DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-113, July 14, 2002 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@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 afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd02.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 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 WORLD OF RADIO #1139: (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1139.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1139.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1139.html (ONDEMAND) http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html NEXT WWCR BROADCASTS: Wed 0930 on 9475 NEXT RFPI BROADCASTS: Mon 0630, Wed 0100, 0700, on 7445-USB, 15038.6 ** AFGHANISTAN. RADIO AFGHANISTAN TO RESUME BROADCASTS IN LOCAL LANGUAGES ON FM ON 15 JULY | Text of report by Afghan radio on 14 July Announcement by the Broadcasting Department of Radio Afghanistan: Broadcasts in languages of the fraternal ethnic groups of Afghanistan - Uzbek, Turkmen, Pashai and Nurestani - was expected to resume after a break on 24 Saratan of the current year [ 15 July] from 1700 to 2000 [1230 to 1530 gmt]. In view of technical problems, dear listeners can listen to these programmes from 1400 to 1700 [0930 to 1230 gmt] starting tomorrow, Monday 24 Saratan, on FM frequency. Source: Radio Afghanistan, Kabul, in Dari 1430 gmt 14 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. RADIO VOICE OF AFGHANISTAN STOPS BROADCASTING FOR THREE MONTHS The founder of Radio Voice of Afghanistan, Sayd Jamaloddin Afghan, has announced that the radio's broadcasts will stop for three months from today. In an unscheduled speech on the radio which replaced the 1330 gmt news bulletin, he said that during a recent visit to Afghanistan he saw "painful" scenes which are even "difficult to explain". He said the radio was not able to broadcast "the truth" and report what was happening in Afghanistan because of "the current conditions governing the country". He expressed the hope that the country's situation would improve in three months and the radio would be able to resume its broadcasts. The radio began its broadcasts around eight months ago from London. The text of the speech to follow. Source: Radio Voice of Afghanistan, London, in Dari and Pashto 1330 gmt 14 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) Three months, or forever? This doesn`t make sense. If conditions are so bad in Afgh, it would seem RVOA is needed more than ever (gh, DXLD) Heard wot I thought was V. of Afghanistan at 1400 7 July, 17870, Afghani sounding music, and M.A. (SINPO 24444 to Australia). Then at 1430 a brief break in transmission, few clicks then a Male Announcer in English "Welcome to Voice of America in Farsi..." followed talk by MA and FA in.... Farsi, I guess! Which matches V. of America`s published sched showing: 1430-1530 UTC 9555 15750 17870 and V. of Afghanistan`s sched showing Dari Programme on 17870 kHz 1400-1430 UT on their website The signals sounded the same before and after the break, suggesting same transmitter (Jem Cullen, Australia, July 12, ARDXC via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. NORUEGA/AFGHANISTAN. 18920, Radio Afghanistan (Tentativo), via Kvitsoy, 1300+. 8 de julio. Transmisión en pushtu??. Boletín de noticias leído por OM. 24442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, en DX Camp-Villa Loguercio, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Ex-18940? I am amazed at the resounding silence from all quarters since The Observers in Bulgaria asserted that this emission is no longer via Norway (gh, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Dear Glenn: Yesterday I received a QSL card, a dated on 10,6,2002, letter by Mr. Armen Amiryan, General Director of the Public Radio of Armenia, and a Summer 2002 Program schedule of The Voice of Armenia, it listed the time, frequency and language but no target area as following: MW 864 kHz and SW 4810 kHz 0230-0300 1-7 Farsi 1300-1330 1-5 Azeri 1300-1315 6-7 Azeri 1330-1345 1-5 Turkish 1315-1345 6-7 Turkish 1345-1415 1-7 Kurdish SW 4810 kHz 1645-1715 1-7 Arabic LW 234 kHz 1220-1230 1-6 Georgian SW 4810 kHz and 11625 kHz 1830-1900 1-6 Armenian 1900-1920 1-6 French 1920-1940 1-6 German 1940-2000 1-6 English Via satellite "Hot Bird" 13 degree/12.111 GHz, (For local listeners 107.6 FM) 1730-1740 1,2,4,5,6,7 French 1740-1750 1,2,4,5,6,7 German 1750-1800 1.2.4.5.6.7 English SW 4810 kHz and 15270 kHz 0730-0750 Sunday French 0750-0810 Sunday German 0810-0830 Sunday English SW 9965 kHz 0200-0230 1-7 Armenian 0230-0245 1-7 Spanish Thank you very much for your valuable DX information! Your reader (Yin Yung-chien, Taipei, Taiwan 13/7/2002 08:45, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re Australia's Indonesian service at 2130 on 11935 - China's big band concert was audible on the freq July 10 with not even a tentative of Darwin. It does seems unfortunate that RFA Saipan and Darwin should both use the same freq - albeit in different directions (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Jul 12 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Very interesting Austrian radio history pages of 1945-1955 era: http://www.amospress.at/Z/bdn/BDN2/HIST1945.HTM Also some services of the Allied occupation all over Austria are covered, like American Rot-Weiss-Rot, Russian RAVAG, British R. Alpenland etc. Occupation transmitters in Austria 1945-1955. http://www.amospress.at/Z/bdn/BDN2/HIST1945.HTM#BDN (Josef Haas, Austria, A-DX July 14 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. 6080: At 0700 and at 1000 UT [while monitoring LUX 6090 test] when using the small Collins 2.7 kHz filter, I noticed a warbling-oscillating signal on 6080 and also Belarus` talk there. The audio sounds like an oscillating transmitter fault. Any ideas? Is that the usual sound of the 6080 unit, or is that audio originating from a 'rival' source in CIS ??? (wb df5sx BC-DX via DXLD) The jitterbugging signal on 6080 is BLR, \\ 279 (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX July 10 via DXLD) BLR tx, they are faulty (as I noted) for few weeks (suspect even more) +/- 5 kHz are suffering mostly (f.i. DW's "eternal home" 6075 now comes with [SIO] 322, 433/422, 533 tnx to BLR). BLR itself is 544/533 here with its own transmitter degradation only (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, BC-DX July 10 via DXLD) Yes, and BLR 6080 is in that faulty condition since at least 2 months already (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX July 10 via DXLD) Re the jitterbug on 6080 - this is a very difficult freq on which to hear anything at my location, but something very peculiar sounding is audible. If, as Bernd says, this fault has been on going for some time, it seems to prove that no one ever checks what is actually going out. During a recent discussion (HCDX) about the radio with the worst audio - which two writers suggested was Cairo (I do know of others!) - the question was asked whether they had any listeners outside of the studio. Perhaps BLR has electricity to spare during summer time? (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Jul 12 via DXLD) Current BLR schedule of July 13: 2738 1800-2200 Mayak/SSB 2829 1800-2200 Mayak/SSB 4982 0300-1800 Mayak/SSB 5134 0300-1800 Mayak/SSB 5970 0100-0300 FS 6010 1500-2200 BR-1 6040 1500-2200 BR-1 + local 6070 1500-2200 BR-1 6080 0300-2200 BR-1 6190 1500-2200 BR-1 + local 7105 1500-1700 BR-1 7105 1900-2100 FS 7145 1500-1800 BR-1 + local 7210 0100-0300 FS 7210 1900-2100 FS 7265 1500-2100 BR-2 (incl Mayak) (Mikhail Timofeyev-RUS, DXplorer Jul 14 via BC-DX via DXLD) Radiostation Belarus (R Minsk) Addr: ul.Krasnaya, 4, 220807 Minsk, Belarus Tel: (375-17) 2395831, 2395832, 2395875 Fax: (375-17) 2848574 WEB : http://www.tvr.by Director: Khlebus Nataliya Vasiljevna Tel: (375-17) 2395830) Schedule: 0100-0130 on 1170, 5970, 7210 kHz in Belarussian. 0130-0200 on 1170, 5970, 7210 kHz Mon-Sat in Belarussian, Sun in Ru. 0200-0230 1170, 5970, 7210 kHz Mon/Wed, Fri-Sun in En. Tues in Belarussian. Thurs in German. 0230-0300 1170, 5970, 7210 kHz Mon in Ru. Tues-Sat in Belarussian. Sun in German. 1900-1930 1170, 7105, 7210 kHz in Belarussian. 1930-2000 1170, 7105, 7210 kHz Mon in Belarussian, Tues-Thurs in En. Wed/Sat/Sun in German. Mon in Russian. 2000-2030 on 1170, 7105, 7210 kHz Tues-Fri in Ru, Sat/Mon in Belarussian. 2030-2100 on 1170, 7105, 7210 kHz Tues in Belarussian, Wed/Fri in En. Thurs/Sun/Mon in German. Sat in Russian. (Sergei Alejsejchik, Grodno-BLR, "Kvadrat" DX "Signal", RUS-DX Jul 13 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3850 Radio Independent Makumui, 1052 July 12, sounding like any other PNG, but much weaker. Pops and pidgin talk seemed to have anthem of sorts just before 1102* Need to review recording (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Em artigo recente, publicado no Jornal do Brasil, edição de 19 de junho, Carmen Lúcia Roquette Pinto, afirma que a Rádio MEC está sucateada, com o consentimento do governo brasileiro. Segundo ela, "através de mecanismos insidiosos e ilegais". A Rádio MEC, que tem seus estúdios no Rio de Janeiro, foi doada ao governo, em 1936, por Roquette Pinto. A autora afirma que o governo passou para as mãos de entidade privada um valioso patrimônio, sem consultar a população. A Rádio MEC transmite em 800 kHz e já emitiu em ondas curtas, no passado. As informações são de Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé(AM). BRASIL - O cateretê é uma dança rural brasileira, feita em filas opostas e cantada. Para quem gosta da boa e verdadeira música sertaneja, como é o caso do cateretê, vale conferir o programa Festa na Roça, levado ao ar, de segunda a sexta-feira, pela Rádio Difusora, de Poços de Caldas(MG). É apresentado de 2300 às 0130, em 4945 kHz. No programa do dia 12 de julho, o apresentador disse que a Rádio Difusora recebe periodicamente informes de recepção de todo o mundo. Anunciou o seguinte e-mail para contato: am1250@d... [truncated] BRASIL - A Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, ao que tudo indica, está no ar, em 11780 kHz, em grande parte do dia. Aos domingos, a emissora apresenta, a partir de 2300, o Noite Nacional. É comandado pelo veterano Pereira Lima, que labutou na extinta Rádio Nacional do Brasil. Lima também já trabalhou na Rádio Coréia Internacional. O programa apresenta sucessos da música popular brasileira e mundial. A participação dos ouvintes é feita pelo telefone: 0800 610980. Também aceita, por carta, ao seguinte endereço: Caixa Postal 258, CEP: 70359- 970, Brasília(DF). BRASIL - A audiência do programa Além Fronteiras, da Rádio Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista(SP), é grande no exterior, principalmente na Finlândia. Durante o programa levado