DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-011, January 19, 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 1165: RFPI; Sun 1830, Mon 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 15039 and/or 7445 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WWCR: Wed 1030 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1165.html WORLD OF RADIO ON RADIO STUDIO X, ITALY, 1584 Hi Glenn, sorry but I must correct my last e-mail. The only change about WOR on Radio Studio X concerns the Saturday programme which moves from 12,30 am to 1 am (30 mins ahead [behind]). The Sunday programme remains at 9.30 pm as before. Always local time, of course. We apologize but we're in middle of great schedule changes and realized of that mistake only right now ... Best regards, (Massimiliano Marchi, RADIO STUDIO X, Jan 18) And in the original version of last issue I managed to misconvert both times. The correct UT should now be Sat 0000, Sun 2030 (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Incidentally, could I also mention HOW EASY it is to save your .txt bulletins to a Floppy Disk. Old Fashioned perhaps but IT REALLY WORKS and so quickly. PLEASE never 'drop' .txt, in favour of 'html' which causes me horrendous problems. I save some of these for referring back to, and can even put the 'txt Bulletins on to MSDOS (LocoScript Word Processor), SPLENDID for my 'unusual' Set-Up Here. All the Best for 2003 and 'Cheers' (73's) (Ken Fletcher, UK, 1040 UT 18th January 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710, 0257-, Radio Nacional Jan 2. Excellent trans Pacific reception with full Spanish ID at 0300. Much stronger than normally heard in the Pacific Northwest (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2485, VL8K, Katherine, 0945 Jan 18, VL8K was airing coverage of the Australian Open. The match I heard was between Lleyton Hewitt and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Nice copy on 2485, but poor on 2310 and 2325. The terminator was over the middle of Australia, during the time of reception (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. I received a message from Mr Ian Williams that the start up for HCJB-Australia broadcasts to India on 15480 has been again delayed till the 26th January. Regds, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 11755, HCJB-Australia, being heard better than the first few days, tho still poor, occasionally nudging the low side of "fair." Reception is highly variable, in general "best" around 1030-1130; earlier they seem to go into significant fades at times, not like a MW signal but more than you would expect. Finland is generally absent except around 1130-1200, by which time they have faded in and started mixing, with varying results. I heard DXPL at 0930 Jan 11, tho I could understand only pieces of it. Cuba-11760 TVI-like emissions accompanying their s/on at 1100 spill over and vary in intensity; otherwise little Cuba QRM if you tune 11755 in LSB. IDs I have heard, all on Jan 11: 1028--"The Voice of the Great Southland. Radio from the heart." 1044--"HCJB Australia. Radio from the heart." 1058--"Waltzing Matilda" followed by "It's 1100 hours UTC. You're tuned to HCJB Australia, the Voice of the Great Southland, on 11755 kHz.," then into "Country Down Under" country music program. (Interesting to hear "Waltzing Matilda" followed by an HCJB ID.) 1159-- "You have been listening to the Voice of the Great Southland, HCJB Australia, on 11755 kHz [sounds like he is saying 11725] on the 25 mb. Broadcasting will resume to the So. Pacific at 0700 hours UTC tomorrow. Good night and God bless." This is about as good as the signal has gotten here (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 9550, 1813-, Bangladesh Betar Dec 27. Monitored this station on many days in Maui, but on most days, signal plugs the meter of my Sony 2010, but there is a loud buzz and very little audio. Parallel to 7185, almost as strong. English talk by YL. IS at 1815. Monitored at 1745 on 29 Dec with same buzz, into English Voice of Islam programming, again at very low level. The only day that modulation was strong was on 6 January. Tune-in at 1819. At 1821, strong clear ID as: 'This is the external service of Bangladesh Betar giving you the news'. Minimal distortion, and no buzz. Reports requested at 1859 to the Director of the External Service, Bangladesh Betar. Following days, back to the usual loud buzz and weak audio. On 10 January, heard IS and ID at 1744 as, 'This is the Voice of Islam for the External Service of Bangladesh Betar' (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. 7235 new. I came across a station on 7235 around 0810 this morning [Jan 15]. Signal strength was poor - only tipping the meter up to about 3 - and with co-channel American hams on the LSB. However, I would describe the program as classical songs, and announcements were in a "Russian" lang. The program was not Rossii and it was not \\ BLR 279. I forgot to try Ukraine until it was too late, and the signal had gone. Interesting - maybe - Hrodna 7110 was audible same time peaking to about 5 and this was \\ 279. Could 7235 be Brest - and a move off 7265 ? Unless they use this transmitter for something else we don't know about there should be no reason to adjust frequency unless they mean to. I cannot hear Brest 7265 due to the strength of SWRF Rohrdorf Germany (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Jan 15 via DXLD) Brest 7265 with BR2 (Kanal Kultura) is unchanged and heard well here in Vilnius. Later: BR2 on 7265 is supposed to be Hrodna (not Brest), heard well here in Vilnius (Bernd Trutenau-LTU, BC-DX Jan 15) And thanks to Bernd and Mauno for identifying 7235 as BR-2 from BLR. So there are now two stations on SW broadcasting this program. I have three lists of BLR local SW txs plus DBS (DSWCI), Passport and the WRTVH, and only the WRTVH shows Hrodna on 7265. All the others list Brest. So I guess it will now be necessary to positively identify locations of 7265 and new 7235 somehow - unless the person responsible for submitting the location of 7265 to the WRTVH actually knows ! Most certainly, 7110 was much stronger than 7235 today - if that means anything about location. Admittedly, my information is one year old - via Rudnev RUS-DX via Klepov with added info from Olle listed: Minsk using 6080 6115 & 7210; Brest 6010 6070 7265; Grodno 6040 7110 and Mogilev 6190 & 7145, and DBS also had Brest 5950 reported in Aug 2001. Bernd's initial report lists BR1 on 6010/6040/6070/6190/7110/7145, BR2 on 7265, and we know that 6115 has also come back on, and Olle has been hearing 6080. Just 7210 is still missing (Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX Jan 15) This morning (Thu Jan 16) I heard 7235 in \\ with the BR-1 channels (6115 etc.). I also heard another voice from time to time (BR-1 female, UNID male), but could not make out more due to TV interference. Mahiliou 7145 not audible, is it active? (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Jan 16) 7235. There is a lot of incorrect data circulating, the info on Hrodna and all other BR info in WRTH2003 is based on official and confirmed data from 2002 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Jan 16) Thanks for this latest information - I will correct my lists accordingly. 7235 was a little stronger this morning around 0745, but Hrodna 7110 was less strong and I could not hear 7145. (Noel R. Green- UK, BC-DX Jan 16) 1170 kHz. Have a fresh info on broadcasting in Belarus`. It has been gathered by Sergey Alekseichik, Hrodna, Belarus`. He phoned some control rooms, so the data can be considered as reliable. Sasnovy. 1170 kHz is used for Sodruzhestvo service of the V of Russia (in Russian), 1200-1700, 800 kW, antenna directed to the West (they did not tell the exact azimuth) 279 kHz carries Belarussian R 1, 0400- 2200, 500 kw, omnidirectional. [beam 244 degr, ed] Kalodziczy Starting 3 Jan, 6115 kHz has been reactivated, 75 kW, 252 deg. 7210 kHz only carries the foreign service, relaying of domestic broadcasting (BR1) is not planned at present time. 6080 kHz, 150 kW transmitter, signal beamed to Ukraine. 873 kHz (formerly Kanal Kultura) is inactive. 1125 kHz carries Kanal Kultura, 0500-2200, 150 kW, omnidir. (Sergey Alekseichik, Belarus`) (I presume 6115 and 6080 are for BR1 program? - DM) (Dmitry Mezin, Ruissia, BC-DX Jan 11 via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. "First Day Transmission". In his handwritten letter, Mr. C. Osondu tells me that "we are involved in a struggle to librate our people from the criminal Nigerian government. We don't have money to make QSL cards and we like the one you did. Can you make a few copies and send to us at Voice of Biafra; 733 15th Street; Washington DC 20005. Thanks. Ch.... Osondu". (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, DXplorer Jan 10 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. 4820, Radio Botswana Jan 7. Very strong signal with the usual barnyard IS. Solid 5-5-5 (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Here's notice of an upcoming DX test... PLEASE NOTE: Even if you don't hear a test, be sure and drop a card, letter, or e-mail to the station personnel, thanking them for going to the trouble to run a test! Sunday, February 2, 2003 - CHWO-740, Toronto, ON, Canada will conduct a DX test from 12:30-01:30 am EST [0530 to 0630 UTC]. At 12:30 am EST, the station will have a voice and Morse code ID and will repeat same every 15 minutes until 0130 am EST. The station will have continuous music between each ID. Songs that will be played include: Colonel Bogey March - Mitch Miller St. Louis Blues March - Glenn Miller Beer Barrel Polka - Andrew Sisters Ricochet Romance - Teresa Brewer Spin, Spin - Gordon Lightfoot Something To Sing About - The Travellers The Battle of New Orleans - Jimmy Driftwood California Here I Come - Al Jolson Reception reports and / or tapes may be sent to: Brian Smith QSL Manager AM 740 Box 161, Willowdale Stn A Toronto, Ontario Canada M2N 5S8 E-MAIL: am740@rogers.com (via Lynn Hollerman, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Since CHWO is already the dominant station on 740, 50 kW non- direxional, unlike most DX tests this should not involve any different facilities than usual --- just the MCW and advance notice of tunes to help people identify it. Hope there is something distinctive in the IDs, as the tunes are already identified -- but not their precise times (gh, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 7445, 0627-, RFPI Dec 30. Best signal on 41 meters at this time of the evening in Maui. Went into WOR at 0630. Good reception (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Glenn, Look for the radio reference.... R Swan? http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030114&Category=APN&ArtNo=301140763&Ref=AR Luís Andrés Vargas Gómez, former Cuban prisoner, dies at 87 The Associated Press [I am not going to put all the accents back in:] Luis Andres Vargas Gomez, a former economist, diplomat and anti-Fidel Castro activist who spent 21 years in Cuban prisons, has died of kidney failure. He was 87. Vargas Gomez, the grandson of Gen. Máximo Gómez, a hero of Cuba's wars for independence, died Monday at his home in suburban Coral Gables. "He was a great Cuban, a fighter until the end," said Juan Pérez Franco, president of Brigade 2506, a group of veterans from the 1961 Bay of Pigs. Vargas Gomez served as Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations shortly after Castro took power in 1959, but quit two months later because of a political falling out with the Cuban leader. Vargas Gomez moved to Coral Gables in 1960 and was involved in the planning of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, serving as director of a clandestine radio station. Five days before the invasion, Vargas Gomez slipped into Cuba with his wife and dog. He was captured after he was refused asylum at Ecuador's embassy. His wife and the Dalmatian managed to return to South Florida. "He couldn't leave his dog and he found it difficult to hide with the dog," said Radio Martí director Salvador Lew, a friend of Vargas Gomez. "But that just shows you what kind of a humane person he was. He had the blood of his great ancestors." He was originally sentenced to death by firing squad, but the punishment was commuted to 30 years. Vargas Gomez ended up serving 21 years at various prisons before his release in 1982. He was allowed to leave Cuba when civil rights activist Jesse Jackson persuaded Castro to release him and 25 other Cuban prisoners in 1984. Once in South Florida, Vargas Gomez served as a college professor and international trade consultant for Miami's Department of Economic Development and International Trade. He was active in Miami's Cuban-American community, helping form Unidad Cubana, a coalition of anti-Castro organizations, in 1991. He also wrote a column for El Nuevo Herald from 1986 to 1999. Vargas Gomez is survived by his wife, stepdaughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Last modified: January 14. 