DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-175, November 9, 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 1155: WWCR: Sun 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sun 0600, Mon 0030, 0630, Wed 0100, 0700 on 7445, 15039 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0900; North America Sun 1500 WBCQ: Mon 0515 7415 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400; Sun 0630, Mon 0700, Tue 0630 or 0700, 7490 ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1155h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1155h.ram [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1155.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1155.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1155.html WORLD OF RADIO WEBCASTS On 7 November I decided to listen to WOR 1155 via the WOR web site. I started listening at 23:14 UTC, expecting to finish listening in time to join the BBC domestic coverage of the cricket from Australia, which commenced at 00:00 UTC. However, due to the huge amount of buffering (or at least I assume that is what it was) which caused extensive breaks in programming - often mid-word, it took me all of 47 minutes to listen to the 29-minute programme, thus not finishing until 00:01 UTC on 8 November. Unfortunately, Spectrum 558 International no longer carries WRN programming during the daytime, so the extremely short period of time in which I was able to listen to WOR at 09:00am local time on Saturday mornings in London ended a few weeks ago, and with SW listening opportunities reducing due to propagation conditions, the only real way I have to listen to WOR and COM is via the net (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, England, swprograms via DXLD) Use the low bandwidth version or download it. If you use a program designed to do so, you can stop downloading to do something else and then resume downloading from where you stopped. I'm not sure why people need a high bandwidth version of a program that is almost all talk and is intended to be heard on shortwave but de gustibus non est disputandem (Joel Rubin, swprograms via DXLD) GH: I prefer hearing W.O.R. via the low version and streaming. Using streaming in this case is better since the complete show is heard without interruption; in download the file stops about two-thirds through the program (and the echo increases more as the recording continues, especially after 10-15 mins.). (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia) ** AFGHANISTAN. [Cumbre DX] Commando Solo Notes Here is what I noticed/heard on the Discovery show- Two frequencies seen- 864 and 8700 kHz. Information Radio was played out using a Sony MD player. The show talked about the 4th PSYOPS and its role in creating leaflets, but never really indicated that they produced the programs. I don't believe that they did. At least 40% of the broadcasts were music. The base of the aircraft was not revealed, but they said it took them an hour to get over Afghanistan. The radios dropped were limited Commando Solo's frequency (I suspect this refers to the AM freq.) (All via Johnson Cumbre DX Nov 9 via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. 15475.55, R. Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel Nov 1 2055- 2056* Spanish, Talk. Full ID at 2056 by man. 2056 s/off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) Reminding us that this is regularly heard in Japan, seldom reported from North America ** ASCENSION ISLAND. See SAINT HELENA ** AUSTRALIA/UZBEKISTAN. Some changes of Christian Vision, Voice International, B-02: 11850 0100-0400 41 TAC 100 153 Hindi, fr Nov 9 UZB VIL CVI 13770 1900-2100 41,49,54 DRW 250 303 English, fr Nov 11 21680 0530-0600 54 DRW 250 290 Indonesian AUS VIL CVI (NWDXC, Nov 9 via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. ROI TO BE CLOSED Just a quick and dirty summary; I am tired and was already to shut down the PC when I found this: ORF plans to wind up Radio Austria International and to keep only two hours of ORF programming per day on shortwave; otherwise the transmitter will be leased out. Attempts are being made to convince the ORF council to reject this plan. Well, not really a surprise. Yeah, bring on the gospel huxters!!! Seems I should indeed go to bed now... (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ---Ursprüngliche Nachricht--- Subject: [A-DX] ROI, wieder einmal Gute Nacht. 73 Christoph Ratzer, Austria, A-DX via Ludwig, DXLD) Aus der österreichischen Tageszeitung "DIE PRESSE" 08.11.2002 ORF-Kurzwelle bangt um ihr Überleben Besorgnis und Betroffenheit herrschen bei den 35 Mitarbeitern des ORF-"Radio Österreich International", deren Sender, wie einst Blue Danube Radio, eingestellt werden könnte. Chef und Betriebsrat kämpfen. VON BERNHARD BAUMGARTNER Es geht um eineinhalb Millionen Euro pro Jahr. So groß ist der Einsparungseffekt, den der ORF laut internen Papieren durch das Zusperren des Kurzwellenradios "Radio Österreich International" erreichen will. Eine kleine Zahl nur in einem großen Konvolut von Einsparungen. Doch für die nach zahllosen Kürzungen noch verbliebenen 35 Mitarbeiter des Senders könnte das das Ende ihrer Tätigkeit bedeuten. Denn etliche sind leicht kündbare freie Mitarbeiter, andere - obwohl Redakteure - fürchten, daß sich wegen mangelnder Deutschkenntnisse kein Job für ihre Weiterbeschäftigung finden lassen wird. Entsprechend gedrückt ist die Stimmung im Sender, der in den vergangenen Jahren wahre Kürzungs-Stakkati über sich ergehen lassen mußte. 1998, als noch auf Rechnung der Bundesregierung gearbeitet wurde, standen jährlich 160 Millionen Schilling zur Verfügung. In den vergangenen Jahren wurde zunächst auf 90, dann auf 45 Millionen Schilling gekürzt. Für heuer - als erstmals der ORF die Kosten für das Radio tragen muß - stehen 2,5 Millionen Euro zur Verfügung. Was einst 80 Mitarbeiter leisteten, muß nun von 35 erledigt werden. "Wenn nicht alle so viel Goodwill einbringen würden, könnten wir hier gleich zusperren", meint ein Redakteur zur "Presse". Der aktuelle Plan der Geschäftsführung, so heißt es, umfaßt die Schließung von RÖI als Redaktion, wobei die Sendeanlagen bis auf zwei Stunden pro Tag, in denen Ö1 gesendet wird, vermietet werden. Die verbliebenen RÖI-Redakteure sollen Nachrichten für Ö1 und FM4 zuliefern und ein englischsprachiges Service für den Internetdienst "ORF ON" gestalten. Doch bis dahin versuchen Betriebsrat Adalbert Krims und RÖI-Chef Michael Kerbler zu retten, was noch zu retten ist. Zwar ist die Entscheidung zur Schließung intern gefallen, eine Zustimmung des Stiftungsrates steht jedoch noch aus. Krims appellierte daher in einem offenen Brief an die Räte, den Sender nicht sterben zulassen: Nicht nur daß Österreich bei einer Schließung von RÖI der einzige Staat der Welt ohne Auslandsdienst sei, die Kurzwelle sei zudem das einzige Medium, das "jederzeit, überall und für jedermann sofort verfügbaren Zugang zu Informationen gewährt". RÖI-Chef Kerbler ergänzt: "Zwei Drittel der Menschen haben keinen Zugang zu unzensurierter Information. Für die sollte die Stimme Österreichs nicht sterben." Frequenzen aufgeben? Zudem seien die Frequenzen, die im kommenden Oktober digitalisiert und somit wertvoller werden, bei einer Aufgabe von RÖI für den ORF und Österreich verloren. Kerbler schlägt daher vor, den Sender mit Werbung zu unterstützen: "Es geht nicht darum, uns was zu schenken. Wir sind der einzige Sender, der ohne Streuverluste internationales Publikum erreicht." Das Sendezentrum in Moosbrunn erhalte sich zudem durch Vermietung an andere Sender mittlerweile fast selbst. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Diese Mail wurde ueber die A-DX Mailing-Liste gesendet. Sponsored by ELITAS Enterprises. http://www.elitas.com und Christoph Ratzer - OE2CRM. http://www.ratzer.at ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Private Verwendung der A-DX Meldungen fuer Hobbyzwecke ist gestattet, jede kommerzielle Verwendung bedarf der Zustimmung des A-DX Listenbetreibers. ------ (via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Correxion: Tnx to TIN for pointing out the correct station name: 6054.42, R. Juan XXIII (tentative) 2210-2233 Weak signal at tune-in, with OM in Spanish. A jingle at 2217, then brief talk by OM, and prerecorded announcement by YL. At 2222, some theme music on flute, which was heard several times during the next 10 minutes. In between the flute theme music was alternating talk by a male and female. By tune-out, signal strength had improved to S7, with SINPO of 32232. (Maroti Nov 07) George Maroti NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I also pointed out in DXLD... (gh) ** BOUGAINVILLE. Radio Independent Mekamui Hi all, Just received a QSL letter from Sam Voron for Radio Independent Mekamui, 3850 kHz 80 watts. To quote (verbatim): "Broadcasting from the 15 km no-go zone centred on the Panguna copper mine and defended by the peoples Mekamui Defense Force (MDF). The no- go zone is set up by the current traditional land-owner Francis Ona, President of the Mekamui National Congress. This congress is the voice of the traditional chiefs supporting the no-go zone in Central Bougainville." "The short wave radio station is the people's only communications to the outside world. Living in the mountains and jungles around the mine site, the people set up the no-go zone to stop efforts to regain control of the mine now that the 10 year civil war has ended and peace restored" Sam now has an e-mail address: svoron@hotmail.com Regards, (Paul Ormandy, Host of The South Pacific DX Report http://radiodx.com Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see SOLOMON, SOMALIA ** BRAZIL. Radio Nacional da Amazônia has been heard on air on every morning of the week Nov.4 to 9th around 0730 on both 6180 and 11780. Previously, the station had only been heard at this time on Sundays. They have the usual mix of phone in and music programme. Reception good and clear on both frequencies currently (Noel R. Green [Blackpool-NW England], Nov 9, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Desde que foi ao ar pela primeira vez, o programa Além Fronteiras, da Rádio Canção Nova, já recebeu informes de recepção de 45 países. A informação foi dada no programa de 09 de novembro. O Além Fronteiras vai ao ar, nos sábados, entre 2200 e 2300, em 4825, 6105 e 9675 kHz (Célio Romais, RS, @tividade DX Nov 10 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. New updated schedule for Radio Bulgaria's DX MIX px in Russian: Sat 1545-1600 1224 7500 9400 9900 Sun 0045-0100 7500 1715-1730 7500 9900 0445-0500 1224 7500 9500 1945-2000 7500 9900 1145-1200 11700 15200 (Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 8 via DXLD) How about DX programs in English and other languages? ** CANADA. 