DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-023, February 11, 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/dxldtd3b.html [note change] HTML version of all January issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3a.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 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1168: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 15039 and/or 7445 WJIE: M-F 1300 7490... WWCR: Wed 1030 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1168.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1168.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1168h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1168h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1168.html WORLD OF RADIO 1169 first airings: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 9475 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15038.6 ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hi Glenn: I trust you're well. I heard you for the first time in a long time in my car today. After three years without a shortwave car radio (DC-777), I just became a subscriber to Sirius Satellite Radio. Heard you on WRN (channel 115) at 10 am eastern (Sun) You sound pretty good in digital... (John Figliozzi, NY, Feb 9) ** AFGHANISTAN. There is meanwhile a large number of local radio stations on MW in operation in Afghanistan. For those who are interested in details, you may like to visit the webpage http://www.comunica.org/afghanistan - "The Potential for Community Radio in Afghanistan". You can download a pdf-file which contains an oversight on local broadcasting in Afghanistan as of autumn 2002, including a long list of stations. The name, location, band, power and schedule for each station is mentioned, but unfortunately not the frequency (these details might be available from the authors of the study). You may also sign on to a (professional) mailing list on local radio stations in the country (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Feb 11, MW- DX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 15820-L, RadioShow, Buenos Aires, 2140-2155, February 9. In parallel with 100.7 MHz. ID: "por RadioShow...", Listeners messages. Music program conduced by male and female. Message from an Internet listener from Canada and other from Mexico. TC: "18:42 minutos" 44444 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentine, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Here's something your readers might find of interest: On Radio Australia Fri. 0010 UT - HINDSIGHT - social history. This week [Feb 14]: "The Morscodians". A look at the rich history of the forerunner of today's wired world, the electric telegraph, invented by Samuel Morse in 1832. We hear from former telegraph workers who are anxious to uphold their legacy and to keep Morse's Code alive. [%] Best bet for east coast NA listeners would be to access the program either via the live stream or as an on-demand file. http://www.abc.net.au/rn That address is for Radio National, which is where the on-demand file is located. The live stream for Radio Australia is at http://www.abc.net.au/ra West coast NA listeners probably will be able also to hear this program on SW, Try 21725, 17580, 15240 (John Figliozzi, NY, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BENIN. BENIN: COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER ZOSSOU LAUNCHES NEW 10-KW TRANSMITTER | Text of report by Radio Benin on 6 February Communications Minister Gaston Zossou today launched a 10-kW transmitter in Abomey-Calavi area of the state. The new transmitter will improve the reception quality of programmes in five southern prefectures. Previously, there had been frequency interference from the Nigerian AIT station. Minister Gaston Zossou said the fact that the citizens could better receive stations from neighbouring countries made it imperative for the transmitter to be upgraded. He further said that it is an achievement that would make for national cohesion. The transmitter would improve both radio and television reception. The director general of the National Office of Radio Broadcasting and Television of Benin [ORTB] said that the launching of the transmitter is one of the efforts of President Kerekou to ensure a countrywide media coverage. Source: Radio Benin, Cotonou, in French 1930 gmt 6 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK?? AM, FM, SW?? ** BRAZIL. Um DXista yankee senhala Rádio Educadora da Bahia 6020 kHz. Alguiem em Brasil tive a amabilidade de confirmar que a emissora opera reaismente??? Muito obrigado (Dario Monferini (italia) radioescutas via DXLD) viz.: BRASIL: 6020 Rádio Educadora Bahia (p); 2350-2357+, 7-Feb; 2M w/lively tx in PP; might be phone call; hrd "do Brasil". Only hrd after Turkey s/off @2349. SIO=322/LSB helps; till covered by roar @2357, past 2400. (Frodge-MI) [MARE; roar = DRM BBCWS Sackville 6010] Dario, a Rádio Educadora da Bahia não está mais transmitindo em Ondas médias nem em Ondas Curtas, portanto o transmissor de 6020 está desativado. Não sei se é temporária ou definitiva essa desativaçào, mas ela ocorreu tem cerca de 2 anos. Posso dar uma corujada para você e dou uma posição melhor em breve, mas até onde sei, não está transmitindo nos 6020. Espero ter ajudado. Grande 73 (Antônio César Rossett, Salvador / BA, radioescutas via DXLD) Well, HF did say it was (p)resumed ** CANADA. This day`s Inuktitut lesson: see below ** COLOMBIA. Radio Melodía en 6140.4 ha estado fuera del aire, y a pesar de llamadas telefónicas no han querido darme información alguna (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Feb 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Lástima lo de la emisora colombiana en 6140. Yo ni llegué a escucharla. Por acá no es sencillo sintonizar CPN Radio en esa QRG. Con decirte que la reporte en 1470 (onda media) y no en onda corta. Incluso hace un mes, cuando estuve en Salta, en el norte argentino y con excelentes condiciones de recepción para emisoras de la región andina, no pude cazarla, siendo que la busqué infructuosamente. Bueno amigazo, te mando un gran abrazo. Hasta cada momento (Arnaldo Slaen, BUENOS AIRES, ibid.) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. R. Prague English at 0400 on 7345 and 9435 are same program, but 7385 is different (Bob Thomas, CT, Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Latter being WRMI relay; are you sure it`s not just a few seconds late due to feed route? Or maybe they tape it earlier in day (gh, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC/SLOVAKIA. The two parties in any divorce often have vastly differing views of why it happened. I was curious to note, that the recent 10th anniversary of the `Velvet Divorce` between the former halves of Czechoslovakia was noted in two very different ways. Radio Prague devoted several programs and an large number of web pages to analyzing this event, why it happened, what led up to it, how it changed the two countries, who was behind it and how they have fared subsequently. Radio Slovakia on the other hand, was almost silent. I think that the events of 1992 were more traumatic to the Czechs than the Slovaks, the impression being that the Czech saw this as being traumatic, the end of something, whereas the Slovaks saw it as, perhaps liberation is too strong, but as a new beginning. Or at least that’s how they sold it. I must admit I found Radio Slovakia`s relative silence curious (Fred Waterer, Ont., Programming Matters, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) see also CZECH LESSON below ** ECUADOR. As informed earlier regarding closure of HCJB broadcast to India from Quito, Ecuador, still they are on air 0200-0400 on 12040 (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, Feb 10, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** GEORGIA. 