put a stop to the criminal activity. Fifteen people were later convicted and sentenced for up to 20 years for breaking into community cable TV systems. Meanwhile, the Taiwan-based satellite hacker remains free. During the recent conflict in the Gulf, Iraqi satellite television temporarily fell victim to jamming when, on the opening night of hostilities, the Space Channel's usual diet of news and patriotic songs was substituted with colour bars from an unknown source. Later, the station was to suffer repeated attempts to knock it off the air by more conventional, military means. Clampdown in Iran So to Iran, where the authorities seem set on clamping down on access to foreign media. With rising levels of tension in Tehran, spearheaded by student protests, and encouraged, the Iranian government says, by US-based media outlets, confiscation of satellite dishes by the authorities has increased. Hitherto, a long-standing government ban on dishes had been flouted, with most middle class homes having access to satellite. Residents of Tehran who have managed to retain their dishes, and who are in the habit of tuning in to satellite broadcasts from abroad, have recently discovered their reception disrupted by a network of jamming facilities placed in and around the capital. The Persian daily newspaper Hambastegi quoted an Iranian MP acknowledging that a "military organization was transmitting powerful signals from several of its bases and a number of mobile stations installed in trucks". According to the World Health Organization (WHO), continued exposure to the high levels of microwave radiation required to jam the offending signals, could effect people's health, including male fertility, and this has caused official concern in Iran. The jamming signals are said to be wreaking havoc with legitimate users of the radio spectrum including Internet services and the local phone network. Iran's Minister of Post, Telegraph and Telephone Ahmad Mo'tamedi denies government approval for the jamming and President Khatami has called for action to be taken against those responsible. Pro-monarchy TV and radio stations beamed into Iran have suffered similar disruption once before, when in 1996, they were targeted by ground-based jammers. Following a brief spell on Eutelsat's Hotbird, where they also suffered from interference, the stations moved to Telstar 12, a satellite that can be configured only to accept and relay signals from North America. This indicates that the current spate of jamming is being beamed from the Americas. Sporadic, only partially effective, interference was first noted on 6 July, and again on the following day. Observations on 8 July indicated an increase in the signal level of the interference, making reception of any of the channels impossible. Satellite owner Loral continue with their investigations. What can be done about those who would wish to steal satellite frequencies to broadcast their message, and others wanting to silence rebellious broadcasts from afar? With the intention of preventing a repetition of previous intrusions, China has bought a French-made Apstar satellite which includes 'special technology' to prevent malicious interruptions to broadcasts. Ever more satellite manufacturers offer craft incorporating just such a feature. Innovations such as this should ensure that satellite hijacking is no longer an option. However, the deliberate jamming of "undesirable" stations and their messages will, it seems, still be possible, leaving frustrated viewers with blank screens, and broadcasters without an audience. Source: BBC Monitoring research 9 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAN. AL-ALAM TV CONTENT SURVEY ON 8 JULY 03 | Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring Middle East desk on 8 July Judging from the programmes surveyed today, the main topics which are given prominence by Al-Alam TV are Islam and the revival of Islamic thought and the ensuing debate on political Islam, jihad and its violent corollary, terrorism, in addition to the Palestinian cause and the situation in Iraq. Al-Alam TV's editorial line is not blatantly militant or anti-western but it is obvious that the choice of the guests taking part in the various discussions almost betrays the underlying intention and the political message the television wants to convey since these guests still talk about "US imperialism", "western colonialism", the "Zionist entity" and "occupation". Al-Alam TV's news bulletins today all led with the crash of the Sudanese plane and not with the situation in Iraq for example. In fact, Iraq was relegated to third position, well after the latest Palestinian developments and Bush's African tour, which were reported factually. Even when reporting that Islamic Jihad had reiterated its commitment to abide by the truce agreement, Al-Alam TV did not, as one would expect, make any comment. The only hint of criticism of the Americans and their intentions was a report about US troops patrolling the streets of Baghdad and lending a hand to help ease traffic congestion in order "to win the friendship of the Iraqis", something the Iranians must certainly view with suspicion. An equally subtle reflection of Alam TV's editorial line can be found in the articles chosen for the press review and these start with the row in London over the intelligence report on weapons of mass destruction, the increasing number of attacks on US troops in Iraq, the real motives behind Bush's African tour and the efforts by the US administration to defuse the tension with Turkey. It is common knowledge that a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is well under way and yet one of the participants in a programme called "After the event", devoted today to Al-Qa'idah and Bin-Ladin, was a Saudi dissident identified as Hamzah al-Hasan, from the Alliance for Democracy in Saudi Arabia, who was interviewed via satellite link from London. The dissident openly talked about the need for reforms in Saudi Arabia and he also urged the Saudi regime to seek legitimacy through the ballot box and to put an end to repression. This contribution, aired on Iranian TV, will undoubtedly be viewed by the Saudi authorities at least as an unfriendly gesture. But Al-Alam TV's argument would be that it was all done in the name of freedom of expression and this is exactly what the millions of Arab viewers crave and appreciate. Source: BBC Monitoring research 8 Jul 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAN: PERSIAN TV TRANSMISSION FROM USA JAMMED IN NEIGHBOURING STATES | Text of report by Iranian Baztab web site on 9 July For the past two days, most of the Persian television programmes from Los Angeles are jammed by devices either inside America or in one of the neighbouring countries. The programmes are transmitted [to Iran] via Telestar-12 satellite. Daily Iran, wrote: At present, only one television network is active in Los Angeles which relays programmes of the other channels. Source: Baztab web site, Tehran, in Persian 0740 gmt 9 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) See also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM above ** IRAN [and non]. Czech Republic/Iran: RADIO FARDA SOURCE OF HOPE FOR MANY IRANIANS - PRESS | Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 7 July: Radio Farda, the Iran-targeting broadcasts from Prague, is becoming a symbol of objective information about world developments which has been eagerly sought by millions of Iranians every day since it was launched a half year ago, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes writes today. "We know that our influence is considerable. The Iranian government takes much effort to ham us. This is the best proof of our popularity," Sonia Winterova, spokeswoman of the Prague-seated Radio Free Europe (RFE), which broadcasts in 34 languages to 25 countries, including Iran, says in the paper. Radio Farda (Tomorrow) now largely means to Iran what the US-run RFE, then seated in Munich, meant to Eastern Europe in the Communist era. A source of objective news, and thus also a source of hope, the daily writes. According to estimates, Radio Farda broadcasts, the listening to which is illegal in Iran, are sought by up to 15 per cent of the country's population of 70 million. The banned station can be heard to play silently from radios in offices as well as people's cars, and many listen to it through satellites. Three-quarters of millions of users visit the station's Prague Internet servers every month, Mlada fronta Dnes writes. The station broadasts 24 hours a day. Apart from newscasts, it devotes much time to music in order to attract the young generation. Radio Farda is not the only source of information and programmes from abroad. Foreign media broadcasting to Iran also include, for example, several television stations from the USA, which, financed by Iranian emigrants, are openly antigovernment. "Now and then I watch them at the neighbour's. Sometimes it is really horrible. It is a propaganda in its purest form. They overdo it, people don't believe them," the paper quotes Iranian doctor Farhang as saying. The symbol of objective information are the Persian broadcasts of the BBC, and more and more also Radio Farda, only half a year old. Before, the RFE's "Persian service" broadcast from Prague to Iran for several years. Later it was joined by the Persian broadcasts of the Voice of America, by which a new station was formed. Of its 30-strong staff, about 20 people work in Prague and 10 in Washington. Radio Farda does much for its programmes to be variable in order to attract young listeners, as two-thirds of the Iranian population are people under 30. "We are neither a subversive station nor a mouthpiece of America. This would be a mistake," one of the radio's employees, who requested anonymity, told the paper. "Our task is to carry objective information as the only way to make people believe us," he added. The launch of the Persian service broadcasts from Prague prompted a diplomatic rift in 1998. Tehran even withdrew its ambassador from Prague. However, the situation has calmed down in the meantime and Farda Radio reporters say Tehran makes no attempts at intervening against them or threatening them. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 0807 gmt 7 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Keep listening to the English service of RKI as they are planning some celebrations on account of their 50th anniversary this year. No exact details are known but please listen in, especially on a Sat such as 2100 UT on 3955 to Europe (NS = Nicholas Sharpe?, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** PERU. 6536.2 RADIO SAN MIGUEL DE SONDOR. Sondor, Perú. 2320-0030 Jul 2. Ex RD Huancabamba. Su dueño Federico Ibáñez traslado a este Distrito su estación luego que perdiera las elecciones a la Alcadía de Huancabamba y se hiciera de algunos enemigos políticos. A las 2330 presenta el programa Aires Huarinqueños, programa que alguna vez hacia Mayo del 2002, escuché a través de RD Comercial Huancabamba 6560.3. Continúa con el soporte comercial del Maestro Curandero Santos Neira Julca. ``...somos Radio San Miguel de Sondor; muchas gracias por su sintonía...`` (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. By the year 2010 Russia is planning to switch to digital TV-Radio broadcasts. The Voice of Russia, broadcasting in 32 languages, has become the first Russian company that daily broadcasts to Europe in the new digital format. The chairman of The Voice of Russia, Armen Oganesian has called digital broadcasting a fabulous breakthrough in promoting Russian information product abroad (VoR News Bulletin, July 9, 2003 via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DXLD) ** UGANDA. Radio Uganda, Kampala, 5026 noted past its usual s/off time of 2100 with excited talks and echo announcements (sounding remarkably like a Latin broadcaster!), in English. Suddenly off at 2120, leaving Benin nicely in the clear (Rob Wagner (VK3BVW, June 28, EDXP via DXLD) ** U S A. Estación de radio que oigo frecuentemente en la banda extendida de la OM: Oldies Radio, 1700 kHz. ¿De qué parte de Estados Unidos es esta radio? 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KQXX, Brownsville TX (gh) ** U S A. PRISON RADIO -- INSIDE ANGOLA'S INCARCERATION STATION by Jenny Lee Rice [91.7 MHz, 16m, 830 watts ERP per FM Atlas XIX] http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuer/news/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&sid=11&id=508378 Lord, hear our penitential Cry: Salvation from above; It is the Lord that doth supply, With his Redeeming Love. Ho! every one that hunger hath, Or pineth after me, Salvation be thy leading Staff, To set the Sinner free. --- Jupiter Hammon, from "An Evening Thought" At first glance, it could be the broadcasting booth of a college radio station. A poster advertising a recent film symposium hangs on the wall; people are mopping up after the rain, working on newly acquired equipment, queuing up CDs. The DJ looks through the newspaper and marks the stories he will read on air, most of which regard Louisiana corrections. There are no armed guards, no nametags --- nothing to indicate that this is a maximum security prison. Looking around, I can see why inmates would want to work here. For a moment, we could be anywhere else. "The radio station helps me to relieve stress and tension," the Reverend A.J. explains. The 71-year-old inmate serving a life term for first-degree murder looks gentle and grandfatherly. If this were indeed a college campus, A.J. would be a model student. Here at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), he is a member of the Lifer's Association, Chairman of the Elderly Assistance Group and hosts a gospel show on KLSP, Angola's radio station. He visits sick prisoners in the hospital and preaches to other inmates during church functions. "I've done so much wrong to people," he says. "Now that I have the chance to give back, that's what I do." Reverend A.J., whose full name is Andrew Joseph, first came to Angola in 1948. "When I came to prison, [it] wasn't a place of rehabilitation. Everything was survival." As a 17-year-old kid who "attracted the older inmates," A.J. survived by "develop[ing] a violent attitude." He was in and out of correctional facilities several times before being sentenced to life in 1978. About 10 years ago, Burl Cain, Angola's warden asked him to become involved with the radio station. "Just to realize that I was counted as a trustworthy inmate to work at a radio station was a big deal for me," A.J. says. "I jumped at that." KLSP is the only FCC-licensed radio station in the country facilitated by inmates, and it's an integral part of Angola's unorthodox approach to inmate rehabilitation. The station was established under a previous warden in 1986 as a means of communicating with everyone in the prison at once. Angola is the country's largest correctional facility, with 5,108 inmates, so the need to disseminate information rapidly is critical. KLSP is licensed as a religious/educational station, and, through Cain's efforts, has formed a close alliance with Christian radio. Until recently, the station was using hand-me-down equipment courtesy of Jimmy Swaggart; last year, His Radio --- Swaggart's Greenville, S.C.-based network of stations --- held an on-air fundraiser for the prison, broadcast live from Angola. They quickly surpassed their $80,000 goal, raising over $120,000 within hours. Cain used the money to update the station's flagging equipment and train inmate DJs in using the new electronic system. In the months following their initial partnership, Cain deepened his relationship with Christian radio stations. KLSP now carries programs from His Radio and the Moody Ministry Broadcasting Network (MBN) for part of the day. Despite new alliances, the majority of the station's broadcasting decisions remain in the hands of inmates like 43-year-old Robin Brett Polk, who has been in the prison "somewhere around 21 years." He has a radio show on KLSP that plays Christian rap and R&B. "Music has helped me to keep myself focused on trying to straighten my life out," Polk says. "It taught me to be a dependable person." With few opportunities to see his family, most of Polk's socialization comes from inside Angola. When he is not at KLSP, where he has worked for several years, he can often be found practicing with the prison gospel band, in which he plays bass. "Prison is sort of like a family," he says. "The inner family for me is the musicians I play with." The entire correctional family tree is enormous --- Louisiana has the largest per capita incarceration rate in the country, and the average sentence at Angola is 88 years. "I bury more than I release," says Warden Cain. Victim's rights groups are powerful in Louisiana, a state notoriously tough on crime. "The challenge is for the people to forgive one another more," says Cain. "We all make mistakes." But with little relief for the state's crowded facilities in sight, Cain finds himself presiding over an aging prison population and, as inmates pass away, dealing with the bodies of unclaimed prisoners. They used to be buried in cardboard boxes, until one incident where a man fell through the bottom. Cain instituted a policy change --- now inmates manufacture coffins themselves in a factory on the grounds. Angola is located at the base of the Tunica hills in a breathtakingly beautiful region of Louisiana. Though individual camps containing sleeping and recreational quarters are fenced in, the facility is walled only by the hills and the Mississippi River. The sight of inmate trustees in jeans and T-shirts hanging out at KLSP or working the front gate makes it feel like a pastoral society. Watching rows of inmates work the fields of Angola's farm, however, is less comforting. The prison sits on the land of a former plantation and slave breeding ground (named Angola for the African country from which its slaves were sent). After the Civil War, plantation owner Samuel L. James leased Louisiana's inmates, housing them in slave quarters. At the time, this was a relatively uncontroversial move --- courts ruled that a prisoner "not only forfeited his liberty, but all his personal rights except those which the law in its humanity accords to him. He is for the time being a slave to the state" (Ruffin v. Commonwealth, 1871). The prison, whose population is 76.7% black, is still a working farm, with each inmate laboring about eight hours a day on the 18,000 acre site. Many prison officials refer to outsiders, such as journalists, as "free people." Burl Cain will be the first to say that a prison takes on the character of its warden. He is a charming, charismatic man with a George W. Bush-like appeal --- the down-home everyman just trying to make the world a better place. A big man with a thick Southern drawl and disarmingly candid manner of speaking, Cain possesses qualities to which many of the inmates seem to react positively. While I was there, the warden held a meeting with leaders from various inmate clubs at his ranch house. They gathered around his table and ate snacks as the warden answered questions about their concerns. Inmates spoke freely, and Cain was friendly and jovial. Everything was recorded for broadcast on KLSP. The warden is also a deeply religious man, and as such, Angola sometimes feels like disciplinary Bible camp. A plaque near the prison's front entrance quotes from Philippians, and the annual prison rodeo includes a lengthy parade wherein Jesus' story is acted out on horseback. The only on-site facility of higher education at Angola is the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where inmates can earn a degree in Christian ministry. According to the prison's inmate- produced newsmagazine, The Angolite, the "Level One" disciplinary cells afford only "a white jumpsuit, religious book, pad of paper and pen, and legal papers" to each prisoner. The emphasis on Christianity is thought to have a civilizing effect on inmates. Cain insists "the only true rehabilitation is moral rehabilitation." He speaks to churches and religious leaders across the country about Angola's programs, and elicits partnerships with likeminded groups, such as His Radio and MBN, whenever possible. "We're feeding them good material," Cain says. According to His Radio's website, the warden has invited the Christian programmers to return every six months to "maintain the equipment and help train the inmate DJs to minister more effectively." Rehabilitated inmates are able to lead a somewhat normal life, and Cain is very matter-of-fact regarding his methods. "You're supposed to obey the law of the land," says Cain. "It says it in the Bible. If you respect authority, then you will respect authority." Traditionally, those who do not respect authority have suffered strict consequences --- in the infamous "Angola 3" case, inmates were placed in solitary confinement for nearly 30 years. Just last year, an inmate was prevented from testifying at his own trial after several courtroom outbursts. Baton Rouge's daily newspaper, The Advocate, described Angola's method of dealing with the rebellious inmate: "Louisiana State Penitentiary security officers wrapped the bottom half of his face and all of his neck with duct tape, then wrapped a circle of tape under his jaw and over the top of his forehead." More recently, Warden Cain has acquired wolves that he hopes will replace the guard dogs. He expresses an almost childlike optimism about their psychological effect. "You're more afraid of a wolf than you are of dogs," he explains, "so if I have a wolf that'll bite, then the wolf will never have to bite anybody, because nobody will want to be challenged by the wolf." The prison's emphasis on faith-based rehabilitation programs and strict punishments raises eyebrows with civil rights groups like the ACLU. Joe Cook, the executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, calls many of the warden's methods "highly suspect." "From what we've seen and what we've heard," Cook explains, "it appears the administration favors religion over nonreligion and that does offend the First Amendment." The ACLU has fielded complaints that Angola's administration has withheld certain privileges from those inmates who have not found God. The inmates I met at KLSP were all articulate and smart. Two of the DJs, Reverend A.J. and Leotha Brown, are graduates of the on-site seminary. It seems that their lives have been made better by the opportunity to be involved with the station. If, at the end of the day, Warden Cain's promotion of religion helps inmates like those at KLSP, is he really doing any harm? Joe Cook claims there is "no scientific evidence" to back claims that faith-based programs work better than others. More importantly, he points out, "even if there was some connection, it doesn't make it legal." The Supreme Court ruled in 1947 that "[n]either a state nor the Federal Government? can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another? " and that "[t]he First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable." (Everson v. Board of Education, 1947). "I'd like to see Warden Cain honor the Constitution and the rule of law," says Cook. "If those in charge of enforcing the law break the law, that sends a terrible message." Cook is fighting an uphill battle, as Louisiana traditionally has had a pro-Christian legislature. "The prevailing sentiment is that this promotion of religion is a good thing," Cook explains. Cain believes that his method of rehabilitation works, and he has the support of state officials. "They can get out and become productive citizens," he explains, or "as long as they don't go out, they have a real calming effect for us over this prison. And you bring God into it and say, God intends for you to be here, and you've redeemed yourself. You can't get out of here, but you'll be blessed later." The Reverend A.J., who has never applied for a pardon, agrees. "People don't want to hear that I'm a Christian now --- everyone goes [before] the board with the same story. People don't think you can change. Maybe I deserve to be here; I don't know." © Copyright 2003, Public Arts(TM). All rights reserved (via KUER Salt Lake City via DXLD) ** U S A. FLOODING CAN'T STOP RADIO STATION [WCSM, Celina OH] http://www.onnnews.com/story.php?record=25305 (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) ** U S A. THE LAWSUIT ON THE CUTTING-ROOM FLOOR By Lisa de Moraes, Wednesday, July 9, 2003; Page C07 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30614-2003Jul9.html HOLLYWOOD, July 8 Filmmaker Shelton Lee says he dropped his lawsuit against Viacom because "on reviewing the circumstances concerning" its efforts to rename cable network TNN, "I no longer believe that Viacom deliberately intended to trade on my name when naming Spike TV." Lee, whose nickname is Spike, had sued the studio, claiming that people would mistake Spike TV for his network and that he did not want to be associated with the channel. Lee's joint statement with Viacom about the settlement reached on Monday was read today by Spike TV topper Albie Hecht during that network's Q&A session here at Summer TV Press Tour 2003. Having reached a settlement -- the terms of which Hecht would not discuss -- it seems that Shelton Lee has now become a champion of the First Amendment. "As an artist and a filmmaker, I feel that protection of freedom of expression is a critical value and I am concerned that my efforts to stop Viacom from using the Spike TV name could have unintended consequence of threatening the First Amendment rights of Viacom and others," Lee added, which brought chuckles from the critics. "I am pleased to be able to resolve this matter and be able to work with Viacom on new projects," Lee's statement concluded. That was followed by more chortling from the TV critics, one of whom asked Hecht to detail the projects Viacom had had to buy to get Lee off the studio's back. Hecht would say only that they are for Viacom's MTV network. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** U S A. AMATEUR RADIO'S SIGNAL WAVERING Enthusiasts see technology, rules boosting hobby By CRISTINA SILVA http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/6246792.htm LEHMAN TWP. [PA] --- Sometimes if you build it, they still won't come. Though about 2,000 radio enthusiasts from across the Northeast attended the 24th annual Murgas Amateur Radio Club's Hamfest and Computerfest held at Luzerne County Fair Grounds on Sunday, very few were new to the event. And despite recent technology and relaxed Federal Communications Commission rules making it easier than ever to obtain a license and radio, amateur radio is not exactly the most happening hobby around. "We are competing with the Internet, DVDs and video games," said Rick Rinehimer, a member of the club since 1983. "A national problem is to attract people to radio." The Murgas Amateur Radio Club was founded in 1975 by radio enthusiasts in the area. Club membership has fluctuated at around 100 people for the past 20 years with the demographics shifting toward older and older members each year, Rinehimer said. The club is named in honor of the Rev. Joseph Murgas, who was the pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wilkes-Barre and a pioneer in the wireless communications field in the early 1900s. Since its inception, the club has been actively involved in community service and in the past year provided radio communications for the MS Walk at Frances Slocum State Park, the St. John Hospice Bicycle Ride and the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon. The members also volunteer their services during bad weather or other emergencies and participate in a weekly drill in conjunction with the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency. Yet club members still get very little recognition. "The community doesn't know we are here until we are needed," Rinehimer said. But that might be changing soon with new technology and rules that are making it easier to participate in the 100-year-old hobby. Whereas 30 years ago a person would have to make his or her own ham radio, today a radio can easily be purchased in an electronics store, said Hal Bice, a Murgas member. Bice said a person today could purchase a radio, plug it in an electrical outlet and transmit to people across the country in a matter of minutes. Hearing the voices of people in Guyana, Denmark, Costa Rica and Russia all in one night can not compare to using the Internet for communication, said Bice. New FCC regulations are also making radio more accessible. Testing for a license was once a hurdle for many who wanted to become radio operators, said George Miklosi, co-chairperson of the Hamfest. Now, the FCC and American Radio Relay League publish a manual with sample test questions and answers. Also, in recent years the Morse code section of the test was greatly relaxed. Currently, to earn a beginners license one must be able to transmit a minimum of five words of Morse code in a minute, said Miklosi, as opposed to the required more than 20 words in the past. The Morse code, in which short and long sounds called dots and dashes are used to transmit messages, is often used in radio transmissions. The radio community's goal is to make it easier for people to get on the air, Miklosi said. Furthermore, new technology is allowing radio operators to pair their computer and radio to provide faster transmissions, said Bice. Radio enthusiasts also are exploring how digital technology can be used to make radio transmissions quicker and easier, Rinehimer said. Carey Staron of Williamsport has been attending the Hamfest for the past decade. She said she hopes more people will get involved with radio to replace "pioneers" that have passed away. But even if they don't, Staron said she believes the tradition will still live on. "Amateur radio will never die." 73 (via Kim KD9XB Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC OPINION BOLSTERS FEDERAL PREEMPTION OVER RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE MATTERS NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 8, 2003 -- An FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) released this week bolsters the doctrine of federal preemption over local efforts to regulate radio frequency interference (RFI). The ARRL had commented in the proceeding, WT Docket 02-100, which could have implications for Amateur Radio. The proceeding stemmed from efforts by Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to require telecommunication service providers to certify their facilities would not interfere with the county`s public safety communication system. ``We find that federal law preempts provisions of the Anne Arundel County, Maryland, zoning ordinances involving radio frequency interference,`` the FCC declared in granting Cingular Wireless` Petition for Declaratory Ruling and denying the county`s Motion to Dismiss. ARRL had supported Cingular`s position in the proceeding. Cingular asserted in its petition that Congress had established a ``pervasive regulatory scheme`` that grants the FCC exclusive jurisdiction to regulate RFI, and that the Anne Arundel zoning amendments conflicted with the Commission`s rules regarding resolution of RFI cases. The county had contended that the courts, not the FCC, had exclusive jurisdiction over local zoning actions affecting placement, construction and modification of personal wireless service facilities. At the same time, the FCC said it expected all parties involved to continue to cooperate in resolving the RFI issues that remain. It also mandated progress reports. Responding to unresolved RFI from wireless facilities to its public safety communication system, Anne Arundel County in January 2002 adopted zoning amendments requiring commercial telecommunication providers to demonstrate that their facilities would not degrade or interfere with the public safety radio system. The amended ordinance gave the county the authority to revoke a zoning certificate if such interference or degradation occurred or if telecommunication service providers did not certify their systems to be in compliance with FCC standards and guidelines. The FCC said it found that the county`s zoning provisions went beyond traditional zoning functions and attempted to regulate RFI, which is said is the exclusive domain of the Commission. The FCC claimed exclusive federal regulation over RFI on the basis of ``field preemption.`` In field preemption, ``the federal interest is so dominant that the federal system is presumed to prohibit enforcement of state laws on the same issue,`` the FCC explained in its MO&O. ``The Commission and the federal courts have consistently found that the Commission`s authority in the area of RFI is exclusive, and any attempt by state or local governments to regulate in the area of RFI is preempted.`` The FCC pointed out that it had addressed the same issue nearly 20 years ago after a local zoning board attempted to condition a zoning permit to a broadcast station on the station`s not causing RFI to existing facilities or TV translators. The FCC also found in that case that the Communications Act gave it authority over RF interference. The FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order is available on the FCC Web site. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2196A1.doc Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. PRESIDENT PLEDGES FUNDS TO BEEF UP STATE BROADCASTERS | Text of report in English by Venezuelan pro-government VENews web site on 7 July In an effort to clean up the government's media and communications act, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías has offered an extra 60bn bolívares [about 1,600 bolivares to the US dollar] to update equipment and strengthen media strategy. Newly appointed media minister, Jesse Chacón, says the money will be spent on state VTV channel and Radio Nacional, which he claims is not reaching important sectors of society. Spouting the theory that the media is the medium [sic], Chacón states, "if we are going to have a public and private system in which the media is once again the medium, we will set up a series of mechanisms that will make it easier to reach the public, but if opposition media continue to rule, then we will have to search for other ways of reaching people and back them up legally." The minister complains that government news briefs and releases end up in opposition media editors' bins, leaving it up to the government to seek other mechanisms to reach the public. The government has frequently complained that Venezuela's private print and broadcast have blacked out its achievements, which are published by the government Venpres agency. The breakdown of national link-up transmission of the military parade on 24 June sparked the dismissal of Nora Uribe as media minister, as President Chávez Frías makes media coverage a top priority vis-à-vis the private media sector, which has formed a solid block in opposition. Quinto Día's editor is the latest to come under fire for allegedly giving excessive coverage to military affairs. Source: VENews web site in English 7 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. El 05/07, se pudo escuchar en la frecuencia de 9600 kHz, una transmisión de prueba de la VT Merlin Communications. Se identificaba con un locutor en inglés y un tema musical de fondo. El mensaje duraba como un minuto y se repetía una y otra vez. Escuchada a las 2137 UT. Fuera del aire como 5 minutos después (Adán González Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ For your information, here is a copy of the final version of the NASB comments on BPL which our attorney Ed Bailey submitted on Monday to the FCC: Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the matter of ) ) Inquiry Regarding Carrier Current Systems ) ET Docket No. 03-104 including Broadband over Power Line Systems ) ) ) COMMENTS Introduction These comments are submitted on behalf of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (``NASB``), which represents eighteen FCC- licensed, privately owned shortwave broadcast stations located in the United States.[footnote 1] The Commission has requested information and data regarding issues related to Broadband over Power Lines systems (BPL) as part of its consideration of changes to Part 15 of the Commission`s rules in order to facilitate the deployment of this technology. NASB`s position is that BPL, or any other developmental technology, should be introduced only if existing proven frequency applications are provided the maximum protection so as to prevent harmful interference with existing uses. To that end, NASB has consistently supported the reasonable concerns of public protection, disaster relief, defense and security users of HF frequencies when those users have expressed concerns regarding harmful interference from proposed users. Because NASB believes BPL to be a disruptive technology that significantly interferes with many existing radio applications now in use in the bands between 2 and 30 MHz, it concludes that BPL should not be authorized at this time. Technical/Interference Concerns These Comments address concerns related to two different BPL technologies: Access and In-House. Both systems employ multiple carrier signals spread over a broad range of frequencies. The conducted energy from a BPL system causes harmful interference to radio communications via two possible paths. First, the RF energy is carried through electrical wiring to radio receivers connected to the electrical wiring. Second, at frequencies below 30 MHz, where wavelengths exceed 10 meters, long stretches of power line wiring will act as an antenna, permitting the BPL RF energy to be radiated over the airwaves. Thus, it would have the effect of raising the already high noise floors for radio reception. Since there is relatively low propagation loss at these frequencies, such radiated energy would cause harmful interference to portable or mobile radio receivers, even those at a considerable distance from the power lines. The adoption of a BPL system in the United States, using wide spectrum techniques from 4.5 MHz to 21 MHz would result in the de facto ``jamming`` of international shortwave broadcasts intended for listeners in the United States. Since the clear intention of the international Radio Regulations is to avoid harmful interference, the U.S. has a responsibility to limit, or remove, any source of interference with such reception. The concern of NASB is that BPL, in fact, introduces such harmful interference. Several papers and commentators have raised significant concerns regarding the viability of BPL in light of the above issues.[2] The BBC and its broadcasting arm, VT Merlin, are strong in their objection to any relaxation of interference to the broadcast bands. A report[3] developed by Jonathon Stott of the BBC Research and Development Group, demonstrates that BPL systems are a serious threat to broadcasting. The European Broadcast Union developed a proposal on BPL systems and their emissions which was first presented as a report to the DRM membership. DRM, the leading digital methodology for the future of radio, has expressed strong concerns, as has the European DX Council, the Radio Society of Great Britain4 and the Austrian Amateur Radio Society.[5] It will be impractical, if not impossible, to develop standardized measurement techniques to ensure compliance at any protection level that the Commission might adopt. BPL systems use electrical wiring within a building as the means to transmit data; consequently, the impedance of the building system changes every time a device or appliance is added, removed, or turned off or on. Such a widely fluctuating environment makes modeling of any such system extremely difficult, if not impossible. Radiated emissions from the RF energy imposed on the building`s electrical wiring would vary from location to location based on each building`s wiring and power requirements. Since the building wiring would also serve as an antenna, that wiring structure would have to be accounted for in any evaluation methodology. Certainly, measurements derived in any laboratory setting would be invalid, as each system would constitute a unique set of parameters to be measured and evaluated. Public Protection, Disaster Relief and Defense Many of the authorized services in the fixed, land mobile, aeronautical mobile, maritime mobile, radiolocation, broadcast radio, amateur radio terrestrial and satellite, and radio astronomy frequencies play an important role in Homeland Security and, arguably, would be severely compromised by interference from BPL. These services currently provide reliable and proven methods of communication when other means of communication have been disrupted. It would be untimely and ill-advised to introduce any new source of potential interference that might have an adverse affect on these communications. This effect would be quite noticeable in both urban and rural settings and imposes on everyone served by the power line, whether they receive the service or not. Recommendation In the event there is an adoption and deployment of BPL, NASB would require that operable BPL systems demonstrate, and the FCC certify, that the magnetic field of the emissions should be 0 dBu V/m, measured at a distance of one meter, in a bandwidth of 9 kHz, and utilizing a peak detector. This is the only methodology that can guarantee adequate protection to the radio spectrum from 2 to 30 MHz from BPL interference. Conclusion Accordingly, NASB believes that BPL systems jeopardize the current use of the radio bands between 2 and 30 MHz. NASB joins in the expressed concerns about BPL interference to other licensed radio spectrum users in these bands. NASB encourages the Commission to look beyond the temporary appeal of BPL to undergo a thorough examination of the science, to recognize the collateral damage caused by BPL and to provide maximum protection of the proven existing radio applications. Respectfully submitted, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SHORTWAVE BROADCASTERS 1 KSDA; WMLK; WEWN; WYFR; KFBS; WTJC; WBOH; WSHB; WHRI; KWHR; WHRA; WRMI; KTWR; KAIJ; KVOH; WJIE; KNLS; and, WINB. 2 See, e.g. ``Power Line Communications: A Threat for Radio Listening?`` Prof. Filippo Gianetti, Università degli Studi di Pisa http://www.edxc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&re q=viewarticle&artid=1&page=1). See also, ``Physical and Regulatory Constraints for Communication over the Power Supply Grid`` by Martin Gebhardt, Frank Weinmann and Klaus Dostert, University of Karlsruhe. 3 See http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp013.html 4 http://www.rsgb.org/emc/pltnew.htm 5 http://www.powerline-plc.info/video (via Jeff White, NASB, DXLD) ``BPL IS A PANDORA`S BOX OF UNPRECEDENTED PROPORTIONS,`` ARRL TELLS FCC --- By Rick Lindquist, N1RL, Senior News Editor, July 8, 2003 NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 8, 2003 -- Citing the potential for interference to and from Amateur Radio, the ARRL has called on the FCC to ``take no steps`` to permit Broadband over Power Line (BPL) -- a form of power line carrier (PLC) technology. The League has filed a 120-page response--including studies--in response to the FCC`s BPL Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in ET Docket 03-104, published May 23. The NOI asking how the FCC should regulate the delivery of broadband services to homes and businesses using electrical wiring to conduct high-speed digital signals attracted some 1900 comments -- many from the amateur community -- by the July 7 comment deadline. ``ARRL is unwilling to have the Amateur Service gored with the double-edged sword of an incompatible service that will at once (1) cause widespread interference, and (2) preclude any future changes in the amateur HF allocations,`` the ARRL said. The League said that based on ``diligent and exhaustive research,`` it`s concluded that BPL must avoid any and all amateur MF, HF and VHF allocations without exception. ``This interference potential, as a matter of both law and fact, disqualifies access BPL as a potential future competitive broadband delivery system.`` How will the radiation from BPL wiring affect other systems, such as telephone or cable TV? So-called ``access BPL`` would use existing overhead medium-voltage power lines to distribute Internet and broadband services to homes and businesses. Another form of BPL, ``in-house BPL,`` uses electrical wiring inside a building to distribute digital signals. The League said that while it`s aware that current Part 15 rules permit BPL, its interference potential remains untested and unrealized, since no access BPL systems are in operation. BPL proponents would prefer that the FCC authorize even higher power levels for such systems, however. ``BPL is a Pandora`s Box of unprecedented proportions,`` the ARRL declared. It asked the FCC to modify its Part 15 rules to prevent interference to users of the HF and low-VHF spectrum from the start and ``to prevent consumers` reliance on BPL as an interference-free broadband delivery system.`` In announcing its BPL initiative earlier this year, members of the FCC could barely contain their enthusiasm for the technology. The League`s comments point out, however, that the FCC had acceded to the utility industry by citing potential interference to and from unlicensed power company PLC power-grid control systems in turning down ARRL`s petition for a 136 kHz allocation. ARRL had asked that hams be permitted to transmit on 136 kHz at less than 2 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP); the FCC had proposed 1 W EIRP. ``Yet, the same industry, together with BPL manufacturers, is apparently contending now that at HF and VHF, where the power lines are better antennas than they are at LF, that BPL can co-exist with amateur stations using more than 10,000 watts EIRP,`` the League said. ``Both arguments cannot be valid.`` Studies appended to the League`s comments suggest received signal levels of BPL broadband noise at typical amateur stations would be anywhere from 33.7 dB to 65.4 dB higher than typical ambient noise levels in the worst-case situations. ``BPL cannot be deployed using amateur allocations in the MF, HF and VHF bands without severely high interference potential,`` the ARRL reiterated. One technical issue involves the best method to bridging or bypass the typical step-down pole transformer to deliver BPL from the power grid into an office or dwelling. Electric utility companies would operate many, if not most, BPL systems. ARRL pointed out that some power companies have demonstrated a less-than-stellar record of cooperation in resolving complaints of power line noise to hams. ``It is fair to say that power line interference to Amateur Radio has been a substantial regulatory burden to the Commission,`` the ARRL said. ``It is a very substantial problem now for the Amateur Service, without the addition of BPL to the mix.`` The ARRL concluded by urging the FCC to ensure that BPL ``is not permitted to operate in or near any Amateur Radio allocations`` and that any future changes in ham allocations would ``trigger retroactive modifications to BPL facilities`` to avoid amateur frequencies. In addition, the ARRL said, spurious emissions from BPL facilities must be substantially attenuated below current Part 15 requirements. ARRL`s complete filing in response to the FCC`s NOI is available on the FCC Web site [at] http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514284573 The complete NOI is available on the FCC Web site [at] http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-100A1.doc Reply comments in this proceeding are due on or before August 6, 2003. Interested parties may submit electronically filed comments via the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) [at] http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ Under ECFS Main Links, click on ``Submit a Filing.`` In the ``Proceeding`` field, enter ``03-104`` and complete the required field. Comments may be typed into a form or you may attach a file containing your comments. Comments also may be submitted via e-mail, per instructions on the ECFS page. The ARRL has initiated an important Spectrum Defense Fund campaign to support activities to educate government officials on the potential threat that BPL poses to Amateur Radio. To find out more, or to support ARRL`s efforts in this area, visit the ARRL`s secure BPL Web site [at] https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/bpl/ Related Story: ``Understanding the FCC`s Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) Notice of Inquiry`` http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2003/06/19/2/ Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Fwd: NEW REGULATIONS FOR THE AMATEUR SERVICES Note: We received the following news release from the International Amateur Radio Union on the outcome of World Radiocommunications Conference `03 and feel it is important for all of you to read. In addition to the data already in circulation dealing with upcoming changes to 40 meters in 2009, this document also has information on overall regulatory changes to ham radio world-wide as the result of the just concluded Geneva Switzerland conference. Also remember that here in the United States we hams must await FCC action to implement any of these changes. They do not go into effect until that happens and this could (and will) be several years in the future. It might be wise to keep this on file for future reference as the regulatory change process begins. WA6ITF, ARNewsline(tm) July 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS RELEASE --- International Amateur Radio Union P.O. Box 310905, Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA FAX: +1 860 594 0259 E-Mail: iaru@i... [truncated] 3 July 2003 For immediate release New Regulations For The Amateur Services By Michael Owen, VK3KI, WRC-03 IARU Observer Team Member Introduction On 4th July 2003 the World Radiocommunication Conference, Geneva, 2003 ended and on the following day, the 5th July 2003 the new international regulations governing the amateur and amateur satellite services, Article 25 of the Radio Regulations, that had been adopted by the Conference come into effect. The language of many provisions in Article 25 as it was before 5th July 2003 was the language of many years ago, reflecting the priorities, structures and attitudes of a time long gone. Provisions such as requiring amateur stations to use ``plain language``, that communications be limited to messages ``relating to experiments``, and remarks ``for which by reason of their lack of importance, the use of the telegraph service could not enter into consideration``, the prohibition of ``international communications emanating from third parties``, though that provision ``may be modified by special arrangements between the interested countries``, the requirement for Morse Code, and a number of other provisions are to be found in Article 8 of the General Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention, Madrid, 1932. The IARU policy was to seek the simplification of the Regulations affecting the amateur services by removal of regulations that were no longer necessary, the removal of provisions that were redundant because the subject matter was covered elsewhere in the Radio Regulations, the updating of provisions to reflect today`s attitudes and activities, the identification of some standards for the qualification of amateurs and the addition of provisions that encouraged amateurs to be given the ability to provide emergency communications and to encourage the international recognition of amateur licences. The Radio Regulations, the international regulations, define the fundamentals of the amateur services, and regulate international communications between stations in the amateur and amateur-satellite services. Administrations may and do make additional regulations, and regulate in detail the amateur services in their country. This article compares the previous regulations with the new regulations and attempts to identify what is new and what is different. It does not attempt to explain why the particular provision was adopted in a particular form, which is another story told elsewhere. The numbers used to identify provisions are the temporary numbers used by the ITU in the course of the WRC. Banned countries list The first provision of Article 25, the so called ``banned countries`` list is a provision that is to be found in the 1932 Regulations, and is almost the same as the previous regulation except that it is now expressed positively rather negatively. The provision reads: 25.1 Radiocommunications between amateur stations of different countries shall be permitted unless the administration of one of the countries concerned has notified that it objects to such radiocommunications. That is a provision that has only a limited effect on most amateurs. The balance of Article 25 is more directly relevant to the day to day activities of radio amateurs. What may be transmitted by Amateur Stations The old international regulation relating to what an amateur station may transmit was as follows: ``When transmissions between amateur stations of different countries are permitted, they shall be made in plain language and shall be limited to messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to remarks of a personal character for which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications service is not justified.`` This dealt with two distinct matters, the content of messages and the encryption of messages. The phrase ``messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to remarks of a personal character`` could be construed unnecessarily narrowly, and did not reflect today`s world, and the qualifying phrase ``which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications service is not justified`` was both vague and uncertain, and certainly reflected a time when in most countries the common carrier was a government monopoly. So, the old provision was replaced by a new provision as follows: 25.2 Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries shall be limited to communications incidental to the purposes of the amateur service, as defined in No. 1.56 and to remarks of a personal character. The term ``incidental to`` is wide, certainly not requiring a narrow connection with the ``purposes of the amateurs service`` and as the ``purposes`` of the amateur service set out in the definition are ``self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations``, the subject matter goes much beyond ``tests``. The new provision much more accurately reflects what in fact is the subject matter of amateur transmissions today. Coded Messages It is assumed that the phrase in the old provision requiring transmissions to be in ``plain language`` meant something transmitted by either voice or Morse that anyone could hear and understand. But today amateurs use many codes, and so what is meant by the phrase ``plain language`` could become a question in some countries. The language is no longer really appropriate. And, in any event a total prohibition is not appropriate as encryption is required for the control of satellites by command stations. The requirement is not for ``plain language`` but a prohibition of messages encoded for the purposes of obscuring their meaning. So, the simple phrase in the old regulation was replaced by a new provision, as follows: 25.2A Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries shall not be encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except for control signals exchanged between earth command stations and the space station in the amateur satellite service. The IARU had suggested that it would be desirable for the exception to be expressed more widely than limited to satellite control signals, but a number of countries resisted this for security reasons. Of course the provision applies only to international communications. Therefore, repeater control signals, which are almost invariably transmitted within a single country and so are subject to national rather than international, regulation, may be encoded unless prohibited by national regulation. ``Third party`` messages One of the most difficult areas was the old provisions dealing with so called ``third party messages.`` The provisions were as follows: It is absolutely forbidden for amateur stations to be used for transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties. The preceding provisions may be modified by special arrangements between the administrations of the countries concerned. That prohibition of international communication on behalf of third parties is very wide. What is a communication on behalf of a third party? School children speaking to an astronaut is a communication on behalf of a third party, as is participation in the Jamboree on the Air. The provision inhibited preparation for disaster communication, and indeed, international disaster relief communications unless a special arrangements were in place between the two countries concerned. The requirement that the prohibition could be modified by ``special arrangements between the administrations of the countries concerned`` was slow and clumsy, in many countries involving the ministry responsible for foreign relations. The IARU suggested the suppression of both provisions, taking the view that each administration was fully empowered to regulate its amateurs, and in particular to define what communication could and could not be carried by an amateur station both nationally and internationally. Of course, the fundamental requirement that the amateur service is non commercial is to be found in the definition of the amateur service and Article 25.2 set out above. The new provision reads as follows: 25.3 Amateur stations may be used for transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties only in the case of an emergency or disaster relief. . An administration may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction. The exception to the blanket prohibition for cases of emergency and disaster relief is important, and when read with the new provision intended to encourage emergency communication by amateur stations will hopefully lead administrations to adopt new regulations to facilitate such activities. This second sentence of this provision enables each administration to define what is a communication on behalf of a third party, and with whom the stations under its jurisdiction may exchange such communications. If the other station`s administration permits the same communication, then the communication may be exchanged internationally. The removal of the requirement for bilateral agreements between countries is significant as the new regulation certainly provides the means by which each administration can permit many activities, such as disaster relief, practice for emergency communication, and educational communications to take place internationally. Morse Code The old regulation that Morse was a requirement for the operators of amateur stations below 30 MHz was found in a provision that read as follows: Any person seeking a licence to operate the apparatus of an amateur station shall prove that he is able to send correctly by hand and to receive correctly by ear texts in Morse code signals. The administrations concerned may, however, waive this requirement in the case of stations making use exclusively of frequencies above 30 MHz. That was replaced with a provision giving each administration the right to decide whether or not Morse is a required qualification as follows: 25.5 Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a licence to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to send and receive texts in Morse code signals. The alternative of simply deleting the old provision was rejected because a number of administrations thought that the matter was so important that a positive decision not to require Morse as a qualification was appropriate. The effect is actually the same: Morse code is no longer an internationally required qualification for an amateur licence, though an administration may still require it. The Qualification of Amateurs Apart from the Morse code as a qualification, the previous regulation provided: Administrations shall take such measures as they judge necessary to verify the operational and technical qualifications of any person wishing to operate the apparatus of an amateur station. This was replaced by a new provision as follows: 25.6 Administrations shall verify the operational and technical qualifications of any person wishing to operate an amateur station. Guidance for standards of competence may be found in the most recent version of Recommendation ITU-R M.1544. The reference to the Recommendation is a non-mandatory reference. That is, an administration is not bound to follow it, but it is expected that all administrations will take the Recommendation into account when setting the qualification for an amateur licensee. The Recommendation is very general, for example providing that any person seeking a license to operate an amateur station should demonstrate a ``theoretical knowledge of: Radio regulations, international, domestic``, and under the heading ``Radio system theory``, ``transmitters, receivers, antennas and propagation and measurements.`` Consistently with the decisions of the Conference, the Recommendation does not suggest any requirement for a Morse skill. That accords with the IARU position that the Radio Regulations should give some guidance as to the qualification appropriate for an amateur licence, but should not attempt to set a syllabus, as the diversity of environments for which a standard must be set is very great. The identification of a standard, the topics on which knowledge is required, reflects one of the essential elements of the amateur service, namely that an amateur is a person who has demonstrated an operational and technical qualification, distinguishing that amateur from many other users of the spectrum. Power The next provision in the new Regulations is: 25.7 The maximum power of amateur stations shall be fixed by the administrations concerned. That is almost the same as the old regulation, but with the words after those words in the old provision being omitted, so the words ``having regard to the technical qualifications of the operators and to the conditions under which these stations are to operate`` are no longer part of the provision. The application of other provisions of the Radio Regulations Again, Article 25.8 is a shortened version of the previous article, and reads as follows: 25.8 All pertinent Articles and Provisions of the Constitution, the Convention and of these Regulations shall apply to amateur stations. That changes the reference to ``general rules`` to ``pertinent`` provisions of the current ITU documents and omits the sentence ``In particular, the emitted frequency shall be as stable and as free from spurious emissions as the state of technical development for such stations permits.`` which is unnecessary as the requirements apply to amateur stations in any event. In reality, there is no change arising from the different wording. Probably the provision is unnecessary in any event, but it offered some assurance to administrations that amateurs will abide by all pertinent rules. Call signs Finally, a provision that is the same as the previous provision: 25.9 During the course of their transmissions, amateur stations shall transmit their call sign at short intervals. Emergency Communications Then, a completely new provision is included in Article 25, a provision that really needs no explanation. 25.9A Administrations are encouraged to take the necessary steps to allow amateur stations to prepare for and meet communication needs in support of disaster relief. That provision should be read in conjunction with Article 25.3, and it is hoped that administrations will make regulations that facilitate amateurs preparing for emergency situations and providing communications in emergencies and for disaster relief. This was an important IARU objective. The international recognition of the licences of visiting amateurs A further completely new provision is added to Article 25: 25.9B Administrations may determine whether or not to permit a person who has been granted a licence to operate an amateur station by another administration, to operate an amateur station while that person is temporarily in its territory, subject to such conditions or restrictions it may impose. This provision has been interpreted by some to mean that an administration may, if it wishes, permit a licensee from another country to operate in its territory without issuing a licence, as would otherwise be required by Article 18 of the Radio Regulations. There is some substance in interpretation, as the provision deals with ``permissions`` and applies only to a person temporarily in the territory of the other administration. The interpretation of the provision is, of course, a matter for administrations, but hopefully it is a provision that will encourage administrations to allow amateurs to enjoy their hobby while travelling by recognising the foreign licence. A global recognition would fill in the gaps left by the CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 and the International Amateur Radio Permit of the OAS. The Amateur-satellite service The final two provisions deal with amateur-satellite service, the first being unchanged and reading as follows: 25.10 The provisions of Section I of this Article shall apply equally, as appropriate, to the amateur-satellite service. The next provision is the only operative provision in Article 25 dealing with the amateur-satellite service. The previous provision read as follows: Space stations in the amateur-satellite service operating in bands shared with other services shall be fitted with appropriate devices for controlling emissions in the event that harmful interference is reported in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 22. Administrations authorizing such space stations shall inform the IFRB and shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations are established before launch to guarantee that any harmful interference which might be reported can be terminated by the authorizing administration (see No. 2612). The provision was unnecessarily complex, repeating obligations that are found elsewhere in the Radio Regulations, particularly Article 22. In the end, the following simplified provision was adopted: 25.11 Administrations authorizing space stations in the amateur- satellite service shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations are established before launch to ensure that any harmful interference caused by emissions from a station in the amateur- satellite service can be terminated immediately (see No. 22.1). The new provision avoids the repetition in different words of regulations that already apply to the stations, and simply requires that sufficient earth command stations are established before launch. The Definition of the Amateur Service When, in 1996, the IARU commenced its examination of the issues raised by placing Article 25 of the Radio Regulations on the agenda of a future World Radiocommunication Conference, it very quickly saw that the definition remained as relevant and appropriate as it had been over the many years that it been a part of the Radio regulations. It is worth setting out that definition for the sake of completeness: 1.56 Amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorised persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. Similarly, the definition of the amateur-satellite service remains unchanged: 1.57 Amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of the amateur service. The Conference decided that no change was required to those definitions in Article 1. Conclusion The Radio Regulations are the written result of the welding together of the different views of different people with different languages and from different cultures. It is no doubt easy to say that some of the provisions could be expressed more elegantly, and that some of the provisions are not necessary. Of course, it is true that the narrower provisions of the old international regulations have not really inhibited the amateur service in many countries, with administrations preferring a liberal interpretation. But in the long run, the amateur service cannot afford to have countries ignore the international regulations. It is fundamental that the amateurs have appropriate ``operational and technical qualifications.