DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-197, December 14, 2002 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd02.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn WORLD OF RADIO 1160: WWCR: Sun 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sun 0600, 1200, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 7445 and/or 15039 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400; Sun 0630, Mon 0700, Tue 0630 on 7490 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0900, Europe Sun 0530, North America Sun 1500 ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1160h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1160h.ram [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1160.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1160.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1160.html MONITORING REMINDERS: Our calendar is filling up with holiday specials as well as regular programming, and for the season we have accumulated near the top, links to 38 special holiday programming pages so far, mostly US webcasting public radio stations http://worldofradio.com/calendar.html ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW RADIO TRANSMITTER STARTS FUNCTIONING IN CENTRAL AFGHAN PROVINCE - IRAN RADIO | Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 14 December A new radio transmitter started functioning in Jabal os Saraj city, Parwan Province, yesterday [13 December]. According to the [Iranian] Central News Unit from Kabul, a France-based international association for the defence of freedom donated the radio transmitter set to the Radio Voice of Peace in Jabal os Saraj, Parwan Province. The 500 MW transmitter's range capability is in excess of 100 km. The transmitter replaced the old one which had 200 MW power and 30 km range capacity. [sic – see below] It`s worth mentioning that radio transmission started [there] two years ago, and its programmes are aimed at raising the level of knowledge among people, the rights of women, families, children and human rights. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 0330 gmt 14 Dec (via BBCM via DXLD) Certainly not 200 to 500 megawatts, nor even kilowatts. I suppose the ranges mentioned, if on mediumwave, would indicate mere watts, but, WTFK?? (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Re DXLD 2196: Glenn, Contrary to the item under Radio Australia, noted on an "unregistered" freq, please be advised that this channel is in fact registered with the ITU, and is in use 0900- 1100 to Pac, 1100-1330 Asia, 1700-2200 to Pacific. [11880] This usage was advised in the RA schedule I distributed some weeks ago, and was introduced on Oct 27. RA refuses to publish its current composite schedule on its Website, or anywhere else for that matter, exacerbating the growing alienation with hordes of SW listeners in its prime coverage areas, most of whom have no facilities to migrate to satellite or RealAudio reception. RA sees its main audience across Asia/Pacific being serviced through rebroadcasting or relays via local AM and/or FM stations, satellite, and the Internet, and to heck with direct HF delivery! The Domestic "Newsradio" network of the ABC, available on AM, FM, and RealAudio across the nation, continues to shroud itself in mystery, consistently refusing to state the locality of the program origination studio! This network has the lowest rating of any domestic broadcaster in Australia, with coverage of "news" being frequently pre-empted by interminable broadcasts of Federal Parliament (when in session). At those times, listeners are invited to retune to the Internet for the full 24-hr "Newsradio" coverage. Sorry, ABC, but I don't have a PC in my car! It offers continuously updated news, weather, sports, and business reports. At other times, it carries BBC, Radio Netherlands, RCI, NPR, and DW, but only when Parliament is in recess. It also runs BBC World Service overnight in parallel with several other non-ABC domestic broadcasters on AM and FM. Here in Melbourne, we are offered BBC overnight on several of these stations! This week, Parliament was running to a 24-hour schedule itself, sitting all night (!) which pre-empted the normal overnight BBC coverage over Newsradio. Australia - Station X. Contrary to misinformed comments I have seen, no Apparatus or Broadcast licences have been issued by the ACA for HF operations on 2368.5 kHz for this Queensland proposal. Off-band broadcasters: All Channels from 1611-1701 kHz are primarily allocated for Low Power Narrowcast Narrowband stations, power limited to 400 Watts, and approved service area no greater than 10 km. Antenna mast heights are limited to 10 metres. These stations are intended for purely local audiences with very limited appeal, including ethnic, sporting and community services. Some operating on 1638-1701 kHz make available special receivers or converters for existing receivers, particularly the stations servicing the Indian and Arabic communities on 1701 and 1638. These stations are not regarded by ACA/ABA as "broadcasting stations". There is a concentration of such stations on 1611, 1620, and 1629, as that is the general limit of coverage of car radios available in Australia, regarded by the operators as the prime audience. The station in Melbourne, on 1629, is 24 hours, no announcements, playing music from the 1950's continuously. Licencing requirements do not require these stations to ID, except at the beginning and end of transmissions. Thus, if there is a carrier break during the 24-hr cycle, an ID must be given (mandatory) when transmission resumes. Regards! (Bob Padula, Victoria, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RN media network this week reported: RCI, Sackville will broadcast DRM transmissions beamed to Scandinavia & Western Europe from Monday 16 Dec to Friday 20 Dec at 2300-2400 UT on 5970 kHz, beamed 47 degrees (DRM power 80 kW). Any chance that will spill over onto 5975 BBC Antigua? (Ricky Leong, QC, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CFIE 106.5 the new native station in Toronto ... a.k.a. Aboriginal Voices Radio Network, is stronger at Burnt River than WYRK Buffalo and the Owen Sound ON station. It's even stronger than most full power Toronto FMs. What in tarnation is going on? This means they may be Dxable for people outside the city... (Saul Chernos, Dec 13, WTFDA via DXLD) The Industry Canada database does show CFIE 106.5 Toronto as directional, 304 m, and 350 watts h & v. It does not say which way the array is aimed (Bruce Elving/FM Atlas, ibid.) note corrected call ** CANADA/CANARY ISLANDS. 6715 USB, "Halifax Military", 1605 Dec 13, While listening to the Las Palmas Church I noted for the first time a strong signal from Halifax Military, which I assume is a military aviation channel. Male voice: "Tango two sierra, tango two sierra; this is Halifax Military, do you copy? This went on several times then he said radio check, all with no response. After that, there was a strong data burst from what I assume was the same transmitter. Also noted other SSB traffic in SS (I think), and distant a RITTY signal. Las Palmas church was in there with the usual gospel type music at low level. My guess is that this Las Palmas Church transmission is unauthorized and essentially a pirate operation. I have a hard time believing that the government of Spain would license such a broadcast on this frequency (David Hodgson, TN, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CANARY ISLANDS, 6715U, Full Gospel Las Palmas Church, 2255-2320 Fri Dec 13. Church service with talk by man and religious music. Very poor signal, just above the noise, in and out. Occasional utility interference. Faded out before the scheduled 2330 sign off. My first log of this station (Evans, TN, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Take note of our new mailing addresses. To reach the Oregon business office with contributions, T-shirts orders, etc, write RFPI, PO Box 3165, Newberg, OR 97132-3165 or e-mail radioforpeace@yahoo.com Send information requests and reception reports to RFPI, PO Box 75 - 6100, Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica or e-mail info@rfpi.org (RFPI Weekly Update Dec 8-14 via DXLD) Around 1100 UT Dec 14, 15040 was inaudible, and 7445 was well atop Taiwan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RFPI is experimenting for a week with running DEMOCRACY, NOW live into the 15040 transmitter as it comes in at 1400 UT M-F, besides the regular airings at 2200 and 0400. Listener response will determine whether this early airing continues (James Latham, RFPI Mailbag Dec 14, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. No sign of RHC on 6195, checked at 2250 UT Dec 13, as reported for English to Caribbean --- nothing but BBC, and it would not be a good idea for RHC to be here, tho they may have tested it. A quick scan around the 49mb did not find RHC on any other frequency at this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. An e-mail from Mustafa Tosun confirmed that it was Bayrak International that I heard on December 7, and that Arabic is one of the languages used in the 2200-0400 UTC time period [6150] (George Maroti NY, EDXP via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Re Spur on 15035: Spurious 125 kHz apart matter at ABZ Abu Zaabal EGY 30N16 031E22 0300-0030 15285 19 VOICE OF THE ARABS ARAB GULF 1230-1330 15160 19 PERSIAN TADZHIKSTAN 15160 1230 1330 30S ABZ 100 60 0 146 EGY ERU ERU 15285 0300 0030 39 ABZ 100 120 0 805 EGY ERU ERU (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. FW: [mwc] French MW stations... I tried to make an educated guess at the frequencies that might be awarded to the various new MW stations here in France. Well, today the CSA released the actual frequency plan. Some of my guesswork was accurate, some was not. Here is the plan... --------- The country is divided into five areas --------- 1. The Paris area: Six channels with 5 kW each, with a possibility of 10 kW daytime if the CSA gets clearance from the ITU. The channels are : 981, 999, 1062, 1080, 1314, 1575 kHz. --------- 2. The Rennes area: Brest 1485 kHz (1 kW), Nantes 1584 kHz (1 kW), Brest or Saint-Brieuc, or Rennes or Lorient: 1071 kHz (160 kW) --------- 3. The Toulouse area: Montpéllier 1071 kHz (300 kW), 1584 kHz (1 kW) Nîmes 1602 kHz (1 kW) Perpignan 1584 kHz (1 kW) Toulouse 1161 kHz (160 kW), 1485 kHz (1kW) --------- 4. The Nancy area: Metz 1584 kHz (1 kW) Mulhouse 1584 kHz (1 kW) Nancy 1485 kHz (1 kW), 1350 kHz (160 kW) Reims 1485 kHz (1 kW) Strasbourg 1584 kHz (1 kW), 1161 kHz (1 MW, 63 kW at 90 -130 ) --------- 5. The Marseille area: Ajaccio 1161 kHz (20 kW) Bastia 1071 kHz (20 kW) Marseille 675 kHz (1000 kW), 1485 kHz (1 kW) Nice 1350 kHz (2.5 MW, 300 kW at 220-230 , 100 kW at 80-100 ) Toulon 1584 kHz (1 kW) All outlets on a given high power channel will carry the same programme. This plan reflects almost exactly the situation we had before France Inter left the MW band. Only the low-powered stations are new. Whether they will find applicants for the big boys is another story. For instance RMC Info would certainly like to use 160 kW on 1071 in Rennes or 1161 in Strasbourg or 1350 kHz in Nancy... But if they apply for 1071 they will also have to use it in Bastia and in Montpellier, which are already served by the LW transmitter, if they take 1161 they will also have to use it in Toulouse, also served on LW and FM, if they take 1350 in Nancy they will have to use the 2.6 MW station in Nice, which duplicates the LW transmitter exactly... Also, and strangely enough, two channel that might have been used, 963 in Paris and 585 in Marseille have not been awarded. The original plan mentioned 30 channels and not 28, so I guess these might be added... Anyway, don't expect anything on the air before next summer at the earliest... This leaves you hardcore DXers plenty of time to hunt for stations on the newly awarded frequencies, and me time to think about which of the 6 presets on my car radio to reassign to the new programmes... ;-) (Remy Friess, Medium Wave Circle email list via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) ** GUAM. See JAPAN [non] ** INDIA. I am currently hearing a new AIR station on 4830 at 1530 carrying the news at nine any ideas which outlet this is? (Stuart Austin, Blackpool, England, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All India Radio heard with a music recital on 4830 in parallel with many other outlets on 60m including 4760 4775 4895 and 5040 etc. Music terminated at approx. 1801 and was followed by announcements - including frequencies - and close down on 4830 at 1804. Is the site of this transmitter known? Signal strength was very good. The same recital could also be heard mixing with the Urdu service on 4860 - maybe due to a faulty feeder. Regards... (Noel R. Green, Blackpool, NW England, dx_india Dec 14 via DXLD] see KASHMIR! ** IRAQ [non]. RADIO HURRIAH AXED BY STATE DEPARTMENT By Nick Grace, CRW Washington with additional reporting by Robert Petraitis, CRW Lithuania [Dec 14] While Washington diplomats ponder the future political landscape in Iraq, the U.S. government has quietly axed funding earmarked for the resumption of a pro-democratic radio station that could play a crucial role in reinforcing peace and stability in the country's post-Saddam era. Radio Hurriah, CRW has confirmed from sources within the Iraqi National Congress (INC), will not take to the airwaves. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking INC official said that planning and support for the group's radio station under the guidelines of the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998 reached the highest levels of the Bush administration. The Department of State, however, overruled the National Security Council, which was in favor of the station, and notified the INC during a meeting last May that Radio Hurriah would not be funded. "(They) informed us in a letter in May 2002 the things they are willing to fund," the source revealed. "Radio was not on the list. When we asked in a meeting, they responded by saying that there are already enough radio stations that reach Iraq." Indeed, Iraq is targeted by approximately 27 clandestine radio broadcasts in addition to the handful of Arabic-language international outlets aimed at the Middle East. The bulk of the clandestine stations, however, operate above-ground in Iraqi Kurdistan and represent the competing ethnic and political interests of their sponsors. At least three broadcast stations, al-Mustaqbal, Voice of the Brave Armed Forces, and Radio of the Two Rivers (Radio Mesopotamia), have been tied to a covert American-run transmitter in Kuwait. The loss of the INC's radio station, coupled with Washington's closure of Hurriah TV, the INC's satellite channel that ceased operation earlier this year, is considered a major impediment for the promotion of democracy in Iraq. Said the official, "Television and radio stations would be very significant in getting the message of democracy, human rights and a better future to the Iraqi people. Additionally we could be sending messages to military commanders that they will be held accountable for WMD (weapons of mass destruction) use or human rights violations." Unlike the programs and radio stations that are currently on the air, INC broadcasts planned to reflect a political platform and democratic ideals already agreed upon by a majority of the political parties vying to replace Saddam and his regime. Additionally, the INC's track record of getting its message out over the airwaves is a successful one. Its clandestine broadcasts during the mid-1990's over Radio Hurriah and the Iraqi Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) were widely listened to within Iraq and were even responsible for convincing the Iraqi flag bearer during the 1996 Olympics to defect to the United States. He appeared on international television to explain his defection and express solidarity with the INC - without having ever communicated with a member of the organization. Washington's track record of support for the Iraqi opposition, however, is less than perfect. The Clinton administration not only abandoned the INC after encouraging its forces to engage Baghdad's military in the 1990's but it lacked the foresight to prepare solid evacuation plans for its contacts in Iraq in the event of trouble. The entire local IBC staff was caught and executed in 1996 when the Iraqi military overran opposition forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, sending CIA case officers to literally flee for their lives. The policy being pursued by the Bush White House is, in fact, a continuation of the Clinton legacy. President Bush, himself, reaffirmed the government's position during the major policy speech he delivered in Cincinnati on October 8. "If Saddam Hussein orders ('cruel and desperate measures') his generals would be well advised to refuse those orders," he said. "If they do not refuse, they must understand that all war criminals will be pursued and punished." His message was carried into Iraq over the Voice of America's Arabic-language service Radio Sawa and also over the American surrogate outlet Radio Free Iraq. White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer went further a few days before Bush's speech, explaining, "The cost of one bullet, if the Iraqi people take it on themselves, is substantially less (than the cost of war)... There are many options that the President hopes the... people of Iraq will exercise themselves that gets rid of the threat." Two of the clandestine radio stations operating with covert U.S. funding, al-Mustaqbal and Voice of the Brave Armed Forces, articulate Washington's goals for a military coup d'etat on a daily basis. In the eight years since the stations hit the airwaves, however, Saddam Hussein has not yet been assassinated by someone from within his inner circle. The third station, Radio of the Two Rivers (Radio Mesopotamia), remains an enigma within the Iraqi opposition. Its programs are virtually unknown outside of short wave [sic] radio monitors. CRW's Robert Petraitis in Lithuania, who speaks Arabic and listens to the station regularly, notes that its programs are "moderate" in relation to al-Mustaqbal and Voice of the Brave Armed Forces and do not seem to target a military audience within Iraq. The pro-coup stations, meanwhile, continue to broadcast as United Nations weapons inspectors comb through Iraqi facilities and as the Pentagon proceeds with its build-up in the region - leading to suspicion that hope lingers within the Washington Beltway that America's show of force will act as a force multiplier to the broadcasts and lead to a so-called "zipless coup" that lies at the core of the Iraqi National Accord's platform. The Accord, headed by military defectors, is supported by the CIA and operates al-Mustaqbal. Few Iraqis are holding their breath. Rather, many wish that the Bush administration would reconsider its position on Radio Hurriah and by extension TV Hurriah (CRW Dec 14, also via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. Fwd: The final JSWC 50th anniversary program Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 9:45 AM Dear Sirs, The final special broadcast in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Japan Short Wave Club (JSWC) in 2002, will be held as follows: Station: Trans World Radio - KTWR from Agaña, Guam Language: Japanese (Partly in English) Date, time (UT) and freqs: 28 December 2002 / 2100-2130 / 11690 kHz 29 December 2002 / 1200-1230 / 9465 kHz Program host: Mr. Nobuyoshi Nakagawa, Ms. Nahoko Keida Guest: Toshimichi Ohtake (JSWC member) According to Mr. Ohtake, the recording at KTWR studio was completed this week, and the program was produced so that a non-Japanese speaking listener would be able to enjoy. So please try to receive it as the very final broadcast from our club this year. The next information on AWR is a repeat of my previous e- mail letters to most of you. Station: Adventist World R from Agat, Guam Language: Japanese and English Date, time and freqs: 15 December 2002 / 2100 UT / 11960 11980 16 December 2002 / 1300 UT / 11755 11980 Program host: Mr. Masaru Kawagoe Guest: Mr.Toshimichi Ohtake (JSWC member) Program contents: Since our club`s special broadcasts have already taken place 3 times by the Japanese service of AWR so far, we have received many reception reports for the second broadcast on 19 August from all over the world. So this time, these reports will be introduced during the regular Monday progran by Mr. Kawagoe, with a guest Toshimichi Ohtake, a senior member of JSWC. It is a special bi-lingual, an approximately 20 mins-long program just after the opening ID at 2100/1300 UT. A special QSL card from JSWC will be issued for correct reception reports including practical description about the segment for JSWC. The address for reception reports is: Japan Short Wave Club (JSWC), 50th Anniversary Committee, P. O. Box 138, Yokohama Port, 231-8691 Japan. Please write your report in English and enclose 1 IRC or U.S. 1 dollar bill. Finally, we would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you who have heard our messages, as well as the broadcasters kindly cooperated to convey them in this anniversary year. And we hope your continuous support of our club activities even in the future (Source of all the above information: Toshimichi Ohtake, a member of JSWC) With kind regards, Nobuya Kato, A volunteer staff of JSWC 50th anniversary project e-mail: jswc50@par.odn.ne.jp Dec 14 (via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) All assuming, that both stations will have recovered sufficiently from the typhoon Dec 8 to follow thru these plans, even be on the air (gh) ** KASHMIR. I am currently hearing a new AIR station on 4830 at 1530 carrying the news at nine any ideas which outlet this is? [see INDIA] [Later:] The station on 4830 noted in parallel with other AIR outlets broadcasting a concert. The station IDed as Radio Kashmir at 1801 and 1803, then off. Good signal; is this a punch up error for 4950 or an entirely new outlet, I wonder? (Stuart Austin, Blackpool, England, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. El Servicio Español de KBS Radio Corea Internacional brinda una nueva alternativa para los oyentes latinoamericanos que quieran ahorrar costo de franqueo aéreo en el envío de correspondencia postal. A partir de enero de 2003 quedará habilitada la Casilla de Correo 950, Código Postal 2000, Rosario, Argentina (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. Excellent reception of this new Riga-based transmission here in the capital area of Finland, as of 0700 UT this morning. Non stop German music, jingle ID during the s/on (Hannu Tikkanen, Espoo, Finland, Dec 14, hard-core-dx via DXLD) A new pest is born. Very strong signal in southern Sweden at 0900 UT on 945 kHz with test in German with old old pops. Will be regular from March, 03 acc. to info (Bengt Ericson, MW-DX via DXLD) ** LEBANON [non]: Translation of Michel Aoun's Speech on Voice of Free Lebanon --- By Achraf Chaabane, CRW North Africa [Dec 3] The Voice of Free Lebanon, which began test broadcasts on November 22, carries a speech by the Free Patriotic Movement's head, Michel Aoun, of much significance: "Today is the memorial Lebanon's Independence Day. I say "memorial" because independence is dead. We lost this day ever since the Syrian army occupied Lebanon to impose its political choices, its economic choices, its desired presidents, and to delete our liberties. The Syrian army tries every day to replace our system with their system. "In mid-August, during the annual summit in Paris, we recognized that in Lebanon they censor economic news and news related with Syria. They force journalists and reporters to avoid subjects related to our economy and Syria. During the summit, we planned to develop radio programs to talk freely about the economic situation in Lebanon but then we decided instead to talk about the liberties in Lebanon. We knew that there will be a time when the free Lebanese TV and radio stations will be stopped. "So we sought to create a Lebanese voice targeted to the Lebanese people that would speak about our true situation. Since our people can only hear lies from the Syrian-controlled media our station will offer to be the Voice of Freedom - the Voice of Free Lebanon. "We start, therefore, with a limited budget and a test broadcast for one hour. It is an hour of objective news and programs. We ask every Lebanese - no matter where they are - to help stop Syria's lies by supporting our operations financially. "[Long] Live Lebanon." (Clandestine Radio Watch Dec 14 via DXLD) Al-Hayat was able to ask the French Foreign Ministry about the issue? [transmitter site] They should better ask a radio club next time they make a report about radio broadcasts (BDXC or WDXC ? both in the UK). Very strange that journalists sometimes 'forget' to ask those who should know more about the matter they are reporting about (M. Schöch, Dec 10, 2002 for CRW via DXLD) ** MEXICO. No sign of R. Educación on 6185 when checked before and after 1100 UT Dec 14. Supposed to be on until 1200* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. VO1MRC, the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland club station, has received experimental authorisation to transmit CW and upper sideband on seven spot frequencies around 5.3 MHz for three four-day periods. The next session is from the 20th to 23rd of December inclusive and the frequencies that VO1MRC can use are 5260, 5269, 5280, 5290, 5319, 5329 and 5400 kHz. The experiment is to look at the differences in ground wave and sky wave propagation on 3.5, 5.3 and 7 MHz (RSGB via Mike Terry, DXLD) Incorporated 7 November 2001: the centenary year of Marconi's first transatlantic wireless experiment. Objective: to promote science, engineering, technology and traditional amateur radio through the Marconi communications legacy. The Marconi Radio Club is enthusiastic about experimentation on 60 metres. Members have been monitoring the band for several months, listening for UK stations. An experiment was proposed by J. Craig, and with the assistance of Dr Ken Pulfer VE3PU and Jim Dean VE3IQ, and the endorsement of RAC, was approved by Industry Canada, the national regulatory body. Updates will be posted on the web page. Authorised Dates: 22-25 November 2002, 20-23 December 2002, and 20-23 June 2003. Authorised Frequencies: 5260, 5269, 5280, 5290, 5319, 5329, 5400 and 5405 kHz (From http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~jcraig/5megex.html via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 8000 kilometres east of Moscow is the Jewish Autonomous Region, an area near Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, created by Stalin in the 1930's as a national homeland for Soviet Jews. An audio clip of the local state radio, GTRK "Bira" (named after a local river), can be heard on the Interval Signals Archive at http://www.intervalsignals.net along with other new clips of radio stations in Siberia and the Russian Far East (Dave Kernick, UK, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. Re V. of Reform, 7590: ``probably within the WRN bouqet, or elsewhere?`` No bouquet, but an own, digital downlink: HOTBIRD 13 E - 11.096 GHz H, MPEG2, Symbol rate: 27500, FEC 3/4, Audio PID: 74. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On Dec 9, *1900-2100*, I heard only an open carrier (QSA 3) on 7590 except for a few seconds at 2021 when very weak voices were heard. But on Dec 10, 1940-2057* a strong signal was heard with test messages by a man continuously talking in Arabic with a few words and numbers in fluently English, at times distorted, but most times very clear. He had a few phone talks with other people. Saudi Arabia was mentioned. 44544. Already slightly jammed as from Dec 10. That ceased at 2102*. It is remarkable that Norkring/Kvitsøy had dropped 9980 on Dec 10 for its broadcasts in Norwegian and Danish during that specific period, probably to make this transmitter available for a Merlin broadcast! Both Kvitsøy transmitters were back for the Norwegian broadcast from R. Norway at 2105 on 7490 and 9510 (A. Petersen, Denmark, Dec 9, 2002 for CRW via DXLD) 7590 Voice of Reform 1900-2100 Program jammed by bubble jammer. The signal was very strong but the audio quality wasn't very good and had many breaks. The announcer apologized for the technical problems and said that they are completing the installation of the equipment (A. Chaabane, Tunisia, Nov 16, 2002 for CRW) VOICE OF REFORM JAMMED, By Achraf Chaabane, CRW North Africa [Dec 10] After four days of clear broadcasts, the Voice of Reform (Saw al- Islah) began being jammed with a bubble jammer on December 10. The jammer continued throughout the broadcast under the station's signal and then for four minutes after the broadcast ended. Audio of the jammer as monitored in Tunisia can be heard at: http://www.clandestineradio.com/audio/sarabia_reform021210jam.ram Jamming was also noted by CRW contributor Rajesh Nambiar with weak signals underneath the Voice of Reform's carrier on December 12 and also by Cumbre DX's Hans Johnson, who listened to the broadcast over the Internet via Javaradio.net on December 11. Also noted by Kouji Hashimoto from Japan on Dec. 10. Hi, From the United Arab Emirates !! Monitored Sout al eslah on 10.12.2002, 1900-1930 UT [on 7590 kHz]. At roughly 1900, strong carrier, then a distinct Arabic tape recording of a Sa`udi male went on with frequent breaks; I believe it was recorded. Was trying to figure out the commentator`s message with frequent words like "Naass" meaning People, "Al etehad"- union, etc., etc. Overall signal report for this station is 555 (SIO). The carrier was little rough. The audio was OK, little noise behind the tape recorded commentary (of political nature). The Sa`udi Arabs and citizens in the Gulf in general stay up late at night watching TV, etc., so I guess this might be the reason why they selected this time schedule; it`s 10:00 PM in Sa`udi Arabia and 11 here in Dubai. The democratic reforms in Bahrain and the events in Iraq may have something to do with these broadcasts. The Sa`udi Jammers will surely get hold of 7590 and we can expect a frequency change soon. Will keep you updated. P.S Bubble jammers were heard yesterday (11.12.2002) but faint (R. Nambiar, UAE, Dec 10-12, 2002 for CRW via DXLD) ** SPAIN. SPANISH MW STATIONS LIST Hi! A new update of Spanish MW Stations List was uploaded at: http://www.aer-dx.org/listas/eaenom.htm The list is compiled by Martín Estévez, ee@aer-dx.org, and edited by Pedro Sedano, editor@aer-dx.org; both are members of AER Asociación Española de Radioescucha (= Spanish Radiolistening Association) http://www.aer-dx.org The data of every station are: QRG, Name, Location, Network, Kw, Observations, Tx Location, QSL, Address, Tel. and Fax. Next: web & e- mail. There are 3 PDF files sorted by frequency, by location and by network. What's new inside this update? - New postal address of SER R Valencia. Till next one! (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, Spain, AER via hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Friends, TWR Puttlam, Sri Lanka on 882 kHz is not heard since the morning of yesterday december 13, 2002. Has it anything to do with the new political developments there (or any technical problems?) (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, India, Dec 14, dx_india via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. PERMITTING LTTE UPGRADE RADIO STATION RIDICULOUS RESTORE WANNI SEVAYA — OPPOSITION -- by Shamindra Ferdinando The opposition wants the government to restore the special radio service which was closed down following a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE, particularly as it recently allowed the LTTE to acquire state- of-the-art equipment to boost its clandestine Voice of Tigers (VOT) broadcasts. The government station — "Wanni Sevaya" — was set up for the benefit of the police and the security forces deployed in the Wanni theatre. The new equipment will allow the LTTE to greatly expand VOT coverage which was previously limited to the Wanni. The station — "Wanni Sevaya" — was closed down on March 31, subsequent to the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE reached in February. "The government must restore the station," a JVP spokesman said, accusing the government of closing down the station to make the ‘Tigers’ happy. The station was set up on a directive of the then President Ranasinghe Premadesa as a part of the strategy to counter the VOT. The station also gave families of officers and men deployed in the region an opportunity to send messages to their men on the front. "There were a lot programmes for the listening pleasure of the troops," a security official said, adding that the station was also used to keep the Tamil civilian population informed of government stance on key issues including the peace process. The opposition on Wednesday (11) queried whether the equipment brought by the Norwegian embassy and handed over to the LTTE recently would be taxed. "Will the customs apply the law?" MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardene asked Finance Minister K. N. Choksy in parliament. SLFP frontliner Anura Bandaranaike told the Island that the government should not have permitted the LTTE to upgrade its clandestine radio broadcasts. "It was a ridiculous situation," he said, accusing the government of allowing the LTTE to take advantage of the so-called peace process. Bandaranaike blasted the government for permitting the Norwegians to bring down radio equipment sought by the LTTE. The station was situated within a key security forces base in Vavuniya. Wanni Security Force Headquarters made representations to the government through the Army Headquarters. The office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has been informed of the situation. The opposition was convinced that the government should restore the Wanni Sevaya that was put to use by successive adminstrations to reach the Tamil speaking people living in the LTTE-held areas. A spokesman for the office of the president said that President Chandrika Kumaratunga was deeply concerned over the decision to close down the Wanni Sevaya and permit the LTTE to upgrade its clandestine radio network. He blamed the government for legalising a clandestine radio Service while terminating its own broadcasts (source not given, via D. Prabakaran, Tamilnadu, Dec 14, DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Voice of the Tigers FM Frequency. LTTE's VOT is using 102.6 MHz FM in addition to SW (D. Prabakaran, Tamil Nadu, Dec 2, 2002 for CRW via DXLD) Sure it is really on SW now? WTFK? ** SYRIA [non]. 12120, The Arabic Radio, 1600-1630. The frequency 12115 has been changed to 12120 kHz. Also announces 9950 but instead broadcasts on 9955. No jamming noticed. The station broadcast a program call "Love of the Nation," which speaks about the human rights violations of Syria's domestic intelligence services (A. Chaabane, Tunisia, Nov 15, 2002 for CRW Dec 14 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. New Star/Star Star is not often heard here but was definitely logged on Nov 8, 2002 from 1410 to 1419* on 9725.0 with a weak but fair signal. Haven't really tried since (V. Korinek, RSA, Dec 10, 2002 in DXplorer-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. Voice of Tibet via Uzbekistan, 1430 UT is still on 11975, not 12025 as Observer stated. Shortly after start of program, Chinese musicjammer (Silvain Domen, Belgium, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. On Christmas Eve, TRT is going to go live as is the case with all Tuesday nights. TRT will much appreciate you giving us a ring if possible to enrich the phone-in segment of their broadcast. TRT will also be delighted to call you provided that you e-mail your phone number to them in time. Hoping to meet on the air on Christmas Eve, (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That Would be 1940-2020 UT Dec 24 on 9890 plus webcast ** U K. With more objectivity about the subject than most broadcasters can muster, I rerecommend BBCWS` REPORT ON RELIGION. I ran across most of it Dec 14, Sat 1030 UT on 6195; among the topics: Cambodians against mention of `God` in text books since that is contrary to the state religion Buddhism – and how pushy ``rice-bowl`` Christians and Moslems are a menace; concern in Japan about renewed nervegas attacks by Aum Shinrikyo as its convicted leader and former SW broadcaster and verie-signer Shoko Asahara is about to be sentenced. Arab Christian and Moslem comedians in New York feel their religions are OK to make fun of... Thanks to BBC On Air for December, which finally has an alphabetical index of programmmmes in the back, we quickly find its listing on page 21 showing all the airtimes: WAf Sat 1030 Eu Sat 1030, Sun 0330, 1930 E&SAf Sat 1030 ME Sat 1030, Sun 0330, 1230 SAs Sat 0030, Sun 0330, 1930 EAs Sun 0330, 0930, 1930 Ams Sat 1030, Sun 0330, 1930 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Full list of 70th anniversary BBCWS programmes with links to frequencies at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/us/features/seventy/complete_guide.shtml (BDXC-UK via DXLD) STARS GO GLOBAL FOR RADIO PARTY --- From BBC News Friday, 13 December, 2002, 12:15 GMT A week of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the BBC World Service kicks off on Sunday with a live broadcast from five concerts in cities around the world. The BBC World Service Global Party will take in shows beamed from Dakar, Mumbai, Kabul, Mexico City and London, featuring stars including Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal and Ms Dynamite. "It's one of the most creatively and technically challenging events ever undertaken by the BBC World Service," said 70th anniversary project editor David Stead. The show, hosted by DJs John Peel and Emma B in London, will be heard from 1700 GMT. "It will show the World Service at its best and will set the tone for the rest of the week," Mr Stead said. Opening the party at Bush House in London, the home of BBC World Service, will be Senegalese sensation Youssou N'Dour. Globally famous for his 1994 duet with Neneh Cherry, Seven Seconds, he will perform in a huge marquee in front of an audience of 500 invited guests and selected World Service staff. The party will then move around the world. In the Senegalese capital Dakar, Baaba Maal will mix his acoustic sound with international dance music. Thousands of miles east, in Mumbai, Indian composer Trilok Gurtu will perform alongside classical pianist turned jazz and pop star Adnan Sami. In Mexico City, ten-strong band of former students and activists Los de Abajo (Those from Below), will perform what they term as "tropipunk". They will represent modern Mexico, playing a combination of Latin rhythms, reggae, funk and hip-hop. Ms Dynamite won this year's Mercury Music Prize Meanwhile in Kabul, where a little over a year ago music simply wasn't heard, artists previously silenced by the Taliban will perform live to the world. Performers including Sulam Logari, Gul Zaman, Ghulam Hussain, Safadar Tawakuli, Mashinai and Taj Mohammad will sing in local languages Uzbek, Pashto and Dari. The finale will take place back in London, where British singing star Ms Dynamite will perform tracks from her album, A Little Deeper. Having recently emerged from the vibrant UK garage scene, the singer - real name Niomi McLean-Daley - describes her sound as "trying to bring positivity to people... while encouraging people to think". (via Mike Terry, DXLD) don`t get caught dead with anything classical here (gh) ** U K. As soon as that`s over, retune on the internet as BBCR7 launches, Sun Dec 15 2000-2300, the first two hours also on BBCR4 (gh) YES, BUT IS ANYONE LISTENING? December 13, 2002, Times online, By Raymond Snoddy When BBC7 arrives on Sunday, only 120,000 radio sets will be able to pick it up JENNY ABRAMSKY, the director of BBC Radio, could not be more enthusiastic about her latest network, BBC 7, which will be launched this Sunday by Paul Merton. "It's going to be wonderful, a joy," she says of the digital station, which will plunder the BBC archive for the best comedy, drama and book readings, and will make a courageous attempt to revive original children's programming on radio. The small number of listeners with access to digital radio will be able to hear books such as The Shipping News, many of the 300 episodes of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Alan Partridge before he became famous, and classic series such as Little Dorrit. The new station, which is costing £4 million a year, is the first to exploit the extensive BBC archive in a systematic way. But "what we thought would be the easiest channel (to launch) has turned out to be the most difficult," says Abramsky. Every programme had to be listened to, re-timed and digitised. Then the BBC had to sort out the rights. The corporation hopes that BBC 7 will attract a new audience to digital radio, which is just beginning to make an impact after years of gloom. BBC 7 is the fifth new BBC digital station to be launched this year, at a total cost for the first year of £19 million. "Five new radio networks in one year. It took more than 70 years to do the first five," Abramsky says. The other new BBC networks are Radio 6 Music, for the more mature rock/indy generation; the Asian Network; Five Live Sports Extra; and 1Xtra, a black music station. It is too early to measure impact. A study is under way to see how many people are listening to the new stations on digital satellite. More than 165,000 people a month are accessing 1Xtra via online audio streams, with 6 Music attracting about 155,000. The radio industry hopes that by the end of the year there will be 120,000 digital radio sets in use. It is early days, but at least new content has been created, and not just by the BBC. The commercial sector has been even more courageous - with its own money - launching new stations such as Planet Rock, The Arrow, Smash Hits and Oneword, a station specialising in plays, books and comedy which will compete directly with BBC 7. Problems still abound. The Christmas market this year has been largely missed because the radio industry, despite its best efforts, failed to persuade sceptical manufacturers to make enough sets in time. The latest estimates suggest that there will be only 58,200 sets available for sale by Christmas, and all the signs are that demand is outstripping supply now that the price has come down to £99.99. The first on the market at that price, the Evoke, has now been joined by new sets from Goodmans and what is claimed as the first hand-held battery-operated digital radio, Perstel, selling at about £129. There are hopes that some of the biggest players in the market, such as Sony, may enter the fray and drive the price down further. BBC digital broadcasts, however, are available in only 65 per cent of the country, with commercial radio closer to 85 per cent coverage. At least there has been no fight over rival technologies. Radio has not repeated the battle of digital TV. The industry knew that without the fullest co-operation, digital radio was doomed. So the Digital Radio Development Bureau is chaired by Ralph Bernard, executive chairman of the GWR commercial radio group, and the vice-chairman is Abramsky. But will notoriously conservative listeners be prepared to turn their dials in search of the new networks? The experience of the past is not encouraging. Research carried out for the Radio Advertising Bureau found that a third of drivers with existing analogue radios never changed stations, and of the remainder, 50 per cent changed only once or twice. Only on long journeys did significant numbers change stations frequently. One of the pleasures of digital radio is the ease of finding stations: the listener simply turns a dial and the name of the station comes up on a display. The need to remember frequencies is a thing of the past (digital car radios rely on the traditional "pre-set" buttons that analogue listeners are used to). But will listeners become more promiscuous and tune in to the wider range of choice that digital offers? Nobody knows the answer for sure at the moment, although the first research results suggest that owners of digital radios listen for longer periods and quickly become enthusiasts. Everyone recognises that next year is make or break year for digital radio, with a target of 500,000 sets. (more on web site) (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. VOA BURMESE BROADCASTER WINS HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2002 -- Doris Hla Hla Than of the Voice of America's (VOA) Burmese Service received the Human Rights Community Service Award today from the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA). The Association presented the award to Ms. Than "in honor of her remarkable work on behalf of the women of Burma." Ms. Than has extensively covered human rights issues in Burma -- particularly illegal trafficking in women and girls -- since joining VOA in 1989. Today, she hosts the 10-minute weekly Burmese-language program "Women's Corner." The program focuses on women's rights, empowerment of women, participation of women in peacekeeping efforts, women as victims in armed conflicts, impact of AIDS on women, freedom of the press, and the plight of political prisoners in Burma. Ms. Than has received seven VOA East Asia and Pacific Division Excellence in Programming Awards in recognition of her outstanding reporting. Notable among the numerous interviews she has conducted are those with democracy leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, 2002 Ramón Magsaysay Award Winner Dr. Cynthia Maung, and Dr. Sima Samar, the current head of Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission and former Women's Affairs Minister. UNA-NCA and its members work with foreign policy makers, political decision makers, schools, colleges and universities, and non-profit and other organizations in the Washington, D.C. area to build knowledge, understanding, informed opinion, and new ideas, on the United Nations and its specialized agencies. VOA broadcasts one sesquihour daily in Burmese via shortwave and on http://www.voanews.com/burmese (VOA Press release via DXLD) ** U S A. WJIE website http://www.wjiesw.com has a new LISTEN LIVE button but its link to http://216.248.52.55:1072 does not yet work. Also not yet up is their new program schedule (Glenn Hauser, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Monitoring for the startup of the new WMQM, 1600, Memphis TN, Dec 14 at 2130, KUSH-1600, my nearest (but not too near) 1600 station in Cushing OK continued to dominate the frequency with mostly country music and occasional IDs, promos (NOT \\ WWLS-640 sportstalk as 100000watts.com claims), but by 2137 some co-channel developed, presumably incipient skywave, could be KATZ or anything, with SAH of about 280/minute = 4.67 Hz... Rolled a tape as skywave built up, but don`t think I`ll find WMQM on it yet; nothing from there in the 2235- 2245 period before nominal powerdown. Guess they didn`t make it today, but should be on soon. BTW, the WMQM Programming Links already lists several ministries, and surprise to me, WORLD OF RADIO, at a time to be determined. As of Nov 7, WNQM-1300 Nashville lists WOR Sat at 3:55 am CT (Glenn Hauser, Enid, OK, some 725 km from WMQM, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. December 9, 2002 BOB STEELE DIES AT 91, By SCOTT FYBUSH http://fybush.com/nerw.html The man who defined morning radio in CONNECTICUT for fifty years died last Friday (Dec. 6), ending a radio career that spanned seven decades at just one station. Bob Steele came to WTIC in Hartford in 1936, as a junior announcer fresh from the motorcycle-racing circuit, where he had announced the races at a local arena (and, earlier, on KGFJ in Los Angeles.) The Missouri native was hired on a probationary basis and urged to work on his accent. Within a few months, Steele was announcing sports broadcasts on WTIC - and in 1943, he took over the "Morning Watch" show. Before long, "Morning Watch" became the Bob Steele Show, and Steele became a WTIC institution, waking up generations of Nutmeggers with the "Word for the Day," birthday announcements, and general good humor until his retirement from daily broadcasting in 1991. And even then - at the age of 80 - Bob Steele was far from finished at WTIC, moving to a Saturday-morning slot that eventually became a monthly feature on the station. In recent years, Steele was on the air only from May until November, but still proudly claimed his title as the longest-running regular program host in New England, and probably the entire country. When he turned 90 last year, Steele was quoted as saying he might consider retiring "when I turn 100." Sadly, he won't get that chance; Steele died in his sleep sometime Friday morning, a month or so after what turned out to be his last WTIC broadcast. It was a run that's unlikely to ever be equalled, from a man who'll be widely remembered as one of the class acts in this business, and he'll be missed. (WTIC did a special four-hour broadcast Sunday morning to remember Steele; we hear the station even cut carrier for 15 seconds at the end of the show in Steele's memory.) (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Another major public radio station quits NPR:: WFPK Radio Louisville 91.9FM --- WFPK Programming Changes Effective this week, WFPK will undergo programming changes. WFPK Program Director Dan Reed explains in more detail: WFPK listeners: As many of you know, we at the Public Radio Partnership have been forced to really tighten our belts around here. The economic situation locally and nationwide has effected all of us, WFPK included. In order to make ends meet with our programming budget, we have decided to drop our affiliation to National Public Radio effective this week. This means that two long-standing weekend programs will no longer be heard on WFPK - Thistle & Shamrock and Marion McPartland's Piano Jazz. Also gone from the schedule is Jazz Profiles, a show that NPR will continue to distribute but will not be making any new programs for, and Jazzset, which was totally dropped from the NPR schedule. Jazz From Lincoln Center has been picked up by another distributor, and we're happy to announce that show will continue to be heard on WFPK at its usual time. Thistle And Shamrock will be replaced with a new Celtic music show, "Celtic Brew", hosted by New Albany, Indiana's Colin Cordy - a lifelong Celtic fan. Colin plans to include plenty of local concert info, local Celtic music, and even a weekly "brew of the week" feature. The show debuts Saturday December 14th at 7 AM [EST, = 1200 UT] The Sunday 1-3 PM hours [1800-2000 UT] will be filled with jazz music from the satellite network Jazzworks, and, on 5 PM Sundays [2200 UT] starting December 15th, WFPK presents "The Sinatra Songbook", a year- long feature on Frank Sinatra's music and legacy, with many, many wonderful performances and special guests. We hope you enjoy the new programming. I'm sincerely sorry to those of you who are inconvenienced by these changes, but we feel that this was the fiscally responsible thing to do. I'm always available to you via e-mail, and I look forward to hearing from you about the changes. Sincerely, Dan Reed, WFPK Program Director (WFPK Website Dec 13 via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. CLASSICAL IS BACK, AND IT`S AT 1360 A.M., By Jan Stucker Classical music is back on Miami radio 24 hours a day. Radio station WKAT, owned by Spanish Media Broadcasting, made the switch from Hispanic to classical music when partners Herb Levin, Christopher Korge and Adib Eden realized the need to nourish the arts in South Florida. ``We want to position ourselves to be the cultural heart of South Florida,`` said Harry Gottlieb, WKAT`s media consultant. ``There`s been a huge void here since WTMI went off the air.`` WKAT owners believe they can make money with the classical music format and re-capture the audience that once belonged to WTMI, which dropped the format in favor of a more contemporary sound. ``WTMI did very well financially,`` said Levin. ``But it had a single owner, which is very rare, and he was offered $110 million by Cox Communications for a piece of paper that says you can broadcast – not for any buildings or equipment. Who wouldn`t take that?`` Cox Communications promised the community that WTMI would retain a classical format, but instead jumped quickly into the trendy pop-party music scene, leaving what classical music lovers said was a tremendous void in the city. WKAT, at 1360 on the AM radio dial, expects to make those 300,000 weekly listeners happy since its signal will reach well into Collier, Broward and Monroe counties, in addition to Dade. ``We`ll have a very significant audience,`` said Levin. ``We have a big, fat, non-directional station reaching up into Palm Beach.`` General manager Andrew Korge adds that WTMI had about a 3.6 percent share of the market. ``It was the eighth highest ranked station in the nation,`` he said. ``Since Cox paid $110 million for it, it had to generate $12 to $14 million a year. We have totally different dynamics – we don`t need that.`` One of the issues of going classical is that WKAT 1360 is an AM station. ``We can`t pretend it`s going to sound like an FM. But we`ve done everything technically possible to enhance the sound by putting in all new equipment including a solid state digital ready transmitter,`` said Levin. ``And both AM and FM stations are about to go digital, with something called In Band On Channel (IBOC) on the horizon.`` IBOC will be introduced later this year and be in full swing in 2003. ``You`ll need a new radio receiver and all cars that are 2004 models will have it either standard or as an option,`` said Levin. ``The issue of `can I listen on AM` will be pretty much resolved by this.`` WKAT 1360 AM also will be streamed on computer just in case you don`t have good reception in your building. Just turn your computer on and listen. ``We`ve got Dee Silvers as WKAT`s new program director,`` said Levin. ``She`s the former morning voice on WTMI and hosted the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on Saturday afternoons. A few of the familiar program segments that listeners will immediately recognize include the Detroit Symphony broadcasts, arts interviews and show calendars.`` Originally licensed in 1934, WKAT is the second oldest AM station in South Florida and was the area`s original classical outlet. Many believe this is the ``last chance`` for classical music in Miami. ``The community has been very supportive, including the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs and Judy Drucker, president of the Concert Association of Florida,`` said Gottlieb. For more information, please call 305-503-1340 or log on to http://www.classical1360.com (Miami Community Newspapers via Artie Bigley, Dec 11, DXLD) Whence: Due to popular demand we are currently developing a section where you can listen to WKAT over the internet. We anticipate launching this feature shortly, but in the meantime you can still find us at 1360 on your AM dial (WKAT website via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW COMPETITION FOR AN OLD FORMAT -- KLAC'S SWITCH FROM TALK BACK TO POP STANDARDS ANGERS A STATION WITH A SIMILAR PLAYLIST. http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/radio/cl-et-carney13dec13,0,7946969.story?coll=cl%2Dradio AROUND THE DIAL, By Steve Carney, Special to The Times, December 13 The new approach to adult standards that KLAC-AM (570) took to the airwaves Thursday may be fun and hip, but it's not cool, according to a cross-town competitor. KLAC flipped from all-talk to what management is calling a "martini format," a recipe that mixes the likes of Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald with newer artists such as Norah Jones and Harry Connick Jr., performing their own songs as well as classics by Cole Porter and the Gershwins. KLAC's new incarnation, "the Fabulous 570," launched at noon Thursday with Rod Stewart performing live at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills. The success of Stewart's multimillion-selling new album, "It Had to Be You ... The Great American Songbook," convinced executives at parent company Clear Channel Communications that the Southland was ripe for an updated standards format. "My God, the music on a station like this speaks for itself. It's great music," said Roy Laughlin, vice president of Clear Channel-Los Angeles. "We don't see ourselves as an oldies station, or a standards station, or a nostalgia station. We see ourselves as a completely new mix of music." But the mix is anything but new, nor the invention of Clear Channel, contends Saul Levine, who says it's the same format he's been broadcasting since March from "The Surf," at KSUR-AM (1260) and XSURF (540). KLAC had been airing standards until switching to talk last year, but had taken the more traditional approach to those songs -- with a "music of your life" format, for listeners closer to the end of theirs than young hipsters. "There's a substantial audience of people 50-plus who wanted to hear this and they dumped them. They decided to heck with it. There wasn't enough money in it," Levine said of KLAC's decision to drop that format last year. Their backpedaling angers him. "These people over there at Clear Channel, who are really beyond words, saw the possibility of the format and decided to come in and take it away from us," he said, calling the situation a case of an "800-pound gorilla attacking L.A.'s last mom-and-pop radio station. I don't like being threatened. I'm taking this personally. We're going to let the people decide." "We're going to do whatever it takes to let justice be done," Levine said, including making his station commercial-free for at least the next three months. "It isn't a matter of money for me. It's a matter of principle." Levine added that his independence and his corresponding freedom to make such moves give him an advantage over a corporate behemoth such as Clear Channel, which owns more than 1,200 stations nationwide and the FCC maximum of eight in Los Angeles, including KBIG-FM (104.3), KHHT-FM (92.3), KIIS-FM (102.7), KOST-FM (103.5), KYSR-FM (98.7), KFI- AM (640) and KXTA-AM (1150). Clear Channel has to make money and show a profit for stockholders, Levine said. "So they've got to run every last [commercial] spot that they can." But what Levine criticizes as size and muscle, Laughlin cites as an economy of scale that will help KLAC succeed. "We don't have to make the station survive exclusively on its own," he said, but can tout it on the company's other stations, and bring to bear an army of advertising sales people, promoters and artists. "I have resources that a stand-alone station like this could never tap into. It would never have the kind of glammed-out, gakked-out presentation we can bring to it." For this battle, both sides have pulled out the biggest gun in the genre's arsenal: Frank Sinatra. The new KLAC debuted on what would have been Sinatra's 87th birthday, and planned 24 hours straight of his music after Stewart's performance Thursday, while KSUR has been airing the top 100 Sinatra songs as voted by its listeners. "They think they're going to pick up a much younger audience, and they're not going to get it. Younger people are not going to listen to music on AM," Levine said, citing his own research: the tastes of his college-age son and daughter. But Laughlin said the new KLAC is banking on attracting younger listeners, and believes that the swank, Vegas-style lounge trappings that the company is draping on the station will lure them in and that the music will keep them. "It has to be so compelling that 35-to-44-year-olds say, 'This is cool. Now that's music,' " Laughlin said. Off the air The format change at KLAC had one effect before it even took place. Southland talk-radio fixture Michael Jackson was off the air, again. The talk pioneer, who was at KABC-AM (790) for 32 years until he left in 1999 after being relegated to weekends, had his second station change formats out from under him in two years. After leaving KABC, he landed at what was formerly talk station KRLA-AM (1110), but was forced off when ABC/Disney bought it in 2000 and changed it to all- sports KSPN. He moved to KLAC and praised his colleagues there as he left the air Wednesday. Talking to author Gore Vidal, his final guest, Jackson said he'd speak to him again on the air, "Lord willing." Although he has nothing new lined up yet, Jackson scotched any suggestion that he'll retire. "Yes, I need to work. Yes, I want to work. I've got so much more I want to do," Jackson said after his final show. "I am yearning to get back on the air. I've been off for several hours now." He noted that with most talk radio hosts speaking from conservative viewpoints, the airwaves could use a more liberal voice, such as his - - especially with the looming prospect of war with Iraq. "Shouldn't we -- even on just this one subject -- be hearing alternative views?" Jackson asked. The only local talents on KLAC station were Jackson, morning drive host Gil Gross and evening host Leslie Marshall; the station's other programs were syndicated. As yet, Clear Channel has no plans to move any of them to sister station KFI. "They have a good fan base," Laughlin said. "We're still trying to find ways of incorporating them into the cluster." Jackson said he'll keep fans apprised through his Web site http://www.michaeljacksontalkradio.com (via Brock Whaley for DXLD) ** U S A. EXPERIMENTAL GRANT MENTIONED IN CGC #551 APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO A PIRATE BROADCASTER I have done some research into the Experimental grant mentioned last week (WC2XZV). The license was granted by FCC's OET (instead of the Audio Services Division) and specified operation in a 50 km radius centered on Rosamond. The application claims that they want to run Eureka 147 digital, yet they give the specs for the Ibiquity IBOC FM- DAB system (yet they have only been authorized 20 kHz of bandwidth). I have discovered many more flaws with the application and choice of frequencies for the experiment. Information from the application and attempts to reach the licensee have confirmed that this Experimental operation is related to a specific pirate FM operator in the SE Palmdale area. The conditions of the grant require them to coordinate their experimental operations with the SCFCC. For more information, visit our LPFM page at: http://www.recnet.com/lpfminfo (Rich Eyre for REC Networks, via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. KC3XSH, *100.3 MHz experimental, Benicia CA, no paramaters given in an FCC grant; Comsearch. Won`t be in the FM Atlas (FMedia! Dec via DXLD) If it ever be published ** U S A. The New Mexico Department of Transportation has let its 530 kHz TIS stations all over the state atrophy, so that I doubt any of them are still operational, tho signs and masts, some with solar cells, may still be spotted along highways. All they ever did was run continuous loops of ``Welcome to New Mexico`` spiels by Ricardo Montalbán, interesting little historical/tourist info pieces lasting but a few minutes, but once you`ve heard one, hardly of any further use. Now it appears DOT is ready to restart this service on FM, let us hope with more ambitious `programming` as a larger number of LPFM outlets, 28, have been granted as follows, per FMedia! for December, first rearranged into frequency order: 92.7: Chama 94.7: Clayton 96.9: Taos 101.1: Moriarty, Tucumcari 101.7: Cuba, La Mesita Negra 102.5: Carlsbad 103.7: Aztec 104.1: Clovis 104--: Fort Sumner 105.5: Roswell 106.1: Santa Rosa 106.9: Alamogordo, Carrizozo, San Jon, Vaughn 107.1: Lordsburg, Ratón, Rowe 107.5: Deming, Grants 107.9: Artesia, Gallup, Silver City, Socorro, Springer, T or C Alphabetical order by town: 106.9, Alamogordo 107.9, Artesia 103.7, Aztec 102.5, Carlsbad 106.9, Carrizozo 92.7, Chama 94.7, Clayton 104.1, Clovis 101.7, Cuba 107.5, Deming 104--, Fort Sumner [lost the decimal place] 107.9, Gallup 107.5, Grants 101.7, La Mesita Negra 107.1, Lordsburg 101.1, Moriarty 107.1, Ratón 105.5, Roswell 107.1, Rowe 106.9, San Jon 106.1, Santa Rosa 107.9, Silver City 107.9, Socorro 107.9, Springer 96.9, Taos 107.9, Truth or Cónsequences 101.1, Túcumcari 106.9, Vaughn A few of the other LPFM grants in NM, which appear NOT to be religious fronts: Alamogordo, 95.1, Southwestern Trails Cultural Heritage Assn Dixon, 96.5, Embudo Valley Community Library Ratón, 95.7, Shuler Restoration Assn [who`s Shuler?] Ruidoso, 102.3, Fort Stanton Taos, 97.7, Taos Insitute of Arts (FMedia! Dec, excerpted by Glenn Hauser, for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 920: WPDE847, Detroit Metro Airport with test broadcast. "You're listening to a test broadcast operating on 9-20 kilohertz AM from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. This is a test broadcast. WPDE847." Heard from Brighton the next day with usual info, just like before the test (Liz, Cameron 5 Dec from Belleville, 6 Dec from Brighton, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. More catching up with NRC-AM`s IBOC Thread, as of Dec 7: I dunno, David... IBOC radios are fairly complex beasts. For the economies of scale to kick in to the extent you're hoping for, production quantities would have to be enormous. That won't happen unless there is a strong demand for the product, and it's hard to see that developing. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a demand if IBOC actually offered something new, instead of an old product in a new package. But it can't do that, since it's just a digitized simulcast of analog services, with some text labels added for window dressing. After all, wasn't it new programming that finally helped FM differentiate itself from AM and pull ahead? The Eureka DAB experience should be an object lesson for the IBOC folks. First demo'ed in 1988, standardized in the early 90s, officially launched by several countries in 1995, lots of investment by broadcasters in infrastructure... and it's still barely created a ripple. No big demand from consumers, no economies of scale... receivers are still expensive. The portable DAB receiver recently introduced in Canada is something of a price breakthrough, at about $200 USD. Still an order of magnitude or more above the cost of AM/FM portables. Ah, but the car manufacturers are onboard with IBOC, you say? Wait 'til the rubber hits the road... they aren't stupid, it's the bottom line that counts. Eureka has them all signed up, too. Last year, GM announced that DAB receivers would be available in many of their 2003 models in Canada. The receivers weren't vaporware either - they showed them off in demo cars. But this year, they quietly backed away from DAB, presumably because their market research showed that the demand wasn't strong enough, and the economics didn't look good. C'est la vie. On the other hand, a country that can successfully market a "product" like George Dubya can probably market just about anything, so IBOC might have a chance after all... (Barry McLarnon, Ont., Dec 7, NRC-AM via DXLD) IBAC guys, it`s your turn --- This is a question for all of those who are proponents of IBAC. This question is given in all sincerity. If you can answer it, you will at least cause me to pause and think about whether this is a good idea or not. All I know is that I have heard it in action on the band, at present, obviously I don't like what I hear. Here`s the question for the IBAC proponents... How will IBAC improve the plight of the DXer and those who don't live in a major city? What will be the killer app for the consumer outside a major metro area? (Kevin Redding, AZ) HD will not improve DXing. It will add sideband noise that is a constant, as opposed to variable excursions... the difference between a packed digital stream and AM modulation. As HD rolls out nationally, it is likely that smaller markets will be the last to adopt it on AM. FM is cheaper and almost a given. I can't think of many commercial stations that would not want to say "digital" in their promotions. Small AMs, whether they be bottom feeders in large cities or simply small market stations will have to make a decision at some point as to whether the investment is worthwhile. Since it appears that the HD chipset is analog/digital compatible, stations can stay analog forever. Keep in mind that the digital HD signal can drop out; if it does, the HD chipset defaults to analog. So a station must have an analog component. This is not a transition to all-digital, but, rather an additional add-on (pardon the redundancy) to the existing service for those who want to buy the receiver. I've heard both FM and AM HD as recently as August on prototype manufacturing-ready receivers. The FM sounded cleaner than regular FM, in part because there is less need for processing. The AM was not 100% satisfactory due to artifacts in speech; I'm told this is an algorithm thing and will be perfected by the January start of the 6-market roll out. Music on AM sounded superb when compared to AM analog... speech is not ready for prime time as of 8/02. What do I see? A chance for AMs to do niche music formats on facilities that are inherently less costly to buy. A nice AM in Phoenix could be had for under $5 million, while a nice FM would be $70 million today. At those prices, formats like adult standards, 50's and 60's oldies, real jazz, Black/Urban in markets with small Black populations, etc., could all be done in competitive quality and draw music listeners. Add in other music options like gospel, contemporary Christian, etc., and there will be a way for marginal AMs to make a nice niche play (David Gleason, CA) The bottom line is whether we buy the radios or not. Here`s the major issue. Joe Six-Pack has difficulty paying more than $25 for a radio. Yes lots of CCRadios and GE Superadio IIIs have been sold but they are not the common purchase. I personally believe that Joe and Joan Six- Pack are going to have a hard time swallowing the cost of a IBAC receiver if it`s going to be $200 or more. We have seen people have difficulty with consideration of purchasing a CCRadio at $160. The cost is what killed AM stereo. The cost may kill XM, Sirius and IBAC. AM stereo radios were rather pricey when they initially were sold. We can see where AM stereo is today. || But it can't do that, since it's just a digitized simulcast of analog services, with some text labels added for window dressing. FM has this NOW! NOW with RDS. We can see how people aren't clamoring for radios with RDS. If we have this NOW then what makes manufacturers think people will want to pay way more for a digital receiver that does what they won't buy today in an analog version. || After all, wasn't it new programming that finally helped FM differentiate itself from AM and pull ahead? We have beat this drum to death with no result. The only thing that has changed AM is Rush Limbaugh. He is not enough. || The portable DAB receiver recently introduced in Canada is something of a price breakthrough, at about $200 USD. This is above the price threshold for Joe Blow. $50 is pushing it for a portable. || Ah, but the car manufacturers are onboard with IBOC, you say? The car manufacturers went big with AM stereo. This didn't help AM stereo much. There`s a lot of truth in what you say, Barry (Kevin Redding, AZ) Not that I'm an advocate or proponent of IBOC (just being optimistic), I will enjoy hearing FM-quality audio from specialty AM formats unavailable on FM; Spanish tropical, big band, and Real Country. I'm sure that's what many of the AM stations around here are banking on. As a DXer, I can see renewed interest in QSLing by those stations that are the first on-board with IBOC. If the digital noise carries as far as some have indicated, then maybe I'll be able to receive IBOC signals from the west coast before too many go digital. If the display indicates the station call letters or nickname, then it becomes another method of identification instead of waiting for the top of the hour. I don't see any added benefits on FM though. I'm quite satisfied with FM technology as is, and have little interest in FM IBOC if the programming remains the same. Ultimately, it's the programming that will bring people away from their TVs and computers to listen to the radio. IBOC ain't gonna fix that (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH) IBOC car radios are supposed to cost about the same as regular ones... however, the idea as always in car dealers is to get people to trade up. The profit is not from the car, it is from the accessories. IBOC portables will have a chip that is in the $2 range now and will be in the pennies range soon. The idea of CE manufacturers is to obsolete existing $30 mini-boom boxes and get them to buy new ones. The gear will be competitively priced. Remember, the early adopters are driven by sound. Digital FM is a hot item among those who buy high-end car gear and large, obnoxious boom boxes. I talked with a national buyer at Best Buy recently and she said that by far the higher end boom boxes outsold the cheap, $39 dollar ones. RDS is a European system whose main goal was to allow synchronous network stations to be listened to across geographic areas, and the data is secondary and minimal. It was really set up so you could seamlessly listen to Europe 2 as you drove across France, never knowing you had listened to 5 different frequencies in 2 hours. (David Gleason, CA) || This is not a transition to all-digital, but, rather an additional add-on (pardon the redundancy) to the existing service for those who want to buy the receiver. || Not true. The goal is to eventually be all-digital, no analog. The bandwidth required for analog will be needed to provide all the proposed extra services. Radio stations would eventually drop analog entirely. The hybrid IBOC is meant to be temporary. The DRM group is doing the same thing in Europe, starting with a hybrid mediumwave service, eventually transitioning to all digital (Bruce Conti, Nashua NH) I have not seen mention of an all-digital system in the near future. All discussions and that includes the IBOC panel at NAB in Seattle, showed that the present goal is a digital piggyback with analog fallback. A future all-digital system would be a leapfrog development. Get all receivers to be IBOC compatible, then drop the analog and sell another round of digital receivers with additional features. That is 20 years away (David Gleason, CA) True, Bruce, that is the goal. But when? The FCC says that people are suppose to have digital TVs, and I'm suppose to turn off WLIO-NTSC Channel 35 in 2006. I don't think that's going to happen till 2012 to 2015. Based on the set sales, and the person buying the sets, it will be a long time before analog TV is gone. You can bet me a diet coke, and one of us can collect at a future NRC convention ... my guess will be that analog radio won't completely die till 2035 or more. There are just too many people with analog. Also, while addressing the receiver issue, I don't see any politician that wants to be put in the position of telling people on limited incomes that they have to buy digital or loose what they have. At some point that card will be played, and it could get ugly. DRM is different, as I've seen them open up to allowing the technology to be experimented around by a few people. The DRM folks seems to be taking the same tact that Dolby did in the early 70s where they will license the chipset/software to a manufacturer. In fact, you can, (if you pass their criteria) so some limited beta testing of DRM. There is an investment, but I see DRM as being marketed better than IBOC (Fred Vobbe, OH, NRC-AM Dec 7 via DXLD) [lots of NRC remarx still need to be edited and included; but now skipping ahead to a new development --- gh] RE: [NRC-am] IBOC night filing This came from another board, and I have not seen the actual filing. But it would certainly affect DX. Garvey, Schubert, Barer (D.C. law firm) filed a Petition for Reconsideration this week on the AM IBOC issue. They want the FCC to DROP the night-time ban on AM IBOC and consider interference complaints on a case-by-case basis. Those stations that are found to have interference problems can be individually restrained, but everyone else should be able to run IBOC 24-7. This Petition was filed Dec. 10, and there's 10 days on which to file Reply Comments, if anyone is so inclined (David Gleason, CA, NRC-AM via DXLD)) It would more or less eliminate DX'ing. It would also render the AM band useless for only a few metro area or areas where you are actually close to an AM station to have more than 10 m/mv (Powell E. Way, ibid.) Does anyone know what interests this law firm represents? Are they Ibiquity's attorneys? I find it hard to believe, after hearing about the night tests, that this could be slipped in without evaluating the tests (Gleason, ibid.) Actually if you were one of those people who went to the FCC website early on and typed some comments on IBOC, you got a copy. I did and it sure surprised me. I got it yesterday. Just looked it over briefly, but it's in plain English and I could understand it. Well, FWIW, this petition was submitted on behalf of Glen Clark and Associates. Page two says GCA is a consulting engineering firm based in suburban Pittsburgh and that Gen Clark is a communications consulting engineer directly involved in the study and development if digital transmission in the AM broadcast band. Again, FWIW :) (Mike Bugaj, CT, Dec 14, all: NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. We seldom mention longwave beacons in DXLD, so here`s the exception, an exhaustive, but I suppose incomplete, listing of beacons monitored by MARE members over the past few months: WHAT MARE's ARE HEARING Following is a compilation of logs appearing in the MARE Tip Sheets during September-December 2002. Errors and typos in the Tip Sheets are corrected here where known. Logs listed here are all from listening posts within 250 miles of the Michigan border. All frequencies are in kHz and times/dates UT unless otherwise noted. Two-digit time indications for logs means the station was logged during that UT hour. 198 DIW Dixon NC; 23 Oct (KZ), 03 Nov (DT) 200 UAB Anahim BC; 12 Dec (DT) 200 YAQ Kasaboinka ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 201 GV Greenville TX; 05 Oct (DT) 201 MNE Minden LA; 04 Nov (DT) 201 MNN Marion OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 201 U London ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 205 CQA Celina OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 205 XZ Wawa ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 206 GLS Galveston TX; 02 Nov (DT) 206 LA Lansing MI; 11 Oct (KZ) 206 QI Yarmouth NS; 02 Nov (DT), 11 Oct (KZ) 206 VNC Venice FL; 04 Dec (DT) 207 YNE Norway House MB; 12 Dec (DT) 208 YSK Sanikiluaq NU; 03 Dec, 11 Nov (DT), 23 Oct (KZ) 209 CHU Caledonia MN; 18 Nov (DT) 209 DKB Dekalb IL; 11 Oct (KZ) 209 GDW Gladwin MI; 23 Oct (KZ) 209 MT Chibougamau QC; 23 Oct (KZ) 212 BY Beechy SK; 12 Dec (DT) 212 JX Jackson MI; 12 Nov (KR), 23 Oct (KZ) 212 MPZ Mt. Pleasant IA; 13 Dec (DT) 212 TS Timmons ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 212 VP Valpariso IN; 04 Dec (DT) 215 UIZ Detroit MI; 23 Oct (KZ) 216 CLB Wilmington NC; 03 Nov (DT), 23 Oct (KZ) 216 YFA Fort Albany ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 219 OQ Indianapolis IN; 23 Oct (KZ) 219 TO Toledo OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 223 CDI Cambridge OH; 04 Oct (DT) 223 DM Detroit MI; 22 Oct (KZ) 223 FS Fort Smith AR; 03 Nov (DT) 223 MW Middletown OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 223 YYW Armstrong ON; 22 Oct (KZ) 224 GVA Henderson KY; 02 Oct (DT) 227 TNZ Walnut Ridge AR; 03 Nov (DT) 230 BU Columbus OH; 22 Oct (KZ) 230 VQ Detroit City A/P; 22 Oct (KZ) 233 BWP Wahpeton ND; 03 Nov (DT) 233 GAK Sioux City IA; 03 Nov (DT) 233 PDR Ottawa OH; 22 Oct (KZ) 233 QN Nakina ON; 22 Oct (KZ) 234 RYD Green Cove Springs FL; 02 Nov (DT) 235 CN Cochrane ON; 22 Oct (KZ) 236 4L Chatham ON; 22 Oct (KZ) 236 J Toronto ON; 11 Oct (KZ) 237 EZF Fredericksburg VA; 11 Nov (DT) 239 HKF Middletown OH; 22 Oct (KZ) 239 LNC Lancaster TX; ? Nov (DT) 239 TCU Tecumseh MI; 04 Dec (DT), 12 Nov (KR), 22 Oct (KZ) 239 VO Val d'Or QC; 02 Nov (DT) 242 GM Milwaukee WI; 11 Oct (KZ) 242 MEZ Mana AR: 04 Dec (DT) 243 OZW Howell MI; 22 Oct (KZ) 244 DG Chute des Passes QC; 03 Oct (DT) 245 FS Sioux Falls SD; 03 Dec, 11 Nov (DT) 245 YZE Gor Bay ON; 11 Oct (KZ) 247 ILT Albuquerque NM; 12 Nov (DT) 248 HZP Zionsville IN; 11 Oct (KZ) 248 PQF Mesquite TX; 04 Dec (DT) 248 WG Winnipeg MB; 03 Nov (DT) 251 AM Amarillo TX; 04 Dec, 11 Nov (DT) 253 DD Columbus OH; 11 Oct (KZ) 253 OC Nacogdoches TX; 04 Dec (DT) 253 YTF Alma QC; 03 Oct (DT) 254 HLB Bateville IN; 23 Oct (KZ) 254 RA Rapid City SD; 03 Dec, 11 Nov (DT) 256 HBZ Heber Springs AR; 02 Nov (DT) 256 SW Stillwater OK; 04 Nov (DT) 257 DT Denton TX; 04 Dec (DT) 257 FWC Fairfield IL; 12 Dec (DT) 257 MB Freeland MI; 11 Oct (KZ) 257 PEA Pella IA; 12 Dec (DT) 257 PLD Portland IN; 11 Oct (KZ), 12 Dec (DT) 257 SQT Melbourne FL; 02 Dec (DT) 257 XE Saskatoon SK; 11 Nov (DT) 260 AP Denver CO; 04,11 Nov (DT) 260 BL Milwaukee WI; 03 Dec (DT) 260 BVQ Glasgow KY; 04 Dec (DT) 260 BYN Bryan OH; 11 Oct (KZ), 12 Nov (DT) 260 HAO Hamilton OH; 04 Dec (DT) 260 JH Jackson MS; 02 Nov (DT) 260 UFX St. Felix de Valois QC; 03 Oct (DT) 261 GD Goderich ON; 11 Oct (KZ) 263 JSO Jacksonville TX; 02 Dec (DT) 264 HN Shawnee OK; 04 Nov (DT) 266 ADU Audobon IA; 04 Nov (DT) 266 AGO Magnolia AR; 04 Nov (DT) 266 IN Indianapolis IN; 02 Dec (DT) 268 VKN Montpelier VT; 03 Nov (DT) 272 MLK Malta MT; 04 Nov (DT) 272 PIM Pine Mountain GA; 05 Oct (DT) 272 TYC Campbellsville KY; 05 Oct (DT) 275 IKV Ankeny IA; 01 Dec (DT) 275 PEZ Pleasanton TX; 05 Oct (DT) 275 RF Rockford IL; 01 Dec (DT) 276 TWT Sturgis KY; 03 Nov (DT) 277 OT Worthington MN; 03 Nov (DT) 278 ADG Adrian MI; 12 Nov (KR), 13 Oct (KZ), 18 Nov (DT) 278 GWR Gwinner ND; 11 Nov (DT) 280 MPG Progreso, Mexico; 03 Nov (DT) 281 DEQ DeQueen AR; 03 Nov (DT) 283 IML Imperial NE; 03 Nov (DT) 283 PT Pount Pelee ON; 02 Oct (JM), 13 Oct (KZ) 284 AUV Ardmore OK; 03 Nov (DT) 284 GPH Mosby MO; 04 Nov (DT) 284 OXV Knoxville IA; 02 Dec (DT) 284 PQN Pipestone MN; 03 Nov (DT) 284 RT Rankin Inlet NU; 03 Dec (DT) 284 VIV Vivian LA; 03 Dec (DT) 287 MKP McKeesport PA; 13 Oct (KZ) 290 YYH Taloyoak NU; 03 Dec (DT) 291 9Q Amos QC; 03 Oct (DT) 299 HW Wilmington OH; 13 Oct (KZ) 299 TV Turner Valley AB; 11 Nov (DT) 300 YIV Island Lake MB; 03 Nov (DT) 303 MRT Marysville OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 303 YPP Parent QC; 23 Oct (KZ) 305 RO Roswell NM; 11,12 Nov (DT) 311 DVK Danville KY; 12 Oct (KZ) 315 AT Dayton OH; 23 Oct (KZ) 317 VC La Ronfe SK; 03 Oct (DT) 319 UR Covington KY; 02 Oct (DT) 320 HTN Miles City MT; 04 Nov (DT) 323 UWP Argentia NL; 03 Oct (DT) 326 BHF Freeport, Bahamas; 01 Oct, 02 Nov (DT) 326 MA Midland TX; 11 Nov (DT) 326 PKZ Pensacola FL; 01 Oct, 02 Nov (DT) 326 VV Wierton ON; 03 Nov (DT), 23 Oct (KZ) 326 YQK Kenora ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 328 YTL Big Trout Lake ON; 23 Oct (KZ) 329 BEQ Bastrop LA; 02 Dec (DT) 329 CH Charleston SC; 04 Oct, 05 Nov (DT) 329 TAD Trinidad CO; 11 Nov (DT) 329 YEK Arviat NU; 03 Dec (DT) 330 CZM Cozumel, Mexico; 04 Dec (DT) 330 GLE Gainesville TX; 02 Nov (DT) 332 XH Medicine Hat AB; 12 Dec (DT) 335 CNC Chariton IA; 03 Sep, 04 Dec (DT) 335 COQ Cloquet MN; 04 Dec (DT) 335 FEP Freeport IL; 03 Dec (DT) 335 K Kitchener ON; 12 Sep (DT) 335 LUK Cincinnati OH; 03 Sep (DT) 335 MDZ Medford WI; 03 Sep (DT) 335 MEY Mapleton IA; 04 Dec (DT) 335 OPL Opalousa LA; 02 Dec (DT) 335 YLD Chapleau ON; 03 Sep (DT) 336 BV Quebec City QC; 00 Sep (DT) 336 LF La Salle MB; 03 Sep (DT) 337 FF Fergus Falls MN; 04 Sep (DT) 338 DE Detroit MI; 03 Sep (DT), 12 Oct (KZ), 18 Dec (DT) 338 GFZ Greenfield IA; 13 Nov (DT) 338 GY Greenville SC; 05 Dec (DT) 338 HE Sheboygan WI; 03 Sep, 18 Dec (DT) 338 LH Lancaster OH; 04 Sep (DT) 338 LM St. Louis MO; 03 Sep (DT) 338 MRK Rayville LA; 02 Dec (DT) 338 UMP Indianapolis IN; 03 Sep (DT), 12 Oct (KZ), 18 Dec (DT) 338 VTI Vinton IA; 01 Sep (DT) 338 ZEM Eastmain River QC; 03 Sep (DT) 339 MKR Glasgow MT; 04 Nov (DT) 340 BOG Bogota, Colombia; 04 Oct (DT) 340 YY Mont Joli QC; 03 Sep (DT), 23 Nov (HF) 341 CCJ Springfield OH; 04 Sep (DT) 341 CQN Chattanooga TN; 04 Nov (DT) 341 DB Dubuque IA; 21 Sep (DT) 341 EGV Eagle River WI; 05 Oct (DT) 341 LDM Ludington MI; 04 Sep (DT) 341 MYZ Marysville KS; 04 Dec (DT) 341 OIN Oberlin KS; 04 Dec (DT) 341 PRG Paris IL; 04 Sep (DT) 341 SB South Bend IN; 04 Sep (DT) 341 YYU Kapuskasing ON; 03 Sep (DT) 342 ST St. Cloud MN; 04 Sep (DT) 343 DMD Carrizo Springs TX; 03 Nov (DT) 344 BKU Baker MT; 03,05 Nov (DT) 344 CL Cleveland OH; 04 Sep (DT), 12 Nov (KR) 344 ES Escanaba MI; 04 Sep (DT) 344 TV Tallulah LA; 04 Dec (DT) 344 UNU Juneau WI; 04 Sep (DT) 344 YC Calgary AB; 11 Nov (DT) 344 YGV Havre St. Pierre QC; 04 Sep (DT) 344 ZIY Grand Cayman, Cayman Is.; 03 Nov, 04 Oct (DT) 345 BGI Adams, Barbados; 04 Oct (DT) 346 YXL Sioux Lookout ON; 03 Sep (DT) 347 AFK Nebraska City NE; 04 Oct (DT) 347 AIG Antigo WI; 00 Sep (DT) 347 ANQ Angola IN; 03 Sep (DT) 347 MKV Marksville LA; 02 Dec (DT) 347 TKB Kingsville TX; 04 Oct (DT) 347 YG Caherlottetown PEI; 03 Oct (DT) 347 YK Yankton SD; 03 Dec (DT) 348 M Montreal QC; 05 Sep (DT) 348 VLX Mountain View AR; 01 Nov (DT) 349 APG Aberdeen Proving Ground (US Army) MD; 02 Sep (DT) 349 FV Indianapolis IN; 03 Sep (DT) 350 CBG Cambridge MN; 04 Sep (DT) 350 CP Cahokia MO; 03 Sep (DT) 350 D7 Kincardine ON; 04 Dec (DT) 350 DF Deer Lake NL; 00 Sep (DT) 350 IUI Blytheville AR; 03 Nov (DT) 350 ME Chicago IL; 03 Sep (DT) 350 OKT Yoakum TX; 03 Nov (DT) 350 RB Resolute Bay NU; 03 Dec (DT) 350 RG Oklahoma City OK; 04 Nov (DT) 351 YKQ Waskaganish QC; 03 Sep (DT) 353 DI Dickinson ND; 04 Dec (DT) 353 DV Davenport IA; 03 Sep, 19 Dec (DT) 353 DWL Gothenburg NE; 03 Nov (DT) 353 FOA Flora IL; 03 Sep (DT), 04 Oct (KZ) 353 ICL Clarinda IA; ? Dec (DT) 353 JUK Brunswick GA; 03 Oct, 04 Dec (DT) 353 LI Little Rock AR; ? Dec, 12 Sep (DT) 353 LWT Lewiston MT; 04 Nov (DT) 353 PG Portage la Prairie MB; 04 Sep (DT) 353 QG Windsor ON; 03 Sep, 19 Dec (DT) 353 UHG Holguin, Cuba; 02 Dec (DT) 353 VV Greensboro GA; 04 Dec (DT) 354 MKS Moncks Corner SC; 03 Oct, 04 Dec (DT) 354 Z Sept Iles QC; 03 Sep (DT) 355 TGU Tegucigalpa, Honduras; 04 Dec, 05 Oct (DT) 356 AY St. Anthony NL; 00 Sep (DT) 356 ME Meridian MS; 05 Dec (DT) 356 ODX Ord NE; 03 Nov (DT) 356 RCX Ladysmith WI; 03 Oct (DT) 356 YBG Bagotville QC; 04 Oct (DT) 359 SDY Sidney MT; 04 Nov (DT) 360 KIN Kingston, Jamaica; 04 Oct (DT) 360 PI St. Petersburg FL; 03 Oct (DT) 362 AWN West Memphis AR; 04 Nov (DT) 362 CYW Clay Center IA; 04 Nov (DT) 362 EE Ames IA; 04 Nov (DT) 362 SC Sherbrooke QC; 02 Dec (DT) 362 SUR Fitzderald GA; 11 Nov (DT) 363 RNB Millville NJ; 00 Nov, 10 Oct (DT) 364 TZ Winchester VA; 11 Nov (DT) 365 AA Fargo ND; 03,11 Nov (DT) 365 DYB Summerville SC; 04 Oct (DT) 365 FKV Gainseville GA; 03 Nov, 04 Oct (DT) 365 HQG Hugoton KS; 03 Dec (DT) 365 JN Muncie IN; 04 Dec (DT) 365 PBC Columbia TN; 03 Nov (DT) 366 EIK Keokuk IA; 18 Nov (DT) 366 KIN Kingston, Jamaica; 03 Nov (DT) 367 FVX Farmville VA; 11 Nov (DT) 368 BEQ Bessemer AL; 05 Nov (DT) 368 EU Murray KY; 04 Nov (DT) 368 IFA Iowa Falls IA; 04 Nov (DT) 368 L Toronto ON; 03 Oct (DT) 368 ROQ Ruston LA; 03 Nov (DT) 368 RRJ French Lick IN; 04 Nov (DT) 368 SIR Sinclair WY; 11 Nov (DT) 368 SOY Sioux Center IA; 04 Nov (DT) 368 VX Dafoe SK; 11 Nov (DT) 369 CXU Camilla GA; 03 Nov (DT) 369 HDI Cleveland TN; 03 Nov (DT) 370 VOF Covington GA; 11 Nov (DT) 370 YBV Berens River MB; 04 Nov (DT) 371 FQW Murfreesboro TN; 04 Nov (DT) 371 ITU Great Falls MT; 11 Nov (DT) 371 TZT Belleplaine IA; 11 Nov (DT) 372 CQD Erie PA; 00 Nov (DT) 372 UQN Vidalia GA; 11 Nov (DT) 373 AEA South Hill VA; 00 Nov (DT) 374 EE Alexandria MN; 02 Dec (DT) 375 7B St. Thomas ON; 11 Nov (DT) 375 AT Savannah GA; 11 Nov (DT) 375 DW Tulsa OK; 12 Nov (DT) 375 RYB Raymond MS; 04 Nov (DT) 375 SPH Springhill LA; 04 Nov (DT) 376 ZIN Great Inagua, Bahamas; 04 Oct (KZ, DT) 377 AIZ Ozark Lake MO; 04 Nov (DT) 377 GUA Guatemala City, Guatemala; 02 Nov (DT) 378 LXV Leadvlle CO; 11 Nov (DT) 378 UX Hall Beach NU; 03 Dec (DT) 379 DL Duluth MN; 04 Nov (DT) 379 FSK Fort Scott KS; 04,05 Nov (DT) 379 OW Owatonna MN; 04 Nov (DT) 379 RUE Russellville AR; 04 Nov (DT) 379 TL Tallahassee FL; 02 Nov (DT), 04 Oct (KZ) 379 UNE Creston IA; 04 Nov (DT) 379 YPQ Peterborough ON; 03 Oct (KZ) 380 ALU Alliance NE; 03 Nov (DT) 380 BBD Brady TX; 02 Nov (DT) 380 GC Gillette WY; 03,11 Nov (DT) 380 LQ Boston MA; 03 Nov (DT) 380 OEL Oakley KS; 03 Dec (DT) 380 UCY Cayajabos, Cuba; 03 Oct (KZ), 04 Nov (DT) 382 AL Waterloo IA; 04 Nov (DT) 382 BM Bloomington IN; 03 Nov (DT) 382 CR Corpus Christi TX; 03,04 Nov (DT) 382 POS Port-o-Spain, Trinidad; 03 Nov, 04 Oct (DT) 382 SP Springfield IL; 03 Oct (KZ) 382 VCY Valley City ND; 03 Oct (KZ) 382 XU London ON; 03 Nov (DT) 382 YPL Pickle Lake ON; 03 Nov (DT) 385 EMR Augusta GA; 03 Oct (KZ), 04 Nov, 05 Oct (DT) 385 GYB Giddings TX; 02 Nov (DT) 385 HO Hot Springs AR; 02,03,04 Nov (DT) 385 HYX Saginaw MI; 03 Oct (KZ) 385 JD Belleville IL; 18 Nov (DT) 385 LN Lincoln NE; 03 Nov (DT) 385 TKL Santa Elena Tikal, Guatemala; 02 Nov, 04, 05 Oct (DT) 385 X Toronto ON; 00 Sep (DT) 386 BTN Britton SD; 03 Nov (DT) 386 SGR Hull TX; 04 Nov (DT) 386 SYF St. Francis KS; 04,05 Nov (DT) 387 CAV Clarion IA; 03 Nov (DT) 387 PV Providenciales, Turks & Caicos; 02,03 Nov (DT) 387 SPP San Andrés, Colombia; 02 Nov, 04 Oct (DT) 388 AM Tampa FL; 03 Oct (KZ) 388 DT Detroit MI; 03 Oct (KZ) 388 H7 Manitowaning ON; 03 Oct (KZ) 388 JUG Seagoville TX; 02 Nov (DT) 388 MAO Marion SC; 11 Nov (DT) 388 OFZ Fort Sill OK; 03 Nov (DT) 388 OYD Rome GA; ? Nov (DT) 389 CSB Cambridge NE; 03 Nov (DT) 389 IL Willmar MN; 11 Nov (DT) 389 LCG Wayne NE; 05 Nov (DT) 390 JT Stephenville NL; 03 Oct (DT) 391 CM Columbus OH; 03 Oct (KZ), 18 Nov (DT) 391 DDP San Juan PR; 02 Oct, 03 Nov (DT) 392 BAJ Sterling CO; 04 Nov (DT) 392 CVX Charlevoix MI; 03 Dec (DT) 392 JNM Monroe GA; 04 Nov (DT) 392 ML Charlevoix QC; 03 Oct (KZ) 392 VEP Vero Beach FL; 01 Nov, 02 Dec (DT), 03 Oct (KZ) 392 XVG Longville MN; 04 Nov (DT) 394 DTE Dayton TN; 03 Oct (DT) 394 MK Jackson TN; 03 Oct (DT) 394 YB North Bay ON; 03 Oct (KZ) 395 OS Oshkosh WI; 02 Nov (DT) 395 XEN Xenia OH; 03 Oct (KZ), 18 Nov (DT) 396 CQB Chandler NE; 02 Nov (DT) 396 CRS Corsicana TX; 01 Nov (DT) 396 GOI Fort Knox KY; 01 Oct (DT) 396 IEW Winters TX; 05 Nov (DT) 396 PH Inukjuak QC; 02 Nov (DT), 03 Oct (KZ) 396 UV Martinburg VA; 01 Oct, 10 Nov (DT) 400 CI Sault Ste. Marie MI; 01 Oct (DT) 400 EWP Newport AR; 03 Nov (DT) 400 HHF Canadian TX; 04 Nov (DT) 400 MDS Madison SD; 03 Dec (DT) 400 MS Madison WI; 18 Nov (DT) 400 PTD Potsdam NY; 02 Oct, 03 Nov (DT) 400 ROB Waco TX; 12 Nov (DT) 400 SLO Salem IL; 18 Nov (DT) 400 UWI Dalton GA; 00 Nov (DT) 400 XW Flemingsburg KY; 01 Dec, 03 Oct (DT) 401 AHQ Wahoo NE; 12 Dec (DT) 401 GGK Mayfield KY; 03 Oct (DT) 401 OLF Wolf Point MT; 10 Oct (DT) 401 TRX Trenton MO; 04 Nov (DT) 401 YPO Peawanuck ON; 03 Oct (KZ) 404 BAV Bolivar TN; 01 Oct, 02 Nov (DT) 404 BMW Winder GA; 03,11 Nov (DT) 404 CKI Kingstree SC; 04 Oct (DT) 404 OLF Wolf Point MT; 04,11 Nov (DT) 404 SG Springfield MO; 03 Nov (DT) 404 ST St. Louis MO; 02 Nov (DT) 404 YSL St. Leonard NB; 01 Nov (DT) 404 XCR Little Falls MN; 04 Dec (DT) 405 LR Laredo TX; 12 Nov (DT) 405 UTX Jupiter FL; 03 Oct (DT, KZ), 04 Dec (DT) 407 AD Dallas TX; 03 Dec (DT) 407 AQ Appleton WI; 01 Dec (DT) 407 BNW Boone IA; 01 Dec (DT) 407 CM Champaign IL; 01 Dec (DT) 407 CO Columbia MO; 03 Dec (DT) 407 HAI Three Rivers MI; 01 Dec (DT) 407 HRU Herington KS; 03 Dec (DT) 407 IBU Statesboro GA; 03 Dec (DT) 407 IE Natchidoches LA; 03,11 Dec (DT) 407 IL Wilmington OH; 01 Dec (DT) 407 RXW Watersmeet WI; 03 Dec (DT) 407 ZHU Montreal QC; 03 Dec (DT) 408 JDM Colby KS; 03 Dec (DT) 408 LQK Pickens SC; 01 Nov, 03,10 Oct (DT) 408 SN St. Catherine ON; 03 Oct (DT) 409 TM Tiffin GA; 03 Oct (DT) 410 BA Columbus IN; 03 Oct (KZ) 410 GDV Glendive MT; 04 Nov, 10 Oct, 11 Nov (DT) 410 JU Jefferson NC; 03 Oct (DT) 410 MK Milwaukee WI; 18 Nov (DT) 410 MSB Iola KS; 05 Oct (DT) 410 OIP Eastland TX; 10 Oct (DT) 410 TIQ Paris TN; 01 Oct (DT) 410 XBR Fort Rucker AL; 05 Oct (DT) 411 HDL Holdenville OK; 03,04 Nov (DT) 411 VFU Van Wert OH; 03 Oct (KZ) 412 JHH Griffin GA; 02 Nov (DT) 413 MC McComb MS; 04 Dec (DT) 413 YHD Druden ON; 03 Nov (DT) 414 3U Gatineau QC; 04 Dec (DT) 414 IEB Lebanon MO; 04 Dec (DT) 414 JUE Lebanon TN; 01 Oct (DT) 414 LK Louisville KY; 01 Oct, 04 Dec (DT) 414 MNA Mansfield LA; 02 Nov (DT) 414 ZRG Regina SK; 04 Dec (DT) 415 CBC Cayman Is.; 03 Nov, 04 Oct (DT) 415 HJM Bonham TX; 02 Nov (DT) 415 SLS Salinas, Ecuador; 03 Nov (DT) 415 VINI OH; 03 Oct (KZ) 416 BKL Cleveland OH; 02 Oct (KZ) 417 HHG Huntington IN; 02 Oct (KZ) 417 HQT Coats NC; 03 Nov (DT) 417 IY Charles City IA; 03 Nov (DT) 417 SLP Shelby NC; 02 Nov (DT) 418 CW Lake Charles LA; 02 Nov (DT) 419 RYS Grosse Ile MI; 02 Oct (KZ), 18 Nov (DT) 420 CEK Crete NE; 02 Nov (DT) 420 FQ Fairmont MN; 02 Nov (DT) 420 TU Tupelo MS; 02 Nov (DT) 421 EF McKinney TX; 03 Nov (DT) 423 AU Auburn AL; 04 Dec (DT) 424 RVJ Reidsville GA; 02 Oct (KZ) 426 FTP Fort Payne AL; 02 Nov (DT) 426 IZS Montezuma GA; 02 Nov (DT) 426 UV Oxford MS; 02 Nov (DT) 428 POH Pocohantas IA; 18 Nov (DT) 428 SYW Greenville TX; 02 Nov (DT) 429 IKY Springfield KY; 02 Oct (KZ), 03 Nov (DT) 430 AYB Auburn NE; 02 Nov (DT) 430 VA Varder, Cuba; 02 Nov (DT) 432 IZN Lincolnton NC; 02 Oct (KZ) 432 MHP Mettier GA; 02 Nov (DT) 435 IIY Washington GA; 02 Oct (KZ) 450 PPA Puerto Plata, Dominican Rep.; 02 Nov, 04 Oct, 05 Nov (DT) 516 YWA Petawawa ON; 02 Oct (KZ) 515 OS Columbus OH; 02 Oct (KZ) 515 PKV Port Lavaca TX; 02 Nov (DT) 524 HEH Newark OH; 02 Oct (KZ) 524 HRD Kuntze TX; 02 Nov (DT) 526 ZLS Stella Maris, Bahamas; 01,02 Oct (DT, KZ), 03 Nov (DT) REPORTERS: (HF) Harold Frodge, Midland MI (JM) Joe Miller, Troy MI (KR) Karl Racenis, Manchester MI (DT) Dave Tomasko, Downers Grove IL (KZ) Ken Zichi, Williamston MI Be sure to send your loggings and other contributions to *MARE* for the next issue! 73 \ If you are not a member of Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts, Inc., / | send for more information from: MARE, Inc, PO Box 200, Manchester, | | MI 48158. Enclose a Self Addressed Stamped envelope for | / information, US $2 for a sample of the bi-monthly newsbulletin. \ \ Any MARE member with an E-mail address may receive this / |Tip-Sheet Summary at no additional cost. You can contact MARE, Inc.| | at MARE_Inc@hotmail.com to start your subscription to the | | Tip-Sheet if you are a MARE member. (Non-MARE members may receive | | a few Tip-Sheets as a "tease" to entice membership, contact | | MARE, Inc. at either of the above addresses. For more information | / on the club. check \ (MARE Dec 13 via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. Here is the reply from Patrick Nkula, ZNBC. Dear Mr. Swopan, Thank you very much for the e-mail and the interest shown in our station. I will arrange for the program schedule to be sent to you as soon as possible. But I will tell you briefly about our station. We have one TV channel and three radio channels. The radio channels are named 1, 2 and 4. Radios 1 and 2 are on FM and shortwave. The frequencies are 6265 kHz for radio 1 and 6165 kHz for radio 2. The transmitters for our SW are 26 km east of the capital LUSAKA. They are both 100 kw each. You can learn more about ZNBC and ZAMBIA on http://www.znbc.co.zm Kind regards, PATRICK NKULA (via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DAVE`S AIRCHECKS Dave Freeman has a new website providing online listening to classic DJs and station promos, such as WPLJ 95.5 New York, WHVW 97.7 Hyde Park NY, WCFL (AM) Chicago: http://www.davesairchecks.com/ (Dec FMedia! via DXLD) SHEIGRA DX-PEDITION NOV 2002; DX & MEDIA PROGRAMMMES The full report on the recent Sheigra DXpedition to northern Scotland (2-15 November 2002) by Dave Kenny and Alan Pennington is now available on the British DX Club web site, including the full mediumwave logbook. Although conditions were very poor during the two weeks, we still managed to hear some interesting DX at times. BDXC's Guide to DX and Media programmes has also just been updated on the web site. Both of the above can be found on the Article Index Page of the BDXC-UK web site at http://www.bdxc.org.uk (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK Dec 14 via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ AURORA SPECTACULAR? Reports and some smashing pictures on BBC News this weekend, suggest that this winter the Aurora Borealis, more popularly known as the Northern Lights, will give a more spectacular and widely visible display than for many years past. It is claimed they may even be visible as far south as the equator. I wonder whether any of our "amateur experts" might care to come on to the list to predict the possible effect of this on international listening conditions, if indeed there is any? Waiting to hear from you (MARK SAVAGE, Eastbourne, (just east of 0 degrees longitude, but no idea which latitude!) BDXC-UK via DXLD) ###