11805.20v, Georgian Radio, Feb 9 *0633-0700+, Deutsche Welle until 0600, empty frequency until 0630 open carrier, sign on late at 0633, all news in English until 0650, when a "poppier" tune than what I heard on Feb 8 finished out the program, badly degraded by the time I heard the IS at 0700. Initial frequency of 11805.20 drifted down during the first five minutes to 11804.96 where it remained steady until tune-out (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, Drake R-8, longwires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11805, Georgian Radio 0638 Feb 9 in monotone English with vibes bumper music (Jilly Dybka, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) After VON, I was checking for this Feb 10. Parked on 11805, I could tell a carrier came on at *0630, weak with heavy flutter, but could not pull any audio in next 4 minutes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. TV piece about Jülich: For those with high speed internet access: A really nice Hessischer Rundfunk TV piece about the Jülich site is available as a 150 kbit/s stream at http://www.hr-online.de/fs/abenteuererde/ae030205-02.ram The footage includes "singing" transformers of the old plate modulation transmitters, the good, old fluorescent tube hold next to a PA stage (yes, it is forbidden to open the cabinet when the transmitter is on) and the DRM test set-up, not necessarily requiring to understand the narration. But one remark is worth to be quoted: The MD players and satellite receivers are commented with "until 1996 the duty on the station was quite easy, because there was only a single customer then". (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, very good report 7 minutes long, a lot of it about oncoming DRM (gh, DXLD) ** HONG KONG. Hi all, received Friday 6, 2003 very nice colour full a QSL card from Radio TV Hong Kong on 3940 kHz for an e-mail report in return 97 days (Zdenek Elias, Jablonec n.N., Czech Republic, Feb 9, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** INDIA. Re Cricket cup on AIR: I was able to hear the first evening transmission Sunday Jan 9, 1920-2028* UT on the following AIR stations with varying reception here in Denmark: 3223, 3315, 3390 (very weak), 4760, 4830, 4880, 4895, 4910, 4920, 4960, 4970, 4990, 5040 and 5050! The new AIR Jammu 4830 was one of the strongest with SINPO 44444, but it lost the audio at 2013*. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Several AIR outlets were running late on Feb 8, on 60 mb, carrying live coverage of the South Africa vs. West Indies match. Noted in the period 1900 to closing around 2045-2100. The strongest was on 5040 Jeypore: others included 4990 Itanagar, 4895 Kurseong, and 4760 Port Blair. No doubt, there will be further late schedules or AIR for the many day/night games, offering interesting chances for monitoring/ reporting of some outlets which may be difficult otherwise. Regards! (Bob Padula, Melbourne, Australia, Feb 9, EDXP via DXLD) ** INDIA. NATIONAL DD, AIR STAFF POSTPONE STIR New Delhi, Feb. 9. (UNI): The Central Executive of the Programme Staff Association of All India Radio and Doordarshan today decided to defer the proposed mass casual leave agitation till March 10, following negotiations with the Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati and Secretary (Information and Broadcasting). (from http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/02092014.htm via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is a `stir` 66.67% of a strike? (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. Sky Travel had a feature on Leh in Ladakh, India. I was searching for maps and found the following report. LADAKH REGION AIR TRANSMITTER HIT BY FIRE http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/01/23/stories/2002012305260900.htm (Mike Dawson, Reading, ENGLAND, Feb 9, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Over a year ago ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SHUTTLE LOSS IMPACTING AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE The future of Amateur Radio in space--at least in the near term--could depend on how fast NASA pins down the cause of the February 1 shuttle Columbia disaster and fixes the problem. With the shuttle fleet grounded until it does --- and further International Space Station construction on hold as a result --- attention is turning to the well- being of the all-ham ISS Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, Don Pettit, KD5MDT, and Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB. Three of the Columbia astronauts also were Amateur Radio operators. Under normal circumstances, a shuttle mission next month would have brought a fresh crew to the ISS and returned Bowersox and his crewmates to Earth. With a Progress 10 cargo rocket delivery February 4, the Expedition 6 team now has sufficient supplies to sustain the crew until late June or early July if necessary, NASA said this week. What happens beyond that remains up in the air, although NASA has said it would not mothball the ISS and leave the spacecraft without a crew. The extended stay could have an unintended consequence for Amateur Radio, however, since the temporarily stranded crew would be likely to have more spare time on its hands. NA1SS onboard the ISS represents the first permanent Amateur Radio station in space. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Team recently announced plans to expand NA1SS to include, among other things, separate stations for 2 meters and 70 cm and SSTV capabilities. ARISS is an international program with participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. An ARISS contact set for February 6 with students at a high school in Germany was postponed, although the ARISS contact schedule is expected to resume later this month. "The German school QSO was postponed because of the Columbia accident and the re-planning taking place for ISS," said ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. Bauer said the crew's having to unload a ton of equipment from the Progress rocket also was a factor. He said he's expecting further clarification from NASA regarding future ARISS school QSOs. NASA reports that Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit paid a private tribute February 4 to Columbia's astronauts. NASA ISS flight controllers radioed the crew an audio feed from the memorial ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Additional information on the crew's activities aboard the ISS is available on NASA's Human Spaceflight Web site http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ The crippling of the US shuttle fleet has shifted formerly unanticipated demands on Russia and its meagerly funded space program, since Russian supplies the Soyuz capsules that now serve as emergency escape vehicles for the ISS crew. "If we have the money, we can build new [Soyuz] capsules," Russian space official and former cosmonaut Valery Ryumin assured this week. But, more money or no, Soyuz vehicles cannot carry cargo or experiments. The Russians also have temporarily scrapped their "space tourist" program, which they had been promoting to raise much-needed additional funds. Businessmen Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, and Mark Shuttleworth each paid an estimated $20 million to fill the third Soyuz seat and spend a week aboard the ISS. 