2040.00, CFTR Toronto, (presumed) (harmonic 3 x 680) Oct 28, 1059, male/female announcer team with local news, partial ID "C...News Time", ads for HEPCOE Credit Union, phone numbers with 416 Toronto area code, poor signal with fair peaks(Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, NRD 535D V-Beam 140m @180 degrees; "VT-DX": http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Maybe it is only in the Pacific region (i.e. not mentioned in the CBC daily "Hotsheet") is a 7 a.m. PST Saturday? tribute to the late Otto Lowy and his nostalgia and operetta program "The Transcontinental" with host Gordon Hunt coming out of retirement to narrate (Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD) Used to be on at 7 am PST Sunday. Presumably same show as ON STAGE: (gh) ON STAGE: This week, OnStage presents A Tribute to Otto Lowy, the late and much-beloved host of CBC's The Transcontinental. Soprano Phoebe MacRae and violinist Joan Blackman join the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Bramwell Tovey. Works include Richard Rodney Bennett's The Orient Express Waltz, plus works by Lehar, Dvorak, Elgar and more. That's On Stage, with host Eric Friesen, Sunday afternoon at 2 (2:30 NT) on CBC Radio Two. Sunday night at 8 (9 AT, 9:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. CBC Previews for Monday, November 11: REMEMBRANCE DAY SPECIAL: ***also available on CBC Television as part of today's Big Picture special*** Join host Bernie McNamee today for the Service of Remembrance live from Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial in Ottawa. This broadcast includes the traditional two- minute silence at 11 a.m. ET, but the special actually begins a few minutes earlier. That's the Service of Remembrance, live from Ottawa, this morning starting at 10:57 Eastern Time on CBC Radio One. AS IT HAPPENS SPECIAL: Tune in to As it Happens tonight for a special on Iraq. The program examines Iraq's future if Saddam Hussein is overthrown. You'll hear Iraqi exiles living in Canada, as well as experts on the Middle East. The main question is whether Saddam's regime can be replaced by a true democracy, or whether, as Iraqis fear, they will end up living under an American military occupation for years to come. That's on As it Happens, with Mary Lou Finlay and Barbara Budd, tonight at 6:30 (7 NT) on CBC Radio One. (CBC Hotsheet via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. REMEMBRANCE DAY 2002 http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/remembranceday.htm Gander Academy`s web page dedicated to Remembrance Day in Canada. It also features links to Veteran`s Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Australia. REMEMBRANCE AND THE POPPY http://www.legion.ca/english/rday.htm From the Royal Canadian Legion web page, this page features information and history on Remembrance Day in Canada, the poppy, the emblem of Remembrance Day and other related material (Sheldon Harvey, Radio HF Internet Newsletter Nov 8 via DXLD) ** CANADA. CANADIAN FORCES STATION CFH MILL COVE, NOVA SCOTIA http://webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/rrp/mc_mill_cove.html A historical perspective on the Canadian Forces radio station in Mill Cove, Nova Scotia, call sign CFH (via Jerry Proc, Toronto, Ontario, Nov 8 Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) ** CANARY ISLANDS. Unidentified (presumed, Full Gospel Las Palmas Church) 6715-USB 2203-2227(S/off?). Male singing, possibly in Spanish, hymn-like vocals without musical accompaniment. Spoken word, briefly at 2217, barely audible, followed by more singing until 2227. Nothing else noted after this. Poor and weak with lots of static. I have info (via DXLD of course) stating FGLC broadcasts twice on Sunday,1000 and 1800 UTC. I'll give a listen and see if an ID is possible (Scott R. Barbour Jr., NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Doubt it`s Spanish, tho possible in Spain. Since the station has not been known to emit a formal (or any kind of) ID, we can safely make presumptions without it (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. The 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party opens on Friday. In the past 13 years since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, a historic breakthrough for China's reform and opening up has been achieved. CRI will present a series of in-depth reports on the conference beginning on November 10. (--Jim, CRI Shortwave http://pw2.netcom.com/~jleq/cri1.htm swprograms Nov 9 via DXLD) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. I see that nobody seems to hear Radio Bayrak on 6150 kHz? In Germany it is being heard even past midnight UT, seems to be on "all-night" now. The transmitter is reported slightly off- frequency. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. 15725, Radio Prague; English magazine program. ID at 1409. SIO=3+53+ (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet Nov 8 via DXLD Date/day? Actually, [non], I suppose WRMI playing back Prague at a time additional to scheduled 0400 in English. Sat Nov 9 at 1400-1420+ was playing classical piano music, very welcome even if only filling? (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT. Antes tarde do que nunca! Quando tudo parecia perdido, eis que a Rádio Cairo resolve mudar a freqüência em que emite em português. A decisão ocorreu após anos de torturas para os ouvidos dos brasileiros, já que a freqüência antes utilizada, 15420 kHz, em 19 metros, sofria problemas técnicos gravíssimos. Então, tome nota: a Rádio Cairo, em português, agora, transmite em 11790 kHz, entre 2215 e 2330. Já foi ouvida, em Porto Alegre (RS), em 6 de novembro, às 2311, quando o locutor fazia o seguinte anúncio: "queremos lembrar que agora estamos na faixa de 25 metros, freqüência de 11790 kHz ...". Parabéns à Rádio Cairo pela mudança! Oxalá que todos passem a prestigiar a emissora, enviando suas reportagens de sintonia. Endereço para contato: Caixa Postal 566, Cairo 11511, República Árabe do Egito (Célio Romais, RS, @tividade DX Nov 10 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9704.2, R. Ethiopia Oct 30 *1459-1509 34332-33332 Amharic, 1459 s/on with IS. ID. Tree gong. News (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium Nov 8 via DXLD) ** GAMBIA. RADIO HAM SHOT BY GAMBIA KIDNAPPERS By Nicola Woolcock (Filed: 07/11/2002) telegraph.co.uk A former soldier who retired to The Gambia was kidnapped and murdered 12 days after arriving in Africa. Ronald Ford, 66, moved to the country in September after building a house there, believing it would be a peaceful place to live. His body was found, however, less than two weeks later in a shallow grave, just across the border in Senegal. He is believed to have been kidnapped by a gang, robbed and shot in the stomach and head. The radio ham from Waterlooville, Hants, wanted to move mainly because of The Gambia's good quality signal and reception. But friends became worried when his broadcasts stopped with no explanation and alerted his family. The widower was reported as officially missing when he failed to return to Britain as intended on Oct 14. Four London officers were then sent to The Gambia and, helped by the country's police force, followed a trail that led to Mr Ford's body. A post-mortem examination conducted in Britain showed he had suffered wounds to his wrist and ribs while trying to escape his attackers. An inquest has been opened and adjourned. The father-of-five's manservant, Dawda Bojang, has been charged with murder and four other men have been charged with being accessories to murder. 73 (via Kim Elliott, DC, DXLD) ** GERMANY EAST. What a FASCINATING Account or should I say Accounts (leaving 'mine' out, which was only speculation) of the 1323 kHz situation in (East) Germany. It must have been a lot of effort, printing all this up, also for the knowledgeable Contributors. Unfortunately it looks as though VOR are not using this frequency in the B-02 1800-2200 UT to Europe 'Block'. I see it is listed though for 0600-1000, possibly some interesting alternative listening at Breakfast Time, for at least December 2002, January 2003 and possibly for a short while at beginning of February 2003, when a partial Darkness Path exists between Germany and UK, for at least part of this 'Block' (Ken Fletcher, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Continuing the discussion in DXLD 2-171; delayed as I try to sort out who is saying something new and who is quoting whom. Still not sure I have it clear --gh :] Re Andy Cadier`s comments of Oct 29 in DXLD 2-169: Comment: There is something wrong with the facts given above. 1323 Zyyi CYPRUS BBC relay is broadcast with 200 kW towards the Middle East at 150 degrees, never disturbed the V. of Russia (Radio Moscow) target in western Europe. Re: 1322/1323 kHz. Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia relay in Germany between 1950 and 2002. Already in WRH 1950/51 (edited Oct/Nov 1950) 227 m (1322 kHz) is listed for R Moscow German and English. A Swedish frequency list from 1951 (edited by Arne Skoog) mentions Leipzig II with MDR on 1322. In WRTH 1947 (the very first edition, edited Nov 1947), R Moscow German is listed on 1571 m LW [= 191 kHz the former Nazi Deutschlandsender frequency, which was then co-channel with Motala, Sweden, when Copenhagen plan came into effect on March 15, 1950, wb]. It seems that 1322 was introduced with the implementation of the Copenhagen plan in March 1950, although the site assigned by the plan was Uzhgorod, Ukrainian SSR. The second MW transmitter at Wiederau became operational already in April 1947 on 722 kHz. Obviously due to co-channel interference from Hilversum, it moved to 1465 according to Arne Skoog's freq list from late 1948, so that is from where it arrived on 1322 in 1950. The third 100 kW MW transmitter, made by Funkwerk Koepenick, became operational on 19 Dec 1963 according to "100 Jahre Funktechnik in Deutschland". Indeed the situation in the GDR became troublesome from March 1950. The GDR authorities tried to keep to the plan during the first months of the Copenhagen plan, but very soon reopened a number of lower power transmitters. The exclusive frequency that was handed over by the Soviets was 782, not 1322, as 1322 obviously remained in the hands of the Soviets, although from a different site than the one assigned by the plan. The measures taken to restore broadcast coverage in the GDR also included the reopening of the 191 kHz LW transmitter, now on 185 kHz. The 191 frequency had been "confiscated" by the allied powers and was assigned to Motala (Sweden). As a result, there was a bad whistle on 191 all over the part of Sweden south of the primary coverage area of Motala (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Nov 2 via Bueschel) A GDR publication from the eighties described as reason for the quick establishment of FM broadcasting after 1945 the very unfavourable frequency allocations in the Kopenhagen schedule. The book states, there were coverage problems on mediumwave despite the forced construction of high power transmitters and the help of the Soviet Union who left an exclusive frequency to the GDR. Now it is quite clear that this "exclusive frequency" was in fact 1322! [and 782 & 263, see BELOW, wb] As well-known many former USSR frequencies are operated from other places than the officially registered ones: Bolshakovo instead of Kaunas on 1386, Grigoriopol` instead of Vinnytsa on 1548 etc. etc. Certainly we can put 1323 into this list as an especially remarkable case: Leipzig [now Wachenbrunn] instead of Uzhgorod (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 2, via Bueschel) On the booklets "Technik im Rundfunk" of 1985, ISBN 3-87533-004-8 and "Der deutsche Rundfunk" of 1994, ISBN 3-7685-2394-2 cleared up on the Copenhagen Plan figures. Issued at the conference on 14-09-1948. Plan started on 15-03-1950 at 0100 GMT. All Germany lost its long established powerful MW frequencies as loser of WW II totally. On 15-03-1950 the GDR had to SWITCH OFF of the GDR transmitters at Potsdam, Schwerin, Bernburg, Erfurt, and longwave KoenigsWusterhausen 191 kHz units too. Silence on these frequencies lasted til August 1950! But nobody in Europe kept peace on the frequency registration plan of Copenhagen, and the GDR decided to use Schwerin 20 kW again on 1439 kHz from 15-05-1950. In August 1950 the 20 kW units at Erfurt 1061 kHz and Bernburg 1196 kHz started again regular service too. One declaration of the conference was to suppress all German transmitters, strictly limited to 70 kW of power. The entries for Soviet Zone of GER was 70 kW on 1043 and 1570 kHz only! To fill the need of the society gap the USSR loaned the USSR- registered frequency of 782 kHz [Kiev II] to the GDR authorities in addition. 