2003 12:10PM (via Ulis Fleming, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 3289.9, Radio Centro, 1000 Jan 18, High paced commercial format with Andean pop/folk music. Canned ID given at 1015 followed by announcer`s ID a minute later. Strong signal but much adjacent channel QRM (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. 17835.4, 1744-, Radio Imperial Dec 28. Not really a logging. More an observation. Het was heard most of the day in Maui, but the most I ever got was very weak sub-threshold audio. I suspect with a decent antenna and conditions, this would propagate OK (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. As promised here's my report about the V. of The Democratic Eritrea. Around 1739 UT I picked it up on 15670 [via T- systems Juelich site], ID in Arabic: "Idhaat Sout Eritrea Al Demokratia", (V of Democratic Eritria in English) a song in Tigre, followed by a man reading a letter sent to the human right watch from the Eritrean refugees in Sudan, talking mainly about how bad is the situation with the human rights in Eritrea, followed by another song in Tigre around 1745. Another ID by OM wishing all the listeners all the best and hoping they've enjoyed their transmission went off the air suddenly (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, BC-DX Jan 17, via DXLD) 5925 -- There was a clear announcement and ID in Tigrinya and (Sudanese) Arabic at 1758. Yes, same powerhouse here in Stuttgart. Asked Tarek Zeidan in Cairo to listen 2nd part of the transmission also on Monday & Thursday, to make it clear, which language or accent is heard then. After break at 1529-1530 UT I recognized also the lang as Arabic 1530- 1559 UT, not Tigre. V of Democratic Eritrea, EAf 1500-1530 Sat Tigre 5925 JUL 1530-1600 Sat Arabic 5925 JUL V of Democratic Eritrea, EAf 1700-1730 Mon/Thu Tigre 15670 JUL 1730-1800 Mon/Thu Ar 15670 JUL (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. 9990 Voice of the Eritrean People. This Saturday, Jan 11, I checked again the Merlin test on 9990 at 1650-1710, but there was no test ! This indicates that the test program was on Mon-Fri only. (wb, Jan 11) The spill-over of Norwegian programs have often been noted here from Kvitsoy e.g. when R Afghanistan began its relays on 18940, so there is no doubt to me that the transmitter testing on 9990 at *1658-1715* is Kvitsoy. It was heard again on Jan 10 with the Afghan interval music from Merlin (Anker Petersen, Denmark, BC-DX Jan 10) Furthermore it was noteworthy that the Norwegian program from NHK starting at 1700 UT could be heard well here on all four Norkring freqs: Sveio 13800 and 18950, and Kvitsoey 7490 and 9980! The latter was not heard on Jan 08 and 09 during the Merlin test, but first signing on at 1727. This is a clear proof that the transmitter on 9990 is the same as Kvitsoey on 9980 (Anker Petersen, BC-DX Jan 12) Yes, totally agree with. Voice of the Eritrean People, Tigrigna 1630-1700 Suns only 9990 KVI 1658-1715 Mon-Fri fanfare 9990 KVI Voice of the Eritrean People at 1630-1700 on 15735 (to Af and ME), replaced; is really Suns at 1630-1700 UT via Kvitsøy, Norway on different frequency of 9990 kHz. Audio quality is different, the presenter in the studio performed a fine audio signal. But in contrast there was a guest speaker, fed in - I assume - via an Internet phone service or via .MP3 audio file of very extreme exceeded audio on the sound card. At 1657:10 UT cut off midst in sentence, transmitter down. Then I checked all R Norway domestic service frequencies immediately. Only Sveiø 13800 and 18950 came in on the clear with very strong signal. But both 9980 and 7490 missed at 1700 UT. 7490 On latter frequency a very strong Diesel engine type jammer from Iran was/is still in progress against Persian Clandestine CHA R International, scheduled at 1730-1830 UT. Now at 1742 UT CHA Persian R International program is well in the clear, but the Iranian jammer is now silent. [I ask again: what does `CHA` stand for?? -- gh] On Sundays there are two Norkring Kvitsøy transmitters OFF, to cover MERLIN services of two more or less Clandestines. Maybe this site even had both in action for the broadcasts heard on 9990 and 7530 on Suns only? So to conclude: Suns only 9990 1630-1657, 7530 1700-1727, 7490 1730-1827 Weekdays 9990 1654-1715, 9480 1727-1757, 7490 1700-1757 Voice of the Eritrean People, Tigrina 1700-1727 Suns only 7530 KVI [Sun Jan 12] Voice of the Eritrean People, Tigrina 1630-1700 Suns only 9990 KVI [1630 carrier, Norkring program underneath, 1638-1645 Merlin fanfare, 1646-1657 Sun Jan 12) 1630-1700 Mon-Fri fanfare 9990 KVI [1657-1715 Merlin fanfare in week- 2], from 1727 then on Norkring NOR/DEN program to 9980 kHz (Wolfgang Bueschel) Merlin registration for a Norwegian transmitter Voice of the Eritrean People has been confirmed on 9990 kHz. Voice of Democratic Eritrea: 1500-1600 5925 JUL 100 kW / non-dir Sat to Eu Tigrina 1700-1800 15670 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg Mon,Thu to EAf Tigrina At 1801 I heard this ID in Tigrinya: "Demtsi Democrasiyawit Eritrea" and at 1830 when the Arabic program started: "Idha'at Sawt Eritrea al- Demokratya". SINPO 35434 deteriorating to 25343. I checked with my tape recording of the program heard yesterday on 7530 at 1700-1727*, and it was exactly the same initial announcement in Tigrinya! So that station relayed Sundays via Kvitsøy is: The Voice of Democratic Eritrea, and not the Voice of the Eritrean People! Yesterday I also wondered, that it was quite different voices I heard on 9990 at 1646-1657* and on 7530 at *1700-1727* (Anker Petersen, Denmark, BC-DX Jan 13 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9560.4, 1601-, Radio Ethiopia Jan 10. English programming with fair reception. At 1630, ID 'You are tuned to the external service of Radio Ethiopia.' Then Big Ben-type gongs, local and UT time check, and into English news (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6210, Radio Fana, I noted regional folk music with various announcements in local language. Confirmed with parallel reception of the outlet on 6940. Fair copy here (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. I am not sure just what is going on regarding 6085. It was reported that Bayerischer Rundfunk was taking economy measures by, amongst other things Closing Down 6085 overnight (UT), to save electricity. It seems that at about 2300 modulation terminates, BUT as far as I can gather the transmitter carrier is left on All Night; so much for saving power??? I THINK you should be able to verify this yourself, if you wish, from there, however this MAY NOT be possible as the Days lengthen, especially during what would have been called M03 and J03, (The 'Old' Frequency Periods). (Ken Fletcher, UK, 1040 UT 18th January 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Hi Glenn, RFE/RL will be testing on 75 meters, via Biblis, 21 through 23 January: Belorussian 0400-0600 on 3985, Ukrainian 1800- 2100 on 3980. 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM [and non]. First I wanted to pass on to you that as of yesterday afternoon, around 1500 local time. Tropical Depression 01w [sic] became A Tropical Storm and was called TS 01w. This storm this morning as copied on NOAA weather radio 162.400 was about 165 nmile east of Guam. The island stayed in Typhoon condition ready 3 until around 11 am, when the storm passed the island. Only Saipan and Tinian were still in typhoon conditions and it was called condition 4 to upgraded to 3. The storm was located at the time at 13 degrees North Latitude by 147 east longitude and had a max wind of 40 miles per hour. As of this time the storm was well to the north. The Guam Civil defense issued warning on what to expect and how to prepare for the worst. The hard part was what to do with the already over loaded junk that was gathered from the last Typhoon. My first day off in 2 months and I spent it wisely listening to the sounds of DX. 73's from (Larry Fields, n6hpx/du1 on Guam Island, Jan 8, swl... via DXLD) only 40 mph? ** GUINEA. STATE TV AND RADIO LAUNCHES NEW FM STATION | Text of report by Guineenews web site on 8 January Now that Guineans seek precise information on the state of their president's health, who is ill and hospitalized in Rabat, Morocco, the [state-owned] Guinean Radio and Television (RTG) is launching a new radio station. Indeed, Radio Guinée Internationale started broadcasting music on 7 January. It is presently at an experimental phase. Programmes are broadcast every day from 1000 to 1230 gmt, in the morning, and from 1600 to 1830 gmt, in the afternoon. In the capital, Conakry, programmes are broadcast on 91.7 FM. The radio station also broadcasts in short wave. For now, it has only been broadcasting music punctuated by the announcement of future programmes. From the announcements, we learned that the new radio station will broadcast cultural, musical, business and news programmes. The programmes will be in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. That is all that we know so far. It should be noted that the Guinean Radio and Television comprises many stations: the National Station, which broadcasts its programmes in short wave and FM. Some divisions have FM relay transmitters that only cover the perimeter of their towns. Apart from the National Station, there is the Rural Radio Station that broadcasts its programmes in medium wave. It has transmitters and studios in Labe [northwestern Guinea], Kankan [western Guinea] and N'Zerekore [southeastern Guinea]. The Labe rural radio station covers all of central Guinea and many African countries. It is also known as Radio Fouta Internationale (RFI). The rural radio is a proximity radio station whose programmes are broadcast in the local languages - Pular, Malinke and the Forest languages). Other proximity radio stations include the community radios that broadcast for a specific group of prefects. They broadcast their programmes in FM and in the local languages. As for television, the RTG has successfully broadcast its images by satellite since October 2001. The "satellite progress" as the journalists of the station like to call it should especially help the reception of television images in remote areas of the country, because the microwave relay system was virtually out of use, so much so that television programmes were only received in the capital and its outskirts. The new system consisted of the establishment of a satellite dish in each prefect to receive the images broadcast by the satellite and another one to broadcast the images in the area. The two satellite dishes and the satellite receiver are powered by photovoltaic energy. From a technical point of view, the operation was successful. Unfortunately, there are few prefects where electricity is available to power television sets. Even in Conakry, power rationing has resumed. Beyond Camyenne, there is electricity only from 1800 to midnight gmt or until 7 o'clock in the morning (0700 gmt). Concerning the liberalization of the audiovisual sector, everybody, including the chairman of the National Communication Council, has been talking about it and has been hoping for it to take place, but it still has not happened. Source: Guineenews web site in French 8 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK?? on SW – same old 7125? ** HAWAII [non]. Folks, spent three weeks on the north shore of west Maui. As always, DXing is a lot of fun, and with the lovely temperatures very easy. Unfortunately, our accommodations were quite noisy (due to those awful screw-in neon bulbs), and pretty unsympathetic grounds keepers (my 75' or so of a very fine wire was cut by 2/3 before 0700 local), so I had to do with much shorter lengths. I did some of my listening at a vacant lot a few hundred meters from the resort using either just the built-in whip, or random wire of about 50'. Sony 2010 was my receiver. Briefly listened one morning in Kihei on the beach at 0700 local with better conditions than on west Maui (Walt Salmaniw, Jan 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Walt`s logs are scattered thruout this issue ** ICELAND. 