DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-154 October 4, 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 1150: AIRINGS ON WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 FIRST AIRINGS ON RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600 on 7445, 15039 NEXT AIRING ON WBCQ: Mon 0415 on 7415 ON WORLD RADIO NETWORK: Rest of world Sat 0800; N America Sun 1400 ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1150.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1150.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1150.html UPDATED WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SCHEDULE: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html MONITORING REMINDERS, with many new October entries (bookmark and check as needed, since it is constantly being updated): http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html ** AFGHANISTAN. US to install two MW transmitters with nationwide reach | Text of US Broadcasting Board of Governors press release dated 3 October Washington, DC, 3 October 2002: The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan signed the US- Afghanistan Radio Agreement today, paving the way for the installation of two mediumwave (AM) transmitters with nationwide reach in Afghanistan. Radio TV Afghanistan, operated by the Afghan government, will use one transmitter. The Afghan Radio Network Initiative, a joint 24-hour service of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, will use the second transmitter to broadcast round-the-clock Dari and Pashto language programmes. These programmes include hourly news and information reports from around the world, as well as feature reports on issues such as health, education, women's rights and economic reconstruction. "We hope to be a part of a better day for Afghanistan," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, who signed the agreement along with His Excellency Dr Makhdum Rahin, Afghan minister of information and culture. Dr Rahin commented that the agreement will "allow the voices of freedom, democracy and tolerance to have a stronger chance of being heard in Afghanistan". The Afghan vice-president, Hedayat Amin Arsala, attended the ceremony, along with Ambassador David Johnson, senior coordinator for Afghanistan at the Department of State, and representatives from the Embassy of Afghanistan. Ali Jalali, director of the BBG Afghan Radio Network Initiative and the chief of the Voice of America's Pashto service, hosted the signing ceremony. In his welcoming address, Jalali noted that Afghans "depend more than ever on accurate, balanced and comprehensive news coverage about politics, health, education and many other topics." The 10.2m-dollar project, which will include constructing, transporting and installing equipment, is expected to take about six months. In addition to the two AM transmitters, the BBG will also install FM transmitters in up to five cities across Afghanistan. US Broadcasting Board of Governors press release, Washington DC, 3 Oct 02 Best 73s (via Ydun Ritz, Denmark, Oct 4, DXLD) ** BENIN. Radio Parakou on 5025 kHz heard this morning (4 Oct) with an unusually strong signal starting at 0500 UT (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 5025, ORTB Parakou/Benin just signed on in French with 'Radiodiffusion TV Beninoîse éméttant de Parakou" 0500 Oct 04, fairly decent signal with slight RTTY QRM. Presently vocal music accompanied by some sort of drums. 73 de (Thomas, DL1CQ, Roth, FISTS #6402 Hannover, North Germany R-390/URR, SP-600-JX21, R&S EK047 swl via DXLD) ** BRAZIL [non]. See USA for story on VOA`s non-Portuguese ** BRAZIL. The 60 mb reception conditions tonight, Oct 3, were bad, just the most regular ones were heard, but also 4845.1 Oct 3 -0200 Rádio Cultura Ondas Tropicais, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Signed off with a fine canned ID and the national anthem. They only announce the 4845 kHz frequency. I find that it's a bit odd, most Brazilian stations I thought use tropical bands as a supplement to MW or FM, but this one is just "ondas tropicais", so the name is very correct. But what do I know? Anyway QSA 4. 73 (Johan Berglund, AOR7030, lw, K9AY, Trollhättan, Sweden, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Really 250 kW? ** CANADA. Found some promo material at the CBC Radio One website regarding the new Shelagh Rogers-hosted morning program, "Sounds Like Canada". Quoting from the website: "Featuring a mix of in-studio and on-location production, Sounds Like Canada will venture into the real world, beyond the radio studio. We want to drench the airwaves with voices and sound from all over the country and bring the listener what is new, surprising and thought provoking, while presenting familiar voices in different and creative ways. "There is no better voice than that of Shelagh Rogers to represent what Sounds Like Canada. She will be the tie that binds, leading listeners to places both new and known in the manner Canadians have come to respect, trust and enjoy. "Sounds Like Canada will present segments that vary and change on a daily basis, featuring diverse content that will reflect Canada. Also, audiences will be invited to help choose content that's heard during the program. The program begins at "10:05 AM" (10:35 NT) which suggests it's a rolling live program, like NPR's "Morning Edition". See http://cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/ Interestingly, the on-air schedule beginning 14th October is now populated. "This Morning" is cut down to one hour (9A - 10A). "Sounds Like Canada Tonight" airs 8P-9P Tuesday-Thursday, with "Workology" on Mondays and "Richler on Radio" Fridays. As for shortwave, I *believe* RCI currently takes the Atlantic time zone feed for "This Morning" and its follow-on program in its 1200- 1500 UT US/Caribbean release. If this trend continues, we'd get the one remaining hour of "This Morning" plus the two hours of "Sounds Like Canada". However this is just a guess. Have a good weekend, everybody! (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA , Oct 4, swprograms via DXLD) ** CUBA. Radio Rebelde, captada el pasado 28/09 a las 0330 UT, transmitiendo el programa informativo "Ventana Rebelde", en los 6120 kHz. SINPO 5/4. Fuera del aire a las 0420, aproximadamente (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. Regarding the mediumwave antenna debate: I also know 5/8 wavelength as a popular mediumwave antenna design. This refers to the frequency the antenna is optimized for, but the point is that the antenna can be used also to operate other frequencies, just with a somewhat decreased efficiency. And we not even know about the antenna actually in use for Radio Sawa on 981; this frequency was put on air in such a short time that one has really to wonder if this is actually an already existing antenna at the RMC site on Cyprus (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. Glenn: Didn't mean to be insulting, just was surprised at the comment, since most AM arrays (if well designed) are wideband enough to have +/- 10 kHz bandwidth of 1.2/1 VSWR or better, and non-DA antennas are retunable over a 2/1 frequency range without much trouble. (The EIA Standard for AM antenna systems is 1.2/1 VSWR +/-5 kHz, 1.46/1 VSWR +/-10 kHz. Most systems probably meet this requirement, although there are certainly some that do not.) Re your comment about 5/8 lambda: Indeed, the general height limit for good performance is somewhat shorted than 5/8 wavelength, perhaps about 195-205 electrical degrees. That is because the high angle lobe from a 5/8 wavelength antenna can cause pretty severe skywave/ groundwave "fade zone" interference close in to the antenna, even within the 70 or 80 dBu groundwave service area. Another reason is that the "speed of light in steel" is slower than in free space, so that for most antenna mast/tower geometries the current distribution results in an electrical height that is greater than the physical height by as much as 5 or even 10%. There is a pretty egregious example at 1100 in Cleveland, where the other antennas on the tower have modified the current distribution so that it has a very noticeable high angle radiation problem and skywave/groundwave interference in the suburbs within the 70 dBu groundwave service area. In another case I am aware of, a new antenna installed for an old station has an antenna which includes one tower which is 225 degrees (5/8 wavelength) physically tall, and it destroyed most if not all of the nighttime outer groundwave service area of the station. I know the person who did the design, and he is incompetent. Thanks (Ben Dawson, via Ydun Ritz, DXLD) Tnx for the tutorial, useful for us non-broadcast engineers. Now at Ydun`s site are a couple jpg`s of the Cape Greco site, clearly showing two groups of antennas: one with three apparently identical masts, and another with four in a trapezoid: http://www.ydunritz.com/cape_greco-1.jpg http://www.ydunritz.com/cape_greco-2.jpg (gh, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 12115, Dejen R. Sep 28 *1700-1710 44444 Tigrigna, 1700 s/on with local music. ID and opening announce. Local music (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium, via DXLD) This is the station which Ludo Maes of TDP, in a Cumbre DX posting, accuses Hans Johnson of backing/organizing/brokering? Perhaps Hans will issue QSLs? (gh, DXLD) ** EUROPE. ¿Piratas europeas?: captada la de 15070 kHz, desde Holanda, a las 0158 UT, el 29/09. Con música de Righteous Brothers "Unchained Melody", "Please Release me" de Engelbert Humperdick y Tom Jones con "Green Grass of Home". Comentarios en inglés de un locutor. Sólo alcancé a oir "from the Netherlands", varias veces. Mucho fade. SINPO 24222. Nombre:?? [Alfa Lima International] En 12256.7, a las 0600, sólo alcancé a oir "Uptown Girl" de Billy Joel, para luego disiparse en un fade eterno. Nombre:?? 