'N Sync pop singer Lance Bass, KG4UYY, had been considered a possible candidate for an April Soyuz taxi flight. Now, the Soyuz could become the principal crew transport vehicle for the ISS, although no decision has been made on whether the April taxi flight now will be used to carry out the crew change (ARRL Letter Feb 7 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. NEW LIFE FOR OLD SPACECRAFT Ageing television satellites in orbit could become part of a European digital radio service for drivers... http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/2732587.stm (Jilly Dybka saw this story on BBC News Online and thought you should see it, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Clandestine, 9375, V. of S. Azerbaijan (?) 1752 Feb 9, man with Qur`anic verses, man with talks in language similar to Farsi. Signed off 1700 Signal S6-7 but very bad audio (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, R75 and 16m horizontal antenna (oldest), DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. Clandestine, per CRW125, 9750, V. of Iraqi People, 1822 Feb 9 with Arabic hit songs and ID as per Chabbane`s tip. Signal S9+20, 434x3 with many QRMers, VOA, R Japan plus from 9755 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, R75 and 16m horizontal antenna (oldest), DX LISTENING DIGEST) Electronic Iraq: see USA ** IRAQ [non?]. RADIO TIKRIT CARRYING PRO-IRAQI GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMING The radio station identifying itself as Radio Tikrit continues to be observed from 1900-2100 gmt on 1584 kHz. On 7 February the radio was heard carrying news and other programming instead of the continuous music and announcements which had been heard on previous days. The content of the programming focused on the activities of President Saddam Husayn of Iraq and senior Iraqi officials. It also included commentaries criticizing US policy on Iraq and saying that Iraq was "capable of facing aggression". The following is a summary of the full two-hour broadcast on 7 February: 1900-1903 gmt - Sign-on with an Egyptian love song. Announcement "This is Radio Tikrit" (Arabic: Huna Radyu Tikrit) repeated several times. "For all of Iraq and for all of the Iraqis, this is Radio Tikrit." The radio then gives a preview listing its programmes for the two-hour broadcast. 1903-1910 gmt - Koranic recitation followed by religious talk. [partly indistinct] "Man should not forget God and engage only in mundane issues. Man should avoid sins." 1910-1916 gmt - News bulletin: 1. Leader President Saddam Husayn chaired the fourth council of ministers' session. Ministers congratulated the president on the 8 February 1961 revolution, "wishing his excellency more glory and Iraqi Army jihad capabilities to entrench Iraq's victory." 2. Report on world media reactions to the Iraqi president's remarks during his reception of former UK MP Tony Benn. Reports says world media listened "with admiration" to Saddam Husayn's remarks. 3. Presidential adviser Amir Al-Sa'di responds to Colin Powell's allegations. 4. Husam Muhammad Amin says Powell's UNSC speech contained lies and fabrications on Iraq possessing WMD. He was addressing international delegations. 5. Military spokesman's statement on raids by the US and UK "ravens of evil". 1916-1920 gmt - Press review, covering Al-Thawrah, Nabd al-Shabab and Al-Zawra. 1920-1922 gmt - Weather conditions in Iraq. 1922-2000 gmt - "Open Dialogue" programme. It includes the following items interspersed with Arabic and Iraqi songs. a. Talk on the "Glorious 17-30 July revolution" and the nationalization of the oil industry. Praising "Saddam Husayn's Iraq." b. Summary of the news items listed above. c. Talk: The US Administration today is making the same mistake it made in the 30-state aggression. It wagers on brute force. Despite the large-scale destruction, Iraq was in fact victorious and Iraq now is more capable of facing aggression and consolidating the victory which marked the end of the Mother of Battles 12 years ago. d. Talk on the construction drive in Iraq. e. Partially indistinct talk. Urges extending assistance to citizens in emergency situations. "The sick-minded make an appearance in such a situation. Their tricks will not deceive the people for long. The Iraqi citizen is capable of distinguishing the good from the bad. We appeal to the official departments to take care of the conditions of the esteemed citizens and impose restrictions on those who tamper with the law and order so as to ensure for the citizens their full rights." f. Partly indistinct talk on sports. g. Signs of the Zodiac, an astrological forecast. 2000-2006 gmt - News bulletin: repeat of items in the 1910 gmt bulletin. 2006-2010 gmt - "Political Analysis": The US concentrations do not deceive anybody. The United States aims to kill Iraqi Arabs and Muslims. [indistinct] It thinks that the states in the region are its property. Iraq is different from Afghanistan. The Iraqi people are rallying round the wise leadership of leader president Saddam Husayn, may God protect and preserve him. Iraq abides by the ideology of the Ba'th Party. It has always defeated invaders. Americans do not care about other world nations calling for peace. 2010-2025 gmt - Songs 2025-2030 gmt - "Names to Remember". Largely indistinct talk on Michel Aflaq, founder of the Ba'th Party. 2030 gmt - News summary. 2030 gmt - Songs. 2045-2050 gmt - Talk entitled "Before It Is Too late". The United States is concentrating forces and is feverishly gathering support and forming an alliance that would share its losses. It is threatening Arab states and asking them to participate in sending forces and opening their airports for US planes. We in Iraq are prepared for war and are aware of its consequences. [indistinct] A state of mobilization is the best move to strengthen Iraqi defences. 2052-2058 gmt - News bulletin. Repeat of news items broadcast at 1910. 2058 gmt - Sign off. "From Tikrit Radio, we wish you good night." Soft music heard briefly and the radio goes off the air. Unlike Iraqi government radios, it does not play the Iraqi national anthem either at sign-on or at sign-off. It appears on the air with a well-known Arabic tune. Announcers, all males, speak in Iraqi accent. A female announcer appears only at sign-on to join a male announcer in identifying the station. The songs played by the station are both Iraqi and other Arabic songs. No songs in praise of Saddam Husayn were played. Pro-Saddam slogans or quotes from him were not observed. The radio was heard again on 1584 kHz at 1900 gmt on 8 February. The opening announcement this time stated that the radio was broadcasting on 189 metres, corresponding to 1584 kHz (previous broadcasts had announced 1557 kHz). A brief programme preview at 1903 gmt indicated that the 8 February programming was similar to the previous day's broadcast. Source: BBC Monitoring research 7-8 Feb 03 (via DXLD) Sounds like a `black` clandestine --- pretending to be on the other side, but one must listen closely for disinformation once the listener has presumably been tricked into believing the station be official. Or, maybe it really is sanctioned and in Tikrit? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. Hi Glenn, Just wondering whether there has been any news on the reactivating of RTÉ's 500 kW long wave transmitter previously leased to Atlantic 252 followed by Team Talk UK 252? The transmitter has been quiet since the summer of 2002 although a few suggestions have been made. These suggestions include transmitting RTÉ on long wave to UK (but RTÉ Radio 1 has already a excellent listenership in UK via the Tullamore Medium Wave transmitter (500 kW) and satellite broadcasts). Another suggestion was for a combined broadcast of RTÉ 1 and BBC Radio Ulster from Northern Ireland reflecting the new Ireland following the Northern Ireland Peace Process. However there have been few reports in the media of late and it is a pity that Ireland, with its limited resources looses out with this facility turned off. Also any indication of global listenership to RTÉ limited Shortwave transmissions? Kind Regards, (Paul Guckian, Ireland, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I believe the fate of the LW is still unknown. We`ll publish anything new. Well, RTE on SW gets good coverage with well-chosen sites and frequencies, but as for audience to the daily half-hours, I have no idea (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. JERUSALEM POST TEAMS UP WITH GLOBAL RADIO NEWS Jerusalem Post Radio has begun exclusive distribution of its extensive coverage of Israel and the Middle East via the Global Radio News network. Radio stations will be able to browse and buy from a range of reports and actualities. One week into the distribution arrangement, GRN has carried a full-length interview with Israeli opposition leader Yossi Sarid, as well as on the spot reports from the site of the latest suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus. With no let-up in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and with elections scheduled in Israel in January, Jerusalem Post Radio will provide exciting and informed material to GRN subscribers. Henry Peirse, Director of Global Radio News, says: Our distribution deal with Jerusalem Post Radio highlights the importance of turning to regional media for in-depth reporting and analysis. Its particularly significant, given that the Jerusalem Post is one of Israels oldest and most well-known publications. Global Radio News is a web-based audio content agency and distribution service with a network of more than 400 correspondents worldwide. GRN also distributes CNNRadio and Sky News Radio. http://www.globalradionews.com (AIB Newsletter, Feb, via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Radio Sadaye Kashmir [9890] 10 February 2003. Tuned into the frequency at about 0220 and found the test tone being transmitted. I was quite surprised by the signal strength, running about S-9. Very good audio also when the program started at 0230. It will be interesting to find out where this originates from (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. Re Radio Salam in Batken: I have been in contact with UNICEF which is financing this local station. The office in Bishkek says that the quoted pressrelease has been issued too early, Radio Batken is going to get a new antenna for its FM transmitter in the next months which is expected to expand the station's coverage to the whole Batken province instead of the town of Batken. Since Batken is located not far from the Uzbek and Tajik border, the effect will be that the station will be heard on FM also on the other side of the border (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Les informo de los nuevos horarios de Encuentro DX en XEOI Radio Mil Onda Corta, 6010, cambios que obdecen a las interferencias recibidas por las pruebas de DRM y de La Voz de tu Conciencia. Viernes 1725 hrs. del centro de México (2325 UT) Sábado 0830 Hrs. del Centro de México (1430 UT) 1930 hrs. del Centro de México (domingo 0330 UT)[sic; 0130?] Domingo 0900 hrs. del centro de México (1500 UT) 1725 hrs. del Centro de México (2325 UT) 2305 hrs. del Centro de México (lunes 0505 UT) La página de NRM Comunicaciones está siendo remodelada y se está trabajando para que incluya información de la frecuencia de onda corta Saludos (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Feb 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. At 0625 check Feb 10, and 0545 check Feb 11, VON was again on 7255 and 15120, not 9690 or 11770 --- three days in a row! Perhaps a trend *is* developing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non] /UK. 15255, Salama R., 1935 Sun Feb 9, talks in Hausa with folk songs. Station name inside talks of man. A cappella singing of Alleluia. Signal level S9 /34423 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, R75 and 16m horizontal antenna (oldest), DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also SOUTH AFRICA [non] ** PAKISTAN [and non]. ARABIC WORLD IN ADHA Today and tomorrow is the Adha [Hajj?], the Arabic Eastern [Easter?]. At 0955 UT I have heard an interconnection of several Arabic radio stations in the 21 MHz starting from R Pakistan on 21465 in parallel to 21495 // 21505 // 21600 // 21705 [all Sa`udi Arabia??] at least with prayer in very aggressive talks passing the TOH ( 1000) and till about 1020 closing with Qur`an preaches. Also most Arabic satellite TV stations were in parallel from on 1430 onwards except Libya and Iraq (Z. Liangas, inside Thessaloniki for 1000 using Kchibo KK 979. Personal in-house satellite TV system aiming Eutelsat, Greece 2/10/03, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. RADIO BOUGAINVILLE BEMOANS FUNDS SHORTAGE | Text of report by Papua New Guinea Post-Courier web site on 11 February Radio Bougainville's preparation for the coverage of the autonomous government elections, reconciliation and other programmes may not become a reality. The radio station has been allocated a mere 50,000 kina in the Bougainville interim government provincial budget. In a letter to [provincial] Administrator Simon Pentanu, director of the provincial radio station Aloysius Rumina said the station needed substantial funding to effectively run its operations. "With this level of funding we are headed for trouble by the end of the first quarter," Mr Rumina said. He said the cost of spare parts and transmitter equipment were very high and could only be purchased overseas. In the letter, Mr Rumina asked for additional funding from the Bougainville interim government. He also said there was 30,000 kina still outstanding from the 2002 budget allocation. Source: Papua New Guinea Post-Courier web site, Port Moresby, in English 11 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? The only way to match this in the WRTH 2003 is by name of station manager, the one on 3325, a.k.a. R. North Solomons, Kieta, no mention of Bougainville (gh, DXLD) ** QATAR. BATTLE STATION --- With its broadcast of Osama bin Laden's videos and exclusive footage of the Afghan war, the tiny satellite TV channel al-Jazeera made a huge name for itself. But not everyone approves of its controversial output --- and it struggles to survive. Brian Whitaker reports from its HQ in Doha Brian Whitaker, Thursday February 06 2003, The Guardian The show is over for another week and Faisal al-Qassem, the hottest property in Arab television, emerges from the basement studio with his guests. There is no hospitality suite at al-Jazeera television, so he commandeers the editor-in-chief's office, where there is just about enough room for three people to spread out and relax. Someone enters with a tray of coffee, trips and spills it. Long before the Qatar-based satellite channel scooped the world's media with its exclusive footage of the Afghan war and a succession of tapes from Osama bin Laden, it was Qassem's Tuesday night show, The Opposite Direction, that drew in tens of millions of Arab viewers. Qassem is an unlikely star. Wearing spectacles, and with his hair combed sideways to minimise the bald spots, he looks more like a university lecturer, and the formula for The Opposite Direction is so basic that most television stations would never dream of making it their flagship programme. For 75 minutes, Qassem sits at a table strewn with papers, while his two guests argue. But it is not what the BBC would call a studio discussion. The protagonists shout, gesticulate and try to drown each other out. On occasions, they have even stormed out. In the control room above the studio, it takes five people, working frenetically, to keep the flailing arms in shot. Viewers