DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-169, October 31, 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 1154: WWCR: Sat 0700, Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 [Thu 2130 on 15825 was pre-empted for make-good of another program] RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600, Mon 0030, 0630... 7445, 15039 WRN: rest of world Sat 0800, Europe Sun 0530, North America Sun 1500 WBCQ: Mon 0515 7415 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400 7490... ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [from Fri] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1154.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1154.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wo1154.html [by early UT Fri] ** ALASKA. I'm sorry to have not replied before the test. I was away from Nome from 10/23 until this morning and just read your message. We had only one even tentative reply so far. I hadn't expected much. The "competition" on 780 is severe and we have a very short folded unipole antenna. Realistically I though we might get a few replies from western Canada and perhaps some from over the pole. I think those turned out to forlorn hopes, as there was a big geomagnetic storm that night. We MAY do another test later in Winter but can't promise just yet. Thank you for working with us! (Les Brown, KNOM, via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. De zuidpool ontwaakt In oktober en november, wanneer Europa zich opmaakt voor de winter, komt Antarctica langzaam tot leven. Het zuidelijk halfrond heeft de zomer voor de boeg en op de wetenschappelijke zuidpool-bases draaien research programma’s op volle toeren. Vliegtuigen die personeel en bevoorrading op Antarctica gaan afleveren, leggen verbindingen op de kortegolf. In totaal gaat het om zo’n 250 vluchten. Inclusief de terugreis zijn dat dus 500 vluchtbewegingen. De volgende kortegolf frequenties zijn daarbij in gebruik: 4123, 4718, 4770, 5726, 6835, 7995, 8867, 9032, 10639, 11256, 11553 en 13251 kHz. Meer informatie over het radioverkeer op deze kanalen, is te vinden in de gratis frequentielijst van Risto Hirvonen (Bron: Peter de Deugd / WUN, oktober 2002, kortefgolf.info Nieuws via WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. As at October 30 2002, the Australian Communications Authority has no record of any licence being issued for 2368.5 kHz. Very rigid guidelines are imposed for any Australian applicant wishing to operate in the HF bands, (2300-26100 KHz) to ensure compiance with recently enabled Federal legislation concerning content. The Department of Defence is authorised to operate on 2376.0 kHz, Australia-wide, Land Mobile, Ambulatory (Initial), callsign AXA210. Regards (Bob Padula, Melbourne, Oct 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I can confirm that Peter Tate, the founder of Station X, indeed has the licences registered with the ACA AND ABA. Interesting about the shortwave frequency; would be most useful on a clear night when free of lightening crashes, otherwise it could be a little noisy over some distance. The format of the station will most probably be 10 to 25, with a lot of younger pop sounds, but they also have played 80's and 90's in particular, around lunchtimes. I'll keep an ear out for this one and let you know if heard, 73 (Tim Gaynor, Oxenford, Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Paulo Roberto e Souza, que reside em Tefé (AM), traça o perfil de mais uma emissora de sua região: uma das mais antigas emissoras do Amazonas, a Rádio Baré, de Manaus(AM), que em passado recente integrou a Rede CBN, quando era a CBN Manaus, há 6 anos está alugada para a Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor. A programação é totalmente voltada para difundir a doutrina da Igreja. A estação de onda tropical, em 4895 kHz, fica no ar entre as 2000 e 1000. BRASIL - A partir de 1º de janeiro de 2003, as freqüências de 5955 e 9685 kHz, da Rádio Gazeta, de São Paulo (SP), passam a emitir nova programação. A emissora deixará definitivamente a programação religiosa da Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor e levará ao ar programas feitos por alunos da Faculdade de Jornalismo Cásper Líbero, de acordo com informações publicadas pela jornalista Magaly Prado e divulgadas por Cassiano Macedo. BRASIL - De 1º a 3 de novembro, a Rádio Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista (SP), realiza o "Acampamento de oração para jovens", naquela cidade. Participam do evento ouvintes da emissora de todo o Brasil. Aos sábados, a emissora responde aos informes de recepção que recebe de todo o mundo, às 2200, em 4825, 6105 e 9675 kHz. A emissora aceita informes gravados. Recentemente, Paul Ormandy, da Nova Zelândia, teve uma de suas gravações em CD apresentadas no programa (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Oct 28 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Radio Bulgaria has announced that they will be testing on two new frequencies sometime after the 27th, 18900 and 19000, at 1100- 1600Z and would like reception reports. I have tried from time to time and have not picked up anything on the frequencies (Wm. "Bill" Brady, Harwood MD, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. REBEL FORCES TWO BLOCKS FROM PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE; SOME GUARDS ABANDON POSTS BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) _ Rebels backing the ousted army chief moved to within two blocks of the presidential residence Tuesday in the fifth day of fighting to oust President Ange-Felix Patasse. Some members of his presidential guard shed their uniforms and abandoned their posts as rebels supporting François Bozize fired mortars and rockets at two Libyan-piloted small Aeromacchi bombers that have been strafing their positions for several days. The rebels wore yellow and red headbands, apparently to distinguish themselves from loyalist forces. There has been no official comment on the whereabouts of Patasse and his family, but some of the guards said on condition of anonymity that he was no longer inside the residence near the center of the small capital city on the Oubangui River. Government-run Radio Centreafrique has carried only music since broadcasting a statement Sunday accusing neighboring Chad of backing the rebel operation. Chad has denied the charge. The only private radio station in the nation of 3.5 million has been off the air for days. In Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry denied a report that Patasse had sought refuge in the Japanese Embassy. Another report that he was at the residence of Catholic Archbishop Edouard Mathos could not immediately be confirmed. The 65-year-old president has held on to power for 10 years, surviving numerous rebellions and coup attempts over unpaid government salaries and other grievances. Since May 2001, he has been guarded by several hundred Libyan troops sent by Moammar Gadhafi. "We've had enough of him; let him just leave," one civilian, building contractor Tale Aziz, said of Patasse. It was not possible to obtain an accurate indication of casualties. Many people have fled their homes in the northern half of town, and basic foodstuffs like cassava were becoming scarce because farmers could not bring produce to market. The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that an unspecified number of people were crossing the river to Zongo in neighboring Congo to escape the fighting. The rebels' main objectives appeared to be to capture the president's residence, the airport and the government radio station. The insurgents maintained positions on the edge of the airport, which has been guarded by Libyan troops. There were reports that many of the Libyan fighters had moved to the Libyan Embassy. Several hundred members of a Congolese rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo are supporting the Libyans. Very few soldiers of CAR's 3,500-man, poorly equipped army were involved in the fighting. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned the rebel attacks, as has France _ Central African Republic's former colonial power _ and the neighboring Republic of Congo. Chad issued a statement Tuesday expressing concern over the crisis but denouncing "false and tendentious accusations" of its involvement in the rebellion. Bozize, who sought refuge in Chad last November after an attempted coup and later moved to France at the insistence of regional leaders, returned to Paris on Tuesday after a weekend trip to the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, where he met with several lieutenants. Patasse has held power since 1993 after winning elections that ended a 12-year military regime. http://www.fox29.com/news/story.asp?subsection=world&content_id=1392980 (Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) COUP ATTEMPT AFFECTS MEDIA IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Press reports from Bangui say that state-run Radio Centrafrique has been broadcasting only music since an attempted coup began on Sunday. Rebels supporting the sacked army chief General François Bozize are attempting to depose President Ange-Felix Patasse. On Sunday, in its last statement before switching over to music, Radio Centrafrique announced that neighbouring Chad was behind the coup attempt, something which Chad has vigorously denied. On Tuesday, rebels were reported to have moved to within two blocks of the presidential palace, and there were unconfirmed reports that the President had already fled (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 30 October 2002 via WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) Used to be on 5038v, but I think has been inactive for quite some time (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) ** CHINA. 7150, Voice of the Strait - PLA, Oct 30 1200-1400 and beyond. Noted various programs and features during period. Searched for parallel's and found 7280 and 11590 kHz. However, 7150 was slightly behind those two freqs suggesting a relay from possibly Xi`an or Urumqi which are listed to be using 7150 in the PWBR. Anyway, it was fun finding the parallels. Signal on 7150 remained poor during entire period (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Xingjiang reactivated its frequencies of 4500, 4980 and 5060 kHz. Heard on 29 Oct until sign off at 1800 UT (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia), hard-core-dx via DXLD) Nice reception here in Curitiba, in the south of Brazil, using a home- brew T2FD and an Icom R75. I can listen to 4500 and get the carriers of 4980 and 5060, at 0200 UT (Rik van Riel, Oct 31, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. A big and very nice looking computer made "Tarjeta QSL card" from La Voz de su Conciencia, Colombia, appeared from the postal services today. All texts are in Spanish and English and v/s is Martin Stendal. They say that they are on 6010 kHz now and: "Desde Colombia para el Mundo" and also "Una Extensión de radio Alvcaraván 1530 AM". 73 from (Björn Fransson, the island of Gotland, Sweden, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. The following was heard on the R-390A and roof mounted Hustler 6BTV. Radio Nacional, Bogotá. 9635 kHz, SINPO 24232-34333, Rough copy, used modest "limiting". 0415: Male commentator. Not sure of subject. 0422: Music spot then female commentator with remarks by male. Blast that noise! 0430: Brief music spot and male gave station ID "Radio Nacional" and something else I didn't catch. 0433: Tuned out, enough noise. Worse than my beacons, at least CW punches through the noise! 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atchley, Merced CA, Oct 31, swl via DXLD) Haven`t seen this one reported in ages (gh, DXLD) ** CONGO DR. Last night I tuned on 9550 kHz after 1920 there was French speaking station playing pop music. No ID found (maybe on the MD) but I believe this is Radio Okapi, Kinshasa. Very weak signal thought 10 kilowatts should be in use. 73 (Jarmo Patala, Finland, Oct 30, dxing.info via WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. En 5055, con SINPO variable entre 3/3 y 4/4, con fuerte interferencia del canal 5050 [WWRB --- hmmm, what about poor Tanzania?? --- gh], fue captada Radio Faro del Caribe, a eso de las 0402 UT. Transmitía un programa religioso y se recibían llamadas telefónicas al aire. Saludos desde VENEZUELA. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. U.S. GOVERNMENT DISTRIBUTING SHORTWAVE RADIOS IN CUBA by Jeff White As most shortwave listeners and broadcasters are aware, Cuba has one of the highest shortwave listenership rates in the Western Hemisphere. This is because the domestic Cuban media are all government-owned, and Cubans are seeking independent news and information from outside the island. In addition, religious/evangelical broadcasting is not permitted on domestic Cuban media, so Cubans often listen to foreign shortwave stations for religious programming. There have been many press reports in recent months about the efforts of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to distribute shortwave radios in Cuba free of charge. This has caused diplomatic flaps between the U.S. and Cuba because these radios can be used to hear the U.S. Government's Radio Martí broadcasts. There was even some speculation that these radios might be fix-tuned to Radio Martí frequencies. But none of the dozens of press reports has given much technical information about the receivers, so we decided to find out for ourselves. A source at the U.S. Interests Section, which operates out of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, has confirmed to WRMI that the radios being distributed are Chinese-made Tecsun brand, model R9701, which come with "external antenna, earpiece, batteries and battery charger." Some investigation on the Internet reveals that Tecsun has a marketing office in Hong Kong. The manufacturing plant is somewhere in China, and it also makes certain models of shortwave radios for the well-known German company Grundig. As with most Chinese-manufactured shortwave receivers, there have apparently been some quality control issues with certain Tecsun products, but it is likely that Grundig is fairly demanding in that respect. The model R9701 has AM, FM and seven shortwave bands. A photo on the company's website http://www.tecsun.com.cn/english/swdual.htm shows the radio, but it is not clear enough to distinguish the exact coverage of the seven shortwave bands. It is clear, though, that the radio covers most of the major shortwave bands. The R9701 has analog readout, is dual conversion and measures 115 x 75 x 29 millimeters. It uses two AA batteries and has an earphone jack. The website does not mention a price, but an Oct. 23 article in USA Today indicates that the radios cost $10 each, and that the U.S. Interests Section has distributed more than 1000 of them so far. The U.S. Interests Section told WRMI that "we are not locked in on this model and may be receiving others in the future," which seems to indicate that they intend to continue giving away radios on the island. While the Cuban government has criticized the U.S. for distributing the radios (and in fact has threatened unspecified consequences if the U.S. does not quit distributing them), the U.S. Interests Section points out that these radios are not fix-tuned to Radio Martí frequencies; they can be used to hear shortwave stations from all over the world, including Castro's own Radio Havana Cuba. And they have AM and FM bands to pick up all of the local Cuban government-owned stations. The Tecsun R9701 is obviously a simple, cheap shortwave receiver, but for listeners in Cuba who are struggling to get information from abroad, something is better than nothing at all. These radios will literally bring the world to Cuban listeners, and while the main objective of the U.S. Interests Section may be to get people to listen to Radio Martí or the Voice of America, clearly all shortwave broadcasters who target Cuba will benefit from the distribution of these radios (Jeff White, WRMI, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. COVERT COMMS By Tom Sevart, Frontenac, KS A year ago I first wrote about Ana Belen Montes, the Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who had been charged with spying for Cuba. A few months back I mentioned that she had pleaded guilty to espionage. The latest word in this drama is that Montes was sentenced to 25 years in prison. On October 16th, Montes appeared in U.S. District Court and accepted the sentence as part of a plea agreement on one charge of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charge could be a capital offense, but prosecutors agreed to the plea agreement in March when Montes agreed to tell investigators everything about her spying activities. She spent six months telling everything she knew. U.S. Attorney Rosco C. Howard Jr. stated that Montes had cooperated fully with federal investigators from several different agencies, but no details of what she had revealed were released. Montes was moved not by greed, as in the Aldrich Ames case, but was motivated by political feelings. She never received any payment except for expenses. Montes was sympathetic to Cuba and opposed the U.S. government's policy toward it. She told U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina that she obeyed her conscience rather than the law, and that she believes the U.S.'s policy toward Cuba is cruel and unfair. She also stated that she felt morally obligated to help Cuba defend itself from the U.S.'s policies. However, Urbina, who is of Puerto Rican heritage as is Montes, stated that "if you can't love your country, you should at least do it no harm." He appeared to be unimpressed by Montes' motivation. U.S. attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. was also less than impressed. He filed papers to the court which stated that Montes is "the ultimate hypocrite" who "consciously and deliberately chose to join forces with those who would compromise the national security of this country. She secretly and without remorse systematically compromised classified information relating to the national defense of the entire country. She comes before this court and makes no apology for her deceit and betrayal." Montes worked for the DIA since 1985 and became the head of the agency's Cuba section in 1992. It's unknown exactly how long she had been spying for Cuba, but the FBI's investigation may have gone back to 1997. Montes was arrested a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Montes listened to the "Atencion" V2 station to receive her instructions. She entered the 5F groups into a laptop computer that had the decoding program installed to give her plaintext messages. The messages were recovered from her hard drive. Montes replied to her handlers by calling pager numbers from pay phones and punching in coded messages using the touch tone keys. Information passed to Cuban intelligence included the names of at least four U.S. covert officers inside Cuba, classified photos and documents, and the fact that the U.S. was monitoring several Cuban military installations. At least Montes may go to prison with a somewhat clean conscience, knowing that nobody perished due to her spying. Luckily, she did not cause the deaths of the four intelligence agents she named, unlike Aldrich Ames. The numerous agents Ames turned over either were killed or disappeared without a trace. And also unlike Ames, Montes didn't do it for greed but for personal political motivation. But whether or not it was worth it is something only Ana Belen Montes can answer for herself. At least she's got the next 25 years to consider it. (Nov The ACE via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. 17833, R. Imperial: Fax received from Moisés B. Cruz G., Ingeniero, saying he received my correspondence and saying he was happy to know the station`s signal was being received from so far away. Unfortunately that was the closest in the fax to a confirmation. He went on to give greetings from Sonsonate, the town, and from the workers at the station, and talk about the AM station being in existence for 36 years and the SW facility being up about a year after some recent economic problems in El Salvador. The frequency is listed as 17835, although heard at a somewhat lower frequency. He attributes the success of the SW station to the General Manager (unnamed in the fax). Fax was not on letterhead but plain, and was signed on the bottom by Moises and also by Carolina de Cruz, and the titles under the signatures were "Ingeniero y esposa," so it's a family thing. I sent them a registered letter on Oct 2 and included my business card, since it says "engineer" on it. I thought this may help to get my letters to the engineering dept. My fax number is on the card, so they obviously received my postal mail. This is my first reply via fax (John Sgrulletta, NY, DXplorer via DXLD) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [nons]. Effective Oct-27, Radio UNMEE (UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia) is on this new schedule: Tuesdays 0430-0530 15235; Fridays 1900-2000 13670 Both via Al Dhabbiya, UAE. Langs: Tuesdays: Eritrean Tigrinya, Arabic, Tigre, English Fridays: Amharic, Afan Oromo,Tigrinya, Ethiopian Tigrinya, English Regards! (Bob Padula, Melbourne, Oct 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. I want to correct one mention in the bulletin of Oct 22nd. The broadcaster interviewed was not Donald Fields, but David Mawby. Donald Fields was the first on air person when YLE resumed its English service in 1967. He was a freelancer and worked also for the BBC and British newspapers. He died in the mid 80s. The "listener who became broadcaster" was David Mawby. There have been interesting recollections of YLE English in the bulletin. Such as the fact that for some years in the late 80s there used to be four runs of the North American morning, between 12 and 15 GMT. Finnish speaking listeners kept on complaining against the extensive airtime given to English - but their views were not taken into account very much. Later, priorities changed and it was realized a well-run service in Finnish/Swedish was something of an asset for the corporation and part of the domestic competitive edge against commercial stations. Whatever your dial is on in Finland, abroad you have YLE. The number of English half hours shrank soon to one, at 8:30 am Eastern (Juhani Niinistö, YLE, Nov 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Glenn, Yesterday, 10/28, I received a very nice letter from a Mr. Pierre Urcun, R & D Engineer at TDF CCETT, regarding the "mystery" station heard in early September on 25775. Mr. Urcun stated that the station I heard on 25775 kHz, Wednesday 25 September, was an experimental DRM broadcast. He also stated that the transmission mode is a digital "CODFM" modulation which is compatible with an AM demodulation. (Simulcast DRM/AM mode). Mr. Urcun also gave station details including transmitter power of 400 watts from and antenna 110m above ground at Latitude 48 6' 49" N, longitude 1 41' 11" W. (Which would be in France). This was for 1 IRC in 17 days from the Cesson- Sevigne, France address. Due to the volume of discussion regarding this broadcast I thought you, and others, would be interested in this. PS: thanks to whom ever posted the CCETT address! Also sorry for not e-mailing a copy of the letter; I have no scanner capability at this time (Scott R Barbour Jr, NH, Oct 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 25775 TDF- CCETT Test Broadcast via Rennes, Brittany, France: 2 full data PPC's signed and stamped, plus no data/ information letter with details about these broadcasts. The V/s indicated that these broadcasts where an experimental DRM broadcast, plus transmission mode in a digital "CODFM" modulation that is compatible with AM demodulation (simulcast DRM/AM Mode). Explanation of why I heard this broadcast. Power as 400 watts (on 25775) and 30 watts DRM (25765) into a 110m antenna above ground with a vertical mounting at the top. He also gives the Latitude and Longitude location (in Rennes). Reply in 16 days. v/s Mr. Pierre Urcun pierre.urcun@tdf.fr Reports sent to TDF CCETT, 4 Rue de Clos Courtel, B.P. 31826, 35518 Cesson-Sevigne, France (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GREECE. I spent a long weekend (25-28 Oct) at a DX Camp in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic, in Javorovec (pron. Yavorovets) near Uherske Hradiste, 300 km easterly from my home, 5 km from the LW transmitter site Topolna 270 kHz. Let me share with you some of my observations in the MW band... Plenty of Greek pirates in the 1600-1800 kHz band, they also penetrate into the MW band. The strongest one was heard on 1566.5 - 1568.3 kHz from Friday to Monday in the afternoon, in the evening and in the morning too. The station seemed to be from Thessaloniki. Another one I heard on 1382.5 kHz... GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), Oct 30, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** GREECE [non]. At the 1900 start of ``It`s All Greek to Me`` program in English, the announcer was slightly pissed when he apologized: ``I lost some of your E-mails due to technical problems in my God damn computer!