29/09. [R. Fax?] En los 15795, a las 0545, buena música pop hasta cierre a las 0620. SINPO 3/3. Locutor en inglés. Escuchada de nuevo a las 0739 con Europe y "Final Countdown", con SINPO variable de 2/2 y 2/1. Nombre:?? [Borderhunter] (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Unfortunately I just missed the scheduled German broadcast from YLE (0930 on 15530), but apparently at least this service is not dead yet. They still update the German webpage, meanwhile also the announcement for the special call-in show on Oct. 10 was posted there (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Concerning Radio Finland. Hi Glenn, There's been some discussion in DXLD re whether R. Finland has already discontinued its English, French and German broadcasts. I haven't put them on lately: I'm not always around for the scheduled time of the SW broadcast to NAm, and the listed time for them on CBC overnight would be starting at 5:30 AM, but the local CBC Radio One morning show here in Montréal starts at 5:30 AM, so we don't get that segment of Overnight. (Although, checking the latest schedule of CBC Radio Overnight, at: http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/overnight/schedule.html I see that R. Finland is also listed on weekends in the 1-2 AM hour, which I was unaware of.) However, looking at the website of Radio Finland makes me think that they're still going. That's more evident by looking at the French and German pages, both of which today had the texts of today's (4 Oct.) newscasts. The English page doesn't have texts of newscasts, which makes it difficult to see at a glance if the page has been updated lately. As for a lack of links on the English page for other sources of information concerning Finland, you should go and consult the French and German pages. In the right-hand columns on those pages, at the end of the texts of the newscasts, are a number of links to sources of info about Finland in those languages. I would presume that those available in French, and those which are duplicated in German, would have info in English as well --- http://virtualfinland.fi certainly does. The German list includes, as well, a few which are also solely in English, including the English page from the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Howdy how radiofolks! IT IS NOW FIRST WEEKEND OF OCTOBER beginning and so Scandinavian Weekend Radio will start its monthly 24 hours transmission today Friday 4th October at 21 hours UT! Come along to listen us on 48 and 25 meters on shortwaves. More details on our webpage http://www.swradio.net E-mail address: info@swradio.net Reception report form: http://www.swradio.net/fin/rapo.htm Postal address: SWR, P. O. Box 35, FIN-40321 Jyväskylä, FINLAND. And remember add return postage 2 EUR/ 2 USD/ 2 IRC’s (correctly stamped) with your reception report. Best regards, (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. http://www.tdf.fr/article/articleview/2336/1/1570/ Hi Glenn, this is the WEB page giving all the news about the TDF operating in Rennes, from where has been originated the transmissions listened on 25 MHz. I guess this is the solution to the programs listened. Thanks to Christian Ghibaudo for this information (Dario Monferini, Italy, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, I don`t see any mention of 25 MHz, or even SW on this website, just generalities about Rennes being an R&D centre including DAB (no DRM mentioned), and digital TV (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. I am not aware of a mediumwave licence awarded to the Countrystar project of Starlet Media. They indeed applied for longwave 261 but as already reported this frequency was allocated to Europe 1 instead. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] The reported mediumwave transmissions of CountryStar are apparently just a participation in the DRM tests on 531 (Burg, 2 kW). This DRM signal contains alternately Megaradio, CountryStar and 531 Digital (the last one program is the output of yet another Dalet system at Hit-Radio Antenne Brocken). Here is a record of the 531 transmission with such a switch from Countrystar to 531 Digital: http://www.digitalerrundfunk.de/mittelwelle/drm-umschaltung.zip But beware, the file is 1.4 MB large, it contains a MP3 file, of course of almost the same size (it is nonsense to "zip" MP3's). You will note that the transmission is in pseudo-stereo, as I recall this was the case already back in last year when the 531 signal was presented on the DRM booth at the Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin. The CountryStar project has a website: http://www.starletmediaag.de There you will find also a stream http://62.146.2.66/audio/test.asx, labeled as "demonstration program" and probably containing the feed used for the DRM tests, too. A collection of transmitter site pictures is available here: http://www.sender-tabelle.de/frame_fotos.htm Alongside with many FM sites also various AM sites like Mühlacker, Stuttgart-Hirschlanden, Mainz-Wolfsheim, Beromünster (note the picture of a shortwave HQ) and others are featured. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. 4VEH QSL for sale on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=719873016 (Bob Wilkner, FL, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL cards for sale?? Why should someone collect verifications that confirm a reception of a third person? What will be next - a printed guide how to get QSLs without having heard a station? I cannot understand the idea behind making money with those personal documents. 73, (Willi Passmann, ibid.) From Paul Ormandy, NZ, who has been selling a number of QSLs lately. Tho bemused, I can understand why. They are a collectible like anything else, any other historical document. I am perfectly satisfied to see the scan of it, and a higher resolution one is offered (gh, DXLD) Sure, QSL are personal documents. But as time pass, they also become historical documents. QSL from 4VEH, Stimme der DDR, RIAS Berlin, Spanish Morocco, RTV Hong Kong, Radio Saigon, and Radio Peace and Progress all tell a story. To me, that's a pretty good reason to save, and even collect, such personal items (Hermod Pedersen, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. B-02 schedule for Radio Budapest from October 27, 2002 to March 29, 2003: Croatian to Eu 0500-0513 Daily 6025 2100-2113 Daily 6025 English to Eu 2000-2028 Daily 6025 7135 2200-2228 Daily 3975 6025 English to NoAm 0200-0228 Daily 9835 0330-0358 Daily 9835 German to Eu 1300-1358 Sun 6025 11925 1500-1558 Sun 6025 9735 1800-1858 Sun 3975 6025 1830-1858 Mon-Sat 3975 6025 2030-2058 Mon-Sat 3975 6025 French to Eu 0530-0543 Daily 6025 7115 2115-2128 Daily 6025 9800 Hungarian to Eu 0600-1158 Sun 6025 (relay HS-1 Kossuth R) 0600-1658 Mon-Sat 6025 (relay HS-1 Kossuth R) 1200-1258 Sun 6025 1400-1458 Sun 6025 1900-1958 Daily 3975 6025 2300-2358 Daily 6025 Hungarian to NoAm 0000-0058 Daily 9835 0130-0228 Daily 9835 2000-2058 Daily 6130 Hungarian to SoAm 2300-2358 Daily 9580 11990 0000-0058 Mon 9580 11990 Hungarian to AUS 1200-1258 Daily 21560 1900-1958 Daily 6130 Italian to Eu 0545-0558 Daily 6025 7195 2130-2143 Daily 6025 7215 2230-2243 Daily 6025 7215 Romanian to Eu 0445-0458 Daily 6025 1600-1613 Sun 6025 1715-1728 Daily 6025 Russian to Eu 0400-0428 Daily 3975 6025 1630-1658 Sun 6025 11680 1800-1828 Mon-Sat 6025 7130 2030-2058 Sun 6025 7130 Serbian to Eu 1745-1758 Daily 6025 Slovak to Eu 0515-0528 Daily 6025 1615-1628 Sun 6025 1730-1743 Daily 6025 Spanish to Eu&SoAm 2145-2158 Daily 6025 7215 2245-2258 Daily 6025 7215 Ukrainian to Eu 0430-0443 Daily 3975 6025 1700-1713 Daily 6025 11745 (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4, via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non?]. Today I received the confirmation from Latvia that [Caroline] 7140 kHz was NOT transmitted from Riga. I should have waited for that before throwing in my 2 cents yesterday (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Oct 4, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. According to announcements on Kol Yisrael they will move their broadcasts one hour later by GMT because of the end of summer time beginning Monday [Oct. 7] (Joel Rubin, NY, Oct 4, swprograms via DXLD) At 0000 UT (Chris Hambly, Australia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. About two weeks ago Rai International unveiled a new web- site geared to its overseas audience. Now every language service has its own page with a brief history of the station and current schedule. Multi-language programs from Hotbird are related live in RealAudio at rtsp://live.media.rai.it/encoder/international.rm Schedule for on-line broadcasts: http://www.international.rai.it/radio/hotbird/index.shtml The management of the station promises that soon there will be a 7-day audio archive. Also, there are plans for a "DX-corner". There the DXers will be able to confirm their reports in real time by downloading the electronic QSLs (Ivan Melkunyan, Rome via DX-Libero, via Moscow DX-Bulletin #287 via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, Oct 4, DXLD) Err, does any human check the reports before `confirming??` (gh, DXLD) ** IVORY COAST. BBC, RFI, AFRICA NO 1 FM RELAYS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE "DESTROYED" BY "UNKNOWN PEOPLE" At around 1530 gmt on 22 September, the local relays on FM of the BBC World Service (on 94.3 MHz), Radio France Internationale (97.6 MHz), and Gabon-based Africa No 1 radio (91.1 MHz) went off the air in Côte d'Ivoire's commercial capital, Abidjan. This followed the start of the current crisis in the country on 19 September. The relays have remained unheard since then. Reporting the cessation of the relays, the French news agency AFP on 22 September cited acting Communications Minister Lia Bi Douayaoua as saying that he had given "no order along those lines". A communiqué issued on 30 September by the Ivorian media freedom watchdog OLPED, which was published by the Ivorian newspaper Fraternité Matin on 2 October, noted various recent incidents in which journalists had been attacked or abducted, and newspapers threatened. It also said that "some unknown people went and destroyed the technical installations of three international radio corporations. Since then, it has not been possible to receive their programmes on FM radios." (All three stations can still be heard in Côte d'Ivoire on shortwave.) Sources: Monitoring research Sep-Oct 02; Fraternité Matin, Abidjan, in French 2 Oct 02 p 4 (BBCM via DXLD) So answering our previous question Since the name rarely comes up, but is now back in the news, may I point out that we reject the insistence of Ivory Coast that the name of the country be rendered only in French, even in other languages. This is as absurd as the US insisting that French speakers call us ```United States`` instead of États-Unis, or that Finland be known everywhere only as Suomi (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. U.S. Armed Forces in Japan broadcast (AFN-TOKYO/EAGLE 810) stops broadcast extensively between September 26 and October 17 for large-scale exchange of equipments and a maintenance. In addition, the resumption of broadcast is on October 18. Frequency is broadcast by 810 kHz in Tokyo (MATSUI Toshiaki, Osaka, JAPAN, Osaka, Japan Premium, Kanto DX Circle, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** MARSHALL ISLANDS. Among WJIE`s numerous projects is setting up a SW station here (Doc Burkhart, WJIE mailbag Oct 4 via gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEW is currently running a comedy show on Monday nights at 10 PM CT entiled, "XHDRBZ". Those letters on the promos look like actual call letters. If the signal is strong and stable, you will likely realize that the calls are fake because the "R" is backwards. Otherwise, these promos can easily be mistaken for actual calls. Jeff Kruszka did some research and learned that "DRBZ" stands for the name of the program's star (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, Sept 25, WTFDA via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [and non]. PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS: AL-QUDS RADIO BROADCASTS DISRUPTED BY INTERFERENCE Al-Quds Radio, a Palestinian radio station opposed to PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat's authority and to peace with Israel, has over the past two weeks suffered from strong interference on the mediumwave frequency 702 kHz, making reception poor. The station has been observed to increase its transmission time in recent weeks, carrying the same pattern of programming it had broadcast prior to September 2001, namely from 0500 to 1400 gmt on 702 kHz. Al-Quds Radio describes itself as "the Palestinian Arab station on the path of liberating land and man". It began broadcasting in January 1988. Al-Quds Radio broadcasts from Syria and supports Palestinian factions opposed to Yasir Arafat and the peace process, notably Ahmad Jibril and his Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). In the late 