782 kHz, which was first aimed for the Radio Wolga Red Army radio seervice in the Soviet zone of Germany. There was a frequency loan between USSR and Soviet Zone of Germany (GDR), as the GDR station could take over the frequencies originally registered for USSR at the Copenhagen Conference in 1948. Moscow II / KoenigsWusterhausen-GDR 263 kHz [Soviet Red Army Radio "R Volga"] Kiev / Burg-GDR 782 kHz Ushgorod / Leipzig-GDR 1322 kHz [Radio Moscow External Sce] GDR 1950. I have access to the WRH/WRTH's of 1952/1953, and 1959 to 2002. WRH editoring final date was in October 1952. And WRH 1952 had already the entry: 1322 Leipzig 100 kW [USSR zone]. Leipzig Wiederau consisted of TWO 100 kW Lorenz transmitters at the Nazi Germany era, one of 1935 on more or less fixed frequency, the other from 1939 with variable frequency selection, the latter in order to jam UK black radio outlets during WW II and also to mislead the radio officers on the allied bomber fleets. Similar ones of the latter type, used on all main German Reichspost transmitter sites during the years of Allied bombing actions. A third transmitter of GDR Koepenick type was installed at Leipzig Wiederau in 1963. But apart from the R GDR domestic service outlet 575 kHz, I guess to remember me, that the second LORENZ Leipzig transmitter was already in use on 1322 kHz for Soviet Army R station (R Moscow in Russian relay) and interspersed by R Moscow services in German language, at least from mid 1950. At this time from July 1st, 1952, Koenigswusterhausen have got the new GDR-made 200 kW transmitter, and freed the old 100 kW Deutschlandsender unit which used for R Moscow relays/Radio Wolga army service, previously on longwave 191 kHz. From the Nazi era Leipzig Wiederau transmitter site consisted of two LORENZ MW transmitters of 100 kW each, built up in 1935 and 1939. One transmitter on 1322 kHz used for combined Radio Volga Red Army radio service and Radio Moscow relay in German, English and Dutch[!], latter RM service consisted also of the radio service of "Committee For Returning Into The Home Country" - remove the USSR immigrants from Western Europe into USSR. The second transmitter on 575 kHz broadcast the GDR program "Berlin III", in 1952 during the centralization of the GDR radio renamed to "Radio DDR I". (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx Nov 3) Kai Ludwig wrote in an e-mail on this matter: During the years both transmitters were used alternately for each service. See this page: http://mitglied.lycos.de/JanBalzer/wiederau/mittel.htm From top to bottom 100 kW LORENZ transmitter installed in 1939 (theoretically still ready for operation), 100 kW Funkwerk Koepenick transmitter from 19-12-1963 (stand-by for 783; note the ordinary radio as modulation monitor), 5 kW Lorenz (ex 729 kHz, shut down in 1991 but at least two years ago still ready for operation), 100 kW Thomcast transmitter from 1998/1999 (current 783 kHz unit). 1323 move from Leipzig to Wachenbrunn. Work at the new Wachenbrunn installation started in 1987, and real on air tests could be heard in July and August in 1989. In 24-09-1989 the new facility at Wachenbrunn took over the transmissions on 1323. Perhaps WB can tell more about the switch-over, he noted a stronger signal and changed modulation characteristics, wrote to the unit of the GDR postal office responsible for transmitter operations and got a reply which revealed that the new 1323 site was not Nauen, as the DX community believed until then, because Nauen site was registered in the Génève registration schedule [of 1978] but instead Wachenbrunn. In 1987-1989 at Wachenbrunn the transmitter building got an extension where a 1000 kW [2 x 500 kW] and a 150 kW [2 x 75 kW] transmitter of Kominterna Leningrad were installed; the transmitters are labelled as PDSW-1000 and DSW-150. Also a four tower antenna [of 125 meters tall each] was constructed, placed in some distance from the old facilities, the feeder line even crosses a public road. In main direction of 220 degrees even the Spanish and French services were relayed, and of course English, German and Russian language sections too. For many years 1323 was always transmit towards 220 degrees, but since some time during daytime a beam of 310 degrees is in use instead. Apparently this resulted in a noticeably stronger signal in the UK, leading to the misbelief that VOR would be new on 1323. Head of the Russian staff was Juri Wladimirowitsch Kudin who had built up many of the USSR superpower stations before (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct; 100 Jahre Funktechnik; Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: Re: GDR 1956 / 1952 I have access to the WRH/WRTH's of 1952/1953, and 1959 to 2002. October 1952, WRH editoring final date. Longwave co-channel Motala 191 [SWEDEN] ceased already [20-08-1946- 1951], 185 Berlin II, KöWu on 185 kHz 100 kW [from July 1, 1952 with 200 kW Köpenick unit]. Maybe the other KöWu unit soon after July 1st, moved to 263 kHz (Moscow II) 100 kW. Like as a frequency loan, as Uzhgorod/Leipzig 1322 kHz, or Kiev/Burg 782 kHz. 575 Potsdam 20 kW 728 Berlin I 20 kW [Schwerin, 01-09-1946 on 1231 kHz, 19-11-1946 1235.2, March 1950 1484 and then 1439, from April 1951 on 728 kHz, 13-10-1953 with 250 kW] 782 Berlin I 300 kW [KöWu 100 kW, moved from Tegel West Berlin, from 20-03-1949 on 841 kHz, from 15-03-1950 on 782 kHz, later on 15-12-1953 the 782 kHz moved to Burg, new 250 kW unit; KöWu from 15-12-1953 on 881 kHz] 800 Berlin I 20 kW [to jam Munich Ismaning Bavaria 100 kW] 910 Berlin II 2 kW [rather Dresden-Bautzen-Reichenbach unit, later on 917 kHz] 1016 Berlin II 2 kW [to jam SWF Rheinsender 70 kW] 1043 Berlin III 100 kW [Leipzig 100 kW, 1043 kHz moved 01-09-1953 to Dresden Wilsdruff, or at 08-05-1954 according to another source] 1196 Berlin II 20 kW [Bernburg unit, to jam VoA Ismaning 150 kW] 1322 Leipzig 100 kW [USSR zone] 1484 Berlin III 2 kW 1570 Berlin III 2 kW and SW 6115 7150 9730. The usage of 575 kHz at Leipzig Wiederau [co-channel Stuttgart !] is not printed out, seemingly happened around Sept 1953, or in May 1954 according to another source. The Berlin Uhlenhorst unit started on ?611? or ?782? kHz at 06-07- 1952. No start frequency of Uhlenhorst could be found so far. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Also the booklet "Technik im Rundfunk" of 1985, ISBN 3-87533-004-8 and "Der deutsche Rundfunk" of 1994, ISBN 3-7685-2394-2 clears up on the Copenhagen Plan figures. Issued at 14-09-1948. Start on 15-03-1950 at 0100 GMT. On March 15, 1950 the GDR had to SWITCH OFF the GDR transmitters at Potsdam, Schwerin, Bernburg, Erfurt, and longwave KöWu 191 kHz unit. Silence on these frequencies lasted till August 1950! But nobody in Europe kept peace on the frequency registration plan of Copenhagen, and the GDR decided to use Schwerin 20 kW again on 1439 kHz from 15-05-1950. In August 1950 the 20 kW units at Erfurt 1061 kHz and Bernburg 1196 kHz started again regular service. All German transmitters limited to 70 kW of power. Soviet Zone 70 kW on 1043 and 1570 kHz only ! In addition the USSR loaned the USSR-registered frequency of 782 kHz [Kiev II] to the GDR authorities. 782 kHz, which was first aimed for the R Wolga Red Army service. British Zone 70 kW on 971 1586 and BFN 1214 [! Ex-Nazi Norden Osterloog propaganda unit] kHz. French Zone 70 kW on 1196 [!! later in 1951 confiscated by VoA Munich 150 kW RCA unit] 70 kW on 1538, 25 kW on 1403 kHz, but latter frequency confiscated by France for the Parisienne program via five 20 kW within France. American zone 70 kW on 989 1602, and AFN 1554. Real situation on 01-04-1951: British Zone Hamburg and Langenberg 50 kW 971. Hannover and Oldenburg 20 kW, Bonn 2 kW, Osnabrück 5 kW, 1586. [Hannover ex movable/portable Nazi army tx "Martha" ex used in Ukraine during WW II. Later changed to the longwave range, and moved from Hannover to Mainflingen, started on 01-12-1962 on longwave Deutschlandfunk 151 kHz with 20 kW. At 24-06-1963 dismantled, because no tubes of the WW II era were available then. The technical staff of Mainflingen re-built that "Martha" 20 kW unit in 1975 in order to use the frequency of 209/207 kHz for DLF in south-east Germany, registered previously for USA/Germany {ex 171 kHz}, when the Geneva plan came into effect on 23-11-1978. The "Marta" unit was in use between 23-11- 1978 and 04-07-1979. According to a contract between USA and German Bundespost, at 01-03-1979 the German Post technicians had access to the Continental beasts at Erching. On 04-07-1979 the DLF started usage of ex VOA transmitter Munich Erching, 209 kHz 500 kW at daytime, and changed to 207 kHz on 01-02-1988. Erching was replaced by DLF Aholming on 01-02-1989.] Braunschweig and Flensburg 2 kW 755. 2 kW 1484 at Göttingen, Herford, and 5 kW Osterloog. Special agreement WestBerlin 15 kW on 566 Athlone- IRELAND. BFN 1214 kHz Berlin 5, Hannover, Langenberg, Pinneberg 20 kW each, Herford 10. [Langenberg 20 kW unit: ex movable/portable Nazi army tramsmitter "Anton", ex used in France at Channel and Atlantic coast area during WW II]. BFN Bonn 1 kW 1367 kHz. French Zone Wolfsheim 70, 1016 kHz. Bad Dürrheim 20, Reutlingen 5, 1538 kHz. Freiburg 18, Sigmaringen 5, Kaiserslautern 2, BadenBaden and Trier 1 kW, 827 kHz. American Zone München 100 962 kHz, replaced by 800 kHz on 12-07-1951. Nürnberg 20 1602. Regensburg 2 1484. Frankfurt 100 593 kHz. [ex movable/portable Nazi army tx "Gustav"] Fritzlar 5 917 kHz Stuttgart Mühlacker 100 575 kHz. Bad Mergentheim 1 890. Ulm Jungingen 1 980. Bremen 2 kW 1358 kHz. (US American harbour) AFN Munich Ismaning 100 548. Berlin 1 611. Bayreuth 10 665. Frankfurt 10 935. Stuttgart Mühlacker 40 1106. RIAS Berlin Britz 100 989. [Britz reserve unit of 20 kW, started on 01-06-1947 at Britz, ex movable/portable Nazi army tx "Heinrich", ex used in Belgrade Stubline "Soldatensender Belgrade" during WW II] Hof 40 719 kHz. [latter frequency used later in 1951/1952 for RFE Holzkirchen, 135 kHz RCA unit] VOA Munich Ismaning 150 kW 1196. French controlled Saargebiet: 20 kW 1421 kHz. Berlin 611 kHz - 20 [from 03-05-1952 with 250 kW from Berlin Uhlenhorst site, also two Nazi war time transmitters of 1 x 5 kW and 2 x 2 kW at Berlin Uhlenhorst] (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Nov 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GOA. On 7th November 2002, AIR Panaji was noted on 9820 instead of 7115 at 1615-1830 to West Asia in Persian and Malayalam. By the way, 9820 is used at 1300-1500 and 1530-1545 in Sinhala and English. Today, 8th November, their morning transmissions were missing. The complete schedule of AIR Panaji is now uploaded in dx_india files at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dx_india/files/AIR%20Panaji ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Somajiguda Hyderabad, India, dx_india via DXLD) ** HAITI. I've had them as a tentative before, but tonight at 2202 EST on 840 I got a clear 4VEH ID ("Radio quatre-vay-uh-ash"). Still in with a great signal here at 2220 - gent with slow FF preaching, somewhat muffled audio, and occasional musical interludes... go get 'em! (Barry McLarnon, Ottawa, Ont., Nov 7, NRC-AM via DXLD) 840 HAITI, 4VEH, R. Evangélique, Port au Prince, 11/7 0400 [UT?] fair to good at peaks under WHAS and mixing with Spanish music, presumably Cuba. Male speaking with occasional music; very poor and muddy audio. No ID heard, but format and content matches Barry McLarnon's dxtip. (Thanks, Barry!) New. [David Hochfelder, NJ, IRCA via DXLD] ** INDIA. At 1200 I heard All India Radio in Tamil on 13710, 15770 and 17810; it switches to Telugu at 1215 (and those channels are listed in PWBR-``03`` sans languages). Good signals on the 16 and 22 mb outlets, coming from high-power transmitters. 15795 in Chinese is very bad here at 1200, likely suffering from Chinese jamming (it's not the music jammers tho). (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GOA ** INDONESIA. Despite the conditions were not good tonight (compared to previous two days) I noted V. of Indonesia in English playing lovely Indonesian music at 2030 UT on 9524.87, 33333. Station's European service heard very irregularly lately. 