`` [Sundays only via Delano 17705] (John (Yanni) Babbis, MD, Oct 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII [non]. My vote for best new station of 2002. . . . I know its only November but already media hacks—I mean critics—are drying the ink on their "best of" lists for the year. Well, I thought that since the ACE crew is kind enough to loan me some column space, I'll practice the concept of free speech here from time to time. Hey, you're entitled to my opinion! So here's my Roger Ebert impression: I only heard a handful of new stations this year so far, and without hesitation my vote for all around excellence goes to Voice a da Tiki. Mudda Maxwell created an incredible half hour program that transports listeners to a pristine Hawaiian beach where sun (or moon) worshipers wear little but a smile. The sound of surf and wind washes into ethereal and soulful music by IZ (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), the Big Man himself, from his CD Facing Future. Then Hapa perform the most intense and moving version of Pride (In the Name of Love) that I have ever heard. Then it's back to more music by IZ including the energetic anthem Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man and another stunning version of Hawaii 78. Oh yeah bro! By the end of the show I'm one blissful pirate listener. I hope we'll hear more of Voice a da Tiki in 2003. The Voice a da Tiki QSL that I received for my reception report is a gorgeous work of art. Thank you for the island tunes, Mudda Maxwell! Until next month Happy Thanksgiving & 73's! (Frederick Moe, Random Transmissions, Nov The ACE via DXLD) ** INDONESIA/U S A. U.S. TRIES TO SWAY MUSLIM OPINION MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer JAKARTA, Indonesia - An American media campaign launched in Indonesia on Wednesday sends a clear message: Muslims in the United States could not be happier. The advertising blitz portrays the lives of five American Muslims and aims to counter the impression that the United States is intolerant and anti-Islamic, a U.S. official said. "We hope that by highlighting the positive, common values shared by Muslims and non-Muslims - such as faith, family, community, education, charity, and tolerance - that we can tear down prejudices and build mutual understanding," Ambassador Ralph Boyce said in a statement. The television, radio and print ads, to be shown here and in other Islamic countries, are the latest effort by the United States to sway Muslim opinion and provide support to moderate Islamic leaders in countries where radical, anti-American forces are gaining strength. It remains to be seen what impact the spots will have on public opinion in Indonesia. Some who saw the ads Wednesday were skeptical. "I don't think this kind of propaganda will significantly change the image that some Indonesians have of America," said Din Syamsuddin, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, a religious authority. "What needs to happen is a significant change in U.S. policy toward Muslim governments," he said. "The U.S. war on terrorism is one example where Muslims are being blamed for much of the violence." Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands, is considered a moderate Islamic country. But since the 1998 fall of former dictator Suharto, a collection of radical Muslim groups - some with al-Qaida links - have led anti-American demonstrations, rallied in support of Islamic law and been implicated in the killing of thousands of Christians. The United States has attempted to counter anti-American sentiment here by sponsoring trips for Indonesian journalists to report on Islam in America. Trips have also been sponsored for about 25 religious boarding school leaders to meet with American Muslim leaders. It also has sponsored positive programs on the United States through Voice of America radio affiliates, among other projects. Boyce said that promoting better understanding between the two countries was one of his goals when he arrived as ambassador in 2001. "This is part of a long-term effort in Indonesia ... to break down misconceptions in both our media and ongoing personal dialogues between Americans and Indonesians," he said. The advertisements are snapshots of five American Muslims, offering an upbeat assessment of life in the United States. The people profiled include a graduate student from Indonesia, the Algerian director of the National Institute of Health, a Libyan baker, a Lebanese teacher and a Muslim paramedic from New York whose parents emigrated from India. "The American students I met have respected my beliefs," Devianti Faridz, the Indonesian graduate student, says in her spot. "It's nice to know that people are willing to open up their hearts and understand what they do not know." Farooq Muhammad, the New York paramedic, tells viewers that he works in harmony with Christian, Jewish and Hindu emergency workers. "We work together without any problems," Muhammad said. "They are very supportive of me and I'm very grateful. I have never been treated disrespectfully as a Muslim." (via kansas.com via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. The program and frequency schedule of broadcasts through TDP for the new B02 Winter period is now available at http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html (TDP Mailing List, Belgium, October 31, 2002, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TDP --- `Transmitter Documentation Project` --- refuses to disclose transmitter sites ** IRAN. I`ve found VOIRI English at 0030 on 6135, 9580; looking for third frequency. Repeat at 0130 best on 6135 (Bob Thomas, CT, Oct 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ/USA. BABIL NEWSPAPER PROBES MOTIVES BEHIND CNN EXPULSION ORDER | Text of report by Iraqi newspaper Babil web site on 27 October The Information Ministry said Thursday [24 October] that it is expelling CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf along with a group of foreign journalists and that it is tightening entry visa restrictions for foreign correspondents in the future. Arraf and five other non-Iraqi CNN correspondents, including Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi, have been told that they must leave Iraq by Monday [28 October]. Officials in charge of the press office at the Ministry of Information in Baghdad, in response to a question from AFP, affirmed that the visas issued for CNN journalists had expired and, therefore, they had to leave the country. CNN, however, has confirmed that its Baghdad bureau meets all the legal conditions for operating. The same source [as published] added that Baghdad has decided to limit to 10 days the duration of the visa issued to foreign journalists because the press centre can only handle a limited number of journalists at one time. The CNN web site has reported that Jane Arraf, a Canadian national, two other correspondents, Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi; and two other non-Iraqi CNN staff members currently present in Baghdad have received orders to leave Iraq by Monday at the latest. The CNN Baghdad bureau chief is the only Western correspondent working in Baghdad, where CNN has maintained a bureau for 12 years. On Saturday [26 October] the Iraqi Information Ministry denied news reports talking about the expulsion of foreign journalists from Iraq and dismissed these reports are baseless. In view of the discrepancy and conflict between the Information Ministry's official instructions and what CNN claims; in line with our constant quest to ascertain the truth of the matter in an accurate way; and out of our belief that it is the central directive of President leader Saddam Husayn, may God preserve him, to give foreign journalists hosted by Iraq and their camera crews the freedom to cover the ceremonies related to the major pledge of allegiance [referendum on President Saddam Husayn's new term in office] and to report whatever they want to report since we have nothing to hide, we would like to publish the following comment made by the CNN Baghdad bureau. The bureau chief noted that they operate in Baghdad within the margin of freedom of movement granted to the local, Arab and foreign press and made available by the central directives. The chief added that their news reports do not in any way conflict with the ministry's instructions. Jane Arraf told the Babil correspondent that she does not know the real reason behind the decision, which has been conveyed to them verbally. She believes that the most likely reason is the report that she prepared and that CNN broadcast on Tuesday. The report pertains to a peaceful demonstration staged by relatives of prisoners who were supposed to be released on 22 October, based on the Iraqi president's decision to grant full and comprehensive amnesty to all prisoners, detainees and deserters from military service. She explained that she had emphasized in her report that the purpose of the demonstration that took place in front of the Iraqi Information Ministry building was to inquire about the whereabouts of their relatives and that it was not an act of rioting against the regime. Rym Brahimi, who is a member of the CNN team in Baghdad and the daughter of UN Assistant Secretary-General Lakhdar Brahimi, who has visited Baghdad repeatedly, believes that the report broadcast by a CNN correspondent in Beirut on the conditions in northern Iraq is behind this decision. However, she explained that this correspondent is not part of the team assigned to work in Iraq and that he had reached northern Iraq directly, adding that the CNN Baghdad bureau had nothing to do with this report. Brahimi pointed out that the CNN bureau requested in March but never received permission to prepare news reports on northern Iraq. This is despite the fact that correspondents for other television stations represented in Baghdad broadcast reports from northern Iraq without their offices encountering any retaliatory measures. The remaining members of the CNN team told a Babil correspondent that they wish to stay in Iraq as long as possible to convey a good and positive picture about the course of events to the Western audience in general and the Americans in particular. The Information Ministry asked CNN Bureau Chief Jane Arraf to leave Iraq the day after tomorrow, Monday. The remaining members of the CNN team, four journalists and two cameramen, are required to leave between 12-24 October. Perhaps it is appropriate here to mention that the media of the 70s of the last century are not the same as the media of the 21st century. What used to be permitted by some people, which the Iraqi media personnel continue to joke about until today, such as the remark about the birds that fly over the radio and television building [as published], is now outdated. The time now is for the serious media, which