join in with phone calls and emails. The calls are not filtered and there is no time- delay to protect against abusive language. It's all live, anything can happen - and it frequently does. Qassem himself once remarked on air that all Arab leaders are bastards: the furore lasted for weeks. The secret of the show's popularity, he says, is that it breaks all the Arab world's taboos. "We tackle the most sensitive issues, be they political, religious, social, cultural or economic. We were the first to do a hot debate on secularism and Islam. "In the past, in the Arab world, you couldn't even talk about the price of fish, because that might endanger national security as far as the security services were concerned." The lengths some authorities go to in order to hit back are astonishing. In Egypt, they once dragged Qassem's brother --- a pop star --- out of his home in his pyjamas and bundled him on a plane to Jordan. "In Algiers," Qassem says, "they cut off the electricity supply so that people could not watch the programme because we were talking about the military generals and how they are wasting the money of Algerians." In the seven years since it was founded by a decree from the Emir of Qatar as the Arab world's first independent-minded news and current affairs channel, al-Jazeera has earned a reputation that inspires love and hate in almost equal measures. Its motto, emblazoned in Arabic on the station's publicity brochure, is "al-ra'i ... wal ra'i al-akhr" (opinion ... and the other opinion). That has not stopped critics from calling it the Bin Laden channel, although they forget that it also broke new ground in Arab television by interviewing Israeli politicians. Now, with war in Iraq looming, some are beginning to call it the Saddam Hussein channel. "Yes," says Mohamed Jasem al-Ali, managing director, "we are Bin Laden's channel, we are Saddam's channel. We are the CIA's channel, Mossad's channel --- all of them. "I mean ... we are following the news and the news is coming from Saddam Hussein and America at the moment." Al-Jazeera made its name in the west --- not to mention a tidy sum of money --- from footage of the Afghan war, and it's hoping to do the same in the expected conflict with Iraq. In Afghanistan, it was the only station with a permanent base in Kabul, but this time the battle for scoops could be tougher. "Our competition is the American TV news networks," Ali says. "Who's going to get the exclusive pictures?" Despite its scantier resources --- al-Jazeera has 755 employees worldwide against CNN's 4,000 --- he thinks the Arab station may still have the edge. "In Iraq we know the language, we know the mentality. It's very easy for us to find out things and move around there." The channel's reputation among ordinary Arabs, together with anti-American sentiment in the region, could, in theory, provide better access --- though in war reporting, much depends on luck and being in the right place at the right time. Al-Jazeera has also had discussions with the American and the British authorities about facilities to cover war in Iraq from a western viewpoint, as well as an Arab one. Some of its staff have taken part in official war training courses for journalists in the United States. This is part of a developing relationship with non-Arab governments that began, less than a month after the September 11 attacks, with a half-hour interview at Downing Street given by Tony Blair. The British prime minister was among the first to recognise the controversial channel as a perfect vehicle for talking directly to a large Arab and Muslim audience. American officials, notably Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld, quickly followed suit - though some of their appearances have been juxtaposed (balanced?) with hostile film clips or commentary. In the expected conflict with Iraq, while Arab governments may demur, Britain and the US will be making their case to the millions of al-Jazeera viewers at every opportunity. Hoping to get off to a flying start in Iraq, Ali and Qassem travelled to Baghdad a few weeks ago in search of a blockbuster interview with Saddam Hussein. Despite tales of visitors being washed in disinfectant and ordered not to shake hands, Saddam not only shook hands but hugged them. "You are making a lot of trouble," he told them, "but it's good." There was no blockbuster interview, however. After 15 minutes of filming, the Iraqi leader changed his mind and the rest of their two- hour talk continued off-camera - although he did give them some advice about political survival. "You can always benefit from listening to people," he said. "A shepherd with a herd of goats can give you many ideas. Listen to people. Any leader who didn't listen to his people would fall from power." Apart from being scooped by Tony Benn in securing what could be the last-ever TV interview with Saddam Hussein, al-Jazeera also faces logistical problems. Its offices in Kuwait and Jordan --- two crucial countries in any war with Iraq - have been forcibly closed by the authorities there. Saad al-Anisi, the Kuwait bureau chief, now wanders the Qatar newsroom looking a bit lost. He's forbidden to talk to the press, but a member of staff grumbles: "It's always the supposedly liberal regimes that do these things." It has happened so many times in different countries that Jihad Ballout, head of media relations, reckons he can now predict when a closure is coming. First the government plants nasty stories about al- Jazeera in the local newspapers, he says, then the secret police start tailing reporters, making it obvious that they're doing so. Besides facing the vagaries of Arab states, al-Jazeera is also fearful of what the Americans might do to it in Iraq. During the Afghan war, two supposedly smart US bombs hit its office in Kabul and many suspect the attack was no accident. It happened at a strategic moment, just two hours before the Northern Alliance took over the city. "We had put cameras on the roof to cover the whole of Kabul when the Northern Alliance took over," Ali says. "Later, we sent a letter to the Pentagon asking why they bombed our office and we got a funny reply saying they didn't know al-Jazeera had an office in Kabul. For the whole war, they knew it was there. It was the only source of information except for the CIA. This time, the station is taking no chances. "We're giving the Americans the coordinates of our office in Baghdad and also the code of our signal to the satellite transponder," Ali says. "We will try to give the Americans the whole information about where we are in Baghdad, so there will be no excuse for bombing us. But we are worried." For al-Jazeera, covering war in Iraq well is not just a matter of journalistic kudos. There are business considerations, too. The station was funded for the first five years by the Emir of Qatar but is now required to pay its own way. Sales of film from the Afghan war to other television channels have helped to keep it in the black and it needs more revenue of the sort that might be provided by a conflict in Iraq. One problem it faces is that, despite its huge audience, some major advertisers operate an undeclared boycott. "Advertising in the Middle East is not based on the commercial, it is based on the political," Ali says. He won't be drawn into giving details but others blame Saudi influence and moves by the Gulf Cooperation Council against the channel. While some of this is the result of its content, al-Jazeera's relationship with the Qatari government --- albeit along the lines of the BBC and the British government - also makes it a sitting-duck in squabbles between regional states. Another source of revenue that could be tapped is the al-Jazeera brand, probably