13865, Radio Reykjavik (Útvarp Reykjavík SW relay), 1215 Jan 18. Transmission began with a recording of times and frequencies the shortwave relay can be heard, then abruptly switched to the Channel One feed in mid sentence. Then there was the usual vocal/piano interlude before the news. ID and time check at 1218. Into the news after that. Fairly good signal, but much QRM including very strong CW, sent in 5 character clusters, consisting of only letters. These letters did not spell out words, but appeared to be encoded like spy letter station transmissions (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [and non]. The Hindu on a content swap deal between AIR and VOA, and AIR and BBC. This is the first I've heard about the VOA/AIR deal, and I don't know the details yet. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/02172208.htm 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: AIR TO HAVE SLOTS ON VOA, BBC New Delhi, Jan. 17. (UNI): In a decision that is expected to cater to the Indian Diaspora overseas, All India Radio is to have slots for Indian programmes on the domestic channels of the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation radio. Both BBC and VOA had approached AIR for slots on its channels, and Prasar Bharati had in turn asked for similar slots on their domestic channels in the United Kingdom and United States. Briefing media after the 51st meeting of the Prasar Bharati Board, Chief Executive Officer K. S. Sarma said that while the deal was strictly on a barter system and there would be no exchange of money, AIR could sell advertising time unlike BBC and VOA which had mandates against soliciting commercials. Thus, AIR will keep whatever it earns by way of revenue through these programmes. Sarma said that while Aajtak, SAB, MTV, Discovery, and CNBC had earlier telecast programmes through Doordarshan, this was the first such deal for All India Radio. Prasar Bharati today decided to find ways of utilising about 500 to 600 acres of surplus space lying with 213 AIR stations and 59 Doordarshan kendras and offices in various stations and channels all over the country to bring in additional revenue. (The Hindu, Jan 17, via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ``Domestic channels of VOA``??? Are they in for a rude awakening --- unless this mean AIR would be relayed on Delano and Greenville, à la V. of Greece, which would be a VERY welcome development! Let`s hope they include more English than the Hellenes do (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Guess not. As if to clarify, here`s a revised version the next day: BBC, VOA ALLOWED TO USE AIR STATIONS ON RECIPROCAL BASIS By Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI JAN. 18. The Prasar Bharati Board on Friday decided to allow British Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America to use the All India Radio platform to broadcast some of their programmes; provided the AIR is allowed to use their radio stations to air its own programmes. Since both public broadcasters are governed by rules which do not permit them to raise revenues, the Prasar Bharati has decided to market the programmes they bring in and keep the revenue. Also, in the case of VOA --- which does not have a domestic channel --- the Prasar Bharati has retained the option of charging the broadcaster a slot fee if the AIR does not want to air programmes on its overseas radio stations. A decision to this effect was taken after both BBC and VOA approached the Prasar Bharati. While the Board warmed up to the idea on a reciprocal basis, it has been stipulated that neither broadcaster would air programmes relating to news or remotely connected to current affairs. The Prasar Bharati was apparently influenced by the manner in which private television channels --- be it NDTV or Aaj Tak --- entered the business using the Doordarshan platform. Wiser by the experience, it decided to make use of the window of opportunity opened by the request of BBC and VOA to its own advantage and take AIR's programmes on to other media vehicles. As part of the ongoing effort to generate revenue, the Board also decided to lease out land across the country. Apparently, between the 213 AIR stations, 59 DD Kendras and other offices, Prasar Bharati has about 600 acres lying idle. (Source: The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/01/19/stories/2003011902800900.htm National via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** INDIA. INDIA/CHINA. Besides V of Tibet 15795 and US propaganda programs on SW towards China, also AIR Delhi Chinese program is always object of strong jamming from China mainland. NE ASIA CHINESE 1145-1315 11840 15795 17705. News at 1215 . There is also a Tibetan service of AIR: TIBET TIBETAN 0130-0200 9565 11900 13700 news at 0145 TIBET TIBETAN 1215-1330 7410 9575 11775 news at 1230 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Jan 13-17, BC-DX via DXLD) So is AIR`s Tibetan service also jammed? (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. 4895, AIR, Kurseong (presumed), 1210 Jan 18, Subcontinental music with female singer. Fair to poor. Strong polar flutter due to southward magnetic field BZ component (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4860, AIR, Delhi, 1228 Jan 18, ID at 1230 "This is All India Radio…" then into news read by a woman in English. Fair to poor. Strong polar flutter (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 3223, 1630-, AIR Shimla Dec 28. Good reception, presumed AIR. Pegs the meter, with Indian music into local language at 1630 (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) INDIA 3315, 1631-, AIR Bhopal Dec 28. Good reception with local talk (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) INDIA 3945, 1708-, tent AIR Gorakhpur Dec 28. Excellent reception at 1708 with classical music, and into Indian music (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. Since an Israeli is on the current Space Shuttle Columbia mission - here is some information regarding 'tuning in' to the Space Shuttle live. STS-107 Mission Schedules, Status Reports http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/ WA3NAN - Rebroadcasts of Shuttle Audio (live) http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/garc-home-page.html http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/retransmission/shuttle_faq.html "Retransmission of Shuttle air-to-ground audio from WA3NAN may be heard on the following frequencies: Frequency (MHz) Mode Antennas 3.860 SSB LSB N-S/E-W Dipoles 7.185 SSB LSB N-S/E-W Dipoles 14.295 SSB USB 3-element Yagi 21.395 SSB USB 5-element Yagi 28.650 SSB USB 4-element Yagi 147.45 FM Simplex Phased vertical Where SSB is Single-Side-Band and LSB, USB indicate either Lower and Upper Side Band. A short-wave receiver possessing a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO) is needed to receive these transmissions." Other shuttle rebroadcast frequencies which may be used: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/shutfreq.html NASA TV/ Online / via Cable TV/Satellite "For those with satellite dishes, NTV is available through AMC2 (formerly referred to as GE2), Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 Mhz, and audio of 6.8 Mhz. This is a full transponder service and is operational 24 hours a day. Mission audio is also available during crew working hours -- 1:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Central Time (06:30 - 21:30 GMT) daily -- on GE-2, Transponder 13, with a frequency of 3960 MHz. Many cable television companies throughout the United States provide a channel for such coverage during missions. If you are unable to find NTV on your cable television system, you may want to contact your service provider." The Schedule and link to live NASA TV online (they have both 'broadband' and 'dialup' feeds): http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html One item of note in the schedule: ISRAELI PAO EVENT Tuesday 10:39 AM EST 15:39 UTC A few minutes ago, the entire "Blue Team" crew was interviewed, including the Israeli astronaut (The Red Team is sleeping). The Space Shuttle is scheduled to land on Sat morning, Feb 1. (Daniel Rosenzweig, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Other Iranian jammers against US Farda program in Persian noted at present on 9435, 13680, and 15290. But not all IBB frequencies are affected. Maybe the jammer personnel like the light pop mx? (Wolfgang Bueschel, Jan 12, BC-DX via DXLD) Yesterday afternoon [Jan 16] noted strong Iranian jamming on 1593 kHz on the car radio at Stuttgart Germany downtown, at about 1600 UT. Used VDO Audi car radio with HIRSCHMANN active backward window antenna system, with IF diversity performance (Wolfgang Bueschel, ibid.) ** IRAQ [non]. HIA-BASED UNIT TRIES TO 'GET INSIDE IRAQI HEADS' GUARD UNIT TRIES TO SOFTEN IRAQI TROOPS Wednesday, January 08, 2003 BY TOM BOWMAN Of The Patriot-News http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/104202181270600.xml For the third time in 12 years, midstate Air National Guard aviators in the 193rd Special Operations Wing headquartered at Harrisburg are dropping leaflets on Iraq and broadcasting radio programs telling soldiers not to shoot at allied coalition aircraft. "Coalition air power can strike at will. Any time, any place. ... The attacks may destroy you or any location of Coalition choosing. Will it be you or your brother? You decide," some leaflets read. Members of the 193rd began dropping the leaflets in mid-November and started broadcasting on five radio frequencies Dec. 12, targeting Iraqi soldiers and citizens. "In essence, what they are doing is saying, 'Hey, we can control your radio and TV and you guys really don't have a say in it,'" said 1st Lt. Ed Shank, spokesman for the 193rd. "We're going to broadcast what's really happening in the world. Because psyops doesn't work unless we tell the truth." Psyops, or psychological operations, by NATO definition are psychological activities designed to influence attitudes and behavior. The 193rd's motto, "Never seen, always heard" tells the unit's story. Members of the 193rd fly EC-130 air cargo planes that carry