seek the truth and serve the principles. Since none of the foreign networks are good, the rule is that those in between that are closer to being bad than good must leave. As for those in between that are closer to being good than bad, there is no harm in dealing with them. Source: Babil web site, Baghdad, in Arabic 27 Oct 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) We still see some CNN correspondent in Baghdad, I think it`s Rym Brahimi, who says it helps to have an Algerian passport (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ. COALITION FORCES DROP LEAFLETS ON IRAQI CITIES October 28, 2002 MACDILL AFB, FL -- In response to recent Iraqi violations of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH aircraft dropped leaflets on two Iraqi towns on 27 October at approximately 3:45 am EST. Leaflets were dropped over As Samawah and Al Basrah in Southern Iraq to enhance force protection of Coalition aircrews. The leaflets are used to discourage the Iraqi military from engaging Coalition aircraft while also communicating the consequences of Iraqi military actions directly with the local civilian populace. Between the two locations, Coalition aircraft dropped more than 150,000 leaflets. The leaflets can be viewed at http://www.centcom.mil/News/press%20releases/leaflets/20021007.htm (Centcom website via Johnson, Cumbre DX Oct 30 via DXLD) We reported a few weeks ago that US military was planning to start leaflet drops and broadcasts. The drops have started, what about the broadcasts? Nothing seen on the 193rd's website or the Harrisburg newspaper (Hans Johnson, TX, Oct 30, Cumbre DX, via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. CLANDESTINE: 15675, Dengue Mesopotamya, 0500-0541, Oct 28, IS with long time of silence, also in the frequency signal in CW, at 0534 Music at 0536 March and ID "...Dengue Mesopotamya... Democratic... Dengue Mesopotamya.." by man and female announcer, 24442 (Nicolás Eramo, Villa Lynch, Bs. As., Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non] Mezopotamian Radio & Television, broadcasting since September 2002 is changing its frequency from 12115 to 7560 kHz as of Tuesday, November 5, 2002. Mezopotamian Radio & Television broadcasts every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 1700-1800 UT (TDP Mailing List, Belgium, October 31, 2002, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TDP refuses to disclose transmitter sites ** JAPAN. CIA WARNS OF NET TERROR THREAT By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com October 29, 2002, 2:15 PM PT It's not just Al-Qaida that American businesses and government agencies may have to worry about. The CIA warns that other terrorist groups could launch a "cyberattack." ..."Aleph, formerly known as Aum Shinrikyo, is the terrorist group that places the highest level of importance on developing cyberskills," said the CIA report prepared by Stanley Moskowitz, the agency's director of congressional affairs. "These could be applied to cyberattacks against the U.S. This group identifies itself as a cybercult and derives millions of dollars a year from computer retailing." The Aum Shinrikyo religious group carried out the deadly nerve gas attack in a Tokyo subway in 1995, which killed 12 people and sent more than 5,000 to hospitals. The group is a doomsday cult that believes the end of the world is near. The CIA report, along with two others from the State Department and the Defense Intelligence Agency, were prepared in March and April but were not made public by the Senate until this month.... http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963771.html (via Fred Waterer, Oct 29, DXLD) ** JORDAN. R. Jordan, English, I heard at 1200 but with co-channel RTTY, on 11690 (Bob Thomas, CT, Oct 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. Hola Glenn... Saludos desde Catia La Mar. - Contrariamente a lo que había pensado, Radio Pyongyang sí va a cambiar ciertas frecuencias de su servicio en español, a partir del 4/11. Ayer pude oír la advertencia durante la programación de dicha estación. Las horas siguen iguales: 17-18 UT 11735, 9975; 00-01, 02-03 7580, 11735, 6250 (Adán González, Venezuela, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. As of this coming Sunday, November 3, 2002, Voice of Komala will start broadcasting every Sunday at 1700-1800 UT on 7560 kHz. Broadcasts will be in Kurdish and Farsi and are directed towards the Middle East (TDP Mailing List, Belgium, October 31, 2002, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TDP refuses to disclose transmitter sites ** KYRGYZSTAN. Re Nashe Radio on 89.0 MHz in Bishkek: you can be sure that there is no connection with our UNID on 4050 kHz. The station on 89.0 is relaying Nashe Radio from Moscow by satellite (Nashe Radio is one of the largest Russian commercial networks), some local programming is planned. Before, this frequency 89.0 MHz relayed another private Russian network, Radio Maximum. Nashe Radio Bishkek is aimed at ethnic Russians and plays only Russian pop music. There is however, a large variety of activities in the private broadcasting sector in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek alone has more than 15 local, private radio stations on FM with various formats (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Oct 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALTA [non]. VOM FREQUENCY TABLE 27 October 2002 - 30 March 2003 Monday to Saturday 0630-0700 6110 Arabic 1700-1730 9850 Italian 1730-1800 9850 English 2000-2100 7440 English* 2100-2200 7440 Arabic * Except on Friday Friday 2000-2200 7440 Arabic Sunday 0500-0600 15560 Japanese 0800-0900 9630 Italian 0900-1000 9630 English 1000-1100 9630 Maltese 1100-1200 9630 French 1200-1300 9630 German 2000-2100 7440 English 2100-2130 7440 French 2130-2200 7440 German Transmitting Site: Rome Transmission Power: 100 KW Frequency: 6110 kHz, 9850 kHz, 9630 kHz Transmitting Site: Moscow Transmission Power: 250 KW Frequency: 7440 kHz Transmitting Site: Komsomolski Transmission Power: 250 KW Frequency: 15560 kHz Roberto Scaglione - Italy http://www.bclnews.it (via ODXA via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Just got back early this afternoon from a whirlwind trip to the Rio Grande Valley. Due to schedule problems, Steven Wiseblood and I had only about five hours worth of DX together from his Boca Chica site, and there were some new stations for Steve and a beautiful tape on 1620 when the 32-inch ferrite loop knocked College Station down long enough to get a complete ID on the Virgin Islands station, using the 525. We worked on several regional frequencies, the most interesting of which was 560. There, we were able to Identify "La Zeta" in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, but could not identify who was playing disco and romántica. Some mention of Jalisco was heard, but Fresnillo and the Jalisco station are on the same direct path from Boca Chica, and almost exactly opposition from the Beaumont station. Fortunately, the southern signals were stronger. Most of the time, though, was spent in the car, taping locals speaker to mike as I drove down to Brownsville Friday. Friday night and during the day Saturday, I taped locals, mostly Reynosa and Matamoros, off the DX-398. Then on Sunday, I drove up the Valley from Brownsville as far as Del Rio, taping cross-the-border programming as I went. A lot of interesting stations on Sunday that I haven't been able to hear from here, with some "local talent" that might not make it to any of the Formula nets. On the Ciudad Camargo station on 1350, for example, there was a little girl announcer who sounded like she may have been 12 at the oldest. I noted a few slogan changes and got one question, regarding the dial in Ciudad Allende, Coahuila, about 90-percent answered. XEVD, which reportedly had moved earlier this year to 1050, then was later heard back on 1380, was taped on 1380. But there is a Ciudad Allende station, announcing diez mil watts, on 1050. It's top-of-the-hour ID had a lot of production noises and the call letters were slurred, but I may be able to make them out when I go over the tapes. They sounded like XEDUC or XEBUC. I'm 90-percent certain of the "UC." It was surprising how close to Monterrey, on the U.S. side of the Rio Bravo, that they begin QRM'ing XEG during the day. Tape of XEVD indicated their slogan is "La V-D," with no "La Vida" heard. Imagine a U.S. station calling itself "The VD!" Driving toward Del Rio, I found good signals from XEKD-1010, that made me think it was stronger than the listed 500 watts. It's TOH ID said mil watts. The Sunday afternoon DJ on XEKD was a gabby young man and the Sunday afternoon DJ on the 1340 Ciudad Acuña station was a gabby young lady. I wanted to check conflicting information on Acuña stations on 650 and 1600, but found 1600 completely silent and on 650, there was only an open carrier. XEZR-800, Zaragoza, was also missing on Sunday. Briefly, in what should have been its coverage area, I did hear a highly-distorted strong signal during one tune-across, but mostly it was the far west fringes of the signal from XEDD, Montemorelos, "La Doble-D." It had not moved back to 850 ... there was nothing there, either. This morning, driving home between Junction and Brady, Texas, there were three stations Spanish-speakers on 800, two of them broadcasting different news block programs and the third there faintly, off and on, with music. One of the news block stations, which did a lot of conversation between the anchor and the correspondent, a fashion in Mexico, had several mentions of Zaragoza ... but that's a common surname, too, and I can't be sure if XEZR was back on or what by the 0800 CST top-of-the-hour, it was a weak-signal jumble. On 650, there was some weak Spanish, but I was far enough away from Ciudad Acuña it would have been about what I'd expect from 500 watts. Nothing usable on 1600. I will try to process tapes and transcribe announcements so there might be some useful clues to identifying some of these stations should they pop up on our home receivers. For next trip, I need to experiment with attaching tape cable to speaker terminals, if I can get to them in the Alero, to eliminate road noise from the tapes. (John Callarman, Krum TX 76249-5503, KA9SPA, Oct 28, Corazón DX via DXLD ** MEXICO. OUT ON THE PORCH Take one play based on the book, "Border Radio," mix it with one stage mural from the oldest dance hall in Texas. Out On the Porch, Jim Swift shows how that's the recipe for one entertaining exhibit at the Texas History Museum. (The following is a transcript of Out On the Porch.) Announcer says: "Direct from Ed McLemore Sportatorium at the corner of Katys and Industrial Boulevards in downtown big friendly Dallas, the "Bid D Jamboree" edition of Saturday night country style." Music. In the beginning, there was radio: domestic radio stations to be sure, but maybe more to the point, a series of extremely powerful stations just across the border in Mexico. Actor Bill Crawford says: "Why these stations were so powerful, folks could hear 'em on barb wire fences, on their mattress springs, even on their dental work!" Cast and audience members sing, "We got the Crazy Water boogie; Crazy Water boogie; ah, the Crazy Water boogie." And so the Texas History Museum's exhibit features prominently the role of border radio in the development of country music. Actor Rick Perkins says: "You could make one appearance on one station down on the border and you're nationwide. You're into Canada and in some instances, it's documented it would bounce off the stratosphere and you'd be in Asia, off one appearance. It's the Internet, if you think about it, fifty, eighty years ago." Gary P. Nunn sings: "I want to go home with the Armadillo." But if it was radio and later, television, that opened the door to country music in Texas, it was the rural stores, honky tonks and dance halls that said, "come on in." Perkins says: "That's a tradition carried on. They might hear the music on the radio and go, 'Oh, I want to go see those.' But