1980s and early 1990s the station carried programming in Hebrew, French and English as well as Arabic. Prior to April 1996 it also transmitted on shortwave. Cuts in 2001 In August 2001 Al-Quds Radio's mediumwave broadcasts were cut back to two hours a day, while its FM broadcasts continued. At the time, the station cited its financial plight as the main reason for the cuts and appealed for funds to be sent to a bank account in Shtawrah, Lebanon. The statement was intended to dispel rumours that the Syrian government was exercising pressure on the PFLP-GC to close down the station or reduce its output. Interference Over the past two weeks, Al-Quds Radio has been observed to suffer from strong interference on 702 kHz, making reception on that frequency poor. The interference has been noted suddenly at any time between 0500 and 0700 gmt and continues until the radio's 1400 gmt sign-off. The station was jammed by Israel in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the effect on reception from the interference over the past two weeks is now the same. However, the current interference is stronger, covering a four-kHz bandwidth. The radio no longer mentions 630 kHz, an alternative frequency on which it also used to broadcast. Current programming Programming consists of Palestinian patriotic songs in praise of the Palestinian intifadah and talks and interviews with Palestinian figures. News is heard on the half-hour. A political commentary by the station's general manager, Fadl Shururu, is carried after the 0930 gmt news and is repeated after the 1330 gmt news. The commentary is now called "Fadl Shururu's Opinion". The radio asks listeners to send their letters to "our Post Office Box No 5092 in Damascus, Syria, or to Fax No 444-8374." The fax number is the same one to which the radio last year asked people to fax the receipts of their financial contributions. The radio no longer announces any Beirut address or bank account details. Source: BBC Monitoring research Oct 02 (via DXLD) Well, what is the interference like? Noise jamming? Open carrier? Any modulation? DF fix?? (gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. More about Radio América: Yesterday, at last hour, I received this mail. Mur tells about the new frequency transmission and future plans to transmit on 9980 and 2300 kHz!!! on 120 mb. Below, the mail received. I checked 7385 from Buenos Aires this morning, at 0900 UTC+ and I only heard the WRMI Radio Miami Internacional in Spanish! 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Oct 4, Cumbre DX via DXLD) --Estimado Arnaldo Slaen: Muchísimas gracias por la amabilidad de buscarnos. En este momento, únicamente la frecuencia de los 7385 KHZ está en el aire, dirigida hacía los 184 grados, del norte magnético. Hemos retirado la frecuencia 7300 KHZ, para evitar interferencias. Primeramente Dios [mediante??], agregaremos la frecuencia 9980 KHZ, en estos días. También, espero probar los 2300 KHZ, en la banda de 120 metros. Como reserva, tenemos una frecuencia "fuera de banda", los 7737 KHZ, y otra, en la banda de 41 metros, los 7370 KHZ. El propósito de estas pruebas es de seleccionar frecuencias de alta calidad, para proporcionar servicio a nuestras audiences en el Cono Sur. Con los mejores de saludos (Adán Mur, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay, Oct 2 via Slaen, Cumbre via DXLD) ?? WRMI is not supposed to be on 7385 at that hour, tho it surely block ZP20 in NAm earlier; switch to 9955 scheduled at 0900. We still await a an update since mid August at http://wrmi.net (gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Sin señal de vida, Radio Nacional del Paraguay en 9737.1 kHz. Ya lleva una semana inactiva. Hasta nuevo aviso (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5024.90, Radio Quillabamba, 1028 Oct 4, A program of Huaynos music and Spanish comments from a man. Radio Rebelde was off the air. Usually Radio Rebelde is booming in at this hour and wonder if off due to Lili? Signal of Quillabamba was poor (Bolland, Chuck, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. I want to draw your attention to Monday's edition of Euroquest [on R. Netherlands], produced and presented by my colleague Jonathan Groubert. One of the items should be of particular interest: CATHOLIC RADIO ATTRACTS MOST LISTENERS IN PORTUGAL Radio Renascença regularly attracts a listenership of over 2 million with its popular mix of music and conversation. And it's particularly popular with Portugal's youth. Renascença, or Renaissance Radio, is a Catholic station. It was set up in 1937, and has since established itself as a broadcasting juggernaut, with 2 national channels and the 24 MEGA FM, aimed at the youth of greater Lisbon. Sylvia Smith tuned into Radio Renascença to find out just how they get their message across the airwaves -without turning listeners off. That's coming up on Monday 7 October at the following times (UTC): 10.30 (Pacific/Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Europe/East Coast USA), 15.30 (Asia/West Coast USA), 19.00 (Africa), 21.30 (Europe), 00.30 (North America) (Andy Sennitt, Media Network Newsletter Oct 4 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. PUTIN REVOKES DECREE GIVING SPECIAL STATUS TO RADIO LIBERTY Fri Oct 4, 8:24 AM ET From AP By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday revoked an 11- year-old decree that allowed U.S.-funded Radio Liberty to open a bureau in Moscow, the Kremlin press service said. It was not immediately clear what effect the decision would have on the station, but the Kremlin said it was aimed simply at putting Radio Liberty in equal conditions with other media operating in Russia. The original decree - signed by then-President Boris Yeltsin in the wake of the failed hardline Communist coup that ushered in the end of the Soviet Union - permitted Radio Liberty to open a Moscow bureau and ordered the government to provide the station with the necessary communication channels and Foreign Ministry accreditation. The Interfax news agency quoted the Kremlin information office as saying the 1991 decree had put Radio Liberty "in a privileged position compared to other foreign media working in Russia" and was out of date. The information office criticized Radio Liberty for what it called the increasingly "tendentious character" of the station's coverage. However, the decision to revoke the decree has nothing to do with the station's editorial policy, it said. Sonia Winter, a spokeswoman for Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe in Prague, denied the station had ever enjoyed special privileges in Russia. She said the cancelation of the decree was most likely a technicality. The head of Radio Liberty in Moscow, Andrei Shary, said he was waiting for clarification from the Kremlin and could not comment on the decision's significance. "Those officials in the Foreign Ministry with whom we have spoken say it is just a technical change and the status of the station won't change," he told The Associated Press. "For now, we're continuing to work in our normal mode of operation." Radio Liberty, whose broadcasts to Russia previously came from outside the country and were often jammed during the Cold War, was one of the few sources of uncensored information that Russians could hear during the Soviet era. In the 1991 decree, Yeltsin said that he was allowing Radio Liberty to open an office in recognition of "the role the station has played in providing unbiased reporting to the citizens of Russia and the world public on the progress of democratic changes in Russia," according to Interfax. The station, which is funded by the U.S. Congress, is still one of the most critical media outlets in the country, focusing attention on human rights abuses (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. PUTIN REVOKES 1991 DECREE ON RADIO LIBERTY, RADIO FREE EUROPE | Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 4 October: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree "On the revocation of Russian presidential decree No 93 of 27 August 1991 'On the office of the independent radio station Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe'". The text of the decree was released on Friday [4 October] by the head of state's press service. It reads: "In accordance with the law of the Russian Federation 'On the mass media', I resolve: 1. To revoke the Russian president's decree No 93 of 27 August 1991 'On the office of the independent radio station Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe' (Published in the official gazette of the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, 1991, No 35, page 1167). 2. This decree takes effect from the day of its official publication." Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0706 gmt 4 Oct 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) DECREE ON RADIO LIBERTY RESTORES FAIRNESS IN RUSSIAN MEDIA - KREMLIN | Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 4 October: The Russian president's decree "On the revocation of Russian presidential decree No 93 of 27 August 1991 'On the office of the independent radio station Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe'" restores fairness in the Russian media sphere. Such was the comment from the presidential information department made to ITAR-TASS regarding the decision. "Figuratively speaking, this decree sets fair conditions for all the players," the Kremlin information department said. The earlier decree of 1991 was issued "right after the putsch, in the period of rapid democratic transformations in Russia and as a symbolic demonstration of the new Russian leadership's adherence to the principles of freedom of speech and the media. During that time, the decree played an important part in creating a positive image of a democratic Russia abroad". As economic and political transformation progressed and the legislation regulating media activities developed, the decree lost its original meaning. "Moreover, it virtually put Radio Liberty/Free Europe in a privileged position, compared to other foreign media working in Russia," the information department said. In spite of the fact that the Cold War has ended and a new level of trust and cooperation in Russian-US relations has been reached, "this radio station's editorial policy has not only lost its ideological angle, but has lately begun to demonstrate even greater bias, clearly evident in its broadcasts to Chechnya and Ukraine, which often present deliberately selective information in a subjective way". At the same time, the present decree by the Russian president was not a reaction to the radio station's information policy, the Kremlin information department stressed. To sum it up, "the only thing that is being changed is its status, which now puts it on an equal footing with other foreign media working in Russia." Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0728 gmt 4 Oct 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) RADIO LIBERTY DENIES THAT 1991 DECREE GAVE IT SPECIAL PRIVILEGES IN RUSSIA | Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 4 October: Radio Liberty hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree revoking President Boris Yeltsin's decree of 1991 on the Radio Liberty office will not have an impact on its work. "At the moment I cannot say anything about this because we have not received either the decree itself or any explanation that satisfies us. Therefore, we hope to get some explanation of this situation soon," the editor-in-chief of the Moscow office of Radio Liberty, Andrey Sharyy, told Interfax, adding that he had only learnt this morning that such a decree had been signed. Sharyy recalled that Yeltsin's decree allowed the radio station to open a permanent office in Moscow and obliged the relevant departments to provide the office with the necessary channels of communication. The Foreign Ministry was instructed to give the radio special accreditation. Commenting on the explanation given by the president's information directorate, which indicated that after the revocation of Yeltsin's decree, Radio Liberty was now on an equal footing with other media outlets, Sharyy said: "We never felt we enjoyed special privileges. We operated on the basis of those conditions, including legal ones, which the Russian authorities proposed to us." He made the assumption that the radio station would now be asked to undergo some form of new registration or to re-register on the basis of present legislation. He gave an assurance that the radio station would agree to do this. "We would like to believe the information directorate's assertion that none of this is political," Sharyy said. Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0743 gmt 4 Oct 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) RFE/RL COMMITTED TO REPORTING IN RUSSIA, DINE SAYS (October 4, 2002) The President of RFE/RL said today that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to revoke the 10-year-old decree that allowed the service to establish a Moscow bureau would in no way affect news coverage. Thomas A. Dine, the President of RFE/RL, said: "We will not allow the revocation of Mr. Yeltsin's significant policy declaration to affect our reporting of events in the Russian Federation in any way." President Yeltsin issued his decree in recognition of RFE/RL's contribution to Russia's democracy and principles of freedom of the press. "We will continue to give the people of Russia accurate and balanced news and information about major occurrences inside Russia," Dine added. Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Chairman of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees RFE/RL, concurred with Dine's statement, expressing his "confidence that our journalists will continue to do their job." RFE/RL is a legally registered foreign mass media outlet in the Russian Federation. Dine said he hoped that Putin's action today would not narrow RFE/RL's ability to operate on an equal footing with other foreign media outlets in Russia's media environment (RFE/RL press release Oct 4 via DXLD) ** SUDAN. Muy inestable en 7200 kHz, el servicio nacional de radio de Sudán, en árabe, a las 0415 UT. El 03/10 salió del aire tres veces en menos de 15 minutos, con pausas de hasta 4 minutos entre cada interrupción. Según el esquema oficial, la emisión empieza a las 0200, pero no se oye sino hasta pasada las 0400. SINPO 4/3 (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA [non]. RUSSIA: New schedule for anti Syrian station Voice of Homeland in Arabic effective Oct. 1: 0330-0400 on 9950 1500-1530 on 12085 only and deleted 12115 1600-1630 on 12115 new transmission 73 from Ivo and Angel! (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4, via DXLD) ** TATARSTAN. The article about Tatarstan and The Voice of Tatarstan (DXLD 2-151) by Richard A. D`Angelo was superb (Thanks a lot!) and the transmission on 11925 at 0800, Oct 1 had perfect reception here. 252 kHz LW has been logged here with a non-Russian language, but this was the first time I can surely say that I heard the Tatar language. (Well, obviously I have not tried to do so with much zeal). Ironically the transmission ended with a weather forecast in Russian: "Govorit Kazan...." (Johan Berglund, AOR7030, lw, K9AY, Trollhättan, Sweden, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. China Tibet People's Broadcasting Company, Lhasa, lower frequencies now riding the gray line in at sunset. On 3 OCT, parallels 4905 and 4920 weak with het QRM, 5240 and 6130 good from around 2330 UT, peaking 44543 around 00 UT, fading rapidly after 0015. VOA came on 6130 (late) after 0005 and blocked that frequency. I got the same QSL package that others have reported, for 9490 in four weeks. Very nice! (John Cobb, Roswell GA, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TUVALU. TUVALU'S SINKING FEELING --- A Pacific island nation fears vanishing beneath the waves. It is weighing a suit against the U.S. over emissions blamed for global warming. By RICHARD C. PADDOCK, TIMES STAFF WRITER VAIAKU, Tuvalu -- This isolated country is not much more than a few specks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Its population wouldn't fill a fifth of Dodger Stadium. Its highest point is 16 feet above sea level. But Tuvalu is at the center of international debate over climate change. Many of Tuvalu's people worry that rising sea levels caused by global warming will wash away their country. They talk of suing the U.S. government or big American corporations for polluting the atmosphere and causing the planet's temperature to rise. They condemn President Bush for backing out of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.... The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-tuvalu4oct04004444,0,4435353.story (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. The BBC has long prided itself on its roll [sic] as guardian of the Queen`s English. Why then does it insist on distorting Spanish proper names into some twisted English version of their correct pronunciation? Today I heard on the news where a football referee in Quito, Ecuador had been disciplined for adding too much extra time to the end of a match. I could barely figure out where the game was being played until I realized that ``Kwee-toe`` was in fact our ``Key-toe`` of HCJB fame. Some months ago I heard a BBC announcer refer to a Cervantes character, who tilted at windmills, as Don ``Kwix-oat``, instead of Don ``Kee-oh-tay``. Give me a break. The purpose of speech is to communicate. If the listener has to spend time figuring out the true meaning of some convoluted BBC pronunciation, the communication of ideas suffers. I think I`ll leave now and go listen to Rah-dee-oh Hah-bah-na, Koo-bah (Joe Buch, DE, swprograms via DXLD) I so agree; makes BBC a laughingstock for those of us with even a smattering of Spanish, where pronunciation is so *easy* and *regular* (unlike English) once you take the trouble to learn a few simple rules. Actually, it`s kee-HO-tay (approximately), and I also refuse to say kwix-OTT-ick, but kee-HO-tick (Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is the standard Brit pronunciation. The Beeb is unlikely to resolve such differences in favor of real English as she is spoken in these United States any time soon. One case in which American usage seems to have triumphed east of the pond is that the Brits used to follow the French in that million, billion, trillion had 6, 12, 18 zeros. They now seem to folllow the Yanks with 6, 9, 12 zeros. At least I assume that when there is a story in the London Telegraph about an £80 billion pound deficit in some budget the number has 10 rather than 13 zeros. I prefer the former Britspeak thousand million for one with 9 zeros because it eliminates any question as to whose billion is being used. http://www.bartleby.com/64/C007/0157.html § 157. quixotic This word, pronounced (kwk-st´k [sic]), derives from the English word Quixote, which in turn derives from the name of the hero of Cervantes`s novel, Don Quixote. Quixote is generally pronounced (kwk´st [sic]) in British English and (k-h´t [sic]), an attempt at the Spanish pronunciation, in American English. http://www.blaketashi.com/pronunciation.htm The British refuse to accommodate the pronunciation of foreign names or words to any sounds not actually contained into the (sometimes transliterated) English spelling of such. With equal vigor, they also find an almost compulsive need to annunciate [sic] each and every letter of said word or name. We therefore have Don Quixote being pronounced by the British as Don Quicks-oat, and Don Juan as Don Jew-an. We shall not even mention Jag- u-ar ((via) Joël Rubin, NY, swprograms via DXLD) The issue is not British vs. American usage, but approximating as closely as possible the pronunciation of a foreign name, whatever one`s accent in English (gh, DXLD) ** U K [non]. BBC-Worldservice: I was told that the Astra outlet is of the same poor quality as FM 90.2 at Berlin (muffled audio, sounding more like mediumwave than like FM), and a quick check with the tiny loudspeaker of the ATS 909 seems to confirm this for the 91.1 outlet here at Dresden, too. So shortwave is wrong for BBC-WS, but they are not able to produce or deliver their programming in 15 kHz quality (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. R. Liberty loses its special status: see RUSSIA ** U S A. VOA SILENT AS TERRORIST THREAT LOOMS SOUTH OF THE BORDER Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com, Washington NewsMax Colaboración: Armando F. Mastrapa III, New York La Nueva Cuba Septiembre 23, 2002 A Castroite with extensive ties to international terrorism is leading in the polls in Brazil`s current presidential campaign, and thanks to Clinton holdovers in Washington, the U.S. is not able to reach the Brazilian people with the truth about the front runner and the dangers he represents to his country and the entire Western Hemisphere. If Luis Inacio da Silva is elected next month [Oct 6], it will add Brazil to Fidel Castro`s Cuba and Hugo Chávez`s Venezuela as nations right in our own backyard who pose a threat to the security of the post-9/11 United States. What`s more ironic is that several months ago, the Voice of America`s governing board made a decision to cut its broadcasts to Brazil in Portuguese, the dominant language in that country. That means that just as terrorist-friendly regimes increase in this hemisphere, the U.S. voice is muted. ``It was a preposterous decision,`` stormed Robert Schadler, a onetime chief of staff at the U.S. Information Agency, predecessor to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), now dominated by Clintonites, which presently oversees VOA. Schadler also formerly held a variety of responsible positions at VOA itself. ``Brazil, I think, is the seventh largest country in the world,`` added Schadler, now a leader of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, ``It`s clearly the dominant country in South America.`` In an interview with NewsMax.com, Schadler said, ``A Voice of America that gives an American perspective on America and international issues [in Brazil] is absolutely vital and very inexpensive.`` Writing in the Washington Times August 7, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Constantine C. Menges said if da Silva is elected, ``the results could include a radical regime in Brazil re-establishing its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, developing close links to state sponsors of terrorism such as Cuba, Iraq, and Iran, and participating in the destabilization of neighboring democracies.