73 (Wolfgang df5sx Bueschel, Germany, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. There seems to be a general misunderstanding of the issues involved in bringing BBCWS to you via Direct TV. Maybe I can help. First: Direct TV has no ability to generate a SAP signal from your satellite receiver. The receivers are not designed to do this. Second: As I understand it, the "Music Choice" channels are provided by a third party music service. I talked to Echostar's Dish Network at one time about a problem I was having with their equivalent music service and I was told that their music service is a pass-through from the provider. They had neither the ability to modify the stream nor to correct the problem I was experiencing. They also seemed unwilling to lean on their provider to get the problem fixed. The problem was that one of the classical music services was in mono when their advertising said in should be CD quality stereo. It was still in mono when I downgraded my service to eliminate the Dish Network music services a week ago. Dish does not seem to think the music channels are a big draw according to the customer service rep I chatted with. If Direct TV were to add BBCWS and/or WRN as a separate service their are also rights issues to be overcome. Third: BBC has entered into an exclusive agreement with Public Radio International to redistribute BBCWS in the USA for rebroadcast via public radio stations. BBC and WRN also have contracts with Sirius and XM satellite radio for direct broadcast to homes and vehicles. Distribution of BBCWS via other means would likely require modification of these existing contracts which may not be possible until contract renewal time. Fourth: The audio channels on both Direct TV and on Dish Network are not encrypted. Anyone with a free-to-air MPEG-2 receiver can pull in the audio services from Dish Network without a subscription and because the transmissions are not encrypted, doing so for personal use, is legal in my opinion. The MPEG-2 receivers are sold legally in the USA. There are also ways to use the Direct TV receivers with obsolete conditional access cards to listen to the unencrypted audio on Direct TV. That would also be legal in my opinion. If BBCWS or WRN were included in Direct TV or Dish Network audio streams, they could siphon off listeners from the existing services which generate revenue for the BBCWS and WRN. Thus, there is little incentive for BBCWS or WRN to agree to such an arrangement. Fifth: Dish Network runs a program called "Charlie Chat" once a month where Echostar Chairman Charlie Ergen answers the mail and promotes upcoming service changes. I remember once a subscriber asking that Dish Network ad CBC's Newsworld International channel that is presently carried on Direct TV. Charlie essentially said "no" because there was no demand and they had lots of news channels already. Lets face it, until the people who control the satellite services can be convinced that there is sufficient demand for them to try to bust the existing contracts with PRI, Sirius, and XM, why should they spend any money to add these services. Until the give-a-shit level of the typical USA listener/viewer rises to a more global understanding and caring, that demand will never develop. Now you see BBCWS and WRN on high-end market services like public radio and pay radio. Over time, these services may influence the collective American psyche sufficiently to interest mass market media. Until then, I don't think it will happen. My advice is to get a Sirius receiver if you are happy with WRN and BBC news or an XM receiver if you want the broader BBCWS stream. (Joe Buch, DE, Nov 8, swprograms via DXLD) Or, better yet, invest in a decently sensitive shortwave receiver and/or improve your home antenna system. My own personal feeling about Sirius and XM is that I would pay for either the hardware or the monthly carrying charge, but not both. And I'm an investor. Given the extremely limited circumstances under which one can make use these satellite services, the expense is just too great. Yes, XM has taken steps (with Sony and Delphi) to make them available more ubiquitously; but at a cost that just doesn't make sense to me at this point. Your mileage may vary (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) ** IRAN. Re: DX Listening Digest 2-174 November 7th 2002 Hi Glenn, The station I hear on 711 kHz is the VIRI regional station at Ahwaz, which is the capital of the Iran-Iraq border province of Khuzestan. This station carries programmes in Arabic as well as Persian, to cater for the province's Arabic-speaking minority. Local programming in Arabic has been noted at 2130-2230, followed at midnight local by Voice of Rebellious Iraq ("Sawt al-Iraq al-Tha'ir") 2230-0030 GMT. Regards, (Dave Kernick, UK, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. 7070.65, V. of Mojahed, Nov 1 1628-1634 34333 Farsi, Talk. ID at 1629. (Kouji Hashimoto) 13420V, V. of Mojahed, Nov 4 1430-1447 34333 Farsi, Talk. ID at 1432. //13400. 13420. 13430 kHz (Kouji Hashimoto) ** IRAQ [non]. 9155, V. of Dem. Assyrian Movement, Nov 3 1640-1704 34433, Talk. ID at 1651 and 1701 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** ITALY [non]. SITE??- Amisnet News Agency via IRRS 6280 2134-2200* 11/08. English/French. End of English report mentioning the IMF and New World Order(!) [in a positive sense???]. Female with ID and frequency at 2135; web address. French programming until 2151,then choral music until cut-off at 2200. Poor, choppy signal (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re IRRS test on 6280: Only a weak signal here in eastern Germany. Frequency probably a bit low, but it is hard to make out the zero-beat in the local noise floor. That's all I can say about this poor signal (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. 5102, V. of Jammu Kashmir Freedom, Oct 30 *1300-1310 33443 Kashmiri, 1300 s/on with opening music. ID. Koran. Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium Nov 8 via DXLD) 4790, Azad Kashmir Radio in Urdu, lots of talk with frequent mention of Pakistan and Musharraf, obviously they are not carrying their 1500- 1515 English broadcast anymore, 1500-1510, Nov. 08 (TR) OK, I could go on and on. At this time of the day the entire subcontinent comes in with armchair-copy-quality. Instead I shall now head into town, to my favorite hangout and have myself a great meal of Tandoori-chicken, Naahn, Birjani, Saag etc., yum... ;-) (Thomas Roth, Nepal, swl via DXLD) ** KENYA. Glenn, Why would Kenya plan an external service, go to the trouble and expensive of building a plant with two new 250 kW transmitters and then abandon the project all together? I listened to the new Koma Rock site when it was first activated in 1984, during a mourning English domestic service on the 9 megs. This service, which I was able to hear for several months, included public service announcements and commercials for business in and around the Nairobi area. So, the site was at least activated for several months but no sign of external programs during this period. Could it been that the government lost interest in the project from the time that it was envisioned to the time it was built?? It look like this site may have been on the air a year or two at the most?? Any thoughts on this?? (Artie Bigley, OH [then TX?], Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. There seems to be a bit of confusion about the Mesopotamian broadcasts. There are two different stations operating, according to the IDs given, and the schedule provided through TDP. Dengi Mezopotamya-Voice Of Mesopotamia, Kurdish: 0500-1300 Daily 15675 TAC-UZB 100 kW / 256 deg 1300-1700 Daily 11530 KCH-MDA 500 kW / 116 deg Mesopotamian Radio & Television 1700-1800 7560 .tw.f.. Kurdish (ex- 12115) (Silvain Domen, Belgium, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. 4025 V. of People of Kurdistan, Nov 5 1448-1507 25232-35332 Kurdish, Talk. ID at 1500. News (Kouji Hashimoto) 11530, V. of Mesopotamia, Oct 30 1333-1404 34333 Kurdish, Talk. ID at 1359. (Kouji Hashimoto) 11530, Denge Mezopotamiya, Nov 4 1258, 45444 Kurdish. Some regional music was heard till 1310, then ID by man. Strong and clear. (Gaku IWATA, Japan Premium via DXLD) 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, Argentina, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. UNIDENTIFIED. Actually the frequencies should be 4049.95 & 4939.95. "Hit Shortwave - Hit Music on Shortwave" seems to have settled down to 4939.95. Earlier this week I heard an UNID here, but today this station gives the same IDs as did the 4050 station, inactive on 4050? (Jari Korhonen, FIN-82500 Kitee, dxing.info Nov 8 via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. Durante os últimos dias, a Rádio Medi Un está intercalando emissões em 9575 kHz e 9595 kHz. Seria um erro técnico ou ensaio para uma futura mudança? A Medi Un tem fiéis ouvintes no Brasil. São aqueles que não aceitam o que a indústria fonográfica impõe nas emissoras brasileiras, ou seja, músicas de muito mal gosto e cheias de obscenidades. Se a mudança de freqüência se efetivar, em certos horários, a sintonia da Medi Un seria dificultada, principalmente por volta de 0100. É que a All India Radio entra muito bem, neste horários, em 9595 kHz (Célio Romais, RS, @tividade DX Nov 10 via DXLD) ** NEPAL. Radio Nepal have been long known as BAAAD QSLers. Two years ago I actually visited them and asked on behalf of a German friend who had sent them a dozen reception reports over the years. And they said, "Oh yes, we have those reports!" and showed me a big stack of UNOPENED mail from all over the world, some of it years old, and "What about it?" I tried to explain to them the idea of reports and QSLs which just earned me blank stares and shrugs... On top of that they ARE desperately poor, Radio Nepal that is. So, apart from that fact I just think there isn't anybody who cares enough - that's the sad state of affairs. The idea of folks listening to far- away radio stations and then even send them a report about it, expecting some sort of verification is just a bit too alien to folks in a country where the station engineer goes taxidriving in the evenings to feed his family. With the present crisis, an unpopular king who ousted the elected government and appointed a new one, so-called Maoist rebels who don't seem to have any program beyond killing people and the economy in a complete shambles, I think we can all just bury our hopes for a QSL from Radio Nepal. Matter of fact, my personal believe is: if it weren't a good propaganda instrument which the king makes good use of, a 'Radio Nepal' would have long ceased to be... Tape them if you can and let that be your QSL. OK, now I'm really off. Get back to you folks in about two weeks. Good luck with the 'South-Asia-Country-Challenge"!!! Don't forget to check 10330 kHz with India's Vividh Bharati Sce. 73 de (Thomas, DL1CQ, Roth, FISTS #6402, presently in Kathmandu/Nepal, 9N Sony ICF2001D/2010, Sangean ATS-909 swl Nov 8 via DXLD) ** PERU. 4790.02, Radio Atlántida, 8 Nov, 1020, slow ballads, announcer with religious talk, 1030 canned ID and ads including Christmas announcements. Fair signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, NRD 535D V-Beam 140m @180 degrees; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. RDPI: Nas terças-feiras, às 0025, Teresa Morgado apresenta o Correio do Ouvinte, com espaço para informações dexistas no espaço DX - Internet. Confiram! De terças a sábados, as emissões ocorrem no seguinte esquema: entre 0000 e 0300, em 9715, 11655, 11980, 13700 e 13770 kHz (Célio Romais, RS, @tividade DX Nov 10 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. [Continuing thread in DXLD 2-174 about regional stations] The next question would be: are 5940-7320-9530 with or without regional program? And is 9600 inactive now? (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That's a super question - Bernd. I've been trying to find some regional activity when I hear Yakutsk and Magadan around 0700 / 0800 but have not succeeded in doing so yet. Yakutsk used to have programmes in a local language, but I haven`t heard these either. I tune regularly over 9600 at this same time, and have not heard Magadan on this frequency for a long time - not even when 9530 has been audible. I do recollect reading that this frequency had closed - it would be interesting to know if their fourth transmitter is still operational. Is Yakutsk operating on 60m? Or just 7345 & 7200? Arkhangel`sk, Perm and Krasnoyarsk are not now audible here at times I have been listening, and reception of Murmansk is very variable - they used to have a local news and "reklama" session around 0800 - I'm not sure if they still do. Any information from all of you Russian experts up in the north is always very welcome! It would be nice to get together an accurate listing of Russian regional activity - and any local programmes they broadcast. Best 73's, (Noel Green, England, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The "Magadan" transmitters were heard with R. Rossii only, so strictly speaking the location is only tentative. Just like Noel I have not noted any local programming for some time. No trace of 9600 for a long time, well over a year, so this one may be gone for good. One or two years ago I heard 4825 // 7345,7200, but closing early in the day, just like 4940 (the commercial channel). The signal on 4825 was poor (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Many many years ago I heard 5940/7320/9530/9600 with Chukotka autonomous region's programme from 0720 onwards, but I don't think these fq's carry any regional services nowadays. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, Nov 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. Linkname: Guardian Unlimited Travel | Travel | Bonaparte's retreat http://travel.guardian.co.uk/saturdaysection/story/0,8922,836219,00.html ``....On board the RMS, we sailed in a style and comfort that da Nova could not have dreamt of - captain's cocktail parties, deck quoits, fancy-dress shindigs and multiple-course meals morning, noon and night. But the St Helena's days are probably numbered - it is the last Royal Mail ship in the world, and the islanders have voted in favour of a #102m, 10-year development project that will include an airport, a five-star hotel, golf course and luxury villas. Aboard the St Helena were about 40 tourists, mostly British with some South Africans. About 800 tourists visit the island every year, attracted by its history, but also by the natural beauty of one of the world's most remote landfalls, particularly the walks, birds, plant life, dolphins and fishing.....`` No mention of radio towers of the annual broadcast. The larger Ascension island to the north is administered from St. Helena. You might do a scan for "Ascension Island" on http://www.google.sh/images (yes, they have a CN designation!) and find the various maps and 360 views of the islands mentioned there. and the arrays of BBC, VOA etc and NASA antennas on Ascension. (Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** SIKKIM. 3390, AIR Gauhati in Hindi, Gantok/Sikkim transmitter, pretty weak here in Kathmandu as usual, sounded like local news and stuff with frequent mention of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and places in the neighborhood, 1320-1330, Nov. 08 (Thomas Roth, Nepal, swl via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. Sam Voron has a website, http://www.h44a.com (which doesn't work at the moment); to cut & paste from Sam... I am back in Australia with good news. On the 25 Oct. 2002, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands attended the graduation ceremony for 21 students and presented them with the certificate of successful completion of the amateur radio training course. The Australian High Commission deputy head presented each student with a donated CB or Amateur radio on behalf of the HAM and CB donors from the outside world. The Minister of Home Affairs gave each student an antenna. The Community Peace and Restoration Fund Ausaid gave each student a power supply. Solomon Islanders now run the school and the National Disaster Council will download onto www.h44a.com photos of that ceremony, the list of students and their home locations and a copy of the Prime Minister’s speech together with the call signs of the 21. Sadly one of our 21 students died of asthma before that ceremony. The Prime Minister presented the certificate to his parents who asked that their other son take his place as a student at the school. Collection of unwanted CB and HAM transceivers is underway so that the second graduation class can also graduate with complete stations. If you can help with a transceiver you can mail it to: The Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation of the Solomon Islands Government, Mr Loti Yates, Amateur Radio Training School, National Disaster Council, P.O. Box G11, Honiara, Solomon Islands. Telephone Loti between 2130 to 0230 UTC Monday to Friday on Tel- 001- 677- 27937 or 27936. Email- Lotiy-@yahoo.com I want to thank everyone who has helped get the Solomon Islanders onto ham and CB radio. A great result and a big thank you. They can only come on air if they have donated radios so keep that help coming for their second graduating class. Answering a question, the school has no computer and no telephone. We thank the National Disaster Council for the use of their building. The economic situation is such that even the government NDC telephones have over a year been prevented by telecom from dialing outside the Capital although anyone can ring in worldwide. Internet is available to those with money to pay the internet cafe owner. Many students don't have $2 bus fare to travel to the school; they walk a very long distance. The school is operated by the students themselves. No one is paid. This is the only school in the country which is operated by unpaid volunteers. Parents of these students don't have money to pay fees. The Amateur Radio Training School of the Solomon Islands is the only free of charge school in the country, open to any person off the street. The purpose of the activities is to open amateur radio as a zero cost activity to give youth direction and benefit the nation. The school is not set up for the purpose of using QSL as a way to get money. People at the bottom of the power structure of this country have been honoured by the man at the top. Why? because with nothing but the interest to turn up each day the very first nativeborn to get a ham licence is not the intellectual person with degrees or the well off business person but someone who never had a chance to take up something before. That is something the Solomon Islanders have now embraced without the floods of money people keep telling us we have missed because we do not QSL. In the ham course we learn that when you have money everyone wants to know you, when you don't its a different story. In ham radio we are not a business radio: we build respect so that one day, when you need help you are measured not by how much money you have but by how much of a ham, helping all mankind person you are. Amateur Radio is not a be all and end all in QSL cards as some comments imply. If all you can do is tell people who have discovered a new love called ham radio and who don't have $2 to catch a bus to their ham radio school each day that they operate a scam, if you can make fun of them, if you say they should not be on air without QSL cards just think, did the Prime Minister of your country say "well done" to you when you became a ham? Every student received a CB or ham station on graduation: because of you, the donors, if that can be maintained for each graduating class these students who have no other way of joining the world wide airwaves could wish for no more. Anyone who would like to go to Solomon Islands and show the students the trill of a DXpedition and QSLing would be very welcome. $100 AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE FEE DROPPED TO $12 FOR STUDENTS AT THE AMATEUR RADIO TRAINING SCHOOL. None of the first 9 to qualify for the amateur radio licence had the $100 license fee and after 6 months, all 21 licences were sitting uncollected at Spectrum Management Division. A meeting with the SMD director and the schools director Margaret H44MKA and her deputy director Rusa H44RTK has brought the amateur radio license fee down. SMA said $20. ``But it was $12 last year``, said Margaret. ``OK you win`` said the SMD. Congratulations to the countries first native born ham radio operators- NAME AGE CALL SIGN VILLAGE, ISLAND Volunteer position at the school Alfred Selo 20 H44SAT Ferasubua, Malaita. All night security Ms Margaret Koi 27 H44MKA Atori, Malaita. School director Augustine Bisafo 23 H44AB Dairana, Malaita. Fix what needs fixing Willie Sande 26 H44WSB Mbabasa, Guadalcanal. Instructor Duddley Misiosi 21 H44HMD Aesiko, Malaita. Instructor Adrian Legua 19 H44ZL Thathaje, Isabel Instructor Ms Nesta Olita 18 H44NO Rurusie, Malaita Instructor Rockson Latu 17 H44EE Pututu, Choiseul Instructor Nicholas Sie 20 H44NS Gove, Isabel Instructor Ronald Foakali 20 H44RF Rurusie, Malaita Instructor Rowland V. Kito 27 H44RVK Patutiva, Western fix what needs fixing Ms Doris Tim 26 H44DT Taraharau, Makira Instructor Foster Bobo 23 H44SF Faufanea, Malaita Instructor Andrew Leeson 24 H44ALK Veramogho, Guadalcanal Instructor Lionel Arudola 17 H44LA Forodo, Malaita Instructor Hudson Auga 25 H44HA Nukumaro, Malaita died before license issued. Ms Rusa T. Kenioriana 28 H44RTK Masupa, Malaita School deputy director Ms Viola Pitisopa 18 H44VP Pangoe, Choiseul Instructor Arthold Gwali 21 H44AG Dukwasi, Malaita Instructor Moffet T. Dakatia 18 H44MD Tataba, Isabel Instructor Dicaprio. Wanna. L. Pauku 23 H44D Babarehgo, Choiseul. Fix what needs fixing 19 of these 21 licenses remain on the table at the SMD office because 19 students don`t have $12, that`s $US 2. Its hoped that as in the USA and New Zealand it may be possible to introduce a no license fee service to match what a free course and donated equipment have accomplished. In the mean time the successful students are saving where they can so that new students can use these call signs under their supervision at the ham radio training school. There are no radio hams in the country to help all the new people who want to join the school so these new hams are doing everything they can to help new people just as they were helped. Most radios donated from overseas are CB radios and the school operates throughout the day and night on CB channel 29 ­ 27.295 MHz LSB. For training purposes amateur radio procedures are always used so that students can train on CB before going on to the international ham bands using the amateur radio donated to the school. Local contacts between the new hams using the donated CB radios is on CB channel 13- 27.115 MHz AM. All this activity from the Solomon Islands on both AM and LSB can be heard daily by CB and amateur operators around Australia who have commented on the excellent behaviour of these students over the last year. After completing 10 contacts on CB under supervision new students are ready to start their 10 required amateur radio contacts on 28.490 MHz USB plus or minus 10KHz. GIRL RADIO HAMS IN SOLOMON ISLANDS: The 2 top ham (Helping All Mankind) students are both girl students who have become the director and deputy directors of the school. These are both volunteer unpaid positions. So many boys want to join everyday that they are now only taking girls to give them space at the ham school. Next year boys can join again. I did suggest that any boy who could bring 10 girls be allowed so that new males are not totally excluded. We had 5 girls out of the first graduating class of 21 and we hope we can improve the male female balance by aiming for more girls than boys. Rusa our deputy brings her 4 year old girl who plays morse code sounds with another 4 year old at the ham school. There is a 14 year old boy who walks to the free ham radio school every day from the other end of the Capital city, Honiara because he can't pay fees to go to government or private schools and he is not the only one. The ham school has no age limit or qualification requirement but right now if you are a girl in Solomon Islands you get instant access to the ham radio training school. School radio clubs might like to check 28.490 MHz USB where the Solomon Islands ham school have many radio contacts. Foreign Amateur radio operators visiting the Solomon Islands must still pay the $100 license fee which is equal to $US 16 and are welcome to stay at the school and help the students. 