DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-182, November 21, 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 1157: WBCQ: Mon 0515 on 7415 WWCR: Sat 0700, Sun 0330 5070, Sun 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600, Mon 0030, 0630, Wed 0100, 0700 on 7445 and/or 15039 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400; Sun 0630, Mon 0700, Tue 0630 or 0700, 7490 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0900; Europe only Sun 0530; N America Sun 1500 ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [from Fri] [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1157h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1157h.ram [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1157.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1157.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1157.html MUNDO RADIAL: INFORME DX DESDE NORTEAMÉRICA POR GLENN HAUSER Nov-Dec: Desde 22 de nov., viernes 2210v, miércoles 2200 en 9475; (Corriente) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0211.ram (Bajable) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0211.rm (Guión) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0211.html ** ARGENTINA. RAE, 11710v. 2346-0003 11/20. Spanish service with talk regarding Venezuela, Ecuador and the Americas.ID and frequency announcement at 2354 followed by an IS, Spanish ID loop until 0001 when IDs noted in various languages, including English. Portuguese service begins. Good reception (Scott R Barbour Jr- NH USA, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RAE has two different DX programmes in all languages (Gabriel Iván Barrera, RAE, Japan Premium via DXLD) So when are they scheduled, what are they called, and what is the difference between them? You write one of them, don`t you? (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. Re ``Liberty`` story in DXLD 2-117, which said transmissions remained on the air for 48 hours after Puerto Argentino [Falkland Islands] fell: La caída de Puerto Argentino fue el 14 de junio de 1982; sin embargo, yo he captado y grabado gran parte de la última transmisión de Liberty en castellano el 26 de junio de 1982 a 1910-1920 en la nueva frecuencia de 11740 kcs (ex-17740), o sea que continuó emitiendo hasta 10 días después de lo que cree el Sr. Mancini, y creí y aún creo identificar la voz sensual de Liberty en castellano con la de Ana Martínez, una locutora del programa en castellano de Radio Suecia que dejó de oirse en esa emisora hacia 1980 (Emilio Pedro Povrzenic Nawosat, Villa Diego, SF, Sept Lati\noamérica DX of Asociación DX del Litoral, Rosario, via Nov Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) I didn`t recall that Liberty broadcast much, if any in Spanish, as its prupose was to reach the British. Perhaps the 2-day extension refers only to English? Note he says that Ana Martínez had worked for R. Sweden before this (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Article in The Australian critical of a radar system because it uses shortwave: "I wasn't aware that the much-vaunted Jindalee radar depends on the ionosphere to bounce its signals over the horizon. However, when there is ionospheric disturbance the system doesn't work, just the way shortwave radio signals have been disrupted since they first began in the 1920s. So, let's hope no one attacks during high sun-spot activity." http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5518454%255E12284,00.html (via Kim Elliott, DC, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. VHF NARROWBAND AREA SERVICES (NAS) Glenn, Extract from the Australian Government "Radiocommunications Act 1983" - "Statutory Rules 1991 (#354) - VHF HIGH BAND FREQUENCY BAND PLAN 148-174 MHZ" #354 runs to 14 pages and is available as a PDF file to the general public from the Australian Communications Authority. It contains several detailed colored technical and geographic charts, as sub-extracts from the master "Australian Frequency Allocation Plan". There are hundreds of assignments in the range 151.39375 - 152.49375 MHz, mainly point-to-point Land Mobile services allocated to mining, surveying, local government/councils, sporting groups, boating organisations, Telstra, government agencies, shops, service companies, irrigation, car repair firms, etc. That freq range also includes a sprinkling of licences issued for Narrowband Area Services (Broadcasting), generally authorised for 50 Watts max. Many of these NAS licences are held by people who also have taken out multiple licences to operate in the range 87.6 - 88.0 MHz, known as "Information Services" with max power one Watt (yes, one), as Tourist Information Radio. These are also categorized as NAS Broadcasting. Examples (but not necessarily active): - The Hellenic Radio Servce of Western Australia, Marangaroo: 152.125 MHz - International Commercial Narrowcasting, South Australia: 152.2 MHz - (Private owner) Noranda, NSW: 151.8 MHz - Radio Lollipop Australia, Subiaco, WA: 151.775 MHz There is nothing new about all of this, which was described many months ago in an EDXP magazine! Regards (Bob Padula, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ================================================================= TECHNICAL PARAMETERS AND FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENT CRITERIA FOR VHF NAS VHF NAS Technical Parameters VHF NAS station transmitters, in a technical sense, operate under similar arrangements to land stations in the Land Mobile licence type. Detailed information about frequency assignment for land stations is provided in the Radiocommunications Assignment and Licensing Instruction entitled 'Frequency Assignment Requirements for the Land Mobile Services' (LM 08). The technical parameters that apply to VHF NAS stations are: a maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) of 83 watts; an emission bandwidth of 16 kHz (in the past, more than 16 kHz was permitted but new services will only be allowed a maximum of 16 kHz); and Radiocommunications Standard (Analogue Speech (Angle Modulated) Equipment) No. 1 of 1995. The band segments employed for VHF NAS are: 70.00000 to 70.24375 MHz and 77.29375 to 77.49375 MHz (segments A and G of the VHF Mid Band Frequency Band Plan [70 to 87.5 MHz]); 151.39375 to 152.49375 MHz and 173.29375 to 174.00000 MHz (segments F and W of the VHF High Band Frequency Band Plan [148 to 174 MHz]). Assignment of VHF NAS are restricted to the segment 151.39375 to 152.49375 MHz unless this segment is unavailable. VHF NAS Frequency Assignment Criteria Frequency assignment criteria for NAS stations in the VHF bands are the same as those for standard single frequency land stations in the Land Mobile service with the exception that transmission may be continuous. Care will be taken by the ACA regarding intermodulation products between VHF NAS stations and International Maritime Mobile (IMM) channels. While mobile receivers are not normally protected from interference, IMM services are primarily safety-orientated and will be protected, especially in areas where a NAS station site is in very close proximity to IMM equipment (via Padula, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA: In spite of the looming shutdown of ORF`s shortwave service, I received a schedule in the mail yesterday, allegedly valid until "29-03-2003". I guess we will wait and see regarding ORF's future plans (Scott R Barbour Jr- NH USA, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS`. Radio Minsk is the only English language external service in Belarus`. Structurally it comes as one of the departments at Radio Station Belarus` - the oldest international radio broadcaster in the country. The idea that lied behind the establishment of Radio Station Belarus` in 1962y was to provide the Belorussian communities abroad (mainly in the European region) with a link to their homeland. Originally the broadcasts went out only in the Belorussian language and focused on the politics, economy and culture of Belarus`. At that time the radio station was an integral part of the Soviet Union's unified external broadcasting system and the programs also had to convey Moscow's point of view on world affairs and events. The fact that the output was aimed at the Western listener affected the general nature and style of reporting. The senior management in Moscow realized that the programs would be more convincing and appealing if they were more or less comparable to international standards. Unlike all the other broadcasters catering for internal audiences in the country the staff of Radio Station Belarus` was allowed greater liberty in its coverage and analysis of news. In 1985y when on the threshold of Perestroika an enthusiastic team of journalists working at Radio Station Belarus` undertook an initiative to expand their audience and launch a new service in the German language. They had to get over innumerable bureaucratic barriers to obtain permission from the headquarters in Moscow. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991y, as the whole country plunged into the maëlstrom of independence, Radio Station Belarus` gained an opportunity to add to its traditional focus an international perspective and thus increase the interaction between Belarus` and the international community. Along with obvious advantages the independence however also brought in an array of new problems which have to a great extent been a drag on further development but which the radio station has been struggling to overcome. In January 1998y new programs started to go out in English and Russian. The English language service primarily deals with political and economic news from Belarus` and CIS states, relations between Belarus` and the world, analysis of current issues with an emphasis on the international aspect, culture and music. Postal address: Radio Minsk, vul Chyrvonaya 4, Minsk 220807, Belarus`. Fax: +(375-17) 2848574. E-mail: radio-minsk@tvr.by R. Minsk on the web at http://www.tvr.by (via Dr. Juergen Kubiak, Berlin - Germany, Nov WWDXC via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. 12125, Voice of Biafra International, via Russia, Nov 17, 1950-2000*. Female indigene speaker in English, critical of "Islamic government of Nigeria" and suggesting that "the independence of Biafra is the only alternative" Abrupt closure in mid sentence after ID. Signal strength good but considerable degradation by atmospherics (Charles Jones, Australia, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) ** BURUNDI. Does anybody know the frequency that Radio Isanganiro is using on Short Waves? I got the information below on Glenn Hauser's DX bulletin but it doesn't inform the frequency. Thanks (Marcelo Toníolo, dxing.info via DXLD) I would guess that Radio Isanganiro is not on shortwave nor mediumwave - that's why you haven't seen news about it on DXing.info. A few months ago Studio Ijambo, which is a production studio and a partner in this radio project, told me that Radio Isanganiro would be operating only on FM (Mika Mäkeläinen, Finland, ibid.) I think they're on FM... found the following: ...NOUVEAU... Écoutez la nouvelle radio burundaise ISANGANIRO sur FM et online de 11h00 à 20h00 (locales) la semaine et toute la journée le week-end -Pour écoutez la radio, allez sur http://www.ijambo.net -Vous devez posséder un lecteur audio. Si vous n`avez ni Real Player, ni Windows Media Player, offrez vous Winamp ici. (un conseil). http://www.ijambo.net/ is Isanganiro's web-site though I can't find a frequency anywhere... (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, ibid.) Glenn, R. Isanganiro appears to be on FM only - found this on the web: ISANGANIRO 27, Avenue de l'Amitié, Tél :24 6595 ; 24 6596; 24 6597 Fax : 24 6600 BP : 810 Bujumbura-BURUNDI. Du lundi au vendredi 11h-21hoo // samedi et dimanche 6h00-21h00: 89.7 Bujumbura, 89.3 Manga, 101 Ruyigi, 90.6 Kirundo, 93.3 Bururi, 95.1 Bururi et sur http://www.in-burundi.net et http://www.ijambo.net dans le monde en entier see http://www.in-burundi.net/ijambo/programmes/lundi.htm Regards (Dave Kenny, UK, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ultra! ** CANADA. Hello, This Week on Quirks & Quarks our feature item is: ``When Smoke Ran Like Water:`` Over the past few decades, you could say that we've made enormous gains in linking environmental pollution to human health problems. We've taken the lead out of gasoline and paint; we've restricted or banned smoking in airplanes and most public buildings; we've put catalytic converters on cars; we've taken asbestos out of our walls. But according to Dr. Devra Davis, governments and industry have consistently ignored or even discredited the link between pollution and health. In her new book, she documents a long history of "death by contaminants", and calls for a new war against environmental deception. Plus - the spider who tricked the deceiving fly. All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One (Bob McDonald Host, Q&Q mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. 