`` A speed limit that is unrealistic and not enforced is going to be ignored. What was appropriate in 1932 may not be appropriate in 2003. In the end it is suggested that the meaning of Article 25 is clear, even if expressed in language different from the language suggested by the IARU. What is important is the substance, not the form, and it is suggested that the changes and additions made to Article 25 by WRC 2003 will meet the needs for the future of the amateur service identified by the IARU (via ARNL via John Norfolk, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ In the discussion about TV DX off-frequency European transmitters were mentioned: These are no faulty, drifting transmitters but instead deliberate so-called offsets, a technique to reduce interferences between co-channel transmitters by shifting the video carriers a certain amount against each other. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ARNIE CORO`S DXERS UNLIMITED`S HF PLUS LOW VHF BAND PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST Solar activity is and will very probably continue to be MODERATE, with a big group of sunspots making solar scientist very happy at this moment... THERE IS A REALLY BIG SUNSPOT GROUP AT THIS MOMENT: Sunspot group 375 is still growing. The large leading spot alone is about the size of the planet Neptune, and the entire group, which consists of 40 individual spots, stretches 10 Earth-diameters from end to end. But please, take care and although it is easy to see -- never stare directly at the sun. Always use safe solar observing techniques , that do require special equipment !!! Solar flux is now around 140 units, and reports are coming in about exceptional Sporadic E TRANSATLANTIC propagation reaching up to the FM broadcast band. Expect more interesting propagation during the next three to five days amigos. As usual during the summer, you will notice that the short wave conditions actually improve after your local sunset, so spend some time looking for DX from about half an hour before local sunset to about an hour after or so, when a noticeable peak in propagation will almost surely be happening (Arnie Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 8 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 09 JULY - 04 AUGUST 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels but predominantly at low levels. Region 397 and Region 400 have the potential for moderate level activity before they rotate beyond the west limb on 09 July and 13 July, respectively. Activity for the remainder of the period is expected to be at very low to low levels. No greater than 10 MeV proton events at geosynchronous orbit are expected during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 06 – 08 July, 12 – 14 July, 16 – 18 July, 20 – 28 July, and again on 30 July – 02 August due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. Minor storm levels are possible on 11 – 12 July due to a small recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. Unsettled to major storm levels are possible on 14– 16 July due to small but intense coronal hole high speed stream. A large southern coronal hole is due to return on 23 - 27 July with major storm levels possible. The trailing portion of this large coronal hole will be in a geoeffective position on 29 July – 01 August and is expected to produce minor storm levels. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jul 08 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 Jul 08 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jul 09 140 15 3 2003 Jul 10 135 10 3 2003 Jul 11 125 25 5 2003 Jul 12 120 20 4 2003 Jul 13 120 15 3 2003 Jul 14 120 25 5 2003 Jul 15 120 30 5 2003 Jul 16 115 20 4 2003 Jul 17 115 12 3 2003 Jul 18 115 20 4 2003 Jul 19 115 15 3 2003 Jul 20 115 20 4 2003 Jul 21 115 25 5 2003 Jul 22 115 20 4 2003 Jul 23 120 20 4 2003 Jul 24 125 30 5 2003 Jul 25 125 30 5 2003 Jul 26 130 25 5 2003 Jul 27 130 20 4 2003 Jul 28 130 15 3 2003 Jul 29 135 15 3 2003 Jul 30 135 15 3 2003 Jul 31 140 20 4 2003 Aug 01 140 20 4 2003 Aug 02 130 25 5 2003 Aug 03 135 25 5 2003 Aug 04 135 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1190, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-121, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 1189: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 and/or 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1189.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1190: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825; Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070, Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039; Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330 on 7445/15039 Sun 0030 on WINB 12160 DXLD JUNE 2003 HTML ARCHIVE is complete and available as of 2000 UT July 6, including corrections, cross-references and hot links: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3f.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hey Glenn, I'm listening to you from Spain via the cristal clear Worldspace receiver. Gracias por tu dedicación al mundo de la onda corta. Te escucho desde hace más de doce años por las diferentes emisoras en las que estás y has estado. Cuando puedo te sintonizo por el programa Radio Enlace de RN. Gracias por todo. Hasta otra (Antonio Jesús Pérez Quirantes, from Granada, Spain, July 8) ** ANGOLA. 3375, R. Nacional, has been reported in DX media recently (e.g. RDXP WE Jun 29). No trace of it here, and has not been for some years. Possibly a mix up with the R. Nacional station in Brazil (Vashek Korinek, RSA, DXplorer via BC-DX via DXLD) 3375, UNID MIX, real mix of some Portuguese language stations at 2355 July 4. In the summer of 2001, I was lucky to hear here Angola; much much earlier Brazil was caught here. There weren't any IDs, so I really don't know what stations made that mix (Artyom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in a countryside just in some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 11440, 0120-, Radio Cochiguaz (not) Jul 6. Fair reception with lots of atmospheric crashes with non-stop Spanish talk from 0117 when first checked. Sounds like a relay of a local station. Very professional sounding. Signal would be nice except for the static. Best by far on my T2FD antenna. Very clean audio. 0144: Checked again at 0133 with soccer play by play and mentions of Argentina. I became suspicious. Sure enough an email came shortly afterwards from Radio Cochiguaz confirming that the frequency is occupied by the Argentinian feeder. Sorry for the mixup. Reception was 4-3-4 at 0147 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria BC, hard-core-dx July 5 via DXLD) Helping to explain items in last issue Just been listening to lsb 11440 khz, with 2 xguys with rápido SS; one could have been calling the finish of horse races he was that worked up. The other spoke much more sedately. This at 2315 UT Saturday, thru' till 2400 UT (our Sunday morning). Noise tho' made any chance of an ID impossible. Does anybody have a definite ID? Is it R. Cochiguaz. Strength was really good, tho' lots of noise to match that strength. Regards to all, (Chris Elliott, Australia? July 5, ARDXC via DXLD) I don't think this is Cochiguaz/Piraña, it seems more like the relays of mainstream Buenos Aires broadcasters often heard on 15820 etc in the past, for rebroadcast around the Argentine Antarctic. Just a coincidence they're using 11440; though note Cochiguaz is sked in USB whereas this is in LSB. Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, NZ, ibid.) ** ASIA. MAKING WAVES --- Time Asia July 14, 2003 / Vol. 161 No. 27 BY HANNAH BEECH Talk radio is enabling Asians to air their grievances --- and to organize politically --- like never before . . . http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501030714-463131,00.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Deals mainly with Hong Kong, China, Thailand; also Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan ** AUSTRALIA. If your connexion to the net supports at least 250 kbps, try this ABC News video feed that rotates through 7 or 8 stories at any given time. Enter this into the RealPlayer Open Location field: http://www.abc.net/au/broadbandnews/ram/news.ram (Tom Sundstrom, NJ, Net Notes, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. July 7 around 2315 I was getting loud and clear reception of R. Australia on 21740, so decided to scan the 13 m broadcast band and the 14 m hamband to see what else was coming in. Aside from a few carriers (birdies?), NOTHING on either band. On the broadcast band I can believe that, as RA is aimed this way with 100 kW and there may not be anything else on the band at this hour within megameters of Shepparton. But where were all the hams? With BFO on, not a trace of a single SSB signal from anywhere? True, 1 kW or less is no match for 100, but shouldn`t there be something? The band was clearly open from Vic to OK, and in all probability between most of Australia and most of USA, at least. If I had a ticket, I`d at least have called CQ to see if anyone would answer. Apparently the VKs, not hearing any North Americans, and vice versa, decided the band was closed. When a tree falls. . . If that`s all the interest they have in 14m, it might as well be turned over to PLC = BPL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Re ORF programming on shortwave: See http://roi.orf.at/down/gr_programm_juli_2003.pdf Many of the one hour transmissions to overseas targets now contain a half hour of programming played twice. The first page of the PDF file is erroneous: the time for the repeat of the half hour 0100-0130 to North America (i.e. on 9870) is given two hours too late, making me wonder if Report from Austria was missed at 0145 because the continuity system was misprogrammed as well (who knows who may be responsible for this task now)? Anyway it appears that Ö1 is not even able to terminate the ROI brand after gaining responsibility for the shortwave service. They just took the existing web presence, deleted most of the pages, adopted a few ones they decided to keep and that's all. Of course there is nowhere a mention of shortwave, of a "Radio Österreich 1 International" as it was promoted by ORF management in advance, on the regulär Ö1 pages http://oe1.orf.at What a confidence trick (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Glenn, I'm afraid the info about Radio Afrika International in DXLD 3-119 is out of date. The station was indeed daily at 1500-1600 on 17895 earlier this year, as the article says. But this switched to 17875 for the summer period. More recently the transmissions were cut back to 1530-1600 on Saturdays only. But when I checked last Saturday at that time I heard nothing on either 17875 or 17895. I now wonder if the station is still on the air at all. Is anyone else still hearing it? Reception used to be good here in Nairobi. Regards, (Chris Greenway, Kenya, July 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tsk; article also appears in July NASWA Journal ** BAHRAIN. BAHRAINI RADIO LAUNCHES A SERVICE FOR INDIAN MUSIC MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- To the delight and surprise of the large Indian community in Bahrain, state radio has begun broadcasting music from the subcontinent around-the-clock. The station went on air Tuesday night, playing a collection of new and old songs, mostly Indian, a Bahrain Radio official said Thursday. The service has no name yet, but it is found at 104.2 FM. "We have launched the station on a trial basis ... We want to see the reaction," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. In the streets of Manama, the reaction was positive Thursday. "This is a great move and I am very excited," said Dhavan Dhanak, 30, an inventory controller from Gujarat, India. "I have been listening to the service all day." The service took many by surprise. "I thought I had tuned into the service from the United Arab Emirates, or maybe it was my tape playing," said Irshad Sikandar Khan, 30, a delivery man from Gujarat, India. "I am so happy to know that it's our own radio station." "I will enjoy my driving job more now," Khan said, as he began humming in tune to a well-known song playing on the radio. The Emirates has several southeast Asian services on its radio. People from the Indian subcontinent form the bulk of Bahrain's more than 200,000 expatriates, who work mostly as manual laborers and domestic workers. Indian music and movies are extremely popular on the island. am-jbm (APws 07/03 0650 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. 4820, Radio Botswana, 0215-0326 July 1, apparently on early with man hosting program of local music, lively talks in Setswana and mentions of Gaborone. IDs noted at 0242 and 0253. Special occasion? Fair (Richard D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) As reported recently in DXLD, has gone 24 hours, and apparently that includes the SW frequency (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re 3-120: Glenn, Artigo interessante sobre as emissoras católicas brasileiras, apenas gostaria de fazer as seguintes correções: A Voz do Coração Imaculado 4885 kHz está inativa há alguns anos, não é uma emissora nova. Rádio Canção Nova é retransmitida pela Rádio Gazeta e não Rádio Record; esta é de propriedade da Igreja Universal do Reino De Deus, uma das maiores Igrejas Pentecostais do Brasil, aliás, tanto quanto as emissoras católicas que retransmitem seus programas por diversas emissoras em onda média, também existem as protestantes, muitas. Um abraço (Samuel Cássio Martins, São Carlos, SP, Brasil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA. GOVERNMENT THREATENS TO SHUT DOWN BEEHIVE RADIO | Text of report in English by Cambodian news agency AKP web site Phnom Penh, 8 July: The Ministry of Information threatened to shut down a radio station that has begun airing news from Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, and thousands of workers attended an open debate between Funcinpec [National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia] and Sam Rainsy Party officials in Phnom Penh on Sunday [6 July], according to the Cambodia Daily. Khieu Kanharith, secretary of state for the Ministry of information, said Sunday he has warned Beehive Radio to stop airing the twice-a-day broadcasts of VOA and RFA news, which began 1 July. "I can order to shut the station down any time, but I wait to see whether the station respects the Cambodian law or the American law," he said. "If they still continue to broadcast [RFA and VOA], I will work with the Ministry of Information to strip the licence from the station," he said. Beehive airs 30-minute segments from each programme in the mornings and 90-minute segments in the evenings. Station founder Mam Sonando said he got [the] idea after he saw someone reading a local newspaper over a television news programme. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse web site, Phnom Penh, in English 8 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** CANADA. FM radio continues to be a profit center in CANADA, according to STATSTICS CANADA, with 70% of FM stations reporting a profit (average profit margin 24.3%), while AM stations are losing money, a trend in place since 1990. English station profit margins were 16.4%, and French stations reported a profit margin of 15.2%. CALGARY and OTTAWA were the most profitable large markets in 2001 and 2002; the industry as a whole showed slowing growth, with revenues up 2.7% in 2002, down from being up 4.4% in 2001 and 5.3% in 2000 (from http://www.allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, July 7, 2003, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Found this in the FCC database.. NEW(AM) DA2 U 710 10 kW Day Leamington, ON 110.08 158.75 Fac ID#: 106792 Is this an error left over from the old "CHYR" days, or is someone going to put a new 710 station in Leamington? (Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM July 6 via DXLD) Neither --- it's part of the cross-border cat and mouse game of international protections. Canada's still protecting that 710 facility against US incursions (just as it does with almost any AM that goes dark up there); the US retaliates by "notifying" Canada of powerful facilities in places like northern Maine that don't and never will exist. As a general rule, the FCC database is utterly useless when it comes to accurately listing Canadian facilities. You need Industry Canada's own database for that. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) ** CANARY ISLANDS. Hannu Uotila in Finland has logged the Tenerife outlet of RNE-5 on 88.8. The Spanish DXer Mauricio Molano, who works with RNE says that this network relays Madrid most of the day, except for a 5-minute local news slot before the top of the hour. Hannu was happy to hear a short news interview related to the Canary Islands at .57 past the hour and for almost a minute. The distance between the transmitter and the receiver is 4,700 km (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, it`s Teneriffa in Swedish and German ** CONGO DR. RADIO CANDIP BACK ON THE AIR IN BUNIA; REPORTS MILITIA BOSS'S MEETINGS | Excerpt from report by Congolese radio from Bunia on 7 July We have just noted the entry into the studio of the special secretary for the presidency [of the Union of Congolese Patriots for Peace and Reconciliation, UPC-RP]. Clearly he has a message. Good morning. [Official] I have come to give an (?overview) of the activities of the chairman of the UPC-RP, HE Thomas Lubanga, over the period when Radio Candip was experiencing technical problems. The reopening of Radio Candip took place at around 1000 local time [0800 gmt] on Saturday 5 July after the personal intervention of his excellency the chairman of the UPC-RP, Mr Thomas Lubanga, who did not spare any effort to procure the damaged spare parts. Efforts continue to improve the condition of the radio and TV station to serve the residents of Ituri [region in northeastern DRCongo] in particular. [Radio Candip had not been heard for a week prior to 5 July.] During this period the UPC-RP chairman, HE Thomas Lubanga, continued to work tirelessly to consolidate peace in Ituri and in Bunia in collaboration with all the organizations and forces working towards this end. For instance, the UPC-RP chairman received the political counsellor at the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in DRCongo, Mr Michael Genet [phonetic], at his official residence in the (?Lumumba) neighbourhood on Wednesday 2 July 2003. Mr Genet was accompanied by Maj Descuillesperes Barthes [phonetic], the Belgian liaison officer seconded to the multinational force in Bunia. Their talks centred on various issues related to the security situation in Ituri and the respective positions of the Belgian and German governments on the situation in Ituri, and on the presence of their troops in the multinational force. [Passage omitted] The UPC-RP chairman received a courtesy call from a delegation of the OCHA [UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] led by the head of OCHA's humanitarian services in Ituri, Mr Mahmoud Hachi [phonetic], the same day. [Passage omitted] On Friday 4 July, the UPC-RP chairman, HE Thomas Lubanga, received a UPC-RP delegation which had returned from a diplomatic mission to Kampala, where it had gone to meet the president of the Republic of Uganda, HE Mr Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, with the aim of restoring relations favourable to good neighbourliness. The report of this delegation led by HE Mr Jean Kinazabo Zeremani [phonetic], the secretary-general of our movement, proved to be very positive. [Passage omitted --- by BBCM in all cases here] On the morning of the same Friday, HE the chairman of the UPC-RP also received a delegation from the Roman Catholic Church-run NGO Caritas, led by the head of this association in Bunia Diocese, Msgr Etienne Ndayikosi [phonetic]. [Passage omitted] Source: Radio Candip, Bunia, in French 0500 gmt 7 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CUBA. Playing with car stereos today with an eye on CH 2 and the FM and I come in and hear elevator music on 92.9 in mono!!!! The song ends and the announcer comes on in Spanish, the it fades out 45 seconds later. My Spanish is not good enough to figure out what he is saying; sounds like "music for your home and, (maybe) in the city". I have no clue, and there may not even be an ID, but if anyone can give this a try, I can email you the file, with 4+MB for .wav or a very good 378 kb mp3 file. Also, anyone know of any Spanish targets on 92.9 in mono that play elevator music, or very lite piano music? Any guesses would be appreciated! Thanks, (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, July 6, WTFDA via DXLD) [Later:] the latest thoughts are the woman that is about to be interviewed is at her home in Matanzas, (Cuba ?). The woman`s name is CARILDA OLIVER LABRA (and she was born in that city from what we have found on the internet). My antenna was pointing south/southwest at the time, which is my best null to the ever increasing semi-locals. The station was DEFINITELY in MONO --- no doubt about that, as my tuner gets everything in Stereo when it is broadcasting in stereo. This was definitely mono. Also, I was receiving Miami-WPBT-2 most of the morning and Cuba is a straight shot past that. So, I'm doubting it's TA to Spain at this point and TE to Argentina seems rather unlikely; however, I have never in 20+ years of DXing, received a Cuban so I would really like to get this one ID'ed if possible. If there is a 92.9 in Cuba, I can try and contact them, I just can't find any listing for one anywhere --- not even your web page! (Bill Nollman, Farmington CT, to Humberto, WTFDA via DXLD) Yes, ¡it is Cuban! I listened the mp3. The background music is a version of "Unicornio" a classical of singer Silvio Rodríguez, from the "nueva trova cubana". The transcription: "Amigos, estoy conversando con la poeta Carilda Oliver Labra, Premio Nacional de Literatura, en su casa de la ciudad de Matanzas, donde nos ha recibido con su habitual amabilidad, queridos amigos ..." "Friends I'm talking with the poet Carilda Oliver Labra, National Literature Prize (winner), in her home, at Matanzas City, where she had received us with her habitual amiability, dear friends....." (Humberto Molina, El Salvador, ibid.) Excellent, so the $100,000 question is does anyone know of a 92.9 in Cuba? I have a 2 year old WRTH and it has a 92.1 and a 93.7 listed, which would make it extremely possible to have a 92.9 somewhere on the island, but where? Thanks for the help! (Bill Nollman, ibid.) Well, of course there`s a new Cuban on 92.9, as I mentioned recently on World of Radio based on this item in DX Listening Digest 3-112 of June 24; I do include VHF and UHF news, and invite everyone to read it; one link is http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html Regards, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) [R. Manatí, La Voz del Faro, Victoria de las Tunas] Glenn to the rescue ! YES !!! Now, you think if I write they would send a veri??? (BN, ibid.) Who knows? But we don`t have a complete address (gh) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINE: 12120, Voice of Ethiopian Medhin, 1830+, July 06. Transmission in Amharic. Sign-on. Flute sound (very nice). Very clear identification by female. Music. News or talk by male. 34443. Best reception after 1900 UT (Arnaldo Slaen, Chascomus "the Argentine`s DX paradise". Near the lake, with a sample longwire (5 meters) and a Sony ICF2010, Argentina, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. DTK-T systems changes, all Jülich 100 kW: Pan American Broadcasting - Waymarks Ministry: 1500-1515 15650 115 deg Sun to ME English ||||| new txion 1530-1600 15650 100 deg Sun to ME English ||||| new txion Brother Stair/TOM/: 1200-1600 6110 non-dir Daily to Eu English ||||| no change 1600-1700 6110 non-dir Sat to Eu English ||||| no change 1300-1600 13810 115 deg Daily to ME English ||||| ex til 1400 Bible Voice Broadcasting Network/BVBN/: 1515-1800 15680* 115 deg Sat/Sun to ME English ||||| no change 1530-1700 15680* 115 deg Mon/Tue to ME English ||||| ex Mon-Fri 1530-1730 15680* 115 deg Thu to ME English ||||| no change 1530-1800 15680* 115 deg Wed/Fri to ME English ||||| ex Sat/Sun 1700-1745 15680* 115 deg Tue to ME Russian ||||| new txion 1615-1730 15750# 115 deg Mon-Fri to ME Arabic ||||| new txion 1700-1800 15750# 115 deg Sat/Sun to ME English ||||| new txion * strong co-ch Radio Free Asia in Mandarin Chinese plus Chinese mx jammer # strong co-ch Voice of Iran in Persian via ISS 500 kW / 090 deg til 1730 (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) ** GUINEA. 6155, RTVG, Conakry, appears to have reactivated 6155 for weekend evening transmissions, observed in Melbourne on Jun 28 (Sat) in the period 2315-0000* carrying domestic service relay, French, film music. Not audible on other days, maybe only Saturdays at this time (Bob Padula, EDXP via DXLD) ** INDIA. Fans of Indian music should check out All India Radio on 10.330 MHz tonight. This is the best I have ever heard this 50 kW Indian regional broadcaster. The level is right up there with the best reception I have ever had on the 11.620 beam to Western Europe in the late evening UT. Been listening here since 0030 UT. Signal peaked at 50 dB above the ambient noise at 0040. Now starting to drop as the sun rises over India. The terminator went through Mumbai about 0030 providing a total grey line path to the East Coast of the USA. Program consists mostly of film music with a soft spoken announcer more suited to a late night program than a morning drive time host. But then maybe in India the morning drive guy has to be smooth and soothing so as not to scare the oxen (Joe Buch, DE, UT July 7, swprograms via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR External Service is now noted on the additional frequency of 6165 at 1230-1600 in Sindhi (1230-1500) and Baluchi (1500-1600) beamed to Pakistan. The \\ freqs are 1071, 9620 and 11585. The Nepali Service was noted today at 0700-0745 on around 11034 kHz drifting slowly upwards. From around 0750 UT they came back to their normal freq ofuency 11850 (Jose Jacob-IND, VU2JOS, DXindia, July 6 via DXLD) WRC-03 band realignment: That means All India R and others have to vacate 7100-7200 kHz by 29 March 2009 (Jose Jacob-IND, VU2JOS, BC-DX July 8, via DXLD) ** INDIA. Prasar Bharati Eyes AIRtime For Foreign Broadcasters http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=37694 [by] Nivedita Mookerji New Delhi: Here's another chance for Prasar Bharati to earn quick bucks. This time from foreign broadcasters. The next board meeting of the public broadcaster, on July 11, is slated to take up the proposal. If it is approved by the board, for the first time, foreign broadcasters would be able to buy transmission time on All India Radio (AIR). For a price, of course. Foreign broadcasters would have to shell out anything from Rs 15,000- 70,000 per hour for purchasing time on AIR, depending on the power of the transmitter and time of transmission, etc. The fee has been kept on the higher side, keeping in mind the paying power of foreign broadcasters, sources said. The proposal is for AIR's medium wave and short wave frequencies. AIR, it is learnt, is already in talks with transmission companies such as TDF of France and WRN of the UK. It is an accepted norm in some countries in the West for transmission companies (the likes of TDF) to strike deals for broadcasters, sources said. Earlier, Prasar Bharati had indicated that barter deals could be worked out with foreign broadcasters, in terms of exchanging programmes on each other's platform. But, the proposal that is likely to be taken up on July 11, is just a plain vanilla "purchase of transmission time" concept. Interestingly, a few months ago, BBC had launched a weekly programme on AIR FM, on an experimental basis. Due to "internal" resistance, the programme was taken off, an AIR official admitted. Currently, certain AIR FM time slots are open for sale. The fee varies from Rs 3,000 to Rs 14,000 per half an hour, in the case of FM. Again, the rate depends on the city and time of transmission etc. Of late, Prasar Bharati has been on a revenue-generating spree. First, it was the AIR tower-sharing project with private FM companies in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. Then, it was the community radio project, making use of old short wave transmitters. Now, over to the board meeting for a likely venture with foreign broadcasters (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. De mooiste lokale ID ven een RRI station hoorde ik in 1998 van Jambi. Je kan hem horen op http://www.dxa.be/dxsounds/RRIJambi.rm 73, (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, July 6, BDXC via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Updated schedule for Christian Voice: 1500-2200 4965 LUS 100 kW / non-dir English to Ce&SoAf 0400-0600 6065 LUS 100 kW / non-dir English to Ce&SoAf 2200-1200 6070 SGO 100 kW / 030 deg Spanish to SoAmSo 1300-1800 7180 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 1200-2200 9635 SGO 100 kW / 030 deg Spanish to SoAmSo 0600-1500 9865 LUS 100 kW / non-dir English to Ce&SoAf 1300-1700 9880 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg English to China 1700-2100 11680 DRW 250 kW / 303 deg English India/Indonesia 2100-1100 11745 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg Portuguese to Brasil 0100-0400 11850 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg Hindi to India 1100-1300 11935 SGO 100 kW / 340 deg Spanish to CeAm 2330-2400 11935 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 0500-0800 13630 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg Hindi to India 1100-1700 13635 DRW 250 kW / 303 deg Hindi to India 1500-1700 13665 DRW 250 kW / 303 deg English India/Indonesia 0900-1300 13685 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg English to China 1300-1500 13685 DRW 250 kW / 303 deg English India/Indonesia 0900-1400 13770 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg Mandarin Ch to China 2200-0200 15165 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg Mandarin Ch to China 0900-1300 15365 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 2000-2300 15365 SGO 100 kW / 105 deg Portuguese to SoAf 0000-1200 15375 SGO 100 kW / non-dir Spanish to SoAmNo 2100-0100 15475 SGO 100 kW / 045 deg Portuguese to Brasil 1400-1800 17560 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg Mandarin Ch to China 1200-2400 17680 SGO 100 kW / non-dir Spanish to SoAmNo 0800-0900 17715 DRW 250 kW / 340 deg Mandarin Ch to China 0600-0900 17820 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 1100-2100 21500 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg Portuguese to Brasil 1300-1400 21550 SGO 100 kW / 340 deg Spanish to CeAm 0030-0100 21680 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 0430-0500 21680 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia 0530-0600 21680 DRW 250 kW / 290 deg Indonesian to Indonesia [Lusaka, Santiago, Darwin, Tashkent] (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. BBCR4`s In Business had a show about American and British satellite and digital radio last week July 3: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/inbusiness.shtml Audio available until the next show July 10 at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/inbusiness/ram/inbusiness_20030703.ram (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. USA/IRAN: US-BASED TV CHANNELS FOR IRAN SUFFER SATELLITE INTERFERENCE US-based Iranian TV channels are suffering from the presence of an unidentified signal which is causing disruption and interference. The affected stations are in a multiplex of channels targetted mainly at Iran, BBC Monitoring observed on 7 July at 1305 gmt. The rogue signal, observed on the Telstar 12 satellite at 15 degrees west, on a downlink frequency of 12608.5 MHz, causes video and audio to become pixellated or freeze throughout transponder 10, which is centred on 12595 MHz horizontal. The channels potentially affected, according to a listing on the Lyngsat satellite information web site, are CTI TV; Da Ai TV; MAC TV; NITV-National Iranian TV; Iran TV Network; Tapesh TV; VOA TV Persian service (colour bars at times - the TV service started on 6 July); Channel One; Azadi TV; Jaam-e-jam International (US-based independent channel carrying the same name as an Iranian state external TV service). Radio: AFN Farsi Net, Radio Farda (RFE/RL), VOA Persian radio, Radio Sedaye Iran and KIRN 670. Other stations occupying different transponders, including an alternative VOA TV Persian service signal on the same satellite, are not affected. The interference was still being observed at 1600 gmt on 7 July and observations are continuing. Source: BBC Monitoring research in 7 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Well, that answers my question about whether any satellite operator would be party to jamming from satellites (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN. Sunday evening at 2100 reception of R. Farda on 1170 was good for a while with excellent audio, but now there is also jamming, a strong and somewhat buzzy carrier on 1168.0 with a bubble jammer in the background of this carrier. No jamming heard on 1170 (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM above ** IRAN [non]. FRANCE(non): Frequency change for Voice of Iran in Persian via ISS 500 kW / 090 deg: 1530-1730 NF 15750*, ex 17525 * strong co-ch Bible Voice Broadcasting Network /BVBN/ via JUL 100 kW / 115 deg: 1615-1730 Mon-Fri in Arabic; 1700-1730 Sat/Sun in English (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. NORWAY(non): New time and frequency for R. Sedoye Yaran in Persian via KVI 250 095 degrees: 1630-1830 Mon-Sat NF 15790 (55544), ex 1800-2000 on 7525 Unidentified station in Persian via KVI/SVE: 1700-1800 Mon-Sat on 15650 (45544) (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Re 3-119: I just want to comment on something. I think there is NO station time being in Baghdad with the ID Radio Baghdad ...on 1026 there's the IMN (Iraq Media network) but I heard them once IDing the station with "Shabakat ale'laam aliraqi - Idhaat Baghdad``, in English "Iraqi Media network --- Radio Baghdad" but I heard that ID only once. I think I have a file somewhere with that ID. I'll dig more to find it :) all the best, Glenn (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) American print media are notorious for imprecision in naming broadcast stations (gh, DXLD) ** IRELAND. Glenn, pertaining recent reference to Irish LW transmitter on 252 kHz, DXLD 3-118 4th July, mail from me to RTE in recent times has elicited two similar responses: 1. "The recent test transmissions carried out by RTE on 252 kHz longwave were for engineering purposes in order to evaluate the equipment and aerial system at Summerhill. A firm decision has yet to be made as to the long term use of this frequency allocation." 2. "The broadcast heard on 252 kHz recently was a test for RTÉ Radio 1. I have checked with our technology department and they tell me there are no plans to broadcast regularly on this wavelength in the immediate future." (Finbarr O'Driscoll.....Ireland, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IVORY COAST. IVORY COAST POLICE CLASH WITH YOUTHS AT TV STATION ABIDJAN, July 7 (Reuters) --- Police fired tear gas on Monday to drive back hundreds of stone-throwing youths loyal to Ivory Coast's president as they tried to smash into the television station in the main city, Abidjan. Violent clashes at the state broadcaster raised new worries about the peace deal for the world's top cocoa grower, which has stopped the fighting but failed to calm the West African country's burning ethnic and political hatreds. President Laurent Gbagbo's supporters demand the reinstatement of the television station's director, who was suspended last week by the communications minister -- the top rebel official in the power-sharing government. The suspended director, Georges Aboke, was a Gbagbo appointee and loyalist from the largely Christian south of the country. The replacement appointed by Minister Guillaume Soro is from his own mostly Muslim north. "We are ready to die for Aboke," shouted the youths as they scattered from into side streets to escape the tear gas. Some set up barricades in the streets near the station, where they also clashed with police on Saturday. Worried by growing tension in the former French colony, the army and rebel forces officially declared the end of their war on Friday -- two months after a ceasefire brought fighting to a stop. But anger remains among Gbagbo's most militant supporters, many of whom would like to see a return to conflict. Ivory Coast tumbled into war after a failed coup. Thousands of people were killed and more than a million were driven from their homes during the fighting. (07/07/03 07:17 ET AOL Canada news via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR and non]. Re R. Feon'ny Filazantsara at 1630-1655 on 3215 kHz: Similar looking program name via TWR Swaziland at http://www.twraro.org.za/Programmes-2/swaziland-8.asp (Jari Savolainen, Finland, July 3, BC-DX via DXLD) i.e. Feon'ny Filazantsara in Malagasy language, daily 1525-1555 on 9585 (gh, DXLD) ** MALTA [non]. New 6185, 1730-1800, MLT, 02-07, Voice of the Mediterranean, English talks, ID, 33443 CWQRM, ex 9605 ex 9850 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Dinamarca, receptor AOR 7030, longwires 40 metros, @tividade DX via DXLD) via ITALY, should we not always point out? (gh). ** NETHERLANDS. Message from Chris van Gelder On behalf of the family I would like to thank everybody for all the wonderful and heart warming response to the passing away of my father Harry van Gelder. It is great to notice that even after so many years since his retirement he has not been forgotten. Fortunately Dad went just as he wanted, at home in his own surroundings and stayed mentally fit till the very last day. We are grateful for the fact that he was given the time to prepare everything and to say farewell to all his beloved ones. Dad first took me to Radio Netherlands when I was about ten years old and he has always been proud that I have kept the name `van Gelder` very much alive here at the station ever since I joined in 1979. It will never be the same without him (Chris van Gelder, Media Network blog July 6 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. And the following seems to be a new VON outlet, after many years; it was once used for S/C/E Africa: 9690 first noted on Jul 02 at 1116-1240 with talks and interviews + nx 1200, never \\ to 15120. 35444. DW in German via Antigua s-off 1000. RAI's east European & Balkan service sign-on 1330, but Ikorodu noted briefly 1500, 35423 in English \\ to 15120 this time, only that was short-lived as they reverted to Vernacular 1505-s/off 1559 with some sudden (?) power increase, so 54444. RAI experienced some transmitter trouble at 1500 allowing VoN to be in the clear for some time, but was more or less dominant till mentioned s/off time of 1559. I visited the V of Nigeria website the other day, and only 15120 and 7255 are mentioned in the schedule (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX June 23 via DXLD) ?? Dates contradictory here; 9690 was briefly heard early this year as VON were experimenting (gh, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Note reference to 250-kW shortwave transmitter in this item: http://www.pakistanlink.com/headlines/july03/08/02.html BRACE UP FOR CHALLENGES EMANATING AT GLOBAL LEVEL, RASHID SUGGESTS [TO] RADIO PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad Monday urged Radio Pakistan to brace up for the challenges emanating from new geo-political realities. He was inaugurating two-day Station Directors Conference of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in Islamabad. The minister pointed out that despite rapid developments in electronic media, Radio is still the strongest medium in the world. ``Pakistan Radio will have to make sustained efforts to improve quality of its programmes to expand its listening in the intense competitive environment.`` He said improvement in the contents of the programme, stress on facts and figures and their presentation in true perspective could attract the listener more. The Minister directed Radio Pakistan to focus special attention on programmes in regional languages of the country. He said such programmes contributed a lot in the popularity of Radio and they can revive interest of the listeners. He said beside discussion programmes, Radio should also cater to the entertainment requirements of the people keeping in mind the latest trends. Sheikh Rashid Ahmad was particularly appreciative of morning and evening bulletins of Radio Pakistan and popularity of the FM programmes. He issued directions for separation of programme and development wings and improvement in the working of Radio transmitters. Secretary Information, Syed Anwar Mahmood thanked the Minister for taking keen interest in improvement of Radio programmes. He also referred to the developments in the backdrop of which the conference was being held. Director-General, PBC, Tarique Imam, in his address of welcome, presented a review of major activities of Radio Pakistan. He also gave a resume of programmes broadcast by Radio Pakistan to counter anti-Pakistan propaganda, and to keep the listeners abreast of development priorities of the Government and regional and international situation. The D G informed the participants of the meeting that a programme has been launched for expanding FM transmission network and modernisation of studios of Radio Pakistan. He said fifteen studios have already been modernized while work on 15 others is expected to be completed this year. He said Equipment Production Unit of PBC has been re-activated and it has now initiated local production of FM transmitters to save precious foreign exchange. He said a 250-KW short wave transmitter is to be set up to cater to the needs of the External and World Services broadcast. On this occasion, the participants of the Station Directors conference briefed the Minister about professional matters (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. NEW IRELAND PROVINCIAL RADIO OFF AIR | Text of report by Papua New Guinea newspaper The National web site on 8 July The New Ireland provincial radio station, one of the 19 provincial radio stations of the National Broadcasting Corporation, has been off air for the past six months. It needs money to get spare parts including a vital transmitter. A promised second-hand transmitter from East New Britain has not arrived in the province and there is no help in sight despite several requests to the New Ireland government for help. A senior management staff member said the radio station needed between 300,000 to 500,000 kina [approx 87,000-145,000 US dollars] to get it back on air. This included the cost of repairing the broken down transmitter and operational costs. The staff member said various requests for help to the provincial government have gone unheeded. Source: The National web site, Port Moresby, in English 8 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? That`s the one in Kavieng on 3905, per WRTH 2003 (gh, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. R Romania contest --- Radio Romania International has launched a new prize winning competition: Bucovina's Treasures. As usual, you will have to answer several questions which will be regularly aired in RRI programmes. The competition will run until December the 31st, 2003, the mail date. The prizes offered by the Bucovina Association for Tourism are more than tempting. The grand prize consists of a 10-day trip for two around Bucovina with accommodation in boarding houses, in the summer of 2004 (not inclusive of visa fees and travel expenses outside Romania). And here are the questions: What is the name of the most important city in Bucovina, the one-time princely seat of the Moldavian rulers? Name at least 3 of Bucovina's painted monasteries, included on UNESCO heritage list. Name some of Bucovina's main tourist attractions. Please also write what has prompted you to participate in this new competition run by Radio Romania International and mention what other sources you have used in addition to RRI programmes to answer the questions, such as atlases, books, or the Internet. The winners will be announced in February 2004. Good-luck! (RRI web site via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, July 9, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. VOR is surveying listeners about DRM. Perhaps the questionnaire is available on website (via Swopan Chakroborty, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Interesting site about broadcasting in Moscow: http://porokhov.guzei.com/ The pictures focus on FM/TV facilities, but some of them are AM, too: http://porokhov.guzei.com/oktod.html Oktyabrskoye Polye with numerous 5 kW shortwave transmitters, once used for jamming and early in the nineties operated as a single 60 kW on 4055 (Radio-1). Also various modest power mediumwave transmitters there. http://porokhov.guzei.com/balash.html Balashikha, numerous 20 kW shortwave transmitters, formerly jammers, later used to transmit programmes from other USSR/CIS stations for Moscow (groundwave coverage). The second picture shows behind the FM tower the line of shortwave antenna towers the Balashikha site is famous for. http://porokhov.guzei.com/kurk.html Kurkino. I understand that this site was once involved in shortwave broadcasting but withdrawn still in the USSR days, leaving only mediumwave there. But at least one curtain is still there and one of it's two towers carry now the antenna for the 91.2 outlet of the famous Ekho Moskvy The detailed FM list on this site reveals that Radio Rossii is transmitted from the Ostankino tower in stereo (so far it was understood that Radio Rossii is already produced in mono only) and that horizontal and vertical antenna polarization are more or less equally in use. (Note: In Russia usually transmitter output powers are given also for UKW [UKV in English transcription]; ERP would be a couple of times the figures given in the table.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TANNU TUVA ** SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO {non}. Summer A-03 schedule of International Radio of Serbia and Montenegro (ex Radio Yugoslavia) via BEO [sic; really Bijeljina, B&H] 250 kW: 1430-1458 D a i l y 11800 130 deg Arabic to ME 1500-1528 D a i l y 11800 040 deg Russian to RUS || but announced 11870! 1530-1543 D a i l y 6100 non-dir Hungarian to Eu 1545-1558 D a i l y 6100 130 deg Greek to SoEaEu 1600-1628 D a i l y 9620 310 deg French to WeEu 1630-1658 D a i l y 9620 310 deg German to WeEu 1700-1713 D a i l y 6100 180 deg Albanian to SoEaEu 1715-1728 D a i l y 6100 130 deg Bulgarian to SoEaEu 1730-1758 D a i l y 9620 310 deg Italian to WeEu 1800-1828 D a i l y 6100 040 deg Russian to RUS 1830-1858 D a i l y 6100 310 deg English to WeEu 1900-1928 D a i l y 7200 250 deg Spanish to SoEu 1930-1958 Sun - Fri 6100 310 deg Serbian to WeEu 1930-2028 Sat only 6100 310 deg Serbian to WeEu 2000-2028 Sun - Fri 6100 310 deg German to WeEu 2030-2058 D a i l y 6100 310 deg French to WeEu 2100-2128 D a i l y 6100 310 deg Englidh to WeEu 2130-2158 Sun - Fri 7230 100 deg Serbian to AUS 2130-2228 Sat only 7230 100 deg Serbian to AUS 2200-2228 Sun - Fri 7230 100 deg English to AUS 2230-2258 D a i l y 9580 055 deg Chinese to SoEaAs 2300-2328 D a i l y 9680 265 deg Spanish to SoAmWe 2330-2358 Mon - Sat 9580 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa 2330-0028 Sun only 9580 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa 0000-0028 Mon - Sat 9580 310 deg English to NoAmEa 0030-0058 D a i l y 9580 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa 0430-0458 D a i l y 9580 325 deg English to NoAmWe (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. RADIO GALKAYO/SOMALIA CALLING THE WORLD MEDIA by Sam Voron, VK2BVS in Galkayo, North East Somalia, Jun 18, 2003 Greetings from Somalia, Radio Galkayo is going fine. It is broadcasting at 800 Watts AM and all equipment is working. The 70 foot antenna tower is up and a 10 metre extension will be added to the top. Then I will make the new aerial. Listeners are reporting excellent quality. [WTFK???] SOMALIA CALLING THE WORLD MEDIA PRESS RELEASE. Please pass this to those working in the public media. Radio Galkayo has today broadcast this news in Somali and I have been asked to pass the English version through the Internet. There are few brave voices in the Islamic world for obvious reasons. Here is one who has gone public and asked that his message be spread worldwide. On June 17, 2003 in a broadcast to the Somali people over Radio Galkayo, Sheik Bulbul said: "As the head of the Islamic religious leaders in Galkayo, Puntland, North East Somalia I Sheik Bulbul hereby declare that the suicide bombers are not Muslim and will not go to paradise. Islam means peace and does not allow such suicide behavior that endangers human life and destroys property. Islam does not allow children, women and innocent people to be harmed. Suicide action is not allowed by Islamic Share 'a Law. All religions whether Islam, Christian or Jewish don't allow this suicide behavior so I urge all people to fight against terrorism. Profit Mohammed, peace and blessing be upon him, used to say Allah protect us from those who endanger the peace. Therefore anyone who is going to defend the peace is doing action allowed by Allah. The entire world should fight against terrorism. Terrorism is an enemy of peace and harms the name of Islam". Sheik Bulbul headed a debate over whether suicide bombing is allowed by Islam. The above was the result of that debate. Sheik Bulbul has been a daily religious presenter on Radio Galkayo, Somalia since it started broadcasting in 1993. He has requested a portable cassette recorder to help him improve his 10 years of volunteer work at the station. People like Sheik Bulbul are key community people who given a little help are able to greatly help their local people. Let the media know what Sheik Bulbul in Somalia has said. Contact me on Email svoron@h... [truncated] if you can help Sheik Bulbul. Two days ago Radio Galkayo had a visit from a Police officer who commended Radio Galkayo's interview of a Police commander about abuse seen and broadcast by radio station staff during their visit in the Police station. The commander denied the abuse reports but the radio broadcast fact which all the town now know. The Policeman came to thank the radio for bringing the matter to the knowledge of all the people. Another 10 year staff member of the Radio Galkayo Mohammad Isak Yasin has been investigating these reports that no one else is willing to handle and has asked for a camera to help him document and educate the people in the area of their human rights. Anyone who knows someone who can help Mohammed with a camera or to connect him to a worldwide human rights group can contact me on Email svoron@h... [truncated] (Sam Voron, Somalia, via M. Watts, Australia for CRW via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. RTI changes. What's your opinion? In order to improve program quality, the English Service is considering making the following changes to the program schedule, and we would like to know what you think: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We would like to combine hours one and two into one complete hour of programs which would be broadcast to ALL of our listeners (rather than separating hours one and two by frequency and area). Rather than spending extra time on hour two programs, we would focus all our time and resources on one solid hour of programs each day, thereby improving the quality of the hour one programs. We would keep all of your favorite programs in this hour of programming, but would cut the number of ``Let`s Learn Chinese`` broadcasts. These changes are not set in stone, so we would like to know what you think before acting! email: prog@cbs.org.tw postal address: RTI English Service, PO BOX 24-38, Taipei, Taiwan ROC Thank you in advance for your assistance! (RTI web site via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, July 9, DXLD) Since we easily get both hours here, e.g. at 0200 and 0300 via WYFR 5950 and 9680, this would result in a net loss in programming. And I don`t know that we can really expect what remains to be twice as good (gh, DXLD) ** TANNU TUVA. Radiostation "Mayak" in SW! Tyva. Kyzyl. From the 1st of July on 6100 kHz (~ 10 - 15 kW) - radiostation "Mayak". (Igor Jaremenko, Novosibirsk // open_dx via Rus-DX via Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** U K. Some BBCWS previews for July, with Am stream times only: WHOSE JUSTICE --- Mons from July 7 at 1406, Tues 0006 -- new 3-part, 25-minute documentary examining various models of justice and reconciliation on the eve of the first case of the International Criminal Court. Jon Silverman visits Chile, ex-Jugoslavia and Sierra Leone. HERITAGE --- Weds from July 16 at 1406, Thurs 0006. Malcolm Billings visits Roman aqueducts and baths in search of ancient water technology. Also the site of prehistoric paintings in Lascaux, France and the architectural heritage of Nicosia, Cyprus (via Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U K. Glenn, An interesting opinion on the BBC: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,482-737333,00.html IMO, this piece is dead-on, especially the last 8 paragraphs. I've been listening to the BBC WS more since I added a XM satellite radio to my toy collection, and I'm stunned at the rather naked anti- semitism I often hear. The auto-reflexive, uncritical praise the BBC gets from so many in the international broadcasting community seems to reflect what the BBC once was instead of what it is now (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ** U K. GREG DYKE. FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY. IN TROUBLE Tim Hames, TIMES ONLINE OPINION JULY 7 The BBC boss will be making a big mistake if he comes out fighting today Are Alastair Campbell and the American rap star Eminem related? The charges and counter-charges between the BBC and Downing Street must for most people boil down to the following: a confusing story about a man who you have vaguely heard of, radio, ``sex`` of a strange sort, weapons and verbal abuse. Much like rap music, really. In the United States, political institutions, media outlets and pressure groups are clustered in and around Washington DC, which is itself encompassed by an orbital motorway commonly called the ``Beltway``. A controversy that ignites immense excitement within that community but not outside it is known as ``inside the Beltway`` material. Here, the geography works differently. A line can be drawn, starting at the BBC in White City, through Westminster and Whitehall, to Wapping, finishing at Canary Wharf. Not a ``beltway``, more an outstretched belt across London. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that the dispute over who said what to whom, and whether or not to put it on the airwaves, is a classic ``inside the belt`` argument. If so, this is significant. That view helps Downing Street and hurts the BBC. The polls indicate that, though most voters think ministers did overstate the case for war, they are, perhaps pragmatically, indifferent about this. It is not, after all, as if the allies intend, if they search for biological and chemical arsenals in Iraq for two years, fail to find any, and then conclude there were none, to say ``Oops, sorry`` and invite Saddam Hussein back to reoccupy one of his presidential palaces. In that sense, this saga is one for historians tomorrow, not hysteria today. The BBC`s future, however, rests squarely on its position ``inside the belt``. Which is why what happens this morning is more important for its executives than for Tony Blair or even Mr Campbell. If, as expected, the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee clears No 10 of ``sexing up`` the case for going to war, then the corporation has two realistic options. It could be defiant, offer no expression of regret and hint heavily that the MPs have been duped. Or, instead, it could defend its journalism but acknowledge that its source could have been mistaken. The decision largely rests with Greg Dyke, the Director- General. Mr Dyke`s instinct may be to concede nothing to Mr Campbell. By temperament, he is a man who would cross the streets of Monaco during the Grand Prix to join in a fight. The BBC`s governors may choose to encourage him. This would be a mistake. It would be better to eat a small slice of humble pie now than initiate a war of attrition. The BBC would be being perfectly consistent if it insisted that the seniority of the source meant it was right to publicise his claim, while conceding that any implication that intelligence was fabricated appears unfounded. For this affair has left the BBC dangerously exposed. It has served as a catalyst, allowing diverse complaints about its news coverage to resurface simultaneously. The Beeb has been accused of, among other matters, fanatical suspicion of the motives of those in power and unrelenting hostility towards the Conservative Party. It has been attacked for a wholesale scepticism about capitalism, combined with a weakness for quack environmentalism and health-scare speculation over hard science. Reporting the Middle East, it sometimes seems so remorselessly anti- Israeli that Mr Dyke might as well be open about it and allow his reporters to appear speaking Arabic, riding a camel, stopping occasionally to suck from a long pipe in a crowded souk. Put bluntly, the BBC, a public sector bureaucracy funded by a poll tax, with a privileged status that looks starkly anomalous in an age of hundreds of television channels and thousands of radio stations, needs more friends. It is already detested by other broadcasters, derided by the print press for squandering its vast resources and damned by publishing houses for its increasingly aggressive marketing activities in their domain. If the BBC wants to retain its privileged position when its charter is due for renewal in 2006, then it must construct a coalition of supporters broader than the Liberal Democrats, Friends of the Earth, Friends of Yassir Arafat, the sort of people who believe that taking an aspirin will inevitably result in limbs falling off and its own staff. It requires mainstream allies as well. This is not to say that the BBC should be biased in favour of any particular body or party — far from it. It does, though, need to avoid prompting the impression that it is itself actively prejudiced. Many of the protests aimed at the BBC are spurious and reflect the private agendas of those pressing the protest. There is, nonetheless, enough smoke to allow a credible suggestion of fire. The BBC`s unique position, and unusual vulnerability, means that it must be seen to be painfully objective, hyperactively judicious, better balanced than the average spirit level. That is what the BBC must keep in mind when it responds to the select committee. The old consensus that Auntie should be preserved and protected is fraying; the contention that ``something must be done`` about the corporation is acquiring serious credibility. Simon Jenkins wrote about the BBC on this page recently, teasingly comparing its excesses to Cardinal Wolsey`s but vigorously defending its ``right to be wrong``. This was once the stance of virtually all reasonable and respectable people (plus Simon); it is no longer. The ``right to be wrong`` is not the same as the liberty to be a law unto oneself. The better historical comparison, perhaps, now comes from a century after Wolsey. The BBC risks being viewed by too many people as the equivalent of the Duke of Buckingham, a pampered favourite so vain, wasteful and threatening to the interests of others that, alas, assassination may be necessary (Times via Harry Helms, DXLD) ** U K. MARK BYFORD, MANAGER OF BBCWS, IS NUMBER 39 IN THE MEDIAGUARDIAN 100 (top 100 British media professionals per the Guardian newspaper) http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100_2003/story/0,13483,988782,00.html Number 100 is "the ghost of Lord Reith." http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100_2003/story/0,13483,989575,00.html 73 (Kim Elliott, July 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) To check out the other 98, including Americans such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, in various sorts: http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100 (gh, DXLD) ** U K. BBC TV News on the web has changed address. RP Location field: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/tvseq/news_ost.ram and the video headlines are updated at 12, 17 and 21 UT (Tom Sundstrom, NJ, Net Notes, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U S A. RFE/RL language services websites Most RFE/RL language services have own websites; below a current list in language order. Albanian: Radio Europa e Lire http://www.europaelire.org Armenian: Radio Azatutyan http://www.armenianliberty.org Azeri: Azadliq Radiosu http://www.azadses.org Belarusian: Radyjo Svaboda http://www.svaboda.org Bulgarian: Radio Svobodna Evropa http://www.svobodnaevropa.org Estonian: Radio Vaba Euroopa http://www.vabaeuroopa.org Georgian: Radio Tavisupleba http://www.tavisupleba.org Kazakh: Azattyq Radiosy http://www.azattyq.org Kyrgyz: Azattyk Unalgysy http://www.azattyk.org Latvian: Radio Briva Eiropa http://www.brivaeiropa.org Macedonian: Radio Svobodna Evropa http://www.makdenes.org Farsi: Radio Farda http://www.radiofarda.com Romanian/Moldovan: Radio Europa Libera http://www.europalibera.org Slovak: Radio Slobodná Europa http://www.slobodka.org Tatar/Bashkir: Azatliq Radiosi http://www.azatliq.org Tajik: Radioi Ozodi http://www.ozodi.org Russian: Radio Svoboda http://www.svoboda.org Ukrainian: Radio Svoboda http://www.radiosvoboda.org Uzbek: Ozodlik Radiosi http://www.ozodlik.org ******* AFGHANISTAN (Dari/Pashto): R. Free Afghanistan http://www.azadiradio.org IRAQ (Arabic) Radio Free Iraq http://www.iraqhurr.org BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA/CROATIA/SERBIA&MONTENEGRO incl. KOSOVO (South Slavic Service: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Albanian) http://www.danas.org (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. 17495, WBCQ, 24 June, 1440-1537, several IDs during this time. Voice of Burma interfered much until 1515 (322); during the next check at 1537 it has been already off (increased to 343). Best reception in USB. Are carrier/LSB suppressed in WBCQ signal??? (Alexei Kulinchenko, Kazan, Russia, Signal via DXLD) Yes ** U S A. FLORIDA, 2630 kHz, WYFR, 2330Z, Spanish program, very weak level thru lighter-than-usual QRN. Mixing product at transmitter site from 17845 minus 15215, both weak and // here. Been hearing this off and on for years but didn't know the origin; the lights finally came on, I guess (David E. Crawford, Titusville, FL, 28.51N 80.83W, 7 July, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NEW X-BANDER IN BOSTON AREA? I was in Somerville, Massachusetts (just north of Boston) on July 5th and did my usual X-Band scan from my car. I found a new station on 1630 kHz. Station (with weak signal strength) played music with guy talking over it. It had bad splash/QRM from 1620 kHz (strong) station. Finally, around 6:51pm local (2251 UTC), in the middle of a song, I heard a male voice pre-recorded jingle-ID(?) say very loudly "New-New- Newstar". So I'll take a leap and say the station is called "Newstar" or "New Star". Heard jingle-ID(?) again at 7:00pm local (2300 UTC). Language of announcer was still French/Haitian-Creole. have fun, (Paul McDonough, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC AGENTS VISIT SAN FRANCISCO LIBERATION RADIO by SFLR Saturday July 05, 2003 at 09:44 AM sflr 'at' mail.com 415-648-9222 Twin Peaks http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/70254.php In what may portend a US Marshal-backed raid and seizure, San Francisco Liberation Radio received a courtesy call by FCC agents, who requested permission to inspect the premises and see a broadcast permit, on 7/2. Unlike its East Bay microradio cousins, San Francisco Liberation Radio (93.7 FM) has filed several FCC license applications, which may provide the legal clout to mount a vigorous 1st-amendment defense. More importantly, SFLR will be relying on the support of its community, including local politicos, as it wages a campaign to safeguard our right to community microradio. SFLR was given a letter warning against unauthorized broadcasting and threatened with jailtime and $17,000 in fines... PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAY EVENING AT 5PM! COME TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING AND THEN THE STEPS OF CITY HALL (Polk St. Side) TO PRESSURE THE SUPES TO SUPPORT SAN FRANCISCO LIBERATION READIO 93.7FM! San Francisco Liberation Radio 93.7 FM has been broadcasting for ten years now. Basing our authority to broadcast on the right to freely speak and the rights of individuals to have access to a free and diverse media, we have defied the FCC and brought the people of San Francisco a resource that is truly available to those who wish to use it. The station moved across town one year ago last May Day and since then we have received no word from the FCC, until now. Last Wednesday at about 5pm federal agents came and delivered a "notice of illegal broadcasting". They were denied entry although they threatened up to a $17,000 fine and time in jail. We have ten days to show them either a permit or "authority" to broadcast. We have been trying to get the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution in support of SFLR and Bay View Hunter's Point Radio 103.3, but have made limited headway. We hope that this latest visit will be the impetus needed for them to pass a resolution in support of freedom in media. Especially now, with the new (de)regulations having just been passed in the Federal Communications Commission and the media becoming more and more homogenous, we need to show the FCC that this is an issue worth fighting for. A free and diverse media is not a thing of theoretical importance; it is an absolute necessity for a healthy democracy! Call your Supervisor! Tell them that this is an issue you care about and they should support a resolution backing San Francisco Liberation Radio 93.7FM and Bay View Hunter's Point Radio 103.3FM against an overbearing FCC with only the health and wealth of Corporate Media at heart! (From http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/07/06/4206095 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. SPIKE LEE, VIACOM SETTLE LAWSUIT By Samuel Maull, Associated Press, Tuesday, July 8, 2003; Page C07 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24038-2003Jul7.html NEW YORK, July 7 -- Filmmaker Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee and Viacom have settled a lawsuit Lee filed to keep the media giant from changing the name of its TNN cable television network to Spike TV. Lee had obtained a temporary injunction against the name switch last month, but today state Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub lifted the order. Details of the settlement were not disclosed. [Reuters reported that the parties were to meet with Tolub on Tuesday and that the specifics of the settlement might be made public then.] "We have settled the case with Viacom," Lee's attorney Terry Gross said. "It's obviously good when parties settle." Viacom officials didn't immediately return telephone calls seeking comment on the judge's order. The ruling means Viacom, which also owns CBS and MTV, can proceed immediately with plans to rebrand TNN as Spike TV, the "first television network for men." Lee, director of "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing," claimed that the name change was a deliberate attempt to hijack his name, image and reputation. The judge initially ordered Lee to post a $500,000 bond on June 13 after he issued a temporary injunction against Viacom's plan to rename TNN. But after a hearing two weeks ago, the judge raised the bond to $2.5 million. During the hearing, TNN Vice President Kevin Kay said the network had lost millions of dollars since the injunction. The additional $2 million was never posted, and the judge vacated the injunction after both sides reached the agreement, Gross said. While the case was pending, Lee was in Los Angeles filming "Sucker- Free City" for Showtime, a cable network owned by Viacom. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (Via Kraig Krist, DXLD) Well, July 8 at 2028 UT check the bug still says TNN, alternating with FIRST/network/for men; why not get with it? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Michael Savage talks himself off of MSNBC -- and will try to explain himself on his radio show. The Saturday MSNBC gig lasted 3 months, and was protested by gay activist groups soon after it was announced. GLAAD has archived the MSNBC segment at Glaad.org. GLAAD Applauds MSNBC's Cancellation of Savage Nation http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=3448&PHPSESSID=3087de58e16d8f356d7c9eaf15f2922d More, with video links to Savage attacking gays: http://www.glaad.org/ (via Inside Radio via DXLD) ** U S A. In NEW YORK, we can now report that WKCR (89.9) is getting a happy ending to its long-running signal problems. The Columbia University station lost its antenna on 1 World Trade Center on September 11, and since then it's been making do with a weak signal from a Columbia dorm. Soon, though (as soon as its transmitter and combiner can be delivered, in fact), WKCR will move to 4 Times Square, becoming the only FM station operating full-time from that location. Speaking of 4 Times Square (as we so often do), here's the latest on the tower rebuild up there: John Lyons sent along that photo above showing the ironworkers (Local 40 ironworkers working for Delro, we should note!) getting ready to put the steel in place that will support the new tower. The rest of the steel for the tower is due in New York this week, with transmission line arriving next week and tower erection getting underway the week of July 21. We'll keep you posted! (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch July 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. FIRE AT THE ANTENNAS IN TUCSON http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/gallery/aspen_fire/fire3/bigelowjpg.html This is how close the fire is to the antennas on Mt. Bigelow in Tucson (Kevin Redding, Mesa, July 8, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. While perusing the KOTA (Rapid City) web site after catching one of their four-station network IDs on the hour at 8 PM CDT...I ran across this item. This hasn't been a very good week for midwestern TV stations. Tom Bryant / Nashville, TN --------------------------------------------------------------- KHSD-TV OFF THE AIR DUE TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE [ch 11 Lead; DTV 10] 7/7/2003 12:57:13 PM KOTA Territory News KHSD-TV, with its transmitter located on Terry Peak, remains off the air after a critical equipment failure last week. Because the failure involves specialized broadcast transmitter equipment, parts are not available locally. Parts have been ordered and may have to be manufactured. There is no way to know for sure when repairs will be completed. The cause of the failure is not known at this time. Viewers watching Midcontinent Cable or Black Hills Fibercom are not affected because the KHSD programming is distributed via fiber optic cable to the cable companies. The equipment that failed is a solid-state exciter, which generates a low-power signal. That signal is then fed into the high-power unit of the transmitter to broadcast to KHSD viewers in the northern Black Hills, the plains of northwest South Dakota, parts of northeast Wyoming, and southeastern Montana (via Tom Bryant, TN, July 7, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. KETV OFFICIALS NOT SURE WHY TOWER COLLAPSED BY TOM SHAW, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER KETV engineers began Saturday investigating why the station's 1,360- foot tower in north-central Omaha came crashing down late Friday night. Station engineers were inspecting the twisted metal and snapped guy wires of the massive transmitter tower, said Warren Behrens, chief engineer for KETV, Channel 7. No one was at the transmitter near 72nd Street and Crown Point Avenue when the tower fell, and there were no injuries. Behrens said a 129-foot antenna at the top of the tower was removed about a week ago. While the antenna was off, three temporary guy wires were attached to the top part of the tower, he said. It's too early to tell whether that had anything to do with the tower's demise, Behrens said. "They'll be looking at everything," he said of the engineers. Crews had been planning to put up a new antenna this weekend, allowing the station to broadcast a signal for high- definition television along with its standard signal. Joel Vilmenay, president and general manager for KETV, said a firm that specializes in towers will help the station in its review. "At this point we're waiting for our consultant to come in and help us ascertain the damage," Vilmenay said. Behrens said investigators with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration probably would visit as well. The University of Nebraska at Omaha radio station KVNO used the tower for transmitting and was searching Saturday for a way to resume broadcasting, Vilmenay said. Also Saturday, crews were assessing the damage to a single-story concrete transmitter building at the base of the tower. Part of the tower fell onto the building's roof, buckling a section of the ceiling. A large forklift in front of the building also was partially crushed. The tower is one of four on the southwest corner of 72nd and Crown Point. The transmitting tower used by WOWT, Channel 6, will be inspected. Behrens said that it appeared Saturday that one of the guy wires holding up the WOWT tower was frayed when the other tower fell. Behrens said it will take at least nine months to a year for KETV to get another tower. Right now, the station is transmitting from a much shorter tower at 26th and Douglas Streets. This is the fourth tower accident in Nebraska in the past 14 months. In June, a worker fell to his death from a television tower southeast of Goehner, Neb. In April 2002, a man working on a tower near Bassett, Neb., was killed by falling debris. In September 2002, two workers died when a television tower north of Alliance collapsed. KETV's tower collapsed just after 11 p.m. Friday. The wind was about 9 mph, Behrens said, but the structure, built in 1966, was rated to withstand much stronger winds (via Blaine Thompson via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. WIFR tower down --- The 731 foot tower of CBS affiliate WIFR channel 23 in my home town Rockford IL came down in 80 MPH winds this weekend. Here's the story from the WIFR web site. WIFR-TV23 OFF THE AIR --- Rockford, Andy Gannon A devasting storm leveled the transmission tower at WIFR-TV23, knocking the CBS affiliate off the air. WIFR Chief Meteorologist Mark Strehl says straight line winds with speeds around 80 miles an hour blew through around 4:30 Saturday morning. The winds leveled the 731 foot tower located at WIFR-TV23. WIFR-TV Chief Engineer Mark Olson is working with Insight Communications in Rockford attempting to establish a signal with Rockford Insight cable subscribers within the next 48 hours. Olson says it will be at least a week before a signal can be reestablished to other cable providers or over the air viewers. 23WIFR asks for your patience as we work diligently to get our local news and CBS programming back on the air as soon as possible. We also ask that people not come out to look at the downed tower. There are power lines, cables and tree limbs that make the current situation dangerous. (via Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, Westminster, CO, NRC FM-TV via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO STATION DID RIGHT THING IN EMERGENCY COLUMN: Chuck Sweeny http://cf.rrstar.com/sendalink2/story.cfm?storyid=2697 My wife and I enjoyed the fireworks immensely. It`s the one event of the year that brings the city together. But in a few hours, another event brought us together, too. And the grand finale was just as spectacular as Joe Marino`s. But not as much fun. ``A big storm`s coming later,`` my wife said as we walked to our car from watching the fireworks. ``It`s a starry night. Look at the moon,`` I said. ``I`m telling you, a big storm`s coming,`` she said. I hate it when she`s right. At about 4 a.m., as a huge thunderboomer began to mow through our subdivision, the kids woke up. The power went out. We looked out the dining room window and watched as the willow tree bent in the wind. The windows were closed, but still we could hear a mighty, sustained roar, different from what I`d heard in previous storms. They had featured only gusts of wind. AS WILLOW LIMBS came crashing down, I thought ``Tornado!`` Instead it was horizontal rain and a fierce wind coming straight out of the west. More like a mini-hurricane. In half an hour, the storm came to a halt. We went back to bed. When we got up at 7 a.m., the power still was off. I got in the car to determine the extent of the damage. I drove east and turned on the car radio in search of local news. Stations were playing music or syndicated talk shows. WZOK (97.5 FM) had sketchy storm reports between the rock `n` roll. Thin gruel. Then I punched 1330 AM and found WNTA. Program Director Chuck Diamond and talk show host Chris Bowman were on the air, fielding calls from residents and community leaders alike. They were there because the host of the early morning gospel music show phoned to say that callers wanted to talk about the storm. Diamond and Bowman, who had both slept through the storm, raced to the studio and manned the microphones. Rockford Mayor Doug Scott called to report on what city crews were doing. He urged people not to go out sightseeing. Paul Callighan from the electric company warned that 60,000 customers were without power, and it would take awhile, maybe days, before the juice would be back on. THE FIRE CHIEFS of Rockford and Loves Park urged people to stay away from power lines. The Winnebago County emergency services director phoned. Pete MacKay, the Rockford Township highway commissioner, called to tell folks where to report downed trees and lines. Callers reported blocked streets and which gas stations, restaurants and stores were open. Andy Gannon of WIFR-23 (Insight 5) said the station`s antenna was down. ``Lefty`` Jury reported more than 250 trees down at Ingersoll Golf Course. In the afternoon, talk show hosts Venita Hervey, the Rev. Steve Bland and News Director Ken DeCoster kept up the coverage. We were told a few years ago that deregulation of radio and TV would give us more choices. Yeah. More choices of canned tuna. Thankfully, one local station still knows instinctively what radio is supposed to do in an emergency: trash the schedule, turn on the mikes and inform the public (Rockford Register Star July 6 via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. HAM RADIO INCREASES ROLE IN NATIONAL SECURITY By Will Oremus, LAS VEGAS SUN John Bigley, president of the Nellis Amateur Radio Club, recalls a time long before cell phones or the Internet, when ham radio was all the rage for technically inclined kids like him. "We were the original chat room," he said. But amateur radio, which allows licensed citizens to communicate locally and globally via personal radio stations, has become more than just a frivolous hobby. . . http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/jun/30/515282279.html?Taste+for+ham+radio (via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) ** U S A. JJ Sutherland, creator of NPR's upcoming midday newsmag Day to Day, discusses the show's development at Transom.org: http://talk.transom.org/WebX?14@47.ecGgaFc8fU2.0@.eeaf812/0 (via Current July 7 via DXLD) J J seems proud to be a smoker ** U S A. KUSC-FM in Los Angeles has outsourced its underwriting sales to media behemoth Clear Channel, reports the Los Angeles Times. KUSC SEES NO EVIL IN ALLIANCE By Steve Carney, Special to The Times, July 7 2003 In a move skeptics might call a deal with the devil, but those involved see as a match made in heaven, public radio station KUSC today is announcing a partnership with the nation's largest radio company, Clear Channel Communications. KUSC-FM (91.5) relies on underwriting --- those on-air blurbs saying, "this program is being brought to you by" so-and-so --- for 18% of its income, with the rest coming from member donations and grants (the station gets about $400,000 of its $5-million annual budget from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting). But station general manager Brenda Barnes said her marketing staff is too small and has too much turnover to drum up those sponsorships effectively. So she has outsourced the job to Clear Channel, which owns eight commercial stations in the Los Angeles area and about 1,200 nationwide. "It's not a huge effort for them, but it makes a big difference for KUSC," she said. "The bottom line is: Nothing changes for the listener." She said the volume of announcements will remain capped at a minute and a half per hour. Currently, only about half of those are underwriting messages, while the rest are various placeholders. Clear Channel will get commissions for every sponsor it signs, with the percentage increasing if it's a new client. . . http://www.calendarlive.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=cl-et-carney7jul07§ion=%2Ftv (via Current July 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. There have been lots of sporadic-E openings lately into the FM band, and on July 7-UT 8 I decided to pay some attention to what was skipping in, UT, using only DX-398 and whip: 2330 97.5 ``97-Country, WPCV`` ID. That`s Winter Haven FL, not ``The Possum`` as in latest FM Atlas; same slogan heard again a few minutes later. 2337 92.1 ``WRLX`` ID quickly; that`s West Palm Beach FL 2352 92.9 ``Q-92.9``, Tums and other local ads. That would be (the REAL) WMFQ in Ocala FL 2353 92.9 Seven Stars Super-Buffet ad --- no hits on Google; could also be WMFQ, anyway; King`s Super Buffet in Palm Beach has 7 buffet tables, however [hoping for Cuba to poke thru, q.v.] 0024 96.5 various Latino ads, in Hialeah: (WPOW Miami) 0035 99.1 ``Continuous Country WQIK``, also RDS: WQIK (Jacksonville) [none of the other stations logged showed any RDS activity] 0059 90.7 classical, WMFE weather (Orlando) NBC-6 Miami was in and out most of the time too; WEDU-3 with PBS (Glenn Hauser, Enid, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LAKE WORTH RADIO STATION MAKES HISPANICS 'FEEL A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME' --- By Sandra Hernández, Staff Writer, July 7, 2003 When Robbie Castellanos and his partner first approached legendary producer Sam Phillips about taking over the small Lake Worth radio station known for keeping Elvis' memory alive, most of their friends thought they were crazy. But nearly a decade later, no one is laughing at Castellanos' business acumen, and Elvis has left the station. Now Castellanos and his partner are considered pioneers for switching the station's call letters from WLVS to WWRF, dropping the Elvis songs and changing the format to Mexican regional music. Known as Radio Fiesta, the station is part of a group of AM stations targeting South Florida's growing Mexican and Central American immigrant community. "We did a study and found the Mexican community was the most underserved group, so that's what we decided to do," says Castellanos, 54, who admits to not speaking Spanish. The station reflects the demographic changes that have swept Florida and other parts of the country. Mexicans are now the largest Hispanic group in Palm Beach County, according to the 2000 Census. And they rank among the top five Hispanic populations in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. But until recently, they were largely ignored by South Florida's Spanish language stations, which opted for tropical or pop music formats aimed at attracting South American immigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics. Radio Fiesta and its sister stations, WAFC 590 and WAFZ 1490, are well known in areas such as Lake Worth, Immokalee and Homestead, where Mexican and Central American immigrants who work the fields and construction sites tune in for the sounds of the life they left behind. "I listen because when I hear the songs it makes me feel a little closer to home," says Santos Carbaya, a construction worker who moved from El Salvador to Lake Worth six years ago. "It's the only station that plays the music I like, so I pretty much only listen to them." The station is the only one of its kind to break into Arbitron's 2003 ratings book, a measure of listenership among local radio stations. The ratings show the station even managed to outperform some of the Miami-based FM Spanish language stations that have signals reaching to West Palm Beach. But that comes as no surprise to Castellanos and James Johnson, his business partner, who stepped into the Spanish-language radio market shortly after they bought their first English-language FM station in 1980. By 1983 the pair had formed Glades Media Co. and applied for a second license to operate an AM station. But the two were looking for a new market that would attract more listeners and new advertisers. "We were just desperate. We needed a second revenue stream, and there was no point doing another English-language station," Castellanos said. Hoping Mexican regional music was the answer, the two began hiring a small team of disc jockeys and programmers who put together a play list and offered the right dialect. Soon the pair was buying other stations, including one in Immokalee. In 1994 they persuaded Phillips, owner of the renowned Sun Records in Memphis, to sell them 1380 AM in Lake Worth. The gamble paid off. The stations are now moneymakers. In the first six months of this year, WWRF's revenues grew by 17.6 percent, according to Castellanos. He declined to say how much Glades earned last year -- "Let's just say we are doing fine." While local businesses are still their strongest customers, the stations have also caught Corporate America's attention. McDonald's, Nationwide Insurance and Pollo Tropical are among the national advertisers who are turning to WWRF in the hopes of reaching the much sought-after Hispanic consumer. {Pollo Tropical, national? not Enid} Their signal is so strong in the Mexican and Central American community that activists and local leaders consider them a link to even the most marginalized groups such as undocumented farm workers, whose itinerant lives make them nearly invisible. "When we need to get the word out to the community we turn to them because people listen to them," says Greg Schell, an attorney with the Migrant Farmworkers Justice Project in Lake Worth. The group has turned to them "when we've had class-action suits and we want to let the workers know about it, or even if we need to find someone we know we can get the word out through them." Copyright (c) 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. ROBERT M. BATSCHA, WHO ARCHIVED TELEVISION AND RADIO, DIES AT 58 --- July 7, 2003 By MICHAEL COOPER {no relation} Robert M. Batscha, who worked to preserve, archive, study and permanently exhibit two of the more ephemeral modes of mass communication as the longtime president of the Museum of Television and Radio, died Friday in Manhattan. He was 58. The cause was cancer, said Diane Reed, the director of public relations for the museum. In his more than two decades as president of the museum, Dr. Batscha vastly expanded its collection, moved it to Midtown Manhattan, opened a branch in Beverly Hills and brought together industry leaders, stars and academics at seminars. Museum visitors can listen to Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats or Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds." They can watch tapes of the lunar landing, the Nixon-Kennedy debates, "Beverly Hills, 90210" or "The Sopranos." And they can rerun famous commercials. Dr. Batscha long argued that television was worthy of study and that old programs, those that recorded history and those that highlighted the frivolous aspects of popular culture, were museum pieces. "Criticizing TV is second only to watching TV as an American pastime," he said in 1992. "Now, we want to give TV its day in the sun. It's a medium that has got to be recognized." The museum was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, the television pioneer and former chairman of CBS. It was originally the Museum of Broadcasting; the name was changed to the Museum of Television and Radio in 1991 so it could include programs transmitted by other means, including cable and satellite. Dr. Batscha, a political scientist by training, became the museum's president in 1981. Born in Rochester, N.Y., and raised in New York City, he graduated magna cum laude from Queens College and received a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. Before going to work at the museum, he was a senior consultant at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. When he arrived at the museum, it occupied two floors in a converted office building and its catalog included about 5,000 titles. It now has 120,000 titles. Dr. Batscha became a prodigious fund-raiser, and he oversaw the museum's expansion on two coasts. In 1991, the museum moved into a tower at 25 West 52nd Street. In 1996, it copied its entire collection and opened a branch in Beverly Hills. The museum is financed by the radio and television industries, corporations, foundations, individuals and government agencies. The chairman of the museum's board of trustees, Frank A. Bennack Jr., said Dr. Batscha had expanded not only the museum's collection and display space, but also its mission. "When you put it together, he was the architect of something that very faithfully carried out the mission envisioned by Mr. Paley, but clearly expanded on it," he said. Dr. Batscha is survived by a son, Eric, 21, of Manhattan, and by a former wife, Francine Sommer, also of Manhattan. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. UZPAK is an Uzbek ISP, not the domain of Uzbek Radio. So if you write "info@u..." [truncated] you reach the UZPAK ISP, not Radio Tashkent. ino@u... [truncated] is the correct address for Radio Tashkent International, "ino" stands for "inoveshchaniye" (Russian for "foreign service"). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX June 28, via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. ALGERIA(?) The POLISARIO Front outlet, presumably from Tindouf, Algeria, does seem silent via its very strong 1550 kHz at 2200 today July 4 though active on \\ 7460 kHz, which typically puts a weaker signal over here. The Moroccan jammer (noise background with bubble-type sounding signal) is nevertheless audible and periodically slightly shifting QRG around 1550 kHz. It may be effective down there, but I can usually attenuate it via detuning or via the K9AY aerial; the bubble signal is switched off for a few seconds at times as if to monitor POLISARIO's signal. Audio quality: typically weaker on 7460 while usually very good on MW. Langs. used: Arabic, Castillian and I'd bet Berbere too (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX July 5 via DXLD) National Radio of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic heard yesterday evening 6 July on 7459.7 kHz, thanks to a tip from Noel Green. A carrier was detectable from tune-in around 2000 UT. It peaked to a reasonable signal by 2150 with typical Saharan music, followed by Arabic talk just before the hour with several mentions of Saharawiya. News in Arabic from 2201. There was a faint carrier on the MW channel 1550 kHz at the same time, but it was too weak to hear any audio so not possible to confirm if MW was in parallel with 7460. Noel also reports hearing 7460 kHz in the morning from s/on at 0600, but very weak at this time (Dave Kenny, Caversham, AOR 7030+, 25m long wire, July 7, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Clandestine Radio Station RASD is still from the Saharan refugee camps at Rabuni location near Tindouf, Algeria, Radio Nacional de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática. Al-Wataniyah as-Sarahwi ad-Dimuqratyah. Arabic: ``al-idha'at al- wataniyah li al-jumhuriyah al-arabiyah al-sahrawiyah al- dimuqratiyah`` (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX July 8 via DXLD)) Aquí, en el Rio de la Plata, se escuchaba con muy buena recepción sobre las 2200 UT y de allí en adelante. Estuvo fuera del aire prácticamente por dos años ¿¿¿no??? (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Sí, aproximadamente ese tiempo, y recuerdo que se la escuchaba hasta alrededor de las 2330 aprox. Se distingue por su típica música del pueblo saharaui que difunden en la emisora, que es un poco diferente a la música árabe que todos nosotros conocemos. Veremos de intentar su escucha. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, ibid.) ** ZANZIBAR. Hi Glenn, Had a chance today to monitor Radio Tanzania Zanzibar on 11734.1 at 1800. There was indeed English news at that time. It was preceded by the interval signal which I reported before as drumbeats, but as I checked the WRTH it may indeed be a xylophone or a pikisphone (sp). At any rate, the man announcer started off by stating that it was 9 o'clock East African Time, followed by news headlines, then news in full. The news bulletin ended at 1810 with the news headlines again, then back into presumed Swahili. Thanks to Chris Greenway for alerting us to this English transmission. July 6, 2003 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ RADIO HERITAGE COLLECTION A heap of new articles added to radiodx.com's Radio Heritage Collection http://radiodx.com/spdxr/Articles.htm And a new section bringing all the Off-Shore Radio articles together at http://radiodx.com/spdxr/rhc_off_shore_radio_index.htm Enjoy! Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, EchoLink Node 87378, Host of The South Pacific DX Report http://radiodx.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks like most of the new articles are AWR Wavescan scripts, some of which have appeared here (gh) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ IARU WRC-03 Final Report from Geneva is available at: http://www.iaru.org/rel030703.html (Jose Jacob-IND, VU2JOS, BC-DX July 8 via DXLD) WRC-03 EASES RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS While the decisions regarding 40 meters and Morse code as an international licensing requirement (see previous messages) were the major actions affecting amateur radio at the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-03) which ended last Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, there were also several minor changes that will impact our hobby/service in the future. According to the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), some of these included a modernization and clarification of what modes of communication are permissible, what types of content are permissible, a loosening of restrictions on international third-party communications, and encouragement for international cooperation in emergency communications. The only negative for amateur radio, it appears, is the approval of satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as a secondary allocation on 432-438 MHz. Old rules requiring that all international amateur communication be in "plain language" and which had raised questions in some countries about the legality of using certain digital modes for DX contacts, was replaced by a statement that, except for satellite control stations, international contacts "may not be encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning." In addition, the same rule had limited the content of international contacts to "messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to remarks of a personal character for which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications service is not justified." This has been replaced by the less restrictive "(t)ransmissions between amateur stations of different countries shall be limited to communications incidental to the purposes of the amateur service ... and to remarks of a personal character." The previous absolute ban on international third-party communication in the absence of a specific agreement between the countries involved was replaced by blanket authorization for international third-party traffic in cases of emergency or disaster relief. Routine communications remain banned; however, it is now up to each country to "determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction." So any country may now decide that the rule will not apply to its amateurs, freeing them to conduct third-party contacts with stations in any other country that has made the same decision. This eliminates the need for individual, country-by-country, agreements. In addition, there is now a new provision in the international rules stating that "Administrations are encouraged to take the necessary steps to allow amateur stations to prepare for and meet communication needs in support of disaster relief." There were several other changes, all of which are described fully in an explanation of the new rules, titled "New Regulations for the Amateur Services," by Michael Owen, VK3KI, which is available on the IARU website at http://www.iaru.org/rel030703att3.html (From the CQ Newsroom via Bob Chandler, ODXA via DXLD) DRM +++ DIGITAL RADIO MONDIAL: Updated schedule for DRM tests as of July 6, 2003: 0300-0400 11955 SAC 070 kW / 285 deg BBC WS 0430-0530# 15400 BON 010 kW / 230 deg RNW English 0600-0800 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait English 0700-1000 11865 SAC 070 kW / 060 deg RCI English till July 25 0800-1100 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait Arabic 0800-1600@ 6095 JUN 035 kW / non-dir RTL Music 0900-1300 15440 SIN 080 kW / 040 deg DW English 1000-1100 6140 JUL 040 kW / 120 deg DW English 1000-1100* 9760 RMP 030 kW / 105 deg Christian Voice English 1000-1400 9615 FLE 040 kW / 187 deg RNW Dutch from July 28 1000-1500 7320 RMP 030 kW / 105 deg BBC WS 1100-1200 6140 JUL 040 kW / 120 deg DW German 1100-1300 9410 RMP 030 kW / 115 deg BBC WS 1200-1300 6140 JUL 040 kW / 120 deg DW English 1200-1400 9655 WER 500 kW / 270 deg DW English from August 1 1200-1400 15430 MOR 010 kW / 037 deg VOA Arabic 1300-1600 9615 FLE 040 kW / 187 deg RNW Dutch till July 27 1300-1700 15780 MSK 080 kW / 270 deg VOR WS En 1305-1455 5975 JUL 040 kW / 290 deg DTK T-Systems 1400-1600 6180 WER 500 kW / non-dir DW German from August 1 1400-1600 13605 MOR 010 kW / 037 deg VOA Arabic 1600-1700 6140 JUL 040 kW / non-dir DW English 1600-1800 7125 WER 500 kW / 040 deg DW English from August 1 1600-1800 11790 MOR 010 kW / 037 deg VOA Arabic 1700-1800 6140 JUL 040 kW / non-dir DW German 1800-1900 6140 JUL 040 kW / non-dir DW English 1800-1900 15215 RMP 030 kW / 062 deg BBC Russian 1800-2000 9855 MOR 010 kW / 037 deg VOA Arabic 2000-2030 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg Vatican Radio English 2030-2100 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg RNW English 2100-2200 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg RCI English/French 2200-2230 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg DW German 2230-2300 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg Radio Sweden English 2300-2400 9795 SAC 070 kW / 268 deg BBC WS 2330-0030 15525 BON 010 kW / 350 deg RNW English # Sat/Sun @ Mon-Fri * Monday (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, July 8 via DXLD) see also RUSSIA PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SKIP GOES LONG Just a "reminder" in the midst of a bumper crop Es summer that right around now the Es distances begin to "go long" for the balance of July and into August. The logical explanation is the Es reflective/ refraction layer becomes more elevated, thus producing longer skip distances. If you study the distances now being reported, there is an increase in those 1300-1500 miles which indicates what I am saying (Cuba [q.v.] into New England for example). This "trend" goes way back into the 50s, and what you will notice is that as distances become longer there are TYPICALLY fewer stations coming through in a given opening but the average distances are greater. As the season winds into later July and early August, "long Es single" typically has a depressed MUF (such as channel 2 or 2/3 only) and the distances back in the 50s often reached 1700 miles with no suggestion it was EE (double hop Es). With so much CCI now it would be difficult to ascertain this. I believe the important thing here is that as the MUF average drops, and the skip goes longer, this presents a window of opportunity for the 1450-1700 milers to sneak through often with very little CCI but at the same time seldom at more than modest strength (i.e. not for folks with rabbit ears). The more northern east-west paths (siuch as across southern Canada from Ontario to Alberta for example) will see this first and it will gradually drop south through the end of July and into early August (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, July 7, WTFDA via DXLD) ### |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-120, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 03-04 new edition: RFPI: Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930, 1530, Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830, 1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 {Download} http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.rm (Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0304.html Also via http://www.worldofradio.com NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1189: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 and/or 15039 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 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/wor1189.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1189.html DXLD JUNE 2003 HTML ARCHIVE is complete and available as of 2000 UT July 6, including corrections, cross-references and hot links: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3f.html ** ARGENTINA. 11440, 0307-, Radio Rivadavia, Jul 6. After prolonged NA, and weather nice ID for Radio Rivadavia. Great signal at this hour. Then into a beautiful Latin male melody. SOUTH AMERICAN PIRATE. 11440, 0256-, Radio Cochiguaz, Jul 6. Definite ID as Radio Cochiguaz at 0256 with Andean music. Marginally better than at 0200 when they came on right at the top of the hour. Programming seems identical to when tuned in, in the past. Playing El Condor Pasa. Seems off the air after about 0301, but scheduled to return at 0330 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Walt, I assume you meant to give a different frequency for Rivadavia than 11440; or are you implying Cochiguaz was relaying them? 73, (Glenn to Walt via DXLD) Sorry, Glenn. I neglected to say 11440L for Rivadavia, while at the same time Cochiguaz was on the USB (Walt, ibid.) Well, that`s still strange, as the pirate Cochiguaz has not been connected with ISB relays before such as undertaken by the Argentine military station. And the above logs are not at the same time (gh, DXLD) ** ASCENSION. SHORTWAVE RELAYS via ASCENSION ISLAND- SUMMER 2003 Time/UTC Days Station Language Target Freqs/kHz 0000-0115 Daily BBC World Service Spanish SAm 6110 9525 11765 0000-0300 Daily BBC World Service English (AME) SAm 9825 0115-0130 .twtfs. BBC World Service Spanish SAm 6110 9525 11765 0130-0230 Daily RAI International Italian Am 6110 11765 0300-0400 Daily BBC World Service English (AFE) SAf 6005 0300-0400 Daily Voice of America English Af 7105 0300-0700 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WCAf 7160 0330-0400 Daily Radio Japan Swahili Af 6135 0400-0430 Daily Voice of America Kinyarwana/Kirundi Af 6120 0400-0500 Daily Radio France Int. French CAf 7150 0400-0705 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WAf 6005 0430-0500 Daily Voice of America Portuguese Af 6145 0600-0700 Daily Radio France Int. French WAf 11665 0629-0700 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WCAf 15400 0700-0730 Daily Radio Japan Arabic NAf 15220 0700-0800 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WAf 11765 15400 0705-0720 Daily BBC World Service BBC English (AFR) WAf 6005 0800-1000 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WCAf 15400 17830 0800-1000 Daily Radio Japan Japanese Af 17650 0900-1000 Daily BBC World Service English (AME) SAm 15190 1000-1100 .....ss BBC World Service English (AFW) WCAf 15400 17830 1000-1130 .....ss BBC World Service English (AME) SAm 15190 1100-1130 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WAf 15400 1100-1130 Daily BBC World Service English (AME) SAm 17790 1100-1130 mtwtf.. BBC World Service Spanish SAm 15220 1100-1200 Daily Radio France Int. French SAf 21530 1100-2100 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WCAf 17830 1200-1230 Daily Radio France Int. English WAf 17815 1200-1230 Daily Voice of America Spanish SAm 15390 17875 1230-1245 Daily BBC World Service BBC English (French) WCAf 17780 21640 1230-1300 Daily Radio France Int. French CAf 17815 1230-1300 Daily Radio Japan French Af 15400 17790 1300-1330 Daily Radio Japan Swahili Af 17790 1300-1900 Daily BBC World Service English (AFE) SAf 21470 1330-1345 Daily BBC World Service BBC English (Hausa)WAf 15105 21640 1500-1700 Daily Radio Japan Japanese Af 21630 1500-2300 Daily BBC World Service English (AFW) WAf 15400 1600-1700 Daily Voice of America English Af 15225 1630-1700 Daily Voice of America Swahili Af 17785 1700-1730 mtwtf.. Voice of America Swahili Af 17785 1700-1800 Daily Family R English Af 21680 1700-1800 Daily RAI International Italian Af 15320 1730-1745 mtwtf.. UN Radio English Af 17580 1830-1900 Daily FEBA French CAf 15130 1830-1900 Daily RTE Shortwave English Af 21630 1900-2100 Daily BBC World Service English (AFE) SAf 12095 1915-1930 Daily BBC World Service BBC English (AFR) WCAf 15105 17885 2000-2030 Daily Voice of AmericaEnglish Af 11855 17745 2000-2100 Daily Family R English Af 15195 2030-2100 Daily BBC World Service Portuguese WAf 11855 2100-0000 Daily BBC World Service English (AME) SAm 12095 2100-2130 mtwtf.. Voice of America French Af 17750 2100-2200 Daily Radio Japan English Af 11855 2200-2300 Daily Radio Canada Int. French W&CAf 11755 2200-2300 Daily Radio Japan Japanese SAm 15220 2230-2300 Daily BBC World Service Portuguese SAm 9870 15390 (BDXC-UK Communication, July, via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB-Australia re-timed & begins new broadcast in Urdu language -------------------------------------------------------------------- Allen Graham quoting Dennis Adams reported in DX-Partyline (July 5 '2003) that HCJB-Australia is in the process of applying for new frequencies for both South Pacific & South Asian release. Wef July 21, 2003 HCJB-Australia's South Pacific release will be re-timed as follows : Morning release - 1800-2030 UT Evening release - 0800-1200 UT Wef July 21, 2003 HCJB-Australia's South Asia release will be re- timed as follows : Morning release - 0100-0330 UT Evening release - 1230-1730 UT HCJB-Australia will begin broadcasting in the URDU language as follows: As of July 7th, 2003 - 1700-1730 UT ( Mon-Sat) As of July 21st, 2003 - 0100-0130 UT Frequencies will be known when they are available. You can hear 5th July edition of DXPL online at following URL : http://www.hcjb.org/dxplaudio.php Regds, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, July 6 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Radio Österreich 1 I read in Glenn Hauser's DX Listening Digest that ORF would be having a 15-minute Report from Austria starting at 0145 UT on 9870 kHz starting July 1. I've listened to 9870 (relay from Sackville) a couple of times and all I heard from 0145 UT on was classical music. Does anybody know what is going on? Thanks, (Enrico Oliva, ODXA via DXLD) I haven`t checked at that time, but did confirm report from Austria at 1510 and 1540 on 15515 via Sackville. 9870 is NOT from Sackville -- you must be reading their confusing web/print schedule? It`s nothing new for them to be missing the scheduled programming, unfortunately (Glenn, ibid.) ** AUSTRIA. G'day Mates, This evening as I was folding laundry and twirlling the dial a little, I came upon a signal in English on 13730, I listened to the program "Inside Central Europe" and at the closing the announcer mentioned the preceding story was a collaboration among Radio Austria, Radio Budapest, Radio Slovakia and Radio Prague. At the closing of the broadcast the station ID'd as "Radio Austria" but this was followed by a disclaimer stating as of June 30th, Radio Austria has ceased to exist, except for an internet broadcast, and that all international broadcasting via shortwave was suspended. After this announcement, the transmission went to German and was obviously still ORT programing... So what gives? How can a station ID as ORT then follow with a statement that ORT no longer exists... Is it over or is it not? Inquiring minds want to know. 73's (Chris KC5IIE (Tulsa, OK), July 5, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. CATHOLIC STATIONS ON SHORTWAVE Way down among Brazilians Coffee beans grow by the billions So they`ve got to find those extra cups to fill -- They`ve got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil. ---``The Coffee Song,`` 1946 hit, Frank Sinatra, words and music by Bob Hillard & Richard Miles Most of the territory of Brasil, South America`s largest country, is equatorial, tropic. Until the ascendancy of FM radio, the preferred method of reaching large parts of the country, if not all of it, lay with shortwave radio. Shortwave is less prone to static from the ever- present tropical thunderstorms whose torrential rainfalls are legendary. Further, in countries whose populations are largely rural even to this day, and whose countrysides are spotted with towns and villages unable to support a local radio station during the first decades of AM radio, shortwave was the perfect vehicle of reaching the population. The ascendancy of FM radio has changed that; most nations have their own satellite systems, and it is no long economically impossible for national and regional networks to piggyback a signal up to the bird and then have it downloaded by small rural FM stations to broadcast to the surrounding town and country. Consequently, shortwave broadcasting in much of the world has gone into serious decline, particularly on what are called the tropical bands, that is, the frequencies below 5900 kHz. (Africa and Asia are the notable exceptions because to this day there is very little local radio in much of those continents.) In late May I visited the website of the Ministério das Comunicações http://www.mc.gov.br/ and called up the entire directory of tropical band stations. Brasil has allocated not only FM frequencies and TV channels to every city and town of size, as do many countries, including Mexico, Canada, and the United States, but also allocates tropical band frequencies. The tropical band frequency table runs 21 pages on the Internet, but most of those entries are empty; in fact, many of the 21 pages are completely absent of any stations at all. The allocated frequencies sit unused, and likely will never be so. One item should be noted. The government lists an apparently new tropical band station ZYF692 on 4885 kHz in Anápolis, in the state of Goiás. It is licensed to the Fundação Nossa Senhora Aparecida, which is likely the same foundation that operates the Rádio Aparecida network out of the national shrine of Our Lady Aparecida in São Paulo state. Interestingly, the station does not carry the name Rádio Aparecida, but Rádio A Voz do Coração Imaculado, and parallels ZYH745 on 770 AM. {NOT new; a station inactive for several years: 3-121} City & State Call letters kHz Power Hours authorized (watts) (local time) Cruzeiro do Sul AC ZYF203 4865 5,000 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. Coari AM ZYF272 5035 5,000 5:50 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Parintim AM ZYF275 4965 5,000 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. Tefé AM ZYF271 3385 5,000 6 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. Feira de Santana BA ZYF390 4865 1,000 24 hr Crato LE ZYF533 3255 1,000 5 a.m. - midnight Anápolis GO ZYF692 4885 1,000 new Jataí GO ZYF694 4935 2,000 24 hr Gov. Valadares MG ZYG202 4855 1,000 24 hr Campo Grande MS ZYF904 4755 10,000 24 hr Bragança PA ZYG364 4825 5,000 24 hr Santarém PA ZYG363 4765 10,000 4 a.m. - midnight Petrolina PE ZYG525 4945 1,000 24 hr Teresina PI ZYG595 5015 1,000 5 a.m. - midnight Londrina PR ZYG641 4865 5,000 24 hr Guajara-Mirim RO ZYG792 3375 5,000 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. Porto Velho RO ZYG790 4785 10,000 24 hr Aparecida SP ZYG853 5035 10,000 24 hr Cachoeira Paulista SP ZYG868 4825 10,000 24 hr If the tropical pages are extensive but empty at the Brasilian Ministério de Comunicações site, the pages of shortwave stations are much fewer --- only three. There are few surprises here. In Curitiba in Paraná state, We find that Rádio Clube Paranaense has two more shortwave frequencies in addition to its known 6040 kHz. These are 9725 kHz and 11935 kHz, both authorized with 7,000 watts. No time of operation is stipulated by the Ministério for 11935 kHz, but 9725 kHz operates from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the 6040 kHz frequency is 24 hours. The Archdiocese of Curitiba does not have a website, but it is probably the legal owner of Rádio Clube Paranaense, which also operates ZYJ200 on 1430 AM, a powerful station, and ZYD367 on 101.5 FM, which are licensed to the Fundação Nossa Senhora do Rocio. In Amazonas state, in Manáus, deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle, Rádio Rio Mar ZYH286 1290 AM is accompanied by two stations. This was formerly a commercial station, founded over 60 years ago (see Catholic Radio Update #98 in December 2000). Rádio Clube Parenense and Rádio Rio Mar are the only two Catholic shortwave stations outside São Paulo state. São Paulo state, surrounding São Paulo city, is heavily populated and is one of Brasil`s two most important cities. Catholic radio has long been strong in this area, and the several Catholic radio and television networks are based here. Rádio Aparecida is one of the oldest stations; it owns a number of stations across Brasil and until recently had its own satellite-fed network of affiliates. Now it feeds the Bishops` RCR network. In addition to a tropical band frequency (above), it is licensed for station ZYE954 on 6135 kHz with 25,000 watts from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. The 9630 kHz frequency uses a 10,000-watt transmitter from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. The 11855 kHz frequency is licensed for 1,000 watts but no hours are stipulated, and presumably Rádio Aparecida, based at the national shrine of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, is not used. Celebrating its 25th anniversary soon is the lay-founded and operated (with clerical involvement) Rádio Canção Nova (Radio New Song), which operates its own national network of satellite-fed stations, some owned, others affiliated, including some diocesan ones which the local bishops have confided to the group. There are two shortwave transmitters of its own, ZYE971 on 6105 kHz with 5,000 watts, not 10,000, as reported, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. The second transmitter, on 9675 kHz (10,000 watts), is licensed for 11 a.m. to 6 a.m. operation. Rádio Canção Nova is also operating the former Rádio Record, a once prominent commercial, popular station, ZYK690 on 890 AM, now owned by a local university, the Universidade de Cásper Líbero, which has turned over operation to RCN while keeping a few hours for itself for daily broadcasts by its school of communications. When RCN took over Rádio Record operation, it also took over its three shortwave transmitters, ZYE963 on 9685 kHz (7,000 watts), ZYE964 on 15325 kHz (1,000 watts), and ZYE965 on 5955 kHz (10,000 watts). ZYE963 is licensed for 2:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. operation; ZYE965 from 11:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. No hours are specified for 15325 kHz. When the Brasilian government made amends to the Archdiocese of São Paulo for revoking the license of its radio station during the days of the military dictatorship because of the strong stand the station took on human rights (Catholic Radio Update #15, #35), it authorized the new AM station ZYK779 Radio 9 de Julho on 1600 AM, a frequency that, at the time, was occupied by no more than a handful of stations throughout South America. Authorized also was a shortwave station, ZYE952 on 9820 kHz, 24-hr operation with 10,000 watts. According to the Ministério pages, the station is operating, or at least has been assigned hours to operate, but I do not recall ever seeing news of its reception by shortwave enthusiasts. Perhaps one of them, upon reading this, will be able to tell us more. Database Curitiba: ZYJ200 Rádio Clube Paranaense BS 1430 AM (50,000 watts day; 10,000 watts night) & ZYD367 on 101.5 FM (Class E3) and ZYE724 on 6040 khz (7,500 watts). Fundação Nossa Senhora do Rocio. Rua Rockefeller 1311, Prado Velho, 80230-130, Curitiba. Euclydes Cardoso de Almeida, director. (In the Archdiocese of Curitiba) Manáus: ZYH286 Rádio Rio Mar 1290 AM (10,000 watts por los días, 250 watts por las noches) y onda corta ZYE246, 6160 khz (10,000 watts) y ZYE245, 9695 khz (7,500 watts) Rádio Rio Mar Ltda. Arzobispado de Manáus, Rua José Clemente 500, Manáus 69010-070. 0900-0100 hrs. Martin J. Laumann, dtr. Fundada 1954, purchased by Archdiocese in 1962. (en la arzodiócese de Manáus) Aparecida: ZYK542 Rádio Aparecida 820 AM (10,000 watts por los días, 500 watts noches) y ZYD804 FM 90.9 (Class A2); y onda corta ZYG853 en 5035 khz (10,000 watts), ZYE954 en 6135 kHz (25,000 watts) y 9630 khz (10,000 watts), y ZYE954 en 11855 khz (1,000 watts); Fundação Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Basílica de Nossa Senhora de Aparecida. Av. Getúlio Vargas 185, Aparecida 12570-000. 0700-0300. Teléfonos: +55(12)565-1133 fax 565-1138. Padre Antônio César Moreira Miguel, dtr. E-mail: radioaparecida@redemptor.com.br website http://www.radioaparecida.com.br (En la arzodiócese de Aparecida) Cachoeira Paulista: ZYK513 Rádio Canção Nova 1020 AM (10,000 watts días, 250 watts noches), ZYG868 on 4825 khz (10,000 watts), ZYE971 on 6105 khz (5,000 watts), y ZYE971 on 9675 khz (10,000 watts) y new–c.p. 96.3 FM (Class B1-E). Difunde sobre el Internet. Fundação João Paulo II. Rua João Paulo II s/n, Alto da Bela Vista 12630-000 o C.P. 57, 12630-070 Cachoeira Paulista, SP. Tel.: (12) 560-20222. Wellington Silva, Jardim, director. 24 hras. Website: http://www.cancaonova.org.br E-mail: radio@cancaonova.org.br (En la diócese de Cachoeira do Sur) Fundada el 25 de mayo 1980. São Paulo: ZYK690 Rádio Canção Nova 890 AM (50,000 watts day, 10,000 watts night), ZYE963 on 9685 kHz, ZYE964 on 15325 kHz, ZYE965 on 5955 kHz (todos/all 10,000 watts). Antepasada Rádio Gazeta. Fundação Cásper Líbero, Universidade de Cásper Líbero, Avenida Paulista 900, 01310- 1000. Became RCN January 1, 2003. (In the Archdiocese of São Paulo) São Paulo: ZYK779 Rádio 9 de Julho 1600 AM (100,000 watts días, 20,000 watts noches) & ZYE952 9820 kHz (10,000 watts). Arzodiócese of São Paulo. Fundação Metropolitana Paulista, Rua Manoel de Arzão 85, Freguesia do O, São Paulo SP 02730-030. Teléfonos: 5095-1847/0001-20, fax 825-6806. Website: http://www.arquidiocese-sp.org.br/radio9jul/radio9jul_aprese.htm E-mail: josp@arquidiócese-sp.org.br E-mail: jornalismor9@aol.com.br (Catholic Radio Update July 7 via DXLD) ** CHINA. China National Radio (CNR 1) is also on 17910 kHz (out-of- band frequency). Observed since 1 July in the morning hours around 0400 UT. The transmitter used probably as a jammer, but nothing heard in background. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), HCDX via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** CUBA. IN CUBA, JULY 4 BASH 'LIKE POISON' FOR SCARED DISSIDENTS By TRACEY EATON, Dallas Morning News HAVANA - The short-wave radios were there, stuffed into blue plastic bags, free for the taking. Cold Bud Lights, Hershey's Kisses and Snickers bars were there, too. But this year's U.S.-sponsored Fourth of July celebration was different: Gone were dozens of Cuban artists, musicians and writers. A government crackdown -- in which 75 dissidents, journalists, librarians and others were jailed -- scared many of their compatriots off. Others weren't invited . . . http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6237596.htm (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Why is it all so difficult? On both WINB and WWCR, UT Sun July 6, the DX Partyline played was not the latest one but the previous week`s (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) USA -- DX Partyline was heard via WWCR beginning at 0200 UT Sunday 7/6. Unfortunately, it was the 6/28 edition. It would be a shame if the WWCR broadcast always runs a week behind. There seems to be no reason for this, as there are over 12 hours after the 1230 UT broadcast from Ecuador to make it available. Frequency -- 5070 kHz. (Dan Srebnick, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More than that --- He used to produce it on Friday, and I believe mentioned moving it up to Thursday to accommodate the Australia relay. I notice that 0628 is the latest edition on the DXPL website, but there ought to be some other way to get it to the US stations apace. Or better yet, put the new edition up on DXPL website as soon as it is produced. WWCR was often a week late with VOA CW in the same timeslot (gh, DXLD) ** GALAPAGOS. Ecuador THE FRANCISCANS HAVE BROUGHT CATHOLIC RADIO TO THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS FOR MORE THAN 28 YEARS Puerto Aymara, Santa Cruz, The Galápagos, June 29 (CRU) --- An astounded Charles Darwin visited these islands 600 miles (970 km) west of the Ecuador coast in 1835 and found a biological time warp, a biokingdom of animals and plants some of which are unknown to the rest of the world. They had developed on their own, evolving in their own way. For Darwin, this was the key for which he had been looking and had developed —he did not invent; others had come up with the idea previously --- the theory of evolution of simple life forms to complex ones. The Franciscan Friars came to these islands, too, founding a mission for the many who had settled on these islands. In the latter part of the 20th century, one of them, Padre Victor Maldonado, realized the benefits of having a Catholic radio station that would promote evangelization, of reaching those who would never set foot in a church. Thus it was that on February 12, 1975, HCSC8 Radio Santa Cruz went on the air. Today Radio Santa Cruz 92.1 FM Stereo is on the air 24 hours, reaching almost all of the Galápagos. With the slogan of ``Evangelize, Educate, Entertain,`` the station serves the purpose of the Franciscans in bringing Christ to those who have forgotten Him. Radio is no stranger to the Franciscans in Ecuador; in the capital, Quito, they operate HCFF1 Radio Jesús del Gran Poder 670 AM and Francisco Estéreo 102.5 FM for young people. Here, at Radio Santa Cruz, friars and laymen work together to bring Catholic radio to the islands. To see them, visit the Galería de Fotos; click on any one photo to enlarge it. The ``Personal`` page is not yet developed. ``Radio Santa Cruz has as its goal the announcement in an explicit manner the Gospel of Christ to the province and the distinct cultures of the country, found in the Galápagos. By means of programs deliberately planned according to the directives of the Catholic Church and the Franciscan community,`` say the Franciscans. These include - informing and orienting the citizenry with objectivity and truthfulness about the principal local, national and international developments in distinct spheres of the cultural, social, political, economic, and religious life. - forming and strengthening in a constructive and critical manner the religious, moral, and social conscience of the people in the light of the Christian message and Franciscan spirituality by means of programs that are educational and effect human development. - rescuing and promoting religious, cultural, and social values in the Galápagos, promoting their artistic and folkloric manifestations - offering airtime to groups excluded from society so that they can actively participate and find solutions to their problems and the full hope in Christ in the manner of St Francis of Assisi. - entertaining and broadcasting the authentic sense of Franciscan joy and joviality by means of its programming. ``Our programming is 24 hours a day, bringing you the best of local, national, and international newscasts now that we have the help by satellite of Corape [a national network in Ecuador], ALER (the Latin American Association of Broadcasting), ALRED (Latin America on the Net), with the best of the newscasts from Mexico to Patagonia, those of Radio Vaticano, Pax Net from Miami, Radio Católica Mundial [WEWN Spanish service], Radio Netherlands, which offer information for our radio listeners the moment the news happens by means of news bulletins. We offer the best of Latin American music, the best of the vallenato, reggae, merengue, salsa, mucho mix, cumbia, tecnocumbia, Mexican ranchera, boleros, and romantic music.`` Local programming starts Monday through Friday at [UT -6] 5 a.m. sharp with ``Amanecer con Dios`` (Dawn with God), a religious program hosted by Friar Juan Luna. Recorded Ecuadorian music is heard from 6 until 6:30, after which Friar Luna hosts an hour and a half of news. Señor Oscar Chávez offers a program of folklore, ``Alma y Sentimiento Latinoamericano`` (Latin American Soul and Sentiment). The three-hour block from 9 a.m. to noon is held by ``A Todo Parlante`` (Everyone Speaks), hosted by Ángel Andagana. Padre Luna presents the news at noon, after which the Radio Vaticano half-hour newscast in Spanish is heard at 12:30. The afternoons and evenings are given over to various entertainment programs: classics, hosted by Señor Freddy Anthony in ``Agarra La Onda`` (Grabbing the Airwaves), variety, hosted by Aníbal Conde in ``Antiestres``; an hour of dinnertime easy listening at 6 p.m., ``Mucho Mix`` hosted by Señor Daniel Chango from 7 until 9 p.m., after which music is offered out of the stations computerized audiobank. Saturday programming begins at 5 a.m. with a Marian Hour (Despertar Mariano) done by the Franciscan Brothers. Friar Juan Luna offers national information and music in ``Ecuatorianísimos`` at 6 a.m., ``Boleros y Algos Más`` (Boleros and Something More) at 7 a.m. Señor Oscar Masaquiza presents a program of musical variety from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Sisters of Charity do an hour-long magazine program, ``En Familia`` at 11 a.m. In the afternoon, a variety of music is heard from ALER and from the audiobank. Evening programs are hosted by disc jockeys Pikerman, Antony, and Sandro. Unlike weeknights, Saturday nights see live programming until midnight. Sundays offer the most religious programming, taken from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. from the satellite networks --- the station does not identify which, and from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. sign-off, the Holy Mass and religious programming. The rest of the day between these two religious blocks of airtime is given to entertainment. Listeners can hear Radio Santa Cruz all over the Internet at http://www.puertoayora.com/radiosantacruz/ The Franciscan Friars write Catholic Radio Update that these pages will be developed and changed regularly. Database Galápagos Islas -- Santa Cruz: HCSC8 Radio Santa Cruz 92.1 FM (1,000 w). Hermanos Franciscanos. Avenida Charles Darwin, frente al Parque de San Francisco. Prefetura Apostólica de Galápagos. Puerto Ayora, Isla de Santa Cruz. Tel.: +5935 526109 Fax : +5935 526342 E-mail: radiosantacruz@gpsinter.net Website: http://www.puertoayora.com/radiosantacruz Padre Segundo Clarito Pucachaqui, director. Audiostreams using Windows Media. 24 hras. (Catholic Radio Update July 7 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. FM to 104.5; at 0912 CDT, 92.3 San Pedro Sula, conversation with two girls and a guy in Spanish, mention of "San Pedro Sula", and slogan "rockin' pop". Good, strong with deep fades. At 1039 CDT, 92.3 HONDURAS San Pedro Sula, still in with "rockin' pop", SP female DJ taking calls on the air. 73's and gud dx (Steve AB5GP Wiseblood, Boca Chica, Becah, Texas, July 4, WTFDA via DXLD) http://www.stevenwiseblood.com/ ** INDONESIA. Op 4790 RRI-Fak Fak ging het 'best' tussen 2030 en 2100. De SCI was ook waarneembaar. Maar de reden dat deze beter ging heeft meer te maken met de muziek. Het lijkt er wel op dat ze daar om die tijd telkens dezelfde muziek draaien, met eer fluitje dat steeds hetzelfde melodietje repeteert en ook een doordringend bas-instument. Bij mij is het idee dat dit Indisch zou klinken echter nog niet opgekomen. Vorige dinsdag was blijkbaar tot nogtoe het best voor de Irian Jaya stations. Hier een korte opname. http::www.dxa.be/dxsounds/RRIFakfakmx.rm Fakfak is er weer met alweer dezelfde muziek van 2033. Het lukt best in USB. Als het loopt zoals de vorige dagen duurt die muziek tot 2100 UT (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, July 4, BDXC via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL [and non]. Schedules - diverse All clandestines compiled 24/24 (c) All clandestines 25 June 2003 Compiled from http://www.eibi.de.vu/ by DXA375-Silvain Domen Free to copy + distribute - Eike Bierwirth, Leipzig, Germany Comments + corrections are always welcome [daily, u.o.s.] 0000 0030 Su Conversando e.Cubanos S CUB 9955/USA 0000 2400 Star Star BS (Xin Xing) M CHN 8300 9725 11430 13750 15385 0030 0045 Su La Hora de Chibas S CUB 9955/USA 0030 0100 V.o.National Salvation E KOR 1053 3480 4400 0030 0130 Mo Radio Oriente Libre S CUB 9955/USA 0100 0200 Fr Hmong Lao Radio LAO LAO 17540/UZB 0100 0200 Su Radio Revista Lux S CUB 9955/USA 0130 0200 Mo Conversando e.Cubanos S CUB 9955/USA 0200 0230 V.o.Iranian Kurdistan FS,KU ME 3975 0200 0500 V.o.People of Kurdistan A,KU ME 4025 4417 0200 0500 Vo.Toilers of Kurdistan A,KU ME 4245 0230 0315 Radio Payam-e Doost FS ME 7460/MDA 0230 0330 Radio Sadaye Kashmir UR SAs 6100/IND 0230 0330 V.o.Comm.Party of Iran FS ME 3880 4380 0230 0400 Radio Komala FS,KU ME 3928 4620 0300 0400 V.o.Conserv.Party Kurd.A,KU ME 4167 0300 0400 V.o.Mujahedin Ir.Kurd. FS,KU ME 4260-4290 0300 0420 V.o.Iraqi People (2) A ME 3900 5880 0300 0600 Echo of Hope K KRE 3985 6348 0300 0700 V.o.National Salvation K KOR 1053 3480 4400 4450 4557 0300 0700 Voice of the People K KRE 6518 6600 0325 0425 Sa-Th V.o.Iranian Revolution KU ME 3880 4380 0330 0350 V.o.Peace and Democracy TIG EAf 5500/ETH 6350/ETH 0330 0400 Voice of Homeland A SYR 7510/RUS-s 0340 0600 Radio Kurdistan A,KU ME 4120 0340 0600 V.o.Iraqi Kurdistan A,KU ME 4085 0400 0430 Sa-Th V.o.Freedom and Renewal A SDN 6985 0400 0800 Denge Mesopotamia KU ME 15675/NOR-k 0430 0530 V.o.Comm.Party of Iran FS ME 3880 4380 0730 0830 Radio Sadaye Kashmir UR SAs 9890/IND 0745 1200 Ashur Radio, V.o.Zowaa A,ASY ME 9155 0800 0900 Voice of China M CHN 11940/TWN 0800 1600 Denge Mesopotamia KU ME 11530/MDA 0900 1100 Radio Indep. Mekumui SLM PNG 3850 (LSB) 0900 2100 Echo of Hope K KRE 3985 6348 1000 1030 135 LV de la Junta P.Cubana S CUB 9955/USA [M/W/F] 1000 1100 Sa Foro Militar Cubano S CUB 9955/USA 1000 1200 V.o.National Salvation K KOR 1053 3480 4400 1030 1130 135 Entre Cubanos S CUB 9955/USA [M/W/F] 1100 2100 Voice of the People K KRE 3912 1200 1700 V.o.National Salvation K KOR 1053 3480 4400 4450 4557 1215 1300 Voice of Tibet TB As 15635/KAZ 15660/KAZ 21560/UZB 21720/UZB 1230 1300 Mo-Fr Radio Free Vietnam VN SEA 9930/HWA 1300 1400 Mo-Fr Radio Togo Libre F TGO 21760/AFS 1300 1430 VoJammu-Kashmir Freedom E SAs 5101.1 1300 0300 V.o.Iraqi People A IRQ 4875/ARS-j 9563/ARS 1315 2100 V.o.People of Kurdistan A,KU ME 1206 4025 4417 1330 1400 Mo-Sa Que Huong Radio VN SEA 9930/HWA 1400 1500 Tu Voice of Khmer Krom KH SEA 15660/RUS-v 1430 1515 Voice of Tibet TB As 17520/UZB 17540/UZB 1430 1525 Democr.Voice of Burma BR SEA 5910/KAZ 5945/UZB 17495/MDG 1430 1530 Radio Sadaye Kashmir UR SAs 6100/IND 1430 1530 V.o.Comm.Party of Iran FS ME 3880 4380 1430 1800 Vo.Toilers of Kurdistan A,KU ME 4245 1500 1530 V.o.Iranian Kurdistan KU,FS ME 3975 1500 1530 Voice of Homeland A SYR 12085/RUS-s 12120/RUS-s 1500 1557 Sa V.o.Democratic Eritrea TIG WEu 5925/NOR-k 1500 1700 VoKurdistan Soc.Dem.Pty KU,A ME 4140 1520 2055 V.o.Iraqi Kurdistan A,KU ME 4085 1530 1600 Voice of Sudan A EAf 8000/ERI 1530 1630 V.o.Iranian Revolution KU ME 3880 4380 1600 1630 We,Sa Tigrean Int. Solidarity TIG EAf 15265/D-j STILL ON??? 1600 1700 Radio Freedom KU ME 3900 1600 1700 Radio Kurdistan A,KU ME 4120 1600 1700 Voice of Independence A,KU ME 4160 1600 1700 FPM V.o.Lebanon Liberty A ME 11645/RUS-s 1600 1730 Radio Komala FS,KU ME 3928 4620 1600 1800 Ashur Radio, V.o.Zowaa ASY ME 9155 1600 1900 SW Radio Africa E ZWE 4880 1630 1700 Radio International FS IRN 13800/MDA 1630 1730 V.o.Comm.Party of Iran FS ME 3880 4380 1630 1730 Radio Voice of Iran FS IRN 17510/F 1630 1755 We,Th V.o.Southern Azerbaijan AZ IRN 9375 1700 1757 Su Voice of Komala KU/FS ME 7560/NOR-k 1700 1800 Sa Dejen Radio TIG EAf 12120/RUS-s 1700 1800 235 Mesopotamian RTV KU ME 7560/RUS-s [Tue/Wed/Fri] 1700 1800 Su Radio Solidarity TIG ETH 12120/RUS-s 1700 1800 V.o.Mojahedin Ir.Kurd. KU,FS ME 4260-4290 1700 1800 2357 V.o.Oromo Liberation OO EAf 15670/D-j [Tu/We/Fr/Su] 1700 1830 Radio Komala KU,FS ME 3930 4610 1730 1758 Su V.o.Eritrean People TIG EAf 9990/NOR-k 1730 1800 Mo,Th Sagalee Oromiyaa OO EAf 12120/RUS-s 1755 1925 V.o.Iraqi People (2) A ME 3900 5880 1800 1827 Su V.o.Eritrean People TIG WEu 7530/NOR-s 1800 1845 Payam-e-Doost FS ME 7480/MDA 1800 1900 Su V.o.Ethiopian Salvation AH EAf 7520/RUS-a 1800 2000 Mo-Sa Radio Yaran FS IRN 7525/NOR-k 1800 2000 Voice of Reform A ARS 15705/NOR-k 1800 2057 Radio Voice of Iran FS ME 7525/NOR-k ??? 1830 1930 Su V.o.Ethiopian Salvation AH EAf 12120/RUS-s 1900 1930 Mo-Fr NIG Jakada Radio Internat. HA WAf 15170/AFS (not c?) 2000 2100 Su Radio Togo Libre F TGO 12125/AFS 2000 2100 Su Voice of Ethiopia E Eu 7520/NOR-k 2000 0030 V.o.National Salvation K KOR 1053 3480 4400 4450 4557 2020 2030 V.o.Iraqi Kurdistan E ME 4085 2100 2200 Fang Guang Ming Radio M FE 6035/RUS-s 9625/RUS-s 2230 2330 Voice of China M CHN 7270/TWN 2300 2400 Sa Foro Militar Cubano S CUB 9955/USA 2300 2400 Su Radio Revista Lux S CUB 9955/USA 2300 0100 Voice of the People K KRE 6600 2330 0030 Democratic Voice of Burma BR SEA 9435/D-j 9760/MDG (via S. Domen, Jun 28, 2003 in DXA-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. COSMIC CALL TO SEND EARTHLY MESSAGE TO FIVE STARS WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Space entrepreneurs plan to beam best wishes on Saturday toward five sun-like stars, hoping intelligent beings will get the message. The broadcast will emanate from a 230-foot wide dish at the Evpatoriya Radio Astronomy Facility in Ukraine. Mission control is at Roswell, New Mexico, where some believe an alien spaceship came to Earth 56 years ago this week. . . http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030704/sc_nm/space_call_dc more information is available online at http:/www.teamencounter.com (via Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) ** IRAN [ and non]. IRAN as DX TARGET By Anker Petersen, DSWCI Ó 01 July 2003 Shortwave schedules in UT for the A03 period. All stations have been monitored in June 2003 except when mentioned otherwise. Thank you to our members Bjarke Vestesen and Nader Javaheri for valuable assistance. Please note that some of the international broadcasters do use more frequencies, but they were not audible here in Denmark. 1. BROADCASTS FROM IRAN The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Tehran, has an extensive External service called the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (VOIRI) broadcasting in 30 different languages with up to 500 kW transmitters. In this survey the shortwave schedules of the broadcasts in Farsi (= Persian), Kurdish, Azeri, Armenian, Arabic, English, French and German are mentioned. The complete schedule can be found on http://www.irib.com/worldservice and in the Shortwave Guide, Volume 2 from the WRTH. A. Broadcasts in national languages 6200 VOIRI, Tehran 1430-1657 Azeri // 6220. 