ao ar em 6 de julho, vários dexistas daquele país tiveram seus informes respondidos no ar, entre eles, Mika Makelainen. O programa é apresentado aos sábados, entre 2200 e 2300, nas freqüências de 4825, 6105 e 9675 kHz (all: Célio Romais, @tividade DX July 13 via DXLD) ** CANADA. GORD SINCLAIR, CANADIAN PIONEER BROADCASTER PASSES AWAY From http://www.cjad.com/cjad/www/ Gord Sinclair passes away at 74. MONTREAL, Posted 13 Jul 2002 11:39 AM -- CJAD 800 marks the passing of one of Canada's finest broadcasters Gord Sinclair. During a career that spanned more than 50 years, Gord touched the lives of countless Canadians. He has left an indelible mark not only on his listeners but also on his colleagues. Born January 26, 1928, Gord Sinclair's radio career began at CHVC Niagara Falls, Ontario June 1st, 1947. It was in 1982, that he joined CJAD 800. Gary Slaight, President and CEO of Standard Broadcasting Limited said: "It has been an honour having Gord Sinclair as part of our Standard family for 20 years. Our thoughts are with wife Linda, daughters Connie, Jennifer and Heather as well as their families." "Gord was a tireless Canadian and had an intimate knowledge of all corners of the country," said Rob Braide, Vice-President Standard Radio Montreal and General Manager of CJAD 800. "He will be sorely missed by Montreal, Quebec and all of Canada." He was clearly a special Canadian. Part of Gord's legacy is the Radio Television News Directors' Association Gord Sinclair Award for Special Events coverage. CJAD Deputy News Director Derek Conlon says "he was the kind of broadcaster we all aspire to be and his legacy lives on through that award in communities and Newsrooms across the country." "Gord Sinclair was an icon and a gentleman," said Rick Moffat, Program Director of CJAD 800. "Though so many of us admired him as somehow larger than life, he knew the listeners always mattered most. He was famous for stating his opinions openly and honestly, but he always gave Montrealers the last word." (via Mike Terry, Sheldon Harvey, DXLD) Gord Sinclair was the son of the legendary Gordon Sinclair of Toronto who passed away several years ago. Mr. Sinclair was, for several years, a mainstay at CFCF in Montreal except for a period when he was the owner of CFOX (C-FOX) in Vancouver. Returning to Montreal and his long-time home at CFCF, he eventually gave up trying to compete with CJAD and joined their staff! I was fortunate to hear his booming voice when visiting Montreal last summer. It was not at all a stretch to hear his father in that voice!! In all, in becoming one of this country's great radio personalities, Mr. Sinclair had an astounding 55-year career in the business. Between the Gordons, père et fils, there must have been at least a century of broadcasting and in keeping with the family tradition of on air talent, not to mention employment at Standard Broadcasting, his (the Gordon the Younger's) daughter is in the news department at CFRB. (Ori VA3ORI, LISTENING IN NOSTALGIA Columnist, Ontario DX Association, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CJAD'S GORD SINCLAIR DIES AT 74 ALAN HUSTAK Montreal Gazette Saturday, July 13, 2002 Gord Sinclair as a CFCF radio morning man around 1955 [caption] Gord Sinclair, CJAD's tough talking news director and a veteran Montreal broadcasting executive, died yesterday in the intensive-care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was 74. Mr. Sinclair was a familiar voice for the past two decades on the station's noon-hour news and public-affairs talk shows, Free For All and Feedback, where he cultivated a reputation as a cranky, reactionary tightwad with a common touch. He thrived on being contrary. "A lot of people had the impression that he was a loudmouth, big-C conservative, but that wasn't Gord at all," CJAD's acting news director Derek Conlon told The Gazette. "He was opinionated, yes. But he was also the kindest, most gentle, and most accepting person. He loved to argue, but he always accommodated other people's opinions. That was his strength as a broadcaster." Political commentator Graeme Decarie, who regularly faced off against Mr. Sinclair, said that for all their explosive on-air disagreements, they never once exchanged cross words off the air. "He had a broad streak of decency," Decarie said. "He was genuinely a conservative, as he appeared to be, but he was never thoughtless or unkind. He was always dead honest. He wasn't a hypocrite. He liked things open and up front." Gordon Arthur Sinclair was born in Toronto, Jan 26, 1928. His father was the flamboyant Toronto Star reporter, celebrity broadcaster and Front Page Challenge TV panelist, Allen Gordon Sinclair, who died in 1984. Father and son were never close. The elder Sinclair tried to prevent his son from going into the broadcasting business. "He was dead set against it, even violently," Mr. Sinclair once said. "He used to write to me regularly telling me to quit radio, that I would never amount to nuthin'." Mr. Sinclair, who refused to be called Junior, had no formal education beyond high school. While still in school he was a teenage correspondent for the Canadian High News, a local Toronto CBC radio program, and was seduced by the microphone. He ignored his father's advice and in 1947 started his professional broadcasting career in Niagara Falls, Ont. He worked for several radio stations, including CFNB in Fredericton, N.B., before he moved to Montreal in 1951 to get out from under his father's shadow. Mr. Sinclair joined CFCF radio and became that station's top-rated morning man until 1960 when he left to open his own radio station, CFOX, in Pointe Claire. He sold the operation in 1973 to Standard Broadcasting and returned to CFCF. He was lured to CJAD in 1982 to become news director. "Gord projected the image of tightfisted curmudgeon, but he treated everyone equally and he had populist sensibilities," said Rob Braide, the station's vice-president and general manager. "He was a hard-nosed boss who defended and stood behind his staff like no other news director I have ever met. He defended the autonomy and the editorial independence and integrity of his newsroom fiercely." Four years ago, to celebrate his 50th anniversary in broadcasting, Mr. Sinclair was honoured at a charity banquet at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel that raised $40,000 for the Montreal Association for the Blind. Mr. Sinclair never eclipsed his father's reputation but several years ago told a reporter that although he would never be famous as a household name, "I'm as rich as he was, and that counts for something." Mr. Sinclair was a diabetic most of his life and died of complications following a stroke he suffered on the Victoria Day weekend at the family summer home in Muskoka, Ont. He was twice married and has three daughters. There will be no religious funeral. Mr. Sinclair was a confirmed atheist, who stopped believing in God 60 years ago after the death at Christmas of his 11-year-old sister. CJAD will broadcast a memorial tribute today at noon. © Copyright 2002 Montreal Gazette (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) LONGTIME MONTREAL RADIO BROADCASTER GORD SINCLAIR DIES AT 74 MONTREAL (CP) - Montreal radio legend Gord Sinclair died Friday in hospital after a series of strokes. He was 74. Sinclair was a broadcaster for more than 55 years and was news director at CJAD Radio Montreal until his death. The all-news radio station planned a tribute broadcast Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. - Sinclair's regular slot. Sinclair was known for his unique, ad-lib- style newscasts and was also an editorialist and talk show host at the station. Broadcasting was in his blood. "I think Gord Sinclair has done a tremendous amount for our industry over the years," said Eldon Duchscher, a Saskatoon broadcaster and president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada, an organization that was dear to Sinclair. "He was a driving force behind the RTNDA. . .Anyone who has ever met Gord has a great story to tell. He was a helluva broadcaster. He knew a good story, and he knew how to tell it." Sinclair was the son of Gordon Sinclair - a long-time radio host at CFRB Toronto and panellist on TV's "Front Page Challenge." Gord Sinclair Jr. began his radio career in 1947 as a newscaster and disc jockey at Ontario radio stations in Niagara Falls, Oshawa and Hamilton. He moved to Montreal in 1951 to become the morning man for CFCF. By 1954 Sinclair's program was the top rated morning show in the city. In 1960, he and some associates started CFOX Montreal. He built it up to the number two station in the city but it was sold to Slaight Communications in the 1970s and he returned to CFCF in 1975. Sinclair became news director at CJAD in 1982, covering Quebec politics and other major stories such as the Oka crisis and the Ecole Polytechnique massacre. "I think he understood Quebec politics better than any other broadcaster in the city," a caller named Brian told CJAD on Friday evening. "Now there is no one to interpret it for us." CJAD's airwaves were flooded Friday by callers expressing their sense of loss and sorrow. "I'm very shook up over this; I've been calling for 21 years," said Lois of St-Sauveur, Que. "One thing I adored about him was that everything was very personal. There was never a call that went unanswered. . . . I never met him physically, but I knew him very well." Sinclair suffered from diabetes and was dependent on insulin his entire life. He was a strong supporter of many charities, including those for diabetes and its associated eye problems. Sinclair is survived by his wife, Linda, and three daughters, Connie, Jennifer and Heather. © The Canadian Press, 2002 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. TWO NEW APPLICATIONS IN THE EXPANDED BAND Application by SAN LORENZO LATIN AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTRE for a licence to operate a non-commercial AM Type B community radio station to broadcast ethnic programming in Toronto. The new station would operate on frequency 1610 kHz with a transmitter power of 1,000 watts, day and night. By condition of licence, the applicant proposes to direct ethnic programming to a minimum of 4 cultural groups in a minimum of 4 different languages per broadcast week. The Commission will only proceed with this application at the public hearing if advised by the Department of Industry, at least ten days prior to the hearing, that it is technically acceptable. ------------------------------ Application by MAGIC 1610 MARKHAM RADIO (on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated) for a licence to operate an English-language AM commercial radio station in Markham. The new station would operate on frequency 1610 kHz with a daytime transmitter power of 10,000 watts and a night-time transmitter power of 5,000 watts. The applicant is proposing a station format consisting of local news, sports, business and community events. The applicant is proposing to broadcast, by condition of licence, a weekly maximum of 28% of ethnic programming. By condition of licence, the applicant proposes to direct programming to a minimum of 15 groups in a minimum of 8 different languages per broadcast week ---------------- 73 and Best of DX, (Shawn Axelrod, amfmtvdx via DXLD) The AMANDX DX Info Site including the Canadian DX, AM Slogans and Expanded Band Pages: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/index.html Markham, where? ** CHILE. 