18990, (2 X harmonic of 9495), Radio Sweden via Sackville 0340-0358. Talk by young woman, "Don't miss SportsScan on Thursday Night", extensive talk of children's literature in Sweden. SIO varied between 444 and 111 on 18990 kHz, 555 on 9495 kHz using two radios to prove what I was hearing (Joe Miller, location unknown, Nov 20, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CANARY ISLANDS. A FEW IMPRESSIONS FROM LAS PALMAS Las Palmas, Gran Canary has a lot of churches, of different denominations and languages. These can be found spread over most parts of the island, but of course concentrated to the capital. There, on a rock that is protruding from the Alta Vista barrio over the city you find a Korean Evangelical Church. Las Palmas Full Gospel Church. It has a splendid view of the town and the Atlantic. Its modern and tasteful design reveals that rather much money has been invested there. In this week of Canary vacation I fled the heat of south coast for just one day and headed north, left my Norwegian travelmate to do his exploration of the marinas in Las Palmas, and hailed a taxi for the address of the church. This address was unknown to the driver, and to his colleagues over the taxi radio too, but I had it spotted on the city map and more or less did the navigation. Once there he said he couldn`t have dreamt that I was looking for a the Korean Church. I got there on a Thursday at 1.45 p.m. when an hour or so of prayer was coming to an end. Two or three dozens of Koreans were leaving, and I had the time to explain my mission there. The fellow I talked to was a very friendly one, he showed the church and even the roof with its antenna, just a coax cable. The operator of the transmitter was not present and had the keys to the shack with him. So the transmitter is indeed up there, and the pictures I took just show a 6 foot aluminum pipe. Really nothing spectacular. The church is also used for non-Korean gospel meetings, and one such would take place later that afternoon. I asked about reception reports; my guide couldn't show any, but seemed familiar with all the data in an entry in the HCDX from Giampero Bernardini, and on a desk just inside the entrance I snooped a look on an unopened letter from what seemed to be a Dutch DX-er. I made just one more radio contact on the island. The WRTH (edition 2002) page 149 about the Canary Tourist Radio over Radio Popular de Las Palmas, manager Xavier Palin, is unfortunately obsolete. Ingemar - which is his Swedish name - has retired from that activity, but still going strong writing books and enjoying retirement in his home in Playa del Inglés, Bungalows Santa Barbara to be more precise. Of course it was a great thing to see him after all those years. Just too many memories popped up. The FM band is of course crammed with a number of ondas that I have never heard of before, and it would take days and weeks to investigate it all. 73 (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden, via Peter Åsberg, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Pictures on the Korean Gospel Church can be seen on the HCDX web site.] ** CONGO DR. 9549.97, R. Okapi, Nov. 15 2133-2150 23332-23322 French Non-stop African music. ID is heard at 2133 by female announcer (TOKUSA Hiroshi, Kanagawa, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. I gather that the 530 station here is much sought-after by North American DXers, who mostly hear instead CIAO or Turks & Caicos, or TIS stations (gh, DXLD) 530, R. Sinfonola (ex-R. Rumbo), Cargago. They relay FM 90.3. Per phone interview, they replaced all programming of R. Rumbo with R. Sinfonola from mid-April and they operate at 1000-0600. No mention of AM channel in their IDs. Interestingly, now R. Sinfonola uses the same opening music with R. Rumbo. According to my monitor on Oct. 15, their first program at 1003 was ``Escuela para Todos``. Opening announcement: ``TIJX, Radio Sinfonola de Costa Rica, la primer estación especial para Ud., le desea muy buenos días, y se compromete hoy como siempre a summejor esfuerzo por mantener vigentes los momentos más agradables de su vida. Sion capital extranjero, TIJX Radio Sinfonola de Costa Rica 90.3 estéreo para toda la república.`` (Tetsuya Hirahara, El Tiempo Hechicero DX News, Oct., who visited San José Oct 12-15, via Oct Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. A station some people have listened to all their lives will soon cease to exist. R. Alajuela 98.3 FM and 1280 AM [plus harmonics up to 4th! --gh], has been sold to two pastors, who will move the operation to San José. The format will be converted to evangelical religion tomorrow, named Estéreo Visión. The station was founded in 1939 as Ecos del Poás; sold several times, and in 1959 changed name to R. Progreso; in 1967 changed name to R. Alajuela to identify more closely with the inhabitants of the province (La Nacion, Sept 29, via Tetsuya Hirahara, El Tiempo Hechicero DX News, Oct., who visited San José Oct 12-15, via Oct Radio Nuevo Mundo via gh`s summary translation, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. NEW ARCHBISHOP MAINTAINS HIS DISTANCE FROM CONTROVERSIAL NATIONAL LAY-OPERATED FM STATION San José, Nov 7 (ACI) --- The Archbishop of San José, Mons. Hugo Barrantes Ureña, refused to have anything to do with radio station La Paz del Dial and reaffirmed his support of TIAC Radio Fides as the official voice of the Church in the country. In the communiqué, the prelate said that ``to avoid confusion and conflicts`` it was necessary to make clear that La Paz del Dia --- which broadcasts on 100.3 FM --- is a private business and ``does not belong to the temporalities of the Archdiocese.`` ``As Archbishop I exercise no authority over the said station and consequently its operation, administration and programming are the direct responsibility of its owners,`` Mons. Barrantes added. The director general of La Paz del Dial, Eliécer Barrientos Rodríguez, explained for his part that ``we only want to continue carrying the message of the Catholic magisterium as laymen faithful to the Church.`` On the other hand, in reference to a recent creation of a trust fund en the Banco of Costa Rica on the part of the owners of the station to take care of its expenses of operation, the Archbishop indicated that ``the donations that this station receives are not contributions to the Church, in that the legitimate owners determine their purposes. On my part I have not authorized that a campaign to raise funds for the station be started.`` — Copyright © 2002 by ACI Prensa, Lima, Perú, and translated and reprinted with permission. MONSEÑOR HUGO BARRANTES UREÑA - ARCHBISHOP OF SAN JOSÉ - COMMUNIQUÉ To the archdiocesan priests, religious, and lay faithful: Considering: 1. That to the Church falls the right from its beginning, independent of any human power, to preach the Gospel to all people, utilizing the proper means of mass media (cfr. Canon 747 1, Code of Canon Law). 2. That Radio Fides is the property of the temporalities of the Archdiocese of San José and has completed faithfully the work that it has been assigned, broadcasting the Message of the Lord, for fifty years. Therefore: 1. I consider it my duty to give unrestricted help to Radio Fides in order that it can continue and improve its evangelizing work. 2. The help of all the faithful, including economic, is urgent in order to make our Catholic radio that mass medium that the new evangelization requires for the world of today. 3. To avoid possible confusion and conflicts that would be detrimental to the ecclesiastical community, I must make clear that the station ``La Paz del Dial, 100.3 FM`` is a private business that does not belong to the temporalities of the Archdiocese of San José, and thus consequently: w As Archbishop I exercise no authority over said station, by which its management, direction and programming are the responsibilities of its owners. w The donations that this station receives are not contributions to the Church and their applications are determined by its legitimate proprietors. w On my part, I have not authorized any campaign in favor of this station. Given in the Archiepiscopal See the fifth of November of two thousand two. I greet and bless you, + MONSEÑOR HUGO BARRANTES UREÑA (Catholic Radio Update Nov 18 via DXLD) RADIO MARIA DE GUADALUPE/LA PAZ DEL DIAL: THE BATTLE IS OVER BUT NOT THE WAR: A BACKGROUNDER San José, Nov 9 (CRU) --- For six months last spring and summer, a spectacular battle was waged in this Central American capital and nation over a Catholic radio station, a battle that held the nation spellbound and made front-page headlines and lead items on the evening news on television. The station was Radio María de Guadalupe, and the principal actors were its owner and operator, Padre Minor de Jesús Calvo; the Archbishop of San José, Monseñor Román Arrieta Villalobos; the Bishops of Costa Rica; and a group of laymen who injected themselves into the fray to save what had become an impressive national radio station. La Paz del Dial is the new name of the old Radio María de Guadalupe, a controversial station owned and operated by Padre Minor. Having bought the commercial FM station Radio Cristal 100.3 FM in San José, Padre Minor turned the station into a 24-hr spiritual life-programmed station that quickly rose to rank as the most-listened-to station in Costa Rica within six months of coming on the air. That was an all- time record and the Chamber of Radio Broadcasters of Costa Rica gave the station its top award. Nevertheless, there were allegations of mismanagement among other things, and the now-retired Archbishop, Román Arrieta Villalobos, demanded an accounting from Padre Minor de Jesús Calvo. The priest agreed to turn over the station to the archdiocese (Catholic Radio Update #124, May 21, 2001), but upon reviewing the financial books of the station, Archbishop Arrieta announced that he would close the station because of its huge debts (Catholic Radio Update #125, May 28, 2001). The following week things came quickly to a boil. Padre Minor reneged and sold it to a group of laymen, the present owners (Catholic Radio Update #126, June 4, 2001). The furious Archbishop Arrieta called in Padre Minor and demanded that he turn Radio Maria de Guadalupe over to the archdiocese. When Padre Minor moved to do so, the owners presented Padre Minor with the signed contract to sell it to them (Catholic Radio Update #126). Thereafter, the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica stepped in and said that it would assume control of Radio Maria de Guadalupe from Padre Minor, pay off all the station`s debts, and make the station the flagship of the new national Catholic radio network that the bishops had been discussing (Catholic Radio Update #128, June 18, 2001). Caught in a bind, Padre Minor had to honor his signed contract to sell the station to the lay group and did so, infuriating the Archbishop and causing the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica to side with the Archbishop (Catholic Radio Update #129, June 25, 2001). . During this time and previous to it, a journalist on a commercial San José station who was known for his biting political satires, Parmenio Medina Pérez, attacked Padre Minor relentlessly in scathing terms and brutal personal attacks. Señor Peréz was shot dead in front of his home by unknown assassins who were never caught (Catholic Radio Update #132, July 16, 2001). At the end of a summer of turmoil, the new owners were operating Radio María de Guadalupe 100.3 FM under the new name La Paz del Dial. In a letter to Catholic Radio Update in August, one of the principals, Orlando Aguilar, wrote that 90% of the RMG`s programs continued on the new station. Nevertheless, La Paz del Dial was operating outside the good graces of the Church in Costa Rica. The new Archbishop has continued the hostility towards the station exercised by his predecessor (Nov 18 Catholic Radio Update, Nov 16 via DXLD) Too bad the frequency 100.3 couldn`t have been occupied by a genuinely peaceful station, RFPI, and avoided all this mess (gh, DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. CROATIA: Croatian Radio's "Voice of Croatia" (Croatian: "Glas Hrvatske") for Croatians abroad is scheduled for B02 as follows (all via Juelich, Germany, times UT): 0000-0200 9925-ju (to Argentina) (incl EE news at approx 0005, 0135) 0200-0400 9925-ju (to E N Am) (incl EE news at approx 0205, 0335) 0400-0600 9925-ju (to W N Am) (incl EE news at approx 0405, 0535) 0600-0800 9470-ju (to New Zealand) (incl EE news at approx 0605, 0735) 0800-1000 13820-ju (to Australia) (incl EE news at approx 0805, 0935) The same 2 hour programme is repeated 5 times, mainly in Croatian, but with two bulletins of news about Croatia in English (at approximately times indicated above) of around 5 to 10 minutes duration, followed by news in Spanish. Opening and closing IDs and frequency announcements are also in English and Spanish as well as Croatian. Their frequency announcements also persist in using the local time in the target area, not UTC - eg 0600-0800 UTC to New Zealand on 9470 is announced as "7 to 9 pm local Wellington time"! All transmissions are currently heard well here (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire, Nov 21 via DXLD) ** CUBA. CMBF: LA EMISORA CULTURAL DE CUBA por Ramón Díaz-Marzo HABANA VIEJA, noviembre (http://www.cubanet.org) -- Del mismo modo que un tercer canal televisivo era un anhelo de los cubanos, y ese anhelo se está cumpliendo por el canal 4 con programas educacionales, científicos, culturales, con menor carga de propaganda política, apoyando su formato en materiales del patio y los mejores documentales técnico-científicos del mundo, también desde hace aproximadamente un año estamos disfrutando de una emisora radial de música culta, fundada el 25 de abril de 1948, que solo ofrecía, hasta hace poco menos de un año, un servicio de emisión comprendido entre las 7 de la mañana y las 12 de la noche. Mientras que ahora ofrece un servicio diario de 22 horas ininterrumpidas desde las 7 de la mañana hasta las cuatro de la madrugada del siguiente día. Yo soy fanático de esta emisora porque no puedo vivir sin escuchar música clásica, que es un modo seguro que tengo de no perder contacto con la civilización. Y desde que Radio Musical Nacional transmite también en la madrugada, tenía la necesidad de escribir este texto. Dejé pasar el tiempo porque pensé que el proyecto radial de abrir una ventana a la eternidad no se mantendría por mucho tiempo. Sólo ahora, al cabo de un año, sospecho que este acierto radial podría ser tan eterno como la música que ofrece. Yo siempre he tenido dos sueños: publicar un libro y viajar por el mundo. El primer sueño ya se me cumplió, e intentaré reiterarlo. En cuanto al segundo sueño, tenía algunas dudas. Por ejemplo: el día que yo estuviera en otras latitudes, ¿de qué modo podría defender mi espíritu contra la nostalgia? Evidentemente tendría que llevarme algo de Cuba. Ese algo podrían ser tres o cuatro libros, unos cassetes con la música de La Vieja Trova santiaguera en la voz de Barbarito Diez, fotos de familiares, pequeños papeles que durante 29 años los amigos han estado deslizando por debajo de mi puerta, quizás una vieja y pequeña bandera cubana, un viejo afiche de José Martí, y cartas de amor. Pero algo me decía que esta lista de objetos no cumpliría su rol de compañeros espirituales una vez que ya no estuvieran en su contexto natural. Sólo ahora que Radio Musical Nacional navega en Internet, y por lo mismo es que se transmite de madrugada en la banda de FM, sé que donde quiera que pudiera estar en el futuro escucharía mi emisora preferida como cuando en los viejos tiempos era mi compañera leal dentro de las calenturrientas habitaciones del ex-Hotelito "Monserrat". Y el milagro de esta compañía es el producto de las clásicas voces de oro de Angel Vázquez Millares, Laura Inclán Narvona, Nelson Moreno de Ayala, Otto Brana, Jorge Pérez Jaime, Miguel Ojeda, Juan Piñera, Verónica Puye, Jorge Iglesia, Lázara Castellano, José Ramón Neira, Jorge Perez Jaime, y todo el personal de realización que hacen posible el milagro de esta intensa actividad musical. Sin olvidar al amigo Pedro Pablo Romero. Vaya pues, para todos los mencionados y para los nombres no mencionados que harían de este texto una lista interminable, mi más cordial saludo. Esta información ha sido transmitida por teléfono, ya que el gobierno de Cuba no permite al ciudadano cubano acceso privado a Internet. CubaNet no reclama exclusividad de sus colaboradores, y autoriza la reproducción de este material, siempre que se le reconozca como fuente. 73's (via Oscar, Miami, DXLD) ** EGYPT. The printed July-December 2002 Weekly Programme Schedule of R. Cairo`s European service, 2115-2245 on 9990, has arrived, showing a few changes on Fridays and Sundays, compared to the 2001 schedule in DXLD 2-171: Friday 2125 LIGHT DOMESTIC NEWS 2140 COMMENTARY 2145 ARABIC SONG 2150 YOU ASK...WE ANSWER / BOOK REVIEW [alternating??] 2155 EGYPTIAN-EUROPEAN RELATIONS 2200 WOMAN`S CORNER 2210 ON THE SILVER SCREEN 2220 SCIENTIFIC LIFE IN EGYPT 2230 THE HOLY KOR`AN AND ITS MEANING Sunday 2125 QUIZ TIME I 2140 COMMENTARY 2145 ARABIC SONG 2150 QUIZ TIME II 2155 JERUSALEM THROUGH HISTORY 2205 LISTENERS` MAIL 2220 SUNDAY SHOW And an E-mail address has been added: englishprog@ertu.org (via Erik Køie, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUADELOUPE. 640, Radio Guadeloupe, Pointe-à-Pitre NOV 17 0001 - France Inter newscast with an item about inondations in the Rhône areas; mention of France Info at the end of another item (France Info is currently the only all-news radio station in France and the most listened news station there). Fair-good for a few minutes, then lost and overtaken by WNNZ at 0010 (Bogdan Chiochiu, QC, Nov 20, hard-core- dx via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. On SW I was only able to hear these stations (mostly during local mornings and evenings): 3325 TGBA R Maya, Barillas heard daily 1110-1230 and 2215-0327*. 3360 TGVN La Voz de Nahualá, Nahualá heard 0135-0408* on Nov 13 & 14. 4052 TGAV R Verdad, Chiquimula heard daily 1129-1225 and 2215-0405 (late program). 4780 TGLT R Cultural Coatán, San Sebastián Coatán heard 1115-1355 and 2215-0205 Nov 12, 13 & 14. 4800 TGMI R Buenas Nuevas, San Sebastián, Huehuetenango heard daily 1208-1425 and 2225-0140. 4845 TGVC R K`ekchí, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Alta Verapaz heard daily as the strongest SW-station in Guatemala 1131-1415* and 2225-0205. 5955 TGNA R Cultural, Guatemala City heard 0055-0210 Nov 11, 12 & 13. Thus the following stations appeared after many checks to be off the air (Their latest logging according to the Domestic Broadcasting Survey (DBS) is mentioned in brackets): 2360 TGBA R Maya, Barillas (APR00) 2390 TGDS R La Voz de Atitlán, Santiago Atitlán (I listened 15 km from the transmitter) (MAR98) 3300 TGNC R Cultural, Guatemala City (AUG02) 3370 TGTZ R Tezulutlán, Cobán, Alta Verapaz (DEC99) 3380 TGCH R Chortis, Jocotán, Chiquimula (MAR02) 4699 ? R Amistad, San Pedro La Laguna (I listened 8 km from the transmitter and it was not heard either on 4600-4800 or on 540 MW or 97.6 FM). (MAR02) 4825 TGMN R Mam, Cabricán, Quetzaltenango (AUG00) 4835 TGTZ R Tezulutlán, Cobán, Alta Verapaz (NOV00) 5980 TGMUA Unión R, Guatemala City (1999) (Only the Voice of Turkey was heard here) 6180 TGWB R Nacional, Guatemala City (JUL99) (Only R Nacional da Amazônia, Brazil was heard here) My observations proved that the status in DBS-4 is pretty much up-to- date and better than other reference sources. However, it was new that R Cultural was off on 3300, but this may be temporary. In Antigua I checked the FM-band and counted no less than 90 stations on the air out of which many were from Guatemala City just 25 km away. But it clearly showed that a developing country like Guatemala already has an extensive number of FM-stations with transmitters in all cities and at the hilltops and can cover the country very well. They are able to replace the SW transmitters to a large extent and obviously that is what happens! (Anker Petersen, Denmark, visiting Guatemala Nov 12-17, DSWCI DX Window Nov 20 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. On my tour through Guatemala I heard the following stations on SW: 3250 HRPC R Luz y Vida, San Luís heard 1105-1225 and 0130-0354 on Nov 13 & 14. 4832 HRLW R Litoral, La Ceiba heard 1115-1305 and 2225-0330 on Nov 13, 14 & 15. The following stations were not heard and may be off the air: 4819 HRVC La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa (AUG02) 4930 HRQO2 R Costeña Ebenezer, San Pedro Sula (NOV01) 5010 HRMI La Voz de Misiones Internacional, Comayagüela (JAN02) (Anker Petersen, Denmark, visiting Guatemala, DSWCI DX Window Nov 20 via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR, Nov 16 1955-2005+ on 10000, weak spur of 9950, heard way under WWV. Also heard 10050 spur. Tnx to WOR tip. Talk in language, ID, local music (Biran Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wolfy, Here is the reply from AIR. -Alok ----- Re: Fw: AIR Delhi 9950 kHz, 250 kW 1730-2230 UT Dear Sir, Thanks for your mail. We have decided to suspend the transmission on AIR's channel 9950 kHz to investigate the cause of spurious emissions. Hence there would be no transmission on this channel with effect from today i.e., 21 November 2002. Regards, (Devendra Singh, Deputy Director (SpM), Nov 21, via Alok Das Gupta via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. V. of Indonesia's schedule does appear to be erratic at best. Nothing noted at this time days prior to this log. V. of Indonesia, 15150v, 1834-1903 11/19. German service with Indonesian ballads and talk. ID in English at 1900, with mention of language service and "Thank you for listening to our program". IS and female announcer with beginning of French service, whose audio quality was much weaker than during the German service. The only time I can hear them on 9525 in around 1000-1100 UT, tho QRM via Radio Veritas Asia- 9520 hampers reception. Other times in the day the frequency is a mess of QRM via RFE/RL- 9520 (Scott R Barbour Jr- NH USA, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. [Cumbre DX] Voice Of Indonesia Freq Clarification Mr. Alan Davies, First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Endang from the English Service of Voice of Indonesia (VOI), External Service of the state radio. I got one of cumbredx`s mailing lists from Mr. Lim Kwet Hien, a DXer. Regarding your report, Mr. Eddy Heryono, Manager of Technical Department clarifies as follows: Since May 29, 2002, the component of one of our service`s transmitters of 9525 Khz has damaged; and we are still waiting for its spare parts. So, since October l4 2002, the external service of VOI has only made use of 9525 Khz frequency. If we persistently make use of the ll975 [sic] Khz frequency, its VSWR will be very high; while the l5l50 Khz frequency cannot be used. Please be advised accordingly. Best regards, Endang R, Voice of Indonesia PS. Here is the time schedule of our 10- language services [contradicting what he just said above about using 9525 only! -- gh] Operation Hour I 0030-0400 UTC NO Languages - Frequency U T C 1 Spanish 11785 0030-0100 2 English 9525 11785 1500-1600 [sic, must mean 0100-0200!] 