6220 VOIRI, Tehran 1430-1657 Azeri // 6200. 7230 VOIRI, Tehran 1630-1727 Armenian. 11700 VOIRI, Tehran 0930-0957 Armenian. 13710 VOIRI, Tehran 0330-0527 Azeri. 15084 VOIRI, Tehran 1030-1157 1630-1727 1930-2027 2230-2327 Farsi relay of HS 1. 15425 VOIRI, Tehran 0330-0527 Kurdish. 15440 VOIRI, Tehran 1130-1427 Kurdish. 15605 VOIRI, Tehran 1430-1627 Kurdish. B. Broadcasts in some other languages 3985 VOIRI, Tehran 1630-1927 2030-0127 Arabic // 7285 9705. 6025 VOIRI, Tehran 1630-1927 2030-2127 Arabic // 3985. 7245 VOIRI, Tehran 1530-1627 English // 9635 11775. 7285 VOIRI, Tehran 1530-1927 2030-0327 Arabic // 3985 9705. 9560 VOIRI, Tehran 2330-0027 French. 9590 VOIRI, Tehran 0030-0227 English // 11920. 9635 VOIRI, Tehran 1530-1627 English // 7245 11775. 9705 VOIRI, Tehran 1630-1927 2030-0327 Arabic // 3985 7285. 9800 VOIRI, Tehran 1930-2027 English // 11670 11860. 9870 VOIRI, Tehran 2130-2227 English. 9935 VOIRI, Tehran 1730-1927 2030-2227 Arabic // 3985 7285 9705. 11670 VOIRI, Tehran 1930-2027 English // 9800 11860. 11710 VOIRI, Tehran 2130-0127 Arabic // 3985. 11740 VOIRI, Tehran 1630-1927 2030-0327 Arabic // 3985 7285 9705. 11765 VOIRI, Tehran 1730-1827 German. 11775 VOIRI, Tehran 1530-1627 English // 7245 9635. 11860 VOIRI, Tehran 1830-1927 French // 11880 15084. 1930-2027 English // 9800 11670. 11880 VOIRI, Tehran 1830-1927 French // 11860 15084. 11920 VOIRI, Tehran 0030-0227 English // 9590. 13770 VOIRI, Tehran 0330-1527 Arabic // 13820 15125 15150. 13820 VOIRI, Tehran 1230-1627 Arabic // 13770 15125 15150. 15084 VOIRI, Tehran 0730-0827 German // 17590. 1830-1927 French // 11860 11880. 15125 VOIRI, Tehran 0330-1627 Arabic // 13770 13820 15150. 15150 VOIRI, Tehran 0330-1627 Arabic // 13770 13820 15125. 17590 VOIRI, Tehran 0730-0827 German // 15084, ex 11855. 17780 VOIRI, Tehran 0630-0727 French // 21645. 21645 VOIRI, Tehran 0630-0727 French // 17780. 21730 VOIRI, Tehran 1030-1127 English. C. CLANDESTINE BROADCASTS 3900 Voice of Iraqi People, Voice of the Iraqi Communist Party, Iraqi Kurdistan 0300-0430 1630-1900v Arabic, ID: ``Huna sawt al- Shab al-Iraqi, idha`atu al-Hizb al-Shuju`i al-Iraqi``, (to Iraq) // 5900v, d 3893 - 3905. Ramadan extended schedule. Associated with the Voice of Komalah 3900 Voice of Komalah (R Freedom), Iran 1500-1600 Kurdish, ID: ``Aira ezgay azadiya, dangi hizbi shuyu`i kurdistani Iraq``; (to Iraq), d 3897-3905. (Komalah = Kurdish Section of the Communist Party of Iraqi Kurdistan). Not reported since February 2003. 3985 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 6025 9705 9935 11740, ID: ``Huna Tehran, Sawt al-Filistin, Sawt al-Thawrah al-Islamiyah al- Filistiniyah`` (to Israel). 6025 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 3985(ID) 9705 9935 11740. 7285 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 3985(ID) 6025 9705 9935 11740. QRM R Polonia. 9705 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 3985(ID) 6025 9935 11740. 9935 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 3985(ID) 6025 9705 11740. 11740 Voice of Palestine, Voice of Palestinian Islamic Revolution via VOIRI 1930-2027 Arabic // 3985(ID) 6025 9705 9935. 2. BROADCASTS TOWARDS IRAN D. International broadcasts 5860 R Farda, Washington via Un. Arab Emirates 1900-2100 Farsi // 11670 11985 6195 BBC, London via United Kingdom 1400-1500 1600-1700 Farsi // 15155 15380 7115 AIR, Delhi 1615-1730 Farsi // 9910 7140 China R International, Beijing 1800-1900 Farsi // 9670 15595 7165 BBC, London via Cyprus 0200-0300 Farsi // 11750 11865 7245 R Tajikistan, Dushanbé 0200-0300 0415-0500 1500-1600 1715-1800 Farsi 7280 VOA, Washington via Greece 1700-1900 Farsi // 9680 7285 R Tashkent International, Uzbekistan 1630-1700 Farsi // 9715 7305 Voice of Russia, Moscow 1400-1600 Farsi // 9360 12015 7550 R Pakistan, Islamabad 1715-1800 Farsi 9360 Voice of Russia, Moscow 1400-1600 Farsi // 7305 12015 9435 R Farda, Washington via Greece 1400-1700 Farsi // 13680 17670 17750 9510 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0400-0830 Farsi // 9795 15185 15290 17835 9570 China R International, Beijing 1500-1530 Farsi // 11700 9615 R Farda, Washington via Germany 0030-0200 Farsi // 9795 9805 9650 FEBA Radio via Armavir, Russia 1530-1630 Farsi, ex 9495 9670 China R International, Beijing 1800-1900 Farsi // 7140 15595 9680 VOA, Washington via Greece 1700-1900 Farsi // 7280 9715 R Tashkent International, Uzbekistan 1630-1700 1830-1900 Farsi // 7285 9750 R Kuwait, Kuwait 0800-1000 Farsi 9775 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0200-0400 Farsi // 9795 9805 9795 R Farda, Washington via Germany 0030-0600 Farsi // 9510 9615 9775 9805 15185 9805 R Farda, Washington via Morocco 0030-0400 Farsi // 9615 9775 9795 9835 VOA, Washington via Morocco 0300-0400 Farsi // 11985 9875 BBC, London via United Kingdom 0200-0400 Farsi // 11750 11865 13645 9910 AIR, Delhi 1615-1730 Farsi // 7115 9960 Trans World R via Albania 1630-1745 Farsi // 12100 9960 R Farda, Washington via Sri Lanka 2000-2130 Farsi // 5860 11960 11985 11605 Kol Israel, Jerusalem 1400-1530 Farsi // 13850 15640 11670 R Farda, Washington via Greece 1900-2000 Farsi // 5860 11985 11700 China R International, Beijing 1500-1530 Farsi // 9570 11705 R Farda, Washington via Germany 1700-1900 Farsi // 11845 11745 BSKSA, Riyadh 1400-1600 Farsi 11750 BBC, London via Oman 0200-0300 Farsi // 11865 11750 BBC, London via Cyprus 0300-0400 Farsi // 13645 11795 Voice of Turkey, Ankara 0830-0930 Farsi // 17705 11815 VOA, Washington via Sri Lanka 1900-2000 Farsi // 12030 11845 R Farda, Washington via Sri Lanka 1700-1900 Farsi // 11705 11865 BBC, London via Cyprus 0200-0300 Farsi // 11750 11960 R Farda, Washington via Thailand 2000-2130 Farsi // 5860 9960 11985 11965 Adventist World R via Moosbrunn, Austria 0330-0400 Farsi 11985 VOA, Washington via Morocco 0300-0400 Farsi // 9835 11985 R Farda, Washington via Germany 1900-2130 Farsi // 5860 9960 11670 11960 12015 Voice of Russia, Moscow 1400-1600 Farsi // 7305 9360 12030 VOA, Washington via Germany 1900-2000 Farsi // 11815 12040 VOA, Washington via Germany 0400-0500 Kurdish 12100 Trans World R via Albania 1630-1745 Farsi // 9960 13610 BBC, London via Thailand 1600-2000 Farsi // 15380 15470 13645 BBC, London via Cyprus 0300-0400 Farsi // 11750 13680 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0800-1400 Farsi // 21530, jammed 13680 R Farda, Washington via Germany 1400-1700 Farsi // 9435 17670 17750, jammed 13850 Kol Israel, Jerusalem 1400-1500 (Fr,Sa – 1530) Farsi // 11605 15640 15155 BBC, London via Thailand 1400-1500 Farsi // 6195 17800 15185 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0400-0600 Farsi // 9510 9795 15290 15230 Deutsche Welle, Bonn via Germany 0900-0930 Farsi // 17820 15245 Deutsche Welle, Bonn via Germany 1230-1300 Farsi // 17545 15290 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0400-0830 Farsi // 9510 9795 15185 17835 15380 BBC, London via Singapore 1600-2000 Farsi // 6195 13610 15470 15420 BBC, London via Oman 1000-1100 Farsi // 17870 21515 15470 BBC, London via Singapore 1600-2000 Farsi // 6195 13610 15380 15480 R Cairo, Egypt 1330-1530 Farsi 15545 VOA, Washington via Greece 1600-1700 Kurdish // 17765 15595 China R International, Beijing via Russia 1800-1830 Farsi // 7140 9670 15640 Kol Israel, Jerusalem 1400-1530 (Fr,Sa –1500) Farsi // 11605 13850 15715 IBRA via Germany 1430-1500 1600-1630 Farsi 15775 Voice of Hope via Germany 1500-1530 (Sa 1515-1600) Farsi 17545 Deutsche Welle, Bonn via Russia 1230-1300 Farsi // 15245, jammed 17670 R Farda, Washington via United Kingdom 1600-1700 Farsi // 9435 13680 17705 Voice of Turkey, Ankara 0830-0930 Farsi // 11795 17750 R Farda, Washington via United Kingdom 1400-1600 Farsi // 9435 13680 17765 VOA, Washington via Morocco 1600-1700 Kurdish // 15545 17800 BBC, London via Cyprus 1400-1500 Farsi // 6195 15155 17820 Adventist World R via Moosbrunn, Austria 1630-1700 Farsi 17820 Deutsche Welle, Bonn via Russia 0900-0930 Farsi // 15230 17835 R Farda, Washington via Greece 0600-0730 Farsi // 9510 15290 17835 R Farda, Washington via Morocco 0730-0830 Farsi // 9510 15290 17845 AIR, Delhi 0400-0430 Farsi 17870 BBC, London via Cyprus 1000-1100 Farsi // 15420 21515 21515 BBC, London via United Kingdom 1000-1100 Farsi // 15420 17870 21530 R Farda, Washington via Sri Lanka 0800-1400 Farsi // 13680, alternative to 21650. E. Clandestine broadcasts towards Iran by political opposition groups 3880 Voice of Iranian Revolution, possibly via Kazakhstan 0230-0330 1430-1530 Kurdish. ID: ``Dangi shurashi Iranya Kurdistana``. S/on: ``The Internationale``. Produced by the Kurdish Communist Party of Iran (Komalah) (to Iran) // 4380v, d 3875,7–3880,8. Not reported since Feb. 2003 3880 Voice of the Communist Party of Iran, possibly via Kazakhstan 0400-0500 1630-1730 Farsi // 4380v, ID: ``Seda-ye Hezb-e Komunist-e Irana``, ``Radyo Komalah``. Opens and closes with ``The Internationale``. Produced by the Kurdish Communist Party of Iran (Komalah) (to Iran), d 3870 - 3890.2 3930 Voice of Komala 0225-0300 1555-1700v Kurdish, ID: ``Eira dengi Komala, dengi azadi e socializmu`` (Voice of Komala, Voice of Freedom and Socialism``). 0300-0330 1700v-1730v Farsi, ID: `Radio Komala`` and ``In seda-ye Radio Payama, Radio Payam-seda- ye parezgaran-e azadi Kordestana, sada-ye amnestizi y irbayda Iran, seda-ye azadi e socializmu.`` (To Iran) // 4610v. Produced by a faction separated from Komalah, ck 3900. Not daily, d 3925- 3935. Jammed. Not reported since April 2003. 3975 Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, Al-Sulaymaniyah, No. Iraq 0200-0400 1330-1500 Kurdish, ID: ``Aira dangi Kurdistan Irana``, 0400-0430 1500-1530 Farsi ID: ``Seda-ye Kordestan-e Iran``, (to Iran). Produced by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Canada. Ex 3985. Not reported since 27 March 2003 4380 Voice of Iranian Revolution, possibly via Kazakhstan 0230-0330 1430-1530 Kurdish // 3880 (ID + details), (to Iran), d 4370- 4380,8 4380 Voice of the Communist Party of Iran, possibly via Kazakhstan 0400-0500 1630-1730 Farsi // 3880 (ID + details); d 4365,6 - 4380,8. Not reported since March 2003 4610 Voice of Komala 0225-0300 1555-1700v Kurdish, 0300-0330 1700- 1730v Farsi // 3930v(ID) 6810, (to Iran). Not daily; d 4600- 4625. Jammed. Not reported since April 03 4650 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ID:``Sedy- ye Mojahed, seda-ye Mojahedine Khalq Iran``, ``Inja Radio Seda- ye Mojahed ast`` (= This is Radio Voice of the Crusader). Jumping in steps of 5 kHz to avoid jammer, d 4620- 4690 // 5350v 5650v 6450v 6750v 6950v 7050v 8250v 8350v 8600v 8850v and 9250v. Was off the air Apr-May 2003, but is now back from unknown site. 5350 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650v (ID + details), d 5270-5380 5650 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650v (ID + details), d 5630-5680 5900 Voice of Iraqi People, Iraqi Kurdistan 0300-0430 1630-1900v A // 3900v (ID), to Iraq, d 5883–5905 6450 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi,ck 4650v (ID + details),d 6420 - 6480 6750 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650v (ID + details), d 6720 - 6790 6950 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650v (ID + details), d 6920 - 6990 7050 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650v (ID + details), d 7020 - 7080 7460 R Payam-e Doost, via Maiac, Moldova or Kazakhstan 0230-0315 Farsi (Baha`i religion) to Iran. Produced by Payam-e Doost (Message from a friend), Great Falls, Virginia, USA. 7480 R Payam-e Doost, via Maiac, Moldova 1800-1830 Farsi (Baha`i religion), to Iran, ck 7460 7525 R Yaran (Friends), via Kvitsøy, Norway W 1800-2100 Farsi to Iran, ID: ``Radio Yaran – AFN``. Satellite audio. Anti-Iran Government. Produced by American Farsi Netlink, CA, USA Broker: Merlin. Replaced by 15740 and 15650. Not reported since May 2003 7560 Mesopotamian Radio & TV, Arbil, Iraq, via Samara, Russia Tu/We/Fr 1700-1800 Kurdish dialects, ID: ``Denge Radio Televisione Mezopotamia`` plus humming woman (to Iraq). Also ID` is in English, Arabic and Farsi. Broker: TDP 7560 Voice of Komala, via Kvitsøy, Norway Su 1700-1730 Kurdish, ID: ``Eira dengi Komala, Eira dengi Komala, dengi Komala…. dengi azadi… dengi (revat) kommunisti..``, 1730-1757 Farsi, ID: ``In seda-ye Komala, In seda-ye Komala, Seda-ye Komalei, Seda-ye... Kommunisti Kurdistan.``, to Iran. Broker: TDP, ck 3930 8250 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650(ID + details), d 8220- 8280 8350 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650(ID + details), d 8320- 8380 8600 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650(ID + details), d 8570- 8630 8850 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650(ID + details), d 8820- 8880 9250 Voice of Mojahed 0127-0535 1058-1135 1327-1732 Farsi, ck 4650(ID + details), d 9220- 9280 9375 Voice of Southern Azerbaijan, via Israel (?) [reported in DXLD as via Azerbaijan] Th 1530-1555v Azeri, ID: ``Danisir cenub Azerbaican Radiosu``, to theAzeri population in NW Iran; last log 08 May 2003 11530 Voice of Mesopotamia, Arbil, Iraq, via Maiac, Moldova 0800-1600 Kurdish dialects: Kurmanji/Zazaki/Sorani to Iraq, ID: ``Denge Mezopotamya``. Alt fq 15415 15620, ck 15675. Produced by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and backed by Syria. Broker: TDP 13800 R International, via Maiac, Moldova Apr-Oct: W 1630-1715 Farsi, ID: ``Radio International Hezbe Komunist-e Khargar-e Iran``, ``Radio Anternacional-e``. Produced by the Worker Communist Party of Iran (WCP). Nov-Mar on 7490. Broker: Merlin 15675 Voice of Mesopotamia, Arbil, Iraq, via Kvitsøy, Norway 0400– 0800 Kurdish dialects: Kurmanji/Zazaki/Sorani (to Iraq), ck 11530(ID). Broker: TDP 17525 R Voice of Iran, via Issoudun, France (or Maiac, Moldova) 1530-1730 Farsi, ID: ``Radio Seda-ye Iran``. Produced by KRSI, USA. Ex 11575 17510; jammed (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. via Javaradio Sweden- CLANDESTINE from SAUDI ARABIA 9563 Voice of the Iraqi People (p) caught slogan/ID at 2259 July 5 by man in Arabic as Voice of the Iraqi People. News followed till 2309 then music. Too weak, could only catch about 10% of what they were saying (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** JAMAICA. My $25 e-skip [?] is paying off! As of 10:00 am [EDT] 89.1 RJR Kingston JAMAICA 90.5 French unID 90.1 "ici Radio-Canada" but NOT from Canada [how do you know?] TV 2-3 wiped out, 4-6 unaffected (Tim McVey, Warrenton, VA, July 4, WTFDA via DXLD) Times are CDT July 4: 1044 93.5 R. Mona, light Jamaican guitar/vocal music, slogan "Radio Mona", promo for Classic music program "weekdays at 9" 1051 93.7 R. Mona, //93.5, w/ Jamaican guitar/vocal music, male dj w/Jamaican accent. 1055 94.1 RJR, Caribbean accented man & woman with a discussion about "dust collection" in the West Indies, 1059 ending program "Caribbean Vision". "The time is 11:00 at the RJR News Centre", "This is RJR headline news", 1104 "94-FM Real Jamaican Radio" (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach, Texas, AB5GP, WTFDA via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. via Javaradio Sweden: 5100, Radio Liberia Int`l trying to {get} this one here at 2100; no joy here or on reported 6100 (Hans Johnson, WY, Jul 5, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. Add'l broadcasts via IRRS-Shortwave to Europe of Radio Abeokuta.org will be aired this week-end as follows: Sat July 5, 2003 at 10:30 CE[D]T (0830 UT) on 13,840 kHz Sat July 5, 2003 at 21:30 CE[D]T (1930 UT) on 5,775 kHz Sun July 6, 2003 at 10:30 CE[D]T (0830 UT) on 13,840 kHz R. Abeokuta airs to Europe each Friday at 2200 CE[D]T (2000 UT) on 5775 kHz via IRRS-Shortwave, with a repeat on the following Wednesday at the same time and freq. Reports to reports@nexus.org or info@abeokuta.org 73, de (Ron Norton, IRRS, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. ALL-RADIO BRIGADE LEADS A PARADE MOSCOW, VT -- There won't be 76 trombones leading the Moscow Fourth of July parade. But there will be about a dozen radios. Members of the Moscow All Men's Marching Radio Band will carry them on their shoulders, backed by radios on front lawns and windowsills tuned to a local radio station that plays Sousa marches and other appropriate selections. The Radio Band will be followed by floats, firetrucks, antique cars, horses and an occasional llama down a tenth-of-a-mile stretch of the main street past the Moscow General Store and back. "It's the shortest parade in the world. If you miss it by 10 minutes, you've missed it," said Tom Hamilton, one of the founders of the parade, a tradition that began modestly in 1976 in this community of about 200. The star attraction is the Moscow All Ladies Lawn Chair Drill Team, a group of women 50 and older who perform a routine with old metal lawn chairs (Washington Post July 4 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) WTFK? ** SRI LANKA. SLBC noted on 7302.5 in Sinhala at 1545-1850 probably beamed to Middle East in parallel to old frequency of 11775. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 12040, 0319-, Radio Ukraine International July 6. DX program with Alexander Yegorev in English. Unfortunately, it's the same program I've heard the previous two weeks. Perhaps Alexander is on holidays. Fair to good reception tonight (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think it`s the rule rather than exception for this (and other?) RUI programs to repeat for several weeks (a month?) at a time, tho they don`t make this clear in schedules. Perhaps they got the idea from CONTINENT OF MEDIA, but I hope it doesn`t catch on (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Re BBC at 0700 UT via KWMU: Will, this looks like the schedule that's supposed to be in place. According to http://www.pri.org/PublicSite/listeners/programs/pop_up/bbc_schedule_sum_03.html (or http://tinyurl.com/g2ij if the above doesn't work in your browser) the science programs are in the 0700 UT hour. Rounding out the hour is Analysis / From Our Own Correspondent / The Instant Guide, depending on the day (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. WINB still doesn`t have it together for the DX Block Saturday evening: 12160 cut on during a piano rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, evidently considered frequency-change-transition music, rather disrespectfully, akin to WWCR`s steel drums. It was about 0002 before DXPL started, but it was *last week`s* show, not this week`s. Again it was cut off before it finished at 0030 --- must they automate this? I see on the DXPL website that it runs 29:30. ID, and finally the correct edition of WOR (1189) at the correct time. Again it was rather undermodulated compared to the ID. 0100 this week`s Wavescan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see ECUADOR ** U S A. 1570 WGSR Update --- Hello Members, I want to thank everyone who offered suggestions, pointers, etc., on my concerns about WGSR 1570 Fernandina Beach - Jacksonville, FL. At low tide I discovered that the ground strapping that runs from the top of the cement pylon/anchor down its side to the strapping that creates a square shape on the ground/mud surface has separated at the connection point. This is going to receive the necessary attention right away. When I took photos/poked around it was high tide. WGSR's single Rohn 25 tower sits in a tidal marsh right next to the studios/ transmitter. Base impedance measurements were taken, the coaxial cable, processor, antenna unit, etc. were inspected by a fellow from Balsy's of Orlando, FL. Less than a mile's distance from the antenna tower are large cargo cranes for the Port Of Fernandina, about three blocks away to the westerly-northwesterly direction. Also, about four blocks to the north-north-easterly direction, a metal smokestack from a pulp mill stands about 10 to 15 stories high. They raise concerns of impact on our signal, with re-radiation and such. The good thing is that the company that is in the process of consummating the purchase of WGSR (to become WNNR - call sign reserved) commits itself wholly to do what it takes to ensure WGSR is back up to tolerances/specs/etc. I've never seen such a strong commitment since I've first been associated with the station in 1997. The local elements of the programming started this week with the AM drive and late morning shows and PM drive show. It is formatted as Sports and Financial Talk. Outside of the local content, the station runs Sporting News Radio Network. Talent for AM and PM drive is impressive, none like I've seen at the station ever. AM drive is a duo who are local TV Sports Anchors in the PM at WTLV TV NBC 12 \\WJXX TV ABC 25; when both stations are combined they have the top rated sportscasts in the market. They also host other TV Sports features that rate accordingly. The PM drive host comes from ESPN 560 KLZ Denver, CO. Dino Costa is a strong personality with great connections inside of professional sporting organizations, and is a no-holds barred type of guy who voices his opinion even if it is controversial. The General Manager, Bernie Daigle, comes Originally from New Haven, Connecticut where he's headed sales at WAVZ, WELI and a number of other stations in that general area. He later moved to head up the sales team at Clear Channel in the West Palm Beach market. He has been very successful in advertising. The Sales Director, Mark Fitzmayer, comes from Radio One in Cincinnati. Hard work is second nature to him and I can see in his management style that together with the GM, "The Winner AM 1570" should fare well. State of the art studios and office suite was built, and now the focus is on the engineering end now that they've taken possession of the station from RJM Communications. The company, Florida Sports News Networks, LLC, is pursuing a CP for change of COL from Fernandina Beach, FL to Orange Park, FL and power upgrade from 10 kw NDA days to 50 kw directional days and between 7 to 3.3 kw directional at night. This necessitates building a five tower inline array. As soon as the CP is authorized, they will start the build-out of the 50 kw plant. So as you can see, these are exciting times for what started out 50 years ago as a sleepy 1 kw daytimer in the coastal tidelands of Florida (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, Florida, NRC-AM via DXLD) Ron: I don't know if the Navy taught you how to weld or braze metals, but use silver solder to attach those sections together, and if possible drill some hole in the strap and mechanically bond it together with stainless steel 3/8x.25 nuts/washer/screw. When you silver solder work some of the solder into that mechanical connection so that it bonds the strap together and flows near your mechanical connections. This will insure a good ground with the salt water corrosion you have down there, as well as allow for any heating the strap might take on a good lightning strike. If you need some specific instructions don't hesitate to write. I've repaired more than my share of ground systems in my lifetime. It seems that a lot of arrays built in the mid to late sixties suffered from ground system erosion, as well as defective welds and soldering. In fact, one array I helped on was soldered with 60/40 Solder!! |g| (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL TARGETS ANOTHER RADIO FREQUENCY July 2, 2003 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST The biggest gets bigger: Clear Channel Communications, the radio behemoth that owns more than 1,200 stations nationwide, is looking to add a seventh outlet in Chicago. Clear Channel is awaiting Federal Communications Commission approval to put a new signal on the air -- way at the far end of the dial at 1690 AM. (While most older radios don't reach that far, the FCC has expanded the AM broadcast spectrum beyond 1600.) John Gehron, regional vice president of Clear Channel's Chicago station group, confirmed plans to add the signal, but said no decision has been made on the station's format, call letters or transmitter site. In a filing with the FCC in July 2001, Clear Channel applied for a radio construction permit in west suburban Berwyn. At the time, M Street Daily called it "a worthwhile wager [for Clear Channel], given the potential 6 million listeners in Chicagoland." In Chicago, Clear Channel now owns one AM station, WGCI-AM (1390), and five FM stations -- WGCI-FM (107.5), WKSC-FM (103.5), WLIT-FM (93.9), WNUA-FM (95.5) and WVAZ-FM (102.7). (via George Thurman, DXLD) When the new radio version of "The Twilight Zone" debuts this weekend on WGN-AM (720), it will include something extra for fans of the news/talk station. Each weekly episode will feature a cameo appearance by a different WGN personality. The opening installment, "A Kind of Stopwatch," starring Lou Diamond Phillips, has a part for WGN morning host Spike O'Dell. Based on Rod Serling's original scripts, the locally produced and nationally syndicated series will air at midnight Saturdays {0505 UT Sundays confirmed}. * Also debuting this weekend is the new weekly sketch comedy series starring Chicago's Schadenfreude comedy troupe. The première, including a special tribute to Mayor Daley, will air at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on WBEZ {0130 UT Mondays} (Feder column, July 4, Chicago Sun- Times via DXLD) ** U S A. What do new FCC rules mean for Iowa? NEW DAY FOR MEDIA By TISH WILLIAMS, Des Moines Register Staff Writer, 07/06/2003 Media companies that have been nibbling here and there at Iowa's news outlets are now free to sit down at the table and start gobbling up properties in earnest. For decades, the Federal Communications Commission maintained strict limits on the ownership of newspapers, television stations and radio stations in American cities. Its rules were meant to ensure a chorus of voices, to keep any one company from dominating the media outlets in a particular town. The FCC decided recently that its rules were outdated, and on June 2 it formally loosened its regulations to allow media companies to own a larger share of outlets in the same market. The move opens the door to a potential acquisition spree among Iowa's news and entertainment real estate. Iowa's media market is by no means an untouched preserve. Big East Coast media companies already owns a tidy stake in the state's media landscape: The New York Times Co. owns WHO-TV in Des Moines and WQAD-TV in the Quad-Cities; Gannett owns the Des Moines Register, Iowa City Press-Citizen and several weekly newspapers; and Hearst-Argyle owns KCCI-TV in Des Moines and KETV in Omaha/Council Bluffs. Meanwhile Texas-based Clear Channel Communications dominates the radio dial in Iowa, as well as around the nation. Saga Communications of Michigan, Citadel Broadcasting of New York and Cumulus Media of Atlanta are among the largest owners of Iowa radio stations, owning handful of stations apiece. The FCC's rule change frees all these companies that have taken an interest in Iowa to expand in-state, or sell their holdings to competitors looking for a concentrated ownership punch. The new rules break from the past in two key areas: * First, if a market is big enough to support four or more television stations, one company is now permitted to own a newspaper, a TV station and several radio stations in the same market. * Second, in markets with four or more TV stations, a company may own two stations - instead of the previous limit of one station per market - as long as only one of those stations ranks among the top three in viewership. Both changes create demand for television stations. Experts believe it would be a no-brainer for a TV station owner to add a second station in the same city - to share facilities and staff, and to create more attractive offers for the sales reps to pitch to advertisers. Des Moines' Meredith Corp. has expressed the desire to double up on TV stations in markets where it owns stations. But the company currently does not have any stations in Iowa. Officials of Gannett, the corporate parent of The Register, refused to discuss the company's interest or lack of interest in looking at broadcast properties in Iowa or elsewhere across the nation. Lee Enterprises, the Davenport-based national newspaper chain, has already sold its TV holdings, and the company says it has no plans to turn back its strategy and begin buying TV stations again. In the longer term, experts can see newspapers and TV stations in the same city having common ownership and deciding to share the cost of gathering the news and using the other for cross-promotion. That is a tricky proposition, however, and JP Morgan analyst Barton Crockett has advised investors that even a careful, if prolific, media acquirer such as Gannett Co. would stick to familiar newspaper territory over TV station purchases. One Iowa city already can see the effects of the cross-ownership strategy. Gazette Communications of Cedar Rapids owns the Cedar Rapids Gazette, KCRG-TV and KCRG-AM in its hometown. The company employs 800 people there. Across the country, there are examples like those in Cedar Rapids where companies own multiple media properties in the same city. Typically, the companies owned the properties before the FCC rules were enacted decades ago, and those holdings were allowed to continue under so-called "grandfather" clauses. Gazette Communications is an FCC poster child for deregulation - a family-owned local business that has thrived, despite interest from publicly traded companies wanting to acquire all or part of the business. Gazette President Chuck Peters said public discussions prior to the FCC changes identified his company specifically as an example of local ownership's ability to hold its own. While prices may go up, creating an ideal time for the Gazette to sell, Peters said the company is dedicated to staying independent. "We have a commitment to our community," he says. "We don't have anywhere else to go; this is our home." The FCC rule changes set up the potential for a back-to-the-future scenario in Des Moines, where KRNT-TV, the station that now goes by KCCI-TV, was once owned by The Register before the FCC stepped in. Despite the expectations of deal-making for media properties in the aftermath of the FCC rule changes, James Goss, an analyst with Barrington Research Associates in Chicago, thinks that the cool economic climate will dampen any enthusiasm for such deals. Indeed, Bob Day, operations manager at KCCI-TV, says that he has not heard of any acquisition interest at the station since the FCC ruling. He believes that buyers will first do their shopping in the New York and Los Angeles areas. "My impression at this point is that kind of interest hasn't trickled down to our medium-sized market," Day said. Des Moines is the 72nd largest TV market in the United States. Omaha's market ranks 78th, followed by Cedar Rapids (88th) and the Quad Cities (92nd). Samuel Bush, chief financial officer of Saga Communications, the large owner of radio stations, said some media companies have focused their business plans on mid-sized markets such as Iowa's. "Mid-market is a wonderful place to be," he said. "There are lots of people who'd be lined up to buy our holdings in Des Moines." Media analyst Frank Gristina of Nashville-based Avondale Partners believes TV and newspaper companies are now inclined to evolve geographically, with companies looking to cluster their operations. "Now that the value of properties may be perceived as more, maybe companies will use that to raise money for a city where they have a paper or to swap a property," Gristina said. As in any discussion of the media, business issues often take a back seat to concerns about diversity of speech. Some Iowans are concerned that media consolidation will lead to homogenized news and entertainment. University of Iowa law professor Nicholas Johnson, a former FCC commissioner, looks upon the changes with dismay. "If you allow a single owner to own more than one media outlet in Iowa - two TV stations, or a newspaper and a radio station - you have eliminated one additional voice," Johnson said. "It could've been doing investigative reporting or new and different kinds of entertainment that we will never know, that we'll never see. We've dried up one more voice. "He related that on a recent morning in Iowa City his power was out, and he could not think of a local station that would be able to tell him when it would come back on because they were broadcasting national material. "When someone who lives in the community and operates the station is the licensee, we're inherently going to get more local orientation," he said. "Family, friends and neighbors, friends at the Rotary Club are going to complain. When the corporate office is 1,500 miles away, nobody even knows they own this station in this little Iowa town." Others believe Iowans' tastes preclude a company from buying news outlets and trying to save money by providing generic national news. "The reason I go to my newspaper is for local information," said Bill Monroe, executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association. "If the news isn't local, it won't have the circulation. Publishers know that." Monroe has seen change sweep through Iowa before, and he does not expect this one to affect the way newspapers are put together in Iowa. "Twenty years ago, our major daily newspapers were owned by families, and now we're down to two or three under that type of ownership," he said. "I can't say I've seen any reduction in the quality of those newspapers or their role in the community." The debate over the FCC rule changes is not over. Some members of Congress have vowed to fight the FCC's changes, and both the House and Senate have proposed modifications to the rules. However, their efforts are concentrated on national media control, and the new guidelines for Iowa outlets are expected {to} remain. Once Congress has its final say, the drama will really begin (via Bill Smith, W5USM, TX, ex-IA, DXLD) ** U S A. *ANOTHER* TOWER COLLAPSE IN NEBRASKA This time it was here in Omaha --- KETV-7's tower on the north side of Omaha. Fortunately no one was injured this time. I guess KETV-DT-20 will be off indefinitely. If you're familiar with the towers, there are 4 of them all located together. There was initially concern about the fall damaging other towers --- apparently that didn't happen. Here's the text from KETV`s web site: === KETV's main broadcast antenna fell to the ground (about 11 pm-mcs) Friday. It isn't yet clear what caused the fall. The tower is located at 72nd and Crown Point. It toppled into the field surrounding it and no one was near it when it fell. Crews have been working to install HDTV technology to the tower since May 30. The new TUV-32GTH antenna is meant to replace the RCA TW-15. The TUV-32GTH is a new broadcasting technology introduced last year. Losing the tower means KETV will be broadcasting an analog signal from its auxiliary tower near the station at 27th and Douglas streets and on cable. This tower is 1/2 the height of the tower at 72nd and Crown Point, and you may experience reception problems during this period. If you do, try to re-aim your receive antenna toward downtown Omaha to receive a better signal during this period. As always, refer this to qualified service personnel. KETV news director Rose Ann Shannon said Friday night it is not yet clear how much the tower collapse will set back the HDTV conversion, or how long it will take to clear debris and rebuild. Look for more updates on KETV and TheOmahaChannel.com. (via Matthew C. Sittel, Bellevue NE, http://members.cox.net/mcsittel/index.html July 5, WTFDA via DXLD) It seems like this was the less populated of the four towers. A quick glance of local station coordinates indicate that KVNO 90.7 FM was also on the 1360' tower, at 633'. KVNO is operated by the University of Nebraska - Omaha, and has been off the air since the time of the collapse. There is no mention of it on KVNO's or the UNO student newspaper website (Mike Hawk, Omaha, NE, ibid.) ** U S A. KUAT-TV'S CHANNEL 6 TRANSMITTER OFF THE AIR DUE TO ASPEN FIRE http://kuat.org/group/press/2003/03-0705-aspenfire.shtml TUCSON --- KUAT-TV`s Channel 6 transmitter is currently off the air. Station engineers were unable to switch on the transmitter at sign on Saturday morning. It is unknown at the present time how long the disruption will last. Cable viewers in Tucson are unaffected. KUAT-TV`s simulcast signal on Channel 27 reaches most over-the-air viewers in the Tucson metropolitan area. Viewers who receive Channel 6 by satellite, as well as cable and over-the-air viewers outside of Tucson, are probably not able to receive the signal. An outage in telephone lines between sign off Friday night and sign on Saturday morning prevented normal remote control operation to switch on the transmitter. The remote control signal reaches the station's Mount Bigelow transmitter from facilities on the University of Arizona campus. Station engineers are not permitted access to the site to switch on the transmitter manually due to the Aspen fire. The Aspen fire is also preventing repair of the phone lines. It is currently unknown if the phone lines were directly damaged by the fire. Classical radio station KUAT-FM`s Mount Bigelow transmitter, which sends its signal on 90.5, is unaffected at the present time. If that transmitter goes off the air, engineers plan to set up a small (20- watt) transmitter on Tumamoc Hill, located on the west side of Tucson. The simulcast signal normally available on 89.7 will continue uninterrupted. NPR and jazz radio station, KUAZ-AM/FM, is unaffected by the Aspen fire. The transmitting equipment for this station is located near Interstate 10 and Cortaro Farms Road. The KUAT Communications Group is an educational broadcast and production resource of the University of Arizona. The KUAT Communications Group consists of public television station KUAT-TV (Channel 6), classical public radio station KUAT-FM (90.5/89.7), NPR and jazz station KUAZ (89.1 FM and 1550 AM) and the KUAT MultiMedia unit, which provides distance learning and communications for the University of Arizona (July 5 via DXLD) ** U S A. 60 [sic] METER HAM SIGNALS Glenn, I have enjoyed listening to all the new contacts being made on the new 60 meter amateur allocations here in the U.S. Almost all the discussions concern antennas and propagation as new contacts are made. This is quite a change from the weather related rag chewing, or worse, the bigoted right wing nets that sadly too often are heard on 75 meter phone at night. I have heard numerous stations from New England to Florida and as far west as Colorado, as soon as the sun goes down here in Atlanta. All heard just casually listening on a 2010 with it's built in whip over this Forth of July weekend. Most stations are running well below the allowed 50 watts, so I guess my enjoyment is the result of hearing how far this low amount of transmitter power will travel, and listening to intelligent (for a change) discussions of both transmitting and receiving antennas for 5 MHz. Regards, (Brock Whaley, WH6SZ (not on 60 meters), Atlanta, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. CX 118 Radio La Voz de Artigas: CXA 3, 6075, en 49 metros. Aun no la he podido captar aquí en Montevideo, desde ya hace unos cuantos años. Pero en una de las páginas de su sitio web, más precisamente en http://www.radioartigas.com.uy/sobrevoz.htm se informa que "en breve también operara en 31 metros". El sitio web http://www.radioartigas.com.uy/que también incluye emisiones online via internet, detalles de su programación, aspectos técnicos e históricos de la emisora (en realidad es un multimedios); dice: "CXA 3 en 49 metros, cubriendo con sus ondas gran parte de América del Sur". "Más tarde, nos tornamos pioneros al obtener CXA 3, Onda Corta en 6.075 kc en banda de 49 metros, también la primera en el interior del país, retransmitiendo nuestra emisión diaria y con programación propia logrando alcance continental" (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, July 4, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ I believe I had South American TA yesterday evening on band 1... {WTFK --- channel A2??} The signal was peaking on a westerly bearing, approximately 260-270 degrees. Looking at the great circle map I think this is probably about the right direction for northerly parts South America. (I was rather naively expecting it to need a SW beam!) So this looks interesting. We need to build up a list of high powered targets for future reception. It's hard to believe just how many days of major TA E activity there have been in June - Look at the accumulative 6m maps. Here are a few examples ... http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030630.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030629.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030626.png *** http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030625.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030623.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030621.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030620.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030619.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030613.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030612.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030611.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030610.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030607.png http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030606.png *** http://maps.dxers.info/6m/24hrs/20030605.png .. and these were the better days - this collection does not show all the days when TA DX was recorded on 6m. I've highlighted the two most intense days of activity. THOUGHT: It doesn't seem unreasonable for us to expect some more TA FM judging by these maps. You folks in north-eastern parts of North America surely must get something soon. We must try and keep each other informed of the openings as they happen. Are there any records of previous TA reception on band 1 from over there? As I'm about to send this mail Spain appears to have a path open on 6 to Florida. Good DX (John Faulkner, UK, July 1, WTFDA, http://www.skywaves.info via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ WHY EUROPEANS GET NORTH AMERICAN VHF DX AND NOT VICE VERSA Ref: "These "video carriers" - can they be seen on my TV? If I can't SEE the VIDEO then does it really matter that I can pick up the carrier at my location?" European DXers have been using the video carrier frequency of a station as a "benchmark" of what station might be there for a decade or more. The equipment is NOT that expensive but the technique and technology are as different from TV (or FM) DXing as AM DXing is to TV. Using relatively inexpensive equipment, it is possible with patience, practice and skill to "measure" the video carrier frequency to 6 digits (55.250000). Although TV stations in NA are assigned +/ 0 and - offsets, no two TV stations maintain their carrier frequencies to much more than the last 1 or 2 digits of the series (.XXXX01). The stability (how much that frequency drifts or varies) is quite good with modern TV stations, leading to lists which are (web listed) available for virtually all of the European, Middle East, African TV stations. Is it the same as "watching" TV reception? Of course not. But when you can detect the presence of a TV carrier, long (minutes, hours) before Es or tropo conditions "peak" and you could in fact "watch" the reception, it is an excellent system to warn you that something really unusual or desired is at least "there." Maybe, more often than not, the signal will not become strong enough to produce an image on a TV screen (it takes 1/1000th as much signal to register on a suitable scanner receiver for determining the operating frequency as it does to create an image that will LOCK on your TV screen). So consider it a "DEW Line" (early warning) system. Do people who NEVER see video or identify the audio COUNT such "loggings?" Hopefully not, but that is an individual decision just as any form of TV or FM DXing might be. Think of it this way. Some TV DX with rabbit ears and settle for those signals that are strong enough to lock on the screen and identify with what must be considered a sub-par antenna system. At the opposite end of the rainbow there are Europeans who can "count" the exact TV carrier frequency down to "the hertz" because that is the "state of the art" which prevails in Europe. It is my view (clearly stated as such) that North American TV (and FM) DXers are creatures of "opportunity" using sub-par equipment, and techniques which were current decades ago. It is highly unlikely you will "stumble across" a European FM station without some advanced technology. First, almost nobody points their antennas E/NE unless there is a companion opening to Nova Scotia. The Europeans who did the "TA thing" had an intense Es opening at the same time they found NE USA and Canadian FM stations. They were for the most part prepared - highly refined lists of probable targets. When I lived in Oklahoma and led the TV station-logged list, I approached each opening by having a very concise list of all stations still unlogged in any given direction. I would as a matter of habit not bother with reloggings. If I needed channel 34 Binghamton, I knew this from my prepared lists and when conditions were favorable I sat on channel 34 (and others also needed in the same area such as Scranton 22) looking for signs that it might pop through. Relogs are fine for VUD space, but they don't push the limits of propagation. I would rather sit through a tropo opening into a target area on a blank channel watching for a signal to appear than relog channels previously logged. By the way, I left (Oklahoma) "Target List" copies with Mike (B) when we met in Albion last September - as an example of "being prepared and ready" when the band did open. It is far better to know what the targets are, and to concentrate on those channels/frequencies, when conditions are favorable than zip up and down the band logging (relogging) the same stations again (and again). The European Channel 1 {2!} TV stations still operating (Germany, for example) are nominally on 48.250XXX. That is almost 2 MHz lower in frequency than the typical amateur 6 meter band contacts at 50.11 and above; and therefore would be seen/heard BEFORE the amateur signals cross the Atlantic. The TV stations (Scandinavia, Germany, Spain) operate with big time power. By being BELOW 50.11 MHz/6 meters, they will with their power "propagate through/across the Atlantic" before - BEFORE - the six meter signals do. Therefore it will "happen" more often that TA six meter signals. Has anyone in NA ever - EVER - logged a 48.250XXX TV signal? I believe not. First you need a PAL format receiver, although that is not essential (an outboard tuner that tunes 48.250XXX feeding an American - NTSC - TV set will produce images just fine - they will simply display "tall, skinny people" slightly out of proper proportions to what you are accustomed to watching). More important, you need a TV set or outboard tuner that tunes to 48.250XXX. Does anyone have one, connected to an appropriate 7 meter aerial? I doubt that. Want to be "the first" to log European TV in NA? Get a receiver or converter (under US$40 in Europe) that tunes 48.250XXX, a decent antenna (a six meter "ham" beam would be a good start) and watch the web postings. The signals are there, strong enough to satisfy Guy F's criteria that you be able to "see video" if not actually hear audio as well. You won't do this with a "stock" Ameican TV receiver and a Radio Shack antenna. European stations are well documented (listed) and powerful on FM. There, unfortunately, remains limited band 1 (low band) TV services in Europe although there are a few still operating on 48.25XYYY. The guys in Europe have invested in the best equipment, the best technology, and in the motto of the Boy Scouts - "they are prepared" when the conditions merit careful scrutiny. It pays off. We all know that, now. Record loggings don't just happen; they are the result of superior skills, better than average equipment, incredible perseverance, careful preplanning and lots of good luck. Logging a 1,200 mile channel 2 station on rabbit ears is a facet of our hobby. But it hardly pushes the limits of either the technology or the conditions that obviously do prevail at times. Those who are FINALLY becoming interested in TA from east to west might check: http://www.Aerial-Techniques.com to learn what sort of TV DXing gear the Europeans use. Also, you might enter into exchanges with Roger Bunney who is TV-Satellite DX Editor for TELEVISION (a UK magazine) as well as WHAT Satellite TV (another UK magazine); Once you know what you are looking for, in the way of specific models of gear, then go to e-bay UK (not USA!) and let your fingers do the walking. European channel TV sets are very common but unfortunately not in USA. They can be found in Miami and Los Angeles at larger electronic stores, for export sales, however. By the way, I handed to Jeff (Macomb, Illinois) the fabled D100 TV DXing tuner which most serious Europeans use when in Albion last September - I don't think he has plugged it in so perhaps somebody else in NE USA can talk him out of it! That's all you need and even a USA low band TV all-channel antenna will work, after a fashion, at 48.250XXX MHz (avoid cut to channel yagis as they have steep response skirts on both sides - even a channel 2 antenna; a 3 element ham radio 6 meter beam (see any ARRL handbook) will work quite well at 48.250XXX). (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, July 4, WTFDA via DXLD) In the old days the first sign of TA TV in the UK was rolling video on E3/A2 and the different sounding video buzz. Now with measuring (I use a Icom PCR 1000 and Digipan software) I see and ID a lot more DX. I reckon if I hadn't had this I would have missed out on the 26th as A2 video was swamped with European stuff and I don't normally sit on channels A3 or A4. I do log trace signals but make it clear as we all do that it did or didn't have video. Its opened up the hobby for me a hell of a lot. Even on days when there is no visible DX you can see a lot going on. I reckon best bet for equipment is a D100 which upconverts to UHF and tunes all world TV frequecies,you can also take TV sound out to a fm radio, a normal UHF TV should do which from experiece the modern ones all seem to work on both systems plus a "European" 3 or 4 element Band 1 aerial. If we let you guys know when there is TA to the UK hopefully you will see something from Spain, Germany or Scandinavia etc. Hope this helps. Good DX (Cyril Willis, Kings Lynn, Norfolk UK, ibid.) Those particular Uniden scanners don't include SSB, hence they will not work with any Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) DSP PC software such as SpectrumLab or Digipan. Second-hand Icom 25-2000 MHz scanners such as the R7000 or R7100, still are about the best value for your money. Next would be a second- hand R75. Personally, I'm not too happy with the R75's coverage stopping at 60 MHz. The Icom R8500 is the best current scanner. Even though the R8500 covers LW, MW, SW, VHF, and UHF, there is no compromise in performance on any of these bands. A second-hand R8500 may be another option. I would like to add some more comments to Bob's and Cyril's suggestions. Receiver options: High-end VHF/UHF scanning receivers. These units (Icom models R-7000, R-7100, and R-8500, and AOR-5000) are multi-mode receivers which can receive AM, FM, WFM, CW, SSB modes. Various IF bandwidths are available, and these receivers are normally programmable to scan a selected range of frequencies. Computer-controlled receivers. The Icom PRC1000 (best) and WinRadio 1500e, are separate boxes which plug into a computer via a serial, parallel, or USB port. They have many of the features of the high-end VHF/UHF scanning receivers, but since they rely on a companion computer for digital control, typically cost half as much. The drawback is inferior dynamic range compared to coventional high-end scanning VHF/UHF receivers. PC based DSP software: I've tried Hamview and various other freeware spectrum programs, but in my opinion they don't come close to SpectrumLab http://www.qsl.net/dl4yhf/spectra1.html SpectrumLab has incredible versatility which can be tailored to your own individual requirements. I especially like the dual line plot and waterfall display. It's sensitive enough to detect UHF EME. One important step is to first optimize the audio output level from your radio to the line-input at the back of the PC. Go to SpectraLab Options, then click volume control for "record" (audio in). Make sure the line-in box is ticked. With the radio connected to an external aerial, and with no signals present, the rec line-in gain control should be adjusted so the noise floor is around -60dB. Typical settings is somewhere between -60 to - 70 dB. If there is insufficient signal, the noise floor could be as low as -100 dB. Too much signal will result in clipping (distortion). I found that the default 16384 FFT and 11025 Hz sample rate settings were ok. This provides a FFT resolution of about 0.6 Hz. I have set the frequency span from 500-2500 Hz. The amplitude scale is -100 dB to -0 dB. The average setting needs to be set higher than 0. I found somewhere between 20 and 40 were ideal for stable weak TV carriers. The sensitivity is quite remarkable. Providing there are no obvious high external noise levels or other interference, video carrier signals can be detected out to around 700-900 km via troposcatter on a daily basis. The extreme sensitivity with this set up means that D layer ionoscatter can also be detected. For example, New Zealand 45.25 MHz TV (1,300 miles) is about 2-5 dB above the noise on most days. Shorter distance signals are even stronger. This is because 1,300 miles is at the extreme upper limit for ionoscatter. 800 miles is about optimum. The peak time for ionoscatter is around midday. Spectrum Lab is also capable of detecting the stronger UHF TV carriers via EME. So, it's a serious piece of gear. This method can be a problem if your PC (especially the monitor) radiates high level hash on band I 45-70 MHz frequencies. Try to keep the PC away from any outdoor band I antennas. || The video carriers are certainly visible without hearing anything. Obviously if they are getting to the level when video would appear (usually around S5) you hear a buzz but most of the time you see the carriers and the meter doesn't move at all. You see loads of stuff going on meteor pings and carriers from hundreds of miles that you could only normally recieve by tropo or SpE. || There are different levels of scanner sensitivity: 1. AM/FMn scanners such as the Realistic Pro-2005/2005/2006, etc, are great scanners for DXers on a budget. Even though they have no SSB modes, the sensitivity on these scanners is high. These scanners are also perfectly adequate for detecting TA or TP video carriers, using narrow FM or AM mode. They won't tell you the exact (1 Hz) offset frequency, but at least you will know if the DX carrier is -, 0, or +10 KHz. 2. High-end VHF/UHF scanning receivers. These units (Icom models R- 7000, R-7100, and R-8500, and AOR-5000) are multi-mode receivers which can receive AM, FM, WFM, CW, SSB modes. They will typically tell you the offset of TV carriers within about 100 Hz. This will be good enough for most of you who couldn't be bothered with prescision frequency measurement (PFM). This is all I used prior to 2000. The sensitivity is of course even higher compared to AM/FM Realistic type scanners. 3. High-end VHF/UHF scanning receivers used with PFM techniques. The ultimate in early detection and identification of TV DX. For example, when someone receives ch2 Cuba, you measure the video carrier frequency. You catalogue it and document it on the web. Any subsequent Es openings to Cuba, are again measured to verify the original measurement and stability (frequency variation). You continue to do this with all Es TV DX. This method can also be used for tropo signals. The end result of all this carrier measurement business is that you have a very high probability of knowing the TV station's call sign and location, BEFORE you can see any indication of a picture on the TV screen. TV signals, such as 55.2595 MHz KHON-TV2 Hawaii, are sometimes received in New Zealand and Australia. The stability of the KHON ch 2 carrier varies no more than 55.2595 to 55.2596 MHz. This means that west coast US DXers should be able to at least detect KHON, every year. If a D100 is available, you will have a good chance of watching KHON as well. TV tuner sensitivity: I use a D100 TV VHF/UHF tuner/RF converter. This little tuner box is used with any reasonable UHF TV that has varicap (variable dial tuning). The sensitivity of the D100 overrides whatever poor sensitivity may exist in the TV. Apart from using a 2dB noise figure masthead preamplifier in a quite rural area, the D100 provides optimum sensitivity. The external ambient noise levels at band I 45-70 MHz frequencies are fairly high. The D100 features Mosfet RF amps, which has a noise figure lower than ambient external noise levels. This was confirmed by connecting the D100 via a RDX Labs UA-701 GaAsFET wideband preamp (2 dB noise figure). The UA-701 made no viewable improvement to weak band I signals. 1950s and 1960s TV DXers would have almost killed to get their hand on one of these things! Bill Nollman wrote: || I understand a 7 meter yagi would make all the difference in the world. || (Wavelength) = 300 / frequency in MHz. A 7 meter yagi would be cut to resonate at around 44 MHz. Any quality wideband yagi covering US channels 2 to 6, could have the back reflector element lengthened to cover down to 45 MHz. This would mean a total reflector length of about 10.5 feet. This would now mean that the aerial has coverage from 45 to 88 MHz. Last, who has the best list on the internet of 48 MHz (or other) DX targets? http://www.skywaves.info/offsets.html http://www.skywaves.info/measure.html 45-70 MHz TV yagis and D100 TV tuners can also be purchased from HS Publications (Derby, UK): http://homepage2.nifty.com/ffk/d100.pdf 73, (Todd Emslie, WA, ibid.) ### |||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-119, July 5, 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/dxldtd3g.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 03-04 new edition: RFPI: Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930, 1530, Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830, 1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 {Download} http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.rm (Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0304.html Also via http://www.worldofradio.com NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1189: RFPI: Sat 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 and/or 15039 WINB: Sun 0030 12160 WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN: rest of world Sat 0800, Europe Sun 0430, 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/wor1189.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1189.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Me alegro mucho que hayas comenzado usar mis grabaciones en WOR. Lo hace el programa más ``Vivo``. 73s de (Björn Malm, Ecuador) ** AFGHANISTAN [and non]. OPPOSING VIEWS ON FOREIGN BROADCASTS TO AFGHANISTAN Two opposing views were broadcast by Iranian Mashhad radio on 4 July on the role of foreign radio stations in Afghanistan. An Afghan intellectual has asked the government to ban foreign radio stations from broadcasting in Afghanistan. The editor-in-chief of the Hindokosh news agency said that foreign culture might "upset" his country's national unity. Whereas, the editor-in-chief of Erada daily, Mr Zahoor Afghan, said that foreign radio stations were broadcasting nothing going against Afghanistan's national interests. The following is an excerpt from the report, with subheads inserted editorially: [Presenter] An Afghan intellectual has said that programmes broadcast by foreign radio stations in Afghanistan contravene [Islamic] law and that this is the betrayal of the country's national interests. In a letter to the country's government, the Afghan intellectual asked the government to prevent foreign radio stations from broadcasting in Afghanistan. In his letter, a copy of which was also sent to Afghan publications, he said that even in colonial countries, the authorities do not allow such radios to operate. He asked: Will America and Europe, which have set up radio stations in Afghanistan and which promote freedom, allow an Islamic country to set up a radio station in their countries and to broadcast programmes for their people? The writer asked the Afghan government to completely ban the foreign radio stations from broadcasting in Afghanistan, and said that this was needed to preserve the values of Islam and protect national interests. In interviews with two Afghan journalists and media experts, we have assessed the issue. Foreign media The editor-in-chief of Erada daily, Mr Zahoor Afghan [phonetic], said that programmes broadcast by foreign radios in Afghanistan were not a problem bearing in mind Afghanistan's media law. He said that critics had the right to express their opposing views on those programmes. Mr Zahoor Afghan said: [Zahoor Afghan] We have two kinds of radio stations in our country. First, those radio stations whose broadcasts are strengthened inside the country, such as BBC, Voice of America or Radio Azadi [Liberty]. Nobody can stop them from broadcasting. They broadcast so that people can listen to them. Second, there are radio stations that have got official permission from the Ministry of Information and Culture in accordance with the media law and operate inside Afghanistan. I don't think these radio stations broadcast anything going against Afghanistan's national interest, because we listen to these radios. There could be a category of people whose ideas and thoughts are against those programmes. They may not tolerate entertainment programmes, such as music that are broadcast by FM radios. Otherwise, I do not think those radio stations which have been given official permission by the Afghan government in accordance with the media law to broadcast programmes broadcast anything that undermines the national interests of Afghanistan. Those intellectuals who feel responsibility for their country, for their people, for the freedom of speech and for the implementation of democracy are allowed to express their opposition to the matter. [Passage omitted: repeat] External financial support for Afghan media [Presenter] Meanwhile, sharing the sentiment of opposition to foreign media in Afghanistan, the editor-in-chief of Hindokosh news agency, Sayed Najibollah Hashemi, said that alien cultures had influenced his country and that this matter would also upset Afghanistan's national unity. The editor-in-chief of Hindokosh asked the government to pay more attention to foreign assistance coming to Afghanistan's news sources so that there are opportunities to create a good competitive environment. Let us listen to what Sayed Najibollah Hashemi had to say: [Sayed Najibollah Hashemi] Afghanistan's new media law guarantees some freedom for the Afghan people in the sphere of media. It is a good opportunity to develop talents in the country. Unfortunately, since financial support for Afghanistan's independent media is weaker, all Afghan independent news sources turn to external sources. They [Afghan news sources] are being given moral and financial support. And the feeding of Afghanistan's independent media has resulted in some disorder in the country's media affairs. [Passage to end omitted: repeat] Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 1330 gmt 4 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFRICA. AFRICA ON THE TROPICAL BANDS JULY 2003 kHz kW ITU Station, location, schedule, comments 3200 35 SWZ TWR Swaziland 0300-0330 Ndebele 3200 25 SWZ TWR Swaziland 0400-0500 German/English 3200 50 SWZ TWR Swaziland 1700-2045 Tswana/Pedi/Sotho/English 3215 50 MDG AWR via Talata-Volondry 0230-0300 French, 0300-0330 Malagasy, 1530-1600 French, 1600-1630 Malagasy 3215 50 MDG R. Feon'ny Filazantsara via Talata-V. 1630-1655 (Malagasy?). Started 3 July 03 3215 100 AFS AWR via Meyerton 0500-0530, 1800-1830 English 3215 100 AFS SARL via Meyerton 1900-2000mo English 3230 100 AFS R Veritas via Meyerton 1600-1900 English 3230 100 AFS Family R via Meyerton 1900-2100 English 3255 100 AFS BBC WS via Meyerton 0300-0500, 1700-2200 English 3288v 100 MDG R Madagascar, Antananarivo 0300-0500, 1500-1900, 1900- 2100sa/su Malagasy/French 3316v 10 SRL Sierra Leone BC, Freetown inactive 3320 100 AFS R Sonder Grense via Meyerton 1600-0530 Afrikaans 3326 50 NIG R Nigeria-Lagos 0425-2305 English 3345 100 AFS Channel Africa, Meyerton 0430-0455, 1630-1655 Portuguese 3345 100 AFS AWR via Meyerton 0500-0530, 1800-1830 English 3366 35 GHA GBC R2, Accra 0525-0915, 1705-0000 English also radiating strong spurious signals 3375v 15 ANG R Nacional de Angola, Luanda reportedly inactive here 3380 50 MWI Malawi BC, Blantyre Inactive 3390 100 AFS BBC WS via Meyerton 0430-0500 Portuguese, 1730-1745 BBC English, 2030-2100 Portuguese 4760 1 LBR ELWA, Monrovia 0600-0830, 1730-2200 English/local langs 4760 50 SWZ TWR Swaziland 1600-1700 Tshwa/Shangaan/Port./Ndau 4765 100 COG R Congo, Brazzaville 0430-0700, 1800-2130 French/local languages (alternative to 5985) 4770v 50 NIG R Nigeria-Kaduna 0430-2305 English/local languages 4775 50 SWZ TWR Swaziland 0340-0355 Lomwe, 0400-0630 Germ/Eng 4777 100 GAB RTV Gabonaise Reported back here in March/April 2003; schedule unconfirmed 4783v 100 MLI RTM, Bamako 0555-0800, 1800-0000 French/local lang 4800 100 LSO LNBS - R Lesotho, Maseru 0245-2200 SeSotho/English 4815 100 BFA R Burkina, Ouagadougou Alternative to 5030 4820 50 BOT R Botswana, Gaborone 24h SeTswana/English 4835v 100 MLI RTM, Bamako 0555-0800, 1800-0000 French/local langs 4845 100 MTN R Mauritania, Nouakchott 0625-0800(ex Fr), 1800-0100 Arabic/French/local languages 4880 100 AFS SW Radio Africa via Meyerton 1600-1900 English to Zimbabwe 4890 250 GAB R France Int via Moyabi 0400-0500 French 4910 100 ZMB ZNBC - R Zambia, Lusaka 0245-0500, 1430-2205 Radio 1 in local languages/English 4915 35 GHA GBC R1, Accra 0525-0915, 0915-1200sa/su, 1200-0000 local languages/English 4915 10 KEN Kenya BC, Nairobi 0300-0700mo-fr, 1300-1905mo-fr with Eastern Service in local languages 4950v 15 ANG R Nacional de Angola, Luanda 24h Portuguese 4950 100 STP VOA via São Tomé 1900-2030 English, 2030-2100m-f Hausa, 2030-2100sa/su English 4960 100 STP VOA via São Tomé 0400-0500 English, 0500-0530 Hausa, 0530-0630mo-fr French 4965 100 ZMB Christian Voice International 1500-0300 English 4976 10 UGA R Uganda, Kampala 0300(0345sa/su)-0600, 1300(1430sa/su)- 2100; Red Channel in English/local langs 5003v 50 GNE R Nacional, Bata 0500-2200 Spanish/local lang; irregular 5010 100 MDG R Madagascar, Antananarivo 0300-0500, 1500-1900, 1900- 2100sa/su Malagasy/French 5025v 10 BEN ORTB - R Parakou 0500-0900mo-fr, 0700-2300sa/su, 1100- 1400mo-fr, 1700-2200mo-fr French/local languages 5026 10 UGA R Uganda, Kampala 0300(0345sa/su)-0600, 1300(1430sa/su)- 2100; Blue Channel in English/local langs 5030 100 BFA R Burkina, Ouagadougou 0530-0800, 1700-0000 French/local lang; alternative freq 4815 5047 50 TGO R Lomé, Rdiff Togolaise 0455-0905, 1605-0005 French/local lang; schedule subject to confirmation 5050v 10 TZA R Tanzania, Dar-es-Salaam 0200-0645, 1315-2100 Swahili 5066.32 1 CNG R Candip, Bunia 0400-0500v, 1330-1800v French/local languages; reportedly not on air as of 1 July 2003. 