one of the most valuable in the Middle East. There was talk of a tobacco company marketing al-Jazeera cigarettes --- although that idea has been dropped. Branded sunglasses might be a safer option, marketing staff suggest. Al-Jazeera's headquarters is pretty small. The squat, blue-roofed building in Doha is dwarfed by surrounding palm trees, satellite dishes and transmission masts. "All this trouble from a matchbox like this," the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, once exclaimed when he arrived to take a look. The main newsroom, with 70 or so workstations, measures just 45ft in each direction. On the far wall, for some unfathomable reason, between banks of TV screens, is a giant 18th-century map of the world with the unexplored parts of Canada and Australia missing. In the managing director's office, some 50 television award trophies line windowsills --- testimony to al-Jazeera's achievements over the past seven years and also, unfortunately, to the weakness of other Arabic channels. But managing director Ali's eyes are not set on his Arab rivals. There's a framed cover story from The Guardian's G2 section about al- Jazeera and the war in Afghanistan. Its headline says: "Who needs CNN?" Soon, he hopes --- later this year or early in 2004 --- al-Jazeera will launch an English-language channel to compete with the big guys. Not just translations, but "a totally English service with English reporters and presenters that can build a bridge between east and west". The Americans, he says, are watching only one perspective of the news. "What we will try to do is give another perspective." It's an ambitious --- perhaps over ambitious --- plan that will pit tiny al-Jazeera against the might of the BBC, CNN, ABC, Fox and others, and perhaps tame its wilder excesses in the process. The coffee spill has been mopped up and the two guests from Qassem's shouting match who, only a few minutes earlier seemed about to come to blows in the studio, are sitting side by side, chatting amiably and smiling. So why couldn't they just talk normally for the viewers? "When you are facing the television cameras, you are in the business of showbusiness," Qassem says. "I think the programme has been successful mainly because of its combative style. "We used to discuss politics in the Arab world in a very servile and frightened way. Now, for the first time ever, we can raise our voices and shout. Why not?" Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver; also at http://theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/10/1044725732474.html via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** QATAR [and non]. RIVALRY FOR EYES OF ARAB WORLD NEW TV STATIONS TAKE ON AL-JAZEERA By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, February 11, 2003; Page A12 DOHA, Qatar -- From London to the Persian Gulf, Arab journalists and investors are gearing up to challenge the primacy of al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite TV channel whose professional if sometimes sensational 24-hour broadcasts have shattered taboos and created an appetite for unfettered news across the Arab world. The onset of competition in unbridled reporting marks one of the most far-reaching changes in the Arab world over the past decade, transforming news media that, in spirit if not letter, were shadowed by an 1865 Ottoman Empire law that required journalists to "report on the precious health of the sultan." It provides a striking window, too, on fear in Arab capitals over the impact on public opinion of a war against Iraq, and a sense that the conflict may be waged as much on the airwaves as on the battlefield. A Saudi-owned company plans to launch an around-the-clock satellite news channel to compete directly with al-Jazeera, in time, it hopes, for war in Iraq. One of the Arab world's leading newspapers and an influential Lebanese entertainment channel have begun merging their news departments, with talk of another all-news station. Other entrants, from Algeria, Britain and Abu Dhabi, could be joined in the months ahead by a 24-hour Arabic-language news channel from Iran and a second station in Dubai. Al-Jazeera, which gained fame after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by airing taped messages from Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, has planned its answer to the competition: After managing to irritate virtually every country in the region in Arabic, it now plans to expand into English, providing an alternative to what its journalists view as biased Western coverage. It will unveil an English-language counterpart to its Arabic Web site next month and, by early next year, it plans English-language broadcasts designed to compete with CNN and BBC. "Everybody's trying to open a TV station now," said Nart Bouran, the news center director at Abu Dhabi TV, which has tried to challenge al-Jazeera's commanding popularity. "All of a sudden, a lot of people have realized that media [are] so important and a degree of freedom is the only way to attract an audience. If you don't open up, nobody's going to watch." But to succeed, journalists said, the new entrants will have to escape the inevitable tag that their funding will bring. All have ties to governments, through investment, advertising or facilities, including al-Jazeera. Whether those governments give the stations as long a leash as Qatar has granted al-Jazeera since its inception in 1996 remains a question. "Once they start the channel, you will discover who's controlling them immediately," predicted Ibrahim Hilal, 32, an Egyptian journalist who took over as chief editor of al-Jazeera two months before Sept. 11. The most ambitious endeavor to date is al-Arabiya, which plans to begin broadcasting Feb. 20. Based in a sleek, new headquarters in Dubai, an Oz-like city quickly becoming the unofficial capital of the Persian Gulf, it has spent heavily to hire the top talent from a pool that editors say is frustratingly small. Salah Nigm, a BBC veteran and chief editor of al-Jazeera until 2001, was hired to direct the news operation. Fifteen offers were made to al-Jazeera journalists, some at two or three times their current salaries, Hilal said. Five accepted. The Middle East Broadcasting Center, owned by the brother-in-law of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, will run the channel. Along with other Saudi, Kuwaiti and Lebanese investors, it will funnel $300 million into a news operation with a staff of 500 that will provide programming to al-Arabiya and two existing MBC channels, said Ibrahim Hedeithy, MBC's director general. "Al-Jazeera has dominated the scene for the last six or seven years," Hedeithy said in an interview. "We're trying to provide an alternative. There is only al-Jazeera, and we're trying to give them another choice." The choices are multiplying. Abu Dhabi TV already broadcasts eight hours of news and, until now, posed the strongest competition to al-Jazeera, with 25 correspondents. Other stations are beginning in Algeria and Britain. Al-Jazeera managers said they also expect competition from the Iranian channel and a rumored project in Dubai. In an unusual experiment, the Lebanese channel LBC and London-based newspaper Al Hayat, which is owned by Prince Khalid bin Sultan, Fahd's nephew, have invested $12 million a year in a joint venture called Newsroom Ink. Run by Jihad Khazen, a former Al Hayat editor and columnist, the venture has tapped the newspaper's 69 correspondents to supply news for LBC's three half-hour daily bulletins. Once a studio is finished being built, one of the bulletins will move from Beirut to London. Khazen said that if the venture succeeds, there are plans for yet another 24-hour news channel. But