they can go to Gruene Hall and places like that all over the state; we're lucky enough to have it so close by. And that's true Texas history alive and well right there." Singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave sings: "If you got to know what's pulling me through, I have only one angel, girl, my one angel is you." Gruene Hall, the oldest still operating dance hall in Texas, is just down the road near New Braunfels. Austin singer-songwriter Jimmy Lafave performed there Friday night in front of a fading backdrop so old that it has to be protected now with a digital photograph overlay. Museum spokesperson Heather Brand says: "And then right behind us, we have Gruene Hall represented. Not only did we replicate the mural behind Gruene Hall, but we have some original benches from the hall, itself, here for people to sit on. And they can watch 'Border Radio' while they're sitting on a real Gruene Hall bench." Cast and audience members sing: "You're still in beautiful Texas, the most beautiful state that we know." The country music exhibit runs through the first of the year at the Texas History Museum. Performances of "Border Radio" are planned for November 2, December 7 and January 4. (KXAN-TV News, Austin, Oct 29, via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) 3+ minute video report: http://207.207.6.50/rmfiles/porch_texasradio.ram ** NETHERLANDS [non]. The severe storm that swept through The Netherlands on Sunday caused some damage to several antennas at our Flevo transmitter site. Transmissions are being maintained using reserve antennas. However, the damage has to be repaired, and this will happen on Thursday 31 October. Between 0700 and 1600 UTC on 31 October, a number of Flevo transmissions will come from German sites instead. Details at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/schedule.html (Media Network via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS/VATICAN. I passed Joe Hanlon's report to Ehard Goddijn of our Programme Distribution Department. Ehard informs me that according to the B02 HFCC schedule, Vatican Radio is scheduled to use 13765 kHz up to 1830 UTC and again from 1930 UTC. The frequency is supposed to be clear for Radio Netherlands at 1830-1925. It looks as if Vatican Radio was still on its summer schedule! We will of course monitor the situation closely. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, Oct 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NICARAGUA. 5770, R. Miskut nothing heard in spite of several checks at 1200. Off the air or schedule change? (Hans Johnson, Rio Hondo TX, Oct 24-31, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. I think Dr. Scott must hold the worldwide all-time record for time spent in front of the camera on live tv. "Supposedly" Hugh Downs holds this record but I seriously doubt it (Jeff Kadet, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) LOCAL TV STATION IN FLUX By: Robert Barron, Staff Writer, October 29, 2002 Enid's TV 32 is in transition now, but general manager Rex Faulkner optimistically expects the station to be back next year after new equipment is installed and new programming begun. Currently, the station is broadcasting Stanford professor Gene Scott virtually full time. Faulkner said the reason for that broadcast is because a network feed to the station is experiencing technical problems with its satellite. "We have some new equipment coming in, new insertion equipment and some new programming," he said. Among the new programming, he said, are shows such as "We, the Jury," a court-type program; "Chevy Sportsman," an animal rescue show; and "State Police," a real-crime program. The new programming will begin within the next 30 to 45 days, he said. TV 32 has been on the air about eight years, and Faulkner has been involved since November 2001. "We need local programming, things you can't get on Oklahoma City channels, to set us apart," he said. Faulkner suggested broadcasting local sports, showcasing area ball games and allowing various businesses a different alternative to promoting their businesses. The station has scaled back to four employees, and Faulkner said the station is ready to "turn the corner profitwise." "We're surviving," he said. New digital equipment is being checked out, which would provide better quality, larger reception area, better pictures and stereo, Faulkner said. "We're not doing local news broadcasts now, but after the first of the year we hope to start again," he said. With the installation of new automated equipment, the station will be able to run more efficiently and with fewer employees, he said. TV 32 formerly broadcast from an old retail store on west Garriott before moving to Oakwood Mall (Enid News & Eagle via DXLD) DGS is not a `Stanford University Professor` -- he merely got his Ph.D. from there years ago, or so he says (gh, DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. PALESTINA, 9505 kHz, La Voz de Palestina, La Voz de la Revolución Islámica en Palestina (via VoIRI-Iran), *0330-0348+, 30 Octubre, programa en árabe. Apertura de emisiones con ID "Saut Filastín, Saut-i Saurati al Islamia fi Falestinia" por locutor, y luego música patriótica. Luego comentarios sobre "Jihad" "Al-Aqsa" "Falistin" "Yasser Arafat", etc. Nuevamente idem ID a 0338, marcha y comentarios. SINPO: 45444!!, en // a 7250 (25332). Cabe señalar que la emisora es anti ANP / Arafat. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, Conexión Digitalvia DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. 9983, Radio América, Villeta, 0220-0235, 30 de octubre, reportada con una larga charla religiosa leída por OM quien hablaba sobre la vida del Apostol Pablo. Nunca antes pude captarla en esta frecuencia y me sorprendió especialmente la calidad de recepción de la escucha. 44443. Inaudible a esa misma hora en 2300 y 7737 kHz. En la mañana local del 30 de octubre la busqué en todas sus frecuencias, siendo imposible la captación en las mismas (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) 9983, Radio América, Villeta, 0220-0235, October 30, Spanish transmission. Long religious talk by male in Spanish. 44443. First occasion I heard this station on this frequency. I can`t hear Radio América on 2300 and 7737 and I can`t hear the station now, at 0845 UT, in all frecuencies too (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, hard-core-dx, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) Arnaldo: Hoy UT 31 de octubre escuché a WYFR Family Radio en 9985 cuando intentaba imitar tu exitosa escucha 2 kHz más abajo, a la misma hora. Obviamente el programa de la estación de USA -como todos saben- refiere a mensajes religiosos. No es una duda sino una pregunta ¿Emitía WYFR en tan cercana frecuencia cuando escuchaste R. América en 9983? (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Hola a todos! Quiero compartir por estos medios con los colegas diexistas la interesante información que me aporta Adán Mur de Radio América en Paraguay. Agradezco su difusión. Saludos! Rubén Guillermo Margenet Estimado Rubén: Muchas gracias por su mensaje y por sus observaciones excelentes. ZP20 Radio América transmite con una potencia de 1 KW, desde Ñemby, alimentando a una torre de 0,25 longitudes de onda. La zona normal de cobertura se extiende hacía los 50 KM, con un salto hacía el Chaco, hasta los 800 KM, apróximadamente. Hasta el momento, hemos recibido muchos reportes de sintonía para la frecuencia de los 7737 KHZ y otras de la banda de 41 metros, desde Alemania/Argentina/Australia/Bolívia/Brasil/Canadá/ Estados Unidos/Italia/Noruega/Paraguay/Senegal/Suecia/Uruguay. Para los 9983 KHZ, dos, desde la Argentina y desde Australia. Para los 15185 KHZ, tres, desde Alemania. La calidad de sintonía varía: desde Europa y Africa, la mayoría de los reportes nos dan buenas notas, en cuanto a la inteligibilidad, pero con una señal débil. Desde el Cono Sur, la sintonía no es tan confiable. Desde América del Norte, es difícil captarnos. Desde Australia, las señales entran, fácilmente, y, a veces, con buena inteligibilidad. Tristemente, nuestro enlace, entre los estudios y la planta transmisora se dañó, en una tempestad. Por este motivo, la calidad del audio no ha estado muy bien. Recién, pudimos efectuar otros arreglos, de calidad superior. Queremos aumentar la potencia de transmisión, en todas las frecuencias. Sabemos que es necesario. Todas las pruebas de la onda corta se han realizadas con baja potencia. Por ejemplo, se utilizó 5 Vátios en los 15185 KHZ, logrando buenos resultados, desde Alemania. En las frecuencias de los 7737 y 9983, utilizamos una potencia de 300 Vátios. En las otras de 41 metros (7300/7373/7385), hemos utilizado más baja potencia: 25 a 100 Vátios. En esta primera etapa, estamos experimentando, confirmando las posibilidades teóricas. Sus reportes y consejos siempre son bienvenidos. Seguimos probando, las 24 horas del día, en los 1480, 2300, 7737 y 9983 KHZ. Sobre todo, queremos determinar si estas frecuencias ofrecieren posibilidades verdaderas. O, si existieren frecuencias más factibles. Yo sé que, de noche, habrá conflicto con NRK - Sveio, Kvitsoy, en los 9985 KHZ. Muy agradecido a Usted, y con un gran abrazo (Adán Mur, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay, Oct 28 via Margenet, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5019.92, R. Horizonte (presumed), 2349-0022* 29-30 Oct., Up- tempo OA music, ad/promo block at 2352 with promo mentioning "onda corta, AM y FM ?? la señal...", and another mentioning "...en Chachapoyas, informa...", back to music. Another ad/promo block 2358- 0002 with one mentioning Lima often. Several songs then Man announcer host but it was impossible to copy because the mic audio was a little muffled. After an anouncement by the live M host, a canned announcement started and the signal immediately left the air in mid- sentence. Just a little too weak and too much QSB and local buzzing QRM. Some Crystal 5009 slop QRM too. At times, it would peak with a readable signal for about 10 seconds (Dave Valko, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. ROMÊNIA - 3 de novembro é o tradicional Dia do Ouvinte da Rádio Romênia. Para esta edição, a emissora convida seus ouvintes a escreverem sobre o clima e as condições de vida no planeta. Como serão as relações das pessoas e dos países, levando-se em conta a degradação do meio ambiente? Os textos devem ser enviados para: port@r... [truncated] (Celio, @tividade DX Oct 28 via WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) ** RUSSIA/TAJIKISTAN. Confusion about VoR MW frequencies: The first B02 schedules for the Voice of Russia have appeared on the station's website and in DX publications. Like in previous seasons, the MW frequencies have to be read with care. Several frequencies like 1143 and 1251 kHz are used by VoR from several locations in and outside RUS (the sites themselves are not indicated by VoR), and also this season several transmissions seems to have been placed under additional, wrong target areas. For example, VoR in Russian at 1300-1400 is listed to be aired on 1143 to Europe (indicating Bolshakovo-RUS) and also to Central Asia (indicating Dushanbe, Taijikistan). However, Dushanbe 1143 kHz carries VOA in Uzbek during this time and cannot be used by VoR for transmissions to Central Asia. A similar situation at 1400-1500: VoR in Russian is listed to be on 1251 both to Central Asia (indicating Dushanbe-TJK) and Asia & Far East (indicating Ussuriysk, Russia). Dushanbe 1251 kHz however is carrying BBC in Farsi at 1415-1515 and cannot be used by VoR at this time to Central Asia (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX yahoogroup Oct 29 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA: GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS, PRESSURE DURING HOSTAGE CRISIS | Text of press release by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 28 October New York, 25 October: The hostage standoff in central Moscow has highlighted growing restrictions on the Russian media, including this week's passage of