73... (Sam Voron, via Paul Ormandy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. Sam Voron has also given a couple of web-sites... http://www.radiogalkayo.com which is very interesting and well designed (Paul Ormandy, NZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) and SOLOMON above ** SPAIN. REE does a much better job than Brazilian stations with music and news: Certamente levaria um susto o ouvinte brasileiro que, subitamente, ligasse o rádio, em ondas curtas, nas freqüências da Rádio Exterior de Espanha. Acontece que a distância entre a programação das emissoras brasileiras, seja em FM ou OM, é imensa em relação à estação espanhola. Aqui, temos pagodes e músicas com apologias ao sexo. Na REE, temos o melhor das obras de grandes compositores internacionais, dentro do programa Nuestro Sello, emitido de segunda a sexta, entre 1600 e 1650, em 21570 e 21700 kHz. Aqui nas emissoras brasileiras, os apresentadores acreditam que "sabem tudo e que são os bons" (mesmo que não tenham passado da 8ª série do ensino de primeiro grau!) e tratam o ouvinte com a convicção de que todos nasceram sofrendo de burrice crônica. Na REE, apresentadores como Ángel Rodríguez Losano, de Amigos de la Onda Corta; Carlos Garrido, de Nuestro Sello; Wenceslao Pérez Gómez, de Con Respuesta; levam ao ouvinte, de forma educada, polida e inteligente, a certeza de que estão ensinando. Nas emissoras brasileiras, as notícias são compradas (e muito bem pagas!) de agências internacionais que globalizam as mesmas pautas. Já a REE tem correspondentes nas principais cidades do mundo. E assim caminham as diferenças. Que o ouvinte brasileiro possa descobrir, em algum dia, as ondas curtas e a Rádio Exterior de Espanha! (Célio Romais, RS, @tividade DX Nov 10 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. While checking for SLBC All Asia Service on 7115 this morning, I noticed that it was absent there and on their old frequencies of 7190 and 7440. However, shortly I was able to get them with distorted audio on 7049 in the middle of the 40 Meter Amateur Band. 11905 was in parallel. Their sked is: 0050-0400, 0800-1530 Indian languages (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, India, dx_india via DXLD) ** TOGO. 1800 UT, 5047 kHz: program in French, with African style music. Very weak (SIO 122) with heavy QRN (static) Impossible to get the ID. Is Radio Lomé back? So many signals, so little time... Pat, French Alps [45.28N 5.58E], JRC 545-DSP, AOR 7030+, MFJ 784B DSP. Wellbrook ALA-100, ALA-1530, L-W antennas (Pat Vignoud, 1805 UT Nov 8, dxing.info via DXLD) Yes, something on 5047. On 8 Nov at 2200 talk what sounded like news in French. The carrier strength is OK but the audio is very very weak. No chance to get any ID (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Loud carrier on 5047.0 tonight, but very low modulation, even lower than yesterday); can barely hear the announcer. Hope they will soon fix the problem (Vignoud, Nov 9, ibid.) French speaking station heard last night (8 Nov) on 5047 kHz at 2158 tune-in with reggae type tune. African news at 2100 about Côte d'Ivoire, Congo, Benin. Tentative Radio Lomé ID noted. Into music px again at 2225. Presumably this is reactivated R Lomé, Togo which has not been heard on 5047 for many months - weak but clear last night until 2226 when it suffered splatter from much stronger China on 5050. (Alan Pennington, AOR 7030+ / 500m beverage, Sheigra, Sutherland, NW Scotland, Nov 9, BDXC-UK via DXLD) 5047, Radiodiffusion Togolaise heard 2248 November 9th, Afropops with French announcements, 2300 possible news bulletin and back to Afropop music 2305, weak but steady signal, best on LSB due to splash from China on 5050. 2350 recheck, music, announcements in French, off with anthem matching the Togo one at http://TheNationalAnthems.net Thanks to Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK for the tipoff (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Have been listening to 5047 kHz since 2215 UT, with mostly talk in French by a male. Signal strength around S6, but very poor modulation makes it difficult to copy anything. If Radio Lome, it's nothing like it's former self when it was a reliable propagation beacon for Africa (George Maroti, NY, Nov 9, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) How long had this been inactive? Two previous mentions this year merely confirmed it missing. In 2001y, two issues reported a delayed QSL being received, for a report in Oct 2000, but was it heard then?: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/dxld2121.txt http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/dxld2122.txt We have NO TOGO headings in our 2000y dxldmid contents file, nor in 1999, altho country headings were not compiled until November of that year (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. Johno here noticed Dubai not in the blue pages under 21695 was in English at 0530 thru signoff abruptly 0545 Passport pages I am talking about (John Wright, Australia, ARDXC via DXLD) ** UAE/UNITED KINGDOM. VT MERLIN RENEWS SHORTWAVE SITE AGREEMENT | Text of report by press release from UK transmission company Merlin Communications on 6 November VT Merlin Communications, part of VT Group plc has secured its broadcast presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the recent renewal of a high profile contract with partners Emirates Media. The contract to operate and maintain Emirate's short wave and medium wave transmitter site has been extended for a further 5 years, securing VT Merlin's presence at the site until 2011. The signing of this contract will allow VT Merlin to continue to offer short wave and medium wave services to its customers who require exceptional coverage of the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Indian Sub Continent. The short wave facility consists of four 500 kW transmitters that are able to operate at half power, providing customers with cost effective services. The site also includes 41 fixed antenna systems, as well as 2 rotating antennas, which will enable broadcasters to accurately pinpoint their target audience. VT Merlin's Director of Broadcast Services, Rory Maclachlan said: "This is a very important location for us to enable us to provide much needed services for many of our customers. We are extremely pleased with the site that we have been using now for over a year and hope to be able to offer further services from here in the future". Source: Merlin Communications press release, London, in English 6 Nov 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. PEEL TO HOST WORLD SERVICE ANNIVERSARY From mediaguardian.co.uk Julia Day Friday November 8, 2002 John Peel has been handed the prestigious job of hosting a live concert spanning five cities and four continents to celebrate 70 years of the BBC World Service. Stars including Mercury Music Prize and Mobo winner Ms Dynamite will take part in the three-hour World Service Global Party next month. Veteran radio broadcaster Peel will anchor the concert from the World Service HQ at Bush House in London. Other countries hosting sections of the concert are Senegal, where renowned singer Baaba Maal will perform, as well as India and Mexico. And Afghan musicians, who once feared for their lives under Taliban rule, will perform from Kabul during the concert. "It's an example of the way BBC World Service, which now has a global audience of 150m and an internet presence in 43 languages, continues to stretch itself and to embrace the future," said Phil Harding, the World Service director for English networks. A fortnight of programmes to celebrate seven decades of broadcasting kicks off with the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, delivering a World Service 70th birthday lecture from the UN building in New York on December 11. And on the actual birthday, December 19, World Service programmes will be presented live from Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Earlier this year the Foreign Office agreed to increase the World Service's grant to about £180m, which amounts to an extra £48m over the next three years - significantly above the rate of inflation. And the World Service has earmarked an initial £8m for Afghanistan and the Arab broadcasts, and to expand news and current affairs programmes for Africa, where audience levels are rising. New programmes will focus on development and health issues, including Aids. It will also start an English language business service for China. But although the service was listened to by an average of 150m people last year, the figure was 3m down on the previous 12 months and 5m below its audience target. The biggest shortfall was in Asia and the Pacific region, where audience figures fell by 11.5m, mostly a result of a slump in radio listening in India. Meanwhile the government is considering a radical plan to invest public money in a television equivalent of the World Service. Foreign Office officials are examining ways of using public and private funding to turn the BBC's struggling international TV news channel, BBC World, into a global player along the lines of the World Service radio network (via Mike Terry, Mike Cooper and Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. BBC NEWS SAYS IT MAY MAKE STAFF REDUNDANT Ian Griffiths, Saturday November 9, 2002, The Guardian The BBC has told its staff that compulsory redundancies may have to be considered as part of its programme to cut costs across the board. An email circulated to all staff but addressed to BBC News says: "Discussions are going on about how we will meet our savings targets in the next financial year ... we will seek to avoid compulsory redundancies - but, of course, we cannot give guarantees." The email also seeks to dispel rumours within the BBC that the corporation is facing financial difficulties. "There is no BBC crisis and there is no financial black hole in News," the message says. The BBC confirms it embarked on a specific programme of cash accumulation in order to finance its expansion during the last two years. "It is true that the BBC deliberately built up a cash surplus over the last two years to bolster our programmes and to establish new channels. "Those investments are now under way. The BBC will use this cash and normal temporary bank finance to pay for them," the email says. It also accepts that the corporation is expanding the reach of its cost-cutting programme. The email, signed by Mark Damazar, the deputy director of BBC News, explains: "I have never hidden that we will need to make savings next year. "In addition to existing commitments there are some extra costs we have to fund." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Seldom hear a TIS here well enough to identify; apparent new one on 1610 kHz is WPCV-702, outside Petersburg IL, Menard County, at New Salem Lincoln State historical... audible in daytime 2030 UT Nov 9 (Ron Trotto, Wagner IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Surprised to hear WPHT 1210 Philadelphia overriding the Illinois 1210 station at midday, 1700 UT, and peaking at 30 over 9 by 2200 Nov 7; also heard Nov 8; Nov 9 around 2120 WPHT was audible but underneath (Ron Trotto, Wagner, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More surprises like that are in store for the next two sesquimonths with lowest solar angles at noon unable to build up the D-layer adequately to block skywave. Best in December, and sometimes lasts into early February, I have found. Well worth tuning around MW in the daytime (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. According to Larry Russell the Wisconsin Radio page has moved. He adds that it took him a long time to find this after it moved without a forwarding address. Look for them at http://www.qsl.net/k9ez (MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) Apparently K9EZ has no real name other than ``me``. At least I could not find it on the home page or some pages I looked at. A lot of personal websites are like that; I wonder why? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 2430.00, WGY Schenectady, NY (harmonic 3 x 810), Nov 8, 1002 // 810 with local news and ads. Very weak. 2980.00, WSGB Sutton, WV (harmonic 2 x 1490), Nov 7/8, 0959-1104, rock music from the 80's and 90's, ABC network news, ID "...The Buzz, WSGB Sutton..." Weak with fair peaks(Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, NRD 535D V-Beam 140m @180 degrees; "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Kim Elliott`s second appearance on VOA`s Main Street shrank to only 4 minutes, and ended at the same minute it started the previous week, i.e. 0244-0248 UT Sun Nov 10. But we did point out that exact time will no doubt vary within the 25-minute show. This time he talked about VOA`s new Ventana a Cuba program, interviewing Richard Araujo, head of Spanish department, who said VOA had built up its own audience in Cuba and this was not in competition with R. Martí (and no mention of the foulup last week); and of BBC settling libel case brought by Antiguan PM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The http://wbcq.com website is asking for donations to replace equipment damaged by a fire. The address that they give is called "WBCQ Kansas". So, putting on my reporter's hat, I emailed the following questions to Allan Weiner, alleged owner of WBCQ in Monticello, Maine: What is WBCQ Kansas? Is Becker raising money with your authorization? Do you think it is possible that those donating money to Becker via wbcq.com may mistakenly think that they are donating money to WBCQ? Since Scott Becker is raising money for something he is calling WBCQ Kansas, it seems reasonable to ask these questions. Allan has not answered the questions. It has been reported that he is disturbed and agitated by the questions. Why? (Dan Srebnick http://swradio.us Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Last week, Spectrum announced that the Nov 10 show could be their last, unless they are able to find sponsorship; UT Sun 0400-0500 on WWCR 5070 (Ron Trotto, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Started at 0400 instead of 0405 this week, Nov 10 saying they would remain in temporary facilities for next 6 to 12 months... First caller referred to previous WOR item about IBOC tester on 1700, asking the Spectrumers to tune it in, being reasonably close. At least in the first dekaminute, nothing unusual, and no indication of imminent demise; Ron himself was the next caller, about WPHT in daytime; the Spectrum hosts advanced lots of theories except mine (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Nov. 4, 2002, 6:27PM KIKK NOW IN A JAZZ FORMAT By CLIFFORD PUGH, Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle KIKK has bitten the dust. Houston's legendary FM country-western radio station, which has fallen on hard ratings in recent years, has been replaced with a smooth-jazz format. The station was rechristened KHJZ "Smooth Jazz 95.7 The Wave" at noon Monday. Sade's Smooth Operator was the first song played. The new station will feature Anita Baker, David Koz, Kenny G and Luther Vandross, along with classic jazz by Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock and Dave Brubeck. "It's all about the mood. It's sophisticated, contemporary and very metropolitan (music)," said Laura Morris, vice president and general manager of Infinity Radio's four Houston stations. "Houston is a sophisticated, metropolitan city that deserves this kind of a mix." Infinity has been successful with smooth-jazz formats in Los Angeles and Dallas. Morris said Houston was one of only two of the top 10 radio markets in the nation without a smooth jazz station. She also noted that, before the change, Houston was one of only two markets among the top 50 with three country radio stations. The other country stations in Houston are KILT-FM, also owned by Infinity, and KKBQ-FM, owned by Cox Radio. "The market can't support three country stations. At a certain point you have to recognize there are other options," Morris said. Some longtime listeners were shocked by the change. Dennis Clark, a 25-year-old maintenance man for the Pasadena Independent School District, was listening to the station in his van when he stopped for lunch. When he got back into his van, he was astounded to hear jazz. "I thought I had hit the wrong button. As long as Houston has had country radio, KILT and KIKK have been around," said Clark, who has been listening to the station for 10 years. "Of all the country stations, I thought they'd be the last to go. They played the artists that were just getting started that you hear on KILT or 93 Q Country two years later. It's just unbelievable." KIKK began operation in 1959 and was a country powerhouse for years. It regularly ranked as the top station in Houston. As recently as 1993, it ranked No. 2 among all Houston radio stations, just behind KILT. But its fortunes changed when Westinghouse Broadcasting, owner of KILT, acquired KIKK in 1993. New management fired many longtime KIKK DJs and ratings plummeted. The station tried a "young country" format that alienated longtime listeners. More recently, it tried targeting young men with Texas music by such artists as Robert Earl Keen and Pat Green, without much ratings success. The station was tied for 20th place in the most recent Arbitron ratings, for the summer period of July through September, among listeners 12 and over. The KIKK call letters will remain on 650 AM, which has a business-news format. Several KIKK promotions, including the 10 Man Jam concert on Nov. 14, are being moved to KILT-FM. A Saturday night country show called Texas Roadhouse will also debut on KILT. Five KIKK on-air personalities were let go in the transition. A new morning show will debut within a month, Morris said. "It's a bittersweet moment, because it's very sad to say good-bye to KIKK. I think what we did with the station over the past two years was a great critical success. But it lacked the commercial success that we had to produce. I absolutely believe in the future of what we're doing." (Houston Chronicle via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Tsk tsk, and there goes its fabulous logo of kkowboy boots (gh) ** U S A. WYNY OWNERS LIQUIDATING THEIR STATIONS November 6, 2002 By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Less than a year after trying to ease its severe debt problems by killing country music on its four-station WYNY quadrocast at 107.1 FM, Big City Radio has put those stations up for sale. You can view the entire article at http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/33023p-31296c.html (via Bill Westenhaver, Nov 7, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO WAVES THERAPEUTIC FOR KIDS LYONS TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL STATION LIFTS SPIRITS OF SICK CHILDREN By Ted Gregory, Tribune staff reporter, November 8, 2002 For ECHO radio, success is gauged not by Arbitron ratings, but by the joy that young hospital patients get from answering trivia questions and winning a Grinch electric toothbrush or an inflatable dinosaur. Bragging rights also come from the experience of a teenage deejay interacting with kids often facing serious illness. ECHO, or Every Child Has Opportunities, is run by the award-winning staff of Lyons Township High School's student station, WLTL-FM 88.1. It is broadcast only to the 48 beds at the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where young patients being treated for illnesses ranging from stomach aches to cancer can tune it in on their bedside speakers. Since June, the program has been airing from 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays from a tiny studio, funded by Loyola, and carved into the $5 million renovation of the children's area on the fourth floor of the medical center. About 18 students work on the show at the studio while another 40 produce segments and perform other tasks from the high school station. Some receive class credit; others do it for the experience. None is paid. "The experience is so unique," said Jennifer Mann, 17, senior who is special events director at WLTL and a deejay at ECHO. She recalled repeated visits from Molly, a 6-year-old patient who recently was discharged. "It just meant so much to me," Mann said. "She was so into it, and it was really nice to know that we were making her stay in the hospital something she would enjoy." ECHO was the idea of Cindi LaPorte, manager of the pediatric floor, when she and Richard Taylor, coordinator of the hospital's education program, were brainstorming in 1997 for the hospital renovation. Taylor contacted Lyons Township High School in La Grange, which he had worked with in the past. The school had started WLTL in 1968. The station already was something of a rarity. Only about 110 high schools in the country have radio stations. And, in April, WLTL earned the honor of best high school radio station in the country out of 25 entering a competition at North Central College in Naperville. "It was too wonderful of an idea to pass up," said WLTL general manager Kate Singletary, adviser to the station and a teacher for 26 years at the high school. "The thought that the students would take what they learn here and help kids, that wasn't a hard sell. They just flocked to it." Taylor said he has found nothing equivalent to ECHO radio anywhere in the country. "We thought this could be a fun and unique way to expose both our patients and the students with valuable, hands-on experience," Taylor said, adding that "strong evidence" suggests music and "other positive diversional activities" help in the recovery of young patients. ECHO features contests, giveaways, "positive and inspirational" contemporary music and segments on "Kids News" and "Speaking About Health." The show closes its broadcasts with "Imagine," an uplifting story segment narrated by Lyons Township High School students. One recent evening, Vivian Logan, of Maywood, was watching her daughter, Mikyala Logangranderson, 3, visit the studio to claim a prize and chat with the DJs. deejays. Mikyala, born 26 weeks early, suffers from has asthma and has been in and out of the hospital most of her life. She is a big fan of the show. "It's good for the kids who can't get out," said Logan of the program. "It's good for them to hear up-to-date music, to see young men and women doing something positive." The only problem with the program, LaPorte said, is that some patients fight their discharge because they haven't been on the air. And a few parents have groused. "The only complaint we get is from parents who say something like, `Do you guys have any Rolling Stones?'" said Kate Price, 17, a senior and student director at WLTL who helps run ECHO. "I wish we did." Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune (via Jim Moats, DXLD) ** U S A. ENFORCEMENT: NO RADIO CALL-IN SHOW PERMITTED ON 75 METERS The FCC is asking a California ham why he allegedly ran a radio call in show on 3.830 MHz and requested shortwave listeners to participate. The regulatory agency alleges that James C. Watkins, KI6GU, of Burbank ran such an operation last August 16th and 24th and used a reverse autoptach system to facilitate the call-ins. Along with the FCC inquiry Watkins was furnished 9 pages of material relating to the complaints against him. He was given the customary 30 days from the date of the Commission inquiry to respond. (FCC) (Amateur Radio Newsline Nov 8 vi DXLD) ** U S A. ON THE AIR: THE MIGHTY MO CELEBRATES VETERANS DAY The "Mighty Mo" is coming to the ham radio airwaves for a very special event. Bob Maguire, KA2WXU, reports over the Internet that on November 9, 10, and 11 the Battleship Missouri Amateur Radio Club will be on the air each day from 1700 to 0400 UT on 14.263, 21.363 and 28.363 MHz, in honor of Veteran's Day weekend. There is no special event QSL card for Veteran's Day event but if you QSL via KH6BB you will receive a regular Mighty Mo QSL in return. More information is on the web at http://www.kh6bb.org (KA2WXU, Amateur Radio Newsline Nov 8 via DXLD) ** U S A. From ARRL: To recognize Veterans Day and the anniversary of the birth of Gen Curtis E. LeMay, K0GRL/K4FRA/W6EZV (SK), the Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club (SACMARC) will operate special event station K0GRL on Monday, November 11, from 1200 to 2400 UTC. Operation will be in the General-class phone bands on or near frequencies ending in 47 -- for 1947 when the Air Force became a single entity) -- 3947, 7247, 14,247, 21,347 and 28,347 kHz. Operation also may take place on 51.47 MHz and on 146.46 MHz simplex. LeMay held K0GRL when he was the Strategic Air Command, Commander assigned to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska. LeMay later obtained K4FRA when he served as the USAF Vice Chief of Staff (later Chief of Staff). When he retired in California, he became W6EZV. SACMARC obtained K0GRL via the vanity call sign program in 1997. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with QSL requests to SACMARC, PO Box 1292, Bellevue, NE 68005-1292.