radio and TV transmitters. The airplanes circle an area near Iraq, trailing antennas from giant planes. After the 1991 Gulf War, the Defense Department gave the 193rd an award crediting it with the surrender of more than half of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's troops. Soldiers with the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., prepare the leaflets and the radio shows. Members of the 193rd distribute the messages by dropping leaflets or by radio broadcast. Shank said the 4th Psychological Operations Group employs Iraqi nationals who work with them on the messages. "Culture has a lot to do with this, language, using one word instead of another," Shank said. "They definitely get inside [Iraqi] heads." Today's gulf mission is not secret, as missions were decades ago when the 193rd flew in Southeast Asia supporting troops in Vietnam. It's also a kinder, gentler message than what was sent to the Taliban 14 months ago in Afghanistan. There, the 193rd warned that "highly trained soldiers are coming to shut down once and for all Osama bin Laden's ring of terrorism and the Taliban that supports them and their actions." Broadcasts to Iraqi soldiers in recent weeks have sought a common ground, talking soldier to soldier. "Soldiers of Iraq. Since the beginning of time, there has been no profession more honorable than that of a soldier. ... Soldiers are the defenders of their people, and the protectors of women and children. ..." the 193rd broadcasts say, according to U.S. Central Command transcripts. "Saddam has tarnished this legacy. Saddam spews forth political rhetoric along with a false sense of national pride to deceive these men to serve his own unlawful purposes. Saddam does not wish the soldiers of Iraq to have the honor and dignity that their profession warrants," transcripts say. The difference between this and the Taliban broadcasts, Shank said, is that the United States is not at war with Iraq. The 193rd's mission is its third in Iraq. It deployed to the gulf on Aug. 27, 1990, and returned in February 1998 as are part of President Clinton's military buildup to force Iraq to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and allow arms inspectors full access to Iraqi weapons sites. Richard D'Angelo of Reading is a short-wave radio enthusiast who specializes in listening to utility broadcasts, including those of the military. D'Angelo said he heard the 193rd when it flew over Afghanistan but has yet to hear it near Iraq. "The big problem is they are only broadcasting in our afternoon. They stop around 3 o'clock our time," D'Angelo said. The broadcasts can be hard to hear in North America, but reception is good in Europe. D'Angelo said the 193rd broadcasts have been heard in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The broadcasts are on 9,715 kHz and 11,292 kHz. Like other short-wave listeners, D'Angelo reports the time and date he hears a broadcast and mails a report to the Pennsylvania National Guard. In return, D'Angelo hopes to receive a confirmation card indicating that the Guard checked its broadcast logs and that D'Angelo actually heard the broadcast. After the 193rd returned from Afghanistan in May, the unit sent D'Angelo a confirmation. "It has a picture on one side, an eagle and a flag," he said. "A little abstract, but you can tell all this. The back side, they thank you for tuning in the broadcast. Basically, thanks for tuning in and we need to remember the people who died on Sept. 11. It's kind of patriotic and kind of touching." (via Brian Alexander, PA, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. See INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non] ** JAPAN, 3607.5 USB, NHK feeder, 1025 Jan 18, Very weak, but audible commentary and music. Confirmed with parallel reception on 9750 and 11815. Nice to know this one is still active (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3925, Radio Tampa, 1043 Jan 18, Their typical commercial pop music format today; though occasionally I have heard avant-garde classical music recordings on this outlet. Parallel reception on 9595 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. NHK WORLD e-GUIDE NHK World Radio Japan. Former NHK World Radio Japan German broadcast personality Prof. Friedrich Greil passed away on January 3, 2003. He had just celebrated his 100th birthday only a few weeks earlier on December 8, 2002. Mr. Greil broadcast information about Japan for 40 years, from the start of German broadcasting in 1937 until 1986/1993, with the exception of a 9-year hiatus in Radio Japan broadcasts. I remember one time when he showed me a yellowed old piece of paper scribbled with hard-to-read German writing. It was the news manuscript for that famous outbreak of war between Japan and the United States which said: "The Imperial army and naval forces entered a state of war with U.S. and British forces early this morning in the western Pacific Ocean." Mr. Greil had frantically translated the news and read it himself from the handwritten script. He also read the news about the end of the war. In addition, Mr. Greil made great efforts to introduce Japanese culture through a wide range of exchanges, including with Kabuki actors and musicians. He was, literally, R Japan's living witness. Even now, the German language section continues to receive letters and e-mail messages of condolence from listeners (Minoru Sakuma, Senior Program Director, German Section, Jan 17, BC-DX via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 3985, 1710-, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan Dec 28. Two cochannel stations, with slight het. Stronger station is probably the clandestine, with lots of mentions of 'Arabiyah'. The weaker station is presumably CNR 2nd program (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010, 1712-, Kyrgyz Radio 1, Dec 28. A very regular station in Maui around this time. Heard with Russian news at 1712 until 1714. Often quite good reception, but usually at fair level, fading up as the morning wore on. Parallel to much weaker 4795. Classical music at 1735. Listened on subsequent days for IDs at TOH, but did not hear any. Lots of mentions of 'tsentralnaya azeeya', including weather forecasts (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4050, 1735-, Hit Shortwave, Dec 28. This program does not appear to be regular. Some mornings around this time I could hear pop music (never as strong as 4010), but most mornings, all that is heard is local talk in a central Asian language, presumably Kyrgyz Radio's home service (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. R. Vilnius (Sitkunai), 9875, Jan 17 2346-2400* noted with English program about teachers in Lithuania. Concluding announcement in what sounded like Lithuanian, and then in English as "Radio Vilnius, Lithuania". Transmission ended at 2400. First time I've heard Vilnius on shortwave from its own territory! (Jim Renfrew, NY, Drake R8, longwires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. RTV Malagasy, 5010, Jan 19 0258:30 began with a very weak flute IS (appeared to be the same as played on the Interval Signals Archive), talk at 0300, then flute music and talk at 0302. Barely above the noise floor (Jim Renfrew, NY, Drake R8, longwires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010, 0259-, RTV Malagasy, Jan 7. NA and ID at 0259. Good reception. 10 January, heard at 1653 with French talk at good level. 'Radio Madagascar' ID at 1659, just before TOH. Parallel 3287.7 at poor level (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 3215, 1626-, AWR, Dec 28. Generic AWR IS and multilingual ID before sign-off, using just the whip on my Sony 2010. Fair reception (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 11960, 1730-, Radio Nationale Malienne, Jan 5. Very enjoyable French language programming. Many IDs for Radio Nationale, including one by a YL for an FM frequency. Canned ID starting at 1758, mentioning all SW frequencies, but suddenly off at 1759. Very strong reception. On 10 January, much weaker parallel of off channel 9633.4 heard at 1748 (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 9636.36, This morning around 0800-0830 UT RTM Bamako was on air very odd 9633.36 kHz [sic ---- means 9636.36 here too, as also below?], nothing heard on \\ 11960 due to Arabic station (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, Jan 15, BC-DX via DXLD) 9633.36. It had been almost on nominal 9635 but no longer. I also noted c7284.5 this morning but cannot hear 11960. The Arabic will be Jordan [powerhouse at Stuttgart too], and it goes off c0810. The frequency was then clear today. I'm not sure which transmitter shifts to which frequency at 0800 but suspect that 4835 moves to c9635. The one using 5995 is always more or less on nominal frequency until 0800, but I cannot hear if 4785 is on air due to a co-channel digital signal. That one was always offset in frequency and low in audio, and I suspect it may shift to 7 MHz (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Jan 16, via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5985.0, 1555-, Radio Myanmar, Jan 10. EZL non-vocal music, then 'We have now come to the final transmission for the day. Good night.' Into NA. Good/very good (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 6570, 1605-, Myanmar Defence Forces Radio, Jan 10. Good to very good reception with SE Asian vocals (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. EXTRA DRM TRANSMISSIONS FROM BONAIRE From Jan-20, Bonaire will conduct extra DRM transmissions towards New Zealand and SE Australia for a period of 7 days at 0600-0655 on 12025. Programming will be in Dutch (Bob Padula, EDXP via DXLD) ** OMAN. 15355, 0315-, Radio Sultanate of Oman, Jan 7. Was one of my favourite stations on my last visit a few years ago to Hawaii. News headlines at 0315, then into a Hank Williams song. Same female DJ as in previous years. Birthday greetings at 0324 to Nicholas Cage, then happy birthday is sung. Not as strong as previous years (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Hello everywhere, when there is poor reception on the tropical bands, the higher frequencies offer sometimes surprising results. 