5674.7, unID LA. Our member Tore B. Vik/TBV has an unID on this frequency . TBV writes: "A new challenge for you - 5674.7 --- probably a religious station - ID "Voz Cristiana" --- heard relaying R. Manantial - Rivadavia - Argentina. What can this be?" BM: I have listened to this station both mornings and evenings but here there is nothing at or around this frequency. TBV says in a later mail that it comes in late, about 0220 UT and he also thinks it is a pretty northern station, for instance Central America. I have several times heard "Voz Cristiana" in Chile with co-transmission or relay of different Argentinian FM-stations. On behalf of our member Tore Larsson/TL at WRTH`s staff, I recently contacted Radio Filadelfia-1170 kHz in Guayaquil and got to know that within a month they will start up transmissions from Quito on the frequency of 780 kHz. By satellite they will have transmissions from "Voz Cristiana" in Florida. So I wonder: is there a connection between "Voz Cristiana" in Chile and Florida? TBV means it is not probable that it is a harmonic. But if we play a little with the thought. I have checked some of the possibilities and on the frequency of 17024.38 kHz there is a very weak signal with extremely faint audio so I can´t get the language. In theory it is 3 x 5674.79 = 17024.38 kHz. (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 14, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Of course there is a connexion between VC in Miami and Chile. The SW transmitters in Chile get their program feed from Miami, where the studios are. I expect that any other LAm stations relayed are also coördinated thru Miami. See next item for explanation (gh, DXLD) ** CHILE. I've been hearing this signal for a few months already on my old Sony 7600G, but wasn't sure if it was for real or not. I'm still hearing it on my Icom R75, so now I'm pretty sure it _is_ real. It seems that Voz Cristiana (from Chile) is putting out a spur on 5675 kHz at night, probably between 0000 and 1100 UTC. The spur on 5675 is the difference between 6070 and 11745 kHz, the frequencies used for the overnight Spanish service to South America. The signal isn't very strong, but should still be audible for anybody with a good antenna. After tweaking the passband a bit I'm getting SIO 244. I'm listening with an Icom R75 and a 15 meter T2FD, from the city of Curitiba in the south of Brazil. regards, (Rik van Riel, harmonics yahoogroups via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Colombian on 6064.5 to resume broadcasting on 6060. Russ Stendal tells me that the new crystal has arrived and that the station is due back on the air some time next week (week 29). Their new canned ID will be as follows: "La Voz de tu Conciencia, 6060 kHz en onda corta. Transmitimos nuestra señal desde Lomalinda, Colombia, para el mundo. Una emisora del Sistema Alcaraván Radio." (Please note that it says "tu", instead of "su" or 'la". Also please note that in their ID there is no mention of "emisión de prueba", test transmission). Programming is actually not religious. Instead it is "philosophical" in nature, not aimed at any particular combatant factions, but rather to all of them (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 5985, 11.7 1900, Radio Congo very good in English; 1915 French. QSA 4 (Jan Edh, Hudiksvall, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 14, translated by gh for DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. The Chesky Rozhlas program schedule shows that the CRo 6 network indeed closes down already at 2000 now but still includes some broadcasts of RFE (RSE); see http://www.rozhlas.cz/program/ (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. My little shack, or "la cabina" as we say here, is soaking wet from ceramic plates, cement and stones. The reason is, for the first time (!!) during my 40 years as a DX-er, I have finally decided to fix a decent earth connection. I contacted the local electric power supplier here in Quito. They arranged for one of their engineers to take care of this work. It turned out that it was not suitable to attach the 1.8 metre long earth stake of copper, 16 mm in diameter, outside the house as the earth wire to my radio should be too long. More than 2-3 meter earth link will not work too well. My wife was deathly pale in her face when I explained that we probably had to take up a "hole" inside my radio shack. It turned out to be really difficult; the engineer worked hard 2-3 hours yesterday and will continue later today - he says it is difficult but it will work out to fix a good earth to my radio with the earth stake of copper together with a cable of roughly 1 metre, 8 mm in diameter. There are also some changes above earth. As you know I have used a 24 metre "L"-antenna coupled via a "magnetic longwire balun". Now I have erected another antenna, a straight 12-metre. The point where those two, the 24 metre and the 12 metre, meet is coupled to the balun and from there with coax down to my radio. This type is called "T"-antenna and is clearly better than my old antenna. It will be very exciting to return to Quito later this autumn to check out the result of a new antenna and a good earth connection. /BM (Björn Malm, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) see CHILE, PERU, UNIDENTIFIED ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 12110, Dejen Radio, audible here July 13th 1715 tune in with commentary, recheck 1750 commentary with mention of "democratia" and "Tigrina" cut off mid sentence 1800 for 1 minute of incidental music and off 1802 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Via Samara, Russia (Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Netsanet Le Ethiopia, Amharic Natanat Lediopyan Radio. Freedom Radio 1700-1800 Wed, Sun 12110 SAM Radio Sagalee Oromia, Oromo 1730-1800 Mon, Thu, Fri? 12110 SAM Dejen Radio, Tigrina 1700-1800 Sat 12110 SAM = Samara Russia. (BC-DX via DXLD) ** GEORGIA. There are different points of view about the location of mysterious transmitter operating now on 9489.8 kHz. Around 10 years ago during the battles between Georgia and Abkhazia in 41 mb. Later on changed to 9365 and 9510 etc., till now finally on 9489.8 kHz. Here are now some conclusions: 1 - The tx is not officially registered either in Russia, or in Georgia/Abkhazia. 2 - It is strange the tx carried out the programs of four stations (feat Sochi, Kuban, Rossii, Abkhazia). 3 - In the local evening on 9490 kHz there are often two txs, - one officially registered by Russia (on 9490) with R Rossii program and another on 9489.8 also with R Rossii progr, both with rumbled sound. 4 - The two txs are owned by two different administrations, one by official, and another clandestine, secret etc. 5 - The 50s-80s Soviet jammers were operated on non-exact frequencies, usually +/- 0.2 kHz off nominal freq. 6 - Who is supporting Abkhazia (already almost for a decade) to be separate from Georgia? I remember at the end of November 2001, when I heard about typhoon in the area of Sochi-Krasnodar, and I tuned to 9490 & 1350 kHz. At 2045- 2100 on 1350 there was a transmission from Sukhumi on 1350, but no signal on 9490, as usually latter on air at 1400-1800. On the next morning there was a broadcast on 9490, but only from studio in Krasnodar (not from Abkhazia or Sochi). After live phone interviews on the air, the speaker of R Kuban said, that in Sochi there is no electricity, but they located in Krasnodar are waiting to get such of from Abkhazia. I guess that means the transmitter is located near Krasnodar and not Sukhum or Sochi (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Jul 4 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6140 0600-1900 27,28 175 (ex130) degrees, 240602-271002 DW English: A very bad result, poor signal of DW in English 0600-1900 UT on 6140 kHz via DTK Juelich. After changing the azimuth since June 24. 1727-1830 heard here VIRI Iran in Russian, plus an Arabic speaking station on July 3rd (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Jul 3 via DXLD) ** HAITI. RÁDIO 4VEH HAITI: Em resposta a Caio Fernandes Lopes, o Diretor Jason do serviço em inglês da FM Horizon deu as seguintes explicações sobre as atividades da Rádio 4VEH. - Atualmente, Radio 4VERH é ouvida em 840 kHz e em 94.7 MHz, Horizon FM. Nossas transmissões são realizadas em francê, creole e inglês. Rádio 4VEH é ainda proprietária de um freqüência em ondas curtas, mas infelizmente nós não temos o transmissor capaz de transmitir neste modo. Nossos planos agora é cobrir todo o Haiti com as Boas Novas de Jesus Cristo através de nosso serviço Francês/Creole em AM 840. Temos planos também de criar uma rêde via Satélite para atingirmos todos os "cantos"do Haiti em parceria com outras estações cristãs locais que queiram retransmitir nossos programas. Em um futuro próximo, nós esperamos tornar este serviço disponível na Internet para que pessoas no mundo inteiro possam desfrutar a programação da 4VRH. Para maiores informações sobre a rêde via Satélite: http://www.sonnysolar.com/sat_info.htm Jason, Horizon 94.7 English Director, 4VEH webmaster, http://www.radio4veh.org (@tividade DX July 13 via DXLD) ** INDIA. 