legislation banning "propaganda of terrorism" in mass media. Although the legislation has not become law, the government is already using it to censor coverage of the hostage crisis. A large group of heavily armed Chechen rebels seized some 700 people in a Moscow theatre on 23 October, demanding that Russian troops pull out of the war-torn region of Chechnya in southern Russia. The Qatar-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera broadcast statements from the gunmen after a videocassette was dropped off at its Moscow bureau. Meanwhile, Russian media have been interviewing hostages, and even the captors, by cellular phone, over the last two days. When the Moscow- based Ekho Moskvy radio station broadcast a brief interview on 24 October with one of the gunmen in the theatre, Media Ministry spokesman Yuri Akinshin warned media outlets not to air statements from the hostage-takers. "If this is repeated," said Akinshin, "we reserve the right to take all proper measures, up to the termination of the activity of those media," the Moscow-based Interfax news agency reported. Ekho Moskvy editor-in-chief Aleksei Venediktov confirmed that the station had received a warning from the Media Ministry but pointed out that "in the view of our lawyers, we have not violated a single provision of Russian law". Today, the Media Ministry submitted a request to the Communications Ministry to shut down Ekho Moskvy's Internet site, but withdrew the request after the station removed the text of the interview from the web, Russian news reports said. At the same time, the Media Ministry closed down Moskoviya, a Moscow television station, for allegedly promoting terrorism. However, after meeting with the director-general of the station, the ministry announced late today that Moskoviya would be back on air tomorrow, according to Russian news sources. Another Russian media outlet, the Moscow daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta, received a warning from the Media Ministry for publishing a photograph of the body of the young woman who was killed by the armed captors on 23 October, as she tried to enter the theatre where the hostages are being held. Early this morning, two journalists with the national television network NTV entered the theatre to interview several of the armed Chechen rebels. NTV broadcast footage from inside the theatre. However, while NTV showed the images of the hostages and their captors, it did not broadcast their voices. Later one of the hostages, Anna Andrianova, criticized NTV for not airing the audio. "We would like for our requests and demands to the leadership [of the country] to be conveyed. And we want to be heard," said Andrianova in a telephone interview with Ekho Moskvy. "Unfortunately, NTV only showed the picture," she added. New legal restrictions on press coverage of terrorism NTV appeared to be acting in response to a series of government actions this week. On 23 October, just hours before the hostage crisis began, the State Duma voted overwhelmingly - 259 to 34 with two abstentions - to broaden legal restrictions on news coverage of statements issued by terrorists and about anti-terrorist operations, widely referred to as the "Law on Battling Propaganda of Terrorism in Mass Media". The bill, which was under consideration months before the hostage crisis began, bans the media from printing or broadcasting an array of vaguely defined topics, including information that justifies extremist activities, justifies resistance to counter-terrorist operations, hinders counter-terrorist operations and reveals anti-terrorist tactics. Although the media bill has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin before it officially becomes law, the Media Ministry's actions this week against Ekho Moskvy, Moskoviya and Rossiyskaya Gazeta were all based on the pending legislation. Journalists are among the hostages and those seeking to end the standoff. A journalist for the Moscow-based Interfax news agency, an editorial assistant for Agence France-Press, and a typist from Ekho Moskvy radio station were all reported to be among the hundreds of hostages. Meanwhile, according to Russian press reports, the hostage-takers specifically requested that a prominent journalist who has covered human rights violations in Chechnya be among a team of negotiators. Anna Politkovskaya, a war correspondent for the Moscow newspaper Novaya Gazeta, along with doctors and Red Cross officials, entered the theatre several times to deliver emergency supplies and attempt to negotiate the release of the hostages, Interfax reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists is a New York-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the defence of press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions in Russia, please visit our web site at http://www.cpj.org For further information, contact Alex Lupis at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, USA, Tel: +1 212 465 1004 (x 101), Fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: europe@cpj.org, alupis@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/ Source: Committee to Protect Journalists press release, New York, in English 28 Oct 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ANALYSIS: RUSSIAN MEDIA REFLECT ON COVERAGE OF HOSTAGE CRISIS Although some Russian media outlets broke the law in their live coverage of the recent hostage crisis at a Moscow theatre, there should be no rush to make the media scapegoats for what happened, said one of President Putin's aides. Presidential aide Sergey Yastrzhembskiy, speaking in a discussion programme on NTV Mir on 29 October, said: "We have to calmly analyse the work done by the media during this crisis. There are examples of brilliant professional work, and there are examples when laws were broken, the state federal laws, for example the law on the fight against terrorism, when live broadcasts were made of operations by special forces. This is directly prohibited by law. There were also examples of outstanding conduct by certain journalists who helped the operational staff establish contact with the terrorists." Summing up the discussion on media coverage of the hostage-taking and the subsequent rescue operation, the presenter of the NTV Mir discussion programme concluded: "At the moment in Russia everything is decided for the media by the authorities, who, it would seem, are not against journalists adopting new forms of self-regulation." Running news The main Russian TV channels went into running news sequences on the night of 23-24 October in response to the seizure by 30 Chechen rebels of some 800 hostages at a theatre in Moscow. Russian Public TV (ORT), state-owned Russia TV, commercial NTV and TVS, Centre TV and Ren TV stayed on the air in Moscow all night. Normally, the channels close down around 2200-2300 gmt and reopen at 0200 gmt or 0300 gmt. Frequent news updates were broadcast all night on NTV, TVS and Centre TV; Russia TV and ORT had extra bulletins in the late hours of 23 October and carried frequent updates after 0000 gmt 24 October. NTV dropped its lucrative Champions League soccer coverage late on 23 October on Russian terrestrial frequencies in response to the crisis. Kultura TV, M1 TV, and STS followed their normal entertainment schedules, and closed down and reopened according to their normal schedules. Ekho Moskvy, Mayak and Radio Russia carried news as usual overnight. Sanctions against radio station, TV channel The Russian newspaper Vremya Novostey on 29 October said practically all of Russia's news media had "received with understanding in these recent days the warning that all incautious words could play into the hands of the terrorists and voluntarily agreed to `measure out' information". However, there had been "problems," the paper added, recalling that sanctions had been applied by the Ministry of Press and Information against Ekho Moskvy radio for "giving a Chechen terrorist almost half an hour to voice his demands on the air". The ministry also censured the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper for a breach of ethics in publishing on its front page a photograph of the dead body of a female hostage. "But the Ministry of Press and Information's most decisive step at the time of the tragedy was the suspension of the broadcasting of Channel 3, better known as the Moskoviya channel," Vremya Novostey said. The reasons for this including the channel broadcasting a recording from Al-Jazeera Television containing an appeal by the hostage-takers, discussion about possible exit routes and "backup airfields" the terrorists might use, and airing of remarks by the channel's reporters and talk show participants who said: "For Muscovites all people from the Caucasus look alike." According to Vremya Novostey, those who took part in the counterterrorist operation were said to be "incensed" at the behaviour of NTV television, which they accused of "virtually aiding and abetting" the terrorists by, for instance, showing the movements of special units around the theatre. Need for a media code The performance of the Russian media in covering the hostage drama raised the question of "the need to create a code of rules to regulate the behaviour of journalists in crises," the president of the National Association of Russia TV and Radio Broadcasters, Eduard Sagalayev, told ITAR-TASS on 28 October. "It is not a question of censorship or restrictions, but of the media being guided by the principle to do no harm... Journalists need to remember that the media is a tool that can be used by terrorists in achieving their ends," Sagalayev said. The president of the Academy of Russian Television, Vladimir Pozner, noted that "the attempts by some TV channels to pad out their coverage with commentaries by dubious experts hampered the special services in the efforts to free the hostages". In an interview with Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, Pozner said that "bringing unqualified people into the studio to make completely irresponsible remarks was a great mistake on the part of some TV and radio stations". He also called on journalists not to forget that "the Russian media do not have the moral or legal right to act as a mouthpiece for the bandits". As for the Western media, it had shown double standards in its handling of the hostage crisis, according to presidential aide Sergey Yastrzhembskiy. The Western press had called the bandits "dissidents and rebels", but Americans would have been indignant if the Russian press had referred to the people who had targeted planes at the World Trade Centre in New York as "dissidents". It was incorrect to apply the term "rebels" to events in Russia and the term "terrorists" to events in the West, Yastrzhembskiy said, in remarks reported by ITAR- TASS. Source: BBC Monitoring research 30 Oct 02 (via DXLD) ** SENEGAL. RADIO GIVES POWER TO THE PEOPLE From BBC News Wednesday, 30 October, 2002, 10:03 GMT New technologies enable all kinds of social change, but old technologies do too. Usually it is not the technology that is important, but what people do with it that makes the difference. A perfect example of this is Radio Oxyjeune, that broadcasts to a poor suburb of Senegal's capital Dakar. The community radio station has been active for a few years, but is not content to simply pump out music and chat to its audience. Instead, it wants to take a much more active role in the lives of its listeners. It broadcasts programmes in both the national and local languages to reach as many people as possible. A staff of 50 people work at the station, only 20 of which have full-time jobs. The name of the station tries to capture some of its mission as it is a conjunction of the French words for "oxygen" and "youth". It also has phone-in shows that regularly tackle subjects many consider taboo, such as HIV/Aids and women's rights. "We have to make secret recordings of people with HIV," says Oumar Seck Ndiaye, Director of Radio Oxyjeune. "We wanted to shock people and needed their testimony to make it come alive," he says, "but it would have been dangerous for them if they'd been identified." The efforts to educate do not stop with phone-ins on the radio. The station has also started up many community groups that talk to people about HIV/Aids. During holidays, these groups train people to go out to beaches, football stadia, nightclubs and other places people gather to spread the word about safe sex. In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa it is still hard to talk openly about Aids and ways to stop people avoiding HIV. And it is not just over health matters that Radio Oxyjeune is being attacked. During recent elections, the station set held meetings to help locals put questions to the politicians standing for office. Not all of the candidates were happy to be confronted this way, says Mr Ndiaye. It received threats and some politicians tried to intimidate it and stifle its voice. But Radio Oxyjeune is going from strength to strength, partly thanks to a large anonymous donation, and is about to open up sister stations around the country (via Mike Terry, DXLD) WTFK???? FM, I suppose. Clever play on words, the station name, impossible in English (gh, DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.95, noted at 1009 this night Oct 30 with discussion in English of financial problems, back to usual good signal (David Norrie, AOR7030, Auckland NZ, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yep, SIBC back on 5020 after a few days absence. Strong here 1130 in English on 29/10. (Craig Seager, Australia, Oct 29, ARDXC via WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DXLD) Craig, Yes - I heard it last night but it was pretty poor - around 0930. I sent them an email yesterday morning saying I presumed that I could hear them on about 5000 and that they were under WWVH. Maybe they weren't aware of it. I wonder if someone took the kids in for a visit and they twiddled a knob or two! (Wayne, ibid.) ** SRI LANKA. B02 sked vacates WEWN from 15745, leaving SLBC All Asia Service in the clear from 0030 UT s/on. Good signal last night past 0200 UT. Maybe WEWN can be persuaded to pick a different freq if they plan to resume here at this hour, come A03 (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) B-02 schedule on website shows WEWN still on 15745 at 1000-1700, 1800-2200, the former still blocking SL in our mornings (gh, DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: Feature on Gotland's Lummelunda caves Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Network Europe" Sunday: "In Touch with Stockholm" (SCDX/MediaScan Oct 30 via DXLD) ** U K. BBCWS is still getting its streams mixed up! Instead of Charlie Gillett a.k.a. World of Music, UT Wed Oct 30 at 0406-0430, as scheduled on both the American and European streams, we heard The World Today, via the BBC Radio 4 feed, which is supposed to take the combined Am/Eu stream overnight. TWT during this hour is supposed to be only on the Af/ME/EAs streams. However, sometime before 0500, it was back to Off the Shelf, as scheduled on the Am/Eu stream – and SAs stream. I didn`t check SW 6135 before 0430, but it was \\ Off the Shelf later, except for its considerable lead over the webcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checking during the 0400-0500 UT hour on 30 October I noted I had no less then 3 separate BBC WS streams available to me. On 648 kHz and the BBC Radio Wales overnight relay they had Charlie Gillett followed by Write On and Off the Shelf as expected. However, the overnight relay of BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Ulster had Outlook at 04:05, and although it was followed by Off the Shelf at 04:45, it was obviously a different copy since it was all of 6 seconds ahead of 648/Radio Wales, which would have involved 18 satellite hops. Anyway it was preceded and followed by different continuity links. Meanwhile on 6195 and 9410 kHz there was new programming (probably The World Today). Just before 0500 I checked with the BBC Asian Network, which was also carrying the Radio 4/Radio Ulster programming, so that might suggest this was one of the Asian streams. After 0500 the BBC Asian Networked pulled away for their own programmes, and the other aforementioned streams came together for The World Today (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, England, Oct 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. I hate to disagree with a fellow Brit, but I have to remind DX Dave that Voice of Russia (Radio Moscow) was on the 1323 kHz frequency many years *before* BBC Somerset Sound was even thought of. I first heard Radio Moscow on that channel (actually 1322 kHz at the time) in December 1964, but I think Somerset Sound took up residence there only in 1988. There is still at least one other UK transmitter on 1323 kHz that I know of, namely the Southern Sound transmitter carrying Capital Gold to the Brighton area (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, England, Oct 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glen[n], I noticed the report relating to BBC Somerset Sound vacating 1323 kHz in favour of The Voice of Russia suggesting that the BBC were there first. The frequency has been used by what was East Germany for years and carried communist propaganda broadcasts during the cold war. During 1967 the UK government introduced legislation (Marine Offences Act) to prevent this frequency being used for pirate radio broadcasts by the American backed 50 Kw pop station Swinging Radio England. The new law made all offshore broadcasting to Britain illegal with sanctions against advertisers and personnel as these unlicensed stations were causing interference to the legal users of the frequencies. On the 5th August the offshore pirate ceased transmissions on 1323 (1322 in those days) and the East German station once again had a clear channel. However to replace the offshore pirate stations the BBC started several new services which included many small local radio stations on medium wave, several of which were granted use of the frequencies formerly used by the pirates. BBC Radio Somerset was one of these. The difficulties seem to have arisen when the East German station increased its output power from just 100 kW during the 1960's to the 1000 kW now shown in current edition of the World Radio Handbook. The BBC local station in Somerset used just 630 watts on 1322 kHz but strangely enough the BBC World Service do use 100 kW on this frequency but not from the UK but at a relay station on the East Mediterranean island of Cyprus. I suspect the BBC moved their local station without much of a fuss as their right to be there was perhaps a little tenuous anyway. The BBC are in a unique position as they are a self-regulating government body (Andy Cadier, UK, Oct 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BIBLE VOICE BROADCASTING WINTER SCHEDULE mail@biblevoice.org http://www.biblevoice.org (mid Nov.) Middle East 7435 1700-1815 UT Monday - Friday 7435 1700-1900 UT Saturday 7435 1700-2000 UT Sunday India 12035 0030-0130 UT Sat/Sunday 9610 0200-0230 UT M-S 7180 0030-0100 UT M-S EE [Eastern Europe?] 5880 1800-1900 UT Sat/Sunday WE [Western Europe?] 7380* 2000-2115 UT Sat/Sunday *to be changed Dec. 7th E Africa 13810 1630-1700 UT M-Sunday (via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, Oct 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Beginning this Sunday, on VOA's "Main Street," I will be doing a brief (4-5 minute) segment about developments in broadcasting and media. This will be every UT Sunday on "Main Street." Times are 0233, 0433, 0633, 1033 UT. Best bets for North American listening: 0433 to Africa on 4960 6080 7290 7415 9575 9775 0633 to Africa on 6035 6080 6105 7295 11835 11995 13710 1033 to the Caribbean on 5745 7370 9590 and to East Asia via Delano on 5985 (Kim Elliott, VOA, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Welcome back!!! (gh) ** U S A. TEXAS RADIO HALL OF FAME SIGNS ON Inaugural group of inductees announced 10/30/2002 From Staff Reports Legends of Texas radio now have a hall of fame to call their own. The first 49 members were inducted Saturday in ceremonies at a Fort Worth restaurant. Area personalities in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame include the late Gordon McLendon, who helped create the Top-40 format and founded Dallas' KLIF-AM (570), and Bill Mack, the legendary "Midnight Cowboy," who left WBAP-AM (820) in 2001 after 32 years and now holds forth on XM Satellite Radio. WBAP is represented by current Saturday auto-show co-host Kevin McCarthy (formerly of KLIF) and weatherman Troy Dungan, also a longtime forecaster for WFAA-TV (Channel 8). The roster also includes Ron Chapman of KLUV-FM (98.7), Ken "Hubcap" Carter of KAAM-AM (770) and talker Charley Jones of KRLD-AM (1080), as well as several news and entertainment veterans and off-mike radio heavyweights. On the Web For audio clips of Saturday's ceremonies and biographies of those honored, go to http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com The Hall of Fame grew out of a 2001 reunion of local radio personalities, said co-founder Larry Shannon, the former Fort Worth disc jockey who now operates the Web site RadioDailyNews .com. Hall-of-famers were selected by a vote of dues-paying members, who include employees of radio stations and related industries. New members will be added annually. The inductees... http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/overnight/stories/103002dnovefame.2c33d.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, if one of your readers should happen to know anything about the station call letters WZT from Fort Des Moines, Iowa during or prior to 1924, I'd like to correspond with them. Thank you and 73. (Bill Smith, W5USM@aol.com) ** U S A. KTRB GRANTED MOVE BY FCC KTRB Modesto CA has been granted a construction permit to move the station from Modesto to San Francisco, CA. The new facilities, to remain on 860 kHz, will be 50 kW day and 40 kW (directional) nights. According to the FCC application, two sites are given: one is near Antioch CA near the Delta, the other is in the hills just west of Gilroy (one is in error as the coordinates are identical except for one digit). The station management is considering a new format for the station once the move is complete by next Fall; additionally, a new station will be constructed in Modesto to operate on 840 kHz from the existing facilities, with a power of 5,000 watts. The station's ownership, having pursued the move since 1986, indicates that the San Francisco area is well suited for a successful AM station because of the surrounding terrain. Presently the station relays KMPH 107.5 Fresno CA with a news and talk format, the local studio having been closed. - from various sources (IRCA Soft DX Monitor Nov 2 via DXLD) ** U S A. U.S. RADIO HOST REVISITS "WAR OF THE WORLDS" Tue Oct 29, 1:31 PM ET By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sixty-four years after Orson Welles spooked the nation with faux news bulletins of a Martian invasion, syndicated talk radio host Glenn Beck will take to the airwaves Wednesday with a live recreation of the famed "War of the Worlds" broadcast. The ambitious undertaking, complete with live sound effect artists, is unlikely to stir the panic of Welles' original radio drama, but Beck says the parallels between Halloween Eve 1938 and 2002 are striking. Back then, Americans caught in the grip of the Great Depression watched with growing apprehension as Adolf Hitler and his storm troopers menaced Europe across the Atlantic. More than six decades later, the nation is again struggling through tough economic times amid paranoia about the potential for attacks by al Qaeda and mounting concerns over a possible war against Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein. "The Martians are al Qaeda," Beck said in a recent telephone interview with Reuters, taking a break from preparations for his broadcast, adding: "It is absolutely a parable of what we're living through today." He referred to