9504.7 R Tacna, January 17th, 2320-2345, Spanish, several reports, one about the struggle against drogues ("la batalla contra la droga"), temperatures in Peruvian cities and weather forecast, announcement of a soccer match on the next day, ID: "Gracias por su sintonía, transmite Radio Tacna ... información deportiva de Radio Tacna"; the station drifted from 9504.7 to 9504.6; weak signal (the station has 200 watts only), but good audio; SINPO 13432. Bye (Michael Schnitzer, Hassfurt, Germany, Receiver: NRD-525, had-core-dx via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. DRM Sines, 15440 at 1020 UT Jan 12 covered 13.03 kHz wide! Add 2.5 kHz on both sides to avoid interference, they need 18 kHz wide space, when AM and Digital mixes on same band portion (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. RRI had very, very lousy audio on 17790 kHz 1000-1100 Sunday Jan 12, special to mariners. Despite remaining channels carried fine audio: 15245, 15380, 15390, 17735, 17745 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, BC-DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6085, 1756-, Radio Rossii, Jan 10. Presumed Krasnoyarsk with Radio Rossii ID. Good reception (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 7200, 0618-, Radio Sakha, Yakutsk, Dec 30. Heard most evenings while in Maui, but I never did hear any local IDs. I especially monitored at 10 min past the hour, as others have heard IS and IDs, but not here (including 0610, 0710, and 0810). This evening, they were playing 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas', then John Lennon's 'So this is Christmas'. Parallel to 7345. Fair to good (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA: Winter B-02 schedule Voice of Russia until March 1, 2003: 0000-0100 Portuguese 9965 9810 9480 7570 7440 7410 7390 7350 6185 0100-0200 Spanish 9965 9860 9810 9480 7570 7440 7410 7390 7350 6185 7180 7125 0200-0300 English 15445 13665 12020 9765# 7250 7180 Russian 17595 17565 15595 12010 7440 7260 7240 7125 648 Spanish 9965 9945 9860 7570 7440 7410 7390 7350 6185 0300-0400 English 15445 13665 12020 7335 7250 7180 Russian 17595 17565 15595 12010 7440 7350 7260 7240 7125 0400-0500 English 17595 15595 15445 13665 12020 12010 7330 7180 7125 1548 693 0500-0600 English 17595 15595 12020 12010 7330 7180 7125 1548 693 0600-0700 English 21790 21485 17665 17655 15470 15275 12010 11770 1548 1323 693 0700-0800 English 21790 21485 17665 17655 15470 15275 12010 11820 11770 1323 693 0800-0900 English 21810 17665 17655 17525 17495 15470 15275 12010 11820 11770 1323 1251 693 0900-1000 English 21810 17665 17525 17495 15470 15275 11820 11770 1323 1251 693 1000-1100 German 15540 12010 1386 1323 1215 603 Korean 11695 9450 7490U 7390 7355 7305 3955 1251 648 1100-1200 Chinese 9450 7490U 7390 7355 7340 7305 6145 5940 3955 1251 801 648 585 1100-1300 German 1386 1323 1215 603 1200-1300 Chinese 9470 7340 7305 6145 5940 1251 1080 801 585 Japanese 7490U 7155 6170 5930 720 630 Korean 9450 7355 3955 648 Russian 1143 1170 972 936 "Sodruzhestvo" Urdu 15490 12055 9940 7350 Vietnamese 15460 6205 603 1300-1330 Mongolian 15550 7305 5940 1080 801 1300-1400 Chinese 9470 7340 3955 1251 585 Hindi 12055 11500 9940 7350 1269 Japanese 7355 6170 5930 720 630 Russian 15510 15460 9490 9450 7365 7155 7105 6185 6145 5925 1548 1431 1386 1323 1215 1170 1143 999 972 936 603 1300-1500 Pashto/Dari15535 11655 9900 5995 4975 4940 648 1330-1400 Mongolian 15550 7305 5940 4850 1080 801 209 1400-1500 Chinese 9470 7340 7305 6145 3955 1251 1080 801 648 585 Russian 15510 15460 9875 9490 9450 7315 7155 6205 1386 1323 1251 1215 603 Russian 7365 7105 6185 6045 1548 1431 1314 1278 1143 1170 999 972 936 "Sodruzhestvo" Urdu 12055 9940 7350 7305 1500-1530 English 11500 9875 7350 7315 6205 1386 1323 1215 1143 693 Hindi 12055 9940 9900 7305 1500-1600 Russian 12015 7445 7365 7170 6185 6045 5995 1548 1431 1278 1143 999 972 936 "Sodruzhestvo" Turkish 9830 9470 6005 1170 Urdu 12055 7305 4965 1500-1700 Persian 9840 7510 7155 5935 5925 648 1530-1600 Bengali 12055 9940 9900 7305 1530-1600 English 11500 9875 7350 7315 6205 1386 1323 1215 1143 693 1600-1630 Albanian 9450 7370 7340 7330 5920 Russian 12015 9470 7445 7440 7170 6185 6045 5995 1548 1431 1278 1143 1089 972 936 "Sodruzhestvo" 1600-1700 English 9830 7305 7260 6005 4965 4940 1494 1251 972 German 7390 7380 7300 7125 6145 5940 1386 1323 1215 603 Russian 12055 9875 7315 1314 1170 612 603 1630-1700 Russian 9470 7445 7440 7170 6045 5995 1431 1278 1143 1089 972 936 Sodruzhestvo" 1630-1800 Serbian 9450 7370 7330 5920 1548 1700-1800 Arabic 9480 7510 7390 7130 6090 6005 5935 5925 1431 1314 1170 English 9830 9470 1269 648 French 11510 9875 9865 7440 7360 7335 6130 5940 German 7340 7300 7290 7125 6145 1386 1323 1215 603 Romanian 7380 7320 999 Russian 7445 7170 7155 6185 6045 5995 1314 936 612 "Sodruzhestvo" 1800-1830 Arabic 9480 7510 7390 6090 6005 5935 5925 1431 1314 1170 Finnish 6175 5950 1494 Mon-Fri French 9875 9865 7440 6130 5940 1800-1845 Hungarian 7380 7310 6030 1170 1800-1900 Bulgarian 7330 7320 6000 5920 1467 English 11510 9830 7340 7335 7290 6175* 5950* 1494* 1251 German 7300 6235 1386 1323 1215 603 Italian 9450 7425 7370 Polish 7215 7125 1143 Russian 7360 6145 1089 Russian 7445 7170 7155 6185 6045 5995 1143 936 "Sodruzhestvo" 1830-1900 Arabic 9480 7510 7390 7130 6090 6005 5935 5925 1431 1314 1170 French 9875 9865 7440 7230 6130 5940 Norwegian 6175 5950 1494 Tue/Thu Swedish 6175 5950 1494 Mon/Wed/Fri 1845-1930 Czech 7380 7310 6030 1170 1900-2000 Arabic 9480 7510 7390 7130 6090 6005 5935 5925 1314 English 11510 9875 7440 7360 7340 7335 7290 6235 6175 5950 French 7370 7230 6145 6130 5975 5940 German 7300 7215 1386 1323 1215 603 Greek 9830 9450 7350 7320 6170 6000 5920 1467 1431 Russian 7445 7170 6045 1089 936 "Sodruzhestvo" 1930-2000 Slovak 7380 7310 6030 1170 2000-2100 Bulgarian 6000 1467 936 English 15735 7390 7340 6235 6175 5950 5940 1548 1386 French 9480 7420 7370 7300 7230 6130 5975 1323 Russian 7445 7360 7310 7170 6190 6170 6145 6045 1215 1170 1143 936 612 603 2100-2130 French 7230# 1323 Portuguese 7360 6145 2100-2200 English 15735 7390 7340 7300 6235 6175 5950 5940 1494 1386 1323 Russian 9480 7445 7370 7170 6045 1143 1089 999 693 612 2100-2230 Serbian 6000 1548 2130-2200 Spanish 7360 6145 # via SMG/VATICAN * Sat and Sun 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 17, via DXLD) ** SIERRA LEONE. 6139.1, Radio UNAMSIL, 0307-0358 Jan 17, program of regional music hosted by a man with various announcements and dedications. Apparent ID around 0325 mentioning United Nations. Didn't appear to be all English but a mix of English and other stuff. Surprisingly clear with poor to fair signal tuned in to in lower sideband to avoid DW splatter from 6145 until BBC-Delano opened on 6135 at 0358 making this a mess. Again, Jan 18 around the same time with similar programming but not as strong (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. Rimavska Sobota had a strong spurious outlet tonight on 5775, 1630-1830 UT. Formula: 6055 minus 5915 kHz = distance 140 kHz, minus 5915. Both 250 kW towards Western Europe, 275 / 305 degrees at same time slot. 73 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 11985, 1830-, AWR, Jan 5. 5-5-5 reception via Meyerton with AWR's Wavescan program for the week of 2nd January (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3255, BBC Meyerton relay, 0347 Jan 18, Regional news service in English. Fair copy (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. The only Station heard in Colombo on 98 MHz is Suriyan FM in Tamil. Jose the FM band is so full with Private stations that it will be hard to hear anything from the LTTE Radio. I think the station will be located inland while studios will be in Jaffna (Victor Goonetileke, Sri Lanka, Jan 18, GRDXC via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 15745, 0210-, SLBC Jan 7 End of English news and ID heard, followed by C&W music. No cochannel at this time. Fair reception (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. 3240, Trans World Radio (presumed), 0338 Jan 18, Nice African choral music. The male announcer spoke in a local language. Good signal strength. Signal was gone by 0348 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245, 1645-, Radio Tadzhikstan, Jan 6. Poor reception with IS and ID for the English service of the Tadzhik world service. Listened again on 10 January. IS was heard 4 times, with ID heard as 'This is the world service of Radio Tadzhikstan'. Transmitter is a bit buzzy (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. 5026, 0359-, Blue Channel, Jan 7. First tuned in at 0335. A bit stronger at TOH with African music, then English news. Was parallel to weaker 4976 at 0400. Mentioned Uganda, but overall fair at best. Decreased levels by 0412 (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 7375, 0417-, RUI, Jan 7. Surprised to hear the Star Spangled Banner, and pledge of Allegiance. Good to very good. Program was about the Peace Corps, serving in Ukraine (there are 600). Good to very good. Nice to hear the 1000 kw transmitter back on the air (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. I wonder if anyone has any further info on the CFA [Crossed Field Antenna] tests in Shropshire. It must be nearly 2 years since this project began. Did they ever get the aerial to work, i.e. put out a signal on 972 kHz or has this project died a death? Also is there real proof that the thing (CFA) really works on a transmitting site anywhere in the world or is it all hearsay? (Paul Ewers Brill, BDXC 953 Jan 11 via DXLD) See http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/special-report/rw-antenna3.shtml Above is a link from the last real news I heard towards the end of 2001. I also found a web site at http://www.antennex.com/preview/Folder02/cfa_5.htm with information about how to build one, with a postscript saying not to build it because there is an error in the matching network. Quote: "do not use the phasing/matching network described in this article. A flaw was found in the phasing/matching network and has been revised in two additional construction articles in the issue for February 1999 now in the Reading Rooms." The "reading rooms" appear to be a pay-site for the replacement aerial matching circuit .... why give duff gen for free? I heard unofficially that the team has problems matching the transmitter to the aerial and that it was therefore not possible to radiate any appreciable signal. I am sure that if the test had been a great success we would have heard by now. This is a shame as our local LPAM college station, for which I have done some aerial work, could do with a nice compact AM antenna to launch the 1 watt ERP.... I think that the signals from the IOM 279 kHz aerial are going to be very interesting to hear. I found this, article from an amateur who seems quite pleased with his homebuilt CFA. If I had definitive diagrams I would try making one. However on the shortwave/HF frequencies a little radiation goes a long way. The proof of the CFA will only be by comparing the longwave signals we hear at roughly equal distances on 162, 183, 198, 234, 252 and then 279. CFA Success in VK6 and an alternative matching network From: Phil... VK6APH Date: 30 Jul 1999 ... (via Chris McWhinnie, UK, BDXC_UK via DXLD) ** U K. The BBC is on Monday launching a new website showcasing some of the top stories featured on BBC News over the past 52 years. The On This Day site will feature a selection of stories from the BBC News archives, with audio or video footage of the original broadcast. There will be nearly 1,500 stories when the site goes live with at least three reports for every date of the year. All are written as if they were current. The site can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/onthisday (Waveguide) To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: uk-radio-listeners-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. MINISTER ORDERS MAJOR REVIEW OF BBC http://media.