3 Indonesian 9525 11785 0200-0300 4 Arabic 9525 11785 0300-0400 Operation Hour II 0800-1300 UTC 1 English 9525 0800-0900 2 Malay 9525 0900-1000 3 Thai 9525 1000-1030 4 Mandarin 9525 1030-1130 5 Jepanese 9525 1130-1200 6 Indonesian 9525 1200-1300 Operation Hour III 1730-2100 UTC 1 Spanish 15150 1730-1800 2 German 15150 1800-1900 3 French 15150 1900-2000 4 English 15150 2000-2100 (via Cumbre DX Nov 21 via DXLD) We have cleaned this up and corrected some more obvious errors in timing; deleted WIB times of UT+7 (gh) ** IRELAND. THE MYSTERY OF IRISH RADIO HISTORY - SHORTWAVE SUMMARY And so we come to the end of this seven-part mini-series of topics on the radio scene in Ireland under the title, ``The Mystery of Irish Radio History``. In our first presentation seven weeks back, we posed the question: ``Was Ireland ever on the air shortwave?`` As you have heard week by week here in Wavescan, the answer is of course ``yes``. Here now is a brief summary of all of the shortwave broadcasting in Ireland. A small 1.5 kW shortwave transmitter was installed at the mediumwave base at Moydrum near Athlone in Ireland. This unit was on the air with a bulletin of news on relay from the mediumwave station in two separate eras. The first era stretched from early in the year 1939 until the year 1941 during the European Conflict. The second era began in 1944 as an interim experimental service pending the installation of a larger 100 kW unit. The 100 kW unit was installed in 1948, though it never got any further than preliminary testing. The implementation of a regular shortwave service using their own transmitters was abandoned in 1953. However, relay services over other shortwave transmitters have been noted on many occasions. In 1961, there were relay broadcasts for Irish troops on duty in the Congo, and in 1997 shortwave relays were implemented on behalf of both RTE in Dublin and Mid West Radio in a regional city. Then, as previously noted, pirate radio broadcasts have been noted on shortwave; in particular from UCB with 1 kW, and Radio Dublin with even less power. We should remember also that the BBC was on the air shortwave from Northern Ireland as a wartime measure using 100 kW at Lisnagarvey. This station was on the air for six years, from 1941 - 1946. However, if you would still like to obtain a valid QSL from a shortwave station located on Irish soil, you can do so by tuning in to the voice broadcasts from a well known communication station. The Aeradio communication station, Shannon Radio, is on the air every day on many different shortwave channels with weather forecasts, and it is also heard in communication with international air flights across the Atlantic. Shannon Radio with just 2 kW under the callsign EIP is an excellent verifier. We would suggest that you check your favorite radio magazine for frequencies and times when EIP can be heard in your area. They issue a colorful and very descriptive folded sheet with full QSL details (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Nov 24 via DXLD) ** ISLE OF MAN. MANX RADIO DEBATE POSTPONED From http://www.manxradio.com/ The anticipated Tynwald debate on Manx Radio has been postponed. Members were due to consider an independent report into the future of the government owned station, but the item was withdrawn from the order paper and is now expected to be on next month's agenda. Agenda item 48 would have been moved by Chief Minister Richard Corkill, but he had to leave the sitting to travel to Scotland for tomorrow's meeting of the British Irish Council. He told Manx Radio that earlier debates had gone on longer than expected and he had to go because of important government business (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ITALY. RAI International usually dispatches QSLs in the end of each broadcasting season. A new QSL series (4 cards) has been printed in October. It features Italian volcanoes. Send your reports written in English to raiway.hfmonitoring@r... [truncated] or to RaiWay Monitoring Centre Via Mirabellino 1, 20052 Monza MI Italy (Mario Ballabio, RaiWay Monitoring Centre, Signal Nov 20 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Besides the harmonics reported under RUSSIA: 14280 = 2 x 7140 (Pyongyang, KRE) (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LEBANON [non]. FPM RADIO STATION ON NOVEMBER 22ND The France-based RPL, part of the Free Patriotic Movement has announced the start of radio broadcasts on Nov. 22. The initial trial broadcast is to begin between 6-7pm Beirut time on short wavelength 11515. It will include an address by General Aoun and will also feature songs, news bulletins and a wide range of political and economic programs. RPL can be contacted by e-mail at: fpmradio@yahoo.com or radio@tayyar.org We would like to clarify some points about the Radio Station: - The frequency is 11515 kHz SW (Short Wave). - The transmission time is 18:00 to 19:00 (Beirut time) - 16:00 to 17:00 (GMT) in the first testing phase. - The area covered is the Middle East. It might be received in some European regions. You could report it to us. You will be able to listen to the station soon on the web (we are working on it). We will notify you when achieved. It was not possible to broadcast through AM or FM due to the following reasons: In such case the antenna should be near the target area (which was not possible). If, by any means, we were able to: the possiblity of scrambling is very high. The best way was through SW from Europe targeting the Middle East. (from http://www.tayyar.org/contenu/PagePrincipale.php Nov 21 via gh, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. EQUIPMENT USED BY ILLEGAL RATSIRAKA RADIO, TV STATION IMPOUNDED | Text of report by Malagasy radio on 21 November Various pieces of equipment used by Canal 6 [Didier Ratsiraka's clandestine radio and TV station which stopped operating the day Ratsiraka fled the country on 5 July 2002] - packed in (?50) cardboard boxes - have been discovered in a well-stocked shop in Toamasina [eastern port formerly declared "capital" by Ratsiraka's supporters]. Canal 6 was a radio-TV station operating during the [post-electoral] political crisis. The equipment was found hidden in a well-stocked shop by the DGIDIE [Directorate-General for Internal and External Information and Documentation: national intelligence body]. Three people were arrested for having the equipment in their possession. The government immediately performed its duties. Communications Minister Mamy Rakotoarivelo went to the scene to take the measures needed for an assessment of the equipment. He was accompanied by technicians from the directorate for technical infrastructures, DIT, of the [national] radio and television. Source: Malagasy National Radio, Antananarivo, in Malagasy 1600 gmt 21 Nov 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. On SW I was only able to hear these stations: 5985 XERMX R México Internacional, Mexico City heard evenings only at 0055-0155. [really! Were 9705 and 11770 both on at same time? Evidently not, 11770 switches to 5985 evenings: see below -- gh] 6185 XEPPM R Educación, Mexico City heard regularly at 0150-1010. 9705 XERMX R México Internacional, Mexico City heard 1545 and 2150- 0115 // 5985. 11770 XERMX R México Internacional, Mexico City heard 1450-2150 // 9705. The following stations appeared after many checks to be off the air Nov 04-12: 4815 XERTA R Transcontinental de América, Mexico City (JUN02) 6010 XEOI R Mil, Mexico City was temporarily off, but La Voz de tu Conciencia was heard. (SEP02) 9600 XEYU R UNAM, Mexico City (FEB00) (Anker Petersen, Denmark, visiting Mexico Nov 4-12, DSWCI DX Window Nov 20 via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA/PRIDNESTROVYE. No sign of the announced Radio Pridnestrovya transmissions Wed from 1800 on 5960 here, also nothing elsewhere on 49 and 41 metres. There is a very faint carrier on 5960, but so weak that it should be rather Meyerton or whatever other station but not Grigoriopol`. Nothing on mediumwave either, 999 is running open carrier, 1467 has VoR programming with sharp-sounding studio audio (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1157, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. NEW ZEALAND BASE TO HOUSE US AIR FORCE TRANSMITTER | Excerpt from news release carried by New Zealand government web site on 21 November Minister of Defence Mark Burton has today announced cabinet approval for the installation of an unclassified United States Air Force (USAF) high-frequency (HF) radio transmitter and receiver at a New Zealand Defence Force [NZDF] communications site. The most likely location is Whenuapai, Waiouru or Christchurch. The project, known as the Rightsizing Initiative, will provide a voice-only, unclassified and unencrypted link between air crews and support personnel on the ground, relating to routine aircraft operations and safety only. Mark Burton says that the decision to install the equipment will "enhance HF communication coverage for transport aircraft in the South Pacific and Antarctic regions, thus improving their in-flight safety. "The service will operate on a publicly registered aeronautical frequency, and radio enthusiasts can easily listen in on the transmissions. All they'll need is a simple HF radio - which costs as little as 30 dollars - and they can listen to all the air to ground communications." Installation of the HF facility is part of a programme that will help streamline the USAF's high-frequency (HF) networks, and it will benefit both the NZDF and the USAF. There will be no cost to New Zealand in accessing the HF networks. Mark Burton says the project also offers benefits to the NZDF. "Participating in the Rightsizing initiative will give the NZDF access to global HF services in the Northern Hemisphere. This will eliminate the need to deploy an NZDF HF attachment to Singapore in order to communicate with our air detachments outside the Asia-Pacific region."... Source: New Zealand government web site, Wellington, in English 21 Nov 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) Nice they`re so DXer-friendly, but WTFK?? (gh, DXLD) ** NICARAGUA. R. Miskut, 5770-RCUSB, Nov 15-16 2340-2401*. Tune-in to English VOA pop music program, ``VOA`` IDs. Sign-off with Nicaragua`s NA. Poor-fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. V. of Nigeria, 15120, Nov 16 1915-1945+ English. Program about DRM, ID, promos for upcoming programs. 1930 hi-life music show, good. Very weak on \\ 7255 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. 9965, Gospel Radio. Heard at 1430 till 1458 UTC signoff with Mandarin program on the significance of baptism. Fair to excellent reception. No callsigns heard. Announced maildrop(?) address of GPO Box 6804, Hong Kong. (Richard Lam, Singapore, Nov 21, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I was also listening to this around 1300 UT Nov 21, and heard no T8BZ ID either, as in previous report (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Re ``And R New Ireland starts its program on 3905 at 1930 with the melody of a well known German song ("Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus").`` The melody is the same as the song by Elvis Presley "Wooden Heart". The Elvis song also contains some of the German lyrics. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, hard-core-dx via DXLD ** PARAGUAY. Novedades de Radio América, Villeta: Reproduzco el texto completo de un mensaje electrónico enviado por Adán Mur, desde Radio América, Paraguay: --Estimado Arnaldo Slaen: ¡Saludos, desde el Paraguay! Para avisar a Usted que hemos realizado ajustes en el equipo de transmisión, en Villeta, para mejorar la calidad de modulación. También, ya está programada un aumento de potencia, en todas las frecuencias. Tenemos en mano algunos de los elementos importantes, y estamos esperando los demás. Mayormente, los DXistas captan la frecuencia de los 7737 KHZ. La frecuencia de los 9983 KHZ no se reporta, mucho. Tampoco los 2300 KHZ. La frecuencia "madre", de los 1480 KHZ sí se reporta, en nuestra región, hasta los 800 KM, apróximadamente. Sus reportes de sintonía son siempre bienvenidos. Atentamente (Adán Mur, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay, via Slaen, Nov 21, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Yakutsk 4825 confirmed in parallel with 7200/7345 past 1200, so is operating and may be full time. No signal on 4940, 6150 or 7140. Krasnoyarsk 6085 also heard on 18255 = 3 x 6085. Old Novosibirsk transmitters continue to produce strong harmonics. From 1300 on 14610 (2 x 7305), 14780 (2 x 7390), 14875 (7390+7485), 14970 (2 x 7485), 18900 (2 x 9450, already reported). Other harmonic: 14500 = 2 x 7250 (R. Rossii, Noginsk). Apparently the problem is in the basic design of early Sneg transmitters since it affects 50, 100 as well as 200 kW units (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA [non]. Just heard Arabic Radio starting at 1600 on 7470 // 12085 although not running exact at the same time. Via Russia-Samara? Woman giving ID as 'Hureeya Hur-A-Arabeeya' twice at the start. Military style music and chanting. Then a man giving a long drawn out speach, mentioning Syria, Yasser Arafat... ID and sign-off at 1630. SINPO 35343 (Silvain Domen, Belgium, Nov 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1157, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7470 must be new replacing the other 12 MHz frequency (gh, DXLD) ** TOGO. Regarding Togo on 5047, an e-mail tip via Bob Montgomery says he's been hearing them, tho weak, for 3 nights in a row around 2230. I checked at 0600, after WWRB-5050 sign-off, and heard, very weak, talk in French for what it's worth. Could be anything, but something does appear to be on this frequency. The question is tho; what? (Scott R Barbour Jr- NH USA, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TUKMENISTAN. Turkmen R., 4930 reduced carrier USB, Nov 17 *0059- 0240+: sign-on announcements by YL in language at 0059; choral anthem at 0100; talk at 0104. ME type vocals and instrumentals. Fair; tentative (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. U.S. HOPES TO WOO YOUNG IRANIANS WITH MUSIC, NEWS By Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, Nov. 20 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to start beaming new Farsi radio broadcasts to Iran next month, hoping a mix of pop songs and hard news may help make unpopular U.S. policies a bit more palatable to young Iranians. Radio Farda -- 'tomorrow' in Farsi -- is expected to offer at least five hours of news, features and other programming spliced into a mix of popular Persian and Western music from the likes of Britney Spears and New Kids on the Block. The broadcasts, due to begin in mid-December, are the latest salvo in a U.S. campaign of "public diplomacy" aimed at presenting U.S. policies, culture and institutions in a better light in the Middle East following the Sept. 11 attacks.... http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/reuters20021120_593.html First press mention of Radio Farda (Tomorrow), the new U.S. radio service in Farsi to Iran, co-venture of RFE/RL and VOA (Kim Elliott, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glen[n], I sent the following report to WJIE tonight; the transmission is garbled due to transmitter problems: I am monitoring your transmission on 7490 KHz at 11/20/02 23:45- 00:00 UTC -- the audio is chopping out on audio peaks it sounds like you have problems with the modulator, perhaps it is being overdriven. The signal strength is very good; too bad that it is difficult to make any sense out of the program. PSE QSL. Regards, (Bob Johansen WB2SRF, Staten Island NY, Nov 20, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it is often/usually this way now, and unlistenable. I checked WOR at 1325 UT Nov 21 and roughly half of every word was dropping out. Sounds like an internet feed problem to me, inadequate bandwidth (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Joe: I accept your challenge. But your example is more hypothetical than real. The fly in the ointment is the proscription you correctly apply --- it makes no sense to compete with oneself. So, there is no competition. Advertisers must pay the rate set by the monopolist. Want to get your recording played? Pay the monopolist. Don't want to hear the commercial? Switch the station and they're all playing a commercial, often the same, damn commercial! --- even though the claim is that these slightly differing formats somehow serve different audiences that can be distinctly distinguished one from another. Your argument would hold more water if Clear Channel were willing to use its overwhelming market dominance to program one or two of its stations for a distinctly minority audience --- a classical network, e.g., or an ideas network like ABC Australia's Radio National or CBC's Radio One. After all, I would argue, how could it lose? It would have its other five stations of varying degrees of country music and the sixth could be used to program for an audience that --- at present --- isn't listening to radio (at least commercial radio) at all. (BTW, to obtain even further loosening of ownership limits, it will argue that this could happen if only a stronger monopoly is permitted.) However, that's not what happens. The country format (or whatever one you wish to name), as you point out, is sliced and diced and contorted into ridiculous proportions and commercials are synchronized to guarantee that the only alternative I --- the listener --- have is to turn the damn thing off. I agree that there is marginally an almost imperceptible bit more choice because now the listener can hit six different buttons and hear six different songs from marginally different country formats. But, in essence, he/she could do that before when there were six stations following the same format. This slice and dice is not what was proffered by Clear Channel when it lobbied for the liberalization of station ownership limits. The listener was going to be the big winner in Podunk because now Podunk would have a news station, a rock station, a country music station, a talk station, etc. For the most part, only the markets that had these "diverse" (ha!) formats before have them today. The listener has gained little if anything; the advertiser has actually lost. (Does radio really sound better to you today, Joe, than it did five years ago?) The real winner here is Clear Channel. It has absorbed or eviscerated most of its competition. How can anyone argue that this is to the good? BTW, it's interesting to note that this problem had its genesis during the Reagan Administration when the FCC increased the number of available broadcast licenses almost exponentially. This was supposedly to increase choice and the number of people who could own stations. But, the failure to base this nice-sounding policy on anything resembling sound market and economic analyses left us with a lot of bankrupt station owners in oversaturated markets. The "Clear Channel" solution attempts to address this. For the most part, I blame Clear Channel and its ilk less for this situation than one may think. They've recognized an opportunity and seized it. I blame --- as I said in an earlier post --- legalized corruption of our political system. I blame the poor policy that results from that and is based solely on ideological imperatives that ignore facts and reality. For the record, I work in telecommunications policy development on the state level. My training was in policy development and analysis. Do I sound frustrated? You bet. I've been fighting this fight for over two decades. One gets tired of the "spin" that this is all to the public good when the evidence on balance --- on a number of levels --- is clearly to the contrary. Sorry for the rant (John Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) The other big problem here is "professional management". Why? It's because Clear Channel has added tremendous "efficiencies" to their formatting of radio and their marketing of radio as an advertising vehicle, in the pursuit of profit maximization. There has been an interesting two-day debate on "Marketplace" regarding the appropriateness of shareholder value maximization versus other stakeholders (community, employees, etc.). The debate here fits into that. When broadcasting was more of a "mom and pop" operation, stations were run differently -- and, overall, less "professionally". One reason I attribute to this is that the owners lived in the community and listened to what they programmed. 'Tain't that way now with Clear Channel and Infinity. We have a good example of this in Reading and Allentown, PA. When I first moved here in 1983, WAEB (Allentown / 790) and WEEU (Reading / 850, now 830) were locally-owned, traditional "full-service" stations. WAEB was bought out, and four mergers later, is now owned by Clear Channel. It's now an "angry white male" right-leaning "news-talk" (emphasis on talk) format, with local origination by hosts who themselves have moved right-of-center over the years. By comparison, WEEU has remained its ownership by the Reading Eagle newspaper, and it remains much more "full-service" and apolitical in its local programming (though it does air Rush Limbaugh and his ilk over much of the day). "Ideas Radio" -- which is, frankly, most of what talk about in the swprograms list -- clearly is a minority format and seems hard to commercially justify given the "professionally managed" stations' tendencies to format stations in other formats. Like Joe, I tend to favor market-based solutions to issues like radio program formatting, but it appears the demongraphics of broadcasting don't favor "ideas radio". I guess that means that my preferred solution doesn't work for the kind of programming I enjoy. So, for that reason, we need to have a vehicle to ensure an appropriate portion of the radio spectrum can be programmed non-commercially. Keep in mind that, from the perspective of the advertiser -- the true "customer" of commercial radio -- Clear Channel has competition from billboards, newspapers, television, magazines, and other media. They are not a monopolist as an advertising vehicle. Now to weave in the shortwave thread, for kicks: Harry Helms gets it wrong when he discounts the importance of non-QSL listener feedback. It's the same here, but grumbling to the stations is useless. Instead, the kvetching should be directed at Commissioner Powell and your local congressman and senator, coupled with dollars and time devoted to supporting public radio. My two cents... (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) Yes, but to add to this further... First, I appreciate your mention of the shareholder vs. stakeholder factor. Maybe we need some regulatory attention (a la Canada, for example) to that *if* we want commercial media to serve more than the lowest common denominator mass audience (however "mass" is defined) and be something more than just a speculative business on the "big board". (You know where I would come down on this question |g|!) Second, I also appreciate the distant vs. local ownership mention. (The same factor is felt in the cable television business, the arm of "regulation" (term used loosely because the regulation is loose) in which I work --- and it is the source of the biggest complaints of subscribers.) In broadcast radio and tv, the stated intentions of the Communications Act (including as amended, btw, in 2000) are just ignored --- perhaps illegally. Broadcast radio and tv are identified first and foremost as local media