he called the project "uncharted territory" and acknowledged problems in merging television and newspaper cultures. One of his print reporters in the Persian Gulf refuses to appear on television for religious reasons. Then there are consultants, he said, who "are driving me mad with talk of synergy." And after decades editing four newspapers, the technology of television has proved intimidating. "They tell me things I've never heard in my life. I keep quiet and they think I'm wise," he said from London. Without exception, all the stations are seeking to achieve with a war in Iraq what World War II did for Time magazine, the 1991 Persian Gulf War did for CNN and the war in Afghanistan did for al-Jazeera. Abu Dhabi TV plans to begin around-the-clock news if U.S. forces invade. Al-Arabiya is racing to place 12 journalists and technicians in Baghdad for war coverage. Unlike al-Jazeera, which is barred from all Iraq's Arab neighbors, it also expects to send staff to Jordan and Kuwait. Al-Jazeera, which opened an office in Baghdad in 1997, has spent months laying the groundwork for war. Its managing director, Mohamed Jassem Ali, has traveled repeatedly to the Iraqi capital, winning a meeting with President Saddam Hussein. It plans to send 10 reporters to join four already there, said Omar Bec, the station's director of newsgathering and operations. "Iraq will be the real competition," Hilal said. Because of al-Jazeera's willingness to push the envelope, it has been expelled from Kuwait, Jordan and Algeria. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the State Department called its coverage "inflammatory" and complained to Qatar about repeated airing of a 1998 interview with bin Laden. In November 2001, U.S. forces bombed its Kabul office. The Pentagon called it an accident; al-Jazeera officials said otherwise. Its coverage, particularly on talk shows that give wide license to Arab nationalist and Islamic opposition figures and no-holds-barred call-in programs, has caused diplomatic problems between Qatar and virtually every Arab country. In December, Saudi Arabia boycotted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Doha because of al-Jazeera's coverage. A month earlier, Bahrain's information minister accused the network of being "in the pay of Zionism." On a tour of the network's modest, one-story studio, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt once famously shouted: "This matchbox! All this noise is coming out of this matchbox!" Hedeithy insisted al-Arabiya would not be a watered-down al-Jazeera. With the changes al-Jazeera has brought, he said, no one can afford the secrecy of the past, such as when Saudi media delayed for two days news of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. "In this day and age, if you don't cover the news, if you try to hide things, you shoot yourself in the foot," he said. But Salah Kallab, a former Jordanian information minister who will serve as al-Arabiya's director general, made clear al-Arabiya did not envy al-Jazeera's role as a provocateur. His vision, he said, was far more sober. "We are not going to make problems for Arab countries," Kallab said. "We'll stick with the truth, but there's no sensationalism." To al-Jazeera's journalists, 55 correspondents in 35 bureaus, one person's sensationalism is another person's freedom. So far, that freedom has been guaranteed under Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Thani, the Qatari leader. Since taking power in the most undemocratic of ways -- he overthrew his vacationing father in 1995 -- he has allowed an Israeli trade office to remain open, fostered ties with Iraq, invited U.S. forces into a sprawling base at Al Udeid and subsidized al-Jazeera at $150 million over five years. Al-Jazeera's maverick quality has limited its commercial success. In 2001, the station received an estimated $53 million in advertising, out of a total of $714 million for all satellite stations broadcasting to the region. Of the total, three-fourths went to the Middle East Broadcasting Center, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and Future, all well connected politically, according to Naomi Sakr, author of "Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East." But Hamad plans to spend at least an additional $20 million a year on the English-language broadcasts, which the station wants to begin by February 2004 after hiring a new staff of 300, said Jassem, the station's managing director. Within two years, the goal is to go to a 24-hour service, targeting not only North America and Europe but also English-speaking residents of South Asia. "I take my hat off to Qatar," said Jian Yacoubi, an Iraqi Kurd who works as senior program producer at al-Jazeera. "No one can compete with us. Ask me why. Not because we are geniuses. We have only one secret weapon they don't have -- freedom." Correspondent Peter Baker in Kuwait City contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54040-2003Feb10.html (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** QATAR/USA. AL-JAZEERA EXPRESSED "EXCITEMENT" OVER PLANNED US ARABIC TV CHANNEL | Text of report in English by Qatari newspaper The Peninsula web site on 6 February Doha, 6 February: Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel (JSC) has reacted "with excitement" to reports about US plans to launch an Arabic channel that would be the "CNN of the Arab world". Reports from Washington said yesterday that the budget proposals presented by the Bush administration to the Congress on Monday [3 February] included 30m dollars for the Middle East Television Network (METN). The Arabic channel is said to be the brainchild of Kenneth Tomlinson, president of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in charge of radio and television broadcasts targeting foreign audiences. In an official statement, he said a US state-run television broadcast via satellite was "an important step towards reaching the people in the Arab world with accurate news and the message of freedom and democracy". He said: "This institution's task [BGG] now is to draw upon our previous success in the Cold War, to go forward with the new war in ideas as we offer democracy, tolerance and self-government as the positive alternative to tyranny, fanaticism and terror." American media experts view the move as being part of a media counter- attack aimed at boosting the US image in the region and reducing the influence of Al-Jazeera, which has a daily viewership of 35 million. The US State Department has termed the proposal as part of the efforts related to the war on terrorism. However, media observers in the US have warned that if the channel becomes a propaganda machine, it is destined to fail. "We are excited by the news, even though it (US Arabic channel) is still at the planning stage," said a senior JSC official in Doha. Speaking to The Peninsula yesterday, he said: "We're least bothered whether this is an attempt by the Bush administration to further its policies in the Middle East. At Al-Jazeera, we're in the business of news, not politics." The spokesman said regardless of the motive, JSC welcomes all competition. "Competition is healthy. We don't want to get too relaxed. There is not just this one but other channels also being planned in the region. We welcome them all. At the end of the day, the viewers will decide. We have our viewers' vote of confidence which they've given us over and over again." The channel's success, he said, lies in its ability to communicate with the masses in a free and uncensored way, its understanding of the region and its access to the right places at the right time. Source: The Peninsula web site, Doha, in English 6 