5100 7.5 LBR R Liberia Int, Monrovia 1800-0000 English/local langs 5470 10 LBR R Veritas, Monrovia 0600-0000 English/local languages 5500 10 ETH V of Tigray Revolution, Mekele inactive here (active though on 6350) (British DX Club - Update 4 July 2003 via DXLD) For further updates see: (by country): http://www.users.waitrose.com/~bdxc/africa.rtf (by frequency): http://www.users/waitrose.com/~bdxc/africafreq.rtf ** ANTARCTICA. Here I am sending some information and related comments about the only broadcasting station of the world that transmits on short wave from the Antarctic Territory: 15476, LRA36 R Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel, currently is broadcasting from Mondays to Fridays at 1800-2100. Its programs consist of three blocks of one hour each. The programs of LRA36 begin with the National Anthem, ID, EFEMERIDES, presentation of the staff, address, e-mail and phone number of the station. After the presentation they pass to the national news and they give some Antarctic topics; during the second block they begin with the international and provincial news, fear on the Antarctic, scientific, ecological all that are as much as possible related to the Antarctic territory; also they have literature and tourism info of interest to the Argentinian. On Thursday, since one of the speakers is a pediatrician, she gives topics referred to health; on Fridays they have a space dedicated to the outstanding women of history and contemporary. In the third block they begin with sport news, and continue with the same topics and they try to make some report to people of the base and also to people in the continent. Currently the station is operating with a power between 2.5 and 4 KW; the transmitter has 10 KW, operating with a rhombic antenna (Gabriel Iván Barrera, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. He recibido este correo de los amigos de Radio Austria Internacional y lo comparto con todos ustedes. Atte: José Elías Queridos amigos de ROI: Con gran emoción he leído vuestras cartas de apoyo y simpatía publicadas en este modesto medio, que puede seguir siendo un medio de comunicación mutua, mientras exista como tal. Como ya os hemos anticipado en el último Buzón, habrá noticias en español a partir del 1 de enero de 2004. Haré todo lo posible para que sean más minutos. Os agradezco, en nombre de todos mis compañeros, la atención y cariño que nos habéis profesado en las últimas semanas, meses, años y hasta décadas. La lista de oyentes seguirá en nuestro archivo, y os haré llegar el cómo y cuándo de un resurgimiento. También a los Clubes DX les haré llegar noticias nuestras, posiblemente con novedades también sobre Austria. Gracias por estas cartas y los emilios que recibimos tan copiosamente. Os echaremos de menos! Un abrazo! Manuel Aletrino Radio Austria Internacional - Wien/Viena http://roi.orf.at/ (via JEDG, Venezuela, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. DX TARGET: RADIO AFRIKA INTERNATIONAL A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS AFRICA AND EUROPE By Richard A. D'Angelo Radio Afrika International ("RAI") was founded to bring peace, democracy, development and information exchange to the African continent. Its efforts to promote better relations between the people of Africa and Europe is a founding principle of the station. The continent suffers from a restricted flow of information and, in addition, the station believes there is a distortion of news and media bias concerning the reporting of events in Africa. Consequently, RAI hopes to provide essential news and information to help the continent develop and build "a bridge that connects Africa and Europe." This DX Target will take a quick look at the African continent and the growth and development of Radio Afrika International. The Continent of Africa [snip -- basic geographical facts everyone should already know] The Station Radio Afrika International was founded in March 1997. It was designed to be a bridge connecting Africa and Europe through the exchange of news and information. The station is a journalist project with the role of fighting against prejudices and African stereotypes on the Africa continent that the station believes are often maintained in European media. RAI's core task is to promote better relations between the African nations, Austria (home of the project), as well as the remainder of the European continent. Its themes are peace, democracy, and development and information exchange. The station sees itself stimulating the flow of African information because such information still does not circulate well on the continent. There isn't one African media outlet capable of serving as an information conduit for the entire continent. Radio Afrika International believes that the western media monopolizes the information flow, consequently, coverage of African events is either deferred or minimized. Radio Afrika International believes the distortion of information between Europe and Africa is because of the Western media. The station believes coverage of African events is insufficient and the European and African media miss the mark in covering events on the continent. Europeans dominate broadcasting in Africa because the local infrastructure and access to technology is limited. The African press is a victim of a lack of credible information sources and political, economic and cultural constraints. It is hoped that through Radio Afrika International, western journalists will be able to contribute to the eradication of this problem that corrodes the press and the development of the African continent. Only time will tell if this formula produces results. Radio Afrika International's programming is developed in Vienna, Austria. RAI uses the shortwave transmission facilities of the Austrian government. The station develops programs for its African and European listeners with limited financial resources compared to other international broadcasters in reaching the African continent and Europe. African radio stations, organizations and associations recognized by their countries, present projects that Radio Afrika International broadcast. The program's aim at the promotion of the culture of peace, democracy, the rights of men and development of health, education, environment, the economy, science and technology. The individual program producers are responsible for the contents of the transmissions made on Radio Afrika International mindful of legislation and media laws in force in Austria. Radio Afrika International broadcasts from Austria utilizing the facilities of Radio Austria International ("ROI") from the Broadcast Centre at Moosbrunn. This 800,000 square metro site is about 25 kilometers south of Vienna in the province of Lower Austria. There are two 100 kilowatt and one 300/500-kilowatt transmitters and rotary and directional antennas at the Broadcast Centre. Radio Afrika International is able to lease time from the 100-kilowatt facility for its programs. Currently, the station operates on 17,895 kHz from 1500 to 1600 UT daily. The station broadcasts in German, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. Programs consist of news, cultural features, political analysis, economic news and other features such as Focus on Africa, Politics and Economy, Sports, Exchange and Correspondence. On Sunday a special magazine feature called Radio Afrika Weekend is carried. Shortwave listeners around the world have confused this station with U.S.A.-based Radio Africa International operated by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). There is no relationship between the two stations. The GBGM launched its Radio Africa International in the late 1990's and is heard every daily with English and French programs targeting youth and young adults with news, interviews, spiritual messages, and music. They hear faith stories and news concerning the African continent, interviews with prominent Africans, and popular music from around the world. On Sundays, they hear sermons and uplifting spiritual music. There is a strong emphasis on spiritual and health issues where as Radio Afrika International has a strong focus on news and information to better life in Africa. The various radio stations in Africa participating in the project must take a part of the expenses associated with the transmissions. However, Radio Afrika International and its partner radio stations look for subsidies to reduce the loads of the stations with low incomes. Although the station does have serious financial constraints, it does respond to electronic reception reports sent to: radio.afrikas@sil.at Préfet Mat Mathurin Butusolua, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, responded to my report in about a month. He is the moderator of the program "Correspondence and Exchange" where he reads reception reports and dedicates songs to listeners. On 4 January 2003, he dedicated a song to my family by Oumou Sangare from Mali, entitled Dugu Kamelemba. Although less reliable due to the station's current financial condition, postal reception reports with return postage can be sent to the station at: Radio Afrika International, A-1160 Wien, Heigerleinstrasse 7, Austria As always, remember to send those Radio Afrika International logs to Edwin Southwell for the Shortwave Logbook and those interesting QSL verifications to Mark Hattam for inclusion in the QSL Report column. Good luck with this DX Target (Richard A. D`Angelo, PA, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. CLANDESTINE. 3850, R Independent Mekamui, Bougainville, 1020-1101*, Jun 9, Tok Pisin and, international and string band music, 1055 interval signal, closing announcement and a short piece of music. The announcer was the same as I heard some months ago. During announcements the modulation was low. S 6-7 with strong static noise (Roland Schulze, Philippines July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** BURUNDI. Hi Glenn, Had a phone call from Chris Hambly in Melbourne who says he heard Radio Burundi on 6140 this morning. Bells at 2030 followed by ID "This is Burundi" and English news, through to close with bells again at 2056. Best in USB to avoid QRM. Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRTH 2003 shows RTB with some English newscasts but not at this hour (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. For the next little while, don't discount 790 CFAN, Newcastle (Miramichi) NB. They are far stronger than traditionally, with their omni pattern and full power around the clock. They are supposed to be U4, but one of their two towers is disconnected right now, and they are not able to switch from day pattern. Under these conditions, and during the January DX test, they were heard in California. Curtis McMinniman taped the reception and sent it to the CE, who confirmed the reception. Sometime soon they will be off AM, but their plans are delayed by technical problems with the FM signal, so there is no firm date for release of the AM signal. Some Northeast and Central Canada DXers last winter considered it a bit of a pest as I recall, so reception further west should be considered as possible! (Brent Taylor, Doaktown, NB (ex CFAN), NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. LA BELLE PROVINCE MAKES (RADIO) WAVES News release via Canada NewsWire OTTAWA-GATINEAU, July 2 /CNW/ - Residents of the Montréal, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières regions will soon be able to enjoy new radio services. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released decisions today approving eight new radio stations in Quebec. At the same time, the Commission denied an application to transfer Astral Media's Québec AM stations and CFOM-FM Quebec City to a corporation to be controlled by TVA Group. New stations ---- The CRTC is authorizing four new radio stations for Montréal, three new stations in the Sherbrooke area, including a community radio station at Lac Brome, and one new station in Trois-Rivières. The Commission evaluated the applications submitted to it in light of the criteria first set out in the introductory statement to Decisions CRTC 99-480 to 482, namely the quality of the application, diversity of news voices in the market, market impact and the competitive state of the market. Montréal: --- - Radio-Nord Communications et la Société Spectra Scène (91.9 FM) - This French-language specialty radio station will offer mainly jazz and blues music, and is aimed at adults between the ages of 35 and 64. - Gilles Lajoie and Colette Chabot (1570 AM) - This French-language station from Laval will operate on the basis of a nostalgia radio format geared to listeners 50 and up. It will broadcast music from the 40s through the 70s, and 126 hours of local programming per week. - Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio (105.1 FM) - This station will provide ethnic programming intended principally for the Greek community, but also for the Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Russian and Filipino communities. It will broadcast world beat and international music. - Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR) (FM) - This is a new Aboriginal FM station that will be part of the AVR network. Programming will be principally in French and English but will include segments in various Aboriginal languages, Spanish, as well as other languages. Sherbrooke: ----- Cogeco Radio-Télévision (93.7 FM) - This French-language station will be part of the Rythme FM network. It will broadcast adult contemporary music, comprised of hits from the 70s to today aimed principally at a 25-to-54-year-old listenership. - Andre Gagné (Groupe Generation Rock - 104.5 FM) - This French- language station will broadcast classic, soft and new rock, geared to the 18-to-44-year-old demographic. - Radio Communautaire Missisquoi (FM) - This is a new community station. The principal language of broadcast will be English, but the station will offer 15 percent French and 5 percent German programming. The station, to be located at Lac Brome, will broadcast at least 84 hours of local programming per week in the first year, increasing to 105 hours beginning in the second year. Trois-Rivières: ----- - Cogeco Radio-Television (100.1 FM) - Like the new station in Sherbrooke, this French language station will be added to the Rythme FM network, an d will broadcast adult popular contemporary music. Saguenay: --- After conducting a full review of the economic environment and radio market in the Saguenay region, the CRTC has concluded that for the time being, the region cannot absorb a new commercial radio station. Astral Media ---- The Commission has denied applications presented by Astral Media, on behalf of a corporation to be controlled by TVA Group, holding a 60% voting interest, and Radio Nord Communications, with a 40% voting interest, (TVA/RNC), for TVA/RNC to acquire eight AM stations, two digital radio stations, three radio networks and CFOM-FM Quebec City. These applications raised concerns with regard to concentration of media ownership and media cross-ownership in Québec. The CRTC was not persuaded that the potential benefits that would flow from TVA/RNC's strategy for renewing AM radio in Québec and from the application would offset the serious concerns regarding concentration of media ownership and media cross-ownership that the application gave rise to. In its decision, the CRTC reiterated that Astral Media remains under the obligation to divest itself of CFOM-FM to a third party not associated with Astral Media, as required in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-90. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada. Reference documents: ------- Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-33, http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/whatsnew.htm Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2003-192 to 2003-206, http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/whatsnew.htm Broadcasting Decision CRTC 99-480, http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1999/DB99-480.htm Broadcasting Decision CRTC 99-481, http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1999/DB99-481.htm Broadcasting Decision CRTC 99-482, http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1999/DB99-482.htm (From Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada) ** CANADA. Special Event News The Canadian licensing authority, Industry Canada, has authorised the use of special event prefixes between the 1st of July and 31st of August to celebrate the 100th anniversary of military communications in Canada; see http://www.commelec.2003.ca/ The prefixes will be XM for all VE; XL for all VA; XN for all VO; and XO for all VY stations (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News for July 6, 2003 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. 6030, R Okapi, Kinshasa, 2215, Jun 29, was the probable source of lively non-stop Congolese style pop music after SWRf had signed off. Reception best using USB and signal strength good (Noel Green, UK July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) Also heard at 1855, but strong QRM from SWRf. Nothing on 9550 (Finn Krone, Denmark, ibid.) 11690, R Okapi, Kinshasa, 1825-1900, Jun 20, Vernacular news into 1827 Italian song `Italia d`Amore` (or close) 1830 male and female anternatively with more news or commentary - especially about Ethiopia, but also mentioning Dr Richard Klein and Dr. Kim White. Fair to strong until 1900 when QRM: ``This is Radio Free Europe - Radio Liberty Prague``. (Finn Krone, Denmark July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Screams from Zecchino: Well, it does after all stand to reason. The notorious R. Progreso 640 spur at 652.5 is alive and well from this location on Manasota Key, FL. Bearing exactly that of 640, namely 180 degrees from the beach and three hundred miles south. Another discovery this morning. Yes, a mirror image spur, if you will at 627.5 kHz, medium level audio with the typical screech as you tune its periphery, and bearings identical with 640 and 652.5 kHz. And we think we have the technological edge in this country. Maybe this is some strain of SCA system for piping in music to the Isla de Juventud Prison, the better to mask the screams of counterrevolucionarios as their feet are gently hammered off? Just a thought (Paul V. Zecchino, Englewood FL, NRC IDXD July 4 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Hola Amigo Glenn! Espero recordar bien pero creo que hayas mencionado en WOR que la estación {que} escuché en 6010 kHz ``HJCB con holandés`` no es HCJB sino Netherlands. Hoy me envió Christer Brunstrom de Suecia información que dice: es HCJB con alemán y ``plattysk`` (sueco, no puedo traducir). Entonces no es holandés. Son transmisiones para Sudamérica (Björn Malm, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 12050, R Cairo is no longer on air at 0600, but is heard to open at v0957 during a Qur`an recitation and then carry the usual General Programme. The HFCC list shows two registrations: ABS (= Abis) 250 kW 325 deg 0200-1100 and ABZ (=Abu Zaabal) 500 kW 315 deg 1100- 2400. So, maybe ABS is not active any more? (Noel Green, UK July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 12120, Tigrean International Solidarity for Justice and Democracy, via Samara, *1700-1800*, Jun 29, time signal, flute and Tigrinyan announcement heard as: ``Yeh Lediopyan (Magoney Gimtsalau)`` (Lediopyan = Ethiopia). After a short musical interlude a woman gave ID twice: ``Yeh....... Radio Fathí`` (= Justice) and frequency announcement. Then very long talks where the only words understood during that hour were ``Democracy`` and ``America``. Occasional Horn of Africa music. Signed off without any ann or ID. Scheduled Sundays only via TDP. Ex 15275 via DTK. 45444 (Anker Petersen, Denmark July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13855, AFRTS Keflavik, off at the end of June (Noel Green and Anker Petersen July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 3231.9, RRI Bukittinggi, 1130-1205, Jun 07, active again and now regular, but with Program ``Satu`` in Bahasa Indonesia. 1200 ``Warta Berita`` relayed from RRI Jakarta with a few seconds delay // 9680 and 11860. Weak (Roland Schulze, Philippines July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Surfin`: You Are in Good Company By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, Contributing Editor, July 4, 2003 Your next ham radio contact may be with a celebrity. Find out whom at the Web site we are visiting this week. When I was a kid, my mother warned me about the company I kept. ``Stop hanging around with those Yankees fans!`` The problem was that everybody in my Waterbury, Connecticut neighborhood was a New York Yankees fan. Now that I am an adult, my wife complains about the company I keep: ``You`re always on the ham radio talking with that Eddie!`` (Don`t anybody tell my mother that Eddie is a Yankees fan.) ``But, honey, there are a lot of famous and important people who are hams, and I might talk to them someday.`` ``Like who?`` ``Uh... Barry Goldwater.`` ``Didn`t he die?`` ``Uh, how about Andy Devine?`` ``He`s dead, too.`` Being happily married and wanting to stay that way, I did not mention potential radio encounters with Priscilla Presley or Patty Loveless, so I came up on the short end of that debate. I want to be prepared the next time the subject comes up, so I Googled the net, looking for celebrated ham radio operators. Almost instantaneously, Google turned up the Famous Hams and Ex-Hams Web site of Gerry Jurrens, N2GJ [at] http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html What an impressive list of notable ham radio operators! Gerry has been maintaining this list since the 1980s and it is very comprehensive. It includes actors, ambassadors, astronauts, athletes, attorneys, authors, aviators, clerics, comedians, composers, cosmonauts, educators, entertainers, inventors, journalists, judges, meteorologists, military, musicians, Nobel prize winners, politicians, rock `n` rollers, royalty, scientists, singers, statesmen and even one UFO abductee. There are also a few infamous hams on the list, but you don`t want to mention them when you are trying to win friends and influence people. By the way, so many astronauts and cosmonauts are hams that they warrant their own Web page [at] http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/astrohams.html Gerry also has a Rumors page for famous folks who are reputed to be hams, but really aren`t [at] http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams_rumors.html For instance, there is VE3SUN, who is named Peter Jennings, but he is not the ``Peter Jennings`` who does the nightly news on ABC. Gerry received a great deal of help building and maintaining the lists from his old college friend, Steven Glazer, W2SG. As stated in the intro to their site, Steve and Gerry ``believe that a worthwhile goal for the Web site is not only to highlight those folks with Amateur Radio licenses who have found some interesting thing that distinguishes them from the pack, but also to try to verify each entry, adding links that support the inclusion of that person, along with links to pictures, QSL cards, memorable stories, etc.`` Gerry`s is a very interesting site that will provide hours of interesting exploring, not to mention great ammunition for my next ``who are you talking to on the radio?`` debate. Until next time, keep on surfin`. Editor`s note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, resides in downtown Wolcott, Connecticut, and has been a QST writer for over 25 years. Since getting his ticket in 1969, Stan has sampled nearly every entrée in the Amateur Radio menu (including a stint as Connecticut Section Manager), but he keeps coming back to his favorite preoccupations: VHF and packet radio. As a result, he runs a 2-meter APRS digipeater and weather station (WA1LOU-15) from his mountaintop location in central Connecticut. Stan, a long time advocate of using computers with Amateur Radio, wrote programs to dupe contests and calculate antenna bearings way back in 1978. Today, he is on the board of directors of Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) and uses his Mac to surf the Internet searching for that perfect ham radio Web page. To contact Stan, send e-mail to wa1lou@arrl.net Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [and non]. There have been big demonstrations in Tehran against the Islamic regime of Iran and 4000 demonstrators have been arrested according to official Iranian sources. I heard their shouting of protests on clandestine Radio Voice of Iran the other day and immediately after that, Iranian jamming started. Official Iranian sources accused the demonstrators for being inspired by western media and the recent developments in the two neighbour countries: Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 1981 the big clandestine station, Voice of Mojahed, has used up to 16 SW transmitters simultaneously to broadcast the political messages of the National Liberation Army of Iran (Mojahedin e-Khalq). It was jammed from Iran, but wellknown for its jumping around the main frequencies in steps of 5 kHz in order to avoid jamming, shortly after followed by the jammer using the ``cat-after-mouse`` principle. This station was backed by Iraq and at least some of its transmissions were presumed to be broadcast from the Iraqi-Iran border Mojahedin camps in Iraq. This appeared very likely since all the broadcasts of the Voice of Mojahed ceased at the end of March this year. But mid June the station --- and its jammers returned on the air from unknown locations. Besides postal addresses in Washington, London, Cologne and Baghdad, the Voice of Mojahed for many years has had an address at Mojahedines du People d'Iran, 17 rue des Gords, F-95430 Auvers-sur Oise, some 40 kilometres north of Paris, France. A week ago the French police has arrested several leaders at this address which is the Headquarter's of the biggest Iranian opposition group, the Mudjahedins of the Iranian People, accusing them for involvement in terrorism (Anker Petersen, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) 4691.0, Voice of Mojahed from unknown site, *0127-0135, Jun 29, Opened with martial music by orchestra and was jammed, 0128 jumped to 4670.2 and the jammer followed 0129, 0130 Drums, short announcement in Farsi, fanfare and ID: ``Seda-ye Mojahed, seda-ye Mojahedine Khalq Iran``. Talk about Iran and short orchestral interludes. 43443. The jammer was also heard on 5350, 5640 with talk jumping to 5660, 6460, 6750, 7000, 7050, 8240, 8350 and 8600. Mojahed 2 on 7070 seems to be off the air (Anker Petersen July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) 17525, R Voice of Iran, via Issoudun, France, *1530-1730*, Jun 20 and 21. Carrier was on already at 1520. Farsi ID: ``Radio Seda-ye Iran``, phone-in conversation and songs. Both days demonstrators in Tehran were heard shouting for more than one minute; jammed, 33433. This has replaced 17510 (Finn Krone and Anker Petersen, Denmarks, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. American newsmagazine Time (Jun 30) reports about radio in Baghdad after the war. According to their correspondent about 20 stations are nowadays on the air in the city supported by Iraqi Media Network, a group set up by the US`s reconstruction office. Among those radios ``Baghdad Radio`` is working on 1026 MW 12 hours a day. The transmitter has only 1 kW power and was found in a room of a children park where it was stored for emergency during the war. Other transmitters were seemingly looted or damaged (Luigi Cobisi, Italy July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Hi Glenn, well, managed on my weekend to get Iraq Media Network (IMN) on tp B3 at 11106 GHz H, SR 2790 - FEC 3/4 VPID 308 and added more pictures of that network on the homepage: http://www.geocities.com/su1tz2003 All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Because of fault of one of Rai`s transmitters or their complex, it produces very strong interferences (with rippling sounds) to RUI on 12040 and other stations around this frequency. This effect is observed through the night up to 0335 (then transmitter on 12030 is switched off). But sometimes it is observed from 0345 to 0425 (perhaps produced by transmitter on 11800 kHz). Best regards, (Alexander Yegorov, Kiev, Ukraine, BC-DX July 4 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 3970, NHK Sapporo 1, 1205-1220, Jun 06, still active here, but in USB only. Local program until 1215 when NHK Home Service was heard // 3259 (USB), 3607.5 (USB), 9750 and 11815 -- all strong. ID just as: ``NHK``. 9535, NHK Tokyo 1, *0300, Jun 07, Japanese // 9550 -- both in USB (Roland Schulze, Philippines, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2850, KCBS, Pyongyang, 1615-1756*, Jun 08 and 10, Korean programs, closing with national anthem, heard relayed by Hamhung 3220 (very weak), Pyongsong 3350, Kanggye 3959.7 (very, very weak), Wonsan 3970.5, Kanggye 6100 and Kanggye also on 11679.8. Also noted at 1300 on Jun 06 with a common programe on 2850 and 3960.1. 3025.5, Frontline Soldiers R (presumed), 1615-1700, Jun 10, Korean program. 3320, PBS, Pyongyang, 1650- after 1800, Jun 08 and 10, other Korean programm, heard relayed by Pyongyang on 3249.6 and 6250.2 (teletype QRM) and Kanggye on 6398.8 (which signed off at 1800), and also on MW 1080. On Jun 06, 6399 was also heard at 1300 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE RADIO STATIONS PLANNED FOR KOREA The Korea Herald reports that an English language FM radio station is scheduled to start broadcasting on Jeju [=Cheju?] island on 25 August, providing 24-hour tourist information and entertainment. The station is part of the government's plan to promote a positive image of Korea abroad. Programming will be produced by Korea's only English-language TV station, Arirang TV. An official from the Culture Ministry's Broadcasting and Advertising Policy Division told the newspaper that the station is being set up after foreign visitors to last year's World Cup pointed out communication problems. "We expect the radio station to fix such problems considerably and enhance tourism as well," he said. The Korea Herald also says that the government is also planning another English channel through digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), a new broadcasting system scheduled to take off next year. DMB is considered as one of the most advanced communications technologies, providing cost-efficient transmissions of image, text and audio data to multiple receivers such as cars, radios, television sets and handheld receivers. The service, which will initially be limited to Seoul and its outlying areas, will be expanded nationwide by 2006 (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 3 July 2003 via DXLD) ** LEBANON [non]. 11645, Voice of Free Lebanon via Samara, *1600- 1658*, Jun 20, Arabic ann, song similar to La Marseillaise, ID mentioning Lebanon, orchestral music, Arab songs. New frequency ex 11520. 45444 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 11890, LBJ, Tripoli, (Cf UNID in DX-Window no. 222), 1800- 1900, Jun 14 and 17. Rather new broadcast in Arabic to Iraq ex 11660. Also heard on // 7245. They are easy ID-able at signing on with specific brave music and ``Iraqi`` mentioning (Mauno Ritola, Finland; Vlad Titarev, Ukraine; and Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** MALI. 4782.4, R Mali, Kati, 2332-2347, Jun 28, Vernacular programme with modern local songs. 53432 plagued with the usual utility QRM, yet not so strong this time. 53432. 4835, R Mali, Kati, 0729-0759*, Jun 17, Vernacular talks, IS 0757. 25342. 7285v, R Mali, Kati, *0800, it`s nothing but a whisper allowing frequency zero beating, nothing else. I suspect both their 41 & 25 m outlets plus the 4783v one are beamed to other regions. This has been a matter I also asked them in a still unreplied e-mail dated Feb 25. 9635, R Mali, Kati, 1305, Jun 30, French with newscast which usually lasts almost half an hour and includes the weather forecast ``Le Temps Sur les Ondes - La Météo est avec vous``. 34443 (adjcent QRM only!) (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** MALTA [non]. -Voce del Mediterraneo - Malta - Informazioni e notizie dal radioascolto internazionale Italian Web edition : http://www.arpnet.it/air A cura di Alfredo Gallerati Agostino Coriolano : regia Richard Muscat: Direttore Elsa Romei e John Suda: redazione Johanna Scicluna : Segretaria di redazione Redazione italiana ``Onde Radio``- P O Box 21- 70051 Barletta (Ba) Tutte le domeniche - Ore 07.0 [sic?] UT su 9605 kHz Onde Radio on line http://www.vomradio.com Reception Report : Voce del Mediterraneo, P. O. Box 143, Valletta (Malta) Reception Report -via Internet- : http://www.vomradio.com LA SCHEDA Mese Data Interventi Luglio 6 Gian Maria Canaparo (Torino) 13 Roberto Giannatelli (Roma) 20 Gian Maria Canaparo (Torino) 27 Giovanni Furlan (Treviso) Agosto 3 Paolo Morandotti (Milano) 10 Fiorenzo Repetto (Savona) 17 Paolo Morandotti (Milano) 24 Massimo Ossidi (Falconara) 31 Romeo Perrotta (Siena) LA LOCANDINA Le prossime trasmissioni del programma ``Onde Radio`` accompagneranno i nostri amici ascoltatori anche durante le loro vacanze. In proposito vorrei ringraziare quanti ci ascoltano, in Italia e all`estero e non hanno l`abitudine di scrivere un rapporto di ascolto. L`indirizzo per i vostri rapporti di ascolto è: VOM, Voce del Mediterraneo, Redazione Italiana, P. O. Box 143, Valletta, MALTA Nel trascorso mese di giugno abbiamo parlato del sondaggio su ``Mostre e Fiere italiane della radio`` lanciato dal portale ``Amateur Radio Directory`` con Gian Maria Canaparo, radioamatore di Torino. Nella puntata del 6 luglio, Gian Maria Canaparo, riferirà sui risultati ottenuti da questo sondaggio italiano. Con lo spazio ``Abbiamo ascoltato per voi…`` continua la presentazione della serie di ascolti che proponiamo ogni settimana. Questa settimana è la volta della peruviana ``Radio Libertad``. Presso l`Università Salesiana di Roma è attiva, dai primi anni `90, la Facoltà della Comunicazione Sociale. Questa Facoltà dal 1992 ha creato, sul modello americano, la Summer School, una Scuola estiva sulla comunicazione sociale con una didattica basata sui laboratori. Da quest`anno la Summer School che si volge a Corvara (Bolzano) ha introdotto il laboratorio della radio. Il 13 luglio, don Roberto Giannatelli sarà ospite di ``Onde Radio`` per presentare la ``Summer School`` . Si torna a parlare del sondaggio su Fiere e Mostre della radio, lanciato in giugno 2003 da ``Amateur Radio Directory``; il 20 luglio Gian Maria Canaparo (Torino) sarà ospite di Onde Radio per completare la sua relazione sul sondaggio. Da ormai molti anni, l`A.R.T. –Associazione Radiantistica Trevigiana- è una delle associazioni più attive nell`organizzazione di iniziative legate al mondo della radio. Il 27 luglio avremo ospite Giovanni Furlan che ci parlerà della manifestazione sulla ``radio dei ghiacci``. Gli appassionati di ascolto delle trasmissioni internazionali in lingua italiana, trovano in rete una risorsa interessante. Si tratta di un sito web ricco di aggiornatissime informazioni su queste trasmissioni. Il sito è raggiungibile al seguente indirizzo web: http://www.mclink.it/personal/MC4868 E` curato e gestito dall`amico Marcello Casali (Roma). Su questo sito si può visitare l`unica galleria storica delle QSL di emittenti in lingua italiana. Contattare Marcello Casali per eventuali aggiornamenti all`indirizzo: mc4868@mclink.it oppure Andrea Camporese all`indirizzo : - Vi ricordo che tutti i programmi di ``Voce del Mediterraneo`` sono disponibili anche in rete all`indirizzo: http://www.vomradio.com indirizzo consigliato a coloro i quali non dispongono di ricevitori in onde corte oppure hanno problemi nella ricezione. Dal 15 al 17 agosto, è in programma a Konigstein (Germania), la 37 edizione della Conferenza Europea del DX (EDXC) l`organizzazione che raccoglie quasi tutti i DX Club europei del radioascolto. A seguire con noi l`evento, ci sarà il 3 agosto Paolo Morandotti (Milano). In questa trasmissione parleremo di radiotelegrafia e corsi per la preparazione agli esami. Il nostro amico Oscar Portoghese (I7OHP) che ha maturato cinquant`anni di attività in radiotelegrafia, ha reso disponibile il suo corso, di facile apprendimento per tutti, per gli ascoltatori del programma ``Onde Radio``. L`ascolto in ``Onde Medie`` rappresenta sempre un segmento particolare del radioascolto, ricco anche di spunti culturali, di tecnica e passione particolari. L`argomento è particolarmente interessante perchè i radioascoltatori delle ``Onde Medie`` stanno riscoprendo il fascino di questa fetta del radioascolto. Il 10 agosto ce ne parla da Savona, Fiorenzo Repetto un appassionato delle ``Onde Medie``. Dal 25 al 26 ottobre 2003 è in programma a Malta il Forum europeo ``Multilinguismo nella radiodiffusione internazionale``. L`evento è organizzato dalla Conferenza Europea del DX (EDXC) con il patrocinio della ``VOM- Voce del Mediterraneo`` e di ``ITALRADIO`` per un confronto sulle risorse e le problematiche legate alla diffusione del multilinguismo attraverso i programmi radiofonici internazionali. Il 17 agosto Paolo Morandotti - vice segretario generale dell`EDXC- ne parlerà ad ``Onde Radio``. Le Fiere e Mostre radiantistiche continuano a richiamare l`interesse di appassionati radioamatori, radioascoltatori ecc. Abbiamo colto le impressioni ``a caldo`` di un visitatore abituale di questi eventi. Si tratta di Massimo Ossidi (Falconara) che il 24 agosto ce ne parla ad ``Onde Radio``. La prima radio universitaria sperimentale italiana è ``Radio Facoltà di Frequenza``.Un`emittente nata presso l`Università degli Studi di Siena e poi affermatasi non solo in ambiente accademico ma anche nel gran panorama della radiofonia italiana. Il 31 agosto, Romeo Perrotta sarà ospite di Onde Radio per parlarci di Radio Facoltà di Frequenza. Visitando il nuovo portale della VOM, avrete la possibilità di inviare rapporti di ascolto in tempo reale via internet. Al programma ``Onde Radio`` possono partecipare appassionati del radioascolto, esperti scientifici di mediaeducation, emittenti radiofoniche, tecnici, organizzatori di Mostre e Fiere radiantistiche. Gli interessati saranno graditi ospiti della nostra trasmissione. Basta inviare una semplice segnalazione all`indirizzo: VoM -- Redazione ``Onde Radio``, P.O. Box 21, 70051 Barletta (Bari), Italia, oppure al nostro indirizzo e-mail ATLI@infopubblica.com Cordiali saluti a tutti gli amici che da 75 Paesi del mondo collaborano alla distribuzione di questa Newsletter per portare le notizie agli appassionati del radioascolto, ai radioamatori ed ai Dx`ers. Questa Newsletter è disponibile in forma cartacea sulla rivista Radiorama richiedibile gratuitamente all`indirizzo A.I.R., Casella Postale 1, 10080 Valprato Soana (TO). La Newsletter è reperibile all`indirizzo web seguente http://www.arpnet.it/air ed è disponibile su: Forum Radioamatori grazie ad Ercole D`Ercole omforum@yahoogroups.com BCL -Ita, grazie ad Andrea Gili bcl-ita@yahoogroups.com Radiogiornale grazie a Paolo Mattioli paolo.mattioli@tin.it Forum Radio, grazie a Giovanni Urso forumradio@yahoo.it Pianeta Radio, grazie a Piergiorgio Siciliano http://www.pianetaradio.it VOM ringrazia gli amici che hanno collaborato alla realizzazione delle trasmissioni di maggio e giugno 2003 : Tim Ayris (WRN), Angelo Brunero, Marco Lisi, Andrea Gili, Elio Antonucci, Ercole D`Ercole, Elio Fior, Marcello Casali, Gian Maria Canaparo, Roberto Giannatelli, Giovanni Furlan, Paolo Morandotti, Fiorenzo Repetto,Massimo Ossidi, Romeo Perrotta, Giovanni Urso, Antonio Di Maio, Bruno Pecolatto, Paolo Mattioli,Giorgio Pastorutti, Oscar Portoghese. Saluti dalla redazione italiana di ``Onde Radio``. A risentirci per settembre 2003.Alfredo Gallerati (IK7JGI) (Johanna Scicluna -- Servizio ascoltatori di VOM via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. MONGOLIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS ADOPTION OF LATIN SCRIPT BBC Monitoring International Reports January 7, 2003 According to Unuudur, it was decided to discuss a draft law on the native language and a draft resolution on the adoption of a national programme for the use of the Latin script in the course of the 2003 spring session of the State Ih Hural parliament. The matter has been thoroughly discussed at the level of the government and the national programme of Latin script has been prepared for submission to the legislature. The Standing Committee on Social Policy will discuss the issue first. The chairperson of the Standing Committee T. Gandi has made the following clarification in the newspaper: Latin is the common key to the civilization of mankind. The need to use the Latin script has arisen in the era of modern technology and information. The legislators should adopt the foundation for the implementation of the state policy for the preparations to get under way for the shift to the Latin script in stages. The first step towards the shift to the Latin script should be made in the period of full power of the SIH State Ih Hural and the government. After the submission of the matter to the parliament, a working group is to be set up, and much work needs to be done, the training of teachers, publication of text-books, adaptation of phonetics to the Latin script, etc. As to the native language, a special law is also needed. The native tongue should be the nucleus of the national culture and civilization. At present, a need to protect the native language by law has emerged. Source: E-mail Daily News, Ulaanbaatar, in English 0655 gmt 7 Jan 03 (via http://www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/LPRU/newsarchive/Art1848.txt via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXLD) ** NAMIBIA. All SW and MW frequencies have been silent for a couple of weeks. Not sure whether this is permanent or not; will try to find out more (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. ITALY, 5780, R. Abeokuta via IRRS, Milano, (Cf. DX- Window no. 222), *2000-2031*, Fri Jun 20, Conversation in English with a U.S. Professor about American Psychology. This was probably the wrong broadcast, but at 2005 another man introduced in English the broadcasts of R Abeokuta to Nigerians also mentioning their website http://www.abeokuta.org and e-mail address: abeokuta@abeokuta.org Then followed a nice program in Vernacular with ethnic songs. By the way, their website has direct links to streaming audio and CD`s with such music. There was some strong CWQRM from a higher frequency, so listening in LSB was needed and heard with 44444. I noticed some breaks of a few seconds duration in the link to the transmitter (via internet or satellite ?) (Anker Petersen, Denmark July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. The following stations were heard in the Philippines around 1130 on Jun 09: 3205, 3235, 3245 (pres.), 3260, 3275, 3290, 3305, 3315, 3335, 3355, 3375 and 4890. There was a lot of static noise and most signals were weak. 4890, NBC Port Moresby, heard during daytime 0710-0835*, Jun 07, heard despite it is 4500 kilometres away! Solar flux was 126, A-index 12 and K-index 4. Newsbrief in English, then Tok Pisin IDs as ``Voice of Hope`` and ``Voice of the Nation`` and jingle with gospel song from Fiji islands (Roland Schulze, Philippines, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Glen[[n], In DIGEST 3-118 under Papua New Guinea you questioned wantok. Wantok means friend, buddy in pidgin. (I think as you said one talk --- each person speaks the same language). Generally a wantok would be from the same village (Wayne Bastow, Australia, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. POLISH AM WAITING FOR BUSINESS By Bernd Trutenau (Radio World) Warsaw, Poland: The tendency of European broadcasters to abandon the long-, short- and medium wave bands in favour of FM or satellite has reached Central and Eastern Europe. In the end, many network operators have only two options: find new customers - especially among foreign broadcasters - or phase out the AM network altogether. In Poland, TP EmiTel, the terrestrial transmitter network branch of Polish telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska SA (TPSA) has accepted this challenge and has opened its AM transmitters to new customers from Poland and abroad. In 1990, TPSA took over the large network of long and medium wave transmitters from the Ministry of Communications, ranging from a few watts up to 2 MegaWatt. Initially, Polskie Radio (PR) was the only customer. But in 1997 PR decided to discontinue renting mediumwave transmitters and left this band completely on 31 January 1998. Most of the mediumwave transmitters came from the USSR and Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Seeing no future in mediumwave broadcasting, TPSA started to scrap the old equipment; buildings were demolished and the land sold. However, TPSA want to maintain only three large AM centres: the longwave station in Raszyn and the shortwave transmitting centre in Leszczynka, both a few kilometres south of Warsaw, as well as the high-power medium wave transmitting centre in Koszecin, near Czestochowa in southern Poland. The Raszyn station is the oldest existing transmitting site in Poland. Built in the 1930s, it reopened in 1946 after suffering damage during World War II, and it served as the main domestic transmitting centre on longwave for several decades. Since the inauguration of the new one MegaWatt longwave transmitter that PR built in Solec Kujawski in 1999, the future of the Raszyn station has become more and more uncertain. PR currently uses it for live coverage of the Sejm, the Polish parliament, on 198 kHz. Ironically, a possible closure of the longwave transmitter in Raszyn may secure the future of the station: as the location for the new main FM/TV tower for Warsaw. At present, the landmark Palac Kultury I Nauki palace, a gift from Stalin in the very heart of Warsaw, and once the highest building in town, is the site of the local FM and TV transmitters. The location in downtown Warsaw implies restrictions for the radiated power and TP EmiTel has been seeking an alternative site for a long time. Leszczynka is the shortwave transmitting centre for Poland. It was built in 1950 to broadcast PR foreign-language programmes (now Radio Polonia) to listeners across Europe. Eight 100 kW shortwave transmitters were installed in the 1950s and 1960s, KRV-100 and KRV- 120 systems manufactured by Tesla in Czechoslovakia. The site includes a large number of shortwave antennas aimed in all major directions. The transmitting centre in Koszecin was built in the late 1970s to provide quality reception of PR domestic programmes to listeners in southern Poland, the centre of the mining and steel industry, a mountainous region that was difficult to cover with many low-power AM relays and some FM transmitters. Tesla in Czechoslovakia delivered two 750 kW medium-wave transmitters coupled to provide 1.5 MW of power. The station was inaugurated on 1 August 1978. The impact of the high radiation levels on the surrounding area, however, resulted in a reduction of the emitted power. The transmitter was run at 750 kW as of 1979 and finally at 350 kW from 1992 after a protest campaign by local farmers. In 1997, Trans World Radio Europe of Monte Carlo was renting a 300 kW transmitter on 1503 kHz in Tychowo in northern Poland for its programmes to Scandinavia, but this transmitter was shut down a few years later. In 2001 and 2002, Radyjo Racyja, a Belarusian-language Polish station was using 1080 kHz from Koszecin to reach its listeners in neighbouring Belarus. The present 350 kW installation provides good coverage of large parts of Central Europe during the hours of darkness, especially as 1080 kHz is practically a clear channel in Europe. Radyjo Racyja also transmitted several hours daily through the shortwave facilities at Leszczynka for listeners in Belarus from 1999 to 2002.The shortwave centre in Leszczynka, in particular, is in need of comprehensive modernisation. To reduce operational costs, the oldest transmitters have already been taken out of service and the antenna park has been downsized. At present, PR Radio Polonia is the exclusive user of the Leszcyzynka transmitters. TP EmTel is ready to begin upgrading the equipment provided that Radio Polonia provides guarantees for further usage of the facilities for at least three years. Radio Polonia is currently transmitting shortwave programming for European listeners in 10 languages. Mark Traczyk, the newly appointed director of the station, is considering these services as a part of Polish foreign policy and is confident an agreement can be reached with TPSA. In 2002, Radio Polonia considered renting airtime on foreign relay stations, but turned back to Polish soil. This step will most certainly contribute in preventing the final closure of the Leszczynka station (Radio World June, via BDXC-UK Communication July via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. [7507?] AFRTS did in fact air their ID and stated that they are in Isabela, Puerto Rico. Very near to Isabela is another Municipality (Aguadilla) where former Ramey Air Force Base (USA) used to be. As far as I know, they are airing their radio program from a station at the opposite side of our country from the municipality of Ceiba at the east coast on a relay basis (Hector (Luigi) Perez-Diaz, Puerto Rico, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) Oh ** RUSSIA. 7436.63v, R Krishna-Loka, 0200-0300, Jun 17 and 20, Beatles` ``Let It Be`` (words seemingly a bit changed, but sounded quite `natural` like the Beatles (karaoke?.... hi). Russian ID: ``Radio Krishnaloka`` 0215, talks and hymns. A lot of static over modest signal. 44343 deterorating to 24222 during sunrise. Transmitter is seemingly in Oryol between Moscow and Kursk (Anker Petersen, Denmark and Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) a.s.a. Orel ** RUSSIA. YET AGAIN, MEDIA FREEDOM IN RUSSIA APPEARS UNDER THREAT By Jeremy Bransten Russia's Media Ministry has shut down the country's last remaining independent national television channel while legislators have approved a bill that would let the authorities temporarily close news organizations found to be "biased" in their coverage of election campaigns. Is Russian press freedom once again under threat? Viewers of Russia's independent TVS channel got an unwelcome late- night surprise on the weekend of 21-22 June. Citing ongoing financial and management problems, the Media Ministry shut the network down. Almost seamlessly, a new 24-hour sports channel took up the frequency. With the push of a button, TVS's political-satire shows poking fun at government policies, its investigations into official corruption, its commentaries by leading television journalist Yevgenii Kiselev all became history. In their place, was a soccer match. Although few deny that TVS faced genuine financial problems, many journalists and activists are expressing alarm at the manner in which the shutdown was carried out and even greater concern at the fact that with TVS's demise, Russia has lost its last independent, national television news broadcaster. "Personally, I was very alarmed and very depressed by the manner in which the television network was closed," said Olga Karabanova, director of the Moscow-based Press Development Institute. "Those of us in the business knew about TVS's financial, organizational, and structural difficulties for a long time. But to see a station once again shut down at night, in this way, with the frequency transferred to a new sports network, without any legal due process -- that is really upsetting." One of the reasons for Karabanova's alarm is that TVS's closure followed an all-too-familiar pattern. Most of the editorial team at TVS -- led by Kiselev -- originally broadcast on NTV television. They left the station when the state-controlled Gazprom concern seized the private network in a hostile takeover in 2001. Kiselev's team then found a home at Moscow's TV6, until that too was shut down in January 2002. That is when TVS offered them jobs, which they had until the latest weekend shutdown. Ostensibly, all three takeovers and closures resulted from business disagreements. But many commentators note that in all three cases, the independent broadcasters in question were known for their hard-hitting investigations and satirical programs that caused the Kremlin more than a few headaches. With legislative elections looming in December and a presidential poll in March 2004, many in Russia say the closure of TVS comes at a convenient time for the government. With this in mind, they point to the State Duma's recent approval of a series of amendments to the country's mass-media law that would give the authorities the right to shut down any media outlet found to be covering election campaigns in a biased manner, for the duration of the campaign. Proponents of the amendments -- which must still be signed by President Vladimir Putin before becoming law -- say the provisions are needed to put an end to the blatant yellow-journalism publications that crop up during election campaigns in Russia. Rival candidates use such publications, or sometimes directly bribe reporters at regular newspapers, to smear their opponents or to present false information - - all under the guise of independent journalism. Aleksei Pankin, editor in chief of "Sreda," a magazine for Russian media professionals, shares this view. "Elections here are a feeding trough that allow people to make money in the basest way possible," Pankin said. "So, people who genuinely make their money from the free market, who service the consumer market, are happy [about this law] because they believe some sources of dishonest financing will be blocked. Their market position, by contrast, will be strengthened. I think the bill is not strong enough. I personally would ban election coverage for half a year because, I repeat, the way most of the Russian press covers elections is a desecration of the democratic process." But Karabanova, at the Press Development Institute, says the Duma bill is yet more evidence of the authorities' attempt to muzzle the media ahead of elections. She notes that the bill's vague language, which would leave it up to electoral commissions to decide whether a newspaper has violated ethical standards in reporting, will facilitate the closure of newspapers whose coverage is deemed unfavorable by the government. For most newspapers, she adds, a forced shutdown for a period of several weeks spells certain bankruptcy. "We know very well that newspapers don't solely depend, 100 percent, on electoral campaigns," Karabanova says. "And the absence of a paper for a week or two or three -- or, in the case of repeat elections, it could be two to three months -- an absence for such a period will lead to bankruptcy." Pankin acknowledges the potential for abuse, but ultimately, he says, Russia's media have only themselves to blame. "There is of course a risk, naturally. But again, it is the media's own fault because they have put themselves in a position where they are treated like prostitutes that can be bought and treated in any manner. So, of course, there is always a risk and there is a risk that this law will hurt some worthy media. But this is the almost inescapable result of what the Russian media has become as a whole or in its majority," he said. If you are going to hold the media to higher standards, Karabanova asks, what about the candidates and those behind them that start the whole cycle of payment-for-articles? "It is a fact that electoral campaigns in Russia aren't always the most transparent, let's say. The media wait for this period as a time to make a lot of money; money that won't be taxed, that will be hidden. But, unfortunately, the whole electoral process in Russia lacks transparency and you cannot say that the financing of all candidates or parties is always transparent. So, yes, money gets exchanged under the table. But we are only fighting one participant in this process," Karabanova said. Ultimately, Karabanova takes some consolation from the fact that many of TVS's talented reporters will likely find their way to other stations, perhaps doing their part to raise the general level of television journalism in Russia. But the disappearance of the last national network not controlled either by the state or a state-owned company, she says, and the lack of any outcry from the public about the Duma's attempt to control the way journalists do their jobs at election time send a worrying signal for the future. Jeremy Bransten is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague (RFE/RL Media Matters June 30 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non?]. COVERT COMMS by Chris Smolinski This month`s featured station doesn`t transmit numbers, or letters. Or even Morse code. It sends tones. Remember the end of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Well, this station sounds a lot like that. It`s been nicknamed the polytone staiton, and has ENIGMA ID XP. It is believed that the station is run by the Russians. Some accounts of Russian spies mention a device that would decode tones into digits, for agents who could not learn Morse code. This sounds a lot like XP. Propagation and signal strength reports also point to a European location. Reception in the US is also reported, although not all schedules make it over, due to frequency choice. One schedule audible in the US is on Tue/Fri: 0600 11157, 0620 12457, 0640 13857 Notice how the last two digits of the frequency are the same? And how the MHz part of the frequency increases for each transmission? This is common to many of the Russian operated numbers stations, and will be explored in future columns. This is believed to be the tone/meaning relationship: Tone Hz Use A 305 Space B 321 End C 337 0 D 353 1 E 369 2 F 385 3 G 401 4 H 417 5 I 433 6 J 449 7 K 465 8 L 481 9 M 497 Beginning N 513 Repetition The Repetition tone is sent should two identical digits have to be sent. Presumably this helps the receiving equipment by making sure that there is a tone transition every time period. The call-up appears to be four tones repeated (three digit ID plus a space), followed by two tones (group count?), then into tone groups. For example: 343 343 343 1 343 343 343 1 343 343 343 1 . . . The 1 indicates one message will be sent (null callups are possible); the 343 follows the S7/V7 system of identifying the frequencies used for all three transmissions. For example: 11 362 kHz at 0700 12 462 kHz at 0720 13 362 kHz at 0740 (this is just an example, not an active sked) The call-up tones are 1 second long each. There is then 2.5 seconds of a warbling tone, indicating that the message is about to begin. This is followed by 10 MN pairs, which appears to be for timing purposes, to get the receiving equipment synchronized with the data about to be sent. Then the data is sent; each tone is 133 milliseconds, followed by 10 MN pairs. The carrier generally appears on the frequency about five minutes before the start of the transmission. Each transmission lasts bout three minutes; the short length makes the station rather elusive. The schedule seems to be monthly, so once the station has been reported, you can try again later that month [sic] to catch it yourself. The frequency system and repeated transmissions make it easier to find the second two transmissions once the first is found. Be sure to join the Spooks list, to keep up to date on all the latest spy numbers activity. Visit http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/spooks for details. Also be sure to visit http://www.spynumbers.com/ 73, (Chris Smolinski, The Monthly A*C*E, July via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9675, BSKSA, Riyadh, 0525-0900v*, Jun 18, 22 and 28, Arabic, BSKSA IDs noted at 0700, 0710 and 0810, news 0700, interview, poetry, 0900 news and Qur`an // 11855. This must be the Second Program Service, which broadcasts folkloric, dramatic, recreational, literary and scientific programs, acc. to their website http://www.saudinf.com. It was not heard // with the General Programme on 21505 and 21705, or with the Holy Qur`an Programme on 9715 and 15380. Probably the strong signals on 9675, 15380, 21505 and 21705 are via 500 kW transmitters at Riyadh, but the weaker 9715 and 11855 come from 50 kW transmitters at Jeddah (Noel Green, UK and Anker Petersen, Denmark, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. Radio Yugoslavia no longer calling itself as such? Today`s German programme was still broadcast with this ID. Yet another case of left hand not knowing what the right one is doing? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. 15670, R Xoriyo, Somalia, via DTK Julich, Germany, *1629-1659*, Jun 17 and 20, presumably Somali with IDs 1640 after 1630-1640 news into talk about Ethiopia. Horn of Africa music, IDs with definite ``Xoriyo`` a couple of times, into a minute of Arabic- style singing . Weak to fair (Jerry Berg and Finn Krone, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) E-mail report with RealAudio attachment sent to ogaden@yahoo.com and staff@ogaden.com brought same day E-mail from ``International Ogaden Website`` ogaden@yahoo.com : ``We thank you for your interest about Radio Xoriyo. The information you provided is correct. Regards, Ogaden Online staff.`` (Jerry Berg, MA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. 7999.33, Voice of Sudan (NDA), Eritrea, 1535-1550, Jun 28, Arabic with really good signal, talks about Sudan, lots of local music (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) NDA = National Democratic Alliance (DSWCI Ed) ** SYRIA [non]. 12120, The Arabic R, via Samara, Russia, *1500-1530*, Jun 21, strong open carrier already at 1456, but the first minute the programme had low modulation. From 1501 it improved very much. Arabic ann URL and two broadcasts, ID`s: ``Al-idha`at-ul Arabiyyah``, talks all the time about Syria, radioplay about Syria, Arab songs. No jamming. Ex 7470. 45344, heard // badly modulated 12085 (35343). (Anker Petersen, Denmark, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 11430 Star Star (New Star?) Broadcasting Station, 1520- 1526*, Jun 28, numbers and s/off ann. Fair and // to 9725 which was weaker (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Radio Taipei Internacional anunció que a partir del 1 de julio de 2003 cambia su nombre por el de Radio Taiwán Internacional. Un día antes, hoy lunes 30 de junio, la emisora abrió su programación en español identificándose ya como Radio Taiwán Internacional. Sin embargo, los locutores mencionaron el viejo nombre al iniciar sus respectivos espacios, por ejemplo Adolfo Aguilar a cargo de "El Mirador de Taipei" y Elena Chen con "La Hora del Te". Al entrevistar a la Directora de la Sección Española, Patricia Lin, con respecto al cambio de nombre, ella me dijo: "Desde que se reestructuró nuestra emisora el 1 de enero de 1998, hemos estado transmitiendo los programas bajo el nombre de CBS-Radio Taipei Internacional, una voz proveniente de Taiwán; sin embargo, a través de las cartas de los oyentes, hemos dado cuenta de que muchos no pueden asociar el Taipei con el Taiwán, la isla donde vivimos, y algunos hasta nos confunden con la emisora de Peking. Después de una ardua evaluación, hemos decidido pasar el actual nombre a Radio Taiwán Internacional a partir del 1 de julio del 2003, y esperamos seguir en contacto con el eterno apoyo de nuestros oyentes". Agradezco su difusión. Saludos cordiales! (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 6765, Meteo Bangkok, 1015, Jun 14, Music box interval signal, English ID, Weather forecast for shipping in USB. This utility station is probably the unID ``Laotian`` listed in DBS-5 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** TIBET. 9490, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, Tibet, 0700-0730, Jun 15, English program, but without news! ID: ``This is China`s Tibet Peoples Broadcasting Company``. . . ``Holy Tibet`` . . . ``Holy Tibet is the Window into life of Tibet``!!! Letterbox on Saturdays. Reception reports will be verified, if two IRCs are enclosed. Heard // weaker 9580. English also heard repeated at 1100-1130 on daily Jun 08-15 // 4905, 4920, 6200 and 7385, whereas 5240 and 9580 were not heard (Roland Schulze, Philippines, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** U K. THE RSGB IS CELEBRATING ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY DURING JULY The Radio Society of Great Britain's 90th anniversary is being celebrated during the month of July. The 'Special (Special)' Event callsign GB90RSGB will be on the air from RSGB headquarters in Potters Bar from next Saturday, the 12th of July, for 28 days. Activity will mainly be at weekends - but also around lunch-time during the week - on all HF bands, CW and SSB. The 90th anniversary is being celebrated over the weekend of the 26th and 27th of July with a series of 'Parties in the Park' throughout the country; see http://www.rsgb.org/rsgb90/index.htm Each of the RSGB's 57 Districts has been invited to organise an event open to the general public. During that weekend, each District also has the opportunity to operate the 'Special (Special)' callsign GB90RSGB using their District number as a suffix, for example GB90RSGB/11. A complete list of the Districts and District numbers can be found on page 14 of the June 2003 RadCom. A special 90th anniversary award certificate will be available for those making contact with, or SWLs hearing, the GB90RSGB stations (Radio Society of Great Britain http://www.rsgb.org GB2RS News for July 6, 2003 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, and Mike Terry, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. GB2RS on 5 MHZ Causes Welcome "Pile-Up" Last Sunday's inaugural GB2RS news-reading on 5 MHz was followed by a massive pile-up of some 50 stations, from all over the UK, offering reception reports in the SINPO code. This was extremely welcome and reports have since been coming in via e-mail and fax to G3LEQ. Each Sunday at 12.30 pm local time, the national news and the latest propagation data will be read on 5405 kHz using USB. This Sunday, Steve, G4HPE, will be reading from Royston, Hertfordshire, and taking reception reports as well as QTH locators at about 12.55 pm. The outcome during the coming months will be closely examined as part of the RSGB 5MHz Working Group's activities (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News for July 6, 2003 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I get the impression that their bulletins are read "live" over the air instead of being a on a tape playback, like W1AW, K1MAN and WA0RCR here in the states; perhaps an UK DXLD reader could confirm if this is so (John Norfolk, ibid.) ** U K. We Say Goodbye to 73 kHz Midnight on Monday, the 30th of June, saw the end of the lowest amateur band, 73 kHz. 73 kHz was a temporary allocation, originally granted for use in 1996 whilst time-consuming negotiations were going on for the Europe-wide 136 kHz band. Operators had to obtain a Notice of Variation, and several hundred of these were issued, though only a few tens made it on the air. Because of the ongoing experimental work, the band twice had a stay of execution, and finally had a life of seven years. During that time, the use of extremely slow CW was pioneered, culminating in the Atlantic being crossed in November 2001. Several regular LF operators ensured there was much activity over the final weekend, and contacts continued right up to the very last second. Mike Dennison, G3XDV, is writing an article on the history of 73kHz, and would like to hear from anyone who has tried the band at any time. His address is 10 Corn Mead, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 7QR, or e-mail g3xdv@thersgb.net (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News for July 6, 2003 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. LONG TERM RESTRICTED SERVICE LICENCES There are three types of long-term RSL (LRSL), each using a different transmission system: Induction loop (IL) licences. Available throughout the UK allowing for limited coverage within specific buildings. At the end of 2002, 23 IL licences were operating - four fewer than the previous year (several stations have switched to freely radiating LPFM or LPAM services and let their induction loop licence lapse when it comes up for renewal). Low Powered FM (LPFM) licences are available in pre-defined sparsely populated areas of England, Scotland, and Wales and allow for freely- radiating power at a maximum of 50mW. At the end of 2002, 16 LPFM licences were operating. Low Powered AM (LPAM) licences are available throughout the UK, except within the area enclosed by the M25 London orbital motorway. These allow for freely-radiated transmissions up to 1 Watt. At the end of 2002 there were 69 licences issued as follows: Universities (23), hospitals (22), colleges (5), schools (4), army barracks (15). During the year 14 applications were received and processed for Long Term RSLs with 16 new licences being issued. This is a one-third decrease from the number of applications received in 2001 (21 applications). The report concludes by saying that since LPAMs were introduced four years ago many stations have ``upgraded`` from induction loop to LPAM, while the number of licences held by stations service forces establishments has increased greatly. The number of new applications for Long Term RSLs continues to fall ``and we expect the demand to level off over the next year or two``. (from the Radio Authority`s ``Restricted Service Licences Annual Report`` (2002)) What about the prison radio stations? No mention is made anywhere in the report of the LPAM and LPFM stations operating at prisons. Two are known to be on the air and neither of them are listed on the Radio Authority web site either: BCRL at Bullingdon Prison, Bicester on 1287 kHz; and ConAir at Channings Wood Prison, Newton Abbot on 87.7. I queried this omission with the Radio Authority which replied that ``Neither of the prison radio stations are listed on our website or in the report as prisons are not required to hold a licence; rather, they have permission to broadcast.