--Darwin Piatt, W9HZC (via Mike Terry, DXLD) Also the inspiration for Dr. Strangelove ** U S A [and non]. US ARMY MARS OPERATION HOLIDAYS NOW IN 12TH YEAR The holiday season offers plenty of opportunity for good deeds by hams in general and members of the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) in particular. "Operation Holidays," sponsored by US Army MARS, marks its 12th year in 2002. The program offers the chance for families and loved ones to send US servicemen away from home free MARSgrams and phone patches. In addition, "any servicemember" messages also will be delivered to selected overseas bases, and "any veteran" messages now can be sent to veterans in participating Veterans' Administration hospitals. The "any veteran" program inaugurated in Michigan and California two years ago is the newest wrinkle in MARS morale and welfare traffic. Initiated by Frank Wegori, WD8NIK/AAA9AX, the Army MARS auxiliary membership coordinator, the new -- and expanding -- program is aimed at bringing recognition and hope to the 100,000 hospitalized veterans who may not have family or friends nearby during the holiday season. Any Amateur Radio operator can participate by either initiating or relaying traffic through a MARS member or via the Internet. For many, the simplest way to send a MARSgram is to connect to the United States Army Military Affiliate Radio System Web site http://www.netcom.army.mil/mars click on "MARSgrams" in the lefthand column and follow the instructions. Each message must include the full military address and, if available, the addressee's telephone number. Radio phone patch connections must be arranged by the overseas service member, and, in most cases, are available only where there no public telephone or e-mail link exists. In recent months, Army MARS has handled phone patch traffic from the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, where Americans are stationed on peacekeeping missions. MARSgrams can be used to facilitate the connection. Sending an "any servicemember" message is a worthy gesture for those who do not have loved ones of their own in uniform--a sort of pen pal arrangement. MARSgrams will be delivered to participating installations or organizations for forwarding to a serviceman or servicewoman. The largest overseas deployment is in Europe, and the active MARS organization there has challenged its members to initiate 100 "any servicemember" messages during the holiday season. MARS asks senders to limit individual MARSgrams to 50 words each. There is no official limit on the number of MARSgrams a person may send, however (Bill Sexton, N1IN, ARRL Letter Nov 8 via DXLD) ** U S A. For anyone wanting to know the real explanation of XDS, it can be rather lengthy. If you want the total scoop, read this page: http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/courses/ee4984/Projects1996/bass_mcdaniel.html Attempting to put it in a nutshell, XDS stands for "extended data services". It`s actually technology that has been implemented to work with the V-chip technology; you remember the bill, Bill Clinton passed in 1996? All television sets 13" screen and larger would have to have the V-chip technology for parental control. This is how it all shakes out: Project 1, EE 4984: Telecommunications Networks bill, signed by Bill Clinton, on May 1, 1996, is supposed to give parental control of their television sets, allowing them to 'block' objectionable programming, a.k.a. violence and extreme sexual content. Proponents like it; opponents say it violates the First Amendment. Nonetheless, its up to each broadcaster to program into the data stream program content, along with ratings. It`s up to the broadcaster to include their call letter identification. As a DXer, consider yourself lucky if you catch any TV DX on a set with XDS technology, AND the broadcaster has been thoughtful enough to include their call letters. Broadcasters are still yelling about this one; it costs each television station $5000 to implement CC/XDS technology, plus they say they are being forced to 'violate' the First Amendment, through censure. Bottomline: RDS has a much better chance of flying as a friend to DXers than XDS ever will (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Milliken, Colorado, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. DTV Website Updated: http://www.oldtvguides.com/DXPhotos/ All picture IDs, including today's, are now up. I also finally did see KDIN-DT-50 on Nov. 7, and also WXFT-DT-59 and WGBO-DT-53 were never reported here (Jeff Kadet, Macomb IL, Nov 9, WTFDA via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. 5975.00, Radio Tashkent, 9 Nov, 1220 English broadcast, heard parallel to 6025 and 9715 with middle-eastern style music programming. ID by man at 1224, "This is Radio Tashkent". Not heard on 5885 as previously reported elsewhere. Signal on 5975 was fair when tuned in LSB to avoid adjacent channel Radio Martí on 5980, but 6025 and 9715 much clearer at this time. Receiver: Drake R8A / Antenna: 100' longwire with MLB 73, (Mark J. Fine / mark.fine@fineware-swl.com Remington, Virginia, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Serving the Shortwave Community since 1988: Owner/Proprietor, FineWare: http://www.fineware-swl.com East Coast Monitor, Monitoring Times: http://www.grove-ent.com English Schedules Editor, NASWA Journal: http://www.anarc.org/naswa R. Tashkent monitored usage of 5885 shows Uzbek 1730, Farsi 1830, Arabic 1900, to sign-off at 1930, as at Nov-9. My original report never implied nor stated that 5975 had been replaced by 5885! Regards from Melbourne! (Bob Padula, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM/UK. VIETNAM BLOCKS ACCESS TO BBC VIETNAMESE WEB SITE Internet service providers in Vietnam have confirmed that the authorities are blocking access to the BBC Vietnamese language service web site. The site has been blocked for a week. Internet users see only a bogus password prompt or a message to contact their ISP. There has been no official comment on the move, but the BBC correspondent in Hanoi says sources at two ISPs have confirmed the erection of a firewall - a computer security measure which prevents internet users from reaching the particular BBC web address. The BBC Vietnamese web site - which carries a wide range of news and information, including interviews with dissidents - has been gaining in popularity among internet users; the number of visits is running at about 180,000 each week. According to the official Vietnamese News Agency, the number of internet subscribers in Vietnam is 250,000, but three times that number are believed to surf the net, mainly through some 4,000 cyber cafes across the country. Last month, the government introduced regulations which require web sites to be licensed, and also tightened the ban on Vietnamese receiving foreign satellite TV channels. On 7 November, a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told the BBC that Vietnam was fully aware of the importance of the Internet. She said Vietnam uses firewalls against pornographic sites or those which incite people or encourage violence. Cyber dissident jailed On 8 November a court in Hanoi jailed a Vietnamese dissident for four years for publishing criticism of the Communist government on the Internet. Analysts described the sentence as a warning to others tempted to use the Internet as a platform to criticize the Communist authorities. Le Chi Quang, a 32-year-old lawyer, was convicted of "offences against the state and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," a court official said. Quang was accused of breaching anti-government legislation after posting articles criticizing land and sea border agreements signed between Vietnam and China in 1999 and 2000. Source: BBC Monitoring research 8 Nov 02 (via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. 11560 V. of Khmer Krom R., Nov 5 *1359-1410 35333 Cambodian, 1359 s/on with opening music. ID and opening announce. Music. ID. Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3749.75, first heard Oct 2, 0125-0205 with definite Bachata music and Spanish announcements. Since then on frequent checks I've had the carrier only with no audio. Nothing heard in the mornings. Maybe a Dominican harmonic 3 x 1250 or 5 x 750? (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, NRD 535D V-Beam 140m @180 degrees; "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 27105 kHz. AM. Date: 11/08/2002. Time 0205-0245* (UT). SINPO: 2/3/2/2-/2-. This is the first time in several weeks I have logged this station. This reception is much better than any of the prior receptions although it was still too weak to read well. The signal was good enough to understand a few of the lyrics, and get a tentative ID's on a few songs: "Changes in Attitudes" at 0213, "Thank you Lord" at 0236, "Something's Wrong in America" at 0241. Most of this program seemed to be focused on country and western influenced gospel and inspirational music. Continual music without announcements. It sounded like the transmitter was switched off between songs. The signal was lost at 0245 without signoff. Does anyone have any ideas on the station? (Joe Wood, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Do you have any reason to believe this is not a few miles from you on groundwave? Is there any fading? Is there any skip in on nearby CB frequencies when you hear it? Where in TN are you, anyway? (gh, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ LONGWAVE OPENING Glenn: With a brief break in solar activity on 9 Nov, I managed to log a few transatlantic longwave broadcast stations. At 0600 the Boulder SFI 189, A 7, K 1. Not a great opening, but considering the recent near continual occurrence of flares and coronal hole passages I'm surprised to hear any TA broadcast stations on LW. Algeria, 153, Bechar (presumed), 0540, Light copy of Mideastern music. France, 162, Allouis, 0537, Discussion about Israel, by man in FF. Fairly good copy. Must be back at full power at night again. Morroco, 171, Nador (presumed), French language program with Mideastern music. Fair copy. Also, I noted a few navigational beacons just below the MW broadcast band around 0700 Nov 9. Do you know what these might be, perhaps Maritime? There were a few that were interfering with each other, but a couple that I logged were: 510.4 HMY 513.4 ONH 73, (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Coronal hole activity kept the earth's magnetic field slightly southward in the early part of the week, leading to depressed high latitude daytime conditions until about Nov 6. At other times and latitudes MUFs were generally enhanced. Geomagnetic levels remained active at times at higher latitudes for most of the week. Solar activity was generally low except for an M4 flare on Nov 9 which appears to have a coronal mass ejection associated with it that may hit us around Nov 12. Conditions are expected to remain similar for the next week or so apart from this event. Some polar cap absorption has been noticed in the last 24 hours. Prepared by Richard Jary using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Cumbre DX Nov 10 via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ IRCA MEXICAN LOG, 8TH EDITION (WINTER 2002) The IRCA MEXICAN LOG lists all AM stations in Mexico by frequency, including call letters, state, city, day/night power, slogans, schedule in UTC/GMT, formats, networks and notes. In addition, stations that have changed frequency since 2001 are cross-referenced on the old frequency. The call letter index gives call, frequency, city and state. The city index (listed by state, then city) includes frequency, call and day/night power. This is an indispensable reference for anyone who hears Mexican radio stations. Size is 8 1/2" x 11" and three hole punched for easy binding. Prices: NRC/IRCA members - $9.50 (US/Canada/Mexico/sea mail), $10.50 (rest of the Americas airmail), $11.00 (Europe/Asia airmail), $11.50 (Australia/New Zealand airmail). Non-members: add $2.00 to the above prices. Order from: IRCA Bookstore 9705 Mary Ave NW Seattle WA 98117- 2334 Make checks/Money Orders out to "PHIL BYTHEWAY" (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ###