DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-005, January 8, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@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/dxldta03.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid2.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 1164: WWCR: Thu 2130 9475, Fri 0700, Sat 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0730, 1330, 1800, Sun 0000, 0600, 1200, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 7445 and/or 15039 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400 -- maybe; Sun 0630, Mon 0700, Tue 0630 7490 WBCQ: Mon 0545 on 7415, first airing having been Wed 2300 7415 17495-U WRN ONDEMAND: http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [de Fri] [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164.ram [High – available Thu] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1164.html [available Thu] ** AFGHANISTAN. ANTI-GOVERNMENT RADIO BROADCASTING IN SOUTH-EAST - CHINESE REPORT | Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Kabul, 7 January: An anti-government radio has started its broadcasting in east Afghanistan's Paktia province, about 100 km south-east of Kabul, the state new agency BIA reported on Tuesday [7 January]. The radio, which named itself "Resistance Voice of Afghanistan", recently broadcast an ultimatum to instigate local people to resist the central government led by President Hamed Karzai. The location of the radio, which broadcast with changing frequencies, was not clear, the BIA report said. Afghan Information Minister Sayd Makhdum Rahin told Xinhua that such anti-government broadcasting was from mobile radio transmitters on vehicles among mountains, covering limited areas. He said the government was concerned about anti-government broadcasting and would take measures against such activities. [Radio Netherlands "Media Network" web site on 6 January quoted a report by the Pakistan-based News Network International (NNI), an independent news agency, as saying that "anti-American elements" in Paktia province in southeastern Afghanistan had set up a radio station and were calling for a "holy war (jihad) against America and the provisional government of Hamed Karzai".] Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1602 gmt 7 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Johno, I emailed them yesterday and received a reply today stating the address as: HCJB Australia, P.O. Box 291 Kilsyth, Vic. 3137 Sincerely, David C. Maindonald, Australian Director (Wayne Bastow, Jan 6, ARDXC via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. Hi, this morning - 8 JAN 03 at around 0700 UTC - I heard Radio Stalica (pron. Stalitsa) from Belarus relayed on 4246 and 5256 kHz, both in USB. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia) AOR AR-7030 30 m Long Wire, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. He recibido e-mail de Ludmila Petra de Radio Bulgaria en Español: Gracias Glenn por la atencion. RADIO BULGARIA PROGRAMME SCHEDULE October 27, 2002 - March 30, 2003 E U R O P E LANGUAGE TIME UTC kHz LOCAL TIME SPANISH 0700 - 0730 15700, 17500 Madrid 0800-0830 1200 - 1230 15600, 17500 Madrid 1300-1330 1730 - 1800 9700, 11700 Madrid 1830-1900 2200 - 2300 6000, 7300 Madrid 2300-2400 S O U T H A M E R I C A LANGUAGE TIME UTC kHz LOCAL TIME SPANISH 0000 - 0100 5900, 11600 Buenos Aires 2000-2100 0200 - 0300 5900, 11600 Buenos Aires 2200-2300 C E N T R A L A M E R I C A LANGUAGE TIME UTC kHz LOCAL TIME SPANISH 0200 - 0300 7500 Havana 2100-2200 (via Dino Bloise, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Re KVAN`s local interference problems: When CBC Radio One used to be on 940 AM broadcasting from its towers near my house, we could faintly pick up the station on my father's antique (early 1970s vintage) hi-fi amplifier. Turn it up high enough, and you could hear it clearly with a loud hum/hiss in the background. It would occasionally show up on the phone lines too. Regards, (Ricky Leong, QC, Jan 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So does the current occupant of 940 do that? (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. I learned that Arnie's wife Olguita was rushed to the hospital this morning with an as yet unknown illness just prior to him writing the script for tonight's programme. I'm sure all of us send our best wishes to Olguita for a speedy recovery. 73 de (Bob VE3SRE Chandler, Jan 7, ODXA via DXLD) in this issue: PROPAGATION ** GERMANY. This just in from Wolfgang Bueschel: Does a new crusade loom? 73, (Glenn Hauser, Jan 7, swprograms via DXLD) Hi Glenn, as mentioned widespread in the DX press already, DW Cologne will cease its AUS/NZ/PAC English service on March 29th. Here is an other comment: "Our board of directors decided to drop our English service for America[!], Australia and New Zealand for economizing, from the new season A-03 on." The South East Asian / South Asian / African services will remain. But no details of the East Asian service future is available yet. 73 wb (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, Jan 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I guess we can expect this and more. If we have become a nation that says it doesn't care what anybody else thinks, it is our way or the highway, why should they bother telling us what they think through English Service programming beamed to the "arrogant Americans?" (Vern Modeland, Listening to less and less from the Arkansas Ozarks, USA, swprograms via DXLD) OK folks, Haven't we been here before? Boy, this is really getting tiresome. If this latest report about DW cutting SW to NAm/Pac is true, I'm going have one heck of an online hissy-fit. Again. I can hear the excuses from DW executives already. I have provided responses below, even before they've even opened their mouths. 1) Shortwave is too expensive to maintain/operate. Then you may need to change from your traditional practices. Traditional international broadcasting is done in two seasons, using a (very) wide range of frequencies at absurd power levels (500 kW) so that the broadcaster can overcome a) ionospheric interference and b) other stations/jamming. Perhaps it is time broadcasters went to a four season schedule, fewer frequencies and lower power. This would solve the problem a whole litany of problems and make SWL more enjoyable too. If broadcasters didn't run so many transmissions at once beamed to the same place, and if everyone used fewer frequencies at lower power, there would be less interference, I would imagine. This saves energy costs too. It just might be possible to make programs more listenable. Who's jamming? Cuba and China, listing right off the top of my head. No need for high power anywhere else. It doesn't help ionospheric interference, but then again, higher power doesn't help solve this problem anyway. 2) There's nobody listening on shortwave in North America. This, I concede, is SWL's Achilles' Heel at the moment. What can I say to that? No one among the big-gun broadcasters is really promoting SWLing in North America. Maybe they want SW dead. (Or am I inferring too much?) 3) There is no listener response in North America. (A variation on the previous possible answer from the higher-ups.) I don't have the time to write to you every week. It doesn't mean I'm not here. 4) World news and information is affordable and widely available in North America through cable news channels, the Internet and other sources. This is true if you are able to afford such services. But cost/affordability isn't everything. High speed Internet from the phone company (ADSL) is not even available in my neighbourhood. That leaves a cable TV monopoly to service me, and that service is too expensive compared to ADSL. I'll have dial-up, please. With that, I get the most rudimentary of multimedia activities. Forget online radio or TV, I just don't have the bandwidth. If Internet is cheap for us, it certainly isn't cheap for you (the broadcaster). Don't tell me it's cheap to stream for thousands of people over the net. Servers and bandwidth are finite, and they cost a lot of money to maintain. (Wish I had solid figures...) I admit, I have satellite TV at home on which I get BBC World (Television), but services are carried in packages. To get BBC-TV, I also get a miscellany of other channels I never watch -- even though I pay for them. There are no international audio services on my dish, either. And I've harped on this before: quantity isn't quality. Just because we're getting news on different channels doesn't necessarily make it well-reported or unbiased news. 5) North America will get indirect coverage. My kneejerk reaction will be as follows: I will stop listening to DW Radio. I won't go looking for you elsewhere. Besides, the timing's all wrong for most "normal" people with 9 to 5 jobs. (Example: my listening to BBCWS has dropped off dramatically. I don't listen online at all. CBC relay? 3:30 a.m. is a bit too late/early, depending on the circumstance. 15190 & 5975 kHz aren't always good here.) 6) Audio quality is inferior to other methods if delivery. So, you're already having doubts about DRM, eh? :) DRM was supposed to make SWL more marketable in the developed world, where we apparently have a liking for clear, wide frequency-response audio. Why abandon SW now? And besides, stopping broadcasts won't improve broadcast audio quality, now will it? And it seems these big-wigs have never had to endure audio drop-outs due to net congestion. (This even happens in high-bandwidth situations like my computer at work.) I would much prefer having some signal I can tweak with my radio than be at the beck and call of temperamental servers and routers, thank you very much. This is all I can muster tonight. Maybe I'll be angry again tomorrow and write some more. (I sigh. The list gags in disgust. I sigh some more.) ;) (Ricky Leong, QC, Jan 7, WORLD OF RADIO 1164, and DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] Glenn, Thanks for alerting me (and all SW Programs listers) about the (supposedly) imminent doom of DW in NA/Pac. I suppose it never hurts to be on the alert for bad news from SW broadcasting directors who think they know it all. :( But before I rant again, I should consider the quote in my signature more carefully. That's why I put it there in the first place! :) 73s, (Ricky Leong, DXLD) viz.: -- At its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any media tool we've ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any media tool we've ever had. - Thomas L. Friedman, NY Times I'm not clear on what they're cutting, the programming or the HF (Scott Royall, ibid.) It's likely the HF they're talking about. The programming isn't as targeted as you'd hope (Ricky Leong, ibid.) Let's find out first just *what* is being cut. You're making the same assumption I am, but what if they are cutting the programming altogether? Now that would be really sad (Scott Royall, ibid.) And since they got rid of their mailbag program to North America a while back, that's one more reason not to write. Call me vain, but I enjoy hearing my letters heard on foreign broadcasters. (Which reminds me that I have to e-mail Radio Vilnius and wish them a belated happy new year.... ;-) – (Ted Schuerzinger, ibid.) I hope that if lobbying is unsuccessful and there are cuts, it is simply in delivery method, not programming. They don't have that much live programming in English, just a few hours a day they repeat over and over and over again to different regions. Cheers, (Ricky Leong, ibid.) I tend to chuckle at the en masse running to internet delivery; each time I sell a PC at work, I mention internet radio, and people could literally care less about it. I think I fall into that same category. I wonder if anyone at Deutsche Welle who think the Internet will be the way to deliver programs to NAm and the Pacific is looking at their website right now (0515 UTC) --- because the link to bring up the present English transmission is not working; nah, the guys in the suits that decided this may occur or will occur are too busy snoring away. (Bill KA2EMZ Bergadano, ibid.) Scott was correct in counselling me (any anyone else, I guess) to exercise caution. I may have jumped the gun by ranting about what I *believe* the situation might be. (It had been a long day, and I really didn't need to hear that one of my hobbies -- SWLing -- would be further restricted by a further lack of intelligent things to listen to.) Let's wait for the suits to respond. Perhaps my next set of rebuttals will make more sense. :) In fact, let's hope there will be *something* to rebut! Cheers, (Ricky Leong, ibid.) They've been concentrating on Asia and Africa for several years and have announced new initiatives with DW=TV. They were ubiquitous on the air when I was listening in Manchuria a few months ago. Mulitple frequencies, several languages. If you read your local newsstands German magazines in North America, you'll also find that they are cutting back distribution as the overseas Germans age, or become as comfortable with the English medias. Death of Letterbox to NAm was a strong sign that they are dropping NAm, probably Oz. The German media, outside of government like DW, are all in trouble. Kirch's TV, Sat and cable collapse have been well documented in American media. Suddeutsche Zeiting recent warning of huge losses, along with FAZ are more signs of market failures with the old models. Have a scan with Kress sometimes. Linkname: Kress-Report URL: http://www.kress.de/ (Daniel Say, ibid.) I will be certainly disappointed if DW does indeed drop HF service to North America. It would be yet another loss to the viability of shortwave for NA listeners. On the other hand, while I certainly like the quality of DW programming, I haven't been a regular listener. Mainly because of their insistence on beaming only a 45 minute program. What an awkward length of time. If I catch their 0300 broadcast, at 0345 I'm left trying to figure out something to do for 15 minutes until the 0400 broadcast of RVi. As such, then, I've stopped listening to DW. Instead, lately, I've been catching an hour of CBC's As It Happens as it is relayed through a local NPR MW station here in Iowa, which is 2100 local (currently 0300 UT). I will be patient and write my letters later, after you all have figured out what is happening. Cheers from Iowa, (Kevin Anderson, Dubuque, Iowa, ibid.) You know what, I work for a non-profit. I've done budget cuts. (I'll probably be doing them again in about three weeks if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly.) If they can't afford it, fine. I can deal with that. What bugs me is when (as with the BBC) they try to paper over it and make it look like it doesn't matter because, gosh, nobody listened anyway, and the ones who did listen weren't really important. Of course it's too early to tell how DW is going to spin this (Kyle Barger, ibid.) A well-placed source at Deutsche Welle tells me that "...with an ever shrinking annual budget, (DW management) have decided that by ending shortwave broadcasts to the USA and Canada with the start of summertime 2003 (i.e. the end of March) roughly 250,000 Euros can be saved annually. I understand that shortwave broadcasts to the Pacific (Australia/ New Zealand) will also be stopped and more emphasis be put in both areas on gaining more rebroadcasters. Experience tells me that this will be a futile exercise as far as the United States are concerned." My source also mentions that 35 million Euros are spent annually on the German TV pay channel in the United States, even though it has less than 3,000 subscribers. It needs 70,000 subscribers to break even (Kim Andrew Elliott, Jan 8, swprograms via WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DXLD) Yikes! Assuming even 3,000 HF listeners to DW, it would be far more cost effective to drop DW television at 35M Euros and pay the 250K Euros! It is probably the same "opinion makers" is many cases anyway (Kevin Anderson, ibid.) Let's see, 35,000,000 / 3,000 = 11,666.67. I hope they buy all of their subscribers a widescreen HDTV as part of the money they're spending.... :-) German TV pay channel? When I got DW-TV a few years ago, it was free.... (Ralph Brandi, NJ, ibid.) I've decided that almost everything I regard as logical is not regarded in the same way by most others in positions of authority. Since I know I'm not crazy; I have to assume that they are. :-) As a personal psychological exercise and, more importantly, as a tribute and show of support to those at DW who actually do the work and create the product (i.e.: not the folks in the board rooms and corner office), those that disagree with this latest example of unimaginative and uninformed management should be encouraged to protest the decision. As with the BBC, however, no one should labor under the perception that these people will respond in what you are I would consider to be a logical fashion (John Figliozzi, ibid.) I don't think Kim is talking about DW-TV (whose "Journal" program can be seen on both Newsworld International and World Link TV), but about German TV, a pay channel which, IIRC, has rebroadcasts from the German service of DW-TV and the two terrestrial German broadcasters ARD and ZDF. I went to their web-site and noticed that the price was so high (at least $10 a month) that I wouldn't pay for it. Heck, on DirecTV I can get the nine or so Showtime channels for $12 a month, and if I get a second package, that would be multiple channels for $10 a month. A much better deal than one German-language channel for $10/month -- and I don't think I could get German TV on the mini dish. I went to the website of the pay-TV channel, and noted that it cost something like $10 per month. I wouldn't pay that much for the channel. It might be better if they could come up with some way to get their programming on DirecTV and/or Dish Network (Ted Schuerzinger, ibid.) Not all doom and gloom at DW's English service? This article is on the DW site at: http://kleist.dwelle.de/english/dpradio/dp_thema2.html A FACELIFT FOR THE ENGLISH SERVICE DW-Radio's English Service will experience the biggest facelift in its 40 year history with the start of summer time at the end of March 2003. We plan to increase substantially the number of news bulletins we broadcast every day from 13 to 24. News on the hour every hour is a must for any radio service that wants to be taken seriously internationally and in future DW-Radio News24/7 will be our visiting card. We also plan to broadcast Newslink, our flagship current affairs programme, round the clock producing special editions tailored to meet the requirements of audiences in the respective target regions. This means there will be three live editions of Newslink for the Asia-Pacific Region, two for Africa, with repeats, two for North America and two for Europe every weekday. In future Newslink will not only highlight top world, European and German stories but will provide a special focus on news and developments in the respective target region. In future we will be able to cover breaking stories faster and in greater depth than ever before. Changes will also be made to our feature programming with an increased emphasis on rebroadcasting successful programmes such as "Arts on the Air", "Living in Germany", and "Inspired Minds". The same applies to "Money Talks" or our science programme "Spectrum". "Africa Kaleidoscope", our weekly programme for and about Africa, will tackle the latest stories and developments. And last but not least there will be two new 30 minute programmes for Asia and Africa: This means that "Development" will finally get a weekly slot and more attention will be being paid to the environment. In future our team of feature editors will have more time to devote to their successful co-operation with organisations like German Technical Co-operation, the World Wildlife Fund and UNESCO (via Daniel Atkinson, UK, swprograms, via WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DXLD) And, as with the BBC, I'm sure anyone with a decent receiver and/or antenna will still have ample opportunity to hear DW English Service broadcasts targeted outside NA and Australasia. Heck, I still listen occasionally to SRI and they haven't had a NA service for some time now. jaf (John A. Figliozzi, ibid.) I second John's suggestion. Unlike the BBCWS, the DW website is not intuitive. I will be less likely to listen to their programming online, since it's tough to find it. This decision seems to be a visible sign of the budgetary constraints facing the German government these days. It still would be interesting to understand the thought processes that are going into these decisions. Perhaps if we better understand those, we can develop better counterarguments. Unfortunately, we may be frustrated to find out that these decisions are neither logical nor well thought-out, so reasoning with these folks might be futile. (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) PORTUGAL. 9640, Deutsche Welle (Sines Relay) 0300-0345 Jan 2. Although an easy catch in North America, they did not follow their usual program sked, instead 5 minutes of news and 40 minutes of folk songs from around the world. What a treat to hear "Greensleeves" and "Swanee River" sung in German (Joe Miller, Troy Michigan using a Grundig Satellit 800 Millenium receiver, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Additional transmissions via Deutsche Telekom (DTK): Voice of Hope/High Adventure Ministries: 0700-0745 5975 Mon-Fri JUL 100 kW / 290 deg WeEu English from Jan 01 1530-1630 15775 Daily JUL 100 kW / 090 deg SoAs En/Urdu from Jan 02 1900-1945 5910 Mon-Fri JUL 100 kW / 060 deg EaEu English from Jan 01 Brother Stair/TOM: 1500-1600 6110 Mon-Sat JUL 100 kW / 290 deg WeEu English from Dec 16 1500-1600 6110 Sun JUL 100 kW / non-dir WeEu English from Dec 15 1600-1800 6110 Sat JUL 100 kW / non-dir WeEu English from Dec 14 Bible Voice Broadcasting Network/BVBN/: 1600-1700 13810 Tue JUL 100 kW / 130 deg EaAf Amharic from Dec 24 1630-1700 13810 Thu-Mon JUL 100 kW / 130 deg EaAf Amharic from Dec 26 1700-1730 13810 Wed JUL 100 kW / 130 deg EaAf Amharic from Jan 08 1900-1930 9470 Thu WER 250 kW / 120 deg ME English from Jan 02 1900-1930 9470 Fri WER 250 kW / 120 deg ME English from Jan 03 Evangeliumsradio Hamburg: 1830-1900 6015 Tue JUL 100 kW / 200 deg WeEu Spanish from Jan 07 1830-1900 6015 Thu WER 125 kW / non-dir Eu German? from Jan 09 IBRA Radio 1930-2000 13840 Daily JUL 100 kW / 200 deg WeAf Hausa from Jan 01 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 7 via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio National Channel in Hindi and English noted on Jan. 4-6: 1315-0045 on NF 9400*, instead of 9470 \\ 9425 *co-ch 1500-1600 Radio Bulgaria in Russian to CeAs 1600-1700 Radio Bulgaria in Bulgarian to ME 1700-1900 Radio Pakistan in Urdu to WeEu 0000-0045 Radio Bulgaria in English to NoAm (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 7 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hi, Glenn! I see entries in this section in recent DXLDs that list frequencies in the 11,000 - 13,000 GHz range. Are those correct, or should they be down by a factor of a thousand? Those would be teraHertz and wouldn't they be pushing into the infra- red range up there? Or is that yet another step? Or do satellites really use that range now? 73, (Will Martin, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t think so. Perhaps another case of using commas for decimal points (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Was waiting for the début of V. of Southern Azerbaijan, Wed Jan 8 at 1630 on 9570: very poor signal here way down in the noise, but could detect a male soloist at the start, which may or may not have been this. Occasional brief peaks of M&W talking, alternating with music as we stayed with it until 1600. PWBR `2003` claims Qatar and Nigeria are already on 9570. Try again Thursday, as these are the only two days of the week VOSA is supposed to be on. But how long is each broadcast? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No sign of it here, only Romania and Vo Iraqi People on 9570 kHz. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, Jan 8, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DXLD) Hi Mauno, Not heard in Germany as well... I got the Arabic Clandestine co-channel with Tirana in Deutsch. - (Mahmud Fathi, Jan 8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Voice of Southern Azerbaijan: I tried 9570 at 1630 today, Wednesday. A Qur`an station was there already from 1500, and then R Romania from 1600. Nothing happened at 1630. The Qur`an station was slightly low, so there was a low frequency het with RRI (Olle Alm, Sweden, 8 Jan, WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS. Dear Glenn, You asked about English from the new web audio service of the Voice of the Maldives. I am listening to it right now (Jan. 8) and English started at 12 UT as quoted in the WRTH '03. http://www.vom.gov.mv/ 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, Jan 8, WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. A short time ago I received a verification letter from Radio Pakistan. (Unfortunately the card and sticker, mentioned in the letter, were missing.) The number on the envelope was also ENG/FM/A- 28/02. I wonder if they use this number for all English language correspondence? (Scott R Barbour Jr, Intervale, NH, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. Special MW DX Test Sunday, February 2, 2003 - WBMJ-1190, San Juan, PR and WIVV-1370, Vieques, PR will conduct a DX test from 12:00-2:00 am AST (11:00pm-1am EST) [0400-0600 UT]. This test will be run simultaneously on both stations. At 11:59 pm AST, the stations will come out of a youth program - "Life on the Edge" - and then run a minute of DX information, including Morse code IDs. Then the stations will return to their regular programming from the Moody Broadcasting Network. The same procedure will be repeated at 12:59 am AST and 1:59 am AST. WBMJ will be broadcasting at 5 kW; WIVV at 1 kW. Reception reports (with return postage) may be sent to: Bert Johnson Operations Manager WBMJ Radio/WIVV Radio PO Box 367000 San Juan PR 00936-7000 E-MAIL: bjohnson@cem-wbmj.org (Arranged for the IRCA CPC) If you try for (or hear) any of these tests, PLEASE post a message letting me know, and please, drop the station personnel a note, via e- mail or snail mail, thanking them for running the test! Lynn Hollerman ircamember@ircaonline.org (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. NORWAY(non): Frequency and time changes for Voice of Reform in Arabic from Dec. 23: 1830-2130 NF 9925*(not 9930) via KVI 200 kW / 120 deg, ex 1900-2100 on 7590 *totally blocked by RVI in Dutch till 1857 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 7 via DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES. FEBA RADIO TO WIND DOWN OPERATIONS IN SEYCHELLES http://www.seychelles-online.com.sc/archives/2070103.html The FEBA (Far East Broadcasting Association) radio station in Seychelles will be winding down its operations during the course of this year, after thirty years of broadcasting across forty countries. Explaining the reasons behind such a move, a communiqué from FEBA Radio says: "Growing difficulty in maintaining a station, which uses 30-year-old technology, and increased competition from less expensive broadcasting outlets coupled with the difficulty of broadcasting to India because of difficulties with sunspots in 2003/4/5, indicate that the timing is set for change. It is a different communication world from the one that welcomed the Seychelles station 30 years ago and FEBA is eager to adapt to meet a new generation of listeners." FEBA already broadcasts from a number of other outlets and this is set to expand, the communiqué says, adding that rapid communication technology will ensure that the programmes are even more able to reflect a changing and news-orientated world. "FEBA believes that it is entering an exciting period of challenge and change. We must move with the times if we are to be good stewards of our resources. This strategy means that we can better meet the needs of our listeners in the twenty-first century," says the communiqué. FEBA currently broadcasts in over 60 languages to more than 40 countries, ranging from India, Nepal, Central Asia and the Middle East, to Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean Islands. It aims to provide listeners with entertaining programmes that are both informative and relevant while sharing the good news of Christ in a non-threatening way (Seychelles Nation online via Artie Bigley, Jan 7, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA. I received a personal letter from Brother Stair in the mail yesterday (7 Jan). At least is was printed to appear that way-the signature isn't real. He listed his MW broadcasts that are readily heard in SE Michigan: WWKB 1520 at 0430 from Buffalo nightly; WSAI 1530 at 0700 from Cinci nightly, also Mon at 0230; and KXEL 1540 at 0300, presumably nightly. He basically says Yahshua is coming, send me money. I was on his mailing list for a bit years ago just to see what he prints. Never have sent him money. So he must be desperate if he's sending out letters to old time listees. Thought you might enjoy this tidbit (Liz (I mean Sister Cameron), MI, Jan 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. This just in from Swedish Teracom and may be of interest to members: Regarding our problems on 9445 2030-2100 UT we now on test basis run 2045-2100 on 9400 kHz. We will run it at least until the end of this week and are very interested in reports. Would be most happy if you could check and if you could drop the info on appropriate DX-forums. Comparisons on 9445 and 9400 kHz are of special interest (9445 on air with regular transmissions in English 2030-2100) and top priority from the target area South East Asia and Australia. Reports will be checked and QSL (incl. Teracom test card) will be used to verify correct reports. Also a number of T-shirts will be given away so add the preferred size in the report. Reports can be sent to magnus.- @teracom.se and/or anders.-@sr.se [truncateds by topica] Or by ordinary mail to: Att. Anders Bäcklin, Radio Sweden, 10510 Stockholm, Sweden. Yours sincerely, Magnus [Nilsson] (via Craig Tyson, WA, Jan 8, EDXP via DXLD) ** TUVALU. Bob Girdo sent me this link to his website following a visit to the island and repairs at Radio Tuvalu. Note, the 621kHz outlet is out of service and it could be some time before it's back on air. http://www.girdo.com/tuvalu/tuvalu17radio.htm Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, New Zealand, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, has added the BBCWS to its schedule overnights (12M-5am) on weekdays [0500-1000 UT]. WAMC, from its flagship on 90.3 MHz. and its various regional FM transmitters from Plattsburgh, NY to Middletown and Newburgh, NY and West Stockbridge and northeast CT to Canajoharie, NY, can be heard throughout much of New England and New York State (John Figliozzi, NY, Jan 8, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. BBC WS 'THE SECRET OF OUR SUCCESS' Britain's broadcasting icon celebrates 70 years of delivering news to far-flung corners of the world By John Ghazvinian, NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE Jan. 3 - Its broadcasts were beacons of hope for citizens of occupied Europe during World War II. More recently, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) has emerged as one of an independent voice in volatile areas of the world. United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said "the Beeb" might even be Britain's "greatest gift" to the world. LAST MONTH, AS THE BBC's World Service marked its 70th anniversary, there was reason to celebrate. Despite the proliferation of media outlets on cable television and on the Internet, the BBC has added 30 million foreign listeners during the past decade, giving it a total of 150 million. In the United States, audiences have reached their highest levels ever. World Service director Mark Byford spoke to NEWSWEEK's John Ghazvinian about the reasons for its success. NEWSWEEK: Your listenership has gone up 25 percent in the last decade. Why? Mark Byford: I think it's because of the quality and distinctiveness of the programming. People recognize that the World Service is a unique service in terms of trust, impartiality, objectivity and the richness and breadth of the international agenda. How do you think that sense of trust and distinctiveness has been built? It's been built over many, many years. In part, it's time. At times when the WS [World Service ] has been tested, whether in terms of war or in terms of difficult editorial challenges, the WS has been shown strongly to be a service whose integrity and objectivity is its lifeblood . We pride ourselves on being a "world" service, not a British service provided by Britain, but a world service that happens to be delivered by the BBC. In the last 10 years, postcommunism and in the time of CNN and multichannel television, some people were asking whether the WS had had its day. Actually, in a world where people have a thirst for greater understanding, for connection with different communities around the world, for knowledge, the WS has a major role to play. If it's so international, why should the British taxpayer be funding it to the tune of $320 million a year? Because it brings huge credit back to Britain-but not because it's necessarily a promotion of British news or putting Britain in a good light. The WS is celebrating values that they [the taxpayers] themselves, I think, would hope were then associated with Britain: independence, tolerance, freedom, accuracy, fairness, objectivity. We're independent of government, and that is critical and fundamental to its success. We're not a government mouthpiece. We're there to provide an independent objective view of the way the world is. One of the ways in which the United States is trying to improve its image in the Arab world is by producing a new pop-music-based radio station, Radio Sawa, in Arabic. Your view of this effort? We ourselves are adapting our services all the time in response to audience expectations and needs, but we remain firm that speech-led services, with a clear focus on strong news, current affairs and depth of analysis are the things that will make us stand out. We don't think music-led services with some news is the right focus for the BBC. But we're absolutely aware that we need to be attracting younger audiences, too. Where has your listenership been going up the most? In Africa, we've seen some very significant gains. In South America. In the United States, our audience is at its highest level ever. Twenty-five percent of opinion-formers in Boston, Washington, New York are listening to the WS every week. We're seeing gains in Australia and parts of Asia-Pacific. Why do you think you've been doing so well in America? People appreciate the breadth of [our] agenda. [They] value the caliber of our correspondents, our eyewitness reportage around the world, the depth of our analysis-the fact that we get interviews with major players ... In the most mature broadcasting marketplace in the world, there is still a clear thirst and appreciation for what the WS can provide. And now you've been quietly investing in Afghanistan.... The WS didn't just start to think hard about Afghanistan in the last two years. We've been present for many, many years, broadcasting in Persian [since 1940] and in Pashto for the last 20 years. And we've had a tremendous impact in the region. Limited surveys show 60-70 percent of heads of households listening to us. But it's not just been a source of news. "New Home, New Life," our new soap in Afghanistan has been a major source of entertainment. Since September 11 [2001], we have extended services in Persian and Pashto, we've improved audibility in the region. We've also been heavily involved with supporting the reconstruction of the media in Afghanistan. What about Iraq? We know that very substantial audiences listen to us from across Iraq, but we can't do independent authoritative measures. Our sources in Baghdad [tell us] that we're listened to and used at the highest levels, on a very regular basis. And China will also prove important in coming years, won't it? China is a fantastically important area. We have some challenges in terms of delivery, with the Chinese service still being jammed and our Internet service still being blocked within China, but that doesn't stop us from trying to deliver the best service to China that we can. Will the World Service still be around in another 70 years' time? I know I won't be, but I passionately believe the WS will be around - -- if it maintains the core values of the last 70 years of being a service of trust, objectivity and impartiality. Just because it's been 70 years, it doesn't mean that you've got to change those. © 2003 Newsweek, Inc. (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. (non): Updated schedule of RFE/RL/Radio Farda in Persian as of Jan. 5, 2003: 0030-0400 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9515 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg 9585 MOR 250 kW / 075 deg 9795 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg 0400-0600 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9585 LAM 100 kW / 096 deg 9795 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg 12015 KAV 250 kW / 112 deg 15290 KAV 250 kW / 095 deg 0600-0730 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9585 LAM 100 kW / 096 deg 15290 KAV 250 kW / 095 deg 17675 KAV 250 kW / 100 deg 0730-0800 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9585 LAM 100 kW / 096 deg 15290 KAV 250 kW / 095 deg 17675 MOR 250 kW / 075 deg 0800-0830 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9585 LAM 100 kW / 096 deg 13680 KAV 250 kW / 100 deg 15290 KAV 250 kW / 095 deg 17675 MOR 250 kW / 075 deg 21475 IRA 250 kW / 299 deg [see below] 0830-1400 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 13680 KAV 250 kW / 100 deg 21475 IRA 250 kW / 299 deg 1400-1700 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 9435 KAV 250 kW / 104 deg 13680 KAV 250 kW / 100 deg 15410 WOF 300 kW / 105 deg 1700-1800 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 11705 LAM 100 kW / 108 deg 11845 IRA 250 kW / 315 deg 1800-1900 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 11705 LAM 100 kW / 108 deg 11845 IRA 250 kW / 324 deg 1900-2000 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 6140 DB 100 kW / 264 deg 11960 KAV 250 kW / 095 deg 11985 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg 2000-2130 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 11960 UDO 250 kW / 300 deg 11985 LAM 100 kW / 104 deg 2130-0030 1539 DHA 500 kW / 010 deg 1593 KWT 500 kW / 005 deg 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 7 via DXLD) ** U S A. R. Farda moved from 21475 to 21575 today or yesterday. No buzz heard on 1539 now, so it may be true that R. Farda is now from Dhabayya as listed, though possibly with lower power than 500 kW. Two Iranian refugee families are living across the backyard from my apartment, and one of these families has a teenager who for some time played his music so that everybody in the block could listen. The music he was playing was exactly the kind of mix now offered by Radio Farda. (Personally I find this mix attractive and very listenable, though not necessarily through the air across the backyard.) (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Just heard the tail end of a broadcast from Adventist World Radio, The Voice of Hope on 15150. I tuned the station in at about 1355 UT when it was broadcasting instrumental Islamic(?) type music. The signal was good here in Clewiston, Florida, USA. At about 1357 a woman came on and gave the ID in English, "... Adventist World Radio, The Voice of Hope. A minute later the station left the air. My reference material (WRTH 2002, PPTWBR03, SWL Guide), isn't that up to date, so I accepted the fact that this frequency wasn't listened for AWR for this time frame. However, an earlier transmission from Guam was listed in the PPTWBR. I went to AWR's web page hoping to find the Freq listed there, but that was also a bust. AWR never came back with a subsequent transmission on 15150 during the next half hour; however, there was a station on the frequency that may have been AWR beaming into another area which might have reduced the signal to a threshold at my location? That's just spectulation (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston Florida, http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/ Jan 8 DX LISTENING DIGEST) Current schedule, tho last updated Nov. 7 at http://www.awr.org/listener-services-program-schedule.html shows AWR`s only usage of 15150 is 1330-1400 Tamil via UAE (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW VENTURES ARE COUNTRY, CLASSICAL http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/9/013759-1779-031.html The ever-animated Bill Shirk discusses his life and career from his offices in the Pyramids on the Northwestside. He's still stunt-crazy, with plans to be "buried alive" under the frozen pond at his Zionsville home. -- Rob Goebel / staff photo [caption] STAY TUNED: RADIO VETERAN RETURNS; NEW VENTURES ARE COUNTRY, CLASSICAL --- By Thomas P. Wyman January 06, 2003 The phone rings and it's radio man Bill Shirk and his mouth starts running a mile a minute. Sorry to be slow returning the call, he apologizes. Just got back from Tahiti. And surgery. Seems his gut went crazy on the island and surgeons in L.A. sliced him open from here to there -- a bunch of stitches -- but they didn't find a thing. Later he wails, "That was about as bad as any stunt I ever did." Ponytailed at 57, Shirk, like the fast-paced medium of commercial radio that finally brought him riches, seems to abhor subtlety and closely guarded personal secrets. Ex-disc jockey, station owner, pro wrestler, admirer of Houdini and P.T. Barnum, and publicity-hungry stunt man -- he once buried himself alive with a python and a pair of tarantulas -- Bill Shirk is making a comeback. But not in the wild, wacky world of for-profit radio, a space where he once ran a station known as Hot96. After 25 years, he exited that business three years ago with half of a cool $40 million. He and partner Bill Mays hit that jackpot when they sold their local stations to Radio One, the nation's largest black-owned broadcast enterprise. In his latest reincarnation, the high-energy Shirk is coming back as a low-power, noncommercial radio mogul. If that's the word for a businessman whose two tiny stations are losing $25,000 a month. His not-for-profit company, Hoosier Broadcasting Corp., operates WIRE country music station (91.1-FM) in Boone County and Radio Mozart (WSPM, 89.1-FM), a classical music station in Cloverdale. These stations can't sell advertising. They can, however, encourage business to underwrite the cost of operations -- hand over cash in exchange for limited on-air mentions of products and services. A third station is on the drawing board, targeting black listeners in Indianapolis. Another station, more listeners. And more losses? "It was never about the money," he insists, and laughs. "It wasn't. It's about the game. The fun. The excitement." There's not much fun or excitement in radio as operated by broadcast corporations like Clear Channel and Radio One, says Herb Terry, who teaches broadcasting at Indiana University. What there is, Terry says, is homogeneity. Coast to coast, radio sounds pretty much the same everywhere you go. "People who love radio don't like what Radio One and others have done to it," he says. Shirk no doubt loves radio, but he proclaims himself a fan of consolidated ownership in the industry. And why not? For him, consolidation meant a payday that bought a 12-acre property in Zionsville, a trust fund for his daughter and money to play in noncommercial radio. But from a distance now, Shirk looks back on commercial radio with a certain sense of exasperation. "Everybody's got the formula right," he complains. "But somehow they forgot about the fun. You don't want to listen to something that's no fun. It's such a simple word, but so difficult to do. You can fail at it miserably." Bruiser buddy By his own standards -- making money and having fun -- Shirk has succeeded admirably. But how much business sense can a man possess when the following appears on his resumé: ? Worked as sidekick wrestler with the late Dick the Bruiser, aka Dick Afflis, an Indianapolis native. ? Dangled upside down off a city bridge while strapped inside a Houdini-like straitjacket. ? And, let's not forget, shared a coffin with a 10-foot reptile and those arachnids, a promotion for radio and a charity. Answer: If he's Bill Shirk, more than you might expect. Amos Brown, who worked in radio with Shirk for eight years, describes him as "a very astute businessman." "He's the kind of businessperson his competitors would underestimate," Brown says. "And then he ends up beating them, or being successful and having the last laugh." In the late 1970s, Shirk persuaded a reluctant Federal Communications Commission to approve an additional broadcast license for Indianapolis, Brown said. Then Shirk bested a host of competitors to win the license -- and the profits it offered. He describes himself as a hands-on manager. "There's always been two Bill Shirks," says Shirk himself. "There's been Bill Shirk who is basically 95 percent of the time a businessman. "And then there's Bill Shirk who could go on national TV like 'Ripley's' . . . and do stunts that Houdini could never dream up, let alone do." Little too racy There was one Shirk stunt, of a sort, didn't go over well at all. In 1994, when his media holdings included WAV-TV, he elected to take cheaper satellite-fed programming to cut costs at the money-losing station. Included on the programming schedule was a syndicated show that featured what critics labeled sexually explicit material. Shirk called the material only "borderline." Viewers complained, and Shirk drew heat. Years later, he still sounds defensive. "I was in a financial crunch," he says. "And sometimes when you are in a financial situation, you put things on the air that you compromise yourself for doing -- to pay your employees so they can feed their kids." But Shirk didn't hesitate to roil listeners during his commercial broadcast career -- if he could make money doing it. In 1994, he hired Stan Solomon after the ultraconservative talk show host lost his job at WIBC. "Why not give the guy a voice?" Shirk says. "Plus, he had huge ratings. It's all about ratings and money." About his name For the record, Bill Shirk isn't his full name. Not even Shirk calls it his real name. He was born William Shirk Poorman, son of Robert and Betty Poorman. Mom gave her son her maiden name as his middle name. And years later Dad, who operated a radio station in Muncie -- WERK - - gave his son a job in radio. "I didn't really want to be known as Poorman," he says. "It didn't sound like a radio name. Poorman." So Poorman disappeared, and Bill Shirk took his place. Besides, he says, the new last name rhymed with WERK. "And I was absolutely crazy," he says. Crazy enough to begin dabbling with stunts as he bulked up for his brief wrestling stint in the '70s. Buried-alive escapes became a specialty. And one he's not willing to give up yet. One more time he plans to try it -- wrapped in chains, handcuffed, boarded up in a box, and slipped under a shelf of pond ice at his Zionsville home. Does his wife, Elizabeth, object? "No, I wouldn't do that," she says. "Bill is who he is, and that's why I married him." And she adds, "I'm sure it will be spectacular, whatever he does`` [sidebar:] About Bill Shirk ? Title: President, Hoosier Broadcasting Corp. ? Age: 57. ? Birthplace: Muncie. ? Residence: Zionsville. ? Education: Ball State University, bachelor's degree, 1967. ? Family: Wife Elizabeth, daughter Maxine. Bill Shirk's career ? 1974: Launches first station, an AM operation from his garage. ? 1977-79: Professional wrestler. ? 1993: Joins chemical company owner Bill Mays to create Hoosier Radio & TV. ? 2000: Hoosier Radio assets sold to Radio One Inc. of Lantham, Md., for $40 million in cash and stock. ? 2002: Not-for-profit Hoosier Broadcasting Corp., with Shirk as president and Mays as chairman, launches classical music station. About Hoosier Broadcasting Corp. ? Location: 3500 DePauw Blvd., Indianapolis. (The Pyramids office towers.) ? Number of employees: 3 full-time, 2 part-time. ? Properties: WIRE-FM, Lebanon. WSPM-FM, Cloverdale. Bill Shirk on: ? His early radio days: "I'd get on the radio, and it was the most fun you could have in the whole wide world." ? A lesson from his father: "He always believed you need to control your own destiny. Sometimes others will get in your way." ? His belief in his prospects for success: "I believed it 24 hours a day, and I pleaded with anybody that had anything to help me prove that I could do it." Others on Bill Shirk: ? Herb Terry, communications professor, Indiana University: "He was always doing, in some ways, a fringe thing." ? Amos Brown, former radio colleague: "People look at the showman part of Bill and his hobbies, and they forget (his) business sense." ? Tom Cochrun, a friend, and co-founder of Nineteenth Star, a television production company: "I think he truly is a rare bird." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Unable to find a website, let alone a stream for WSPM (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. That is quite awesome to listen to [1530 Cincinnati] WSAI's oldie format with (what appears to be but might not be) live jocks and jingles... the Drake-style News sounder. News at either 5 or ten before the hour. A nice touch that I try to humbly emulate sometimes when I did DX tests and fill in 70s era hits specialty shows in the waning year of WGSR 1570 Fernandina Beach, FL. I'm all ears on 1530...! (Ron Gitschier, pit stop in Harrisonburg, VA enroute to Jax, FL, Jan 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Some of the names have surfaced in the cutback announcement at GAYLORD's WSM-A/NASHVILLE yesterday (1/7). ALL ACCESS announced yesterday that 6 full-timers and 2 part-timers were cut loose including OM/PD KYLE CANTRELL, a 20 year station veteran. GAYLORD PR spokesman JIM BROWN said that it was company policy not to release the names of the exiting employees, with the exception of CANTRELL. However, this morning's TENNESSEAN is reporting that APD/MD TRISH MATTHEWS, and middayer ALLEN DENNIS were among the casualties. Also, THE TENNESSEAN is reporting that MATTHEW GILLIAN and JOHNNY KOVAL hosts of the long running overnight show, OPRY STAR are also exiting. OPRY STAR has been on WSM for 50 years and is the show that brought legendary personality RALPH EMERY prominence. In addition, Promo Asst. TRISH MATTHEWS and Online Content Dir. K.K. WILSON will exit, as will KYLE CANTRELL's assistant, CAROLYN DAVIS. (from http://www2.allaccess.com/ via Whaley) Kyle was very DXer friendly. Gave tours of the transmitter plant (Brock Whaley for DXLD) ** U S A. Renegade talking house: Sun Country 1640-Longwood, Florida I recently submitted this to the The Master List of Part 15 Radio Stations of North America and thought you would want to know also. Frequency-1640 Khz. Type-FCC Part 15, 100 mW AM antenna Name-Sun Country 1640 Longwood, Florida (Wekiva neighborhood) Date of commencement of operations-January 2001 Format-Classic Country Music (50s through early 90s)/NOAA Weather Radio during severe weather Hours of operation-24/7 Started as a yardcast for personal use until neighbors began reporting listening. Primarily a music station, Sun Country 1640 simulcasts NOAA Weather Radio during severe weather events. A radio version of the local Neighborhood Association newsletter is also broadcast each month. Website URL-N/A Mfr. and number of transmitter(s) Main-Realty Electronics, Inc. "Talking House" transmitter. Back up-Vectronics 1290K AM transmitter kit. Will the station QSL? Not at the present time (Dean O'Neal, Sun Country 1640, Jan 6, via Terry L. Krueger, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC STUDIES MEDIA OWNERSHIP RESTRICTIONS Tuesday Jan 7 Yahoo News By DAVID HO, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Rules on delivering news and entertainment to the public are on the verge of a broad overhaul that could pave the way for more media mergers and alter the landscape of television and radio programming. The Federal Communications Commission is studying whether decades-old ownership restrictions are appropriate in a market changed by the Internet, satellite broadcasts and cable television. The review is expected to be completed within a few months. It's widely believed FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the two other Republicans on the five-member commission are intent on loosening regulations. Powell has expressed concern that many of the agency's rules are antiquated. Jonathan Adelstein, one of two Democrats on the commission, used his first public speech since joining the agency last month to warn that more mergers could mean less diversity in programming. "Any changes that the FCC makes to its media ownership rules could massively and irreversibly change the media landscape," Adelstein said Monday at Georgetown University. "The FCC must proceed very cautiously, because if we permit further media consolidation and it turns out to be a mistake, we will find it difficult, if not impossible, to put the toothpaste back in the tube." Blair Levin, a former FCC official and now an analyst with the Legg Mason investment firm, said the FCC's two Democrats can bring attention to the issue, but are unlikely to alter the outcome sought by Powell. A 1996 telecommunications law required the FCC to periodically review ownership rules in light of greater competition and other changes in the industry. Separately, the FCC is considering relaxing rules involving the leasing of telephone networks, changes that could benefit regional Bell companies who have been required to provide parts of their local networks to competitors at discount rates. The agency is also considering exempting high-speed Internet service over phone lines from certain restrictions to promote investment in that broadband technology. To get public opinion on the six media ownership rules under review, the FCC plans to hold a hearing in Richmond, Va., next month. The agency already has received nearly 1,700 comments, with many of the major supporters and critics weighing in last week. NBC; News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group; Viacom Inc., which owns CBS, MTV and UPN and the Paramount movie studio, joined in asking the FCC to abolish all of its media-ownership rules. The companies said FCC regulation "unfairly and unnecessarily constrains very able and effective competitors." Walt Disney Co., owner of the fourth major television network, ABC, submitted a separate comment urging an overhaul of the rules. An array of groups representing consumers, broadcasters, writers, entertainers and other media workers say the existing restrictions should remain to prevent a handful of giant companies from controlling what people watch, hear and read. Opponents of the six media ownership rules under review already have successfully challenged two of them in the courts. Viacom was one of several companies that questioned a rule prohibiting any company from controlling television stations that, together, can reach more than 35 percent of U.S. households. An appeals court ruled last year that the FCC's rule was too sweeping and sent the regulation back to the agency. The courts also last year rejected restrictions on companies that want to own two television stations in the same market. Other rules under review concern the number of television and radio stations a company can own in one market; a ban on mergers between the four major television networks - NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox; limits on radio station ownership; and a restriction prohibiting one company from owning a broadcast station and a newspaper in the same market (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. 11735 kHz - Voice of Tanzania, Zanzibar. QSL card full data signed by Mr Khalid H. Rajab. He wrote on the card that they broadcast on 11735 kHz everyday from 18 to 24 hours local time in Swahilli. I sent him a reception report in English, CD with 1 hour of recording, post card of Long Island, 1 US$ and 1 IRC. The QSL arrived in only 26 days (Marcelo Toniolo, Greenvale, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. As one listens to SW programming, every now and then there is odd repeated interference one hears over and over and gets used to. For example, when listening to lower frequencies like 5745, there is often what sounds like soft breathy whistling co-channel, almost like someone blowing over the open top of a bottle. It's on day after day and seems to have been around for years. What IS that? Could it actually be intentional deliberate interference? Another type of interference often heard is the sort of whining squeal that accompanied the VOA CW Talk to America New Year's special on the one-time Americas frequency of 17635 kHz from 1700-1800 UT 1/1/03. That was on the frequency before the 1700 beginning of programming but went away when the programming ended at 1800 UT. (That frequency was still better than the 9775 kHz alternate, even with the squeal.) Could this have been a transmitter defect? 73, (Will Martin, St. Louis, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMMENTARY ++++++++++ IS SHORTWAVE RADIO STILL WORTH PURSUING? If the U.S. follows through with its threats to attack Iraq, a familiar radio-related phenomenon will occur: sales of shortwave receivers will surge. Units will fly off the shelves of local Radio Shack stores, and there will be a surge of orders to the major mail order dealers. As with the last few world crises (Y2K, September 11) a rise in international tensions will precipitate an interest in international news. Many will turn to shortwave to hear events, in the parlance of radio ads, "live around the world as they happen." Most who do so will likely be disappointed. After some initial frustration of trying to use them, the shortwave sets will either be relegated to listening to local AM and FM, go into a closet, or get sold on EBay. While there is a lot of hype in the hobby press and radio marketing about "hearing events as they happen" without the censor of domestic media, the reality of shortwave listening is in fact much different. Shortwave is, for most people, a hassle to use. It's not a matter of switching on the set and hearing the news from overseas. Depending on where you live, a modestly-priced shortwave radio will, out of the box, pickup a dozen or so of the larger international broadcasters. In some areas (such as the Pacific Northwest, where I live) it won't even do that. Putting up an external antenna will be necessary. Most folks aren't willing or able to do that. (Drive through your neighborhood and count the number of radio antennas you see.) Wherever you are, there will likely be all manner of electrical noise and interference. This noise is the number one obstacle to shortwave listening. Even when the noise is bearable, shortwave signal quality is an iffy proposition. A given station may be clear as a bell one night, noisy and weak (or not there at all) the next. I doubt many people will put up with that for long. (I expect Tom Brokaw would have fewer viewers if his nightly television newscast were subject to periodic fade outs and interference.) Then there's the time thing. Shortwave operates on Universal or Greenwich Mean Time. Be prepared to do the math. Most stations broadcast at most a couple of hours per day, at a specific time, so unless you want to rig up a Rube Goldberg tape recording scheme, you better be parked in front of the radio at the appointed time. By contrast, once war starts, there will be plenty of 24-hour television and internet coverage, and video recorders are ubiquitous, and easy to use by comparison. If you willing to string up an external antenna, learn the schedules, and generally endure the hassles and noise of the shortwave bands, what will you hear? Maybe not as much as you were led to believe. Reliable news, commentary and analysis will be pretty much limited to a half a dozen or so shortwave outlets. There will also be quality coverage in English language coverage from Radio Netherlands, Germany's Deutche Welle, Radio New Zealand International, Radio Australia and Radio Canada International. An hour or so a day, broadcast on a specific schedule. Be there or be square. The Voice of America will also ramp up its coverage, but their News Now format is nothing you can't get from CNN Headline News. Breaking news and perspectives direct from the region of conflict? Forget it. With the exception of a half an hour a day from Israel, there are no reliable English shortwave voices from the region. Want to know what the Saudis think? How about Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria? Unless you speak Arabic or Farsi, their perspective on this war won't be found on shortwave. Even if you do, their shortwave services tend to be unreliable and difficult to hear in North America. European listeners may have better luck. If you are really persistent, you might pick up a broadcast from Egypt or Turkey in English. Not that they will say anything illuminating, thanks to their heavily-controlled media. You will come across other loud signals, in English, from other locations: China, Taiwan, Russia, the two Koreas, Japan and Cuba. Most of what they will have to say about the Middle East crisis will range from the excruciatingly boring to the downright laughable. In nearly 30 years of shortwave listening, I can count on one hand the number of useful and interesting newscasts I've heard from these stations. (In the case of the Koreas, Cuba and Taiwan, I'm still waiting.) You'll also hear all manner of Christian pitchmen and right-wing kooks putting their spin on things. If that's your bag, shortwave will be heaven for you. This is not to say that shortwave radio is totally useless. Assuming you can make it work, it can supplement the information you get from local sources. But the delivery system of over-the-air analog broadcasts is becoming increasingly cumbersome, given the alternatives available. Given a choice, I would say one would be well advised to invest in a broadband internet connection instead of a shortwave setup. If you already have a radio, dust it off and check out BBC frequencies at their schedules and frequencies page. But on the whole, shortwave has become a secondary means of news and information to those of us in the developed world. Which is really kind of sad, given that it was the audio window to the world such a short time ago. http://www.radioenthusiast.com/swl_today.htm © 2002 James Tedford Updated 12/16/02 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) See also: http://www.radioenthusiast.com/world_crisis_monitoring.htm PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ QSL INFORMATION PAGES WITH A NEW LAYOUT As announced earlier the QSL Information Pages start to shift to a new layout which should give a much better overview for the readers. QIP presents more than 31500 QSL logs from 6968 broadcast radio stations coming from 229 radio countries. The address is http://www.schoechi.de/qip.html At the moment the coming layout of QIP can only be seen on the pages of Algeria, Angola, Ascension & Benin. But all other pages will follow. As you can guess these tables were created using a database. The QIP homepage tells you more about the ordering conditions for that database (short version : subscription is 2 USD per year, regular contributors to QIP can get it for free). This database is offered in addition to the html-pages, but it will get more updates than these pages since its easier to update the Excel-file than the html-pages. Thank you to all contributors in 2002 and all the best for 2003 ! --------------------------------------------------------- Martin Schoech - PF 1136 - 06201 Merseburg - Deutschland --------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: radio@schoechi.de Website: http://www.schoechi.de --------------------------------------------------------- (via hard-core-dx via DXLD) TROPICAL STATION LIST Finnish DXer Raimo Mäkelä maintains a good updated concise list of tropical band broadcast stations. It can be found at http://194.252.88.3/rswebpri.nsf/sivut/tropical.htm (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) SUNRISE/SUNSET MAPS 12 maps showing 15 minute sunset and sunrise times for the US and 12 maps showing hourly sunset and sunrise times for the World. Explanation includes use of the maps and examples of DX made possible by knowledge of SR/SS times. Prices: IRCA/NRC members - $2.25 (US/Canada/Mexico/sea mail), $2.75 (rest of the Americas airmail), $3.00 (Europe/Asia airmail), $3.50 (Australia/New Zealand airmail). Non-members: add $1.00 to the above prices. IRCA BOOKSTORE, 9705 MARY NW, SEATTLE WA 98117-2334 (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ AD BOUNDARIES CHANGING AS RADIO GOES HD From http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?newsID=191265 By Frank Saxe, Monday, January 06, 2003 In Las Vegas this week the next generation in radio technology will make its debut, as digital radio prepares to make its way from audio engineers' drafting boards to receivers in electronics stores. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, eight companies will be debuting prototypes for in-car HD Radio receivers, with another two launching at-home stereo units, all capable of tuning in radio's next generation of audio signals. Beyond better sound quality, its developers say HD Radio will broaden radio's advertising possibilities. After more than a decade of planning, digital radio has begun what will likely be the decades long process of replacing analog signals. Columbia, MD-based Ibiquity Digital has created a system that will allow broadcasters to simultaneously transmit their stations in both analog and digital, allowing listeners to seamlessly convert to HD Radio at their own pace. Broadcasters, who will spend as much as $100,000 per station to upgrade to digital, hope better sound quality and added services will encourage users to buy new receivers sooner rather than later. So far, urban radio giant Radio One is the only radio group to commit to spending the money to convert all its stations, although Ibiquity is owned by the 15 largest broadcast groups, including Clear Channel, Viacom/Infinity, and ABC, so it is widely expected each will back its investment in Ibiquity and convert its stations to HD Radio. "IBOC is the digital future of AM and FM radio," says Susquehanna Radio president David Kennedy. Helping the odds is a list of Ibiquity's other owners, which range from tech companies like Texas Instruments to Ford Motor Company, which could offer HD Radios across its eight product lines. Ibiquity says it has about 100 radio stations in 25 states committed to HD Radio, two-thirds of which are FM stations. So far, about half those have been built, with the other half still implementing their plans. Throughout 2003, it will focus on six priority markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami. "There is a tremendous amount of interest in two areas," explains Joe D'Angelo, Director of Wireless Data and PAC Business Development. The first, he says, is the ability to stream a second channel in the FM band that could create an on-demand channel, which could, for example, allow listeners to hit a button to hear the weather. The second, and perhaps more important to advertisers, is a new pipeline to consumers. The first generation of HD Radio receivers will had a simple display space that will allow a station to send message like song titles and artists into a user's radio. It will also give advertisers a new visual component to their radio ad. "Whether it's as simple as an URL or a telephone number, you can free-up some of the audio time of an ad and convey the information to the receiver. That's going to be the initial way that broadcasters test the waters with advertiser and how compelling can they make that display," predicts D'Angelo. He says some receiver makers are also developing a "recall button" that stores text until the user is able to write down the information. "It gives the radio advertisement a little more duration," he adds. A similar type of service, already being tested by Clear Channel in southern California, has found advertisers are willing to pay to add a visual component to their radio ads. There, advertisers have been paying a 10% premium to add a visual, says D'Angelo. "Depending on the economic relationship, it can either be done to retain business and given away, or they could seek to capture a 10% or so premium on an audio-only ad. The jury is still out as to which one is going to get the most traction." Even so, D'Angelo believes it will require tens of thousands of units in any given market before the advertisers start to pay for these types of services, but based on conversations he has had with agencies and broadcasters alike, he predicts there will be testing and experiments going on right from day one to determine what works best in preparation for the mass consumer penetration. Ibiquity engineers are also developing other ancillary uses of the receivers, such providing traffic information to navigation systems like OnStar. The broadcast industry already has a tremendous amount of this content, they say, so it's not a far reach to put some of these pieces together. For the first few years, the capabilities of HD Radio receivers will be small, with limited graphical capabilities. Beyond 2004, however, it is expected the units will be able to carry larger visuals into a home or a car unit, particularly the emerging rear-seat entertainment units. "When those type of capabilities are enabled by the broadcaster, you're looking at a whole new opportunity for program sponsorship and branding," says D'Angelo. Looking even further down the road, developers foresee a day when the receivers have a return chip that will enable m-commerce from the back seat. "That's when you can take advertising from a broadcast media and a broadcast message to direct response marketing," says D'Angelo, adding, "It's really not that far off." (via Mike Terry, DXLD) PROPAGATION / RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TV DX IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND - BOB COOPER While visiting in the states during September, and perusing the latest goodies in Radio Shack, a sale on handheld 2" region LCD TVs caught my attention. I have a PAL version of this "gadget" acquired at home (New Zealand) which we use when installing cable TV drops to perform a quick and dirty "go - no go" test on drop lines. Using the 21" whip antenna, stuck up close to a piece of RG6 which we hope is "hot" with signal, the installer has an instant way to know whether he requires more elaborate procedures. People in New Zealand are gardening fanatics and repairing buried RG6 drop lines goes with the territory. The NTSC version of this (RCA branded) device is (after currency conversion) less than half of the New Zealand version and on top of that they were having a sale. So I parted with US$59.95 and left RS with a new "TV DX toy." I had selected the RCA Catalog # 16-3050, with a 2.3" color LCD screen. Four AA batteries later I was just another American walking through the shopping mall tuning for weak TV signals in the palm of my hand. Our family returned to the states in November while heading for the Turks & Caicos Islands and this meant I would have several clandestine opportunities to see what Mr RCA could do at various heights up to 38,000 feet surrounded by a thin shell of protective aluminum and travelling at 500 miles per hour. In the 60s and 70s and 80s, I had several hundred opportunities to "TV DX" at altitudes up to 10,000 feet while flying in private planes throughout North America and the Caribbean. It was not unusual to find 600 mile UHF signals even on a short whip antenna. Alas that was then and today anyone who flies knows that you are not allowed to use, (1) any form of radio or TV receiver, (2) cell phone, (3) ham radio etc. aboard a commercial airliner from the time they close the door prior to takeoff until you have landed and the door is again opened. But my curiosity of what might be happening at 38,000 feet was far stronger than the oft repeated warnings from the captain and crew and so under a blanket to hide the glare of the LCD screen I turned it on. It happened I was sitting on the aisle (3 abreast) and my son Seth had the window seat. I negotiated a seat trade so I might be able to gently lay the 21" whip against the plastic inside window pane. Think of the windows in a 747/757/767 (et al) as "directors" on a yagi antenna. The opening is approximately the width of a director element on a yagi antenna that would fall between VHF channel 13 and UHF channel 14. Which means UHF signals can sneak through the opening unencumbered while VHF signals will have their "edges" cut off by the airplane's shell surrounding the window opening. One analogy for the technically inclined is the window approximates a piece of waveguide transmission line with a cut-off frequency of around 350 MHz. But before I negotiated the move I feinted being asleep under the airline blanket and allowed the RCA to scan through low band V, high band V and then UHF. I was mildly surprised how well it worked some distance from the nearest window on UHF but saw only a few fleeting images on V. Then I decided to slide it into my shirt pocket and use the bathroom - one at the back end of the 757, located in the center of the airliner. No open windows here of course and I was dead center from both sides. Being the only bathroom occupant, and finding no signs warning me NOT to use a TV set in the tiny cubicle (!) I hung out there for as long as I felt I could get away with tying up a valuable limited-quantity resource - the toilet. The partitions around the bathroom probably contain some metal (which of course would act as a shield or "wall" to block TV signals that somehow were sneaking into the airliner) but I was still amazed at what could be done on UHF. Reception was every bit as good (number of stations, quality of reception) as from my aisle seat. Plus I did not have to hide scrunched up under a blanket - far more comfortable! Lacking a WTFDA Station Guide (boy - did I wish for one at the time!) and not dead certain where we might be (someplace between Los Angeles and Miami, obviously), it didn't take long to work out that Mexico has far more UHF stations than I might have otherwise guessed - clear up to the top end (channel 83). We were someplace above El Paso when I worked out that Houston was dead solid on several UHF channels even in the bathroom. I would see them stay with us for more than two hours - distances to 500+ miles at the extremes. The RCA handheld has a channel scanner function. You select the band (VHF or UHF) and push a scan-start button (two choices - scan upwards in frequency/channel number, or, downward) and away it goes until it finds a signal. It locks on signals too weak to view which is handy as I shall shortly point out. It restarts the scan when you push scan again. Along the bottom of the screen are printed numbers suggesting channel numbers; VHF channels are much easier to work out than UHF simply because of the fewer number of channels. At 38,000 feet (*) the receiver stops very frequently because nearly every channel has something on it. (* I also found the receiver tunes the mid-band frequencies (88 - 174 MHz) in the VHF position plus up to perhaps (I am guessing here) at least 250 MHz - which means if you lay the whip antenna up next to a cable TV outlet carrying the usual VHF-plus these channels, the cable line radiating into the whip produces extremely high quality cable reception.) From the negotiated window seat the whip antenna could be fully extended and placed carefully against the inner plastic window pane. Carefully? My son advised me he could see a "glow" under the blanket which any seven year old would quickly work out was a TV screen. Not wishing to incur the wrath of a steward/ess police person, finding a position under the blanket where the TV screen could be seen, the receiver scan tuned and the whip antenna would not show while laying up against the window was a challenge. I managed 15 minutes of VHF tuning before I was nabbed by a lady who sincerely believed my miniature TV set might cause the plane to divert off course and crash. VHF. Well, first of all there is CCI. Gobs of CCI. I actually believe the entire airplane acts like some sort of semi-resonant gigantic antenna and the windows are simply "peep holes" through which some of the intercepted RF "leaks" into at least the inner window frame. High band VHF borders on impossible at first and then one discovers that a very tiny move of the antenna (within the region circumscribed by the window edges) can totally eliminate two or three or four of the co- channel signals. How tiny a move? Say 1/2" or less which is far too small a move at VHF wavelengths to be explained by changes in signal coverage patterns. Moreover, once you make such a change the signals you have "phased out" stay phased out as long as the antenna is held steady in the new position. Remember the entire airplane is moving at 500+ miles per hour so you cannot "explain" the lock [sic] solid reception as a change in signal coverage of the transmitting stations as you might while standing on earth. This is such an important point I will take space to explain it another way. First, signals are not simply flying from the transmitter through the air to my 38,000 foot location and gliding through an open window to the tiny whip antenna. That might be partially what happens at UHF but not at VHF. Rather it appears the airplane outer surface may be a series of resonant and semi-resonant antennas all somehow interconnected. And the windows are "peep holes" through which energy is "coupled" to the whip antenna on the inside of the plane's metal shell. An example: While someplace slightly east of Houston (over the Gulf but along the coast) channel 8 Houston was easily received but with horrendous co-channel. Working at a physical disadvantage (hiding under a blanket and scrunched over) the whip antenna could be moved a half inch and channel 8 in New Orleans took over the channel. As long as I left the antenna's position alone against the window and frame, New Orleans was solid. But move the antenna another half inch to inch and bang - away went both of these signals to be replaced by Tampa (at easily 500 miles). It was while I was working out the "calibration" of the antenna's position (it was tempting to take a pen and write call letters on the window frame but I did not) that I got careless, the blanket dropped just as super- stewcop rolled by and nabbed me. End of the fun for awhile. Low band VHF signals are possible but it was difficult to locate a spot where the antenna could couple into the outer shell of the plane at LB. I never had enough time to find a location where I could "phase" LB channel signals - when I found the signal(s) CCI was incredible (similar to but worse than what you might have during the most intense Es opening you ever experienced). There might be a "spot" or two where phasing could be done and of course it would be nice to replace the whip antenna with a dipole but that's another story. It was a few days later than this LAX to MIA experience that I stood on the beach in the Turks & Caicos Islands fingering the RCA. There are no (as in none at all) off-air TV signals there, only the 75 channel cable. I thought to myself, "This is early December, it is late in the afternoon - could there be an Es cloud about?" Sure enough after a few minutes I found a CCI laden signal on channel 2 and another on 4. My family was waiting for me to attend a social event so I gave it up before working out the source of the Es signals - I believe them to have been Baltimore on channel 2 and Washington on channel 4. Prior to flying MIA to PLS we spent two days near Fort Lauderdale with a relative. Naturally I had to work out the apparent sensitivity of the tiny TV and whip while wandering about his backyard and walking around a lake in the development. Normal early morning trops in South Florida this time of year is good for a couple of hundred miles or so with a suitable outdoor antenna and bulky receiver. On the tiny RCA, I saw Tampa on channels 8 and 13 (around 175 miles) and lots of CCI on UHF. It was at this point that I had a new (for me) thought. One of the attractions of ham radio (stay tuned - I have a point to make) is the wide variety of sub-interests one can indulge in while sitting under the ham radio umbrella. For example, there is something termed "QRP" which means only using a low power transmitter (such as 5 watts or less - sometimes much less). The challenge is to see just how far you can work (or how many states/countries) using low or QRP (power). In a way, these handheld TV sets are akin to QRP - very limited capability. But far from being totally useless! For example, while wandering around the manmade lake in Fort Lauderdale, I discovered how with very careful minute adjustments of the whip antenna one could obtain an effect similar to the airplane observations on high band. While receiving channels 8 and 13 from Tampa on trops I thought I saw CCI on channel 6 (Miami). Could it be Orlando? First I walked in a circle of about ten foot diameter looking for improved signs of CCI. When I found the best spot (around a foot square - not very large) I then began making adjustments to the whip antenna. As inside the airplane, sure enough there was one location and one position of the whip where the CCI came very close to wiping out Miami. Very tiny adjustments made a huge difference in first the level of channel 6 Miami (we are going for a null here) and the peak signal from the CCI station. When you can make the null of one and the peak of the other coincide, BINGO! Normally with an outside rooftop antenna you are stuck with the phase relationship of the antenna system. You can't push it up or bring it down, twist it sideways or otherwise do much more than rotate the fixed-in-place antenna system. But the tiny whip actually has advantages over the fixed-in-place antenna system. DXers with two (or more) separate VHF (or UHF) antennas and the ability to switch between the two have made the same "discovery"; sometimes one works better (far better) on the distant signal than the other and it may simply be because the stronger local or semi-local is nulled by the secondary antenna system. So a challenge. Get yourself one of these Radio Shack handhelds (when they are on sale of course - they have four or five different models to select from) and then probe your own backyard. You will quickly discover locations where the stronger local and semi-local signals are dropped down or totally nulled out. These would be spots where when conditions are favorable you would return to with the handheld to see if the DX stations override the stronger local signals. Next, like the QRP hams, start a separate log of only the stations you log with your handheld. There are bound to be some pretty decent DXing spots around you which are not suitable for a full blown portable DX system but where you can with your handheld do some amazing things. Let's see who will be the first to log 100 stations with a handheld - no, airplane trips should not count in the same category as being on the ground! And if you "couple" another antenna system to the handheld TV, that pushes you into the "assisted" category. There is something quite magical about these tiny tools. While visiting in Bakersfield, California I discovered two spots where quite decent Los Angeles reception was possible (over the top of the 8,000 foot plus Tehachapi Mountains and 125 miles distant). The mountain tops act like prisms refracting (bending) the LA signals into some small patches (one was in the middle of a cotton field 50 yards from the nearest roadway - probably the first time anyone ever stood in this field watching distant Los Angeles TV!) - a form of wave propagation known as "knife edge refraction." In a matter of minutes you can scan an entire area for the elusive distant signals - something you could never do with traditional TV sets requiring connection to a 120 volt outlet and an external antenna. Now, when will RS release a handheld digital TV receiver? (Bob Cooper, New Zealand, Jan 1, WTFDA via DXLD) I suggest that the Icom R3 LCD TV and radio scanner would be best for portable DX monitoring. The scanner features wideband VHF/UHF coverage, with 5 kHz minimum tuning steps. AM, FMn, and FMw modes are provided. One advantage is the digital frequency readout. This means you simply tune the dial to 55.25 MHz, and you know the TV is spot on ch 2. Varicap dial tuning is used, and there is no mute! Audio and video 1v p-p outputs are supplied for feeding DX signals into a monitor or VCR. Different antennas can be used with the R3. Perhaps a 50 MHz variable length whip would be ideal for ch 2-6 DX. The sensitivity is hot on band 1. The only drawback is the relatively simple front-end RF stage. This means that even though the IC- R3 is quite sensitive, overload may be possible if within line of sight local TV transmitters. A good combination for portable TV DX would be a Yupi 7100, 7200, or 9000 portable hand-held scanner, and Icom R3 TV. 73, (Todd Emslie, NSW, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ And now amigos, as always, at the end of the show here is LA NUMERO UNO, the most popular section of Dxers Unlimited, Arnie Coro's exclusive and not copyrighted HF plus 6 meters propagation update and forecast... Solar flux moving slowly up, and a peak for this 27 day rotation is expected in about a week or so... We may still see the flux peaking as high 180 solar flux units, but this may be the last rotation of this cycle with such high activity... Propagation conditions on the higher bands will continue to improve during the next several days, so enjoy nice listening on the 13 meters international shortwave broadcast band during the local daylight hours. Nightime reception of the shortwave broadcast bands is going to be at its best in the range from 6 to 12 megaHertz, but you will notice a sharp drop in the maximum useable frequency as the local night advances. 6 meter band operators should continue to monitor the magic 50 megaHertz band, especially during the local evening hours, as we are seeing some very interesting nighttime sporadic E skip in North America and the Caribbean (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Jan 7-8 via Bob Chandler, ODXA, DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 08 JANUARY - 03 FEBRUARY Solar activity is expected to be low to moderate during the forecast period. There is a chance of isolated M-class activity early in the period and again late in the period due to Regions 242, 243, and 244. There is a slight chance of a greater than 10 MeV proton event during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 17-18 January and again on 25 – 28 January due to recurring coronal holes. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to active conditions for most of the period. Isolated active conditions are possible on 15-16 January and again on 30 – 31 January due to recurring weak coronal holes. Minor to major storm conditions are possible on 23 -24 January due to a returning coronal hole that was 30 degrees wide and centered on 00 latitude during its last rotation. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jan 07 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Jan 07 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jan 08 145 10 3 2003 Jan 09 155 10 3 2003 Jan 10 160 15 3 2003 Jan 11 165 12 3 2003 Jan 12 165 8 3 2003 Jan 13 170 8 3 2003 Jan 14 175 8 3 2003 Jan 15 170 15 3 2003 Jan 16 165 12 3 2003 Jan 17 165 10 3 2003 Jan 18 160 10 3 2003 Jan 19 155 15 3 2003 Jan 20 155 12 3 2003 Jan 21 145 12 3 2003 Jan 22 135 15 3 2003 Jan 23 125 30 5 2003 Jan 24 120 20 4 2003 Jan 25 115 10 3 2003 Jan 26 115 12 3 2003 Jan 27 115 12 3 2003 Jan 28 115 10 3 2003 Jan 29 125 10 3 2003 Jan 30 135 15 3 2003 Jan 31 145 15 3 2003 Feb 01 150 12 3 2003 Feb 02 155 8 3 2003 Feb 03 155 8 3 (de http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1164, DXLD)###