`` Menges, a former member of the National Security Council, points out that this could lead 300 million people in six countries coming under the control of radical anti-U.S. regimes and the possibility that thousands of newly indoctrinated terrorists might try to attack the United States from Latin America. ``With Mr. Castro`s support,`` Menges writes, ``Mr. da Silva founded the São Paulo forum in 1990 as an annual meeting of communist and other radical terrorist and political organizations from Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. This has been used to coordinate terrorist and political activities around the world and against the United States.`` The São Paulo Forum is still very much in business and pursuing its goals. Its last meeting was held in Havana, Cuba in December 2001. That meeting sharply condemned the Bush administration`s leadership in the war against international terrorism after 9/11. When Menges talks about the threat from a Brazil under da Silva`s leadership, he is not merely theorizing. The Brazilian presidential candidate has said Brazil should have nuclear weapons and move closer to China, which has actively courted the Brazilian military. Free Congress Foundation President Paul Weyrich notes that the Clinton loyalists dominating the BBG have persistently thwarted the objectives of the Bush administration. ``even deciding to practically shut down broadcasting in Latin America without consulting Assistant Secretary of State Otto Reich, who argued it was important to maintain a U.S. presence on the airwaves there.`` Schadler told NewsMax that he has good reason to suspect that budget considerations drove this move. ``I believe that this issue was tied to the idea that they need to have a major initiative in the Middle East with music [programming],`` he said. That raises another issue that can backfire against the U.S. that NewsMax.com will deal with in separate report. Suffice it to say that the terrorist threat against the United States is increasing in Latin America, and the U.S. voice is missing in action, so to speak. On Thursday, NewsMax.com e-mailed the International Broadcasting Bureau, the sister organization of VOA with an inquiry. The spokesman was referred to us by the State Department under whose umbrella both the VOA and IBB operate at the direction of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The question read as follows: ``It is my understanding Portuguese language broadcasts to Brazil were cancelled due to budget constraints. Now that a Castroïte is up in the polls to lead that country in the upcoming election. In hindsight, should those broadcasts to Brazil have been given a greater priority? Will they be reinstated?`` We gave the IBB a deadline to respond, with over 24 hours to come up with an answer. As we went to press late Friday, no reply had been received (via Oscar, Miami, DXLD) STATIC: THE CONTROVERSY AT THE VOICE OF AMERICA By Paul M. Weyrich, CNSNews.com Commentary, CNSNews.com Colaboración: Armando F. Mastrapa III, New York La Nueva Cuba, Septiembre 23, 2002 The Voice of America charter calls for its broadcasts not only to be a "consistently reliable and authoritative" news source for its listeners, but also to "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively." Edward R. Murrow, the noted CBS news broadcaster who became head of VOA's parent agency, the United States Information Agency, used to insist: "To be persuasive, we must be credible." USIA no longer exists, having been replaced by a Broadcasting Board of Governors that is even now dominated by Clinton holdovers. The unfortunate and unfair departure of Bob Reilly as the VOA's director demonstrates why it is time for the Congress and the Bush administration to reëxamine the so-called reforms of the United States' international broadcasting operations that were instituted during the administration of President Clinton. The problem has its origins in an effort to streamline the United States' international broadcasting operations in the post-Cold War era. During the Reagan and Bush years, the director of the Voice of America was a presidential appointee who required approval from the United States Senate, which ensured that the person holding the position had the power to implement the vision of his administration. However, the end of the Cold War led to a push to reduce the size and scope of the VOA and other international broadcasting operations of the Federal government. A Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created, giving the commissioners wide authority over the various broadcast entities such as the VOA. Now, the director is at the mercy of the board, and it remains a board dominated by Clinton-Gore holdovers because the Democrat-controlled Senate has refused to provide timely consideration to Bush appointments. The nine board members take it upon themselves to poke their nose wherever they want, making it "Management by the Marx Brothers" in their haphazard, anything-goes style, although the results are no laughing matter. The board does what it likes, having made it difficult for Reilly to set a firm agenda for VOA and for the Bush Administration to have its wishes respected. When President Bush came into office, the Democratic director of VOA remained in office at first, later to be replaced by a career interim director. Writing in The New York Times on September 20th, columnist William Safire charged in a column titled "Equal Time for Hitler" that the United States government needed to put forward a stronger message to the Middle East. But the leadership needed to do that was not present because, as Safire noted, the BBG chairman was nothing more than an "amiable" political appointee who had raised money for Al Gore and was overdue to be replaced. "The Voice of America leadership is even more vacant," he added. Safire wrote that soon after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, an interview with a leader of "Egypt's largest Islamist group" was broadcast by VOA without identifying that his group had killed 58 foreign tourists and 4 Egyptians four yeas ago. The VOA news director conceded that the terrorist should have been identified but maintained interviews with terrorists would continue to be done to ensure balance. [Even though the VOA charter says its mission is to present "responsible discussions and opinion" on United States policies.] Then, soon after Safire's column appeared, the VOA aired, over the objections of the State Department, an interview with Mullah Mohammad Omar, a Taliban leader. New York Times writer Felicity Barringer noted in an October 8, 2001 article that anti-Taliban emigrés viewed the VOA's Pashto-language broadcasts to be "the Voice of the Taliban." (Pashto is spoken in Central Afghanistan.) After spending years writing editorials and producing VOA programs, Bob Reilly became the new director of VOA, intent on balancing the demands for journalistic objectivity with putting America's best foot forward. There was no more "equal time or Hitler." I have known Bob Reilly for many years, and I know him to be a fine gentleman and conscientious public official. He has a background in the conservative cause, having served as President of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which promotes the works of conservatism's leading thinkers. Reilly had worked at the United States Information Agency and in the White House Office of Public Liaison handling foreign policy and national security issues in the early 1980s. Reilly wrote in The Washington Times on January 28th: "One of our key responsibilities is to promote and provide the free flow of information by broadcasting comprehensive, objective, and balanced news." However, Reilly argued that an equally important mission of VOA is to "reveal the character of the American people" in that we can live in a democratic-republic and discipline ourselves to use our freedom wisely. Reilly raised questions about the image -- a false one -- that many foreigners receive of the United States from pop culture. Also important, said Reilly, is that the VOA use what amounts to an audio "editorial page" to explain U.S. policies clearly for friends and enemies alike to understand. The board constantly countermanded Reilly's objectives and those of the Bush Administration, even deciding to practically shut down broadcasting in Latin America without consulting Assistant Secretary of State Otto Reich, who argued it was important to maintain a U.S. presence on the airwaves there. A consolidation plan promoted by the BBG brought matters to a head. The VOA can broadcast into countries that would shut out Radio Free Asia because its programming actively attempts to undermine the government. By lumping the programming together, the BBG would have created diplomatic problems. But that's not all, folks. For a powerful member of the BBG is Norman Pattiz, the founder and chairman of Westwood One Broadcasting, who views pop entertainers (recording "artists" is simply not an appropriate term) such as Britney Spears and Eminem as potential cultural warriors who can convert Arab youth to the post-modern American Way providing that they perform well in focus group tests. Pattiz was either exhibiting sheer naïveté or, more likely, avaricious opportunism when he made the astonishing assertion in a New Yorker profile that "it was MTV that brought down the Berlin Wall." Pattiz spearheaded an initiative called "Radio Sawa" to provide MTV-style programming in Arab countries. Pattiz even had placed former associates of his at Westwood One to advise VOA on programming, raising the question whether there would be a conflict of interest should Westwood One ever decide to start their own rock broadcasts in the countries where Radio Sawa broadcast. Reilly did not disagree with the idea of experimenting with some rock programming, but he absolutely disagrees with the idea that VOA should become the MTV of the United States government. And any social issue conservative should likewise be outraged at this mindless idea. Many Middle Eastern Muslims hate the United States because of the perceived hegemony of its pop culture. Events came to a head when the newly installed, Bush-appointed chairman of the BBG, Ken Tomlinson, asked for Bob Reilly's resignation. He received it. But it does not say much for the Administration or Tomlinson that they did not stick up for their own director, but simply bent to the will of this Clinton-dominated board. Bob Reilly was selected and vetted by the Bush White House. Then, the Clinton-dominated Board forces him to resign and hires a replacement who was neither vetted nor nominated by the White House. For the first time in VOA's 60-year history, the President of the United States did not select the VOA director. Is it any wonder that our public diplomacy in the Middle East is failing to send a clear message to the region when this holdover board can hijack the Bush Administration's message and appointees, replacing it with the programs and personnel that they favor? I was among the first to sign a letter addressed to Karl Rove expressing the opposition of conservatives to the BBG's decision to fire Bob Reilly. We also register our unwillingness to have the BBG transform VOA broadcasting into a "music, entertainment, and news" format in which the values of Madonna displace those of Murrow. There is talk in Congress about slashing VOA funding unless satisfactory explanations are given as to why the BBG actively worked to thwart Bob Reilly from carrying out the Bush Administration's agenda and then fired him. It's bad enough that a committed journalist like Bob Reilly was considered to be the management problem when it is the board. It's even worse that this board that does not reflect Administration policy. And if Mr. Pattiz, as he admitted to The New Yorker, thinks that the "religious extremists" in the Middle East will not like his ideas for programming, then I've got news for him. He's aroused the enmity of many `responsible' social conservatives in the United States too and he has only started to hear from us. (Paul M. Weyrich is chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.) Copyright © 1997-2002 - LA NUEVA CUBA NOSTROMO PUBLISHING CORP. All Rights Reserved. 