5010, AIR Thiruvananthapuram (presumed), 0050 Jul 14, Subcontinental music with female singer. Various announcements, but I did not get an ID. Fair signal strength. Nice grayline path, relatively low lightning static and quiet geomagnetic field conditions made for decent reception (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. The full schedule of AIR Bangalore on 9425 kHz with 500 kw Home Service (Hindi & English)is: 0128-0530, 0930-1235, 1320-0042 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Hyderabad 500082, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3231.89, RRI Bukittinggi is active again, first day on the air June 28th, from tune in at 1140 to past 1330 UT. At the top of the hour they relay RRI Jakarta news, popular music, Dangut music, fine modulation!! Moderate signal strength. On the next day June 29th, the station came on air at 1145 UT, no ID at s-on, playing popular music. So I hope, they are now on air regularly! Last heard in March 2001 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, BC- DX July 15 via DXLD) 3117.30 RSPDT2 Halmahera Tengha, 1200-1335 UT June 28, very disturbed modulation, weak signal (Roland Schulze, Philippines, BC-DX July 15 via DXLD) 4606.4, RRI Serui, 1306 July 8. Noted as reactivation with Jakarta news in \\ with RRI Ujung Padang (4753.3) and RRI Jambi (4925). Not heard for some time. Signal was weak compared to the other two Indos. Best in LSB as ute is above (Don Nelson, OR, DXplorer July 8 via BC-DX via DXLD) 4606.4, RRI Serui 1234-1245* July 11. Presumed with lite music, no announcements. Suddenly left the air, carrier and all, about 1245 UT. Rather weak signal here (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Jul 11 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. A terrible audio and a very [un?]pleasent time to listen to Baghdad in German 0200-0230, 0230- English program, both on 11787 kHz. (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Jul 4 via Wolfgang Bueschel July 13, DXLD) ** KASHMIR. RADIO BHADARWAH GOES ON AIR IN KASHMIR TO COUNTER PAKISTANI PROPAGANDA | Text of report by Indian news agency PTI Jammu, 13 July: With an aim to counter Pakistani propaganda in Doda area in Jammu and Kashmir, a radio station was commissioned at Bhadarwah on Saturday [13 July]. With a range of nearly 30 km, Radio Kashmir (Bhadarwah) would be initially run by signal staff of three army, a defence spokesman told PTI here. The station would run programmes from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.(1030 to 1630 gmt) every day and some of them will be in Bhadarwahi language, he said. The radio station would expose Pakistani propaganda regarding security forces, project Bhadarwah as tourist destination and give boost to cultural and traditional heritage of the region, the spokesman said. The Bhadarwah radio station was set up in 1993, but due to militancy, it was not made operational. Now that army took a lead to man it, the station became operational from Saturday, he said. Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 1519 gmt 13 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) CENTRE ALLOTS RS 74 CRORE TO COUNTER PAK MEDIA PROPAGANDA KT NEWS SERVICE BHADERWAH, July 13: To counter ongoing propaganda by Pakistani electronic media, Union Government has sanctioned 74 crores for establishing 12 radio stations in different parts of the state, said Union state minister for Defence, Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta here today during the commissioning of AIR station Bhaderwah. Dedicating this station to the nation, Union MoS for Defence Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta said that keeping in view the long pending demand of the public of District Doda, the moment ultimately reached when after 11 years of its completion, Bhaderwah radio station goes to the air today. He however, held the bureaucrats policy responsible for the delay of its commissioning. Prof. Gupta further said that besides, countering the Pak sponsored propaganda, this station will go in a long way to highlight the ancient and peculiar culture of Bhaderwahi origin vis-à-vis will give the boost to the exploitation of tourism potential of this region, minister added saying that three more radio stations are under construction at Rajouri, Nowshera and Poonch in Jammu province and an amount of Rs 74 crores has already been earmarked for the installation of 12 AIR stations in the state. While appreciating the role of Army who have been playing a key role in commissioning of these FM stations at Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua and Nowshera beside AIR Bhadarwah, Prof. Gupta alleged that that some Human Right Agencies keep banging about the violation by the army, but keep mum about the atrocities committed by militants, he said. While supporting the legitimacy of Governor's rule in the state prior to assembly polls, Gupta said that there is separate policy, with the government of India to ensure free and fair polls in the state perhaps for the first time, beside ample financial and economical packages for the state. It is mentionable here that AIR Bhaderwah which goes to air today at 10 hours. 51 minutes and 20 seconds, will cover a population of 3 lakhs and can be heard at a frequency of 101 MHz from 4 PM to 10 PM daily at its first stage and within three months shall start its own production and will be down linked to Jammu, Srinagar and Delhi AIR station. This was disclosed by Chief Engineer AIR Delhi, Mr Ganshyam Singh, while giving a resume of the station. Prominent dignitaries who were present in the commissioning ceremony include Lt. Gen. JBS Yadav (GOC-16 Corps), GoC-Delta Force, Brig. Pardeep Saini (Cdr. 4-Sector RR), Daya Krishan Kotwal (President State BJP) and Dr Jatinder Udhampuri (Station Director AIR Jammu). (Source : Kashmir Times) (via Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. MUSEUM SHIP SPECIAL EVENT Remember this special event takes place next weekend (July 20-21st), and is sponsored by the USS Salem Radio Club (K1USN). Over 70 Museum Ships and Submarines are taking part Worldwide. The Museum Ship Special Event is the opportunity for you to work Warships, Submarines and various Motor Vessels from W.W.II and earlier (USA, Russian, German U-Boats, Canadian, British and more......). ADDED NOTE: Look for the K1USN to be active from the USS Salem. QSLs via K1RV (Please with a Business Size SASE). Certificate for working 10 or more Museum Ships requires your log listing the ships/callsigns and a 9" x 12" SASE sent to KC1XI. The K1USN Web page for a list of Museum Ships and operating frequencies can be found at: http://www.qsl.net/k1usn/event.html (KB8NW/OPDX July 15/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. The following is a link to the unofficial website of the Voice of Korea: http://www.hikoryo.com/ser/vok.htm The site is apparently hosted in China and is part of a larger website devoted to North Korea. Listeners to its Mandarin broadcast may also email reports via this link http://www.hikoryo.com/200207/research.htm (Richard Lam, Singapore, Cumbre DX July 12 via DXLD) Seems to me R. Pyongyang used to have an (unofficial?) site hosted by sympathizers in Japan (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Clandestine stations observed recently: 1620-1630* 3985 V of Iranian Kurdistan, back on air. *1625-1755* 3930, 4605, 6800 V of Komala. *1627-1733* new time ex1600-1700, 3880, 4380 V of Communist [Party] of Iran. 1610-1728* 4240 V of (?Schachmasati?) Kurdistan. 1620-1655* 4260 V of Iranian Kurdistan (different program to 3985, see ABOVE. 1620-1659* and 1845-1930 4130 R Kurdistan. 1650-1657* 4170 unID in Arabic. *1700-1850* 7070 V of Mojahed 2nd program, back on the air. (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Jul 2 via DXLD) ** LATVIA. It`s definite, Laser Radio tests from here; see UK [non] ** LUXEMBOURG. 6090, the difference in reception at various locations is quite remarkable, I think. Does this indicate that the omnidirectional antenna used is actually more directional to some areas than others? Or is it all down to propagation? I listened at various times during the day, and the signal was weakest for an hour or two around 1200 UT. But never below S9 - and BR 6085 had also gone down then too, so allowing virtually QRM free reception. The strongest signal noted was around 1900 when peaking over S9 +30 dB. No co-channel was audible, but splash from 6085 was obvious, even on the narrowest of my three bandwidths (NRD-525). As said in my previous, the main "problem" was phase-distortion? - i.e., fading + distortion. I was impressed at the quality of transmission from these long silent transmitters - maybe not perfect, but still very good, I thought (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Jul 12 via DXLD) The test of R Luxemburg on 6090 kHz around 1800 on July 10 was heard here in Kyiv, Ukraine, worse than I had assumed. Signal strength was 2...3 with a moderate fading - weaker than Bayerischer Rundfunk on 6085 kHz. There were moderate interference in the channel (maybe from BBC in Persian) and splashes from BR. Pop-music from the 60-s...70-s. To avoid 5 kHz interference from the adjacent stations, I simply use a special precise homemade notch filter in AF part of the receiver (Alexander Yegorov, Ukraine, WWDXC BC-DX July 11 via DXLD) Good morning. We will gradually increase modulation as the transmitters will warm up. Optimod is in use. 2 x 250 kW Telefunkens, Turnstyle antenna, horizontal [cross] dipole 0.4 Lambda above ground level, vertical lobe of 35 degrees, like fountain antenna towards Central Europe in daytime ! Some hundreds of reception reports received from New Zealand, Brazil, USA, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Yugoslavia, France, Belgium, Germany, and Norway, to mention a few. Vielen Dank fuer Ihre wertvolle Mitarbeit. Zum Sender: 2 Telefunkensender von je 250 kW Traegerleistung auf Turnstyleantenne (Horizontaler Kreuzdipol 0.4 lambda ueber Boden) Vertikaler Abstrahlwinkel ca. 35 degr ausgelegt fuer Versorgung von Mitteleuropa im Tagesbereich. Wir planen den Sender mittelfristig auf digitale Modulation (DRM http://www.drm.org umzuruesten. Es werden noch weitere Tests folgen, vielleicht auch analoger Regelbetrieb zu bestimmten Tageszeiten. Many thanks for your contribution Eugene Muller Broadcasting Center Europe S.A an RTL Group company Tel: +352 42142 7703 Fax: +352 42142 7709 e-mail: eugene_muller@bce.lu http://www.bce.lu (July 10) Auf meine Frage, wieviele RR woher auf die BCE-RTL-Testsendung gekommen sind, gab Eugene Muller folgende Antwort: Lieber Herr Gerhard, Vielen Dank fuer ihre wertvolle Mitarbeit in unserem Test. QSL wird ihnen zugesandt durch RTL Radio http://www.rtlradio.de Die Zahl der Empfangsberichte ist im Momemt noch nicht abzusehen, es sind mehrere Hunderte! Neuseeland, Brasilien, USA, Finnland, Schweden, Spanien, Portugal, Italien, Jugoslawien, Frankreich, Belgien, Deutschland, Norwegen, um einige zu nennen. Es gab schon eine beachtliche Resonanz. Mit den besten Gruessen, Eugene Muller. (Spitzenwert hier in FrankfurtM war abends mit S 9 +50 dB --- Siegbert Gerhard, A-DX July 11, via BC-DX via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, R Mauritanie, Nouakchott, this time noted on a Friday, viz. at 1436-1528 airing talks in vernacular, rated at 15342, but also heard today 14 July about mid morning via the K9AY loop (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX Jul 5/14 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 4670, XERTA (presumed), 1029, Distorted audio, only readable in FM mode. Heard rap song then, Latin pop. ID in SS, but I don't speak the language, so only presumed to be XERTA, which has been logged around here in the recent past. Strong signal (David Hodgson, TN, July 6, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Sign-on time of 3290 varies widely; sometimes 2030, 2015, or today UT July at already on at 2000, just music, no ID heard (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 2410, R Enga, 1044 Jul 14, Very nice signal strength, but poor audio level. Sounded like some kind of children's theatrical production, but mic placement/level was poor (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4531.98/ 4536.41 Radio Cielo, Chiclayo, el departamento de Lambayeque. 