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4584395,00.html (via Daniel Say, Jan 16, swprograms via DXLD) ** USA. US SPOKESMAN SAYS MEDIA PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN IN MUSLIM WORLD "SUCCESSFUL" | Excerpt from daily press briefing by US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on 16 January, published on US State Department web site .. Question: I wanted to ask you about Charlotte Beers and the Shared Values campaign if -. Mr Boucher: Change the subject? Question: It's for everyone. Question: Yeah, that's not hypothetical. If a major newspaper was to write a story that said - (laughter). No? Question: I'm curious when the decision was made and by whom, at what level, to suspend the campaign and why, if Arab public opinion was the reason it was suspended, that wasn't considered earlier? Mr Boucher: Well, the story is wrong. I do not know how else to say it. We have not suspended the Shared Values initiative. Two of my people talked to the reporter yesterday and were not asked, "Have you suspended it?" - and they would have immediately said, "No, absolutely not." So I do not know why it says that in the newspaper. We have not suspended the Shared Values campaign. Let me bring you up to date on where we are. The first phase was five mini-documentaries for television, radio and print, with Shared Values messages for key Muslim countries. It was specifically designed to run during Ramadan. Ramadan is over. We have completed that phase successfully. As a result of the success of this initiative, the documentaries have now been modified slightly for extended use in other Muslim countries. We have basically taken out the Ramadan time-specific messages and they are currently running now in countries in Africa and in Central Asia, both through paid placements and also free to people who wanted them. There - remember, it is not just the ads. There are other components to this campaign. There are several other components that are actively under way. There are speaker tours going on. One just ended in Kuwait. We have a satellite town hall meeting between audiences in the United States and Indonesia coming up. It will be taped in early February and air on Indonesian television shortly thereafter. To date, we spent about half of the 15m dollars and we are finalizing plans on how we continue and move into a new phase with the programme of Shared Values. It will be similar components: paid media, speakers tours, public appearances. The focus will probably be on other aspects of shared values as we develop this, including ways in which the United States contributes to the peoples and countries of these various regions. Question: Did you have the negative feedback that was mentioned in the story? Mr Boucher: I think, by and large, we believe that this was a very successful campaign. Remember what it was directed to do. It was directed to talk to people on a different level, not to argue policy positions with them - we do plenty of that to our embassies and ourselves; not to tell them - not to go through the policy debate, but to talk to people who are not part of that normal debate, tell them a little bit about who we are and what we stand for, and to establish a certain identification with each other on which basis we can go forward with further messages and discuss things. We feel it is quite successful in that regard. The number of countries that we got to, we think there was an audience out there already of almost 300 million, maybe more, for these messages. They have aired in a lot of major Muslim countries as well as pan-Arab media. And so we think in terms of starting to reach an audience that we hardly talked to before, that this was a very good and successful campaign, and as I said, one that continues and will continue in other ways. Question: And the only changes that were made to the original first phase - I mean, the ones that are currently airing in Africa and Central Asia, the only changes between them and the ones that were in December are the omission of - mention of Ramadan? Mr Boucher: I believe so. There might have been. I mean, it would be smart to make any other adjustments that we felt necessary after seeing the initial reactions, but I think the principal changes that were made were just to take out the Ramadan. Question: Richard, could you provide us - I mean, you've done it in bits and pieces on parts of the programme, but could you provide us afterwards, unless you have it at hand, every country where something has aired or a speaker tour has occurred throughout the programme? Mr Boucher: I think the answer is yes. I do not have it all in my head even though my staff does it. But I have named a few of them. I will have to - every country is a harder thing. I will try to get it for you. Question: Can you tell us which government television stations declined to your advertisements? Mr Boucher: I think you knew - Question: Well, Egypt and Lebanon, I think. But there are some others, too? Mr Boucher: I do not know if I will have a complete list of that, but you can go ask anybody who is not on the list of the places where they aired. Question: You said it's successful. How are you judging its success? And also, you mentioned that it was running in some areas. Do you know what specific countries it's actually running in now? Mr Boucher: I was just asked that question and I will get it for you. Question: But how do you judge success? Mr Boucher: I think generally, the feedback we have had in terms of the way it has been discussed and debated, the kind of reaction we have had. I think they have done some focus groups already to see whether the message was getting across. It is just meant to sort of start to open minds, start to tell people a little bit about who we are and who they are and how that might work together. So I think we have generally felt that we have had that impact on the people we wanted to talk to - the people who do not know that much about it, who do not travel here, you know, four times a year, who are not engaged with us already on the level of discussing policy. Now, that sort of measuring that in more depth, I think, that will come as this proceeds. But you cannot do all that right from an initial reaction because of the kind of message it is. Question: Is it successful enough? I mean, you only have 15m dollars, which is not a lot of money for advertising. Mr Boucher: No, it is not. Question: Or spending. Mr Boucher: We are spending it very carefully. Question: Is it successful enough that you want more money to be used for that purpose? Mr Boucher: We want - certainly, we want to be able to do this kind of thing more and again. As we design what you might call the next phase, we will be talking more specifically about the things that the United States does in the world that are of benefit to people around the world. We will have to see how much that might cost and ask for money accordingly. We want to be able to continue in this vein. How much more in out years [as published] it might require, I cannot say at this point... Source: US State Department web site, Washington, in English 17 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. RFA B-02 updated schedule of January 16th, 2003. 0000-0100 LAO 11830I 13830 15545T 0030-0130 BURMESE 11535 11570 13710S 13815I 15155T 0100-0300 TIBETAN 7470 7560 9570H 11695UAE 15220T 17730 0100-0200 UIGHUR 7485 9365 9580UAE 9690UAE 15270T 17570T 0300-0600 MANDARIN 13625T 13760T 15150T 15665T 17495 17525 17615S 17880S 21540T 0600-0700 MANDARIN 13625T 13760T 15150T 15665T 17495 17525 17615S 17880S 0600-0700 TIBETAN 17515 17540 17720 21570T 21715UAE break 1100-1400 TIBETAN 7470 9365 11540 13625T 15435UAE 15185H-(from 1200) 1100-1200 LAO 9355S 9775T 15555I 15680 1230-1330 CAMBODIAN 11510 13725I 15395T 1300-1400 BURMESE 7550 9355 11795T 12105I 15250T 1400-1500 CANTONESE 9825S 11950T 15255T 1400-1500 VIETNAMESE 9365 9455S 9920Y 9930W 11535 11605N 11760T 13635P 13660I 15470T 21625I 1400-1500 KOREAN 5855 7475 12000T 13790T 1500-1600 TIBETAN 7470 7495 9920 15385UAE 1500-1600 MANDARIN 7540 9905P 11945T 13695T 13745T 15510T 17565T 1500-1700 KOREAN 11870S 13625T 1600-1700 UIGHUR 7515 7530 9865UAE 11720T 13725I 1600-1700 MANDARIN 7540 9455S-(fr 1630) 9905P 11945T 13695T 13745T 15510T 17565T 1700-1800 MANDARIN 7540 9455S 9905P 11850T 11945T 13695T 13745T 15510T 17565T 1800-1900 MANDARIN 7455 7540 9355S 9455S 11745S 11790T 11945T 13695T 13745T 15510T 17615T 1900-2000 MANDARIN 7455 7540 9355S 9455S 9875P 11745T 11790T 11945T 13625T 13695T 13745T 15510T 2000-2100 MANDARIN 7455 7540 9355S 9455S 9875P 9885T 11900S 11950T 13625T 13745T 15510T 2100-2200 MANDARIN 7540 9455S 9875P 9885T 11900S 11950T 13625T 13745T 15510T 2200-2300 CANTONESE 9570S 9845P 11740T 11785T 2200-2300 KOREAN 7460 9455T 11775S 11905T 2230-2330 CAMBODIAN 7185I 7530 9930P 15485T 2300-2359 MANDARIN 7540 9905P 11785T 11995S 13800T 15430T 15550T 2300-2359 TIBETAN 6010UAE 7415 7470 7550 9875H 2330-0029 VIETNAMESE 7515 9490 9930P 11580 11605N 11670T 13720S 13865I Additional transmitter sites have been researched but deleted from this list upon request of RFA to suppress this info, to avoid pressure from China upon the host countries. Are we to assume that China has no way to find out this sensitive info except through DX publications? [gh] (various sources, updated on January 16th, 2003, by Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** U S A. CRUNCH TIME AT THE FCC, by Michael Copps One of the most important votes of 2003 will be cast not in Congress or in voting booths across the country but at the Federal Communications Commission. At stake is how TV, radio, newspapers and the Internet will look in the next generation and beyond. At stake are core values of localism, competition, diversity and maintaining the vitality of America's marketplace of ideas. And at stake is the ability of consumers to enjoy creative, diverse and enriching entertainment. But most people and most journalists are ignoring this momentous vote. Last year FCC chair Michael Powell announced that the commission would vote this spring on whether to scrap, modify or retain our media concentration protections. These rules currently limit a single corporation from dominating a local TV market; from merging a community's TV stations and newspapers into one voice; from merging two major TV networks; and from controlling more than 35 percent of TV households in the nation. And now we are on the verge of dramatically altering the nation's media landscape without the national debate that this issue merits. What will happen if these rules disappear or are significantly loosened? We have some history to guide us. The FCC eliminated many of its radio consolidation rules in 1996. This action has already caused real problems, according to numerous media experts. Conglomerates now own hundreds of stations across the country. One company, Clear Channel, owns more than 1,200. Today there are 30 percent fewer radio station owners than there were before the commission abandoned its rules in 1996. Most local radio markets are oligopolies. More and more programming originates outside local stations' studios-- far from listeners and their communities. Media watchers like the Media Access Project, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumers Union argue that this concentration has led to far less coverage of news and public interest programming and less localism. A study by the Future of Music Coalition strongly suggests that consolidation has led to the homogenization of music. Many observers say that radio now serves more to advertise the products of vertically integrated conglomerates than to inform or entertain Americans with the best and most original programming. In addition, the work of the Parents Television Council shows that offensive and indecent programming has grown more pervasive on radio. As programming decisions are wrested from our local communities and made instead in distant corporate headquarters, our children are exposed to more and more offensive material. Despite this history, we are now about to decide whether to eliminate the rules that govern the rest of the media world. If all these rules are scrapped or if the FCC seriously weakens them, one company could dominate a region's access to information by controlling its radio stations, television stations, newspaper and cable system. And those who believe the Internet will save us from this fate should realize that the dominant Internet news sources are owned by the same media giants who control radio, TV, newspapers and cable. The fate of cable television and the emerging fate of the Internet should teach us that new technology alone, without rules that protect against its being co-opted by media giants, will not guarantee healthy, independent local media. Yet the FCC is charging ahead without adequately studying the vast consequences of its actions. It has resisted calls to hold public hearings. Only under pressure did it agree to hold one lone official hearing in Richmond, Virginia. Most Americans don't even know that momentous decisions are about to be made. It is the FCC's responsibility