73's (via Oscar, Miami, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. I checked the Radio Sawa program format; the transmitter in Kuwait 1548 is very good here from dusk and onwards, and it is indeed a fast-moving stream of music in Arabic and English, a lot of station IDs, electronic addresses, websites etc. News came every 30 minutes lasting for two minutes or so, for a second or two the voices of Bush or Powell were heard, then on in Arabic. It was definitely something new to my ears (Johan Berglund, AOR7030, lw, K9AY, Trollhättan, Sweden, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION (Geoffrey Cowan, Dean) and BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS (Kenneth Tomlinson, Chair) invite you to a forum on U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING: Challenges and Opportunities in the Middle East, Iran and China 1:00 - 4:00 pm Wednesday, October 9, 2002 USC Davidson Conference Center, 3415 S. Figueroa Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089 The forum includes three engaging discussions with members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which has responsibility for all United States International Broadcasting - including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio and Television Marti, USC Annenberg faculty--including Geoffrey Cowan, Jonathan Aronson, and Michael Parks--along with other distinguished scholars and journalists. Parking is available on campus. To RSVP and reserve parking call 213-740-5658 by Monday, October 7. (via Kim Elliott, DC, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Here's a story appearing in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, by David O'Reilly, profiling Family Radio and its co- founder, Harold W. Camping. No mention about its shortwave radio station WYFR or the relays from overseas sites (UK, UAE, Taiwan, etc.) but near the end of the story there's a mention that Family Radio now broadcasts on AM (MW) to China and will soon broadcast to Indonesia and Vietnam --- in fulfillment, Camping maintains, of the new, electronic "Age of Evangelization". http://www.philly.com/mld/Inquirer/living/religion/4170944.htm (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subsequently to be found instead at: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/entertainment/television/4170944.htm TRADING CHURCHES FOR THE AIRWAVES A famed on-air preacher has stirred a tempest, proclaiming that God is on the radio, not in church. By David O'Reilly, Inquirer Staff Writer Like many other Bible-believing Christians, the Rev. Dean Harner for years has tuned in to Harold Camping's Bible studies on the Family Radio Network. But Mr. Harner, who just bought an eight-acre parcel in Burlington Township to start a Baptist church, has parted ways with the famous old preacher over a most unlikely cause. Camping wants Christians to stop going to church. "The church age has come to an end," according to the Oakland, Calif.- based Camping, a fixture on national Christian radio for 43 years who is not ordained. The end times are imminent, and churches are not merely irrelevant but "altogether apostate" because they soft-pedal the gospel, Camping, 81, has been telling his national audience since about June of last year. Instead of using Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other "corporate" denominations to evangelize the world, he says, God has turned instead to... radio. Camping's unorthodox stance has riled many church leaders, and his heavy-handed editing of their programs has prompted several preachers or their broadcast ministries to quit Family Radio in recent months. Unwelcome editing - deleting references to church and to theology that Camping opposes - provoked the Philadelphia-based Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals last month to halt Family Radio's use of the alliance's Bible Study Hour, which features the sermons of the late Rev. Dr. James Boice. The nationally known Dr. Boice was senior pastor of the conservative Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia until his death two years ago. The Bible Study Hour was being broadcast on 283 radio stations, including the 38 stations and 107 affiliates of Family Radio, until last month. Withdrawing from Family Radio "means tens of thousands of people are now not getting [Dr. Boice's] broadcast," said the Rev. Dr. Philip Ryken, Dr. Boice's successor at Tenth. "But we felt it incumbent to take a stand." Camping's belief that the so-called "age of churches" has passed and the great tribulation predicted in Revelation has begun "represents a theological position we believe is in error, and dangerous," according to Dr. Ryken. And on Friday the Rev. Woodrow Kroll of Lincoln, Neb., ended nearly 40 years of broadcasting his Back to the Bible program on Family Radio. "I can no longer be sure what you hear conveys what I spoke or intended," Dr. Kroll explained in an open letter to his listeners. Numerous Web sites have sprung up denouncing Camping for "heresy" and "apostasy," and several pastors have written to complain that his views have compelled some of his listeners to quit their churches. Mike Zeimann, a staff member at WKDN (106.9 FM) in Camden, which is owned and operated by Family Network Inc., said employees are not expected to subscribe to Camping's thesis, and "the vast majority don't support his particular point of view." In addition to WKDN, the network has low-wattage "translators" at Atlantic City (89.3 FM), Cape May (92.3 FM), Emmaus/Allentown (88.7 FM), Harrisburg (101.7 FM), Lancaster (97.7 FM) and York (88.7 FM). Camping, a civil engineer who cofounded Family Network Inc. in 1958, is not surprised at the criticism. "Of course the churches are unhappy," he said in a recent telephone interview. "It's understandable when God makes such a major shift." But, just as the age of churches supplanted the "age of synagogues" at Pentecost, God has "made another step," he said. "He's finished with the churches." "After 13,000 years of history... God allowed mankind to discover electromagnetic waves" so people can preach the gospel to Earth's swelling population, he said. His realization of God's will obliged him to quit his own congregation of the Christian Reformed Church, where he was an elder. "Personally, it makes me very unhappy to tell people the church age is over," he said. "My 80th birthday was my unhappiest ever" because it followed close on his church resignation. "But the problem with studying the Bible is that you come up with truths." But Camping's truth, in this case, isn't Mr. Harner's. "There's no biblical basis for what he's saying," Mr. Harner said. "The Bible is clear; we're not in the tribulation period." Mr. Harner, whose newly formed Faith Baptist Church on Fountain Avenue has just 10 members, studied Bible at fundamentalist Bob Jones University and generally respects Camping's teaching. However, he said, Camping's argument that Christians should be funding Christian broadcast operations instead of congregations and denominations reminds him of a Christian newsletter publisher's recent argument that the biblical mandate to tithe permitted tithing to Christian newsletters. "People tend to look at things the way they're situated," Mr. Harner said with a laugh. "I see that as very common." Dr. Ryken called his alliance's split "unfortunate," but said Camping had lost credibility with many biblical scholars a decade ago when he predicted the world would end in 1994. "This whole situation shows why, in hermeneutics [the interpretation of biblical texts], it's so important to pay attention to the context of a thing and not apply every verse to your [current] situation," Dr. Ryken said. For example, Camping cites the Book of Isaiah's calling on the faithful to leave Babylon as a mandate incumbent on today's Christians to abandon their churches, Dr. Ryken noted. "But in the context, it's talking about leaving Babylon, a godless and pagan culture, and being separate from its sin, not its local church." Camping insisted that he is right, however, and that despite the resignations of "three or four staff" - including the executive director of Family Network - over his view of churches, "We just had our best year ever." Family Radio is now broadcasting on AM to China, he said, and will soon be broadcasting to Indonesia and Vietnam - in fulfillment, he maintains, of the new, electronic "Age of Evangelization." "The Lord has blessed and blessed us beyond measure," he said (Philadelphia Inquirer Sept 29 via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. From WJIE`s oft-repeated unnamed station news and mailbag show, 1230 UT Oct 4 on 7490, difficult copy with VOR in Japanese, operatic music co-channel, much better modulated, and we must try to hear it again; in the 0000 hour? (BTW, WOR was NOT on at 0300 UT Fri Oct 4 as had been suggested): First annual ``reception report jamboree`` is coming up, a contest, by e-mail, to evaluate reception. Added 11.5 hours a day of High Adventure programming, for Europe, as HA is no longer via Germany. Sister station is KVOH. In process of installing new SW in Liberia, after setting up FM there 2 months ago. Equipment for SW has left Lagos, on way to Monrovia. Had been in storage in Nigeria. Did not work out. Rough to get license, numerous obstacles. Someone had messed with the containers. Looking to set up SW station in Marshall Islands. Acknowledged reports from Lars; Arnaldo (no doubt Slaen) in Argentina. Hope to be on 13595 by next week or two, simulcasting. Still carrying some programs from WJCR-FM in Upton. In Louisville over past several weeks have installed new automation equipment to control all programming on SW as well as FM stations in Louisville, Evansville; and adding new AM stations to network (Doc Burkhart, WJIE, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shortwave Radio Update for Oct 4, 2002 WJIE International Shortwave THE LATEST NEWS It looks like over the next several weeks we will be firing up our SECOND transmitter from Kentucky, WJIE-2. This transmitter will be aimed at South America and will be operating on 13.595 MHz. For those that monitor frequencies, be listening, and shoot me a QSL! NEW FAMILY MEMBERS We would like to welcome to Louisville, Kentucky our new friends with High Adventure Ministries. They have relocated here from California in order to more easily partner with us in our broadcast efforts. Many know of the work that George Otis did with radio and especially shortwave in the Middle East over the years. Their ministry has paid dearly to broadcast God's Good News, with the spilled blood of ministry workers in the Middle East. Our new relationship with High Adventure helps both our ministries to expand our efforts. Nearly twelve hours a day of programming from High Adventure is now on the air on WJIE-1 on 7.490 Mhz. We are now broadcasting in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and English. These truly are exciting times! FREE BROADCAST TIME We are still offering to ministries and churches of any size the opportunity to broadcast for free on WJIE International Shortwave. How does it work? Well, Dr. Bob Rodgers, pastor of World Prayer Center in Louisville and president of Word Broadcasting, our parent company, instructed us to offer pastors, evangelists and ministers of various backgrounds the chance to reach the world through shortwave radio. Programmers can broadcast weekly to Europe, Africa or the Middle East, at no cost. All we ask is that each month you send us a love offering of any amount. If you are willing to partner with us in this effort, and faithfully present the need of shortwave radio to your church or ministry, then we will gladly work with you and find a place for you. This is a faith ministry, and we are believing God to supply our financial need. So, if you have been considering broadcasting, and cost was a factor...NO MORE EXCUSES! Contact me at WJIESW@HOTMAIL.COM, and we will send you the information you need to get started. SPEAKING OF MONEY.....Thank you for $18,000! I want to thank all of you on our email list, now over 12,000 strong, for your recent support. As you know, we have established an FM station in Monrovia, Liberia, working toward the time we will be putting a shortwave station on the air in that wonderful country. We had our equipment sitting on the docks in Lagos for a month for clearances and more importantly, the money. The fact is, we didn't have it, but we knew God would supply. After presenting the need to God's people, and to this update list, we were able to raise the entire $18,000 to ship the equipment from Nigeria to our new location in Liberia! Bless God and Thank YOU!! I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments or prayer requests, please let me know. We are in ministry, and people, not radio stations, are our first priority. Let us know how we can minister to you, and also work together with you and your ministry to share God's Good News! (WJIE newsletter Oct 4 via DXLD) ** U S A. Escuchada en período de prueba en los 5050 kHz, la estadounidense WWRB. Con música mezclada de finales de los 70 y comienzos de los 80. A las 0145, el 03/10. SINPO variable de 4/3 y 4/4 (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Another incident of Clear Channel trying to get control of programming of more stations than legally allowed. 73- Bill Westenhaver FIRM SKIRTS RADIO CAPS IN SAN DIEGO By JEFF LEEDS, TIMES STAFF WRITER October 4 2002 SAN DIEGO -- Federal regulations prohibit any broadcaster from owning more than eight radio stations in a single market. But here along California's southern border, industry giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. has figured out a way around the rules --- and that has left its smaller competitors fuming.... The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-me-clearmex4oct04,0,5547211.story (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. Though this has nothing directly to do with radio, it's a very interesting piece, and concept! 73- Bill Westenhaver -------------------- THE CULTURAL ANARCHIST VS. THE HOLLYWOOD POLICE STATE -------------------- A Stanford Professor Is One Supreme Court Decision Away From Ending Copyrights on Thousands of Movies, Books and Songs. By DAVID STREITFELD September 22 2002 Larry Lessig is a 41-year-old Stanford University law professor who still looks like a graduate student, someone who has spent years in library stacks researching arcane subjects, miles from the real world. He's very pale and very quiet, as if he doesn't want to bother the fellow in the next cubicle. His hair sometimes sticks straight up, but he doesn't notice. Lessig has a student's idealism, too; he wants to change the way the world does business... The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-tm-copyright38sep22001450,0,3658280.story (via Bill Westenhaver, Oct 4, DXLD) Hurry before link expire? ** U S A. I'm surprised no one spotted this yet. I saw this link via the WCPE webpage: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28764-2002Oct1.html (Richard Cuff, Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) --- DEAL IMMINENT ON WEB RADIO ROYALTIES By David McGuire, washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Tuesday, October 1, 2002; 4:54 PM The House of Representatives today canceled a vote on an Internet radio bill after webcasters and recording industry officials said they are nearing a compromise in their long-running battle over music royalties. The House was scheduled to consider legislation that would prevent Internet radio royalty rates established by the Library of Congress from taking effect until July 2003, instead of October of this year. "Congress never intended to put webcasters out of business," said Richard Diamond, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Richard Armey, referring to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which opened the door to the Net radio royalty debate. Diamond said that House leaders delayed action on the bill after House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) hinted that an industry-led compromise was imminent. Sensenbrenner introduced the bill last week to postpone the rate structure established by Librarian of Congress James Billington's ruling last June. "The parties involved have assured me they will reach a comprehensive agreement by Friday that will be fair to webcasters, record companies and recording artists, as well as provide the economic certainty and stability necessary for webcasters large and small to succeed," Sensenbrenner said in a prepared statement. Sensenbrenner also said that the House likely will consider a bill that formalizes whatever arrangement the parties decide on. In June, Billington ruled that Internet radio stations should pay a royalty rate of .07 cents per song, per listener, to the owners of the music they stream over the Web. Although lower by half than the .14- cent per-song rate set earlier by an arbitration panel, webcasters said that the .07 cent figure would run them out of business. Recording industry officials complained the rate was too low. Billington's ruling also would have required webcasters to pay royalties going back several years, which many Internet radio also said would scuttle their businesses. Both sides expressed optimism about the ongoing negotiations, but neither would discuss specifics of a possible compromise. "We're very happy for the opportunity to solve this dilemma before us," Dan Horowitz, federal affairs director for the Digital Media Association (DiMA) said. "We hope to see a speedy resolution to these issues." DiMA represents large and mid-sized Internet broadcasters. "We've been trying to close a deal with the webcasters for months and this is a great opportunity to find common ground," the RIAA said in prepared remarks. "We are encouraged by the prospects of reaching a resolution." TechNews.com Home © 2002 TechNews.com (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi, I am David Gleason in the Programming Department at KLVE, 107.5, in Los Angeles. We are trying to put together some information to determine the true history of our station and can find very little in print sources. So, we thought that your members might have information, verification letters or memorabilia on KLVE that we might obtain copies of. We vaguely know that KLVE was originally part of PSA, the airline, in the 1973-1977 period and was an Adult Contemporary station in English. Somewhere in 1977, it became a fulltime Spanish FM. Its name or slogan was K-love in both the English and Spanish incarnations. It is very possible that KLVE was the first fulltime Spanish FM in the continental US; we simply lack proof. Anyone who has any memorabilia or verifications can contact me directly. We will reward any providers with current KLVE T-shirts and other goodies, of course. David Gleason, Vice President, Programming & Special Projects Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. KLVE (FM) Los Angeles. (And National Radio Club member and IRCA founding member) Dav-@davidgleason.com [truncated] (via Mike Bugaj, WTFDA via DXLD) Hi, recently Carol and I sold several back editions of the "FM Atlas" and we supplied photocopies of issues no longer in print. We pinpointed, for one of the attorneys in the lawsuit, the history of KLVE's becoming Spanish and its embracing of the "K Love" call letters. I think if you check with your counsel you will get all the information you need. We are now out of print of some of the editions that we supplied. I hope you are not trying to exploit the WTFDA club for information that could be highly valuable in a $1.5 billion lawsuit involving two major Spanish language FM contenders in the United States (Bruce Elving/FM Atlas Publishing, Sept 22, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. DELETION OF TRANSLATOR STATION W280CT This is to report that the FCC has treated me adversely. They deleted my FM translator, W280CT 103.9, Hermantown MN for not operating in the last 12 months. It has actually been 12 years since it operated, yet I dutifully paid the renewal fee and explained that the translator was off after losing its site, and I was looking for a meritorious station to rebroadcast. Too, I told them I wanted a new site providing coverage of the Duluth market, and I provided a copy of a recent (2- 2002) letter from a broadcaster giving permission to relay their signal. They, instead, chose to delete the translator. Is there a recourse, such as a good communications lawyer who might be able to get the license reinstated, or is a translator worth that much effort? It was grandfathered in under the old rules, with 2nd adjacent spacing to one local station and third adjacent to another, so it would have some market value simply because those kinds of translators are not being granted now (Bruce F. Elving, Ph.D., former translator licensee, Sept 27, WTFDA via DXLD) http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/status/silent.html Any broadcast station (including translators) which fails to operate for 12 consecutive months must be deleted, according to the Communications Act of 1996. (NOT FCC regulations but the FCC is responsible for enforcing this act of Congress.) To my understanding it doesn't matter *why* the station hasn't operated, if it hasn't operated it must be deleted. Some stations have received special temporary authorizations to operate at greatly reduced power (sometimes in violation of the city-of-license-coverage rules, though those don't apply to translators) in order to keep their license. For example, a Wilmington, Delaware AM station operated at 25 watts (vs. authorized 1 kw) duplexed into another station's antenna. Unfortunately I don't think there's much ground to appeal this. But I'm no lawyer, don't take my opinion as final! -- (Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) The rules are quite explicit about the 12-month requirement, and they have been enforcing it, and with a reasonable amount of publicity (although mostly on AM) for the past several years. My guess is that they've finally started in on FM. I have seen a few re-instatements come thru the Public Notices, but very few, and certainly none with the length of time off the air that yours has been, nor have I seen any that have been reinstated for the types of circumstances you site. Any reinstatements I've seen have been only a bit beyond a year and they have had operable facilities. Sorry to say this, but frankly, I'd think hiring a lawyer would probably be throwing the money away (Russ Edmunds, PA, ibid.) Perhaps it is a wild idea, but my recommendation for a station to rebroadcast on this translator is WNCW-88.9, Spindale NC (serving Asheville). This is a VERY interesting noncommercial station and has a translator network from Knoxville to Charlotte. The only way I can listen to it is over the Internet. Is it too wild to consider having a dedicated broadband connection from the WNCW Web site to the translator? I know... "why rebroadcast a North Carolina NPR station in Minnesota?". It's an awesome station, that's why. Take a listen at http://www.wncw.org (David Austin, KF4NDW, Northeast of Columbia, SC, ibid.) That it is. Problem is, "foreign" translators must be owned by their primary. A WNCW translator in Minnesota must be owned by WNCW. I have toyed with the idea of picking up CBLA-99.1 off satellite and translating it here (I'm pretty sure 98.9 *would* be possible) but as long as that rule is on the books, no go (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Inactiva desde el 26/09 y hasta el 03/10, la estación YVTO, Observatorio Naval Cajigal, desde Caracas, en los 5000kHz. Posible mantenimiento del transmisor (Saludos desde Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Adán González, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. A unidentified station heard using 6100 at tune in 0650 on Oct.4. Not heard during previous days monitoring of this band around this time. Signal very weak and only occasional words understood. Language was 'American' accented English and possibly religious programming. One phrase was "wake up to my saviour" and another mentioned "---wonderful life---". Male and female voices heard plus some music. At 0703 a possible ID by a male "---broadcasting----" then a talk by same voice. By this time the signal was rapidly disappearing into the noise. Propagation seems predominantly from the south again today. The most likely *listed* station seems to be from Liberia but I have no details of their programme content on this frequency or if it is on air. 73's (Noel R. Green, Blackpool, NW England, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 17837.2 or so: Around 1715 UT Oct 4, when high-latitude propagation was degraded and there were few strong signals on 16m, I could detect a carrier here, occasional talk in uncertain language, marred after 1727 by DW IS, maybe from 17835 or an image the YB-400 is prone to. One super-strong signal as usual on the band was VOG Delano on 17705, so I made sure this was not parallel. My suspicion is that this really is a harmonic, like 3 x 5946v, from Latin America, tho I was not convinced what little audio I had made out was Spanish. From Mark Mohrmann`s current LA listing: 5944 UNIDENTIFIED Andean station? [2356*] Feb 02 L LA Quechua The L meaning that it was reported in DXLD! Two others close by, in his LA archives, but probably not close enough at 3x, since we need something slightly below 5946 to work out: 5948.28 BRAZIL UNIDENTIFIED [2105-2245] 5948.82 GUYANA GBC, Georgetown [0755-1000](48.82-50.53) Feb 01 C At the same time, 17833.3v unstable carrier was detectable, no doubt R. Imperial, El Salvador (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ Now at Universal Radio: A $100 rebate is being offered on purchases of the Ten-Tec RX-340 and RX-350 receivers, until December 15 (Joe Hanlon, PA, Oct 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO CHIP TURNS ANALOGUE INTO DIGITAL (This could be a major development for dxing - Mike). From http://www.netbuyer.co.uk/ Friday 4th October 2002 --- Rupert Goodwins While digital radio remains a minority pastime Motorola hopes to make money from digitizing already-established analogue stations Analogue radio is far from dead, says Motorola. The company is backing up its claim with a new chipset that receives analogue AM and FM signals and enhances them digitally. The chipset, called Symphony, has a 1500 million instructions per second (MIPS) digital signal processing (DSP) core that can reject interference, receive weaker signals than before and produce better stereo, giving an end result that according to the company is as big a leap in sound quality as that from cassette to CD. The chipset can also process two radio or audio sources at once, a feature aimed primarily at car radio manufacturers who want to provide split back seat/front seat programming. As well as enhanced radio processing, the chipset provides copious audio processing, including Dolby Digital and other 5:1 or 6 channel surround sound, equalisation, spectrum analysis, bass enhancement -- indeed the whole range of modern tweaks that have long since replaced the tone knob. Symphony can also have new or upgraded processing algorithms uploaded into memory, which Motorola says leaves room for companies to provide their own differentiating features or to cope with new broadcast standards such as the new shortwave digital audio system, DRM. Symphony will be available in production quantities at around $30 (£20) per set in 2003. Motorola joins a number of other manufacturers who have introduced DSP to analogue radio, including Texas Instruments, Philips, and STMicroelectronics, but this is the highest profile launch aimed primarily at supporting the existing analogue market. Fully digital radio has taken longer to become established than predicted, with the European Eureka-147 DAB market only recently seeing sub-£100 receivers on the market. In the US, digital terrestrial broadcasting has yet to begin, scheduled for the end of 2002 in a handful of cities on the Eureka-incompatible IBOC standard (via Mike Terry, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Solar conditions have remained reasonably quiet, with DX conditions in the main being similar to recent weeks with elevated MUFs. An unexpected reversal of the earth's magnetic field occurred on October 2 leading to active/minor storm levels with subsequent poor high latitude conditions at this time. Conditions should remain fairly good with possible poor conditions on October 8. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, Australia, Oct 4, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) TRANSEQUATORIAL PROPAGATION I know this concerns TEP reception and we're never going to get TEP here but it still is interesting to read. You might want to plan a Mediterranean vacation really soon. This is from the FMDXweblist... (Bugaj) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello Everyone, Thanks very much for all the interest shown in my TEP reception. Perhaps you guys up North are feeling bored now your SPE season has finished and have turned your thoughts to TEP possibilities? :-) There does seem to me some confusion and some misunderstanding, so I'll try and explain the situation in more detail. I suspect several people on this list are not on the TVDX WEBlist? TEP is a well documented mode of propagation for Band I (40-70 MHz). It does exist on higher frequencies, but is less often received. From here in Orapa, Botswana (21 deg. 16 min S), on Band I TV I receive the following countries via evening TEP (not necessarily all of them every evening!): Kenya, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Equatorial Guinea. These have all been positively identified from on-screen IDs etc. There may be others too! (I also receive Italian 'studio to transmitter links' in Band I, often these are strong enough to give RDS) Therefore, if you look at a map, from my location in Central Botswana I receive band I TEP from quite a wide angle either side of a perpendicular drawn from my location passing through the "Geomagnetic Equator". However on the CCIR FM Band (87.5-108 MHz) TEP is only received from a narrow angle either side of a perpendicular drawn from my location passing through the "Geomagnetic Equator". (Also the range does not extend as far North as Band I TEP) I receive the following countries via evening FM TEP : Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy and an unid Arabic-speaking country, probably Egypt. My results fit the theory very well. The evening TEP MUF has reached 107.1 MHz on several occasions, and is in the CCIR Band most evening at around 100-102 MHz. My recent OIRT FM reception from Bulgaria was of course within Band I at around 66 MHz. Strangely, for TEP here signals at the lower frequency end of Band I are strong, those at the top end are weaker, then there is nothing until the FM band, and the MUF does not rise like for SPE - often the first signal received will be around 93 -95 MHz, rather than at the bottom of the FM band! (I do get signals at the bottom of the FM band, but these are usually weaker than those from 90-100 MHz) So it should be possible in theory to receive FM evening TEP from Southern Africa in Turkey, Greece and Southern Italy, especially Sicily. The problem is as some of our friends have pointed out, is the crowded state of the FM Band in most of these locations! Another problem is that FM TEP usually sounds a bit like distorted weak tropo - as though it was weak tropo coming in through the back of the aerial. Most FM DXers who go on holiday to Turkey or the Islands in the Mediterranean are looking for tropo as it is excellent in such locations, and would dismiss TEP as weak tropo and try and find stronger tropo! TEP can only be received for a couple of months either side of each Equinox, during the Solar maximum period. (Roughly February until May and August until November). It is not quite true to say that Southern Africa does not have many FM transmitters, there are more than you think! Countries that would be possible FM TEP targets for DXers planning a trip to the Mediterranean are Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and possibly South Africa's Limpopo Province. There are many FM transmitters in these countries, obviously not as many as in European Countries. The powers do tend to be low, typically 1-10 kW, but I receive transmitters of similar power from Turkey and Greece via TEP. (Zimbabwe for example, has more than 20 FM transmitter sites, each one broadcasting four National networks, Namibia has even more FM transmitter sites and stations, some of which have RDS. Even Botswana has more than a dozen FM transmitter sites, each one Broadcasting 2 Networks) Spain would not be a suitable location for FM TEP, as the TEP target area from there would be the South Atlantic Ocean, which doesn't have many FM transmitters! The best location for a FM TEP DX-pedition would be somewhere without many local FM signals in Southern Turkey, the Greek Islands (some of which are off the coast of Turkey), Tunisia, Libya or Egypt. (A location shielded from tropo would be good too!) I have received TEP on a 2 element FM aerial, but I usually use a 4 element aerial (Vertical) - it does not need to be very high. I receive FM TEP from about 1930 local time (1730 UT), for about 30 minutes or sometimes more. (Some evenings I've received FM TEP for 2 hours) So if you guys want to try your hand at FM TEP, book a trip to the Mediterranean sometime between now and late October this year, as there is no guarantee there shall still be TEP conditions next year! (Don't forget to pack a sensitive receiver and a 5 element yagi in your bag!) Regards, Peter Wilson, Orapa, Botswana (via Mike Bugaj, Sept 19, WTFDA via DXLD) ###