2320 UT. After the Japanese DXer TIN visited Chiclayo in the beginning of this year I have noted Radio Cielo occasionally up to July 5 and July 10 operating respectively on 4531.98 and 4536.41 kHz. After a long time of listening at different frequencies I think the QTH of the station is Chiclayo. I read with a big laugh what TIN writes --- this pirate is run by Sr. Cielo Salazar in Chiclayo who is both a radio technician and a policeman(!!). Thanks Takayuki! (See SWB 1479 via Takayuki Inoue Nozaki, Japan, DSWCI DX Window Feb 13 via DXLD). Now also Radio Santa Rosa has its own little QTH! 5122.17, Radio Santa Rosa, el distrito de Tabaconas, la provincia de San Ignacio, el departamento de Cajamarca. July 6 2002 - 2320 UT. I feel very satisfied and happy when I finally after more than a month of listening managed to catch a QTH for this "Radio Santa Rosa" with unknown QTH --- logged for the first time May 28 and was listed in SWB 1486. Even if you speak good Spanish it is often difficult to catch the QTH given by the DJ, this due to lousy signal, weak modulation, bad microphone, etc. I recommend everyone to visit "Ventanaperú" (see SWB 1459) --- you seldom need to go down to the level "caseríos"; mostly it is enough to go to "distritos" which can be found in this excellent site. To have the geographical names in front of you when you listen to the tape recording is of enormous help to get an ID. Gave the address: "Radio Santa Rosa, Avenida Huancabamba s/n, Tabaconas". (s/n means "sin número"/without number). Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de San Ignacio, cuya capital es San Ignacio. Sus distritos son: Chirinos, Huarango, La Coipa, Namballe, San Ignacio, San José de Lourdes, Tabaconas; con una población total de 111,070 hab. 9674.79, Radio Pacífico, Lima. July 2002 - 2200 UT. Two female DJs in the program "La voz de los chicos". ID: "Radio Pacífico, LV evangélica del pueblo peruano en su frecuencia de 640 AM". Gave telephone number as : 4 33 19 14. 73 from BM (Björn Malm) in Quito! bjornmalm@yahoo.es (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 14, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. Radio Maryja verifies my RR after 272 days with a full detailed QSL-letter, stationsinfo, card and sticker. v/s Malgorzata Zaniewska Radio Maryja, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 80, 87-100 Torun, Poland http://www.radiomaryja.pl e-mail: radio@radiomaryja.pl (Klaus-Peter Hilger, Germany, BC-DX Jul 14 via DXLD) freq time zones tx kW degr date 7380 1700-1830 28 ARM 250 290 010902-271002 S-02 7380 1830-2200 28 SAM 250 285 310302-271002 A-02 12010 1500-1700 27,28,37 SAM 240 285 010902-271002 S-02 12010 1500-1830 27,28,37 ARM 240 290 310302-010902 Z-02 15455 0500-0800 27,28,37 ARM 250 290 310302-271002 A-02 (hfcc via BC-DX via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Audio quality on new 300 kW Thales transmission. I managed to monitor 13640 (new 300 kW Thales unit of RDP) yesterday, and could rate that outlet at fine! audio, compared to rather disturbed audio fed on remaining RDP outlets on 12020, 17, and 21 MHz. Mon-Fri: 0500-0755 9840, 0800-1200 11960, 1600-1900 15525 Sat+Sun: 0700-1345 13640, 1400-2000 15555 (wb, df5sx, Wolfgang Bueschel, Stuttgart, BC-DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Glenn, I didn't see the results of the Tchaikovsky Competition last month, so I found this from the BBC website: Monday, 24 June, 2002, 16:55 GMT 17:55 UK ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gala concert ends Tchaikovsky contest Russia's prestigious Tchaikovsky music competition finished on Sunday with a gala concert attended by President Vladimir Putin. The international contest, held every four years since its launch in 1958, featured 244 young musicians from 34 countries. Among the winners was Chinese violinist Chen Si, whose shoulder was injured by Moscow rioters after Russia's loss to Japan in the World Cup. The 9 June riot left two people dead and caused widespread damage to the centre of the Russian capital. Ayako Uehara of Japan took first prize in the piano category, and was praised by Russian conductor Mark Gorenshtein for her "feel for Russian music", Russia's ORT television reported. [end] I think that VoR has concluded their series on the competition Tues 0630 (Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIERRA LEONE. 6137.8, UNAMSIL (presumed) 0535-0545 July 7. Just audible on signal peaks in severe atmospheric noise and fading. Heard light rock music, also male and female voices. I believe the male voice was that of the announcer. First time monitored here. Definitely there, but very difficult copy. SINPO 24222 on the peaks (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Received the following message from R Veritas. ***************************************************** Thanks for your email. Amazing that we can be heard even in India! We broadcast on shortwave on the 41 metre band (7.24 MHz) from 12h00 - 13h00 and then on the 90 metre band (3.28 MHz) from 18h00 - 21h00. This is local time. I don't know what it would be in your time zone. Do you hear us clearly? We are a Catholic radio station and broadcast the mass at 12h00. In the evening we have a youth programme from 18h00 - 18h30; and news programme from 18h30 - 19h30 - national, international and Catholic news from Vatican radio and then from 19h30 to 21h00 I usually interview a bishop or church leader or leader of another faith community. So ours is a mere four hours at present until we can afford more. On Wednesday evening we have an apologetics programme where we answer questions of callers about the Catholic faith. On Saturdays we have a kiddies programme and a half hour programme by the Lebanese community. So it all variety and we are trying to play our part as Catholics in the re-construction and development of our country as seen through our Catholic perspective. Hope this is helpful. I wish you many hours of listening and hope you receive us clearly to some extent. Yours sincerely, Fr Emil Emil Blaser OP, PO Box 134, 2110 Mondeor (011) 680-4611 residence (011) 433-0913 fax residence (011) 624-2516/7 Radio Veritas (011) 614-7711 fax Radio Veritas 083 325-1719 eblaser@iafrica.com ************************************************************ Regards, (via Swopan Chakroborty (Mr) 2/171/B Sree Colony P.O. Regent Estate Kolkata - 700 092 (Calcutta) India Dial : +91 33 4141222 Email : swopan@vsnl.net July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 9970, Radio Sri Lanka, 0034-0058 Jul 8, male announcer with English talk, TC and ID ("7 past 6 … You are listening to Radio Sri Lanka"), followed by a program of greetings and musical requests. Fair to good with file://15425 poor to fair (Rich D'Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) That would be a new frequency; unusual for them to be so out of band (gh) ** U K [non]. Laser tests on 5935: the signal is reasonable now (1800 UT) but up till 1730 it had suffered severe splatter ex 5930, rendering it virtually useless on an ` ordinary` receiver... (``jrservs``, BDXC-UK Jul 13 via DXLD) I have constant music here now at 1900 UT with the occasional Caroline Loving Awareness jingle. The Dutch transmitter on 5930 is not on air at present. Regards (Andy Cadier, Nr Dover UK, ibid.) Excellent signal on clear channel here. Note the website is now confirming the broadcasts are coming from the 100kw transmitter at Ulbroka in Latvia (Mike Barraclough, UK, BDXC-UK, July 13 ``2:20 pm``) BROADCASTING ON 5935 KHZ SHORTWAVE News Update The Transmitter is currently ON-AIR and we will continue until 22h00 UTC this evening. There will be some breaks in transmission as the antenna and transmitter are adjusted. Don't forget you can participate and also submit your programme ideas by joining our discussion group. Click here to visit the laserradio discussion group The Laser Radio group is experimenting with high-powered shortwave transmissions beamed into the Uk and Europe. An hour-by-hour cross- country analysis of signal strength and viability with be conducted during all of our test broadcasts. The confirmed dates for our broadcasts on 5935 Khz are : Saturday July 13 - 14h00 UTC to 22h00 UTC Sunday July 14 - 14h00 UTC to 22h00 UTC Sunday July 21 - 14h00 UTC to 22h00 UTC Sunday July 28 - 14h00 UTC to 22h00 UTC If you can hear the broadcast please send a reception report. Your reception reports will help us decide whether to continue broadcasting beyond July on 5935 Khz. Our broadcasts on 5935 Khz originate from Ulbroka in the Republic of Latvia. This week’s tests are intended to include music from a number of different styles, and to spice things up rare jingles from Caroline and RNI will feature alongside short extracts of offshore programming. This is to set the tone for the future broadcasts. When regular operations commence, the plan is to provide a full ‘anorak’ service for ‘radio and technology enthusiasts who love good music’. (from http://www.laserradio.net July 13 2053 UT via Mike Barraclough, Mike Terry, DXLD) LATVIA. 5935, Laser Radio, 1845 July 13, Excellent signal on clear channel with back to back music, Radio Caroline Loving Awareness jingle 1900. Last week`s test transmissions did not take place. Website http://www.laserradio.net gives this information on the test transmissions, nothing about sending dollars or euros for QSL cards now [as above, plus:]: Contact Us LaserRadio.net BCM Aquarius London WC1N 3XX England Text (SMS) Messages: +447904259243 Voicemail: 00447904259243; (within UK 07904259243) (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, July 13th) If you have a shortwave receiver give this a listen now as its a strong signal here in Bournemouth at 9.35 pm. Apparently it`s a 100kw transmitter at Ulbroka in Latvia. Now they are playing "The Loveship" track in full, well known of course to Caroline listeners as a jingle. I believe they are also playing the occasional Caroline Loving Awareness jingle. Now the "remember this golden classic" jingle followed by "Here it comes again" by the Fortunes. Now (9.38) Thunderclap Newman, it all good stuff... Anyone know their email address? Do they qsl? (Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Later: I wanted one but not for £2! From http://www.laserradio.net/qsl.htm QSL Card Reception Confirmation LaserRadio.net will acknowledge reception reports for our shortwave broadcasts with our special 'first year' QSL card. Only 2002 of these numbered QSL cards will be produced. We ask those requiring a LaserRadio.net QSL card to please make a contribution of £2 or 3 Euro or $3 toward the cost of preparing and posting requested QSL cards. Payment can be made by British Postal Orders or cash. LATVIA. 