whose first responsibility is to serve the local community. Of course, today the regs aren't worth the electrons used to transmit them. Finally, yes, how you define things is all important. For me, we have been giving the industry too much unfettered deference in determining the meaning of terms like "competition", "localism", "audience", "corporate responsibility" and "public service". But I'm just one of those out of step f___in' liberals..... |g| JAF (Figliozzi, ibid.) ** U S A. TV NEWS POISED FOR CHANGE IN DETROIT WJW TO DROP OUT AND 50 MAY ALLY WITH WXYZ BY JOHN SMYNTEK, DETROIT FREE PRESS WJW is ready to pull out of the local news business, and Channel 50 will soon farm out its newsgathering to local media giant WXYZ-TV. The changes mean that Detroit is on the verge of losing one TV news provider while another expands its reach. According to multiple industry officials, Viacom will likely cease local news operations on the two Detroit stations it controls -- UPN affiliate WKBD-TV (Channel 50) and CBS carrier WWJ-TV -- and contract with another local station, most likely ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV, to produce a 10 p.m. newscast to air only on Channel 50. Local news would no longer appear on WJW, according to tentative plans. The deal would reduce competing news operations in Detroit from four to three, taking the lowest-rated player out of the game. It would be a major coup for WXYZ, allowing its news to be seen at 10 p.m. without diluting its 11 p.m. viewership. WXYZ-TV is owned by Cincinnati-based Scripps-Howard Broadcasting. A formal announcement could come Wednesday. Executives at channels 50, WJW and XYZ declined comment or were unavailable Monday night. However, the WXYZ production on Channel 50 could start as early as Nov. 29, after the November ratings sweeps concludes, according to people who were aware of negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity. Local media attorney Henry Baskin said Monday night that people in the advertising community told him over the weekend that they had been approached about supporting a WXYZ-produced news program on Channel 50 and that a deal appeared imminent. Speculation about Viacom getting out of the high-cost local news business in Detroit started in late summer. Viacom corporate and local executives refused then to confirm that local news on channels 50 and WJW would continue beyond November. About 70 people are employed by Viacom's news operation in Detroit; not many are expected to be retained by the WXYZ production. Speculation had run high that new Viacom station chief Dennis Swanson had decided Viacom could not make financial or ratings headway in the Detroit TV race. On Monday, Dana McClintock, Viacom vice president of communications, said a statement made in the summer that local news could be dropped "still holds today." Viacom acquired ownership of the two stations in 2000 when it combined operations with CBS in a major broadcast industry consolidation. Channel 50 has had a small news presence since the 1960s, and was the first with a 10 p.m. newscast in the market. CBS was affiliated since the dawn of the TV age with WJBK-TV, but lost its local news presence in 1994 when WJBK was acquired by interests aligned with the FOX network. It changed its affiliation and took its news operation with it. CBS was then forced to buy minor player WJW (then WGPR-TV, now WWJ-TV) and start from scratch. It did not have a newscast until February 2001, when Channel 50 started an 11 p.m. newscast on WJW. The move will not affect CBS network news programming. WXYZ's move to produce a 10 p.m. newscast puts it up against WJBK and provides a major challenge for WJBK and WDIV-TV, its major competitors for lucrative newscast dollars that can provide up to 50 percent of a station's annual revenue. WXYZ will be paid by Viacom or share revenue for the 10 p.m. newscast. Matt Friedman, a former news executive at WDIV and now a public relations executive for Marx Layne, said Monday "this appears to be purely a financial decision. They must have decided in their mind that the station is going to be more profitable without local news." (via Brock Whaley, Nov 20, DXLD) Viacom O&O WWJ-TV Detroit, the CBS affiliate, will not air local news, dropping its 11 p.m. newscast. It will show reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond" in its place. I guess "Sea Hunt" was not available (Brock Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WLS RADIO HANGING UP ON CALLERS WHO 'SOUND OLD' November 21, 2002 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST 11/21/02 here is website for entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder21.html November 21, 2002 --- If you happen to sound like you're older than 54 --- regardless of what your actual age may be --- don't even bother calling in to any of the talk shows on WLS-AM (890). You're not welcome anymore. Like it or not, that's the official word from the new program chief of the ABC-owned news/talk station. In a confidential memo to staffers this week, WLS operations director Michael Packer ordered them to screen out "any old sounding callers" no matter what they have to say (via Nancy and Larry Hall, NRC-AM via DXLD) RADIO LISTENER TURNING OFF BROADCASTERS WHO 'SOUND BLAND AND CORPORATE' November 21, 2002. If you happen to sound like you're duller than a rainy Sunday in February --- regardless of what your actual capability may be --- don't even bother trying to get the attention of radio listener Gerry Bishop. You're not welcome anymore. Like it or not, that's the official word from Gerry, chief of his own entertainment and information choices, as well as his wallet and bank accounts. In a post-it note at each of his radios, Gerry reminds himself to screen out "anything bland and corporate, designed to be salt-free" no matter what they have to say. WORKS BOTH WAYS (Gerry Bishop, Nicebutwithasharpedgeville, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. Pressroom Confidential --- A SIZABLE CONCERN MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE December 2002 http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/122002/pressroom_confidential.html On the day Timothy Dolan was installed as new archbishop here, joyful music filled St. John the Evangelist Cathedral and live media coverage captured the uplifting grandeur of the historic Mass. For a little while, at least, Milwaukeeans could almost forget about the sex scandals rocking the Catholic Church. That is, until WTMJ-AM (620) interrupted its live broadcast with an ad for a male sex-enhancing drug. That's right, Milwaukee's top news station ran a commercial for a product named Enzyte, which claims to boost the male function that rhymes with, ahem, election. In short, size does matter, according to Enzyte, and there is now hope for men with underinflated, um, egos. Mortified WTMJ officials promptly yanked the ad from the broadcast but not before it had run once in its entirety, says Jon Schweitzer, WTMJ general manager. It seems the station neglected to screen the ads it aired that afternoon. Broadcast news stations have long been ridiculed for undercutting serious news coverage with inappropriate commercials, and this comical mishap certainly qualifies for the hall of shame. "It was obviously a terrible oversight. There was no sweep of the commercials to see if there were any content issues," concedes Schweitzer. "In light of what has become a rather public issue for the Catholic Church, it just wasn't an appropriate commercial to run during that programming." Nevertheless, in an industry where the almighty advertiser is sacred, the station has no plans to discontinue the questionable ad in other news programming. Says Schweitzer: "We didn't see any reason to punish the advertiser for a mistake we made." ©2002 Milwaukee Magazine, All Rights Reserved (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. EMPIRE OF THE AIR - FRANK GUNTHER The 1992 program, "Empire of the Air" is being rebroadcast on Monday, December 9 on PBS in NYC. [meaning WNET-13, WLIW-21, or???, and everywhere else??] Here is an article from the, "Staten Island Advance" about a Staten Islander who impacted the development of radio, and is featured on the show. http://www.silive.com/columnists/calv/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/opinion/10373751492432428.xml Inside Out --- Program devoted to Frank Gunther's achievements will air in early December --- Friday, November 17, 2002 If you mark Monday, Dec. 9 on your television-watching schedule, and make it a point to catch "Empire of the Air," you won't be disappointed. The show, a re-broadcast of a PBS program from 1992, features Staten Island's own Frank A. Gunther and the men who made radio what it is today. In case you didn't know, Mr. Gunther was a resident of Dongan Hills and a pioneer in the development of short-wave, two-way radio, and the FM radio system for military and public service applications. In the mid-1920s, Gunther was employed as a chief engineer for Radio Engineering Laboratories in Long Island City. It was there that he built and operated an experimental radio station that was among the first short-wave broadcasting systems. In 1931, he took part in the first public broadcast from an aircraft and installed one of the first airborne two-way mobile radios the following year. He built what is believed to be the first two-way mobile radio system for a police department when he "connected" the Bayonne Police Department. It was in 1933 that Gunther, along with Lt. Vincent J. Doyle of the Bayonne Police Department, developed and placed radio transmitters in patrol cars, enabling police officers to communicate with headquarters as well as with other squad cars. Two-way radio became standard for police departments throughout the country following the Bayonne hook- up. From 1938 through 1941, Gunther installed nearly all the pioneer FM broadcast stations and in the years surrounding World War II he designed and manufactured the first LORAN transmitters. These were part of the nautical navigational system used by Allied Forces. Gunther was personally involved in the development of FM (frequency modulation). He was known to military, police, fire and community leaders around the world, having designed, installed and proved the viability of communications at a time when few envisioned or understood the potential and impact this field would have on our lifestyles. At the time of his death in 1999, Gunther had headed up Highpoint Tower, a Florida based company with that tower-turned- lighthouse on Merrick Avenue on Todt Hill. The controversial tower, which drew objections from community organizations, has now been accepted as a cleverly disguised 130- foot fake lighthouse. In 1996, The Radio Club of America established the Frank A. Gunther Award for major contributions to the advancement of military electronic communications systems, with Mr. Gunther as the first recipient (via Daniel Rosenzweig, Nov 18, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. COULD RADIO DRAMAS STAGE A COMEBACK? By Raoul V. Mowatt, The Baltimore Sun, November 20, 2002 The economics of radio and the tastes of audiences may have changed dramatically since the Golden Age of the '30s and '40s, but interest from performers such as Ed Asner and Jake Lloyd may help radio theater make a comeback decades after its heyday. "I think there's a big future for audio drama," said Susan Loewenberg, producing director of L.A. Theatre Works, which has recorded more than 320 performances and is seeking to syndicate a program to major markets. "Anything that has a niche quality is great for this stuff. I'm not going to be able to compete with the latest rap record or whatever. But I think there's an audience out there." And the market is being tested: Martians invaded the Earth again recently in a new audio version of War of the Worlds that aired live nationwide. Another dimension - a dimension of sight, of sound and of