`` Which begs the question as to who regulates these services? (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK Communication July via DXLD) ** U S A. WWRB UPDATE 1. Studio Four is operational; all electronics installed and fully functional. 2. Transmitter Global-4 is fully operational. WWRB is in negotiations with various broadcasters concerning a full lease of this unit under separate call letters. If the lease discussions do not produce fruit the transmitter will go on open market with the airtime parted out. 3. WWRB is eliminating simulcasting; we need transmitter capacity. In addition, as more broadcasters become aware of the FCC requirements that all U.S. shortwave stations are required to use a directional antenna, broadcasters that want to go to the Middle East know a station with an antenna pointing southwest to Mexico is not able to fulfill the broadcaster`s mission. 3. WWRB is making many programming changes. WWRB is now 96 percent Religious programming. Existing Political / Commercial / Networks are welcome to stay with WWRB for as long as they want but when they leave WWRB will backfill with solid Christian programming. Our goal is 100 percent Middle of the road with 'HCJB' Quality Christian broadcasters. 4. WWRB is in the initial stages of conversion to a 501C3 Non Profit Religious organization. We now provide aircraft VHF / HF communications support; in addition, we are assembling an FAA approved Avionics repair station to provide very reasonable Sale, repairs and certifications of Avionics (aircraft electronics) such as : Communications, Navigation, Pulse equipment (DME and Transponders) Airborne weather radar, Flight guidance (autopilot). This Avionics facility will be used to support missionary aircraft such as Missionary Aviation Fellowship, Baptist Aviation Fellowship etc. (Dave Frantz, WWRB, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 'NEW LORE, FROM OTHER SIDE OF GLASS By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Tuesday, July 1st, 2003 New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com When Pete Johnson started at WNEW on Dec. 12, 1958, those letters meant Gene Klavan, William B. Williams and American standards. By the time Johnson retired last month, things were a little different. WNEW- AM station was a decade gone, along with dozens of formats, and WNEW- FM had become "Blink," playing top 40 and chatting about celebrities. But formats were never Pete Johnson's concern. His job was to make sure that whatever someone said into the microphone got transmitted to WNEW listeners. He was the engineer, one of those guys on the other side of the glass, and not surprisingly, parts of his work were as different after 45 years on the job as Opie and Anthony were from "The Make-Believe Ballroom." "Whenever a reporter went into the field then," recalls Johnson, "an engineer had to go with him carrying a big remote transmission box. It wasn't the lightweight microphones you have now." WNEW also broadcast sports, including Giants football, so an engineer also attended all the games - which might sound like a nice perk to some folks, but didn't do much for Johnson. "I wasn't that big a sports fan," he says. "And when you went on location, you had to focus on the equipment anyhow." He was more impressed with the instudio guests, particularly since he liked WNEW's brand of music. "I was more a Pat Boone fan than an Elvis fan," he says. "So one of the great things about working at WNEW was that you'd look up and there was Sinatra walking in the door." People used to ask him if he got autographs. He didn't. "It was great to meet those guys, but you felt funny asking them to sign something. You wanted to act professional." There also wasn't a lot of time to hang around and shmooze. WNEW kept dozens of engineers busy. "We built a lot of the equipment ourselves," he says. "You'd know what you needed, but it wasn't the kind of thing you could walk into a store and order. So guys became specialists in particular areas. You needed a certain kind of board, one guy would put it together." Johnson, who grew up fascinated with electronics and how things work, got a summer job at WNEW in 1958. In December he was hired full-time. "At first I was like an apprentice," he says. "I think they liked me because I was eager to learn and I was very persistent. I'd stick with a job. A lot of the things you did, you learned as you went along." He was there when WNEW added an FM and gave it separate programming. He was there the night of the 1965 blackout. "The FM went off, but we kept the AM," he says. "We were one of the few stations that stayed on the air." One of his favorite hosts was long-time morning man Gene Klavan. "He was a great talent," says Johnson. "And as nice a guy off the air as he was on. "He created a character he called Trevor Traffic. I'd put a filter on his mic to disguise his voice. One morning he did a bit where he pretended to get upset and threaten to fire Trevor Traffic. We started getting calls asking us please not to." Now looking ahead to some retirement travel with his wife, Johnson says radio was a good career - interesting work, despite the crazy hours. One of his few parting laments is that owners and managers don't always appreciate radio history. "Some people don't look to the past as having anything of value," he says. "They need space, so they just clear everything out. We had tapes of all the William B. Williams interviews. They were packed up and sent to a warehouse, where someone will probably throw them out. "Some are preserved, but so many aren't. When you have the kind of history WNEW had in its library, it's terrible." But Pete Johnson did his part. "From Klavan and [Dee] Finch to [Chris] Booker and [Linda] Lopez, Pete is the guy who was there for all of it," says former WNEW and current WFUV host Dennis Elsas. "He was always willing to help, really good at what he did and just a very decent guy. He really may be the last of a breed." (via Brock Whaley, July 1, 2003, DXLD) ** U S A. As the Director of engineering overseeing the operations of WSAI I am interested in any and all feed back regarding IBOC operation of WSAI. To that end I have set up a special email address for you to file your comments to. I encourage you to give your feed back. Being as detailed as possible stating your name address and location, and please be as detailed as possible in the information you give. I am specifically looking for the effect this operation is having on the other adjacent channel stations. Feel free to circulate this message and email address. The email address is iboc@wsai.com Thank You (Paul Jellison, Regional engineering services manager, Clear Channel Radio, Cincinnati, Ohio, NRC-AM via DXLD) I hope those of you in the midwest and east can give Paul some good information. This could be one of our best opportunities to let others know about the level of IBOC interference, and for that information to get passed along to places where it might have some effect. I'd guess reports about interference to 1520 stations like those in Toledo, Michigan, Missouri, etc. would be of special interest (Chuck Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. 4910 is the reactivated night time frequency and 5915 continues to be used troughout the daylight hours. 6165 is in use from 0250 to 2200 (Vashek Korinek, RSA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. Hi Glenn, Tried today for the 1800 English bulletin from Radio Tanzania Zanzibar. No luck at 1800 as there was only a het on the frequency. At 1835 re-check there was usable audio, in presumed Swahili. At 1859 there was the drumbeat interval signal, followed by 5 low pips one high, then ID by man as Sauti Tanzania Zanzibar. July 4, 2003 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 5975, ZBC, Gweru, (mainly R 2) seems to be the only active SW frequency now, normally heard from 0300 - 2200v. Sometimes signs off some hours before 2200 (Vashek Korinek, RSA, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 4880, SW Radio Africa, London, via Meyerton, 1750- 1859*, Jun 24 and 27, Vernacular (Shona and/or Ndebele) interview about Law and order in Zimbabwe, programme ``We call you back`` with phone-in`s, a lot of words and sentences were in English. Afropop songs. ID: ``This is SW Radio Africa``. Hymn in English at close. At best 45444 (Masato Ishii, Japan and Anker Petersen, Denmark, July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) This frequency has now permanently replaced 6145. Heard here 1600- 1855v* with very good signals, although a bit weaker than 6145 used to be. But probably the best choice for reception in Zimbabwe (Vaclav Korinek, RSA July 2 DSWCI DX Window, July 4 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MUSEA +++++ RADIO MUSEUMS & VINTAGE RADIO IN THE UK has been updated in June: http://www.users.waitrose.com/~bdxc/museums.html (British DX Club http://www.bdxc.org.uk via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ QSLS BY POST FOR EMAILED REPORTS I am compiling a list of shortwave stations that will post QSLs on receipt of an email, an email back is not so good. I have had one reply so far from Sanjaya on rec.radio.shortwave: "A good place to start is Celt Chic's radio page. http://monster-masher.home.att.net/radio.htm About half way down is a set of links titled "Broadcasters that ask for reception reports online, and send QSL's!"" Anyone know more good sources of info? (Mike Terry, UK, swl @ qth.net via DXLD) Re: [NRC-am] Joining NRC and hobby costs On the subject of hobby costs, I'm reminded of something I saw in a recent issue of "Sky & Telescope" magazine. The comment was made in reference to astronomy, but it also applies to DXing: "You'll probably spend a lot of money before you understand you don't need to spend a lot of money to enjoy astronomy." (And as someone who spends most of my time observing with a Meade ETX-90 and 11x80 binoculars while my 10" Dobsonian collects dust, I agree!) Compared to a lot of hobbies today, DXing is relatively cheap --- check out the price of quality musical instruments or cameras, for example. And with a little patient looking, you can find a world-class receiver, like a used Drake R8 from a decade ago, for a fraction of its original cost. Even with more modest equipment, DXing remains a hobby of opportunities. The ionosphere and its quirks is a great equalizer; if you're listening when conditions are good, you'll hear more with a simple receiver than someone with a top of the line receiver who's not DXing when the band is open! (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WORLD ADMINISTRATIVE RADIO CONFERENCE 2003 This was due to end in Geneva, earlier, this afternoon. http://www.rsgb.org.uk reports that agreement has been reached to re- align the 40/41 Metre Band. 7.000 to 7.200 Mhz for use by Radio Amateurs and 7.200 to 7.450Mhz for Broadcasting, I THINK this is on a World Wide Basis. This is to take effect on 29th March 2009 It seems that consideration of proposals regarding, seeking Additional Frequencies for Broadcasting between 4 and 10 Mhz have been deferred to the next WARC Conference in 2007. (This I think is a wise decision, rather than just a 'put off', as we will have a MUCH better idea, by then, of the effects of Digital Radio Mondiale, on the Short Wave Spectrum) There are other changes, including the giving of freedom to individual administrations (i.e. Countries) to discontinue the requirement for Radio Amateurs to pass a Morse Test, before being granted a Licence to transmit on HF(Short Wave). The RA have recently indicated that they are consulting with interested organisations about this, and that if the WARC was agreeable, it was likely that this requirement would be 'dropped', in the United Kingdom, after these discussions, Many Thanks to the Radio Society of Great Britain for this information. There is a MOST USEFUL article in the WRTVH 2003, (pp.40-42) entitled The Politics of Broadcasting by John Nelson. This to my mind, is a MOST UNFORTUNATE Title for a VERY INTERESTING Article, relevant to this, I recommed this for some Bedtime Reading!!!!, only 3 Pages, containing much of interest, in the context if this posting. I am sorry this is so long, but I think it is important (Ken Fletcher, UK, 2225 UT = 2325 UT+1 4th July 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT LIFTED The mandatory international Morse requirement for access to the HF bands is to cease. Colin Thomas, G3PSM, an advisor to the UK delegation to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference, reported on Monday the 30th of June that the mandatory Morse code requirement for HF access would disappear at the end of the conference. However, if any administration feels that it needs to keep the requirement, it has the right to do so. Here in the UK, the Radiocommunications Agency has already stated that it will bring in code-free HF licences as soon as practical to do so. An announcement will be made on GB2RS and on the RSGB website when Full and Intermediate Class B amateurs can start using the HF bands (from http://www.rsgb.org/news/gb2rs.htm Sunday 06 July, 2003 (actually today) via Mike Terry, July 4, DXLD) MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT OFFICIALLY REMOVED: from By Michael Owen, VK3KI WRC-03 IARU Observer Team Member Website: http://www.iaru.org/rel030703att3.html on July 4, 2003 The old regulation that Morse was a requirement for the operators of amateur stations below 30 MHz was found in a provision that read as follows: Any person seeking a licence to operate the apparatus of an amateur station shall prove that he is able to send correctly by hand and to receive correctly by ear texts in Morse code signals. The administrations concerned may, however, waive this requirement in the case of stations making use exclusively of frequencies above 30 MHz. That was replaced with a provision giving each administration the right to decide whether or not Morse is a required qualification as follows: 25.5 Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a licence to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to send and receive texts in Morse code signals. The alternative of simply deleting the old provision was rejected because a number of administrations thought that the matter was so important that a positive decision not to require Morse . . .(from http://www.eham.net/articles/5884 via Mike Terry, DXLD) (Another sign of changing times in the radio world; I believe the original Morse code was used by Samuel Morse from the 1840's !! - Mike) And it`s not the same as the current ``Continental`` Code (gh) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ News of some extraordinary VHF propagation. Last Thursday, the 26th of June, at 1900 UT, VHF-FM DXer Paul Logan in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, recorded a station identification from WHCF in Bangor, Maine, on 88.5 MHz. On the same day, David Hamilton in Ayrshire, Scotland, made a recording of CBTB-FM from Baie Verte, Newfoundland, at 1950 - 2010 UT, on 97.1 MHz. The propagation mode was multi-hop Sporadic E. Mark Hattam has started a webpage http://www.dxradio.co.uk/transatlanticfm.html covering trans-Atlantic FM reception and the site includes audio clips of the two recordings made last Thursday (From http://www.rsgb.org/news/gb2rs.htm via Mike Terry, DXLD) (There is am amazing list of cross Atlantic DX on Mark's site). (Terry, DXLD) ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-118, July 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/dxldtd3g.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 03-04 new edition available from July 3: {Download} http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.rm (Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0304.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0304.html Also via http://www.worldofradio.com Via SIUE Webradio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO Wed 1830 COM on RFPI: Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930, 1530; Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830, 1430 on 7445 and/or 15039 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1189: 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 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WINB: Sun 0030 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN: rest of world Sat 0800, Europe Sun 0430, 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/wor1189.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1189h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1189.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL: See TURKEY ** AUSTRIA. Acabo de visitar la página de Radio Austria en español y acabo de bajar completo el último programa del buzón internacional. Para los colegas que lo quieran tener, deben visitar la siguiente dirección y bajar el programa antes de que lo quiten. Aparte de lo comentado hay tres programas más que pueden ser bajados. Traten y luego me dicen. http://roi.orf.at/hispano/sp_demand.html En la siguiente dirección podrán encontrar todavía mucha información en nuestro idioma en la página de Radio Austria Internacional. Estuve visitando la galería de fotos y me pareció muy bonita. http://roi.orf.at/sp_infocenter.asp (José Elías, Venezuela, July 2, noticiasdx via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. R Panamericana, La Paz, shortwave 6105, mediumwave 580, and FM 96.1, with a new website since June 27. RealAudio between 1130 and 0330 only. http://www.panamericanabolivia.com (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, July 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4845.24, Radio Cultura Ondas Tropicais, 1006-1015 July 3. Came in at opening ID canned as "...Radio Cultura Ondas Tropicais..." This followed by music. Signal was fair (Bolland, Chuck, Clewiston Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. Hi Glenn. Happy Fourth. "FREE SPEECH: How to declare your independence from the media giants," is a comprehensive guide to media outlets, published in several New England newspapers on 4 July. The article includes this recommendation: "Radio Canada International. Generally more level-headed about international incidents and jingoistic news opportunities than much of the U.S. media. RCI comes in pretty clearly on a short-wave radio in the mornings. The station, which took over the BBCs short-wave frequency when the Beeb maddeningly abandoned its worldwide radio audience a few years back, also offers illuminating ethnic programming, like the early-morning Korean report." (sic, probably refers to KBS Sackville relay.) http://westchesterweekly.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:23020 (Kim Elliott, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Hi, Ian! Been enjoying hearing the Mailbag program every week! Wanted to drop you a line there at RCI with a little suggestion for the summer programming. We listeners really appreciate the way you carry the CBC's Quirks & Quarks science program. It is most interesting and rewarding. Now that it has gone into summer re-runs, the CBC is carrying two different Q&Q programs each week, one on Tuesdays and one on Saturdays. RCI, in the North American/Caribbean service, transmits two airings of Q&Q, one at 1505 UT and the other at 2305 UT, both on Saturdays. What do you think about carrying the two different Q&Q programs in those two timeslots? Air the Tuesday rerun at 1505 UT and the Saturday one at the 2305 UT transmission. This gives the RCI listenership the same flexibility as the CBC listeners in hearing all the repeats. I put this suggestion out on the SW Programs Internet discussion list and it got some support (and no objections). It shouldn't be a difficult task; just set the digital program-playback system to point to two different audio files in your database. Please give this suggestion some consideration. Regards, (Will Martin, St. Louis, Missouri USA, to RCI, cc to DXLD) ** CANADA. 6030, CFVP relaying CKMX, 1210 July 4, time check for 10 after 6. Temperature 11 degrees, high will be 23, chance of showers. News of the Calgary Stampede, one ad, then ID as AM 1060 CKMX. Beach Boys music followed (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTERS SCORE BIG HIT FM STATIONS SEEN DRIVING ROBUST PROFITS By JOHN PARTRIDGE, Friday, July 4, 2003 - Page B1 Wanna make big bucks in private broadcasting? Buy an FM station in Calgary or Ottawa-Gatineau. That's one of the messages from the latest Statistics Canada survey of the radio business. The agency said yesterday that in 2002, private radio broadcasters outperformed private conventional television broadcasters -- and other electronic media -- in revenue growth and profitability for the fourth year in a row, and FM stations again were the driver.. . http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPPrint/LAC/20030704/RADIO/TPBusiness/ (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) RADIO BIG MONEY-MAKER COMPARED TO NEW MEDIA http://tinyurl.com/g16a (Toronto Star via bill Westenhaver, DXLD) PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTING 2002 -- THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2003 At a time when digital television networks, direct-to-home satellite service providers and new media companies are struggling to make ends meet, the oldest electronic medium is steadily generating profits. . . You can access the full text and charts of this article at: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030703/d030703b.htm (via Bill Westenhaver, QC, DXLD) ** CANADA. LAVAL QC 1570 TO BE REACTIVATED http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/db2003-193.htm (via Doug Smith, July 3, NRC-AM via DXLD) This is great news! 1570 is still open here and if the CP goes with 50 or 10 kW I should hear it, when conditions improve, that is. Thanks for the info. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) Drat! Double Drat!! I hate to see more 1570s on the band. Oh well... just kidding. Will they be NDA? I would think so being a Mexican Clear Channel. Is it a Canadian Clear as well??? That I'm not sure of, but would assume it is (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, WGSR 1570, ibid.) CRTC says 10 kw fulltime (it doesn't say anything about directional antennas but it's probably U4) (Doug Smith, ibid.) For us DXers in the NW, 1570 right now is a great frequency with both BC & AB gone. Laval will be U3 or U4 probably as most are (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) ** CHECHNYA [non]. LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL RULES TO SHUT DOWN CHECHEN SEPARATIST WEB SITE | Text of report by Radio Russia on 2 July The Kavkaz-Tsentr web site has been shut down in Lithuania. The decision was taken by the external policy coordination council led by the country's president, Rolandas Paksas. Experts have established that the web site disseminates information that promotes terrorism and entices ethnic and religious tension. Reports from foreign special services were also taken into account while taking the decision. Source: Radio Russia, Moscow, in Russian 1100 gmt 2 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re 5-echo jamming against BBC Mandarin: Hello Glenn and Wolfgang, In my opinion this is nothing new. It is well known that more than one jammer site is normally used on each jammed frequency jammed by China, and since each site has its own delay you will inevitably hear an echo if you hear more than one jammer at the same time. I have noted this regularly during the 0300-0700 period when the jamming on several RFA frequencies is strong here. The only thing that singles out the jamming on 15285 BBC is that all transmitters are perfectly spot on frequency, so that there is no SAH to tell you that you are hearing more than one transmitter. The same effect is commonplace on MW frequencies of synchronized nets. Sometimes it is like listening in a tunnel. 73s (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. BPM, Lintong, time pips, ID in Chinese on 10000 June 6 at 1655, clear after spur from Sveiø [see NORWAY] went off the air; SIO 243 (Tony Rogers, Birmingham, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CHINA. RELAYS OF OVERSEAS STATIONS ON SW FOR A-03: 0000-0100 RCI English 15205-X 0100-0200 RFI French 17710-B 0200-0300 RCI English 17860-X 15510-X 1000-1200 REE Spanish 9660-B 1100-1200 RFI French 11600-B 1200-1300 RFI Khmer 11600-X 1200-1400 REE Spanish 11910-X 1400-1500 RFI English 11610-X 1500-1600 RCI English 17720-X 15455-X 1500-1600 VOR English 11500-X 1600-1700 RFI French 6090-K B = Beijing, K = Kunming, X = Xian (NDXC, re-arranged by Tony Rogers for July BDXC-UK Commmunication via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Quisiera que me informaras más detalladamente sobre una estación colombiana que capté el pasado 15/04, a las 2256 UT, en los 4975 kHz. La radio en cuestón mencionó indicativos como HJKA 4975 kHz y HJAU 1130 kHz de la OM. Te hago esta solicitud ya que creo que otro colega ha captado la misma estación en días recientes. Cabe destacar que sólo la monitoré por pocos minutos, ya que a las 2302 UT, luego del himno nacional, salió del aire. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See 3-116, Ondas del Orteguaza. BTW, this is among Björn Malm`s recordings on this week`s WOR 1189 (gh) ** COLOMBIA. Esta noche regresó Conciencia en la frecuencia de 6009.78 kHz. También ID en inglés. 73s de (Björn Malm, Ecuador, July 3, Conexión Digital via DXLD) I thought so, hearing that het on 6010 when I tuned by around 0600? July 4. What about their plans to broadcast in English to North America on 5910 by now? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Les envío el enlace a la página renovada de la organización Fuerza de Paz que opera la Voz de Tu Conciencia 6010 (en el momento fuera del aire); allí hay una sección sobre las emisoras y sobre otras actividades que desarrollan. Vale la pena visitarla. http://www.fuerzadepaz.com/ (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CONGO DR? 9550, unID African music and announcements at 0035 June 4, SIO 242, unable to determine language, weak but clear and seemingly \\ to something audible on 6030, no ID heard (even after recording playback). R. Okapi? Heavy splash from 9555 RFE/RL Kavalla *0200 (Tony Rogers, Birmingham, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. I have it on good authority that the R. Martí tests on 1020 kHz were (are?) from the Turks & Caicos station. Since they were also heard to mention AM tests via Cayman Islands, I wonder if another as yet unknown frequency was involved for that. There has been no MW from there for a few years, since both 1205 and 1555 kHz closed down. I wonder if those facilities are still operable and if so would still be on the split frequencies?! Worth keeping an ear out for them, anyway; they were only 1 and 10 kW, respectively, no match for Cuban jammers, and no doubt rather weak in Cuba even if in the clear (Glenn Hauser, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. Através de la página del amigo salvadoreño Humberto Molina http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/7104/ pude navegar por distintos sitios de internet de su tierra natal. Una de ellas, la que pertenece a la Radio Nacional, aunque en realidad ya no se llama así sino Radio El Salvador [96.9 FM, tu Radio Nacional] me llamó la atención por varias cosas, no solo por el cambio de nombre de la emisora (¡ojo WRTH!) sino también por el contenido de la página así como por la programación, rebozante de merengues y cumbias que uno se sentía casi desplazado a la Colombia de antaño. Como quiera que había un problemita con el audio y puesto que por la página se pedían comentarios acerca del RealAudio, les envié un correo diciéndoles que los oía como si estuviera con el transistor a orillas del mar, es decir con un ruido "blanco" considerable, similar al de las olas del mar. Con una cumbia sonando no había problema, pero cuando hablaban no era tan fácil. Media hora más tarde noté, un tanto sorprendido, que arreglaron el sonido al vuelo, en el transcurso de la emisión y pude disfrutar en lo sucesivo de un sonido estéreo de muy aceptable calidad. Tres minutos más tarde me saludaron al aire y por internet el director de la emisora me envió una nota agradeciéndome el haberles indicado el problema. El director, Salvador Rivas Larrave, se ha hecho acreedor de "el micrófono dorado", una distinción que otorga anualmente la Asociación de Periodistas Independientes de El Salvador al mejor ejecutivo del ramo. Emisoras amigas, como la TGW, de Guatemala, la Illimani, de Bolivia y las radios de la Universidad de Santa María, en Chile, mandaron cada una sus felicitaciones grabadas para el Sr. Rivas. ¿Quién puede afirmar pues que por internet no se puede conseguir pasar un buen rato, escuchando una programación amena, reportarla y recibir, casi de inmediato, tanto una QSL escrita como hablada? Yo si alcancé a escuchar la onda corta de la Radio Nacional de El Salvador en los 9555 kHz antes de que fuera retirada del aire para siempre en 1976. La reporté y me respondieron gentilmente con el envío de una tarjeta QSL y un banderín. Guardo todavía la grabación que hice en su momento y pienso guardar la que hice en el día de hoy. Ambas experiencias me han dado mucha satisfacción, la de hoy quizás más que aquella (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, July 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ¡Hola Henrik! y amigos de la lista. Felicidades, siempre son agradables los incidentes como el que narras. Por cierto que has tenido bastante suerte, ya que yo no he tenido respuesta a algunas solicitudes, por ejemplo la confirmación o no de un reporte para algún colega, a pesar de haberme comunicado por teléfono localmente. Ciertamente la radio nacional se hace llamar Radio El Salvador, pero el nombre de Radio Nacional es difícil de olvidarlo y me parece que aún está vigente, inclusive en sus identificaciones; además el sitio web puede accederse tanto por http://www.radionacional.gob.sv como por http://www.radioelsalvador.com.sv El sitio web no ha sido actualizado desde hace bastante tiempo, porque aún aparece el logo del extinto Ministerio del Interior, ahora en realidad pertenece al Ministerio de Gobernación. El servicio de realudio es proporcionado por la empresa "Genesis Technologies", una empresa local de servicios por internet que atiende a varias emisoras. En los últimos años el personal ha hecho un gran esfuerzo por sacar a la radio de su monotonía; sin embargo, según mi opinión, todavía hace falta mucho para que se convierta en una de las radios más importantes del país. La radio ha sido autorizada a incluir publicidad en su programación para financiarse, pero creo que todavía no es suficiente. Un poco antes de los últimos terremotos, publicaron en un periódico la noticia acerca de los planes para reactivar la onda corta, pero eso obviamente se frustró. Saludos a todos (Humberto Molina, San Salvador, El Salvador, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** FINLAND. SWR'S 3 YEARS BIRTHDAY-TRANSMISSION Starting 21 hours UT today Friday 4th July. Celebrate whole 24 hours with us with special Birthday programmes. We have live bands on stage at 11 to 15 hours UT: Relention (Ruovesi -heavypop), Hughman Tutsh feat. The Mighty Christine (Mars&Venus -Rolling Rock), Wäre (Vantaa - Finnish pop-rock), and with minisets also Mental HoSpital (Tre- NoisePopRockBlues) and Swr All-Stars Group. We have repaired our 48 mb cage-dipole and put it to new higher position. So, please check what kind of reception you might have there. And of course we are on 25 mb as well. We like to receive your comments during transmissions to our gsm/sms-phone +358 400 995 559 or bu e-mail. More info: http://www.swradio.net Best Regards, Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio SWR 3v.-synttärilähetys 5. Heinäkuuta . . . (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, dxing.info via DXLD) Esquema [Subject to change]: 2100-2200 5990 y 11720 khz 2200-0500 5980 y 11720 khz 0500-1000 6170 y 11690 khz 1000-1400 6170 y 11720 khz 1400-1600 5980 y 11720 khz 1600-1900 6170 y 11720 khz 1900-2100 5900 y 11690 khz (via Gabriel Iván Barrera, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** GAMBIA. Former offshore station Radio Syd (now land-based in Banjul on 909 kHz) is off the air. The aerial mast collapsed in a storm last year and the station will be off the air until it can get planning permission for a new mast further inland (Chris King, Banjul, Offshore Echo`s [sic], May, via Medium Wave Report, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** GUINEA. Sembra che la radio nazionale della Repubblica di Guinea abbia riattivato la frequenza dei 6155 kHz, ormai inattiva da anni. E' stata notata in Australia fino allo spegnimento delle 0000 UT al sabato sera. Probabilmente attiva soltanto nella sera del fine settimana (via EDXP via Roberto Scaglione bclnews.it July 2 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Thank you for your email. The C-SPAN network has recently decided to stop taking the BBC World Service feed (via Satcom C3). Despite our best efforts to encourage C-SPAN to reconsider their decision, they have now ceased carrying BBC programming. We regret that there is now no other direct-to-home satellite listening option for BBC World Service in North America. We are still available in the USA, however, via the subscription digital radio services XM Radio (24-hour mixed programme stream) and Sirius Radio (24-hour news channel and 24-hour BBC Mundo in Spanish). Regards Audience Relations, BBC World Service (via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. I was channel-surfing on the bird tonight and stumbled upon the descriptive video channel for WGBH Boston (Bell ExpressVu channel 74). The only program scheduled for DV service was Nova, which started at 8 p.m. Before and after that, the audio that was being played over the images was that of the BBC World Service (Ricky Leong, QC, July 2, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -- At its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any media tool we've ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any media tool we've ever had. - Thomas L. Friedman, NY Times (Ricky`s tagline) ** IRAN [non]. BBG LAUNCHES NEW TELEVISION PROGRAM FOR IRAN Washington, D.C., July 03, 2003 -- Voice of America (VOA) debuts a new, nightly, Persian-language TV program, News & Views, on July 6, aimed at reaching millions of Iranians who watch satellite television. News & Views, a daily, 30-minute show, will be broadcast from 9:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. in Iran. It will feature original news reporting from Iran, where pro-democracy protesters have been active. Additionally, the show will include world news round-ups, analyses of issues and events and special interest and cultural features. Radio Farda reporters will contribute to the show. "By reporting what's happening in Iran today, we can help further the struggle for freedom and self-determination in Iran," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S. nonmilitary international broadcasting, including VOA. "If ever there was a time when the people of Iran need sound, factual reporting on their country, it is now." Key participants include managing editor Fereidoun Farahandouz, veteran TV anchor Hossein Kangarloo, and lead anchor Setareh Derakhshesh. VOA's Persian Service is led by Ahmad Baharloo. The new show will feature reports contributed from inside Iran, Washington, New York, Los Angeles and around the world. The show's première will include the first of a special series of reports leading up to the fourth anniversary of the Iranian government's July 9, 1999 crackdown on student uprisings in Iran. Scheduled to run through at least September 30, News & Views is expected to cost up to $500,000. Satellite television is a leading source of news in Iran, where some 70 percent of the population, estimated at 67 million, is under 30. Satellite dishes are available in many homes throughout Iran. Until now, VOA has produced two television programs, Next Chapter, a weekly newsmagazine, and Roundtable With You, a 90-minute discussion show. The shows complement VOA Persian's daily radio service; and Radio Farda, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, youth-oriented radio program that is a joint project of VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). (BBG press release via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRANIAN SECURITY FORCES SWOOP ON SATELLITE TV OWNERS IN TEHRAN --- TEHRAN (AFP) Jul 03, 2003 http://www.afp.com Iranian security forces have carried out a series of raids targetting private owners of banned satellite dishes in areas of Tehran that were the scene of recent anti-regime protests, witnesses and reports said Thursday. The official Iran newspaper said that for several days there has been "a new wave of dish seizures, particularly in districts that were the theatre of recent troubles," a reference to the June 10-20 student-led unrest. The protests swelled after many residents of Tehran were urged to take to the streets by foreign-based opposition satellite television broadcasts. The ownership of satellite equipment is illegal in the country, and the paper said offending households received court summons and fines ranging between one and five million rials (120 and 600 dollars). Witnesses in one neighbourhood near Tehran University, the epicenter of the virulent protests, said many of the raids were carried out by plainclothes men who could be seen throwing dishes from rooftops. Around a dozen opposition television stations beam Persian-language broadcasts into Iran. Most are run by sympathisers of the monarchy that was ousted in 1979. The struggle by Iran's clerical leaders against the broadcasts also includes attempts to jam reception of the stations in the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people are believed to own dishes and receivers. All rights reserved. © 2003 Agence France-Presse (via Mike Terry, DXLD) Why The World Needs Shortwave Radio (Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) ** IRAQ. FIRE AT IRAQI RADIO AND TV BUILDING WAS ARSON | Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA A fire broke out in the Iraqi Radio and Television building in Baghdad late Tuesday [1 July], Al-Jazeera reported. Columns of smoke have been seen billowing up from the multi-storey building, said the channel. Iraqi police managed to arrest the arsonists. Obviously (former Iraqi president) Saddam Hussein's loyalists are the perpetrators of violent acts that take place in Iraq and not the demonstrators, Paul Bremer, Chief of the US Civil Administration in Iraq, said in a press conference. Building a new Iraqi army has yet to start with the formation of the first Iraqi unit which is expected by mid July, Bremer added. Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in English 2037 gmt 1 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Re: TELEVISION BACK ON THE AIR, DXLD 3-117: Well, they don't only broadcast Iraq media network TV only; I noticed as well on the same satellite and the same frequency they broadcast 1 hour of "Towards freedom TV" one hour at 1300-1400 UT with news, views and interviews mainly about Iraq. As I recall it, this station was the first one to go on the air in Iraq via the Commando Solo project; we all remember the statement done by G.W Bush and Tony Blair on that network right after the fall of Saddam's regime. The ID of the station is "television nahwa el hourya min London --- Towards freedom TV from London". They have only one announcer who's reading the news, mainly the programs are about the current situation in Iraq; interviews with Iraqis living abroad talking about the future of Iraq. Yesterday 1/7/03 I saw an interview with an Iraqi bizman living in UK having some ideas about getting back to Basra his hometown and building some projects over there; one of the projects is --- having a new TV station!!! By the end of the transmission you get the logo of the station and a statement "the materials of this broadcast produced and edited in London-UK and brought to you by the coalition media.`` All the best from HOT Cairo, yours (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, July 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TOWARDS FREEDOM TV ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ here's the main logo of the network --- and here's the main announcer of that network --- and here's the Bizman who said he wants to get back to Basra and have a new TV network there! --- I put everything [3 screenshots] on this page: http://www.geocities.com/su1tz2003 (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, July 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. Iraq Media Network (a.k.a. V. of New Iraq or V. of Free Iraq), which the US is trying to establish as the new Iraqi national broadcaster, is reportedly now on air from 0400 to 2100 on 756, 909 and 1026 kHz as well as on FM, including 98.3 MHz in Baghdad (Jeff Weston, Medium Wave Report, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. I have not reported this until I could listen to the recording a number of times. I don't have the best ear for Arabic: Voice of the Iraqi People (``Sawt al sha`ab al Iraqi``). 6/29/03; 11710 kHz, 0008-0125; Talk by OM until 0015, Alternating OM and YL announcers with 5 - 7 min. pieces, ID sequence 0030, OM with long talk 0043-0107, Arabic music, OM talking w/ musical bridges, off 0125 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s really early in the morning in Iraq (gh, DXLD) ** IRELAND. Info on the ex-LW transmitter on 252 kHz: output 500 kW. Continental 2 x 300 kW. Tower 248m high. Site: Summer Hill, Co. Meath (W J J Duvall, Medium Wave Report, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** IRELAND. NEW HOPE FOR DUBLIN PIRATES The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has placed adverts in today's newspapers seeking expressions of interest from groups interested in operating new FM radio stations in the Dublin area. A reorganisation of frequencies has created space for several new ones. A number of the pirate stations that were raided and shut down in May are expected to apply. Some had applied unsuccessfully for licenses in the past. BCI chief executive Michael O'Keeffe says the Commission is "open to suggestions" on the nature of the services to be provided. Interested parties will have to provide a general description of the service and the target audience and details of the ownership structure and the capacity to provide the service. "[The BCI] will take into account... the rationale for the service, together with a statement of how such a service will add to the diversity of services already in existence throughout Dublin city and county," O'Keefe said. The closing date for the receipt of expressions of interest is 12 September and the BCI anticipates that a report will be presented to the board by October (Radio Netherlands Media Network 4 July 2003 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. If you were wondering why you couldn't listen to the Kol Israel news for some time today, some workmen cut through a cable in the street in Jerusalem linking Heleni Hamalka (where most of the non- Reshet Bet radio studios are) with a Bezeq building and many services were off... They were very busy getting things repaired and couldn't even take a moment to report which things were impacted. I haven't checked myself yet - but Joel Rubin sent me a mail that the 1630 UTC was available on the web. At this point. I don't know if that means that things were fixed, or they were able to get the feed from elsewhere (Daniel Rosenzweig, July 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. ISRAEL DEMANDS TV LICENCE FEE EVEN TO WATCH VIDEOS! Mike Brand reports: A recent ruling in an Israeli court handed down the following decision: even if your television is not hooked up to any sort of cable, satellite or external antenna , but is a working set, then by law, you have to pay your TV licence. Recently, a TV owner sued the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, asking not to pay the yearly licence fee, because his television is used only for watching his VCR. He stated that he is not connected to any antenna, and does not belong to any cable or satellite service. His suit was dismissed by a Jerusalem judge, giving the reason that any television in working order has to pay the licence fee, and not only those who watch television broadcasts (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 2 July 2003 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. NORTH KOREAN AGENCY BLASTS US PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AS PRELUDE TO ATTACK | Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 4 July: The United States is resorting to a despicable and mean psychological warfare aimed to destabilize the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] by mobilizing even riffraff to attain its sinister goal to isolate and stifle it. It is contemplating sending balloons to fly over the military demarcation line to reach the North carrying transistor radios and pamphlets etc, agitating its internal change. The Bush administration is leaving no stone unturned to carry out its psychological operation, saying that transistor radios are secret weapons more destructive than any conventional weapons and they will help change North Korea internally by sucking up all information from outside just as cactuses do water in deserts. Timed to coincide with this, the CIA allotted a huge amount of fund to let the Voice of Free Asia [presumably US-funded Radio Free Asia] broadcast its programmes round the clock. This goes to clearly prove that the US is channelling all its efforts into the psychological warfare to break the single-hearted unity in the DPRK and destabilize it. The US psychological warfare can be called a prelude to a military attack. The US spent a colossal amount of money for such operation before starting wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US is working hard to lay an international siege to the DPRK over its nuclear issue in a bid to increase pressure upon it from outside and, at the same time it seeks to destabilize the DPRK and bring it to its knees by mounting a pre-emptive attack on it. But this is as foolish an act as trying to sweep the sea with a broom. Our single-hearted unity is strongest and unshakable as neither nuclear weapon nor any crafty operation can ever break it. It is common sense that man's ideology and faith are formed only through life experience, not under someone's coercion or by any preaching. The Korean people have cherished their ideology as their faith in the course of their protracted revolutionary struggle and chosen the most advantageous man-centred socialist system of Korean style which they value more than their own lives. It is a tragedy of the Bush administration that it does not know this fact. The US mean act might have proved successful in other countries but that will never work on the DPRK. The US is resorting to such a psychological warfare by use of transistor radios and pamphlets, expecting that they would prove "effective". But that only reveals more glaringly its mental poverty and vulnerability. Its psychological warfare only helped the army and the people of the DPRK renew their will and faith to consolidate the single-hearted unity in every way, the precious gain of our revolution and the eternal foundation of our system, touched off stronger hatred against the US and hardened their determination to annihilate enemies. Source: KCNA news agency, Pyongyang, in English 0647 gmt 4 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [and non]. Rumen Pankov made these observations 20-30 May, updating lists in May and June editions of Communication. 3900, R. Freedom, nothing heard when checked at 1400-2000, 0200-0500 3900, V. of the Iraqi People, same as last month (Communist Party of Iraq, pro-Chinese) 4025, V. of People of Kurdistan, heard only on 27 May, an unID station, poor in Arabic at 0215 4085, V. of Iraqi Kurdistan, same as last month 4120, R. Kurdistan, 1600-1700 4160, V. of Independence, 1630-1700 in Arabic 4235, V. of Kurdistan Toilers, same as last month (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, June 8, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 11990, Radio Kuwait; 1818-1842+, 3-Jul; Drama "The Ancestors". ID at BoH, news 1830-41, then program notes. All in English. Send reports to kwtfreq@hotmail.com SIO=3+43 (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. GOVERNMENT RADIO HEARD AGAIN ON SHORTWAVE Radio Liberia International (which also often refers to itself as the Liberia Communications Network or LCN), which broadcasts from Monrovia in support of President Charles Taylor, is now being heard again on shortwave. It was heard at 1200 gmt on 1 July on 6100 kHz, a shortwave frequency that it has used in the past. Prior to 1 July it had not been heard on shortwave for over three months and transmissions from the station had been erratic even before then. Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 Jul 03 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. New transmission from Madagscar: As of 3 July, the Radio Netherlands Madagascar relay station has started the daily transmission of Radio Feon'ny Filazantsara at 1630-1655 on 3215 kHz via the 50 kW Siemens transmitter. This is a programme of the Lutheran World Federation (Media Network Newsletter July 4 via DXLD) No doubt the reason for 60 and 90m tests recently (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. Después de más de 10 años se reactiva XEXQ Radio Universidad de San Luís Potosí, México; 6045 kHz. Desconozco la fecha exacta de su reaparición pero la escucho desde el 1 de Julio, todo el día y parte de na noche. Aunque con poca potencia (0.250 kw), buena calidad de audio y modulación (JESÚS MARTÍNEZ MIRANDA, Uruapan, Michoacán, México, XE1HMW, July 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 9705, Antena Radio 1400. RMI seems to be using this name now. Heard in EG with YL giving address at 1400 7/1; then at 1402, M with "Antena Radio news summary". Heard next day (7/2) around 1310 UT in SP with talks and using the same nomenclature. // 11770v (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX via DXLD) This is nothing new. RMI`s newscasts from IMER have been called Antena Radio for a long time (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. The DRM transmissions of our English service via Flevo are suspended for the time being, but between 5 and 27 July Radio Netherlands has DRM coverage of the Tour de France. The transmission is on the air daily at 1300-1600 on 9615 kHz beamed to C+S France, N+C Italy and NE Spain. Further details, along with other recent changes and additions, are on our DRM schedule page at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_latest.html (Media Network Newsletter July 4 via DXLD) ** NORWAY. Spurious signal on 10000 from Sveiø transmitter on 9920 at 1647 June 6, also audible on 9840, -/+ 80 kHz, uncovering BPM China [q.v.] at 1655* (Tony Rogers, Birmingham, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been allocated a sum of Rs 548.037m for the completion of various projects in the budget 2003-04y. PBC has been allocated Rs 41m in the financial year for its ongoing projects that include the installation of 300 kW MW radio transmitters at Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. Also included is the ongoing project of a 100 kW MW transmitter and BH [broadcasting house??] at Mirpur and the shifting of a 100 kW SW transmitter from Mirpur to Rawat, Rs 5.000m. A 100 kW MW transmitter will be set up at Turbat at a cost of Rs 30m (http://www.paknews.com 8 June via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA [and non]. HCJB-Australia has been active in helping a consortium set up a Christian FM radio station in Port Moresby. Wantok Radio Light broadcasts in English and the local lingua franca, Pidgin, at 5 kW to 200,000 people in the area. The station has government permission to install a 100 kW SW transmitter to reach more remote areas of the country. There are also reports that the consortium will set up similar SW facilities in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Wantok Radio light is at http://www.missionaryradio.info (Greg Baker, ACT, Bandscan Australia, June Short Wave Magazine, UK, via DXLD) Wantok = One Talk? (gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Adán Mur, desde Radio América, me comentó en un correo electrónico enviado ayer, que a partir del próximo lunes 07 del corriente la emisora cambiará su frecuencia de 9983 khz por la nueva de 9905. Les brindaré más detalles en estos días (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, July 4, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. 1530, SÃO TOMÉ E PRÍNCIPE, VOA Pinheira, JUN 27 0309-0345 - Loud and clear burying WSAI with VOA news in English parallel 7290, 9575, and 9885 kHz. News items included violence in Liberia, famine relief, conflict in Iraq. Numerous VOA IDs. At 0335 US stock market and business news. Signal lost under WSAI after 0345. + JUN 29 0259- 0359 - Fair battling WSAI with VOA news, sports, and discussion on Israeli-Palestinian situation. "This is VOA News Now" IDs. No local São Tomé announcements whatsoever. Do they ever broadcast a local announcement? If indeed São Tomé it would be medium wave country #89 heard. Very exciting! (Marc DeLorenzo, MA, NRC IDXD via DXLD) VOA never makes any local IDs on any MW or SW (or FM?) relay, AFAIK. But what else could it be? (gh, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. NEW SAUDI-BASED RADIO STATION TO LAUNCH Reports from Saudi Arabia say that the pan-Arab radio network MBC FM is to launch a second radio network at the weekend. According to the newspaper Okaz, the station - whose name was not disclosed - will broadcast 22 weekly political, economic, social and entertainment programmes, including a programme called "Live Poll." Launched in June 1994, MBC FM is the only Pan Arab FM Station, and the only independent commercial radio network based in Saudi Arabia. It is also available in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank. Its broadcasts are also carried on Arabsat (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 3 July 2003 via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. Hi Glenn, I did make a small change to the item you quoted after I listened to the 1600 UT transmission in French, the first one I could check (the online audio is temporarily unavailable). Seems they ID on air just as the international radio of Serbia and Montenegro, without mentioning RSCG. The Web site is as clear as mud on that :-) Same interval signal and theme music as before. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: SERBIA & MONTENEGRO'S EXTERNAL SERVICE CHANGES NAME The station formerly known as Radio Yugoslavia has dropped that name and now identifies only as the international radio of Serbia and Montenegro. The station had been using that name as a slogan for some months previously. A new logo has also been unveiled on the station's Web site. The old RJ (Radio Jugoslavija) is replaced by RSCG. That's an abbreviation of the station's name in Serbian: Radio Srbija i Crna Gora. The old URL is still in use, and there is no change to the schedule. The station's interval signal also remains the same (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 1 July 2003 via WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DXLD) Serbia and Montenegro: Hi Glenn, 7/3/03; 0001 - 0035 UTC; 9580 kHz; SINPO 44333; "This is the International Radio to Serbia and Montenegro." News, articles (including one about relationship between Serb. / Mont. and Croatia); Balkan music. To probable Serbo - Croatian at 0030 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. Dear Friends, SLBC is noted for the last one week on 7302.5 rather than the usual 7300. The sked is 0020-0400 and 0800-1530 in Indian languages. The parallel frequency is 11905. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) same happened a few months ago (gh, DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "Nordic Lights" Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Network Europe" Sunday: "In Touch With Stockholm" Don't miss our continuing series "The Bernadottes: Portrait of a Dynasty" about the history of Sweden's royal family, on Tuesdays. And on the next four Mondays during July "SportScan" will be asking "Is it a sport?" (SCDX/MediaScan July 2 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Dear Glenn, I have been constantly following your column on the internet. However, as you probably have found out, the quake in Algeria ruined our internet reception for about a month but now everything is back to normal. You have a great column which is a joy to read. As for myself, well I have been making icons in line with the project, 'Faith Tourism'. Turkish radio and television has a new six part series in the making which will be a great success for it covers Antakya and its environs. It may well be qualified as a region of brotherly love and in the film which will be aired on television not only in Turkey but throughout the world, the viewer will see how members of different faiths cooperate to make Antakya an even better place to live. Antakya is the ancient Antioch of Biblical fame. It was in Antioch that the Gospel according to Saint Matthew was written and also where St. John Chrysostom and St. Luke the evangelist were born. Reshide Morali and her sister have not disappeared from the airwaves for our voices will be heard in an interview on the subject of faith tourism and also in an English narration. In addition, the icons that I have made of Saint Luke, the Holy Mother, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul and Saint John Chrysostom will be in the film. Incidentally, Saint Peter lived in Antioch for 7 years and Saint Paul, who was from Tarsus, Turkey, another viable city, stayed at length in ancient Antioch. I hope that sometime in the future we can show you around the area. Have a wonderful summer and keep up the good work --- as for myself, I shall go on painting more saints of Anatolia and Istanbul. Clergymen visiting our sacred sights have qualified the land within Turkey's borders as the second holyland and the incubater of Christianity. Warmest regards and have a nice summer, (Reshide Morali, Turkey, June 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Two oddly related items, plus one: The House of Lords has voted to overturn a government ban on religious bodies owning national TV or radio stations... http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,990896,00.html LORDS OVERTURN OWNERSHIP BAN Owen Gibson, Thursday July 3, 2003 The House of Lords has voted to overturn a government ban on religious bodies owning national TV or radio stations, theoretically opening up ITV or Classic FM to bids from Christian, Muslim or Jewish groups. Following months of vocal lobbying from religious bodies, a cross- party body of peers voted through last ditch proposals to allow religious bodies to own a national terrestrial TV channel or radio station. In a move that was overshadowed by yesterday's compromise between rebel Labour peer Lord Puttnam and the government on cross media ownership, the Lords overturned the government's plans to retain the ban on religious bodies holding national TV and radio licences. The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has continually argued that the limits placed on the number of national radio stations by the amount of spectrum available justifies retaining the ban, even though it is in contravention of European human rights legislation. There are currently only three national radio stations and three national commercial terrestrial TV channels. The government argues that it would be unfair to grant a licence to one religious body and not another. But Baroness Buscombe, who brought last night's amendment, argued that Ms Jowell's arguments were flawed. "What little water is held at present by this logic will certainly be eliminated in the future due to technological advances. As future- proofing is something we are striving to do with this bill, I do not see why it should not apply here," she said. While she did not believe that spare spectrum should be handed to religious broadcasters, she argued that they should be allowed to bid for the licences like everyone else. Ofcom could then be charged with deciding whether the bid had sufficient merit to proceed, she added. The Lord Bishop of Manchester added his support to the amendment, saying that strong content regulation would guard against the kind of evangelical religious broadcasting found in the US, while allowing a level playing-field for genuine religious applicants. The Lords voted to accept the lifting of the ban by 115 votes to 99. A spokeswoman for the department of culture, media and sport said that no decision had yet been taken on whether to accept or oppose the amendment ahead of next Tuesday's third reading in the Lords. However, it may be that the government is prepared to accept the amendment in the belief that lifting the ban would have little practical effect. "The government will have to go away and consider the effects of the amendment and our response. However, our policy has always been to have as a few restrictions as possible," the spokeswoman said (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Alan Bookbinder, the head of the BBC's religion and ethics department, called on church leaders last night to become more courageous and passionate in using the media or risk losing their broadcasting slots... http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,989911,00.html The BBC is preparing to sell the virtues of an £800m bond to investors over the next week to fund a revamp of its London broadcasting headquarters. ... The revamped headquarters will house the BBC's news, radio and World Service arms as well as 140 studios. . . http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,990155,00.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Viz.: BBC USES BOND TO FINANCE NEW HQ Annie Lawson, Thursday July 3, 2003, The Guardian The BBC is preparing to sell the virtues of an £800m bond to investors over the next week to fund a revamp of its London broadcasting headquarters. The roadshows are expected to start in London and Edinburgh, marking the public broadcaster's first foray into the capital markets. Morgan Stanley, which is handling the 30-year issue, is expected to conclude the deal by the end of July. The bond does not carry a government guarantee but has attracted an AA credit rating, placing the BBC well above its commercial rivals. Credit agency Standard & Poor's said it had taken into account the licence fee funding regime and the level of indirect government support provided by the BBC's sponsoring department, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Bondholders will receive leasing income from the redevelopment, and the issue is expected to pay close to 5% a year. BBC finance director John Smith said the broadcaster examined several fundraising options and found bonds to be comparatively cheap. "That's savvy because it won't last," Mr Smith added. The revamped headquarters will house the BBC's news, radio and World Service arms as well as 140 studios. The bond will be issued through a special purpose vehicle backed by Morgan Stanley and developer Land Securities. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** U K [non]. I happened to be awake during the 2 AM (local) hour here (0700 UT) and heard the local St. Louis FM relay of the BBC on KWMU-FM (90.7) carrying the science programs line-up at that time instead of what is on my printed or the on-line BBC schedules! This has been over a couple days so far; I don't know how long it's been happening. "Go Digital" was on July 1 at 0705 UT and "Discovery" was on this morning (7/2/03) at 0705 UT. I just checked the BBC Worldservice web page and they still list "World Briefing" and "Sports Roundup" for that timeframe in both the regular Americas SW stream listing and the special FM-relay stream listed under KWMU (if you use "St. Louis" as the selected city). I checked several weeks and all were the same. This is no complaint! I have long wanted the science programs to get on the overnight FM relay; they used to be there. So I am afraid to write to Write On to ask about this -- if it is a mistake, they would probably take them off again. But I would also like them to know that listeners WANT them on there then! What to do, what to do??? I can only guess that this is another instance of the streams getting mixed in the distribution process; anybody have any explanations? 73, (Will Martin, MO, July 2, swprograms via DXLD) {See 3-120} Something is always out of kilter with BBC programming/streaming (gh) ** U K. STUDY DEALS A BLOW TO CLAIMS OF ANTI-WAR BIAS IN BBC NEWS http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,991295,00.html BIASED BROADCASTING CORPORATION: A survey of the main broadcasters' coverage of the invasion of Iraq shows the claim that the BBC was anti-war is the opposite of the truth http://media.guardian.co.uk/iraqandthemedia/story/0,12823,991215,00.html WHY I LOVE DIGITAL RADIO http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,991291,00.html 73 (all via Kim Elliott, DC, DXLD) ** U K. You may be interested in this excellent site featuring BBC Radio jingles as well as landmark events in Real Audio: http://www.nascr.net/~rgwill/audio.htm (Tony Boreham, Communication Webwatch, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U K. A grandfather, fed up with the mediocrity of modern music, set up his own pirate radio station to broadcast rock classics from the 1950s and 1960s. The 60-year-old, who bills himself as Ricky Rock, is now facing investigation by authorities. Hits by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys and The Beatles have been heard on 1602 kHz MW by listeners to Rockin` Radio Royston, which can be received across the Wakefield area. ``Ricky`` spent 1.3 kilopounds on a transmitter and erected a ``camouflaged`` 32 ft mast in his back garden. He said his decision to become a pirate was made because of the ``talentless boybands and monotonous dance music`` featured on today`s radio stations. Neighbours however complained that the station interfered with telephone and internet connexions (The Times via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK Communication, July via DXLD) ** U K. A new station for London takes to the air on 3 July, 2003. Club Asia take over the frequency of 963 and 972 kHz from Liberty Radio, having secured an eight year license from the Radio Authority. A total of 8 applicants, including Liberty Radio applied for the license. The station promises "the sound of a new generation of Asian Londoners, a contemporary Asian/urban music-led service primarily targeting British Asians aged 15-34." The station address is Asia House, 227-247 Gascoigne Road Barking Essex IG11 7LN, and their web site is http://www.clubasiaonline.com (John Williams via MWC E-Mail News via NRC IDXD via DXLD) ** U S A. The precise schedule for VOA at 1900-2000, correcting mistakes in both their official schedule and station announcements: 1900-1930 daily Teaching Program 7260 9550 9680 11780 13685 1930-2000 daily Special English as above 1900-1930 M-F Border Crossings 1197-Eu 6180-Eu 9525-As 9760-Eu 9770-Eu 9840-ME 11770-As 11970-ME 12015-Af 15180-As 15235-As 1900-1930 S-S Sports 1197 6160 9525 9760 9770 11770 15180 1930-2000 M-F Border Crossings 9840 11970 12015 15235 1930-2000 M-Th Border Crossings 6160 9760 9770 Eu, 9525 11770 15180 As 1930-2000 Fri News Review as above 1930-2000 Sat Our World as above 1930-2000 Sun Issues in the News as above (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, June 8, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U S A. VOICE OF AMERICA A History, by Alan L. Heil, Jr. Hi Glenn. Re: DXLD 3-098 and the above book published by Columbia University Press -- the ISBN is 0231126743 and is available via both amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. Book description (via Amazon): "For more than sixty years the Voice of America has served as the nation`s largest publicly funded overseas broadcasting network. VOA is heard by more than 93 million people in more than fifty languages. This book is an "insider`s story," reflecting the transformation of VOA from a propaganda organ to a respected source of information, from shortwave in World War II to multimedia in the twenty-first century, from a wartime base of relatively few listeners in its first weeks to a global network combining radio, television, and the Internet. From civil rights to human rights, from nuclear proliferation to AIDS, the book shows how VOA reflects as well as confronts the challenges of our times." (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. ARMY'S 'PSYOPS' MEDIA CENTER A SPECIAL KIND OF WEAPON By JAY PRICE, Raleigh News & Observer, July 02, 2003 http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=PSYOPS-07-02-03&cat=AN FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Except for the woodland-camouflage dress code and a discreet lack of windows, the new building - with its state-of-the-art digital television and radio production rooms, studios and printing presses - could easily belong to a sophisticated marketing firm. In a way it does. But the "firm" is the U.S. Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group, and its "products" are whatever messages the Defense Department wants to sell. The group held an open house Monday to show off its new $8.1 million Special Operations Forces Media Operations Complex. It was a rare look inside the Pentagon's central production facility for "psyops" products such as fliers, posters and television and radio segments aimed at the hearts and minds of, well, those the military wants to persuade. Since 9/11, those have included civilians and enemy troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 150 million fliers, all of them produced at Fort Bragg and many of them printed there, have been spread over those countries, said Col. James Treadwell, the 4th POG's commander. About 16,000 hours of radio messages produced by the group were transmitted to Afghan listeners and another 4,000 hours to Iraqis, he said. The psychological-operations campaign in Iraq reportedly cost tens of millions of dollars and has been called the biggest in history. It centered on Arabic-language leaflets and radio and television scripts designed by the 4th POG to encourage mass surrenders and erode support for Saddam Hussein. Psyops troops are still in Iraq, but their efforts have shifted to calming and winning over civilians. Like a marketing company, psyops soldiers often perform marketing studies before designing products. They also conduct detailed analyses of results. Army officials say it still may be a few months before the official report on the Iraq effort is complete. Civilian experts say the campaign probably had mixed results, but still likely saved thousands of lives on both sides by taking some of the fight out of the Iraqis. Psyops has been busy lately, and not just in Iraq and Afghanistan: The staff of the media complex is supporting nearly 900 psyops troops spread across 13 countries, Treadwell said. Until now, the psyops troops had to make do with facilities scattered around the base in several buildings, many of them predating the Vietnam War. The Pentagon's willingness to invest in the new media complex is a sign of its growing confidence in the value of psyops, he said. "This facility marks past success and emphasizes our potential for future contributions," Treadwell said. Lots of future contributions: The four new presses can churn out 1 million leaflets in a single day. The new, fully digital presses and audio and video equipment could cut the amount of time it takes to produce a given product by 20 percent or more. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com via David E. Crawford, Titusville, Florida, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. June 24, 2003 Dear Friend: I have a favor to ask. We are International Broadcasters who are considering utilizing a transmitter in Europe to broadcast to the people of India. We have been allocated the following frequencies and times for our programming. What we would like to know, of course, is if these frequencies at the designated times produce a good signal into India. 1430-1600 UT on 17655 kHz, 2330-0200 UT on 9435 kHz. Any information that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Gene Bernald, Pan American Broadcasting (via Jose Jacob, DXLD) Guess what kind of ``international broadcasters`` -- Christian evangelists. I understand India already has several religions (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. DIFFERENT KIND OF OLDIES SHOW UPDATE We've updated our news page AND we now have our own domain! Connect to us at http://www.dkosmedia.com The Dorsai address will remain up for a few more weeks ("Big Steve" Coletti, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. As of Saturday July 5th, Oliver North will no longer be broadcasting. He has decided to leave radio and pursue other interests (Art Blair, Folsom, CA, July 4, IRCA via DXLD) Yay? ** U S A. LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT's Travelers Information Station at 530 AM is seeking a power boost from the FCC maximum TIS power of 10 watts to 100 watts, increasing the station's coverage to 10 miles, but the change is being challenged by a local broadcaster. SAUL LEVINE's MOUNT WILSON BROADCASTERS says that the change, which LAX claims is necessary to broadcast information in case of a terrorist event at the airport, contravenes national policy on TIS operations and is unnecessary because other stations would undoubtedly carry such information in case of attack. LEVINE also operates Adult Standards XESURF-A (K-SURF)/TIJUANA-SAN DIEGO at 540 AM, which would receive additional interference on the west side of LOS ANGELES if the LAX station boosts its power. A ruling is expected from the FCC by the end of 2003 (allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, June 30, 2003, DXLD) ** U S A. Here's the latest in the ongoing NIMBY fight in the Denver area from today's edition of the Rocky Mountain News: 780 MINUTES OF HEARINGS ON 730-FOOT TV TOWER By Owen S. Good, Rocky Mountain News, July 2, 2003 GOLDEN - An epic, eyelid- drooping 13-hour public hearing on a proposed television broadcast tower came and went Tuesday without a decision from Jefferson County Commissioners. Another five hours will be needed to finish up next week, and even then there are no guarantees commissioners will approve or deny a 730- foot tower that four TV stations want to build on Lookout Mountain. "It's definitely the longest public hearing I've ever been a part of," Commissioner Rich Sheehan said during a break Tuesday afternoon, swirling a 20-ounce chai tea he was counting on to get him through to 10 p.m. He'd been in his chair since 9:30 a.m. The lengthy meeting was necessary to handle the onslaught of testimony against the project, much of it repeating every detail of a comprehensive opposition statement given to the county's planning board more than a month ago. And even that sounded familiar, as this is the sixth request to build a "supertower" that Jeffco officials have had to consider since 1997. "Have I heard the same things before?" Sheehan said. "Obviously I have a general understanding of some (issues), such as the effects on health, interference, alternative sites." But the county is obligated by statute to hold a public hearing, and speakers have a right to three minutes at the lectern, and homeowner associations get 10 minutes. That means a group representing more than 30 homeowners associations was entitled to hours of time, and it dominated the hearing with a three-hour presentation. The broadcasting consortium Lake Cedar Group got 90 minutes to make its case. It would consolidate antennae hanging from three towers on Lookout Mountain and bring in digital TV transmitters for Denver's three major network affiliates. Opponents say the tower poses health risks from radio frequency emissions, would mar the view and would lower nearby property values. Hundreds signed a list opposing the tower. More than 60 signed up to speak. At 5 p.m. at least 200 people lined U.S. 6 by the Jefferson County government center and unfurled 730 feet of yellow tape, to dramatize the tower's size. The second hearing is scheduled for 5-10 p.m. Tuesday (via Patrick Griffith, N0NNK, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster, CO, USA, july 2, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. HOME SICK --- THE ADDICTIVE ALLURE OF HOME AND GARDEN TELEVISION. By Joshua Green http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0307.green.html (via Fred Waterer DXLD) ** U S A. IS WSAI RUNNING IBOC? Normally, 1530 WSAI in Cincinnati comes in pretty good here in Memphis at night. I've noticed that when it is coming in strong enough, 1520 and 1540 have a loud hissing sound on them nearly drowning out everything. Does anybody know if WSAI is running IBOC? If so, aren't they supposed to shut it off by sunset? Are there any comprehensive lists of stations that are running IBOC? (Adam Myrow, July 2, NRC-AM via DXLD) WSAI has special authorization to test IBOC at night. They're very interested in hearing reports like yours - and not necessarily for the reason you might think. (Hint: not every big broadcast group is firmly supporting Ibiquity's digital scheme...) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Take the hint, and write them and let them know what you're hearing! Send your letter to Dan Allen, Program Director, or Andrew Costa, Engineer. WSAI Clear Channel Radio, 1111 St. Gregory St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 Anybody in KXEL or WWKB's coverage areas noting the interference? Those would probably be reports of exceptional value to WSAI and Clear Channel (Gerry Bishop, Niceandsoakedville, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP VOTE COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN DISSENTS FROM MEDIA OWNERSHIP DECISION. News Release. News Media Contact: Johanna Mikes 202-418-2300 CMMR http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236095A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236095A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-236095A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, July 3, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Since the 4th of July is a holiday in the United States, I thought I would remind some of the audio collectors that there are two MP3 files of interest in the MP3 directory. "The Americans", both versions, can be found at http://www.nrcdxas.org/mp3 File 1: byronm~1.mp3 File 2: gordon~1.mp3 (Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A / U K. SEE YOU ON 60[sic]! FIVE CHANNELS OPEN FOR USE JULY 3 NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 2, 2003 -- US amateurs have been counting down the weeks and days. Now it's down to a matter of hours. The five new 60{sic} meter "channel center" frequencies -- 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373 and 5405 kHz -- become available to US Amateur Radio operators this evening after midnight (12 AM) local time July 3. Given the constraints imposed on the five lightly used government frequencies, ARRL has been advising members to demonstrate their best operating behavior and to use common sense when operating under the new rules. The channelized allocation at 5 MHz marks the first new HF amateur band since the 1980s. The only legal mode is upper sideband voice (USB), with a maximum bandwidth of 2.8 kHz (centered within each channel). The FCC has imposed a 50 W effective radiated power (ERP) limit, which its rules -- §97.303(s) -- define as the transmitter output in peak envelope power (PEP) multiplied by antenna gain relative to a half- wave dipole or the equivalent calculation in decibels. The Commission presumes that a half-wave dipole on the 5 MHz allocation has a gain of 0 dBd -- technically its "free-space gain." This means that if you use a half-wave dipole -- about 87 feet 3 inches for the "middle" channel -- setting your transmitter's power output power at up to 50 W PEP should ensure compliance. The FCC rules neither invite nor suggest creative ways for hams to justify running more than 50 W PEP transmitter power on the 5-MHz domestic, secondary allocation. The rules also impose a new record- keeping requirement on amateurs using antennas other than half-wave dipoles or their equivalent. "Licensees using other antennas must maintain in their station records either manufacturer data on the antenna gain or calculations of the antenna gain," the newest addition to the FCC's Amateur Service rules says. Amateurs can safely ignore feed line losses. In most typical ham installations, feed line loss at 5 MHz will be so small as to not have any practical effect on signal. Under no circumstances may amateurs on 5 MHz radiate more than 50 W ERP in any direction, so those choosing to employ gain antennas will have to "do the math" and calculate their ERP. When in doubt, think simple, not complicated. The bottom line for most hams will be to erect a wire dipole, set their transmitter to 50 W PEP output and enjoy the new band. Maxim Memorial Station Manager Joe Carcia, NC1J, says W1AW has no special plans to be on the air for the allocation's debut on July 3, but the station does expect to have 60[sic]-meter capability within the week. For more information, see the 60[sic]-meter FAQs posted on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/faq.html Working Stations in the UK Amateurs in the US and the United Kingdom share one 5-MHz channel -- 5405 kHz. While it will be legal for US hams to work UK amateurs, US hams should keep in mind that UK operators are on the air specifically as part of an experiment and not for routine contacts. UK licensees must obtain a special Notice of Variance (NoV) to use the 5-MHz channels available to them--5260, 5280, 5290, 5400 and 5405 kHz -- and their access to the frequencies is temporary, ending in 2006. The RSGB's 5 MHz Working Group explains that the Radiocommunications Agency in the UK -- in cooperation with the UK military -- gave amateurs access on 5 MHz to enable propagation and equipment experiments to "assess and optimize inter-UK links rather than to provide additional spectrum for general amateur operation." As UK amateurs are being told, UK-US contacts "need to be carried out in the context of experimentation and care taken to maintain transmissions within the channels allocated to UK amateur usage, whilst operating frequency offsets, where appropriate, to receive US amateur transmissions. UK amateurs are limited to 3.0 kHz bandwidth. The RSGB 5 MHz Working Group says it neither encourages nor discourages international contacts on 5 MHz but emphasizes that -- at least for UK NoV holders -- such contacts need take place within "the context of experimentation." Starting July 29, the RSGB's GB2RS began transmitting Amateur Radio news on 5 MHz as part of the continuing propagation investigations in the UK. The news transmissions at 1130 UT are on 5405 kHz. For more information on the UK experimental activity on 5 MHz, visit the 5 MHz page on the RSGB Web site http://www.rsgb-hfc.org.uk/5mhz.htm Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC ACCEPTING COMMENTS ON OCCUPIED BANDWIDTH PETITION (Jul 3, 2003) -- The FCC has put on public notice and now is accepting comments on a Petition for Rule Making from two amateurs calling on the FCC to establish SSB and AM bandwidth standards. The FCC has assigned RM-10740 to the petition, filed May 27 by Michael Lonneke, W0YR, of Round Hill, Virginia, and Melvin Ladisky, W6FDR, of Camarillo, California. Comments are due in 30 days. Referencing four Enforcement Bureau letters (one of which is included in the petition as an exhibit) sent to amateurs and alleging overly wide SSB signals (sometimes called ``Enhanced Single Sideband``), the Lonneke/Ladisky petition asks the FCC to ``remove the ambiguity`` in the Part 97 rules and establish SSB and AM transmission bandwidth standards. On HF frequencies below 28.8 MHz, it recommends a maximum 2.8 kHz bandwidth SSB (J3E) emissions and a maximum 5.6 kHz bandwidth for AM (A3E) emissions. Amateurs may read and comment on this petition via the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). To read the petition and filed comments, click on ``Search for Filed Comments`` under ``ECFS Main Links.`` To file a comment, click on ``Submit a Filing.`` In either case, enter ``RM-10740`` in the ``Proceeding`` field. When commenting, also complete the required fields. Comments may be typed into a form or you may attach a file containing your comments. Comments also may be submitted via e-mail, per instructions on the ECFS page (ARRL via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. National R. of the SADR, 1945 June 1, Saharan music, 2100 Arabic ID, good on 1550 kHz (Dave Kenny, Treen Campsite, Cornwall, 150m unterminated southerly beverage, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. ZNBC on reactivated 4910, booming in here, overriding the Australian, at 2030 July 1 with time check for 22:30 local (Chris Hambly, Victoria, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ref. Zambia's reactivation of 4910: This is only being used during the evening and early morning. 5915 is still being used as Radio 1's daytime frequency. Meanwhile, Radio 2 is sticking to 6165 throughout. Strong signals here from 4910, though spoilt by KBC on 4915. Regards, (Chris Greenway, Nairobi, Kenya, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. Glenn, Yes, the 1800 English bulletin is definitely from the Zanzibar studios, not a relay of Dar es Salaam, which is heard with its own programmes (in Swahili) at that time (Chris Greenway, Kenya, July 2, WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Original Message From: "Joseph Strain Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 10:40 PM Subject: [HCDX] Another UNID from July 1 tape Statement and music repeats unendingly, 0042, 11670 kHz, music (violin solo) ``you are listening to a test transmission by VC Merlin communications``... ``Vincent [it`s ``VT`` for Vesper Thornycroft, which bought them out --- gh] Merlin communications a provider of broadcast radio services`` ..."www.VCPLC.com/merlin`` (this URL FAILS IN us), virtually "all fives" SINPO, probably origin from Antigua as the Ascension relay is rarely this strong. IS BBC putting up a new antenna? See URL given BELOW. Same endless loop heard on 15525 kHz at 0600-0700 UT daily during last week, BUT due of signal strength, came NOT from United Kingdom MERLIN sites. 73 wb ``please visit www.VTPLC.com/merlin [former http://www.merlincommunications.com to relink, I guess] But my URL access failed so far, this morning. Server not found (Wolfgang Bueschel, June 24, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO HISTORY IS MADE AT WRC-03 WITH 7-MHZ REALIGNMENT COMPROMISE NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 3, 2003--There`s good news from World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) for 40-meter enthusiasts. In an 11th-hour compromise, delegates to WRC-03, which wraps up officially July 4, agreed to move broadcasters out of 7100 to 7200 kHz in Regions 1 and 3 to make room for the Amateur Service. The agreement eventually will mean a 200-kHz worldwide allocation at 40 meters. Although the change does not go into effect until 2009, that`s considered speedy in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) terms. Some of the timelines proposed during discussions on the 7 MHz agenda item would have held off the changes until 2033! The WRC- 03 action on 7 MHz makes no change in the exclusive US 40-meter allocation. US amateurs will continue to enjoy the full 7000 to 7300 kHz band they now have. ``History was made today,`` said International Amateur Radio Union Secretary (and ARRL CEO) David Sumner, K1ZZ, who called the agreement a big change over the status quo. ``Never before in the history of radiocommunication has an HF broadcasting band been shifted to accommodate the needs of another service. But that`s what happened at WRC-03 this morning.`` Sumner said a ``carefully crafted compromise`` was approved on first and second reading in the WRC-03 Plenary. It calls for broadcasters to vacate 7100 to 7200 kHz by March 29, 2009, and it allocates the band to the Amateur Service from that date forward. Sumner cited ``the extraordinary efforts`` of Jan Verduijn of the Radiocommunications Agency, The Netherlands, the CEPT Coordinator for Agenda Item 1.23 -- the 7 MHz issue. ``Jan was totally committed to finding a solution, not only for radio amateurs but for broadcasters and the fixed and mobile services as well,`` Sumner said. ``This provides a worldwide amateur allocation of 200 kHz less than six years from now,`` noted Sumner, speaking on behalf of the IARU observer team headed by IARU President Larry Price, W4RA. Sumner pointed out that the compromise cuts in half the incompatibility between amateur and broadcasting use of the 7 MHz band and doubles the 40-meter spectrum available to amateurs in Regions 1 and 3. While the result falls short of the IARU`s goal of a 300-kHz worldwide exclusive band for amateurs, Sumner explained that ITU conference decisions are reached by consensus. ``Building consensus requires give and take,`` he said, ``and we didn`t have much to give.`` Sumner said the historic 7-MHz compromise ``took the cooperation of broadcasters and many, many others to enable us to bring this home for radio amateurs.`` He credited delegates and other conference participants -- not all of them radio amateurs and including some who were strongly opposed to the proposal at the start--with making the compromise possible. A number of countries -- mostly in Region 3 and the Arab States -- also have allocated 7100 to 7200 kHz by ``footnote`` to Fixed and Mobile services, shared with amateurs on a national basis. None of the countries is in Region 2. More than 2600 delegates and other participants have been attending the four-week conference, chaired by Dr Veena Rawat of Canada. For WRC-03, the IARU fielded its largest team of observers at an ITU conference in more than a decade. The Geneva International Conference Center where WRC-03 took place is adjacent to International Telecommunication Union headquarters in Geneva. ``Good ITU compromises -- and virtually every decision made here is a compromise -- are sometimes described as leaving everyone equally unhappy,`` Sumner remarked. ``Your Geneva team is tired and pretty happy.`` [this portion also via Bill Smith, W5USM, DXLD] Other Amateur Radio-Related Actions at WRC-03 WRC-03 delegates also agreed to an extensive rewrite of Article 25 of the Radio Regulations, which defines the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services. Article 25 had included a requirement that an amateur applicant ``shall prove that he is able to send correctly by hand and to receive correctly by ear texts in Morse code signals`` but permitted administrations to waive the requirement for operation for ``stations making use exclusively of frequencies above 30 MHz.`` The reworded Article 25.5 now says, ``Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a license to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to send and receive texts in Morse code signals.`` Sumner said edits to the Article 25 rewrite -- including the Morse issue -- continued right up to the proposal`s first reading in the Plenary. That included agreement upon a Canadian proposal to replace the word ``prove`` with the word ``demonstrate.`` The practical difference is that the wording change now leaves it up to radiocommunication regulatory bodies in each country to determine if they wish to require a Morse code test for amateur applicants. Some US observers predict that the revised wording of 25.5 will spark a flurry of petitions for rule making to the FCC to eliminate Element 1, the 5 WPM Morse code examination, as a requirement for HF operation. An additional Article 25 change calls on administrations to verify ``the operational and technical qualifications`` of amateur applicants, using ITU Radiocommunication Sector Recommendation M.1544 as guidance. Other revisions permit international communication on behalf of third parties only in case of emergencies and disaster relief, but it leaves up to administrations to determine the applicability of the provision to amateur stations under their jurisdiction. In addition, an administration may determine whether or not to permit those granted an amateur license by another administration to operate an amateur station while that licensee is temporarily in its territory, ``subject to such conditions or restrictions it may impose.`` A more detailed explanation of these and other Article 25 changes is included in the article ``New Regulations for the Amateur Services,`` by Michael Owen, VK3KI, a member of the IARU team at Geneva, is available on the IARU Web site http://www.iaru.org/rel030703att3.html In other Amateur Radio-related items, WRC-03 okayed revisions to Article 19 of the Radio Regulations to provide more flexibility for administrations to assign amateur call signs. Administrations will be able to assign amateur stations call signs with suffixes containing up to four characters -- the last of which would be a letter. The prefix would be the national identifier and a single numeral (the ``call district`` in some countries) specified in the Radio Regulations. For special events, the revision provides for even more than four characters for temporary use. Delegates also provided a secondary allocation for satellite-borne synthetic aperture radars (SARs) within the 70-cm band (432-438 MHz), subject to limitations designed to protect the Amateur and Amateur- Satellite services, among others. A ceremonial signing of the Final Acts of the Conference is set for the afternoon of July 4. Articles 19 and 25 take effect on July 5, 2003. In general, the other Final Acts take effect on January 1, 2005. Planning Under Way for Next WRC Planning already is under way for the next WRC, tentatively planned to be held in 2007. Two items of significance to the Amateur Service are on the WRC-07 agenda being recommended by WRC-03 to the ITU Council. The first calls for a review of ``the allocations to all services in the HF bands between 4 MHz and 10 MHz`` with a number of exclusions, including the band 7000 to 7200 kHz that WRC-03 just reviewed. Since spectrum requirements for HF broadcasting are among the factors to be taken into account, this item either could present a threat to 7200 to 7300 kHz, or it could provide an opportunity for further realignment. ``For both reasons it merits our close attention,`` Sumner said in his final report from WRC-03. ``Unfortunately, the agenda item does not include a clear `pointer` toward the desirability of trying to complete the [7 MHz] realignment.`` The second item would ``consider a secondary allocation to the Amateur Service in the frequency band 135.7-137.8 kHz.`` The low-frequency allocation is in the common table of frequency allocations used by European administrations, and Canada has been pressing for such an allocation in the international Table. Earlier this year, the FCC went along with objections from utility companies that use the band for power line carrier (PLC) communication and denied a sliver allocation at 136 kHz to amateurs. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, Mike Terry, DX LISTENING DIGEST) INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AGREES EXPANDED AIRWAVE AL[location?] By JONATHAN FOWLER, Associated Press Writer GENEVA (AP) -- Negotiators at an international conference have agreed to allocate more of the world's airwaves to wireless Internet users, U.S. and European Union officials said Wednesday. The 180-nation World Radiocommunication Conference, which sets the standards for countries' use of airwaves, decided to expand by 455 megahertz space available to wireless local area networks, or WLANs. Final approval is expected before the meeting ends Friday. The decision will be a particular boost for Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, a type of radio technology used for WLANs, a spokesman for the U.S. delegation to the conference told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Wi-Fi -- which is like an advanced version of a baby monitor or a cordless telephone -- lets a broadband Internet connection be shared by several computers, generally in a short range. Wi-Fi "hot spots," or cable-free access points, have sprung up in offices, cafes, airports and hotels around the world. Most governments do not require Wi-Fi and other WLAN operators to have a license, but authorities worldwide recognize that frequency guidelines are needed and should be brokered by the U.N. telecommunications agency, the International Telecommunication Union. Earlier, the U.S. delegation said in a statement that without agreement "the world's airwaves could quickly become a chaotic jumble of competing and interfering signals." Most Wi-Fi networks operate in the 2.4 gigahertz range on the world's airwaves -- or spectrum -- which is largely unregulated by governments and was not under discussion at the conference. However, the latest Wi-Fi technology uses the 5 gigahertz spectrum, which is expected to dominate in the future -- something that pushed policy-makers to discuss it, officials said. Under the deal, WLAN operators will be able to offer services in two frequency bands, 5150-5350 and 5470-5725 megahertz. WLANs in the United States currently operate in the 5150-5350 and 5725-5825 megahertz bands, while the EU allows them in the 5470-5725 megahertz band. Most EU governments restrict outdoor WLAN use -- which can be as simple as taking a laptop onto a balcony -- fearing it can interfere with radar, aircraft navigation systems and earth-sensing satellites. Under a compromise deal agreed at the conference, in exchange for expanded frequency options, countries are asked to ensure that most WLANs operate indoors. EU officials said they were happy with the agreement. More than 20 million people are expected to be using WLANs worldwide by 2007, officials from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said. Global sales of WLAN technology are increasing fast, from US$1.1 billion in 2001 to a predicted US$5.2 billion by 2005. Because WLANs bypass traditional cables, they are seen as an ideal solution for Internet access for isolated communities and people in poor countries who have never been linked to the telephone network. U.S. officials noted that a Wi-Fi system is used by 7,600 American Indians scattered across San Diego County, California, to document and preserve their cultural and linguistic heritage. On the slopes of Mount Everest, fees paid by climbers to access a WLAN weather information and emergency service fund trash collection and pay for Internet access in several Nepalese schools. The agreement also is expected to reduce confusion for traveling wireless users because frequencies will be standard in different countries. Separately, conference participants also are expected to increase the allocation of frequencies in the 14,000-14,500 megahertz band to airlines that want to offer their passengers inflight e-mail and other Internet services. In 2002 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certified Boeing's Connexion wireless service. The certification was the first of its kind for a broadband network linking satellite and ground networks to commercial aircraft during flight, Boeing said. On Wednesday, Scandinavian Airlines Systems said it had signed a contract with Boeing to install Connexion aboard its planes. German airline Lufthansa also signed a similar deal (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ GRUNDIG S350 After a few hours of using a borrowed Grundig S350 I can say I did like the receiver a lot. For the price (about $100 USA) it delivers excellent performance considering its limitations. By juggling the RF gain and BW switch you can ferret out elusive signals on both MW and SW, it does take some practice. I did find that even a relatively short antenna (60 feet) was too much and the overload / image problem got out of hand. It is a single conversion receiver and is also strictly analog with a digital display. Sensitivity is high and remains so right up through the CB band at 27 MHz. This single conversion "analog" mode does result in some slight inaccuracy in the readout but for casual DXing and SWLing it is not a factor. There is no user adjustable "zeroing" control. Separate treble and bass tone controls allow you to adjust the audio to your preference and also minimize noise response to some limited extent. The filtering is adequate and the BW switch does have some effect in reducing adjacent channel strong signals. The IF skirts are probably a bit shallow, however cost is a factor here. After all, it's not a Drake R8B! The fixed AGC is OK but could be a little faster, but that is a personal opinion and it does work fine holding signals well in check from blasting. FM reception was fine on our locals and the AFC is switchable, a big help in DXing. I did not care for the "PAL" connector on the FM antenna input but an "F" adapter is available. There are spring clips for the AM/SW antenna and ground. This receiver did not outperform my Sony ICF-S5W but then I have never found a portable yet that does. What is does do is give great value for the price and a fine addition to anyone's shack as a back-up or travel companion although at well over 4 pounds with four "D" batteries it is not light! The supplied 6 volt AC adapter creates some slight hum, barely noticeable. The radio does have a constant low level audio "hiss" which is not uncommon on many of these Chinese imports and does not detract from the general overall usefulness of the receiver. I liked it and would seriously consider buying one if I didn't have my Sony ICF-S5W. There are supposed to be two other models of higher pricing under another brand name, one for $150 and one for $200 but I have no information on them at this time. 73 and Aloha, (Chuck Boehnke, Keaau, Hawaii, June 29, IRCA via DXLD) Faint praise. Later: Thanks to all of you who commented on my somewhat casual review of the Grundig S350. There is one additional point I want to make regarding the tuning mechanism on the receiver. The 350 is single conversion and uses a "dial cord" set up to tune the variable capacitors, a step back in time. The digital readout extracts further down the line and is dependent on the dial mechanism being tight and backlash free. I do wonder how this will hold up with continual use. Also the knob tuning shaft is of the coaxial or as they call it "concentric" type whereas the outer rim of the knob is for fast tuning and the inner for fine tuning. If the shafts become misaligned or bent there could be problems in tuning. I would also question the longevity of such an arrangement. We did find some friction in the shafts and the very sparse application of a graphite lubricant did wonders in freeing the shafts up. All in all I still feel this radio is an excellent value and with care in handling should give good service for years. But, don't take it to the beach! 73 and Aloha from the Big Island, (Chuck Boehnke, Keaau, Hawaii, ibid.) NOSTALGIE RÖHRENRADIO An amusing fake valve radio spotted by Andrew Tett`s wife Carmen in a German catalogue. Andrew says ``If you look carefully, you can see that someone has gone to the trouble of making some not quite convincing ``valves`` that actually glow! I suspect that it looks less convincing in real life!``. Source: http://www.weltbild.de (David Morris, Open to Discussion, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Maybe no longer available; I spent a while searching for it at above site without success. Evidently it is a funxional radio (gh, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAVE OUR SHORTWAVE FROM MASSIVE INTERFERENCE - STOP BPL/PLC Full details are here; http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2003/06/19/2/?nc=1 Comments are due on or before July 7, 2003. The FCC now is accepting electronically filed comments via its Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi In the "Proceeding" field, enter "03-104" and complete the required fields. Comments may be typed into a form or you may attach a file containing your comments. Many good comments have been filed, some you may like to review are here; (links may have line wrapped - cut and paste in two parts) IEEE comment http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514283353 North American Shortwave Association http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514282987 Ham - good overview http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514156997 Aura communications http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514282951 Amherst Alliance http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514147416 More information on this issue can be found at: http://www.eham.net/articles/5769 (From Rob Kemp on alt.radio.broadcasting via Mike Terry, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 02 - 28 JULY 2003 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels during the period. Region 397 may develop M-class potential early in the period. Activity for the remainder of the period is expected to be very low to low. No greater than 10 MeV proton events at geosynchronous orbit are expected during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 02 – 03 July, 06 – 08 July, 12 – 14 July, 16 – 18 July, and again on 20 – 28 July due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. Minor storm levels are possible on 03 - 07 July, and again on 18 – 20 July due to smaller recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. Unsettled to major storm levels are possible on 14– 16 July due to small but intense coronal hole high speed stream. A larger southern coronal hole is due to return on 23 July, and could produce major storm levels possible. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jul 01 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 Jul 01 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jul 02 130 15 3 2003 Jul 03 135 15 3 2003 Jul 04 140 20 4 2003 Jul 05 145 20 4 2003 Jul 06 150 25 5 2003 Jul 07 155 25 5 2003 Jul 08 155 20 4 2003 Jul 09 150 15 3 2003 Jul 10 145 12 3 2003 Jul 11 135 25 5 2003 Jul 12 130 20 4 2003 Jul 13 120 15 3 2003 Jul 14 120 40 6 2003 Jul 15 120 40 6 2003 Jul 16 115 20 4 2003 Jul 17 115 12 3 2003 Jul 18 115 20 4 2003 Jul 19 115 15 3 2003 Jul 20 115 20 4 2003 Jul 21 115 25 5 2003 Jul 22 115 20 4 2003 Jul 23 120 20 4 2003 Jul 24 125 30 5 2003 Jul 25 125 30 5 2003 Jul 26 130 25 5 2003 Jul 27 130 20 4 2003 Jul 28 130 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1189, DXLD) ARNIE CORO'S DXERS UNLIMITED'S HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST HF propagation conditions continue to suffer from almost permanent high speed solar wind plasma disrupting the Earth's magnetosphere. Those of you located at higher latitudes have certainly gone trough really tough times because the higher the latitude the worse the effects of the geomagnetic disturbances Sunspot number reaching 160, at the same time that the 10.7 centimeter yardstick solar flux is hovering around 130 units. According to Cuban solar expert Ángel González Coroas, there is one active sunspot group of interest, but solar activity is expected in general to start going down as the 27 day subcycle continues. Expect good local nighttime propagation in the frequency range between 10 and 16 megaHertz. Stations operating between 5 and 10 megaHertz will experience higher atmospheric noise levels, making reception more difficult. So radio amateur should enjoy nice evening contacts on 30 and 20 meters, while the 40 meter band will provide DX later in the evening. No really big solar flares are expected for the moment. Low band VHF should benefit from more sporadic E layer openings (Prof. Arnaldo Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 1, via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) CUMBRE PROPAGATION REPORT Solar wind speed was elevated early in the week due to coronal hole effects, causing geomagnetic disturbances. In fact a lot of reports on the various groups about some spectacular double hop Sporadic E propagation giving FM paths over the north Pacific and also some DX down here in Australia. Solar wind speed gradually declined about July 1; before that the geomagnetic field was at anything up to major storm levels causing major propagation difficulties. One M3 flare on Jul 2 is the only recent thing to report on that front with a fadeout over the broad Asian region. Current solar wind speed is quite low however with a negative bias, so far not badly impacting the ionosphere. This may change with a warning posted until Jul 6 for disturbed conditions, after that it is hoped things will calm until about next weekend, though quiet conditions are difficult to pick due to elevated background geomagnetic activity due to frequency of coronal hole wind streams indicative of declining phase of solar cycle. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, July 3, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) What`s going on here; even non-Americans were getting ahead of the 4th of July; RN also issued its programme previews early. Around 0600 UT July 4, I found that 15 and 17 MHz (but not 21) were wide open, pretty much from all continents (gh, DXLD) NEW Es FM DX WORLD RECORD? If it is eventually verified that Paul Logan (Lisnaskea, North Ireland) actually received 97.5 MHz WFRY, Watertown, New York, USA, a new world record for FM via Es has been achieved. The great circle distance from Lisnaskea, North Ireland to Watertown, New York, USA is 3,050 miles (4,912 km). This beats the current Es world record by 110 miles. Watertown Lat 43 59' N Long 76 1' W Lisnaskea Lat 54 15' N Long 7 27 W Lisnaskea, N. Ireland to Watertown, NY, USA 3,050 miles (4,912 km). Lisnaskea, N. Ireland to Maine, USA: 2732 miles (4400 km). http://www.froggy97.com/ 73, (Todd Emslie, Sydney, Australia, WTFDA via DXLD) The numerous reports of stations as far away as Puerto Rico, from southern Brasil appear to exceed 3000 miles, but are not Es (gh, DXLD) Hi all, just received this from WFRY: ``Hi Paul, We are just a bit excited here --- that is definitely our station. We recognize two of our announcers, our voice guy, plus our "Froggy" identifier. We'll be glad to confirm this however you need us to. Thanks! Michael Ring, CE`` As you can all imagine, I am pleased as punch! Distance from Lisnaskea, N. Ireland to Watertown NY is 3049 miles! Now if only WALK could get in contact --- it looks very very likely there was the other signal on 97.5 caught on the brief tape with the reference to the Hamptons. Nothing forthcoming yet, but if something does come back that crazy number will rise to 3071 miles! I can`t begin to thank all those who listened to the recording and made identification of this signal much easier. Give yourselves a collective pat on the back. Regards for now --- and here`s hoping for more, (Paul Logan, Lisnaskea, N. Ireland. July 2, Location: 54 15 N, 7 27 W in IO64GF, WTFDA via DXLD, WORLD OF RADIO 1189) Low VHF Skip and Scanner page http://www.geocities.com/yogi540 ### ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-117, July 1, 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/dxldtd3g.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 1188: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445, 15039 WWCR: Wed 1030 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/wor1188.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1188.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1188h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1188h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1188.html FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1189: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039, 7445 Sun 0030 on WINB 12160 WORLD OF RADIO BY TELEPHONE Dear Glenn, it is just past 2200 on Wednesday, and I began to listen to WOR on WBCQ, but reception is not good enough to warrant my continuing, considering the other opportunities I have to hear the program. Still, I heard you ask about the 206 phone number on which WOR can be heard. Here is your answer. I had, in fact, planned to write to you about this, but had decided to wait until this week's edition aired. This is a system called Laser Voice. You can get a free Laser Box number by calling: 206-376-5000 This is basically a mailbox. You have to listen to a brief commercial when retrieving your messages. Otherwise the system is free. It is my understanding that the outgoing message can be up to 45 minutes long, while incoming messages are limited to 1 minute or so, and you can have up to 20 of them. I have a Laser Box: 206-376-8456 I do not know how the system is funded, or why it exists. I know the person who has put up WOR at this number: 206-333-5096 He is a blind guy who used to live in Miami, and who now lives in Minneapolis. His name is Joybubbles. That is not merely a handle, he has legally changed his name to Joybubbles. Obviously, he used to have another name, but he does not reveal it to those who did not know him before. I do not know the explanation of why he changed his name. Joy Bubbles (written as one, pronounced as two) is a good guy, a fan of shortwave and a fan of World of Radio. He has done this in order to further the knowledge of shortwave and of your program. If you wish to leave him a message, dial the afore-mentioned number, press pound, and leave a message. Joybubbles is taking his feed from something called the Mobile Broadcast Network, out of Nashville. You can check them out on their web site, or I can give you phone numbers for them. MBN is, I guess, a service intended to deliver radio programs to people's cell phones. It is free, but difficult to locate any specific program unless you go to their web site and look at their schedule, which I cannot do. In fact, I have thought of offering to tape WOR off of shortwave, at a time when I get a good signal, and help Joybubbles by feeding it to his Laser Box, but I will not make this offer if you request me not to. There is another type of shortwave bulletin board which I want to tell you about. This is run by a guy named Jim Hunt, from Pennsylvania (also blind, lots of phone freaks in the blind community). The non- toll-free, but otherwise without cost number is: 717-214-9199 Upon getting his message, immediately press 2. You will then get his menu of programs. Tim Hendel's shortwave corner is number 2. I have now done 4 programs, and I try to update it each week. These are the programs I have done so far. 1. profile of Radio for Peace International 2. Discussion of HCJB, to coincide with May 31. 3. Discussion of Glenn Hauser and World of Radio, with schedule of easiest heard broadcasts. 4. (the current one) a discussion of GMT/UTC etc. I invite you to check this out, and, publicize it if you want to. I do not know how many people are checking this, or, for that matter, how many people are checking out Joybubbles' phone site. I envision my shortwave corner on the Jim Hunt board is being for those with little or no experience with shortwave (Tim Hendel, AL, June 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NETS TO YOU July 1 edition: http://www.worldofradio.com/nets2you.html ** AFRICA. Africalist is now updated: http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist/ 20 kb zipped .xls-file with (almost) all subsaharan SW activities sorted by frequency and by country (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 4950, Rádio Nacional da Angola bommed [boomed? bombed?] all night June 30 till 0230 on all5s, commercial format, many mentions of Luanda, Radio Nacional, 0200 Jornal (Radio Informações) (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2310, VL8A 1840-2100 UT June 27 with country music, long interview dedicated on the influence of video and TV on children, then country music again. IDs heard ``ABC-News``, ``ABC-Weather update``, ``Country radio``, one jingle was with didgeridoo. Audibility was poor at the start of the reception (2/3 332 2/3), but became much much better at the end (5/4 545 5/4 at 2055)!!! This is my first time, when I heard Australia on 120 mb. // 2325 // 2485 but worse. 2325 appeared at 1925 and was heard till 2125 and 2485 started to appear at some 1945 and with a worse quality of all of them. June 28: 2485 Australia, VL8K, OM/YL weak 24322 at 1835 till 2105. Just trace // 2325 at 1855. Nothing heard on 2310! (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA [and non]. It appears that the very last ROI programme (in order of first transmission, i.e. replays not considered) was "Kompass" from 1804 to 1815. Recording of the closing announcement, in fact ROI's farewell: http://kailudwig.bei.t-online.de/roi_ende.mp3 It is quite an irony that this happens exactly ten years after the former DT64 [GERMANY] (at this time already renamed into MDR Sputnik) left MW 1044 and herewith the airwaves completely, only to go to the dogs afterwards, and so I personally consider the mediumwave switch- off as the actual death of DT64. The last six minutes: http://www.radioeins.de/meta//sendungen/apparat/030628_A3.ram [Later:] Very last ROI ID from 2157 til 2200, slowly faded out and over to Ö1 Mitternachtsjournal, finally 6155 was cut off abruptly after Mitternachtsjournal closing announcement at 2208. Abrupt carrier cut, just like it was the case on another frequency ten years ago... (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ---Ursprüngliche Nachricht--- From: "Wolf Harranth" Subject: Adieu - der letzte Tag bei ROI (lang) 08:30 - Noch etwas müde (wir sind gestern erst am späten Abend von der Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen zurückgekommen) im Funkhaus eingetroffen. 10:30 - Nach zwei Stunden sind der Kastenwagen und der Kombi entladen. Auf dem Flur stapeln sich die Schachteln und Boxen. Wir haben schätzungsweise 200.000 Karten aus knapp 60 Konvoluten übernommen. Heute ist der heißeste Tag des Jahres. Das Thermometer zeigt 36 Grad im Schatten an. Alle sind am Packen. Der letzte Büroraum muss noch diese Woche besenrein übergeben werden. Das Problem: Einige haben an ihrem neuen Arbeitsplatz noch keine Bleibe. Marianne Veit, zum Beispiel, unsere Produzentin. Sie räumt die Schränke leer. Da steigen mit jedem Ordner, mit jeder Mappe, mit jedem Bild Erinnerungen auf. Aufheben? Aber wo? Wegwerfen? Unmöglich. Die letzte Gelegenheit, aus dem System Dateien zu speichern. "Hotline" schaffen wir komplett, Aufatmen: Alle Sendungen auf CD konserviert. Bei "Intermedia" schaffen wir nur das Jahr 2002. Daumen halten, dass der Server nicht schon morgen abgewürgt sein wird. Zwischendurch kommen die letzten verbliebenen Mitarbeiter(innen) und fragen: Wie war's? Wir erzählen vom Hörertreffen, von den schmerzlichen Abschieden am Stand. Robert Theiler berichtet, dass pro Tag 200 Mails empörter Hörer eintreffen, die nun ihren Seewetterbericht nicht mehr bekommen. Wir lesen Mails. Ein Hörer: Als wir begonnen hatten, war er gerade drei Jahre alt. Ein anderer: Als junger Mensch 1960 zu uns gestoßen, wir sind "ein Teil seines Tages und Lebens" geworden. Ein österreichischer Missionar aus Brasilien, für den wir der einzige Kontakt zur Heimat waren... Die APA hat eine Adieu-Meldung gebracht, zwei Tageszeitungen übernehmen sie: Wir sind kein Thema mehr. 12:00 Mittagspause. Johannes Stuhlpfarrer hat nur wenig Zeit. Er muss noch die aktuellen Nachrichten ins Netz stellen. Unsere Website ist bereits gewaltig abgemagert, aber wir haben uns vorgenommen, bis zum bitteren Ende ordentliche Arbeit zu liefern. Johannes ist ab morgen arbeitslos - einer der "freien" Mitarbeiter, die auf der Strecke bleiben. - Gerhard Hoyer (der für unseren Internetauftritt sorgt) wurde überraschend aufgefordert, ein Projekt zu beginnen, das mehrere Tage in Anspruch nehmen würde. Aber: in fünf Stunden fährt er zum letzten Mal den Rechner herunter; auch er ist ab morgen arbeitslos. - Sabrina Adlbrecht, hören wir, hat doch noch eine Aufgabe im ORF erhalten. Auch sie war eines der Opfer. Jetzt darf sie als Karenzaushilfe noch ein paar Monate bleiben... 12:45 Zurück in die Redaktion, den Maurern und Malern ausweichend: Schon werden unsere Studios und Redaktionsräume für die künftige Verwendung adaptiert. 17:00 Ich stehe da, den Karton mit den QSLs von OE1M in den Händen. Die Hörerbetreuung macht dicht, übergibt die "Erbmassse" Wohin damit? Die Aufkleber für die Abschieds-Bestätigung sind noch nicht eingetroffen. Ich kann die Schachtel quer über den Flur in die Räume der QSL COLLECTION bringen. Aber ab morgen ist ROI für die Poststelle nicht mehr existent. Na ja, zum Glück gibt's ja Postämter. Und für die vielen treuen Hörer, die aufs Rückporto "vergessen" haben oder die deutsche Briefmarken beilgelegt haben, werden wir eben aus unserem Taschengeld das Porto beisteuern. 18:30 Christiane Eichberger, die das Sekretriat betreut, geht stumm, nur mit einem Kopfnicken, an uns vorbei. Ein einziges Wort würde sie aus der mühsam gewahrten Balance bringen. Kollegin Tosegi packt den Wasserkocher ein. Den haben wir immer gemeinsam benutzt, daher blieb er uns auch nach Einstellung der Esperanto-Sendungen erhalten. Gerhard Hoyer bedankt sich bei mir für die gute Zusammenarbeit; er habe eine Menge gelernt. Er, der so viele unbezahlte und unbedankte Stunden in unseren Intermedia- und Hotline-Auftritt investiert hat, bedankt sich bei _mir!_ Der Kerl spinnt. Ich schulde _ihm_ Dank. Da kommen wir eben darauf zu sprechen, wie wir all die Zeit miteinander umgegangen sind: Wie selbstverständlich wir uns die Arbeit geteilt haben, all die Jahre ohne ein einziges lautes Wort! Jetzt hängt Marianne die letzten Bilder ab; da druckst es auch sie. Kein Brief, kein E-Mail von der Generaldirektion, von der Hörfunkdirektion. Unser Chefredakteur auf Dienstreise in seiner neuen Funktion. Niemand da, der Adieu sagt. Wir lassen nicht die Gläser kreisen, denn wir wollen uns am Wochenende noch einmal treffen, alle, die dazu gehört haben, privat natürlich. Es ist ein Abend, wie jeder anderer: Der letzte dreht das Licht aus und sperrt zu. Und in ein paar Stunden wird die Automatik (hoffentlich) Ö1 zuschalten, wenn bisher eines unserer Programme kam. Abschiedsworte oder irgendwas dergleichen sind nicht geplant. Ich habe in Friedrichshafen Baldur Drobnica DJ6SI interviewt. Das war meine letzte Aktion für ROI. Ich speichere zum letzten Mal eine Datei ab, fahre zum letzten Mal die Software runter. - Im Unterschied zu den anderen werde ich, der Pensionist, morgen wieder ins Funkhaus kommen, nun aber definitiv auf die andere Seite des Flures, dorthin, wo die QSL COLLECTION residiert. Ich weiss noch nicht, wie die Infrastruktur funktionieren wird (von der Eintragung im Telefonbuch bis zum Leeren der Papierkörbe...), aber das wird sich weisen. Jedenfalls ist dies, wenngleich nur ein halber Abschied, doch einer. Ich rechne ein bisschen nach: Februar 1946 bis Juni 2003, das macht knapp 57 Jahre. Davon fast 33, mehr als mein halbes Leben, beim Auslandsdienst. Und jetzt steh ich halt so da und hab den Schlüssel in der Hand und mach den Laden dicht. Denn ich bin der Letzte. Und der Letzte macht das Licht aus. Danke, Euch allen, von uns allen. 73 de Wolf Einmal noch, eh ich's lösche: -------- Wolf Harranth ORF-Radio Österreich International Redaktion Computer und Medien A-1040 Wien, Argentinierstr. 30A Fon +43-1-501 01-160 71 Fax +43-1-501 01-160 56 Mailbox +43-1-501 01-160 70 wolf.harranth@orf.at http://roi.orf.at (A-DX via Kai Ludwig and Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, with sadness - after (personal) 46 years of "Radio Oesterreich" listening, part of my life ... 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. RADIO AUSTRIA INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES NEW ENGLISH SCHEDULE Radio Austria International has published the new schedule of its English service that takes effect tomorrow, 1 July. The 15-minute report from Austria will be broadcast Mon-Fri in target area as follows (all times UTC): 1215-1230 to Asia and Australia on 21780 kHz 1245-1300 to Europe on 6155 and 13730 kHz and Asia/Australia on 21780 kHz 1510-1525 and 1540-1555 to W No. America on 15515 kHz via Sackville 2315-2330 and 2345-2400 to Latin America on 9870 and 13730 kHz 0115-0130 and 0145-0200 to E No. America on 9870 kHz Insight Central Europe is broadcast on Sat/Sun in the target area as follows (all times UTC): 0505 (repeated 0535) Sun only to the Middle East on 17870 kHz 1205 (repeated 1235) to Europe on 6155 and 13730 kHz and Asia/Australia on 21780 kHz 1505 (repeated 1535) to W No. America on 15515 kHz via Sackville 2305 (repeated 2335) to Latin America on 9870 and 13730 kHz 0105 (repeated 0135) to E No. America on 9870 kHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 30 June 2003 via DXLD) English confirmed on 15515 Sackville July 1: after German, at 1509 usual IS, 1510 three minutes of news, 1513 Report from Austria on human trafficking. And the same thing started over at 1540. Wouldn`t it be more useful to spread out the repeats more? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ROI website says that Report from Austria is now for Asia and Australia is at 1215 and 1245 on 21780 Monday to Friday. For America- West via Sackville at 1510 and 1540 on 15515. For Latin America at 2315 and 2345 on 9870 and 13730 Tuesday to Saturday. For America East at 0115 and 0145 on 9870. On the weekend Insight Central Europe goes on to Latin America Sundays and Mondays at 2305, repeated 2335 on 9870 and 13730. For listeners in America East Sundays and Mondays at 0105, repeated at 0135 on 9870. For listeners in Europe Saturdays and Sundays at 1205 and 1235 on 6155 and 13730. The same broadcast times apply to Asia and Australia. Listeners in America West can hear the programme Saturday and Sunday at 1505 and again at 1535 on 15515. For listeners in the Middle East it is broadcast Saturday and Sunday 0505 and 0535 on 17870. The Monday to Friday Report from Austria is broadcast to Europe only once at 1245 on 6155 and 13730. The My Music programme on Sundays broadcast its last edition on June 29th (Mike Barraclough, UK, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. ¿Radio_Austria_Internacional_vuelve_en_enero_de_2004? Estimados amigos: El 29 de junio Radio Austria Internacional emitió por última vez el "Buzón de la Despedida" (su nombre habitual era "Buzón Internacional") con la conducción de Jaime Carbonell y Manuel Aletrino quienes fueron los primeros en inaugurarlo hace 28 años. La emisión consistió en un repaso histórico con registros sonoros de la década de los años '70 con programas tales como Austrología, Divertimento, Carrusel de Melodías, Buzón Internacional, Mundo DX... haciendo referencia a todos los locutores y técnicos que pasaron por la sección española de ORF. Al responder las últimas cartas, Manuel Aletrino dijo: "...Y se habla de que a partir del 1 de enero del año que viene, 2004, habrá un programa diario en español de pocos minutos, de momento estamos en cinco minutos, pero a partir del 1 de enero, hasta el momento... todo puede cambiar a lo mejor antes, o sea que no se olviden de nuestras direcciones ni de nuestras frecuencias...". Jaime Carbonell se despidió diciendo: "Hasta siempre estimados amigos y sino, hasta el primero de enero del año dos mil cuatro". De modo amigos que un cierre con esperanzas no es tan doloroso. Es cuestión de no perder la capacidad de asombro, en realidad en eso consiste nuestra afición por la radio a distancia. Sigamos luchando por la permanencia del español por onda corta!. Hoy 30 de junio: ULTIMO PROGRAMA DE RADIO AUSTRIA INTERNACIONAL. Que tengan buena sintonía y no olviden de grabarlo. Saludos cordiales. (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, A R G E N T I N A, DX LISTENING DIGEST) El anunciado programa final del Servicio en Español de ORF Radio Austria Internacional para el 30 de junio no ha sido emitido; en su lugar a las 2330 UT en 13730 se transmitió un programa en idioma alemán con música de concierto pero a las 0030 UT en 9870 ya no había señales de ORF en ningún idioma. De manera que debe tomarse el día 29 de junio de 2003 como fecha del cierre de la emisora austríaca en idioma español. Como ya informé anteriormente, en dicha oportunidad los conductores Jaime Carbonell y Manuel Aletrino se despidieron con el programa especial "Buzón de la Despedida". (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voici le message qui est apparu quelques jours sur le site web de Radio Autriche Internationale, avant la fermeture du service français: "A partir du 1er juillet 2003 le service français de Radio Autriche Internationale n'existera plus. Le conseil de surveillance de l'ORF a été obligé de fermer les services en langues étrangères de Radio Autriche Internationale, puisque le gouvernement a cessé le paiement des services en langues étrangères. Le service français n'est pas le seul concerné, le service espagnol disparaît complètement et le service arabe a été fermé il y a quelque temps. Pour le rédacteur en chef Michael Kerbler, il est impossible de faire des pronostics en ce qui concerne le retour du français sur les ondes. Il faudrait pour cela d'une part que le gouvernement décide de financer à nouveau des programmes en langues étrangères et que la situation financière de l'ORF s'améliore de telle façon qu'une reprise des programme soit facile. Ces deux facteurs n'étant pour l'instant pas réunis il est trés difficile de prédire la date d'un retour du français sur les ondes. Mais l'ORF maintiendra les fréquences, et diffusera dans un premier temps des programmes culturels, Ö1 le service intérieur de l'ORF, qui comporte également un flash d'informations en français. Michael Kerbler est formel : Nous voulons assurer qu'au moins en Europe les autrichiens qui parlent l'allemand puissent recevoir les programmes en provenance d'Autriche." Le programme qui était diffusé sur WRN sera remplacé (NDR : probablement jusqu'à la nouvelle saison) par un programme de la SRC, Société Radio-Canada (WRN - 30 juin 2003) (les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. NEW LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR TV, RADIO BROADCASTING Azerbaijan's National Council for Television and Radio adopted on 25 June regulations on the use of the state language (Azerbaijani) in television and radio broadcasts, Turan reported. The council ruled that a minimum of 75 percent of all programs, announcements, and advertisements on both state-controlled and privately owned television and radio stations must be in Azerbaijani. It also stipulated that announcers and moderators must speak fluent and well-articulated Azerbaijani. The council further ruled that all television and radio stations must cover news developments of "national and special state importance." ("RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June via RFE/RL Media Matters June 30 via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. 4983, Belorussia with a Belorussian station (Stalica?) in SSB at 1420 June 29, interview - Belorussian language from studio, answers in Russian from a central park of Minsk, 44544 (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4760, Radio Guanay June 29 at 2330-0200, weak 24322, news or political comment at 0120 (mentioned Presidente, La Paz), 0130 Jingle-like shots, but ID wasn't heard, 0150 clear ID ``GU--A--NAY`` QRM: Radio Liberty in Farsi, Guanay audio worsened because of it at 0130 (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Brasil Central (Goiânia); 6-29-03; 4985 kHz; 0725- 0815 UT; Portuguese; light traditional-sounding format; ID "Rádio Brasil Central" at 0805; SINPO 44131; Icom R71A with dipole for 60 meters; (John Sandin; Merriam, KS. DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Em mais um trabalho voluntário em prol do dexismo brasileiro, o biólogo Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), dispensou algum tempo para entrar em contato com a direção da Rádio Nacional, de Tabatinga (AM). Apurou que a emissora não mais reativará a freqüência de 4815 kHz. O diretor Francisco informou que a emissora já foi oficialmente repassada pela Radiobrás para a Prefeitura daquele Município. Os únicos planos da estação são a mudança de freqüência em OM e aumento de potência. BRASIL - Uma boa dica para quem deseja ouvir a Rádio Bandeirantes, de São Paulo (SP), é visitar, antes, o sítio da emissora, na Internet. Clicando no ícone "programação completa", ficará sabendo os nomes dos programas que irão ao ar, em seguida. E mais: quais os assuntos que serão abordados. Então, basta acessar: http://www.radiobandeirantes.com.br BRASIL - Depois de algum tempo fora do ar, Mascarenhas de Moraes voltou a animar as manhãs da Rádio Senado, pela freqüência de 5990 kHz. O programa do veterano apresentador agora se chama O Senado é mais Brasil. Traz informações sobre as principais ações dos senadores, além de prestar serviços às populações sertanejas e ribeirinhas do Brasil, conforme dica de Ramon Aragão, de Barreiras (BA). (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX June 29 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Radio Bulgaria English DX programme is heard during the transmissions Fridays 2100 on 5800 7500, Sundays 0630 on 11600 13600 and 1130 on 11700 15700 (Allen Dean, UK, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** CANADA. It`s all about the AM-to-FM moves. In Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the FM transmitter is in place and on the air at CJLS, which will run its old 1340 and its new 95.5 in parallel for a few weeks before turning off the widely-heard AM signal for good. CJLS keeps its existing rebroadcasters on 93.5 and 96.5 in Digby and Shelburne to supplement the new FM signal. At the other end of the island, CJFX in Antigonish turns off its AM 580 signal today after several months of simulcasting on the newly higher-powered FM 98.9. (CJFX had been operating 98.9 as a low-power relay for several years before gaining CRTC permission to boost the FM to 75 kW and shut down its AM signal.) We hear CJFX held a contest with its listeners to determine exactly what time to shut off AM 580; we guess "5:80" isn't a valid choice, is it? And that's it for another week. A happy Canada Day to our readers up north and a happy and safe Independence Day to those of you on this side of the border --- and we'll see you after the festivities are all over! (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch June 30 via DXLD) ! Nova Scotia has apparently broken off from the Canadian mainland!! No, Antigonish is not on Cape Breton (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. 15285 and 21660 both BBC Mandarin, I guess, new jamming type --- YES new terrible JAMMING, heard now the second day. Hi Glenn, 15285 yesterday June 30, 1240-1255 UT, I came across an unknown mode of Chinese language program, sounds like - a combination of - five fast echo signals of same program content repeated, - but DELAYED, by 5 times in a second. Listen to the attached recording. Parallel 11945 was NOT audible here in EUR, but 21660 had a similar Chinese word talking program. 15285 1100-1530 BBC Singapore 100 13 MANDARIN FE HR 4/2/0.75 21660 1100-1300 BBC Nakhon Sawan 250 25 MANDARIN CHN HR 4/4/0.5 July 1st: Heard the same type of five echos, seemingly produced on the server PC, today July 1st in BBC Mandarin program 1230-1300 UT on both 21660 and 15285 kHz. So I think, this is a new type of CHINESE Mainland jamming. At present in 1300-1400 UT time span, I note the same JAMMING on various VoA Mandarin and Cantonese channels, like: 9780, 11665, 11785, 11805, 11865, 11875, 11900, 11925, 11965, 11990, 12040, and 13735 kHz. 73 de wolfy (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. 