5935, Laser Hot Hits, 2120 July 13, presume the one with soft English pops, e.g. Mary Hopkins, Peter Sarstedt. ID after laser sound- effects as "5-5-8" at 2135. Poor-fair signal suffering QRM from Xizang (Paul Ormandy, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I caught just a wee bit of audio between 2150 and 2200. Later a on a weaker signal seems to have replaced the other stronger one on 5935. in between 2150 and 2155 it seemed as though two guys were talking to each other, that was about it, right on the noise floor here. Might have been nice to be farther east this afternoon (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, via Mike Terry, DXLD) Had we already received a confirmation that the Laser Radio transmissions on 5935 originates from Latvia? If not, http://laserradio.net/ includes this statement now, alongside with an announcement of further transmissions for the next two Sundays, both 1400-2200. Right now Ulbroka comes in quite well on 5935 here. The modulation problems of the old Sneg rig were evidently fixed in the meantime, the audio is good and clean now (Kai Ludwig, Germany, 1852 GMT July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, just monitored Laser Radio around 1940 UT, 5935 outlet like a 100 kW signal - S=9 +10 dB, equal to/from Rome (5970) and Prague (5930), but for example Rimavska 250 kW on 5920 is much stronger like S=9 +40 dB. Audio is/was much better[!] than any outlets heard before via Ulbroka transmitter (wb df5sx, Wolfgang Bueschel, July 14? BC-DX via DXLD) I assume it's Laser I'm hearing on 5935. I managed a very quick check today July 13 c1610 when the signal was S5 to 7 and have now tuned again at 1840 and find the signal is peaking to 9+20dB's with splash from equal level 5930. As yet, no annt has been heard - just continuous oldies. It's been a long time since last I heard Riga, but this is a very good signal if from there. The signal is very "Luxembourg" type with continuous 'fading' and distortion - and audio quality is also somewhat distorted as well. That could, I suppose, be due to the audio link or transmitter. ID heard at 1900 in a vocal version as Laser 558. I wonder what it's like north and south of my location? (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX, via DXLD) ** U S A. 13 x 2 = Bleah! I caught local WNET-TV PBS 13 fooling around with (I assume) their primary and auxiliary transmitters early Sunday morning around 4 am. They had both if them on at the same time creating a very odd beat. The beat between transmitters appeared to be varying in frequency. Also, the transmitters seemed to be upstaging one another in signal strength. One would be dominant, then the other would overtake the first. They were, of course, way out of time with each other creating complete crosshatches throughout. An interesting thing to witness. You would think that a station's main and aux would be extraordinarily close in frequency and stable. You would also think there would be a system in place to prevent more than one being on the air at once. Broadcast engineering has really changed its tone since I was a kid. It used to be so formal and by the book. Now it's a lot like listening to amateur radio on off hours where kooks are tuning up and experimenting on the air when no one is listening. There is an invention called a dummy load. It's supposed to prevent dummies from getting on the air with their experiments, hence the name, right? On another note, the head of Sony Broadcast America, Ed Grebow, is said to be leaving Sony to head the broadcaster's consortium promoting the discovery of a new site for a master antenna for the NYC area. Why someone in this important position would want to take on such a challenging and potentially thankless job is a mystery to me. Ed has also worked for CBS and Chyron Corporation (the character generator people). The two sites now being proposed are Governor's Island and a site in (I think) Jersey City, NJ. It seems no one wants any part of the new tower structure. NYC mayor Bloomberg has nixed every concept so far. The only HDTV presence noted here are Fox on 44 and CBS on 56. The PBS 61 outlet barely makes it to my office about 25 blocks from the transmitter site. LOL. I recently saw a demo of a DirecTV feed of HDNet in a store. When motion artifacts are apparent in high definition, noise reduction becomes a very necessary ingredient. Nothing like very distinct blurry pixels. Boy, this technology still has a long long way to go. You simply need much more bandwidth or a very clever algorithm (or both) to make this fly right. I also found it ridiculous that HDNet fills large holes in their schedule with film to HD transfers of old TV shows like Hogan's Heroes. I really like NTSC more and more. It works and is relatively simple. CUAGN soon es 73 de (N2KZ, Karl Zuk, NY, July 14, WTFDA via DXLD) About a new master antenna site for NYC TV and FM, has anyone noticed that in public hearings and in the latest poll, 50% or more of the people feel the WTC towers should be rebuilt? I thought that was a dead subject but it still might happen. And there is also a proposal to build a new 110 (or so) story tower but it would be vacant from the 60th floor to the top!!!! I also understood the Mayor Bloomburg basically killed the Governor's Island tower site....raised enough questions about it to keep lawyers in court for 20 years if someone did want to go forward with it (Joe Fela, NJ, ibid.) ** U S A. KGO-AM 810 KHZ BATTLES SAME FREQUENCY WITH KTBI-AM The following was sent by a fellow SWL to: feedback@kgoam810.com : "On the evening of July 12, 2002, while driving from San Francisco back to Sacramento via Tracy and Stockton, I was listening to the Bernie Ward show but had much difficulty due to interference from a religious station in the state of Washington (KTBI). From Castro Valley through Pleasanton it was almost impossible to comfortably listen about 10:30pm to 11:00pm, PDT. As the KGO signal would take selective fades, KTBI would completely take over. When the KGO signal was good I could still hear KTBI underneath. This persisted all the way up Interstate 5 to Sacramento. Upon arriving at home at about 1am PDT the next morning, I tuned in KGO 810 on my Yaesu FRG-100 with a loop antenna. I was able to phase KGO out and the interfering station (KTBI) in. "The latest information indicates KTBI in Ephrata, WA., runs 50 kW daytime and 23 kW nighttime. In the recent past, they were 50 kW daytime only. It is obvious they are now on 24 hours. You can inform announcer Bill Wattenberg to no longer identify KGO as the 50,000 watt clear channel voice up and down the west coast so long as KTBI continues its nighttime operation." (-- Matthew, N4DLA/6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. AWR new listeners letter address for European branch (ex Forlì Italy branch), from July 15th. AWR hat eine neue Anschrift fuer die Hoererpost: Adventist World Radio 39 Brendon Street London, W1H 5HD England or e-mail: letters@awr.org (via Johannes Carl Zeller, A-DX July 8 via BC-DX via DXLD) Empfangsberichte und QSL-Anforderungen ueber den Kurzwellenempfang der Sendungen von Adventist World R (AWR) sind ab 15. Juli 2002 an die neue Adresse in England zu senden. In einer Uebergangszeit bis 31. Juli 2002 werden ueber die alte Adresse in Forli/Italien eingehende Empfangsberichte noch dort bearbeitet. Spaeter eingehende werden nachgesandt. Inhaltliche oder technische Anfragen zu den deutschsprachigen Sendungen sind jederzeit willkommen und sollten direkt an das Studio gesendet werden: STIMME DER HOFFNUNG Am Elfengrund 66 D-64297 Darmstadt Deutschland Telefon ++49 (0) 6151 95 44-65 Fax ++49 (0) 6151 53 933-65 E-Mail: dxer@stimme-der-hoffnung.de KW-Empfangsberichte, die auf dieser Adresse eingehen, werden umgehend an die zustaendige Stelle weitergeleitet. Die Rundfunksendungen der STIMME DER HOFFNUNG, dem deutschsprachigen Programmanbieter von AWR werden unveraendert ab 31. Maerz 2002 bis voraussichtlich 26. Oktober 2002 nach bereits veroeffentlichtem Sommerplan ueber Kurzwelle, Satelliten und auf Abruf im Internet ausgestrahlt: Kurzwelle Moosbrunn (Oesterreich): 0700-0730 UT, 7230 kHz 41 mb 300 kW non-dir 1500-1530 UT, 7165 kHz 41 mb 300 kW non-dir Internet: http://www.radio.stimme-der-hoffnung.de Empfang der Radioprogrme im Internet auf Abruf! Jederzeit kann das Programm des aktuellen Tages oder eines der 29 vorhergehenden Tage abgerufen werden. Format: RealPlayer. Lothar Klepp, Technischer Hoererservice, A-DX July 8. (via BC-DX July 15 via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. CLANDESTINE from RUSSIA to CAMBODIA. 15660, V. of Khmer Krom *1359-1459* July 9. M&W with talks, many mentions of Vietnam, more so than mentions of "Cambodia". Saw somewhere this was bcst in VT lang, but sounded more like Cambodian to me. Also, IDs seemed to be "Kampuchea Krom," rather than "Khmer Krom". Good signal at tune-in, but deteriorated somewhat after 1420 (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX, via DXLD) It`s the other way round. It is not to Cambodia (and the Russian site is only incidental), but to ethnic Cambodians in southern Vietnam, and thus in Cambodian (gh, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]/SPAIN. 