mind - has come to radio with a Schaumburg, Ill., studio using well- known actors to adapt the classic The Twilight Zone television series. National Public Radio will broadcast a new farce in December in serialized segments for its popular Morning Edition. This may look like a boomlet to some observers, but others seem skeptical. "The state of radio drama is not strong," said Ken Mueller, radio curator for the Museum of Television & Radio in New York. "I think it's going to stay the way it is. I'd love to see more radio drama, but you have to get young people interested." Although Britain, Canada and Australia have thriving radio drama scenes, "we've decided in this country that we don't want to listen to that anymore," added Alan Bell, assistant communications professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. And even radio-serial supporters agree that may take more bizarre circumstances than can be found in the entire run of Twilight Zone. While tens of millions thrilled to the escapades of the Lone Ranger, the Shadow and others in yesteryear, the advent of television made radio dramas a lot less appealing. At any given time since the '50s, some scattered radio-theater programs remained on the air, and some stations still air the vintage productions. But even NPR, where one might expect to find the warmest embrace of audio theater, stopped distributing NPR Playhouse in September after its member stations showed a lack of interest. Nevertheless, the strengths of the format remain the same as during the radio drama's zenith, according to devotees. Actors enjoy doing them because of the challenge of conveying a character without using facial or body expressions and the possibility of being cast in ways that they could not be in stage or screen roles, supporters say. Most important, the human brain, picking up on subtle aural clues, can offer special effects that surpass those offered by even the most lavish blockbuster. "These radio shows give you a chance to flex your imagination muscles and to see a picture in your mind," said Carl Amari, chairman of the Falcon Pictures Group and executive producer of the new Twilight Zone radio dramas. And so aficionados of audio drama are hoping to help it find new venues and to use new approaches. Ellen McDonnell, executive producer of Morning Edition, said the problem is that people rarely sit for an hour or more to listen in their living rooms. She said by having I'd Rather Eat Pants air in eight-minute snippets in December, she hopes to remind the show's 13 million listeners how fun audio theater can be. "What I'm doing is dusting off a technique and putting a modern spin on it," she said, adding that she's open to doing more serials depending on the reception it gets. Pants, done in conjunction with L.A. Theatre Works and recorded two weeks ago, revolves around how an elderly couple teams up with a young slacker to go on a cross-country journey in search of fame and fortune, finding more than they bargained for along the way in crazy coincidences. It stars Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant), Anne Meara (Rhoda, All My Children), Ed Begley Jr. (St. Elsewhere), Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) and Derek Cecil (Push, Nevada). Similarly, Falcon Pictures, a Schaumburg firm adapting 150 episodes of The Twilight Zone from the Rod Serling era, features a star in each installment, including Begley, Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba), Blair Underwood (L.A. Law) and Lloyd (The Phantom Menace). Stacy Keach will be stepping into the announcer's role made famous by Serling and taken over by Forest Whittaker in this season's ratings-challenged television revival. Amari said the prominence of old-time radio shows and the success of audio books made him think there was a market for a radio version of one of the classic television shows. He's also distributing CDs and cassettes of the radio broadcasts. "I think audio content, if it's done right, could be very successful," said Amari. "There are so many platforms for it. I would like to think I have something to do with paving the way for others to make them." If things break right, radio dramas might even get a boost from two new technologies: satellite radio and the Internet. Since satellite radio is based on subscriptions, it can support formats that don't make financial sense to conventional stations and networks. Both major satellite broadcasters companies, XM and Sirius, offer such dramas, and Amari said they will both pick up The Twilight Zone next year. Along with about 100 affiliates of syndicated talker Glenn Beck, XM broadcast War of the Worlds on its Sonic Theater channel on Oct. 30. Officials said they added that option because of audience demand. "Our view is there's a robust market for radio dramas currently," said Steve Gavenas, executive vice president of programming for XM. Another potential plus for audio drama is the Web, which not only creates a low-cost distribution and marketing channel but also enables enthusiasts to network and congregate. "The birth of the Internet, that's a good sign for the radio drama," Mueller said. But an even better one might be a leap of faith by more radio programmers. "What has to happen is people have to start assigning it good time slots," Loewenberg said. "If you assign it time slots when people historically don't listen, it's hard to make inroads." Raoul V. Mowatt is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun (via Artie Bigley, Mike Terry, Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. RE: [NRC-am] Re: [dxtip] WNVR-1030: ``so they now must be operating exclusively from their 4 tower site in Crystal Lake, Illinois.`` I visited this site while it was under construction. These are extremely short top loaded antennas that would look more at home at a TIS station. I'm surprised they get out that well (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, Nov 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) I don't know what their day pattern is but I assume that they beam SE towards Chicago and right at me in Barrington and that is also towards Perry's in VA (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) ** U S A. Now here is an interesting thing about 610. I find WIP [Philadelphia] is totally dominant if I listen in AM mode, or if I use the Sony sync feature and listen to the lower sideband. But, if I use sync and listen to the upper sideband, WIP is dramatically suppressed and other stations are audible. Is WIP using Kahn Stereo? (Rick Kenneally, Wilton, CT, Nov 20, NRC-AM via DXLD) If I recall, the stations that were originally Kahn could keep what was known as the "Powerside" portion of the Kahn system in place as a grandfathered item. There was definite improvement in mono reception using the Kahn Powerside. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will correct me... (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Located in Sunny Sarasota Florida, http://www.amtower.com ibid.) ** U S A. GROUND CONDUCTIVITY MAP. I just came across that might be useful for those of you haven't seen something like this before. The FCC has a map of the USA which shows you the ground conductivity levels for each reagion. Here's the link: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/m3/ (Matt Broadwater in Niagara Falls, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. WCCO [830 Minneapolis] has not been as strong in this area as prior years. I wonder if they have a ground system problem (Fred Vobbe, OH, NRC-AM via DXLD) The water table around their transmitter site is going down down DOWN (Mark Durenberger, Out West, ibid.) You know, that does have an effect. I remember when WABJ-1490 in Adrian [MI] moved to a newer, drier site. Signal went down in Toledo (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) WCCO's strength is down here too, in WNY, in the last 10 years. They used to be very reliable on almost any radio during the winter, but it's now only a 50/50 proposition, with some smalltimers clobbering their signal (Matt Broadwater, Niagara Falls, ibid.) Mark isn't kidding. This really can affect the signal. I noticed the same phenomena with the D/FW airport TIS stations during the severely hot and dry spell that hit that area in 1997. Before that I could even hear them on my car radio. I haven't heard them since (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, ibid.) ** U S A. KPFT Houston`s prison show, Fridays 9-11 pm CST: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6126975&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=6 (San Antonio Current Nov 21 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. FOR BULK E-MAILER, PESTERING MILLIONS OFFERS PATH TO PROFIT http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1037138679220447148,00.html (Wall Street Journal via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. -----Original Message----- From: Bernice Ramirez Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 11:09 AM To: Andrew Flynn Cc: Edson B[runo, the host]. Zilse; J. Mark Gallardo Subject: Portuguese DXer's (Altas Ondas) November, 2002 Andrew, Thanks for that bit of interesting information. Don't worry, Glenn Hauser is not news to us. In the beginning he wrote an excellent report about "Altas Ondas" Dx segment we created...when he found we were Christian he later published a note saying it was "vomit", and "we messed it up by taking the programming to the religious side". This atheist, who does not speak Portuguese, seems to think he is offending us, but what he's really done is created curiosity in people to search, find, listen and stay. We're still getting e-mails from DXer's who have stayed with us because the Gospel message has touched them! ...jeejeejeejee, Praise God!!! Also, Glenn, in my opinion, is a masochist who tortures himself. You see "Altas Ondas" has been strictly a dx segment, but if Mr. Hauser is hearing the Gospel it is because he's listening to the rest of the programming we carry....who knows, maybe he'll keep listening, and get saved... :) Thanks again! Bernice Portuguese Program Director, bernice@vozcristiana.com 15485 Eagle Nest Lane Ste.220 Miami Lakes, Fl. 33014 (305) 231-7742 Bernice was kind enough to send me a copy of the above message to her boss. It seems VC is not accustomed to critical reviews. Despite its sneering/jeering tone, I will give it a serious reply, since there are factual errors. ``When I found out it was Christian...`` ?? Come on, it was obviously Christian all along, starting with the name of the station. I did *not* say it was vomit; that would have been too rude and unkind. What I did say, as I occasionally do to express strong disapproval was, ``It made me want to puke``, which is rather different. FYI: I have not yet actually vomited over this. ``Does not speak Portuguese`` --- yes, I do; ask any Brazilian DXer. Tho when encountering this sttion I may wish I did not. I don`t care whether I offend VC or not. I am merely expressing my true personal reaxion to their programming. Nor do I care if my negative remarks attract listeners, as she would like to hope, tho I doubt it! I listened to one or two entire Altas Ondas shows (on webcast) shortly after it started, and found the DX segments of a few minutes each were intermixed with `praise`. This is what I strongly object to. She seems to be saying this is no longer the case, ``strictly a DX segment``. For a whole hour? Great, if true. Not sure I want to risk confirming it, so perhaps someone else can. It`s hard to imagine Edson exercising such self-restraint, but if so, my criticism has been helpful after all. There is certainly no reason for me to listen to the rest of their programming, for I am already `saved` from ignorant superstitions propagated for millennia without an iota of proof (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 4796 Son La R & TV Station regular with sign on at 1158 Oct 20 4930/5734/6347 Yen Bai is inactive now on all frequencies 5597/6664 Lao Cai is inactive now on both frequencies Oct 20 6379.4 R Lai Chau, Oct 19 & 20, *1035-1254*, Vietnamese ID, new schedule 6493,7 Cao Bang, Oct 19 & 20, *1200-, Vietnamese ID 9650/9850 Voice of Vietnam Network 4, Xuan Mai, Hanoi, Nov 01 & 02, *0425-0600*, H`Mong service, ID, Hilltribe music at sign on, 35543, later 45544. New service and frequencies (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Nov 20 via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. Christian Voice, 4965, Nov 16 0230-0300* in English; English contemporary Christian music, short religious messages, ID, poor-fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ NEW PROPAGATION CHART I have just posted a new feature on the propagation area of my website. It is a chart of FOT frequencies (Optimal Working Frequencies) for the current month, based on the projected smoothed Solar Flux and SSN. I made the charts for three general areas of the US, into a set of areas of the world. The page may be found at http://hfradio.org/latest_chart.html Enjoy. 