to tell them and to solicit their thoughts. Failure to do so disserves the public interest and makes it appear that the commission is trying to eliminate concentration protections in the dark of night. But it is also the media's responsibility to bring this story to the public. That hasn't happened yet. Indeed, some very important media enterprises have financial interests riding on the outcome of the ownership proceedings. The very institutions we rely on to be a forum for this debate are the institutions most affected by its outcome. The media are at pains to assure us their newsgathering operations are independent of their corporate interests. Here is an opportunity to test that claim. Suppose for a moment that the FCC votes to remove or significantly modify the concentration protections. Suppose that turns out to be a mistake. How would we ever put the genie back in the bottle? The answer is that we could not. That's why we need a national dialogue on the issue and better data and analysis. We need this debate in Congress, at the commission, among concerned industries, in the media and all across America. The future of the media, a key part of the infrastructure of democracy, hangs in the balance. This article can be found on the web at: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030203&s=copps Visit The Nation http://www.thenation.com/ Subscribe to The Nation: https://ssl.thenation.com/ (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. KKSU *580 Manhattan KS signed off the air at 5:30 pm Nov. 27, with WIBW Topeka taking over the frequency fulltime. K-State traded education for athletics, read the headline to an article by Susan Mintert, Manhattan. She was a producer at KKSU from 1986 to 1995. ``Big money was too much of a lure, as K-State sacrificed its venerable radio station.`` It left disturbing questions as to whether a state entity can be sold without approval of the board of regents or the legislature. ``Kansans deserve to know the facts in this disgraceful episode,`` Mintert wrote in the Salina Journal (Jan FMedia! via DXLD) Searched for the entire article, but instead could only find this: THE LOSS OF K-STATE'S RADIO STATION WILL BE TOUGH TO BEAR Kansans will soon lose a longtime radio companion. In December, the KKSU radio station, heard on 580 AM from 12:30 to 5:30 on weekday afternoons, will go off the air. For many of its listeners around the state, quality of life won't be as good. Since 1928, Kansas State University has carried out the spirit of a land grant university by reaching beyond the campus to bring news, information and ideas to the general public. Now the university has made a settlement with the out-of-state owners of the WIBW radio station to give back rights to broadcast on its frequency in exchange for a relatively modest sum of money and the exclusive rights to broadcast the university's football games. Officials at the school are not pursuing acquisition of substitute airtime. Indeed, the money received is probably not enough to acquire suitable air time on a strong frequency. Instead, President Wefald and his administrators have a rather vague plan to offer radio stations around the state a chance to "pick up" KSU-produced programming. Most likely, such programming would be sports or agriculture-related. What does this mean for listeners? The term "cultural wasteland" comes to mind. What fun to live in a state where the choices on the radio dial are Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh, country music, "oldies," and lots and lots of commercials. Buffalo Commons, here we come! Yes, we appreciate our public radio stations, but KKSU has filled in the gaps for people wanting more. We were treated each day to a great variety: the latest in health news, consumer information, gardening advice, Kansas tourism tips, book reviews, BBC World News, segments on appreciating the Kansas landscape, chats about food, history lessons - - all in addition to in-depth agricultural news needed by the rural populace. Some of this varied programming was of KSU origin, but much was from other sources such as Minnesota Public Radio and Public Radio International. KKSU has helped make its listeners content with living in rural Kansas. We have less of a hankering to live in Kansas City, Dallas or Denver when we can get mind-stimulating radio here without traffic jams and suburban sprawl. The university does itself a disservice in discontinuing KKSU. The station has generated much good will for the university. Listeners have sent their children and grandchildren there to be educated, and have generously supported the university with their tax dollars and gifts. It is hard to put a dollar value on what the loss of KKSU will be to the university's future, but it will be significant. K-State football fortunes will come and go, but Kansans' need for quality radio programming will always be there. Thanks for the memories, you good folks at KKSU, both past and present. We will miss you. Devoted KKSU listeners can write letters of protest to the Federal Communications Commission asking them to reverse the sale (DONICE APPLEQUIST, Salina, letter to the editor, Salina Journal Nov 12 via DXLD) ** U S A. COMING SOON TO YOUR RADIO DIAL By Bob Quick, The New Mexican, 01/14/2003 http://santafenewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2144&dept_id=367947&newsid=6689425&PAG=461&rfi=9 Longtime Santa Fe radio entrepreneur Will Sims will soon be back on the air with a new FM radio station featuring an eclectic music format and local news shows. KENC-Enchantment FM, which is licensed in Pecos and based in a Cordova Road office in Santa Fe, is expected to go live in mid-February. The station has 25,000 watts of power using a transmitter in Pecos and a 5,000-watt booster in Santa Fe to provide coverage of both communities at 102.9 on the dial. The station will be on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sims estimated it will cost about $150,000 to get the station up and running, funding provided by himself and his business partners, who include Jim Duncan, a Santa Fe resident and radio-industry analyst, and Don Hall, an Albuquerque radio-station owner and engineer. "There is no station quite like KENC anywhere,'' Sims said. "The format will encompass many musical forms, including jazz, blues, world, acoustic, Latin, even some classical and more.'' But there will be limits. "There will be no rock 'n' roll or country music,'' Sims said. "We will play quite a few local artists.'' Duncan added: "Basically, we're trying a format that no one's ever really done. We hope it works here in Santa Fe.'' Duncan will serve as the station's on-air host from 5 to 9 p.m. weekdays. Mark Bentley, owner of KRSN, an AM radio station in Los Alamos, and former colleague of Sims, said he expects Sims' new station to do well. "I think it's quite reasonable because he's proposing a format that's not in this market,'' he said. "It's not something that's been done before.'' Bentley added: "Will is a format master.'' Sims created two other Santa Fe FM stations - KLSK in the mid-'80s and Coyote Radio in the early '90s - using a similar eclectic format. In a career that stretches back to the 1960s, Sims has started 14 radio stations. He most recently was on the air with KSFR, the public radio station at Santa Fe Community College, where he hosted an early- morning news show. "Radio is all I know,'' Sims said in explaining his decision to start another new station. "I've done radio for nearly 40 years.'' Sims said he expects to make the new station succeed financially by establishing a niche and "finding sponsors who believe in what you're doing and court them.'' He explained: "The key is to keep it small and simple. Our studio is in a space a little less than 1,000 square feet in size, and we will have only six full-time employees. Keeping cost down is really important.'' Sims will co-host the morning show on KENC with Angela Taylor, who was most recently with KSFR. Taylor also will handle local news reports and host a live noon-hour show. Another on-air personality will be Jack Kolkmeyer, also known as "Dr. Feelgood,'' who will return with his "Brave New World'' show Sundays from 6 to 10 p.m. KENC will affiliate with Associated Press Radio Network for national news. To find the three advertising sales persons he needs at the new station, Sims will hold a mini "job fair'' Saturday starting at 10 a.m. at the Church of Religious Science, 505 Camino de los Marquez. An open house at KENC, which is two blocks away, will follow. All three positions will involve radio sales and marketing, client management and community involvement. "I want to be upfront,'' Sims said. 'This is a startup. It will be a lot of work. ... We're a small company. We will ask those who want to be involved to start at $10 an hour.'' (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) That explains why the KENW translator in the same area moved from 102.9 into the E-band (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. My friend Watt Hairston at WSM told me the beacons around the property were indeed for aeronautical marking. Because tall vertical radiators were relatively new when that tower was erected, the Feds asked WSM to propose a scheme of lighting. But WSM's lighting isn't quite as cool as the guard house tower at the WLW site (Mark Durenberger in the Colorado Rockies, NRC-AM via DXLD) Mark, I also found it interesting that the rules said that any towers still painted black and yellow must be changed to the "new" international orange and white color scheme the next time they are painted (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, ibid.) ** U S A. IMAGINATION THEATRE STATION LISTING -- All times are local 560 KPQ Wenatchee, WA Sunday 11:00 PM 570 WNAX Yankton, SD Sunday 11:00 PM 590 WARM Scranton, PA Sunday 9:00 PM 600 KGEZ Kalispell, MT Sunday 11:00 AM 610 KDAL Duluth, MN Saturday 10:00 PM & Sunday 11:00 PM 620 WWNR Beckley, WV Saturday 8:00 PM, Sunday 6:00 AM & 7:00 PM 640 WFNC Fayetteville, NC Sunday 7:00 PM 650 KENI Anchorage, AK Sunday 9:00 PM 730 KULE Ephrata, WA Sunday 9:00 PM 730 WSCC Charleston, SC Sunday 9:00 PM 760 KFMB San Diego, CA Sunday 8:00 PM, Saturday 2:00 AM & 4:00 AM 770 KKOB Albuquerque, NM Saturday 7:00 PM 780 WJAG Norfolk, NE Sunday 11:00 AM 790 KGMI Bellingham, WA Saturday 7:00 PM 800 CJAD Montreal, QC Sunday 4:00 AM, Sunday 7:00PM 830 WCCO Minneapolis, MN Saturday 11:00-1:00 AM & Sunday Midnight 850 WRUF Gainesville, FL Sunday 10:00 PM 860 KPAM Troutdale, OR Saturday 11:00 PM & Sunday 9:00 PM 870 WHCU Ithaca, NY Saturday 9:00 PM 880 KIXI Mercer Island, WA Saturday & Sunday 9:00 PM 910 KCJB Minot, ND Sunday 4:00 PM 910 WEPG South Pittsburg, TN Friday 8:00 PM & Saturday 6:00 PM 910 WPFB Middletown, NY Saturday 6:00-8:00 AM & 6:00-8:00 PM 920 KSHO Lebanon, OR Sunday 6:00 PM 920 KXLY Spokane, WA Saturday 9:00 PM 920 WMEL Melbourne, FL Tuesday 10:00 PM 930 WSLI Jackson, MS Saturday 6:00 AM 950 KMTX Helena, MT Saturday 6:00 PM & Sunday 8:00 PM 950 WSPA Spartanburg, SC Saturday 9:00 PM 950 WVTS Charleston, WV Sunday 9:00 PM 960 KALE Richland, WA Saturday 8:00 PM 960 WERC Birmingham, AL Sunday 9:00 PM 960 WFIR Roanoke, VA Sunday 8:00 AM 970 KNUU Paradise, NV Saturday & Sunday 9:00 PM 970 WTBF Troy, AL Sunday 4:00 PM 970 WWYO Pineville, WV Sunday 5:00 PM 980 WRNE Gulf Breeze, FL Sunday 9:00 PM 980 WSUB Groton, CT Sunday 9:00 PM 1010 KIQN Tooele, UT Sunday 9:00 PM 1100 WCGA Woodbine, GA Saturday & Sunday 5:00 PM 1110 KFAB Omaha, NE Saturday 6:00 PM & Midnight 1120 KPNW Eugene, OR Saturday 10:00 PM 1150 KQQQ Pullman, WA Sunday 10:00 PM 1150 KSAL Salina, KS Sunday 8:00 PM 1150 WNDB Daytona Beach, FL Saturday & Sunday 12:00 AM 1160 KENS San Antonio, TX Sunday 6:00 & 8:00 PM 1170 WDIS Norfolk, MA Sunday 12:00 Noon 1230 KATO Safford, AZ Saturday 6:00 PM 1230 KHDN Hardin, MT Saturday 9:00 PM & Sunday 8:00 PM 1230 KYSM Mankato, MN Sunday 8:00 PM 1230 WMFR High Point, NC Sunday 8:00 PM 1230 WODI Brookneal, VA Saturday & Sunday 9:00 PM 1240 KGY Olympia, WA TBA 1240 KICD Spencer, IA Saturday 11:00 PM 1240 WAYZ Hagerstown, MD Sunday 11:00 PM 1240 WCNC Elizabeth City, NC Sunday 9:00 PM 1240 WPAX Thomasville, GA Friday 10:00 PM 1270 WKBF Rock Island, IL Sunday 8:00 PM 1310 KNOX Grand Forks, ND Saturday 11:00 PM 1310 KXAM Mesa, AZ Saturday 5:00 PM 1310 WHEP Foley, AL Sunday 12:00 Noon 1310 WIBA Madison, WI Sunday 11:00 PM 1320 WJGR Jacksonville, FL Saturday 8:00 PM 1330 WCVC Tallahassee, FL Saturday 12:00 Noon 1340 KHUB Fremont, NE Sunday 9:00 PM 1340 KLKI Anacortes, WA Saturday & Sunday 9:00 PM 1340 KROC Rochester, MN Sunday 9:00 PM 1340 KTCR Kennewick, WA Sunday 8:00 PM 1340 KWLM Willmar, MN Sunday 7:00 PM 1340 WBIW Bedford, IN Sunday 10:00 PM 1350 WQNX Aberdeen, NC Saturday 3:00 PM & Sunday 10:00 AM 1360 KRWC Buffalo, MN Saturday 7:00 PM 1370 WHEE Martinsville, VA Saturday 6:00 PM 1380 KHEY El Paso, TX Saturday 9:00 PM (Website says KTSM) 1400 KAYS Hays, KS Sunday 7:00 PM 1400 KESQ Indio, CA Sunday 9:00 PM 1400 KODI Cody, WY Sunday 8:00 PM 1400 WANI Opelika, AL Sunday 6:00 PM 1400 WLLH Lowell, MA Sunday 8:00 PM 1400 WSTC Stamford, CT Sunday 9:00 PM 1410 KLFD Litchfield, MN Saturday 9:00 PM & Sunday 6:00 PM 1410 KQV Pittsburgh, PA Sunday 8:00 PM 1420 WKWN Trenton, GA Saturday & Sunday 7:00 PM 1430 WOWW Germantown, TN Sunday 8:00 PM 1440 KMED Medford, OR Sunday 9:00 PM 1440 KVON Napa, CA Saturday 6:00 PM 1450 KOBE Las Cruces, NM Saturday 8:00 PM 1450 KTIP Porterville, CA Sunday 9:00 PM 1450 WCTC New Brunswick, NJ Saturday 6:00 PM, Sunday 11:00 PM, 1:00 AM 1450 WGNS Murfreesboro, TN Saturday 8:00 AM 1450 WKXL Concord, NH Saturday 9:00 PM 1470 WBKV West Bend, WI Saturday 4:00 PM 1490 KRSN Los Alamos, NM Sunday 10:00 PM 1490 KUGR Green River, WY Sunday 8:00 PM 1490 WNDA Deland, FL Saturday & Sunday 12:00 AM 1490 WSTP Salisbury, NC Sunday 6:00 AM 1500 KJIM Sherman, TX Sunday 8:00 AM 1520 WKVQ Eatonton, GA Sunday 9:00 PM 1540 WBTC Uhrichsville, OH Saturday 5:00 PM 1570 KPYK Terrell, TX Sunday 2:00 & 9:00 PM 1580 WLIM Patchogue, NY Saturday 8:00 PM 1590 WSMN Nashua, NH Sunday 5:00 PM 1600 WAAM Ann Arbor, MI Sunday 6:00 PM & 10:00 PM 1620 WHLY South Bend, IN 8:00 PM 89.9 KUNM Albuquerque, NM Sunday 10:00 PM {NOT -- I keep up with their schedule -- gh] 91.5 KTXK Texarkana, TX Friday 6:00 PM & Saturday 8:00 PM 93.5 WCFR West Lebanon, NH Sunday 8:00 PM 93.9 WMXR Woodstock, VT Sunday 8:00 PM 94.1 KTIL Tillamook, OR Sunday 7:00 PM 94.7 WTBF Troy, AL Saturday 4:00 PM 95.7 KDAL Duluth, MN Saturday 10:00 PM & Sunday 11:00 PM 96.9 KQRV Deer Lodge, MT Sunday 9:00 PM 96.9 WXBQ Bristol, VA Sunday 9:00 PM 97.7 WBKK Amsterdam, NY Sunday 10:00 PM 98.9 WSPA Spartanburg, SC Saturday 9:00 PM 99.9 KXLY Spokane, WA Saturday 9:00 PM 102.3 WFNC Lumberton, NC Sunday 7:00 PM 103.7 WRUE Gainesville, FL Sunday 10:00 PM 103.5 KYSM Mankato, MN Sunday 8:00 PM 103.9 WLEN Adrian, MI Sunday 6:00 PM 104.3 KLKS Breezy Point, MN Sunday 8:00 PM 104.7 WAYZ Hagerstown, MD Sunday 11:00 PM 106.9 KROC Rochester, MN Sunday 9:00 PM (Art Blair, Folsom, CA, Jan 17, IRCA via DXLD) I hope the other listings are more accurate than the one for KFAB, as previously reported here (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. New x band sign-on KHPY owns 1670 here at night. I was not aware they were on earlier today so I can't say how well they will do here during the day. The jock was reading a list of cities they had gotten calls from; it was nothing unexpected. I'll be in Northern California this weekend so I'll have to check them out from there. They are using silent KHPI-1530's towers, which are a quarter wavelength on 1530. The are 10KW/9KW DA-2. Radio-locator.com doesn't show their patterns yet. The pattern info on the FCC's web site is Greek to me. I'd love to hear from anybody who knows what their patterns are or can explain the DA data on the FCC web site. I believe only they and WWRU-1660 in New Jersey are the only x banders that are not 10 KW/1 KW ND. WWRU is 10 KW fulltime DA-N. Most of their night signal is aimed at New York City. I wonder how they convinced the FCC to let them run 9 times the night power of other x banders and let them pump it in a particular direction (Dennis Gibson, Gilroy? CA, Jan 16, IRCA via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Hola Glenn! Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. -Te informo que el e-mail ondacortavenezuela@hotmail.com fue escuchado por este servidor a través de Informativa 630, la cual transmite todos los días a la 1 de la madrugada [0500 TU] la programación del Canal Internacional (inactivo en 9540 kHz), y eso fue hace ya unos cuantos meses. En vano en intentado comunicarme a través de esa vía con Radio Nacional. Otro de los correos-e es rnv2000@hotmail.com, el cual tampoco acusa recibo siquiera. Al parecer, la comunicación vía Internet es imposible por ahora. Radio Táchira no es la única venezolana activa en banda tropical. En 4939.8 kHz está Radio Amazonas, todos los días, pero con señal irregular ya que sale varias veces del aire durante la transmisión. También YVTO está en 5000 kHz, con la hora legal. Por cierto, desde la salida del aire de VNG en Australia, YVTO puede ser oída en algunas partes de la isla-continente como Melbourne, según un reporte de Cumbre DX de hace dos semanas. Tal como te he informado en otros correos-e, Ecos del Torbes está inactiva desde hace varios meses atrás, en 4980. Saludos desde VENEZUELA (Adán González, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. 9780.4, 1758-, Radio Sana'a, Jan 10. Interval signal with strong, clean modulation. Into NA, then ID in English, but unfortunately the speech was not clear and much weaker than the IS and NA (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 4965, 1730-, Christian Voice, Dec 28. 5-5-5 signal with modern vocal Christian music (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 6265, 1735-, Radio One, Dec 28. What a joy it is to listen to this very entertaining station with local reception quality (it's useful to have Zambia at the antipode to Hawaii!). Loud 5-5-5 signal many hours after my local sunrise. Very lively African music. The following day at 1759, there's an amusing ad for 'Handyman's Paradise'. 'Hurry, hurry, limited stock'. They sponsor the English news at 1800 which is carried on both networks (R1 on 6265 and R2, the English network on 6165). Both frequencies exceptionally strong. This African station is my choice for pleasant background music! (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 6265, Radio Zambia, 0409 Jan 18, Very good copy, with regular S9 peaks. Traditional folk music was played, which made for enjoyable listening. An ID was given at 0415 by the announcer in the local dialect (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. MADAGASCAR 7120, 0328-, Voice of the People, Jan 7. Extremely strong signal with OC at 0328. 1000 Hz tone for about 30 seconds, then into sign-on tune, then 'This is Radio Voice of the People. My name is....'. (Walt Salmaniw, Maui, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ SONY ICF-2010 R.I.P. The announcement that came down this week regarding Sony's decision to stop production of the ICF-2010 receiver -- the one that changed how we listen to international shortwave, with its then-innovative "synchronous detection" to eliminate adjacent-channel interference -- has resulted in a sad conclusion for many radio enthusiasts, some who were actually waiting to buy the last '2010's in stock. Universal Radio in Ohio sent a note to some potential owners of the '2010 that the receiver is now no longer available, as it is not in Sony's production line after over 17 years. So, from this longtime owner of a '2010, who in 1986 got his radio from an old friend of mine, Saul Berger (hey, do you remember the days of the Philly-based "Solar Light Co." where Saul used to sell cassette controllers for this radio?), and still has it around in his listening post for backup use, I say farewell to a legend of a radio, which has been proven to be a great, well-made midsize portable -- and a rugged one at that if you have seen the reviews in past PWBRs. Lucky you if you still have a '2010 that's over 15 years old and still pulls in those tough DX signals just like it did when it first made waves back in those days of Live-Aid and "Out of Africa"... adiós and R.I.P. (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Anyone who was planning to snatch up a ICF 2010 before the supply runs out can forget it. Bob Brossell (in Milwaukee) placed an order with Universal shortly after it was learned production would end in December, rather than March. According to Bob's conversations with Universal when he called now and then to check the status of his order, Sony had been telling the folks at "6830" they'd be getting the last 50-60 units - later even saying the units were in transit. But Universal has just learned there were never any more coming in from Japan, so Bob, along with a hundred or so others, is out of luck (Gerry Dexter-USA, DXplorer Jan 17 via BC-DX via DXLD) This is terrible news. Dollar for dollar the 2010 is the finest radio on the market, a "Zenith Trans Oceanic of its time." It has been my major radio since perhaps 1990, and to get a better radio would cost twice as much, and even then, might not be THAT much better. (e.g. the overpriced and user unfriendly Drake SW8). I anticipate using mine for many years to come and wouldn't sell it for $500 (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, Jan 15, ODXA via DXLD) Radio has been in production since 1985 -- an eternity in the field of consumer electronics. They tried to end production twice before, only to find the market too good to pass up. But Sony's grand old man died recently and, although he had a soft spot in his heart for shortwave, his successors do not. As the banner says, it is the "end of an era". (John Figliozzi, ibid.) CODAR "The Swiper" "The Swisher" "The Sweeper" "The Smoocher" "The National Windshield Wiper Synchronization Signal" [large images; loads slow] http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/swiper.htm (via Jilly Dybka, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK 2003 You may be interested in a review of the WRTH 2003 written by Bob Padula, available at http://www.dxing.info/shop/review_wrth2003.dx - "this edition of the WRTH is very good", Bob summarizes. 73s (Mika Makelainen http://www.DXing.info via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ And now amigos, as always at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's HF plus 6 meters exclusive and not copyrighted propagation update and forecast... Solar activity moving down, towards an expected minimum sunspot count to be reached in about ten days or so. The nature and structure of the sunspots seen at this moment is such, that it is unlikely that significant solar flares may be generated during the next five to seven days. Solar flux will slowly decline until reaching a minimum of about 100 to 115 units , and then will start to climb back again as the new 27 solar rotation starts... Low ionospheric absorption is expected during the days of minimum activity and that will be the delight of those of you that enjoy low frequency and medium wave band frequency DXing amigos !! See you all Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days at the same times and short wave frequencies at the mid week edition of DXers Unlimited, your favorite [sic] radio hobby program (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC Jan 19 via Bob VE3SRE Chandler, ODXA via DXLD) ###