7460, New e-mail address for RNS (Radio Nacional Saharaui): rasdradio@yahoo.es (Rudolf Sonntag, Germany, A-DX Jul 5 via BC-DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 5064.77 Unid LA. June 28 2002 - 2345 UTC. Only heard this date with ads for something in "Santa Clara". Close down 0015 UTC. Cuba? (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 14, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| NASB PARTICIPATES IN HFCC CONFERENCE IN BONN [by] Jeff White --- Radio Miami International The Gaestehaus Petersberg, a stately mansion atop a hill overlooking the scenic Rhine River just south of Bonn, Germany, was the site of the A02 High Frequency Coordination Conference (HFCC) February 4-8, 2002, sponsored by Deutsche Telekom. The Petersburg is an official guest house of the government of Germany for visiting foreign dignitaries, and also serves as a commercial hotel. Past guests have included the likes of Leonid Brezhnev, Bill Clinton and in December of 2001, the delegates to the United Nations Conference on Afghanistan, where Hamid Karzai was chosen as the interim leader of the country. So it was appropriate that this international guest house was the venue for the semi-annual HFCC-ASBU Conference, where shortwave frequency planners from around the world gathered. (``ASBU`` indicates that it was a joint meeting with the Arab States Broadcasting Union.) In fact, this HFCC Conference had a record number of participants -- something like 135. Approximately 80% of the world`s shortwave frequency usage is planned at the HFCC, in this case for the period from March 31-October 26, 2002. This was my second opportunity to represent the NASB at the HFCC Conference, the first time having been in Montreal in August of 2001. Twice each year, for four-and-a-half days, the world`s HF frequency planners get together at the HFCC Conference to plan their frequencies and negotiate deals to avoid interference and chaos on the shortwave bands. This time, the task was even more monumental since the terrorist acts of Sept. 11th had sparked a sudden increase of approximately 25% in shortwave transmissions (particularly to Afghanistan and the southwest Asian region), and a corresponding increase in frequency usage. Each day of the conference, new lists were produced -- hundreds of pages long -- of station broadcast schedules and ``collision lists,`` the latter of which show co- and adjacent-channel frequency usage by two or more stations at the same time to the same target areas which could result in mutual interference. In addition to many hours of hovering over laptop computers and conversing with frequency managers of other stations, there were some interesting seminars presented at the HFCC Conference. For example, Norbert Schall of Deutsche Welle spoke about a relatively low-cost remote monitoring system he has developed, and Merlin Communications presented a prototype receiver to pick up DRM digital shortwave transmissions. The five-star Hotel Petersberg was nestled in the woods in a rather isolated location that was conducive to the business at hand. But a short taxi or shuttle bus ride took delegates to the nearby town of Konigswinter, where many conference participants in fact stayed in alternate hotels, and where many others went for dinner at picturesque small restaurants along the Rhine River which served excellent local and international cuisine at very reasonable prices. On the Wednesday night of the conference, host Deutsche Telekom took the entire delegation by bus to the beautiful city of Cologne, a half hour away, for a lavish buffet and musical entertainment in a typical German beer hall just a few steps away from the famous Cologne Cathedral, drenched in green floodlights that amplified its majesty against the cold night sky. In addition to myself, NASB member station WEWN sent Terry Borders and Dennis Dempsey to observe the frequency coordination process. Their frequency manager, Stanley Leinwoll, normally attends the HFCC conferences, but was unable to attend this time. Also NASB member station KTWR had a representative, Jeff Lecureux, who was very active in the coordination activities for his own station. The Adventist World Radio and Far East Broadcasting delegations looked out for their stations on U.S. territory as well as their overseas stations. George McClintock of WWCR in Tennessee also attended the conference. In his opening remarks, HFCC Chairman Oldrich Cip thanked the NASB for its continuing assistance in gathering frequency requirement data from some of the major Latin American shortwave stations. Tom Polzin and Tom Lucey of the FCC`s International Bureau were on the scene in Bonn. This was the first time the FCC has sent two delegates to an HFCC conference, and the Commission will likely only send one delegate to future conferences. HFCC Chairman Oldrich Cip asked Tom Polzin and myself to meet with him to discuss the NASB`s future participation in the HFCC and its conferences. I explained that while we find it very beneficial to attend these conferences, financial realities may prevent us from attending some meetings due to their distance and costs. (For example, the next two meetings will be in Bangkok and South Africa.) For this reason and others, I explained that we prefer to remain a part of the FCC delegation, rather than seek separate membership status in the HFCC. Tom Polzin said that he welcomes the NASB`s participation in the FCC delegation to assist him since we have more detailed knowledge of the individual member stations and their technical characteristics and needs. Also, Tom pointed out that the FCC`s budget is very changeable, and at any moment it could decide not to send any more delegates to the HFCC conferences. Therefore, he thinks it is very prudent for the FCC-licensed stations to familiarize themselves with the frequency coordination process and make contacts, so that they could take over their own frequency coordination at a moment`s notice if this were to become necessary at any point in the future. As a result of our meeting, Oldrich Cip agreed to approach the HFCC Steering Board about the possibility of granting pass codes to the frequency managers of all FCC-licensed shortwave stations which would give them access to the private area of the HFCC website where tentative frequency requirements are posted approximately three weeks prior to each seasonal meeting. This would permit stations to identify potential collisions and come up with possible solutions even before the HFCC conferences, thus making everyone`s jobs a little easier. The Steering Board later approved this measure, and it is hoped the new system can be implemented very soon. Our presence in Bonn enabled us to solve several scheduling problems involving the privately-owned U.S. shortwave stations. For example, we were able to notify Doug Garlinger of LeSEA Broadcasting about a potential collision involving KWHR, which fortunately did not seem to be a problem. Doug e-mailed us a list of schedule changes that he had originally submitted in December, but for some reason did not appear in the updated HFCC list. We gave these to Tom Polzin, who got them into a revised list. However, Tom noticed a problem with a change of azimuth from Africa to Europe, which produced a co-channel collision with Radio Portugal. I e-mailed Doug to see if he preferred to look for an alternate frequency for that transmission, or if he preferred to leave the azimuth toward Africa and thus avoid the collision. He chose the latter course, and a collision was avoided. We were also able to notify member stations WTJC and KNLS about collisions indicated on the HFCC lists. Hans Johnson, the frequency manager of WINB -- a non-member of NASB at that time -- had submitted their A02 schedule to us before the conference, and I found that their new requirements were not on the HFCC list. Again, the correct requirements were given to Tom Polzin, and the next day they were in the updated HFCC list. However, careful checking revealed four WINB listings with incorrect start and stop dates, plus an extraneous listing that would have made it appear that WINB was listing ``wooden transmitters.`` These errors were pointed out to Tom, and they were duly corrected in the following day`s update. As a result of the assistance we provided WINB, Hans Johnson indicated that the station had decided to become a member of NASB. For frequency planning purposes, Tom Polzin of the FCC`s International Bureau explained that the use of out-of-band frequencies by FCC licensees has to be approved by an interagency governmental body. He provided us with a list of pre-approved out-of-band frequencies which we were authorized to make available to legitimate frequency managers of any NASB member station. This list will save a lot of time and possible frustration for our members. Both Adventist World Radio and independent frequency manager Bernd Friedewald approached us in Bonn to offer surplus transmitting equipment to members of NASB who might be looking for shortwave transmitters, antennas, etc. I asked them to submit the details to us by e-mail for inclusion in the NASB Newsletter. We were also approached by Walter Brodowsky of Deutsche Telekom regarding an agreement to broker airtime on their large shortwave station in Julich, Germany. Deutsche Telekom will be preparing a draft agreement for NASB`s review. Even if NASB as an entity decides not to pursue this type of commercial activity, some of our member stations may find it an attractive opportunity. Thursday, February 7, was a local festival in the Cologne area called Weiberfastnacht (the day before Carnival). According to tradition, women take over the local government at 11 minutes past 11 a.m., and they are authorized to literally cut the ties off of any man who dares to wear this item of apparel on this day. In keeping with the tradition, HFCC Chairman Oldrich Cip was temporarily deposed at 11:11 a.m. and replaced by Teresa Beatriz Abreu of Radio Portugal, who skillfully wielded a pair of scissors and cut off Oldrich`s tie and those of a few others who did not heed the warning. At the end of the day, Teresa was thanked for her leadership and Oldrich was replaced as Chairman, just in time for the Plenary Session of the Conference. It was announced that the next HFCC Conference will be August 26-30, 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand, sponsored by Merlin Communications. July 19, 2002 is the deadline for submission of tentative requirements for the B02 broadcast season. HFCC delegates accepted the invitation of Rodgers Gamuti of Sentech to sponsor the February 2003 HFCC Conference in Sandton (near Johannesburg), South Africa. Independent frequency manager Ludo Maes of the well-known Transmitter Documentation Project (TDP) in Belgium was admitted as the newest member of the HFCC with a round of applause. And brief reports were presented by the heads of HFCC committees dealing with propagation and coordination software, a survey of antenna designs used by members worldwide, a monitoring group which will verify whether stations are actually on the air according to their coordinated schedules, and shortwave-related issues to be discussed at the 2003 World Administrative Radio Conference. Jan-Willem Drexhage of Radio Nederland explained a bit about Power Line Communications (PLC) -- a new system that will give very fast Internet connections to people in Europe, but will also interfere severely with shortwave listening. ``It`s very dangerous for our broadcasts,`` said Jan- Willem. (For more information on PLC, see the ``Projects/Links`` section of the HFCC web site: http://www.hfcc.org Finally, a few financial matters were discussed. The