73 de Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA swl via DXLD) Very useful; nice to see some FOTs as high as 36 MHz, which means the MUF is even higher (gh, DXLD) see also USA: GROUND CONDUCTIVITY above RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, The Associated Press, 11/21/02 2:04 PM NEW YORK (AP) -- It almost sounds too "Star Trek" to be possible: A multipurpose cell phone that also serves as an FM radio, walkie-talkie, garage door opener and TV remote control. And what if every time you made a call with that handset it increased the performance of other phones already in use -- instead of competing for airwaves with them? While such wireless wizardry remains a few years off, those days could be coming faster now, thanks to a rare confluence of technology breakthroughs and a rethinking of airwave regulation by the federal government. "It is kind of an interesting point in time when it comes to wireless networks," said Dallas Nash, co-founder of Mississippi-based SIGFX LLC, a player in the impending wireless revolution. SIGFX figured out how to transmit cell phone calls in a thin part of the airwave spectrum already used by TV stations. By dramatically reducing the cost and increasing the range of wireless phone networks, the invention could bring reliable service to rural areas and developing countries. Vanu Bose has big dreams, too: to create that new generation of radios -- that's really all that cell phones and garage-door openers are -- that can move between various functions with an icon click. The trick is to replace much of the circuitry found in radios with flexible software. Bose began working at it in a military-sponsored communications project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating in 1998, he started his own company, Vanu Inc., to further develop the technology. Now Cambridge, Mass.-based Vanu Inc. has created an all-software base station -- which relays calls from wireless phones on cellular networks. Vanu also has built a prototype handheld computer that can make calls on different kinds of wireless networks and work as a walkie-talkie, baby monitor, FM radio -- "whatever you want," Bose said. The big challenge is that the device is limited to 10 to 20 hours of battery life. Bose -- son of the stereo engineer who founded Bose Corp. -- believes that with more development and improvements in low-power microprocessors, the device could be the size of a cell phone and have a much longer battery life. At the same time, other researchers are making progress in developing "smart" radio receivers that can, on their own, determine instantaneously when and where a bit of spectrum is going unused and switch their communications accordingly to avoid interference. (A method of doing that is already employed in cellular networks and cordless phones). In fact, advocates of an "open spectrum" or a "commons" policy believe new generations of radio receivers will routinely handle their own conversations and help relay others at the same time. "If every radio is both a transmitter and a receiver, as you add more, you add capacity to the network," said David P. Reed, a former chief scientist at Lotus Development Corp. and a leader of the "open spectrum" movement. "My gut feeling," Reed said, "is that in 10 or 20 years this will be as big as the Internet." That may seem a wide-eyed prediction, but ideas like this are not just grass-roots dreams. Intel Corp. backs software-defined radio in hopes it will ignite an explosion of demand for wireless chips. The military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on several ways to "increase spectrum usage by dynamically sensing and adapting in frequency, time and space." Researchers at Bell Laboratories, part of Lucent Technologies Inc., recently announced a breakthrough in their BLAST technology, which takes advantage of interference on a network to increase the rates at which data can be sent. Many technology experts say such breakthroughs should force a revolution in how we treat the airwaves. Since the 1920s, electromagnetic spectrum has been handled like real estate. The government licenses use of slices of spectrum and tightly regulates what can be done in those bands. Much of the spectrum is tied up -- largely by the military -- and there's only so much room for experimental and innovative new technologies in unlicensed bands, such as those occupied by cordless phones and the wireless networking system known as WiFi. But in what looks like the beginning of a historic policy shift, the Federal Communications Commission has been listening closely to the technology crowd -- and to cellular carriers that spent tens of billions of dollars for spectrum licenses and want more freedom to use or trade them as they see fit. "We have perhaps the most interesting debate in spectrum governance taking place in America since the 1930s," said Adam Thierer, director of telecommunications studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. This month, a task force appointed by FCC Chairman Michael Powell -- and headed by the former leader of DARPA's communications research -- offered a framework for a spectrum policy overhaul expected to begin next year. The group said the government should grant wireless carriers more flexibility with their expensive spectrum licenses so they may lease portions of the airwaves that go unused at certain times, for example. It also endorsed the "commons" concept in some circumstances, saying new technologies should have more freedom to operate in regulated bands -- as long as they don't interfere with cellular conversations or radio broadcasts -- and in unlicensed parts of the spectrum as well. In essence, the FCC finally would be treating spectrum like real estate in the physical world, where the public has easements and parks alongside private property, and airplanes can fly overhead. Such monumental changes probably will provoke some fights in Washington. "Certain ossified licensees will inherently be resistant to change," said Bryan Tramont, Powell's senior legal adviser. Even parties who are clamoring for change are circumspect. Wireless phone carriers, for example, praise the FCC's efforts to modernize spectrum policy. But some say technologies such as software-defined radio might be too unproven to form the basis of policy changes. They also worry that low-power transmissions by rival technologies on or near already-licensed frequencies could interfere with wireless phone conversations. "It's hard to oppose looking at spectrum policy anew," said Doug Brandon, AT&T Wireless' vice president of federal affairs. But, he added, eventually, "someone will say, `My ox just got gored."' ------ On the Net: FCC: http://www.fcc.gov Software-Defined Radio Forum: http://www.sdrforum.org Vanu: http://www.vanu.com SIGFX: http://www.sigfx.com David Reed: http://www.reed.com/dprframeweb/dprframe.asp (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ THE AUSTRALASIAN SHORTWAVE GUIDE - new edition available For immediate release. Thank you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUSTRALASIAN SHORTWAVE GUIDE - EDITION 14 - B02 PERIOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -->> Now available in hard or soft-copy versions Edition 14, with over 1400 entries, covers the international shortwave transmission period commencing on October 27, 2002, and concluding on 30 March, 2003, known as the B02 period The Guide has been issued twice annually for several years, and is regarded as the most detailed and accurate listing of its kind available - 36 pages, handy A5 format, saddle stitched. ASWG14 provides comprehensive information of - English shortwave schedules to Australia, Asia, the Far East, the Indian sub-continent, and the Pacific - broadcasts in all languages to Australia and the Pacific. The data is arranged in two sections, by studio country and starting time. Each entry shows broadcasting organisation, frequency, starting time, finishing time, language, target area, transmitter site, transmitter country, studio country, and days of operation. There are some 700 entries, representing over 1100 daily frequency-hours of relevant transmissions. Some of the data is not available elsewhere in this format. A special professional overview of Digital Radio Mondial developments is included, not published elsewhere. The ASWG is compiled from an extensive worldwide network of broadcasters, frequency planners, engineering consultants, professional monitors, and members of the Electronic DX Press. Information is also included from the detailed research by the author, himself a radio engineering consultant and journalist, with over 40 years experience at both the professional and hobby level. The Guide is available either in hard or soft-copy format. It is not a commercial publication, and the price represents a contribution towards the costs of editorial research, telecommunications charges, internet/E-mail fees, promotion, printing, packaging, and delivery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HARD COPY VERSION (pricing includes postage) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POSTAL MAILED TO AUSTRALIAN ADDRESSES: A$10: cash, mint stamps, personal/bank/credit union/building society cheque, money order, six IRCs, or credit card via PalPay POSTAL MAILED TO ADDRESSES OUTSIDE OF AUSTRALIA: US$10 (or Euro 10/A$20, or equivalent in any other currency): cash (any currency), bank draft, international money order, GIRO transfer, 12 IRCs, or credit card via PayPal. Cheques and money-orders MUST be in Australian dollars, and payable at Australian banks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SOFT COPY VERSION. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This will be sent as an unprotected ZIP'd Word 7.0 document, compressed to 100 KB; the document or parts of it may then be printed (36 pages). Data in the tables may be searched and/or sorted as required. DELIVERY VIA E-MAIL ORDERS FROM AUSTRALIA: A$10 cash, mint stamps, personal/bank/credit union/building society cheque, money order, six IRCs, or credit card via PayPal ORDERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES: US$5 (or Euro 5/A$10, or equivalent in any other currency): cash (any currency), international bank draft, international money order, mint Australian stamps, GIRO transfer, 6 IRCs or credit card via PayPal. Cheques and money-orders MUST be in Australian dollars, and payable at Australian banks. To use a credit card via the PayPal system, you need to have a free PayPal account: visit http://www.paypal.com for details, and payment should be to bobpadula@bigpond.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADDRESSES FOR ORDERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bob Padula 404 Mont Albert Road Mont Albert VICTORIA 3127 Australia E-mail: bobpadula@bigpond.com Thank you! (Padula, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###