Welles' original "War of the Worlds" introduction, describing how "intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic regarded this Earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us." Beck's commercial-free, hourlong recreation of Welles' Mercury Theatre production will air live at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on the 100 stations nationwide that carry his weekday talk show and on satellite radio from the XM Satellite Radio Studios in Washington, D.C. WIDESPREAD HYSTERIA Many listeners in 1938 missed the opening minutes of the original program, adapted from a story by British science-fiction writer H.G. Wells, and tuned in just as orchestra music was interrupted by authentic-sounding news bulletins of Martian spaceships landing in Grover's Mill, New Jersey, and blasting Earthlings with deadly heat rays. The show, carried by the Columbia Broadcasting System, the forerunner to CBS, triggered widespread hysteria before it became apparent to listeners midway through the program that it was merely a radio play. Scholars have said public jitters over the threat of war at the time played into the panic, but Beck said he doubts 21st century listeners would ever react the same way. "I don't want it to scare anyone," he said. "In fact, I got a stern talking-to from my family, and my father, and he said, 'Don't you scare America right now.' And I said, 'Dad, no one's going to believe there are Martians."' Still, Beck said he finds the story especially relevant in the light of current events, much more so than it would have been during the boom times of the 1990s and before the events of Sept. 11, 2001. "The story itself, with the Martians, doesn't work anymore, but the underlying message of being watched, being scrutinized, being destroyed and realizing what truly is important, your families and your communities, that message still holds," he said. Beck, whose regular show originates from Philadelphia, will join the cast of about a dozen actors, performing Welles' dual roles of the story's narrator and Professor Pierson. Beck's plans to use a live orchestra proved too complicated, so he decided to go with music recorded from Welles' original broadcast, according to a spokeswoman for Premiere Radio Networks, which is producing the show (Reuters/Variety via yahoonews via Artie Bigley, Mike Cooper, Fred Waterer, DXLD) We previewed this ahead of time at MONITORING REMINDERS. Heavily promoted at http://www.glennbeck.com We heard it on KFAB-1110 at 0506 UT. Well-done, except the pace was far too fast, and too scripted- sounding, even with the LOS every so often. BTW, to hear Beck online you have to pay to subscribe as an `Insider` -- unless you can find an affiliate that streams, and there are a lot of major AM stations. It did have one `station-break` in the middle, and a lengthy commercial for khaki pants at the end (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. From: http://www.kolr10.com/Global/story.asp?S=991769&nav=0RXJC58L Oct. 29 A man working on a radio tower near Centralia, Missouri is dead after the tower collapsed this afternoon. The Boone County Sheriff's department says the victim is 29-year-old Illinois man was about 100 feet up the 400-foot tower when it collapsed about Tuesday afternoon. The tower is owned by a Christian-format station in Centralia. The station's program director says the station is off the air until it can find a new antenna (via Brock Whaley, Atlanta, DXLD) God`s will? (Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WTFK? I looked, and that`s the entire story – no identification of the station, let alone its frequency. Nor the name of the victim. Back to journalism 101 (gh, DXLD) MAN KILLED IN BOONE COUNTY TOWER COLLAPSE --- Centralia, 10/30/2002 Federal investigators are on their way to Boone County to look into the collapse of a radio station tower that killed a man working on it. It happened just before 2 pm yesterday. The Christian format radio station KMFC in Centralia owned the tower. Authorities say the tower worker was 29-year-old Sean Burroughs of West Frankfurt, Illinois. Burroughs was about 100 feet up the 400-foot tower when it fell. The program director says the tower was 16 years old. The station will be off the air until the owners build a new tower (KRCG-TV Jefferson City via Mike Cooper, DXLD) KMFC TOWER COLLAPSE, [by] Daniel Grazier It will likely be several months before we know what caused a deadly radio tower collapse in Centralia. The accident killed 29-year-old Sean Burroughs of West Frankfort, Illinois and knocked Christian radio station KMFC off the air. Burroughs was part of a maintenance crew replacing the tower's support wires and was 120 feet up the tower when it fell. Investigators from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration were on the scene Wednesday. The OSHA office in Kansas City said the investigation will likely take at least three months. (KMIZ-TV news via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Last Friday around 3 pm [CDT], a small plane hit the tower of Ramar's recently-constructed KLZK (97.3) [Lubbock, TX] and knocked it off the air (From Inside Radio, Wednesday, October 30, 2002 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW IBOC TEST STATION, 1700 WI2XAM FCC-licensed "Experimental" station WI2XAM on 1700 kHz is now operational, with 50 watts daytime and nighttime transmitting from the Lucent offices in Warren, New Jersey. I caught them on the air today (Tuesday October 29th), playing about an hour-long loop of music excepts (never a full song), ranging all the way from Classical to Country, Rock, and Pop. There were no IDs or announcements except for legal IDs of "WI2XAM, Warren, New Jersey" or "This is WI2XAM, Warren" at seemingly random times, in addition to the top of the hour. The purpose of this station is to test the new IBOC digital AM system, also known by the marketing name "HD Radio". And indeed WI2XAM was using IBOC, with the digital sidebands splattering all the way from 1685 to 1715 kHz, enough to cause a constant background hiss in the audio of nearby WTTM 1680 AM Stereo from Princeton, NJ. WI2XAM was also stepping all over a very nearby 10-watt TIS weather info station, WPSH468 in Manville, NJ, also licensed to 1700 kHz. On my car radio driving in the area between these two stations, 1700 kHz was pretty much a 50/50 mix between the two. Also while driving, I caught WI2XAM on the air until at least 45 minutes after local sunset, with the digital sidebands totally murdering normally good skywave reception of WPTX 1690 AM Stereo from Maryland. I came back to the radio at around 8:45 PM and WI2XAM was finally off the air for the evening. Here is an MP3 sample of how WI2XAM sounded this afternoon at my home roughly 5 miles away from the transmitter, with the characteristically poor analog AM audio quality of a "hybrid" IBOC signal (limited to less than 5 kHz frequency response), and also WPSH468 faintly audible in the background: http://rvcc2.raritanval.edu/ktek9053/wi2xam.mp3 Meanwhile, here is a pictorial representation of the two low-power 1700 kHz stations overlayed on the coverage of 1680 WTTM, showing the overlap amongst all three: http://rvcc2.raritanval.edu/ktek9053/wi2xam.gif 1700 WI2XAM isn't Warren, NJ's only AM radio station; here is a recording of Warren's own Part 15 station "KJFE" on 1500 kHz in full C-Quam AM Stereo: ftp://209.193.86.116/North-America/USA/NewJersey/1500kjfe.mp3 Now, which one sounds better to you -- and not just because of the wider variety of music and the fab liners? (WBRW, rec.radio.broadcasting Oct 30 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. A través de Cumbre DX pude confirmar que la radio captada en 6950, en Upper Side Band, es KIPM y no YIAM, como creía haber oído. La dirección postal para obtener QSL's es: PO BOX 69, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022, USA (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. USA: Re the AWR sked I forwarded which was included in DXLD 2-167 - thanks to Mike Barraclough for pointing out that I have mistakenly shown all the Meyerton transmissions to Africa as coming from Agat, Guam. Apologies - entirely my fault, must have happened whilst doing a global "find and replace" operation. I'll correct the sked in a day or so, and let you have the corrected version (Alan Roe, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. Glenn, The actual operational confirmed schedule for Voice of Vietnam, Oct-27, shows English: 2330-0000 12020 9840 Son Tay As 0100-0130 6175 Sackville ENAm 0230-0300 6175 Sackville ENAm 1000-1030 12020 9840 Son Tay As 1100-1130 7285 Hanoi As 1230-1300 12020 9840 Son Tay As 1330-1400 Son Tay 7145 9730 As 1600-1630 Son Tay 7145 9730 Eu 1800-1830 Son Tay 7145 9730 Eu 1900-1930 Son Tay 7145 9730 Eu 1900-1930 Moosbrunn 5955 Eu 2030-2100 Son Tay 7145 9730 Eu The full, operational, actual schedule will appear in the WRTH 2003. The English schedule shown in a recent DXLD is incorrect. 13740 and 11630 were replaced on Oct-27 by 7145 and 9730. The European relays were time shifted one hour later: 5955 Moosbrunn 1800-2000, Skelton 5970 2000-2130. 9840 and 12020 are used 0830-1600, 2130-0000 7145 and 9730 are used 1600-2130 and 0000-0100 7285 is used 0000-0100 and 1100-1530 (same transmitter as used for domestic service relay 9875 0200-1000) Regards (Bob Padula, Melbourne, Oct 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1154, DX LISTENING DGIEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Intruder! Tuning around 1415 Oct 30, found a relatively strong carrier on 6109, more so than what broadcasters were left before fading out. Occasional tones or data bursts, then a brief switch to SSB (phone quality), with someone in English saying thanks for helping out and see you next week. I expect this is US military, MARS or something which operates with impunity inside SWBC bands (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ INTERNATIONAL LISTENING GUIDE ILG seems to be inaccurate a lot. Many of the entries are partly or completely wrong. Of course, it's a big job so I won't complain too much. But they could at least correct themselves when being provided with up-to-date information. I sent them a few (verifiable) hints about AIR stations a couple of times. About both transmission-times and languages and also frequency changes. Not ever a single reply and of course no changes in the list. They tend to repeat the same wrong info over and over again - much like the WRTH, fellas (Thomas Roth, Nepal, Oct 31, swl via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 30 October - 25 November 2002 Solar activity is expected be low to moderate. Region 162 is expected to produce occasional M-class flares until it rotates beyond the western limb on 31 October. There is a slight chance of a greater than 10 MeV proton event during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geo-synchronous orbit is expected to reach event threshold on 30 October, on 05-06 November, and again on 22-25 November due to coronal hole effects. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels. Active to minor storm conditions are possible on 03-04 November and again on 20-23 November due to coronal hole effects. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2002 Oct 29 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2002 Oct 29 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2002 Oct 30 155 12 3 2002 Oct 31 160 12 3 2002 Nov 01 160 12 3 2002 Nov 02 165 12 3 2002 Nov 03 165 15 3 2002 Nov 04 170 15 3 2002 Nov 05 170 15 3 2002 Nov 06 170 15 3 2002 Nov 07 175 10 3 2002 Nov 08 180 10 3 2002 Nov 09 180 8 3 2002 Nov 10 180 10 3 2002 Nov 11 180 10 3 2002 Nov 12 180 10 3 2002 Nov 13 180 10 3 2002 Nov 14 175 10 3 2002 Nov 15 175 10 3 2002 Nov 16 175 8 3 2002 Nov 17 175 8 3 2002 Nov 18 170 8 3 2002 Nov 19 165 10 3 2002 Nov 20 165 20 4 2002 Nov 21 165 25 5 2002 Nov 22 160 20 4 2002 Nov 23 160 15 3 2002 Nov 24 160 12 3 2002 Nov 25 160 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio Oct 29 via WORLD OF RADIO 1154) ###