Bonn HFCC Conference wrapped up around mid-day on Friday, while many of the participants left throughout the day and on Saturday to return to their respective countries, in most cases much more confident about the clarity of their transmission schedules for the coming six months (July NASB Newsletter via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ANALYSIS: NET BALANCE Text of editorial analysis by Ian Piper and Martin Peters of BBC Monitoring's Foreign Media Unit Free internet culture The Internet's free and open culture may be on the way out with the likes of FT.com and US-based search engine Alta Vista, Yahoo, CNN and numerous newspapers all charging users. Online versions of existing newspapers were among the first to offer content, free of charge, to web-literate readers. The theory was that advertising revenue would far outweigh the minimal cost of providing the online service. The reality was that while users were inevitably happy to make use of the facilities, advertising failed to meet even the most pessimistic forecasts, and the sites were run at a loss. The online properties were perceived as a threat to their conventional counterparts, because it was anticipated that readers would remain online, deserting printed versions. The providers hope the customers are now hooked on their services and information and that enough of them will pay to continue when charges are introduced. This may be a dangerous path, for internet trends have been difficult to predict. Another idea, already being trailed, is to require registration before access to the main area of the site is permitted. This information can then be supplied to potential advertisers, anxious to target consumers effectively. Research has shown that few subscribers are lost when required to register, with some even recognizing the advantages of being sent advertisements tailored to their interests and needs. That print sales are trailing off as a result of information being made available online has proved to be unfounded. According to a recent report by media consultants Borrell and Associates, 76 per cent of online readers either live outside the papers' markets or continue to subscribe to the printed version. In a similar vein, Atlanta-based CNN has begun charging online subscribers for video content. Meanwhile, search engine Alta Vista has discontinued its free e-mail service, citing "business refocusing" and returning to its roots as a comprehensive search engine. If the current trend continues, newspapers, among others, offering free content online will be remembered as part of the Internet revolution's "golden era". Number of online papers now stable The rapid increase in the number of online editions has stabilized, with only 50 new titles launching web sites over the last year, bringing the total to around 3,000. Most sites have enjoyed significant growth in terms of visitors, with Lidove noviny in the Czech Republic claiming a 228 per cent increase. However, advertising has not kept pace, with many entities declaring no change or even a downturn in on-line revenue. Many are now feeling vulnerable, the World Association of Newspapers reported in May. In their report, Borrell and Associates believe the trend towards charging is a mistake in the long term. Only a handful of newspapers charge for their daily content, but up to 350 others are known to be considering such a move. Their report suggests rather than simply charge for hitherto free content, newspapers should create a value-added area within their web sites. Customized newsletters and archive material, both unavailable in the printed version, are two obvious areas deserving investigation. The BBC has announced that it is planning to allocate 10 per cent of its total budget to web site development by 2006. Along with many other international broadcasters, the BBC sees the Internet as playing a significant part in the future of programme and information delivery and is budgeting heavily for the continued development and exploitation of the net. While publicly funded organizations continue to provide free internet services, there is an underlying trend within the private sector to start making users pay for value-added services which were previously enjoyed for free. \ \ US online news consumption constant In the United States, online news consumption has remained constant, according to the Editor and Publisher web site. The biennial media survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre for People and the Press in Washington DC revealed that even though the Internet made universal access to news possible, the only people using the new media for news were those who had previously consumed old media. The Internet, the reports says, has not been able to live up to its expectations of becoming the dominant source of news media. The survey showed that 25 per cent of Americans seek online news three times a week, a figure just 2 per cent more than two years ago. Online spending and surfing in the US also remained flat for the week ending 30 June 2002. \ \ Japanese net growth continues Japan, the world's third largest economy, is experiencing a protracted recession. Its internet market continues to defy the country's general economic trends by maintaining growth, the Cisco IQ web site reported. Net sites are starting to take steps to protect their products and information by restricting external links to their sites. \ \ Links limited A Danish web site called Newsbooster was this week ordered to stop linking to 20 Danish newspapers without permission. The court ruled that the site was a competitor to the other newspapers and by linking to them they were compromising the value of the newspaper's advertisements, USA Today reported. Newsbooster is a paid subscription service which allows users to search for topics and receive lists of relevant news items via the web or e-mail. Newsbooster said it still had links to 4,480 international newspapers and thus far had received no complaints from those foreign publications. It seems that future internet development decisions will have to be based on sound audience research and customer information, not on marketing guesses or rumours. There is a real need for accurate data on which investment and development decisions can be based. Companies need hard facts and evidence. \ \ Standardized internet ratings - NZ-only An industry group representing many of New Zealand's major internet publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies recently announced a preferred supplier to deliver standardized internet ratings and audience measurement figures to the New Zealand online and advertising industries. The new standard incorporates web site traffic and audience measurement with demographic information on New Zealand net users. It will give web site owners and advertisers the ability to accurately compare one online property with another, as well as an understanding of the differences in demographic profiles between sites, the IDG.net.nz web site reported. \ \ Cyber-crime Another problem which existed before the modern Internet was even invented is the ever present threat of cyber crime and security breaches. Such issues undoubtedly put many users and potential customers off paying for services online. Online security breaches are on the increase, and this is highlighted by a recent report by the internet security company Riptech. Internet attacks against public and private organizations rose by 28 per cent in the first six months of 2002. The study tracked net-security breaches at more than 400 organizations and found evidence of over 180,000 successful internet attacks from January to June 2002. This compares with 160,000 Internet attacks during the period July to December 2001, NUA surveys of Dublin reported. Source: BBC Monitoring research 10 Jul 02 (via DXLD) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RECEIVER TIPS +++++++++++++ "ALIGNING PHILCO RECEIVERS", "CHANGE OF I.F. PEAK" by John F. Rider, published in 1937 Here is a question for those of you who like to do historical research, or who just like pursuing trivia. I have a book entitled "Aligning Philco Receivers" by John F. Rider, published in 1937. It contains an interesting section, "Change of I.F. Peak". "In certain localities it has been found advisable to align two and three-gang Philco receivers at some i-f. peak other than the one for which they were designed, i.e. 470 k.c. This change has been found necessary because of certain types of interference peculiar to these localities, among which are Portland, Maine; Miami, Florida; New Haven, Connecticut; San Diego, California; the northern one third of Long Island; Newark; and Southern New Jersey. When interference is experienced in any of these places, it is advisable to realign the i-f. amplifier at 456 k.c., 465 k.c., or 480 k.c. The i-f. peak which is furthest away from the interference should be used. The wave trap should not be aligned at the i-f. peak, but preferably to give maximum attenuation of the interference." The implication is that there was a station that transmitted on 470 kHz in these areas. Does anyone know if there are stations operating on that frequency in those cities, or if there were stations operating back in the mid-1930s, and what they were used for? A book I have from the 1960s says the band was allocated to marine mobile telegraphy (I couldn't find a band assignment in any of my older books), and I have a recollection that there was a calling and emergency frequency in that band (500 kHz?). But I also recall that the requirement to monitor that frequency was dropped some years ago. I've never picked up much on LW, and can't tell if the band is still active. By the way, not all receivers had a 470 kHz IF: many had a 460 kHz IF instead, and there were some at 260 kHz and 175 kHz. I think it's interesting that none worked at 455 kHz. I don't think I've ever had or serviced a radio that had a problem picking up a spurious signal on it's IF frequency, but it's also possible that station assignments in that band avoid 455 kHz, now the most popular IF frequency in that general frequency range. Now that I think of it, it also isn't clear why manufacturers didn't choose something like 452.5 or 457.5 kHz so that the image would be separated by 905 or 915 kHz and therefore fall between channel assignments, at least in North America. For that matter, I've never seen an explanation of how 455 kHz came to be the de-facto standard, (as opposed to 460, 475, or some of the other frequencies that were used for a while) and I've been in this business / hobby for quite some time. But perhaps that should be a different topic. (B. Z. Lederman, lederman@encompasserve.org>rec.radio.shortwave via SW Bulletin July 14 via DXLD) ###