6030, Congo-Kinshasa, Radio Okapi, June 29 2335-0130 with music nonstop and song-like IDs ``Okapi, Okapi, Okapi``, 54455, later a bit worse, because of Radio Martí + Cuban jammer appeared (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. RADIO CANDIP IN BUNIA CURRENTLY UNHEARD ON SHORTWAVE Radio Candip, broadcasting from the town of Bunia in northeastern DRCongo, has not been heard on its usual shortwave frequency (5066.3 kHz) since 27 June. It is not known whether the station continues to broadcast on its FM channel. Bunia is currently under the control of a French-led peacekeeping force. It was reported on 26 July that the leader of the peacekeeping force, Gen Jean-Paul Thonier, was considering a request from the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia group to be allowed to retain control of Radio Candip. Sources: BBC Monitoring research 27 Jun - 1 Jul 03; RTNC radio, Goma, in French 0500 gmt 26 Jun 03 (Chris Greenway, Kenya, BBCM via DXLD) ** CROATIA. Voice of Croatia in English on 1134 kHz 2215 UT in parallel with 1125 kHz. Later Spanish heard (Jouko Huuskonen, 30 Jun 2003, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Jouko's logging brought to my mind one thing. As many of you remember, there's been a mixing product of Hrvatski Radio, Croatia on 5040 for a long time. That is 6165-1125=5040. The program on 5040 used to be the same as on 6165. Recently I have noticed that 5040 carries a different program. It seems this 5040 mixing product has always been the 1125 audio. Now that 1125 has a different program, including English and Spanish, those can be heard also on 5040. Am I right? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** CUBA [non]. I`ve been catching up on missed messages, due to some unknown problem. Assuming I have found them all, I don`t see much discussion beyond the initial report, of R. Martí on 1020. A bit of additional info from my sources: Oscar de Céspedes in Miami heard R. Martí announce 1020, but hadn`t heard it himself. At another time they also mentioned new AM transmissions via the Cayman Islands, but it`s not certain if these two items are connected. I hypothesized that 1020 could be the Turks & Caicos facility, which came back on for tests a few weeks back. Another idea is that it could be the Commando Solo aircraft, which tested May 20-21, but it`s hard to see how MW from aircraft (except maybe over downtown Habana) would surpass a terrestrial site close to Cuba. Surely someone in FL can get at least a rough fix on which direxion it`s coming from. Is it still being heard? As of June 30, no mention yet of 1020 at http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_z/schedules/cur_freqsked.txt -- but then 1180 isn`t listed either! Tho the OCB SW frequencies are. A few days ago I got to the R. Marti website, and it looked normal, except I couldn`t find anything about frequency usage, but June 30 at http://www.martinoticias.com/ I get this: ``Estamos renovando nuestra página... Regresamos el 20 de Mayo`` 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, NRC-AM via DXLD) I seem to remember aN NRC directional nighttime pattern book from long, long ago (early '80s?) Which I thought showed more or less a figure-eight pattern (N/S) coming out of Marathon-1180, which surprised me at the time given its mission. Am I remembering wrong, or did they actually change pattern at some point in the last 20-25 years? Regardless, I do have them in my Chicago, IL AM logbook (November 24, 1980 at 1850 UT), having received them there once or twice. It was a quite rare visitor, suffering from co-channel Venezuela, Cuba, and Dominican Republic (and, obviously, WHAM). So it is (was?) at least POSSIBLE to receive them substantially inland (Earl Higgins, now living in St. Louis MO, June 29, IRCA via DXLD) 1850 UT? Quite a daytime catch, or did you mean local time? (gh, DXLD) Earl and IRCA Crew, Nawsir, Martí 1180 is unidirectional toward Cuba. That's a fact. Logic tells one so, too. If it were a figure-eight pattern, which is bidirectional, they be putting a strong signal out north-northwest. They are not. IBB wants all that signal into Cuba, not jamming WHAM and the other cochannels. Best I know, Martí gets heard in Cuba and so do the SWs. Just the same, Cuba spends much money trying to jam the Martí frequencies. By the way, folks, Martí`s studios are in Hialeah, Miami. Martí operates all night except Sunday 2300 to Monday 0500 ELT. Its times are announced as Cuba time. Martí is held at arm`s length by the other IBB subagencies (VOA, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, etc.) as it`s close to being a rogue agency. It`s effectively under the control of the Cuban-American community in Miami/Dade. They mostly do as they please. Which places it more or less somewhat to the right of me politically, but not too far. Cubans are a world apart politically from most "hispanics." Started as a subagency of VOA, and some carts still announce them as a service to Cuba of the VOA. But VOA to Cuba isn't jammed, and that speaks more or less to effectivity as far as the government of Cuba is concerned. I have listened 'most a zillion hours to Martí while an IBB employee. Liked the programming. Best I know, only Greenville, Delano and Marathon Transmitting Stations carry Martí programming. Getting a Martí site in a country in the Caribbean could be difficult as those countries want to keep a cozier relationship with the Bearded Terrorist Daddy. That's why I'm following the 1020 thing. For all I know, Cubans in the US are pirating 1020. More than you wanted to know. 73 de (Charlie Taylor, NC, IRCA via DXLD) My 2001 NRC pattern book shows it all [1180] going to the south. What's weird is that the FCC web site shows 1180 in Marathon, Florida is "new", with the status "granted" on 1-1-78. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=121408 (Dennis Gibson, CA, ibid.) Checking 1020 -- no Martí for the past 2 nights -- and 1530 with Mexico behind WSAI and São Tomé eludes me still... (Robert Foxworth, Tampa FL, June 30, NRC-AM via DXLD) Here near Chicago I had this under KDKA a few nights ago when it was reported here and it was looping SE. ID suspect Turks from the direction rather than Caymans but cannot be sure. 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL, June 30, ibid.) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Re: 3-116, sudden cuts at R. Prague, editor`s note: NDR : que penser ce cette information? S'il est exact que le site de WRMI ne mentionne plus les émissions de Radio Prague, doit-on comprendre que les émissions depuis Prague vont être réduites ?? Aucune information ne semble avoir filtré dans les émissions en français. Certes, le mois de juin a été le théâtre de nombreuses manifestations de protestations contre les plans d'austérité du gouvernement tchèc, mais quand même. . . (les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) Well, the schedule at http://www.radio.cz/en/frequencies#en looks the same as always, including WRMI relays. I wonder if more English broadcasts via its own transmitters have really been canceled, as Jeff implied? Also: Radio Prague re-designs website on Roma issues [01-07-2003] Dita Asiedu On Monday, Radio Prague introduced its newly designed and expanded website concentrating on Roma issues. At www.romove.cz, visitors find up-to-date information on the situation of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic, contacts for Roma organisations, a list of upcoming or ongoing events on Roma issues such as exhibitions, concerts, and seminars, as well as explanations of Roma history, culture, and tradition.... all of this in five languages. I spoke to the head of Radio Prague's Internet department, Jitka Podzimkova to find out more: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/42492 (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Re HCJB: The continuation of German broadcasts to Europe beyond September 28 for another year is definite. The single hour of still available airtime will be used for a half hour each of standard German and Low German; plan so far is to keep the morning slot because in the evening reception in Europe tends to be unreliable, but this could be reconsidered if listeners object. The service will be in European responsibility, no longer a matter of "Quito" itself due to the decision to "refocus a little bit" as Curt Cole put it on the air (and "refocus" is official speech of course). The whole interview with Horst Rosiak of HCJB's German section is available indefinitely at http://www.radioeins.de/meta//sendungen/apparat/030621_A1.ram For the schedule, just see http://www.hcjb.org/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-6-page-1.html which appears to reflect the current situation (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. FRANÇA - O sítio da Rádio França Internacional promove, periódicamente, o sortéio de um receptor de sinais de satélite, o conhecido WorldSpace. Para participar basta acessar: http://www.rfi.fr/Fichiers/Concours/concours.asp (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX June 29 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 4930, Radio Ebenézer June 28 at 2335-0145 with a lot of clear IDs as ``Radio Ebenézer Costeña``, ``Radio Internacional``, simply ``Internacional`` and ``... La Tercera...``; at 0025 IDs in Spanish and English, 24322 (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. The 4789.95 RRI station I reported 27 June is RRI Fak- Fak. Jarmo Patala of Finland (in DXing.info) told he heard the ID on 28 June after Jakarta news at 2106. Thank you, Jarmo (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. UPDATE RRI STATIONS IN DE ZOMER Hiermee een update van RRI stations die volgens allerlei informatie in de lucht zijn. In onze zomer is de beste tijd : 2100-2200 UT. De meeste stations komen om 2100 of 2200 UT in de lucht met hun IS. Wie luistert er mee? Als iets niet klopt: graag een e-mailtje! 73 Max Regelmatig in de lucht: 3266,4 RRI Gorontalo 3325 RRI Palangkaraya 3344,8 RRI Ternate 3905 RRI Merauke 4000,1 RRI Kendari 4753,3 RRI Makassar 4789.95 RRI Fak Fak (is onlangs gehoord door diverse Dxers) 4925 RRI Jambi Af en toe in de lucht: 3976,1 RRI Pontianak 4606,4 RRI Serui 4869,96 RRI Wamena 4874,6 RRI Sorong Waarschijnlijk niet actief of soms actief: 3239,1 RRI Bukittinggi 4789,1 RRI Fak Fak 4845,2 RRI Ambon 5040 RRI Pekanbaru (Max van Arnhem, Netherlands, June 30, BDXC via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SATELLITE RADIO ALLOWS YOU TO CHOOSE WHAT TO LISTEN TO --- Carol Power Wired on Friday: Americans spend a great deal of time in their cars, often with the radio turned on. Advertisers long ago realised this was a captive audience with the result, it seems, that all you hear are commercials as you scan the dial on your car radio. Wouldn't it be nice to listen to your favourite music or chat shows commercial-free and with a lot less inane chatter from DJs? Some AM/FM radio stations in the US broadcast up to 25 minutes of commercials in one hour. That's a lot of advertisements to listen to, over and over, again. . . http://www.radiowaves.fm/newspapers/IrishTimes_27June03.shtml (via Mike Terry, DXLD) See also FRANCE above ** IRAQ. TELEVISION BACK ON THE AIR. A revamped Republic of Iraq Television channel, renamed Iraqi Media Network TV by coalition forces, was back on the air on 20 June after roughly three months off the air as a result of coalition bombing, the BBC reported the same day. Carrying a caption reading, "Iraqi Media Network welcomes you in its test transmission," the channel carried entertainment programs such as songs from the Egyptian Dream TV network as it tried, unsuccessfully, to cover the Dream TV logo, BBC reported. It also carried a news bulletin read by two announcers. The headlines included the shooting of two demonstrators in Baghdad on 19 June, a report on the lack of security in Baghdad, a report on Iraqis demonstrating for jobs and the formation of a national government, and a report on the port activities underway at Umm Qasr. The Iraqi Media Network radio has been operating since April using a number of frequencies used by the former regime's Republic of Iraq Main Service, the BBC noted. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 24 June via RFE/RL Media Matters June 30 via DXLD) ** IRELAND. 6295 UK?Eire? Reflections Europe with clear ID at 2210 June 29, then program called ``The crash of cash``, all 5s here // 3910 (23322), strong splatter from BBC on 3915 here (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES DEAD? (WITH POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF REKA) The on-demand Real Audio file from 0400 on the WRN is actually yesterday's 1630 file. English and French RA streams from bet.iba.org.il are dead air. The live stream from israelradio.org is dead air. On the other hand, the live stream of Reshet Bet works fine (Joel Rubin, NY, July 1, swprograms via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBS WORLD TO LAUNCH WORLDWIDE SERVICES ON 1 JULY KBS World, the international satellite channel of KBS, is scheduled to launch services throughout the world on 1 July, the June 2003 edition of the "What's New on KBS" newsletter reports. The 24-hour programming of KBS World will deliver KBS News in real time in addition to assorted programmes from KBS TV1, TV2 and KBS Korea. The programmes are to be transmitted to Europe, North Africa, North America, Japan and Oceania via international satellites. KBS plans to expand the international service throughout the world by 2005. The KBS 2002 Annual Report will be published in July [2003] to offer the audience a full account of KBS major activities and services over the year. The 2002 Annual Report will be available in Korean, English and Japanese at the KBS International Relations Dept. or online at http://www.kbs.co.kr. Source: BBC Monitoring research 30 Jun 03 (via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. I tuned 4760 on Sunday June 29 and found an American English religious programme on air at 2155 past 2200. Signal strength fair but audibility difficult due to static level. I suggest this was ELWA. Noise levels on 5100 and 5470 were high, but no broadcasts were audible at 2145. And nothing yet heard on 11515. 73s (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, UK], Cumbre DX via DXLD) 4760, Radio Liberia (as IDed !!!) at 2127 June 29 with pathetic speech mentioned ``... Government... Liberia... Freedom... Power... free, free, free (triple)... the fight down... Liberty... People of the World... living free... demonstration... liberation... militias... whole people... Taylor...``. Closed down with Liberian Anthem (checked the sound in a database !!!) at 2203. Transmitter was shut off at 2205* (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LUXEMBOURG. RTL to star DRM tests from 1 July Hello, on July 1st, RTL will start broadcasting daily DRM test transmissions from it's short- and long-wave site Junglinster in eastern Luxembourg. Broadcasts will start at 0800 UT and end at 1600 (except on weekends where no special schedule has been fixed). As usual, the antenna will be non-directional and the average DRM power about 35kW. The programme of the test transmissions consists of a variety of music and short announcements in different languages compiled by the most important european RTL radio stations. Feedback was very valuable for us in the past, so please keep on sending us your reports to mailto:drm@r... [truncated] or use the online form on our DRM page at http://www.bce.lu/drm Here you can find all kind of information about our transmitter sites in Luxembourg. As the pages are still under construction, certain links may be inactive. Best regards, Michel (From M Asorne on DRM- L@yahoogroups.com via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) WTFK? 6095? Above site is flash only. See also DRM below (gh) ** MEXICO. 6045, R. Universidad 1226-1241 6/30. March music 1226-1228, then YL ancr, possibly their s/on routine. YL mentioned onda corta, but canned ID at 1229 mentioned only MW: "XEXQ Radio Universidad, 1460 kHz, 250 wats de potencia..." followed by the address, which sounded like that reported by Bojorge; at 1230, a program of kids' chorus music; almost unreadable by 1240, although there were occasional brief fadeups (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Drake R-8, 100-foot RW. Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. FAREWELL TO HARRY This afternoon Jonathan Marks and I attended the funeral of Harry van Gelder. It was a beautiful service, with alternating five minute addresses and music - exactly like an edition of DX Jukebox! And that's no coincidence. Harry's son Chris told the congregation that Harry himself had insisted on making all the arrangements for his own funeral, selecting his favourite music - the choir of King's College Chapel in Cambridge never sounded sweeter - and even, when he knew the end was close, changing into the clothes he wanted to wear, and telling his family "I want to die with my teeth in." How typical of dear Harry, a man with a great sense of humour, even managing to raise some smiles at his own funeral! No wonder he was so loved by his family and those he worked with. I never met Harry when he was alive, but today I understood better than ever before just what an exceptional man he was - and the closest thing The Netherlands will ever have to a true English gentleman, both in his demeanour and his appearance. He even made the family speak English at home! I asked one of Harry's sons how he imagined Harry would have embraced new technology such as the Internet if it had been around in his day, and received the answer I expected: "He'd have loved it." BTW I found time after the funeral service for a chat with Tom Meyer, former presenter of Happy Station. Tom will be 65 next birthday, and looks great! He says he has been busier than ever since leaving Radio Netherlands, doing all sorts of things, including charity work (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog June 30 via DXLD) Tribute to Harry van Gelder, udpated June 30: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/hvg030626.html (Media Network via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. 3927, Radio Korak (pirate), song by Joy? At 2200 June 28, long talkies in Dutch, IDs, 4334 4/3 (Artiom Prokhorov from Moscow with my latest catches made on Sony ICF7600G and its telescopic antenna in countryside some 70 km South of Moscow, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. Queridos amigos, sigo reportando desde principios de este mes de Junio la señal de LVS tu radio Digital, emisora peruana que transmite en los 4825 kHz; esto fué lo escuchado en la mañana de hoy. LVS Tu Radio Digital, de Perú, captada en los 4825 kHz desde las 1015 hasta las 1100 UT. El locutor muy dinámico anuncia que están llegando a medio mundo través de los 4825 kHz. Estaban presentando el programa: Levanta Gallo [``Get Up, Rooster``]. El locutor con bastante alegría estaba haciendo comentarios sobre un concierto musical en homenaje a un nuevo aniversario de las fiestas patronales de San Pedro Pescador. También se hizo mención sobre la juramentación del nuevo Gabinete Ministerial y del triunfo del equipo de fútbol Spórting Cristal. El locutor dijo: ``Seguimos con Levanta Gallo aquí en LVS Digital, somos LVS Digital, somos más radio. Son las 5:20 de la mañana; a partir de las 6 AM el informativo Contacto Directo``, mención comercial de motores Jonhson fuera de borda. ``Levanta Gallo, la mejor manera de levantarse, somos LVS, más radio.`` Se colocó un tema tema musical, una tecnocumbia de nombre ``La Pastorcita`` y al fondo de la canción se oye cantando a un gallo, que viene a ser el sonido que identifica al programa: Levanta Gallo. Promoción musical de la radio: ``Desde hace un año llevando la alegría... LVS tu radio digital... ya viene el informativo Contacto Directo, 5:52 AM, nos vamos, amigos, hasta mañana, no muevan el dial de su receptor, ya viene Contacto Directo. El archivo sonoro bastante amplio en esta oportunidad, está a la orden de los colegas diexistas que lo soliciten. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Cumnbre DX via DXLD) ¿Dónde se ubica? En http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/sw.htm se alista alrededor de 4825: 4824.43 PERU * LVd la Selva, Iquitos [*0900-1217/2257-0416*](.3-.43) Jun 03 P 0100* (r)FM93.9 4826.5 PERU * R Sicuani, Sicuani [0905-1148/2235-0305*](25.8-26.7) Jun 03 C Quechua *0908 Entonces, ``LVS`` significará La Voz de la Selva --, pero ¿de qué manera `digital`? ¡Seguramente parece seguir transmitiendo analógicamente! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Estimado Amigo Dxista José Elias Díaz! No escuché el texto de la canción la primera vez pero claro es una promoción musical. No puedo captar más que tú. También para mi parece que diga ``L.V.S. tu radio digital`` pero en la parte que según tu opinión dice ``Latin Radio`` no se lo que dice la cantante. Esta mañana escuché La Voz de la Selva y Radio Sicuani, también hice grabaciones de las dos emisoras. Las adjunto y espero que te ayude. LVS tiene mala calidad de sonido, peor que Sicuani. La Voz de la Selva está en 4824.42 kHz y me parece que no se mueva mucho. Radio Sicuani se ``porta`` un poco extraño. En las noches está en 4826.42 kHz +-3Hz. Pero en las mañanas se puede escucharla en 4826.30 kHz +-3Hz. Me hizo creer que hubiera sido una tercera emisora peruana en 4825. Se identifica como ``Radio Sicuani`` o ``La Voz de la Provincia Cachis``. Aquí no hay más señales en 4825 pero voy a contunar escuchar. 73s de Quito y (Bjorn Malm, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Amigo José Elías, al mencionarse las siglas LVS se trata efectivamente de La Voz de la Selva, de Iquitos, que viene utilizando computadores en el estudio, equipos digitalizados enfín. Puedes leer lo que escribe su directora, Julia Jáuregui, en una página de comunicación vasca http://www.ongdseuskadi.org/images/documentos/revista_Ahotsa_24.pdf Cordialmente, (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, ibid.) ** POLAND [non]. Received full data QSL letter from Radio Maryja, Poland, in 36 days for their broadcast on 12010 kHz via Russia. V/s Malgorzata Zaniewska (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. SERBIA & MONTENEGRO'S EXTERNAL SERVICE CHANGES NAME The station formerly known as Radio Yugoslavia has dropped that name and now identifies as RSCG - the international radio of Serbia and Montenegro. RSCG is an abbreviation of the station's Serbian name: Radio Srbija i Crna Gora. A new logo has also been unveiled on the station's Web site. The old URL http://www.radioyu.org is still in use, and there is no change to the schedule (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 1 July 2003 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. ESPAÑA: Desde el pasado sábado 28 de junio, en el programa de REE Radio Exterior de España "Amigos de la Onda Corta" conducido por Manuel Ángel Fernández, se ha incorporado la locutora Paula Dátolo para realizar tiempo de práctica. Ha sido asignada para la lectura de la correspondencia recibida en dicho programa en un espacio mucho más amplio. Al escuchar su voz me pareció oriunda de Argentina (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. China Tibet PBS Tibetan channel is scheduled 0650-1535 on 594 4905 4920 5240 6110 6130 6200, 1750-0100 4905 4920 5240 6130 6200 7385 9490, 0650-1000 7125 7385, 1000-1535 9490 9585, 1750-0135 6110. English programme is 1630-1700 on 7385 (Sergey Kolesov, Ukraine, July World DX Club Contact via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) Only time and frequency for English? Used to be two or three times, and multiple frequencies (gh) {TIMES ABOVE ARE LOCAL UT+8 except for English; see 3-123} ** U K. BBC vs Blair -- From the Christian Science Monitor, July 1 http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/sept11/dailyUpdate.html BBC, DOWNING STREET SPAR OVER IRAQ DOSSIER REPORT The conflict in Iraq has produced a number of fierce skirmishes. One of the more interesting (and non-lethal) ones is happening in the UK. Tony Blair's Labor government, a strong US partner in the war in Iraq, is having quite a dust-up with that nation's main broadcaster, the BBC. The Observer reports that the attack on the BBC is being led by Alastair Campbell, Mr. Blair's communications director. Campbell is the man who allegedly "sexed up" the first Iraq dossier which claimed that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes. In a hearing last week on pre-war statements about WMD, Mr. Campbell claimed that the BBC made up the report that the government had exaggerated the WMD claim. The BBC, a public broadcaster funded by the government, angrily denied the charge and stood by its story, originally filed by reporter Andrew Gilligan. Things got so heated, the Guardian reports that Mr. Gilligan actually threatened to sue Campbell over his charges. It is unprecedented for a member of the BBC's staff to threaten legal action against the government. Perhaps sensing that a cooling period was needed, Campbell called for a truce late last week. But the BBC, spurred on by a statement of support from one of its fiercest critics – former Conservative chairman Lord Tebbit – said Sunday it would produce new evidence in the next few days to prove that its original report was correct. On Monday, the Blair government seemed to reverse course again, and a spokesman said the government was not "backing down one inch" and accused the BBC of a "deafening silence" over the central point in the dispute. The Daily Telegraph reported Monday that the issue grew more complicated when a Labor member of the committee investigating the matter said the committee was ready to clear Campbell of all charges. But opposition Conservative members of the committee protested over what they fear is a Labor ploy designed to protect Campbell and Blair against charges that they misled Parliament. The stakes in the battle are enormous for both sides. Greg Dyke, the BBC's director-general (who was appointed by Labor), has "staked his reputation" (and that of his organization) on the confrontation. But if the BBC's charges hold, Blair's government will face an unprecedented political crisis (via Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi. Any of you who are able to copy CW at all may want to try for some of these "historic" transmissions tomorrow. If you don't copy CW but have a suitable decoder installed on your computer you may want to try that. 73 de Phil, KO6BB, Atchley DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, California, 37.18N 120.29W CM97sh, swl @ qth.net June 30 via DXLD) -----Original Message----- NDB List Information Page: http://www.beaconworld.org.uk/info.htm FYI --- FROM MOBILE ALABAMA RADIO / WLO WLO will be transmitting on 12660.0. We will listen for ships on the 12 MHz calling frequencies after our transmission to NMC which will occur at 2pm CDT [1900 UT]. 73 Rene, WLO RADIO, Mobile, Alabama KFS KPH INFORMATION [as previously published] ------------NMC INFORMATION BELOW NMC UPDATE,,,,,, 1900Z 1 JULY 2003 -- Current advisement on the event: On July 1st, Coast Guard Communications Area Master Station Pacific (CAMSPAC), Pt Reyes will retire the historic "Sparks" from the Telecommunications Specialist Enlisted Rating Badge, as the Coast Guard restructures its work force replacing that specialty with two others, the Operations Specialist and the information Technology Specialist. The ceremony will honor the Sparks and those that have worn them with speeches, vignettes of significant events in the Coast Guard's rich communications history. To commemorate the day CAMSPAC will be open for public tours starting at 9 am and running throughout the day until 3 pm. A commemorative message will be sent at 12 noon [PDT = 1900 UT] lasting approximately 20 minutes and is expected to be acknowledge by radio stations KFS, KPH, WLO, and KLB who will be on-air as well. CAMSPAC will be send a preliminary call on 500 kHz followed by the commemorative message on 448 and 8574. Simplex Radioteletype will be available on 9373Khz and a voice broadcast will be made on the following NMC voice broadcast frequencies: 4426, 8764, 13089, 17314 kHz (USB) Following the commemorative message there will be a cake cutting ceremony acknowledging the passing of the Telecommunications Rating and along with it the symbol used to describe Coast Guard communicators for 78 years "Sparks". During and after the cake cutting ceremony other sentiments may be sent by those in attendance. Anyone desiring to send their own commemorative message are requested to provide a printed copy of the message if possible to include in our station history book as memorabilia of the day`s event. QSLs may be sent real-time via email directly to our Telecommunication Specialist In Charge, TCCS Bill Heckler at: WHeckler@D11.USCG.MIL Your Email QSLs will be posted real time so that members in attendance will have an opportunity to see who is listening and read their comments during the event. Those sending QSLs will receive a commemorative QSL card response along with a copy of the commemorative message. Requests for QSL cards may be mailed to: c/o (TCIC) COMMANDING OFFICER USCG CAMSPAC PT REYES 17000 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE BLVD. P.O. BOX 560 POINT REYES STATION, CA 94956-0560 When requesting QSLs responses either via email or snail mail please include your return postal address along with other pertinent information you may want to include. P.S. (1900 UTC is 12 Noon out here) -30- _______________________________________________ Ndblist mailing list Ndblist@beaconworld.org.uk http://beaconworld.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ndblist_beaconworld.org.uk (via Phil Atchley, swl via DXLD) ** U S A. ANDRES ILVES NAMED RADIO FARDA DIRECTOR Washington, D.C., June 30, 2003 -- Andres Ilves, a veteran broadcast journalist, has been named director of Radio Farda http://www.radiofarda.com a Persian-language service aimed at young listeners in Iran, the Broadcasting Board of Governors http://www.bbg.gov announced. Ilves, whose appointment is effective immediately, is currently the director of Radio Free Afghanistan, which broadcasts in Dari and Pashto. A graduate of Princeton University, Ilves started working for U.S. international broadcasting in the 1980s. "Andres' strong commitment to broadcasting will help provide the people of Iran with the information they need about their country and the outside world," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the BBG, which supervises all U.S. nonmilitary international broadcasting including the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio/TV Marti, Radio Sawa and Radio Farda. Launched in December 2002, Radio Farda broadcasts news, information, public affairs and entertainment to Iran 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Based in Washington and Prague, Radio Farda is a collaboration between RFE/RL and VOA. The radio's target audience is listeners under 30 who make up about 70 percent of Iran's population. Since pro-democracy protests got under way in Iran in early June, Radio Farda, broadcast on AM, shortwave, digital audio satellite and by Internet, has played an important role in providing information to people inside the country. As director of Radio Free Afghanistan, which is run by RFE/RL, Ilves has helped coordinate a 24-hour stream of news and information to Afghanistan, which includes 12 hours of programming from VOA in Dari and Pashto. Ilves will continue to serve as director for the Prague- based Radio Free Afghanistan until a replacement is found (BBG press release June 30 via DXLD) Well, what happened to the previous director of R. Farda, and who was that? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]: A-03 of VOA (with the exception of English). Updated on June 25, 2003 ALBANIAN 0500-0530 1215 11805 11825 13615 1600-1630 9575 15115 17725 1830-1900 1458 9840 15280 15150 AMHARIC 1800-1830 11690 13670 13835 1830-1900 11690 13670 13835 Sat/Sun ARABIC 0000-0300 990 1260 1548 7185 7205 9695 11785 0300-0400 990 1260 1548 7175 11680 15380 0400-0500 990 1260 1548 6180 7175 11680 11910 15380 0500-0600 990 1260 1548 6180 7175 9855 11680 11910 15380 0600-0700 990 1260 1548 6180 9855 11910 15725 17845 0700-0800 990 1260 1548 15725 17565 17845 0800-1000 990 1548 15725 17565 17845 1000-1400 990 1548 15725 17565 1400-1500 990 1548 13870 15725 1500-1700 990 1260 1548 13870 1700-1800 990 1260 1548 6040 7105 12040 1800-2100 990 1260 1548 6040 7105 9505 11745 11785 12040 2100-2300 990 1260 1548 7195 9505 11745 11785 12010 12040 2300-2400 990 1260 1548 7195 7205 11815 12010 12040 ARMENIAN 1500-1530 11680 13720 17810 AZERI 1730-1800 9740 11665 15135 BANGLA 0130-0200 11735 15210 17805 1600-1700 1575 7280 9740 11965 BOSNIAN 1500-1530 1197 Mon-Fri 2130-2200 792 1197 Mon-Fri BURMESE 1130-1200 1575 9720 11850 15225 1430-1500 1575 5955 7155 9720 2330-2400 6185 9505 11840 15220 CANTONESE 1300-1400 9575 11865 11975 15500 1400-1500 1143 9575 11865 15500 CREOLE 1130-1200 9525 11890 15265 Mon-Fri 1630-1700 15385 17565 21555 2100-2130 11895 13725 21555 CROATIAN 0430-0500 756 792 1197 1395 6130 7210 11855 1830-1900 1197 7175 9670 15170 DARI 0130-0230 801 1296 12140 15730 17670 0530-0630 1296 17710 21550 1130-1200 1296 17685 19010 21680 1200-1230 1143 1296 17685 19010 21680 1530-1630 801 1296 7235 12140 15690 1930-2030 1296 2130-2230 1296 FRENCH 0530-0600 1530 4960 6045 6095 9885 13695 Mon-Fri 0600-0630 6045 6095 9885 13695 Mon-Fri 1830-2000 1530 9815 9830 12080 15730 17785 2000-2030 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 21485 2030-2100 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 21485 Sat/Sun 2100-2130 9815 9830 11720 12035 12080 17750 Mon-Fri GEORGIAN 1430-1500 11780 15190 17810 HAUSA 0500-0530 1530 4960 6045 6095 9885 1500-1530 9710 11990 2030-2100 4950 9815 9830 11720 12080 15730 Mon-Fri HINDI 0030-0100 7155 9680 11820 1600-1700 11705 12115 15290 INDONESIAN 1130-1230 7260 9700 9890 12010 15320 1430-1500 9510 9585 15105 Fri 2200-2330 7225 9535 9620 11805 15205 KHMER 1330-1430 1575 6160 7155 9710 9720 1430-1500 1575 6160 9710 2200-2230 1575 6060 7130 7260 13725 KINYARWANDA 0330-0400 7340 6095 13725 0400-0430 6120 7340 6095 13725 KOREAN 1200-1300 7215 7235 1300-1400 648 7215 7235 9545 2100-2130 6060 7125 2130-2200 6060 7125 15470 KURDISH 0400-0500 9705 12040 15130 1300-1400 1593 9695 9825 15170 1600-1700 1593 15470 15545 17765 1800-1900 11905 15545 LAOTIAN 1230-1300 1575 6030 7225 11930 MACEDONIAN 1930-2000 1197 Mon-Fri MANDARIN 0000-0100 7190 9545 11830 11925 15150 15195 17765 0100-0200 9545 11830 11925 15150 15195 17765 0200-0300 9545 11830 11925 15195 17765 0700-0800 12010 13610 13720 13740 15160 15250 17855 21540 21705 0800-0900 12010 13720 13740 15160 15250 17855 21540 21705 0900-1000 11825 11895 12010 13720 13740 15160 15250 15665 17855 1000-1100 11825 11895 12010 13610 13740 15160 15250 15260 15665 17855 1100-1200 1143 6110 11785 11825 11965 11990 12040 15250 1200-1230 6110 9545 11785 11825 11965 11990 12040 15250 1230-1300 6110 9545 11785 11805 11825 11990 11965 12040 15250 1300-1400 6110 9845 11785 11805 11825 11965 11990 12040 1400-1500 6110 9585 9845 11805 11965 11990 12040 2200-2300 7150 7190 7200 9510 9545 11925 13775 OROMO 1845-1900 11690 13670 13835 Mon-Fri PASHTO 0030-0130 801 972 1296 12140 15730 17670 0430-0530 1296 1030-1130 1296 17685 19010 21680 1430-1530 801 1296 7235 12140 15690 1830-1930 801 1296 2030-2130 1296 PERSIAN 0300-0400 9835 11985 17855 1700-1800 1593 7280 9680 17585 1800-1900 972 1593 7280 9680 17585 1900-2000 1593 9780 11815 12030 PORTUGUESE 0430-0500 1530 6095 6145 7340 9885 13725 1700-1730 1530 9830 12080 1730-1800 1530 9815 9830 12080 15730 17785 1800-1830 1530 9815 9830 12080 15730 17785 Mon-Fri RUSSIAN 1300-1400 11725 11885 15130 15205 15215 17730 1700-1800 6105 7220 9520 9615 11770 15370 1800-1900 6105 7220 9520 9615 11770 11885 SERBIAN 0530-0600 1197 1458 11805 11825 13615 1700-1730 792 1188 1197 11665 13700 15245 1930-2000 792 9705 11910 15280 2100-2130 756 1188 1197 7210 11670 11910 SHONA 1700-1730 909 11975 17895 Mon-Fri SPANISH 0100-0200 9560 9735 9885 11815 13760 1130-1200 9535 11925 13790 1200-1230 7370 11890 13770 15360 15390 17875 2300-2400 9515 9670 13715 15350 17890 SWAHILI 1630-1700 9815 13670 15730 17785 1700-1730 9815 13670 15730 17785 Mon-Fri TIBETAN 0000-0100 7200 7255 11690 0400-0600 15265 15490 17770 1400-1500 6030 11705 15680 TIGRINA 1830-1845 11690 13670 13835 Mon-Fri TURKISH 0330-0400 792 7205 9740 11955 1800-1900 792 9595 11925 15235 UKRAINIAN 0400-0500 7115 11805 11895 2000-2030 3975 7190 11910 URDU 0100-0200 7155 9835 11805 1330-1430 9510 12025 15190 1700-1800 11905 13715 15545 UZBEK 1230-1300 1143 12140 15120 17655 18990 1500-1530 7135 13795 17655 17685 VIETNAMESE 1300-1330 1143 1575 6160 9505 9860 1500-1600 5955 6120 7195 9780 2230-2330 6060 7130 7260 13725 73 from Ivo and Angel! (Observer, Bulgaria, July 1 via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Dear friends, 7507.0, AFRTS, Roosevelt Roads, Isabela (USB), 0115-0350, Jul 01, Carol Evans gave advertisements, Jeff Cole talked about business and investments, new frequency replacing 6458.5 being scheduled 24 hours a day according to updated AFRTS website: http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave Heard strong here: 44434. 5446.5, AFRTS, Boca-Chica, Key West, Florida (USB), 0120-0350, Jul 01, English press report about unmanned aerial vehicles in the Pacific. 24333 weaker than // Puerto Rico on 7507. New frequency replacing 12689 during nighttime. 12135 is scheduled daytime. No other AFRTS SW- frequencies were audible. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Re: 15650 PAB? Who is this? (Hans Johnson-USA) 15650 1445-1500 39,40 110 100 1 1506-261003 JUL 100 PAB 1445-1500 UT portion not in service yet? - at least today. (wb) 15650 1500-1515 39,40 102 115 1 0106-261003 JUL 100 PAB 15650 1530-1545 39,40 208 100 1 2206-261003 JUL 100 PAB 15650 1545-1600 39,40 110 100 1 0106-261003 JUL 100 PAB Apparently, I neglected to mention this before but when Ralf sent out the latest schedules for Jülich, I also noted the "PAB" in the schedule. In the past, Ralf always included a "key" to define the three letter abbreviations but that has not been the case recently. I followed up with an e-mail to Ralf. In his reply he indicated PAB Pan American Broadcasters. I looked them up on the Internet and they a religious program broker from Cupertino, CA. I think this may be the same outfit that rented time over R Africa in Equatorial Guinea some time ago (do they still do that?). (Rich D`Angelo-USA, BC-DX June 30 via DXLD) URL: http://www.radiopanam.com/ http://www.radiopanam.com/Outreaches/index.html Pan American Broadcasting, 20410 Town Center Lane # 200, Cupertino, CA 95014, U.S.A. e-mail info@panambc.com From PAB website: Pan American represents more than 100 radio stations in over 30 countries worldwide, providing inspiration in distant lands where freedom of religion is often greatly restricted or controlled. We can help you to help others who are in spiritual need. We can find an international radio station that will help you fulfill The Great Commission. For the past 60 years, we at Pan American Broadcasting have been helping ministries like yours get your message where it is needed most. We represent more than 100 radio stations in over 30 countries worldwide. West Africa w R Africa Our most popular station! Strategically located in the west central African country of Equatorial Guinea, this 50,000 watt SW stn reaches over 300 million people including 140 million En speaking people in Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. Rates are $69 and $129 for your 15 and 30 min weekly programs. (Prime time add $10/bc). "Radio Africa - Reaching The People of Africa" is a 22 min video available for loan or purchase. Southern Africa w R Africa #2 Radio Africa #2, following in the footsteps of its highly successful sister station, R Africa, broadcasts 50,000 watts of SW power reaching over 80 million people in southern and South Africa. With literacy as low as 25%, radio is absolutely necessary in this part of the world. Rates are $69 and $129 for your 15 and 30 min weekly programs. East Africa w R East Africa The English speaking countries of East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi are home to over 75 million souls. This area of the vast African continent has not been well served by radio. R East Africa's 50,000 watts of power insures that the Good News will be heard. Rates are $69 and $129 for your 15 and 30 min weekly programs. (Sunday add $10/bc) BUT new Juelich Sunday outlet to the Middle East not mentioned yet on their website (wb, June 30, BC-DX via DXLD) Altho you may not hear much about it, PAB brokers a lot of time on other religious broadcasters, such as WWCR (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. R. Free San Diego as in 3-115: here are the URLs referred to at the bottom of article: Find out if you can hear 96.9 FM -- click here http://www.pirate969.org/coverage.asp to view a coverage map. Click here to visit the 96.9 FM Web site http://www.pirate969.org/ http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/06/29/1082614 (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) Lots more interesting stuff on their website, including a page about the FCC, illustrated: http://www.pirate969.org/fcc.asp Three Points: 1) There has yet to be an interference complaint about our station, and if there was we would power down the second we even thought there was a problem, and put the whole rig through a spectrum analyzer to figure out what was going on. 2) We use dual low pass filter (9 elements in each) to kill off all of our harmonics, except for the base harmonic, which is 96.9MHz. 3) If 96.9FM was such a horrible frequency here in San Diego, odd that the FCC allowed the Super Bowl to use it http://www.bext.com/_CGC/2003/cgc560.htm in February of 2003. But they will always fly the rhetoric flag of interference, and we can promise if we're ever aired on corporate media, the anchor will have some grave face and say "the FCC remarks that stations such as these can cause interference to planes, ambulances, and fire fighters." (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC TV EYES PAC TO GAIN ACCESS TO POLS Originally published in Current, June 30, 2003 By Dan Odenwald Public TV advocates have begun research on creating a political action committee to aid allies in Congress. The PAC would be established independently of the stations and national organizations but would raise money from board members, station employees and friends of public TV, says APTS President John Lawson, who is helping to explore the idea. . . http://www.current.org/funding/funding0312pac.html (Current via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO/TV TOWERS LOST IN AZ FIRE There is a lengthy discussion on the Phoenix board at http://www.radio-info.com. Click on Phoenix and look for the thread (David Gleason, June 22, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Someone posted an article elsewhere. But it said KTWO/Casper and KKTU/Cheyenne will change affiliations to ABC. Both contracts with NBC expire shortly. KKTU will switch this year. KTWO will become independent (ceding the NBC affiliation to the current PAX station) until the ABC affiliate's contract with the network expires (KFNB?). I'm not sure what happens to them after that. http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/06/29/news/casper/08cb1dee6eca65b28d16c0ee0917aa38.txt (Rob Zerwekh, KS, amfmtvdx via DXLD) http://kcradio.tripod.com http://zerwekh.hypermart.net ** U S A. Re: 100000watts.com going pay: Pity --- it was the best source of info on station formats and slogans, thanks to the frequent updating and search capabilities. There are still some pretty good free online alternatives for info on AM stations, however. I noticed that Lee Freshwater has recently updated his BCB Logbook site http://geocities.com/amlogbook/main1.htm and the the radio-locator site http://www.radio-locator.com also has useful info. As a portal to AM info (NA only), I modestly suggest my site at http://hydra.carleton.ca/ambc/aminfo.html By just entering a callsign, you can get: - all of the info from Lee's site on that station (location, power(s), antenna type, format, etc.) - distance and bearing to the station, as well as an estimate of the skywave elevation angle (if you enter your location lat/long) - a link to the sunrise/sunset times for that station (from the FCC site), which will come up in a popup window - a link to the radio-locator page for the station, which will also appear in the popup window In addition, you can do format searches and "sound-alike" callsign searches for a given frequency. Click on the 'help' link at the bottom of the page for details. Comments and suggestions for improvements are welcome (Barry McLarnon, June 25, NRC-AM via DXLD) Now that I go poking around the site again, I did come up with some anomalies (you did say that you wanted feedback) :-) First of all, the top part of the page gets cut off at the bottom if I scale the window down to anything less than a full screen, and I don't get any scroll bar that would allow me to adjust it (I'm using IE5.5). Makes it kinda hard to get at the callsign field & "Search" button. Second, the sunrise/sunset & Radio Locator links aren't working (I tried this on another machine running IE6.0, and got the same thing). I get Javascript errors. Lastly, I've noticed some strange things in the database. Some are just updates to the format information, which I'll try to let you know about from now on, when I come across them. One strange one though is that if you punch in my pet station KSPN under the station search, then the info comes up correctly at 710. If you go to the unidentified station search & punch in KSPN at 710, it doesn't find it. If you use 710 & put the call letters in as "K???", it finds KDIS at 710 (and KSPN at 1110). Those 2 stations swapped places back on 1/1/03. I guess I never sent in updates, because I wasn't sure how actively you were maintaining the site. I'll try to be better about that in the future (Brian Leyton, CA, ibid.) OK, that should be fixed now. Ugly, but you should get a scroll bar now. | Second, the sunrise/sunset & Radio Locator links aren't working Hmm... not sure about that one. I haven't tested with IE, since I don't use it (I run Linux, and use the Opera browser). I'll try and do some testing from a Windoze box in the next few days, and see if I can track this one down. | Lastly, I've noticed some strange things in the database. Until very recently, I hadn't done any maintenance on it for a long while. The backbone of the site is Lee Freshwater's data, and I had the impression that he wasn't updating his data anymore... but I guess he found some time recently, and did some catching up. Format updates and the like should really go to Lee rather than me. Feel free to bring other glitches and anomalies to my attention, though (Barry McLarnon, ibid.) ** U S A. KNX OFF THE AIR FOR 36 MINUTES Some early-morning Los Angeles commuters were deprived of their news fix Tuesday when a transmitter problem knocked KNX-AM (1070) off the air for 36 minutes. A faulty chip on the station's main transmitter in Torrance shut down its power at 6:03 a.m., said KNX transmitter supervisor Larry Wichman. Normally, anyone at the station's Hollywood studio can press a button to switch to the backup transmitter, but that button also failed, he said. Executive news producer Ronnie Bradford called Wichman at home, and Wichman was able to talk him through another, more involved procedure to start the backup transmitter. The station was on the air again at 6:39 a.m. KNX general manager George Nicholaw said it was the longest time the station had been off the air that he could remember. (By Steve Carney - Los Angeles Times Via Shoptalk Magazine via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) Funny you should mention this. I noticed the other day that they didn't seem to be getting out as well as usual. They're usually rock- solid here in the Valley - hardly any static or anything, but they just seemed a little weaker than I'm used to. Wonder if that was a precursor of today's event. I wonder what kind of backup they have - is it also 50 kW? If not, maybe some of you will have some DX opportunities that are usually not available (at least those of you farther from the transmitter than I am)... (Brian Leyton, CA, June 26, NRC-AM via DXLD) I'm not positive, but I believe they have a 10 kW aux; supposedly there is an old 50 there, but it may not be working. I just don't know right now. They also have or had the last time I was in Torrance (literally years ago) a small aux tower. This would be used when there is tower work or an ATU type failure. Of course, the radiation efficiency is not as good. Since aux antennas are not listed on the FCC search, I am not positive on this. According to the report, the 50 just died. Transmitters big and small do this; some of the LA FMs have as many as three transmitters, and some have two sites and multiple antennas. Usually, an automated system picks the next best alternative to stay on the air, and the transition is pretty seamless. Anyway, the automatic cycling to the aux did not happen, and it took them a half hour to talk the studio person through a manual switch and start. (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) It seems to me that distant AM stations, more than 150 miles, are weaker during the day and during the summer months than at other times of the year. Then too, there's usually more atmospheric noise during the summer. Wonder if this is my imagination or is it a known fact? (Tom Dimeo, ibid.) Both -- there's more noise in the summer, AND signals are weaker. I believe the weak daytime signal thing is caused by the fact that, in the winter, there's actually a lot of residual SKYWAVE propagation during the midday--thus, daytime D-layer absorption is defeated somewhat --- whereas in the 14-hour days of summer, daylight D-layer absorption is intensified (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) What Randy said. And the fact that the D-layer absorption is intensified in the summer is the very reason why I've taken to doing all my daytime bandscans (like one done two weeks ago from Lincoln, NE) during the summertime. To me, you get a truer indication of how far low-power (re: 1 kw or lower) signals within, say, 200 miles of one's listening QTH can really get out (my ICF-2010 still manages to pull in KLOE-730 with a decent daytime signal in June, although it is, of course, noticeably stronger in the dead of winter). Also, you don't have the added enhancement of snow cover and/or subfreezing temps that would allow something like KOMA to come in at an almost even level with KSIB-1520, which it does quite often in the middle of the day in January (Rick Dau, Omaha, NE, ibid.) Some 400 miles at 1520? I think that`s skywave (gh, OK, DXLD) Another factor is the ground conductivity tends to be less in summer. Also how wet or dry the summer is makes a big difference too. WBAJ 890 here in Columbia had the 50,000 watt upgrade squeeeeeeeked in by doing it in the heat and dryness of last summer. This year we are +6 inches over normal not -20 as it's been the last 5 years. So it would never measure in this year if the work had been delayed (Powell E. Way III, ibid.) ** U S A. === TIP OF THE WEEK === FCC CALL SIGN CHANGES http://www.fcc.gov/Document_Indexes/Media/2003_index_MB_Callsign_Changes.html (NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. HISTORY OF MUTUAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM: http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/mutual.html (Art Blair, Folsom, CA, June 30, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. WFUV (90.7) has lost its latest bid for a new permanent tower site: the Daily News reports that negotiations have fallen through that would have moved the Fordham University station from its half-finished tower near the New York Botanical Garden to an industrial park elsewhere in the Bronx Rochester's weekly "alternative" rag, City Newspaper, deigned to mention radio this week, devoting its cover to a report that public broadcaster WXXI will soon be partnering with the University of Rochester to improve the programming on WRUR-FM (88.5), which has fallen on somewhat hard times in recent years. (It hasn't been uncommon to hear WRUR sign off for several hours in the middle of the day because there's nobody around to take the next shift - and this on a station with one of the best noncommercial signals in town, 3000 watts from the Hyatt Hotel downtown.) In any case, City confirms what we've been hearing behind the scenes for a few months: WXXI will upgrade WRUR's aging studios and supply the station with NPR news and talk programming in exchange for being able to carry Morning Edition and All Things Considered on WRUR's FM facility, which reaches east and west to suburban areas that WXXI's AM 1370 signal has difficulty reaching when it's on night pattern. WXXI will also supply additional programming to fill timeslots on WRUR that have gone unfilled. Congratulations to WFRM (600) up in Coudersport PA, one of the better small-market operations out there: the station celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month, holding an open house and a daylong celebration to mark the occasion. You can see many more great pictures at WFRM's Web site, http://www.wfrm.net (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch June 30 via DXLD) ** U S A. HAM RADIO FANS CONNECT THE OLD WAY http://www.c-n.com/news/c-n/story/0,2111,758010,00.html (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOICES AND CODE DASH ACROSS THE AIRWAVES Competition Tests Skill, Tenacity --- By Rosalind S. Helderman. Washington Post Staff Writer. Monday, June 30, 2003; Page B01 From several miles south of the tiny town of Lovettsville, down more than a mile of unpaved roads, inside a barn and alongside a battered canoe and a tractor, Gary Quinn called out to the world. Turning a dial slowly, he hit a button on a laptop computer and sent out his Morse code call sign -- K4LRG -- again and again, beckoning to any other ham radio operator who would listen. Then, his speaker crackled and spit out the dot-dash beeping of a fellow enthusiast. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48982-2003Jun29.html (via Matt Francis, DC, and -.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6010, Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, Montevideo, 1650+, June 29. Spanish. Ann.: "los invitamos a reencontrarnos el próximo domingo, a las 10, en Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, la radio del Carnaval". Local ads. Complete ID as: "En su receptor CX42 Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, Uruguay, transmitiendo en 1370 kHz, La frecuencia que se sintoniza con mayor frecuencia". S/off at 1700. 44444. 6045.18, Radio Sport, Montevideo, reactivated on SW!!!!!!, 1922-1930, June 29. Spanish. Football transmission: Peñarol-Miramar Misiones, from "Centenario" Stadium. ID: "Aquí, como siempre, en la Sport", 34433. 6045.18, Radio Sport, Montevideo, 1335-1400, June 29. Spanish. Cycle competence from Paysandú. ID: "Escucha Ciclismo, Escucha Sport" and "Radio Sport...". Ads.: "Automóvil Club del Uruguay, le brinda servicio en todas las rutas nacionales", "Para la compra de cueros... Barraca Cabrera, Ruta 48 Km. 18", "Metalúrgica Daniel, en la era del Mercosur", "Agropecuaria Hernández, semillas y fertilizantes... Ruta 25... Las Piedras". Other ID as: "Lo escuchamos por Sport". SINPO: 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6045, Radio Sarandí Sport, en efecto, ha comenzado trasmisiones de prueba, reactivando esta vieja frecuencia. Esto es lo que confirmó hoy tras comunicarme por teléfono con la emisora, el Sr. Alejandro Silva, Encargado Técnico. El trasmisor tiene algo menos de 10 kW. En efecto, la emisora piensa reactivarla a pleno, retrasmitiendo la Onda Media de CX18, en 890, y en un futuro próximo durante 24h. El Sr. Silva es receptivo a informes de recepción de monitores distantes. Los reportes de escucha deben enviarse a asilva@c... [truncated]. El teléfono es +208 26 12 y pedir con "Técnica" a su nombre (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, jun 30, Conexión Digital vai DXLD) ** VIETNAM. Re VOV 4/1/2: This is not a mystery. VOV broadcasts 6 channels; details can be found in WRTH2003 on pg. 398 and on the VOV website: http://www.vov.org.vn/docs1/english/index.html The language segments on 6020 kHz are relays of VOV 4, 1 and 2 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Of course ** ZAMBIA. 4910, Zambia BC (tent), 0415 with the same flute song interspersed with announcements until 0445. Then local music. No English heard. Was fair to poor but severely degraded by 05. Did hear a tone at 05. (No other southern Africans heard, just Nigeria on 4770) (David Norcross, CA, US. ICF7600G and RS DX-402 on eave hung short wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6265 was dropped couple of months ago. Radio 1 was moved to 5915. Apparently also that frequency is now silent, as they are now on 4910. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, July 1, dxing.info via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 7-MHZ REALIGNMENT REMAINS UP IN THE AIR AS WRC-03 ENTERS FINAL WEEK NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 30, 2003 --- Compromise on a realigned 7 MHz Amateur Radio allocation so far has eluded delegates to World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) who are dealing with that issue. The ITU-sponsored conference, now in its final week in Geneva, has reached no final conclusions on key Amateur Radio-related issues, and it might not be known until week's end how efforts to secure a worldwide 300-kHz 40-meter allocation will turn out. "Things are very much up in the air at this time," Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, said on behalf of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) observer delegation to WRC-03 headed by IARU President Larry Price, W4RA. Sumner notes that there is strong pressure for the conference to reach its decisions by consensus. "Votes are not taken except as an absolute last resort," he said. Sumner reported on http://www.iaru.org/rel030630.html that as the third week of WRC-03 drew to a close, Conference Chair Dr Veena Rawat of Canada brought together several delegates and regional coordinators in an attempt to reach agreement on several outstanding issues, including 7 MHz. The outcome regarding 40 meters was a proposed compromise, but Committee 4 -- the panel charged with handling the issue (Agenda item 1.2.3) -- ran out of time to consider it, despite a meeting that ran late into last Friday evening. That compromise proposal calls for a single-stage implementation of another 100 kHz for the Amateur Service--7100 to 7200 kHz--in Regions 1 and 3, made available by shifting broadcasting up to 7350 to 7450 kHz. "In Region 2 the only change would be an additional 50 kHz for broadcasting, 7350-7400 kHz, with no change below 7300 kHz," Sumner explained in his report. "Thus, amateurs in Region 2 would be relieved of the incompatibility with broadcasting in half of the band, but the incompatibility would continue in the other half." The plan, if ultimately approved -- and that's anything but certain at this stage -- might not go into effect for another four to six years, but Regions 1 and 3 could be permitted to authorize amateurs to use 7100-7200 kHz on a secondary basis and with limited power as of the effective date of the Final Acts of the Conference--probably January 1, 2005. The next WRC may consider additional adjustment in the allocations above 7200 kHz, but not 7000 to 7200 kHz. Still, Sumner said, talk in the hallways at Geneva suggested that several Region 3 administrations were not happy with the compromise and wanted to at least have country "footnotes" permitting them to allocate 7100 to 7200 kHz on a national basis to Fixed and Mobile services, shared with amateurs. Formal and informal discussions on the topic are ongoing. "Of course, the arm twisting in the corridors is continuing unabated," Sumner observed. Meanwhile, a resolution inviting the next WRC to consider additional spectrum requirements for broadcasting between 4 and 10 MHz awaits final action until the 7 MHz issue has been resolved. Regarding other Amateur Radio-related items, Committee 4 delegates agreed to a complete text for changes to Article 25 of the Radio Regulations, which define the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services. "Some of the wording is the result of delicate compromises," Sumner said. It will be brought to the Plenary this week. All items that become part of the Final Acts of WRC-03 must survive two readings in the Plenary. A 432 to 438 MHz secondary allocation for satellite-borne synthetic aperture radars (SARs) already has cleared the Plenary on first reading. So have changes to Article 19 of the Radio Regulations to provide more flexibility for administrations to assign amateur call signs. The second reading of all conference decisions in the Plenary is set to be wrapped up by July 3 at noon. The ceremonial signing of the Final Acts of the Conference is set for the afternoon of July 4. A draft agenda for the next conference--being referred to as "WRC-07," although the year is not yet firm--is taking shape. Future conference agenda items will be among the last items of business, because the agenda remains contingent on still-pending WRC-03 decisions. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST NRC LABOR DAY WEEKEND CONVENTION IN DALLAS Don't forget that information about the 2003 NRC Convention is on the web page: http://www.dxas.org Scroll down to convention and click on it. Make sure you look at the little video presentation Fred Vobbe put together with the "faces" of the NRC. There are plans to take lots of pictures and video when we get together August 29 through 31 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Hope to see you in 2 months! (Wally Wawro, WFAA- TV, Dallas, TX, NRC 2003 Big D, NRC-AM via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ RDS Glenn, I saw the letter at the bottom of this mail on the DX listening digest that appeared on UniversalRadio.com on 24 June {3-109; 3-108}. There may be a little confusion here. Scrolling text is a feature of RDS called RadioText, and there are very few radios that can receive it. Among Portables, in the UK, there is the Grundig Ocean Boy 510, (the first portable to have it, despite some manufacturers claims to the contrary. The Grundig is also available throughout Europe, and the Middle East, it is not available in America, for several reasons, the main one being that it only tunes the AM band in 9 kHz steps). Others are the Roberts R9929 and the Morphy Richards 27005. You have to activate the RadioText feature by pressing the appropriate button, as the radio’s default to the 8 character PS name like most other RDS radios. The confusion may have arisen as Brian has been in Germany! There, like Turkey, Greece and Albania, maybe others, it is common for broadcasters to use what is called ``dynamic PS name`` which means changing the 8 character PS name every few seconds. It’s possible to make the text scroll by doing this. It is, however, against the rules of RDS as laid down by the governing body. See http://www.rds.org.uk/rds98/nonstandarddps.htm and see also http://www.rds.org.uk/rds98/forum15.htm using the find function of your browser to look for text ``Non-Standard Use of RDS - Dynamic PS:`` It`s most unlike the Germans, who usually set standards, not break them! (Ian Waugh `grundigradioboy`, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ NASWA COMMENTS TO FCC NOI 03-104 NASWA has submitted an 18 page document to the FCC regarding their current inquiry on Broadband Power Line (BPL) communications. The report documents testing that has been done by others to show that implementation of the technology would be a disaster for shortwave listeners. NASWA explains to the FCC why they don't want to have frequency sharing in the HF range and instead proposes the 30-47 MHz range be used for these data signals. The document is available in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format from the FCC web site using the following link: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi Search for document number 6514282987 The easiest way to pull up the NASWA comments is to put 03-104 in the box at the top left of the form, box 1, called "Proceeding". In box 4 called document type select the CO option. Then type in box 5 North American Shortwave Association. That will bring up an index box. In the lower left corner of that box, click on COMMENT to download the pdf version of the document. If you leave the box 5 empty, you will get the last 100 comments filed and can then select any of the comments by scrolling through the index boxes. The number I referred to will appear at the end of the URL that calls up the filing. That URL is: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_d ocument=6514282987 If you would like to see what the other 1335 people, who have submitted comments, have said, follow the same link but instead fill in the form as follows: Where the form says "Proceeding" enter 03-104 Where the form says "Document Type" select CO Scroll down to the bottom of the form and click on "Retrieve Document List" button. You will get the most recent 100 submissions. If you desire to see earlier submissions, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select which set of 100 you want to look at. My review of the last 300 submissions shows the NASWA comments to be way more detailed and direct to the specific questions asked by the FCC than 99% of the submissions. It will be hard for the FCC to ignore the points we make. But that doesn't insure success. They managed to ignore 750,000 negative votes on their most recent screw up to liberalize broadcast ownership rules. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ Certainly an impressive filing. Kudos to NASWA for taking on the task of defending shortwave listening against this menace! (gh, DXLD) DRM +++ From Anorak Nation: Saturday, 28 June 2003 11:01 http://www.anoraknation.com/threads/166.html Just to inform you all radio enthusiasts that DRM could be the "anorak solution" to old AM transmissions. Right now I'm listening to Deutsche Welle on SW from Sines on 15440 kHz, with the new DRM technology. Quite amazing! It sounds like an ordinary FM transmission, i.e. no limited frequency response, no static noise, just the audio and in some transmissions, a multimedia content. Besides the audio there are some text messages sent, such as: DW-RADIO live program from relay station Sines/Portugal operated by Deutsche Welle We would be very pleased about your DRM reception report to tb@dw-world.de! QSL card guaranteed! On July 1st RTL will reactivate their 6095 kHz transmitter, with relays from 6 different RTL stations, each lasting one hour. On June 25th I listened to RTL Berlin on the above SW-QRG. BBC is using 1296 kHz for DRM between 0900-1500 UT M-F... [see LUXEMBOURG above] I'm using an ordinary SW-AM radio. But you have to be able to access it's IF (455 kHz) in order to concert that to a 12 kHz IF. The 12 kHz IF is fed to the sound card of the PC. In the PC you need a special DRM program in order to be able to listen. For more info: http://www.drmrx.org/ I'm not quite sure if there are portable receivers yet. Do remember that DRM was officially launched on June 16, 2003! I know that there are receivers on the market, such as WinRadio. But that needs a PC as well... It works on MW. As a matter of fact, BBC is active on 1296 kHz with DRM M-F 09:00-15:00 UTC. Two stations are active in Germany 24h on 531 and 855 kHz. As for an "offshore station", it doesn't have to be offshore - it could broadcast quite legally on SW or MW from a "friendly country" and still be heard with FM quality in its target area. As for portable sets, they are coming. Design of a DRM chip-set is on it's way, this will reduce the cost of DRM receivers considerably. But that is something that was said of DAB receivers as well and... (more discussion on the web site) (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ### end of DXLD 3-117 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| end of DX LISTENING DIGEST JULY 2003 ARCHIVE