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. Clandestine, 7590, Al-Islah (Reform) is back here 1845 Feb 9 man with continuous talks and audio problems. Also on Feb 10 at 1835 with short song. Audio in parallel (no delay) to satellite feed. Signal levels S9+20 to 30. Jammed both days (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, R75 and 16m horizontal antenna (oldest), DX LISTENING DIGEST) So they have stayed on 9750 ex 9570 (gh, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. VOICE OF APARTHEID ERA MAY VANISH FROM S. AFRICAN AIRWAVES --- Radio Pretoria is accused of violating antidiscrimination provisions of the constitution in refusing to employ nonwhites. By Anne-Marie O'Connor, Times Staff Writer, February 11 2003 PRETORIA, South Africa -- The days of apartheid are over, but listeners of Radio Pretoria can still wake up and sip their coffee to the strains of the apartheid-era national anthem, "Die Stem." The complete article can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-afradio11feb11,0,5906989.story (via Harry Helms, DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA [non]. Clandestine (Nigerian) 11540, Radio Kudirat, Voice of Democracy. Letter reply from Millingo Nkosi at Sentech, advised me that my report was to old for verification propose. As well, he indicated that 11680 Voice of Free Nigeria (FNM) never did broadcast via Meyerton. Oh well (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TURKEY [and non]. Found yet another jammer, on 6015 splashing V. of Turkey English to NAm repeat on 6020 [i.e. 0400] (Bob Thomas, CT, Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably BBC Sackville DRM from 6010 during that hour, as previously remarked here several times. Complain to Turkey, RCI, BBC (gh, DXLD) ** UKRAINE [non]. "Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was ... reported to have told U.S. officials that a decision to cut Ukrainian-language broadcasts on the Voice of America and Radio Liberty was premature. He said the stations have a significant audience in Ukraine and are needed so that all political forces can have a voice." [Under BBG proposal, VOA will reduce Ukrainian from 2 to 1 hours per day and eliminate three broadcaster positions. RFE/RL Ukrainian will "reduce costs."] http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030211-4464782.htm [Moony] (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re Powell speech at UN, DXLD 3-021: Resident in Durban, South Africa, I listened to the speech on BBC WS. at 1705 GMT BBC WS goes over to BBC African Service. The was no coverage of Powell speech. However I was able to follow it on 15310, being BBC WS India frequency. The BBC WS Indian Frequencies of 15310 and 17790 are both useful in Southern Africa for following the general service of the BBC, as opposed to the regional alternative. Regards (Adrian Jessop, Durban, Feb 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. WHY DOESN`T BBCWS USE THE 75 METRE BAND I've asked the BBC about 3955 twice during the last few years. No response. 3955 was an excellent backup for 6195. 6195 after 20UTC is often so bad so I'll switch to VOA or RCI. At 22UTC 5975 from Antigua is a good alternative and later during the spring, 17830 will be an alternative during the evenings. 73 de (Kjell-Ingvar Karlsson, Upplands, Väsby, SWEDEN, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non?]. Re BFBS: I would also understand that "their time" is 3 hours behind [ahead of] UT, and I also heard 5945 when checking around 1600, although I could not make out much more than the pop music typical for BFBS Radio 1 in all the local noise here. There is also a Windows Media stream of BFBS Radio 1 at http://62.25.96.7/bfbs1 which would have to be in // with shortwave. So far also the question about the transmitter site(s) remains. Let me throw in the speculation that Cyprus could fit for both frequencies (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BFBS heard on 5945 February 10th, barely audible at 1500 sign on but fair on clear channel at 1552 recheck, pop music, report on the Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta Jones court case, identification as "Serving Britains forces this is BFBS Radio Two" 1600 followed by news bulletin. Relay site? (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yep, here BFBS on 10 Feb at 1623 with strong S9 plus 20 signals (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Just monitored on 5945 what should be BFBS with spoken word programming, pointing to BFBS Radio 2 rather than Radio 1 this time. At 1759 Moosbrunn signed on, overlapping the BFBS signal, so this must be another site. Quite weak signal here in Germany, so certainly not originating from the UK. Considering the audio characteristics a CIS site is quite unlikely either. Cyprus, Al-Seela, Al-Dhabbaya? (Kai Ludwig, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BFBS on shortwave to the Gulf - confirmed on 5945 kHz with "BFBS Radio 2 News" at 1600. At 1700 - pips then BBC Radio 4 News and "PM" programme //198 (but with half second delay). First time Radio 4 has been on shortwave in recent years? At 1600, fairly weak signal but clear if you can eliminate the splatter from 5940 and 5955 (Possible weak transmitter tones at 1500 - Russian/CIS site??) (Alan Pennington BDXC-UK, Caversham UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire, Feb 10, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Ciao! In their WEB http://www.ssvc.com/bfbs/radio/germany/index.htm They inform the schedule is 1500-2000 UT for gulf area. The e-mail given to send reports is : marina.haward@bfbs.com (Dario Monferini, PLAYDX, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yesterday and today (Feb. 11) I am hearing BFBS 2 on 5945 kHz from 15 UT (possibly earlier) - anybody having an idea from where, and why? 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, EDXP via DXLD) As for the "why", check out http://www.dxing.info/news/index.dx#bfbs As for the "where", I asked them, but didn't get a decent reply yet - http://www.dxing.info/community/viewtopic.php?t=819 73 (Mika Makelainen, dxing.info, EDXP via DXLD) Viz.: Just got a reply from "Marina Haward" Marina.Haward@bfbs.com for my report on yesterday's transmission on 5945 kHz. No comment on the transmitter site, which is what I asked. ``Thank you for your interesting email. In confirmation, yes we are a radio station. We broadcast to the military serving abroad. Our headquarters are just outside North-west London in the UK, but we do have stations in many other countries where our troops serve. The actual broadcast you heard (afternoon on 2) was broadcast direct from our studios here in the UK. Thanks for listening. Regards, Marina Haward, Broadcast Administrator, BFBS UK`` Check out http://www.dxing.info/news/index.dx#bfbs for more info on the station and a sound bite at http://www.dxing.info/audio/uk/5945_BFBS.rm (via Mika, dxing.info Feb 11 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Radio Caroline is being relayed on shortwave again, first noted 1010 February 9th on 7150 following a tip from Noel Green, still audible 1535 February 10th, good signals, rock music and frequent identifications, exactly on frequency but slight growling noise on the audio (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. We have been advised that the Short Wave test transmission will now be 3pm next Sunday. Frequency: 5935 Khz Date: Sunday 16th February Time 3pm to 4pm (1500-1600 UTC). Reception reports can be emailed to studio@mediasound.net Have you heard MEDIASOUND yet? http://www.mediasound.net (Paul David, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOICE OF AMERICA IS SEEKING FREE-LANCE JOURNALISTS The Voice of America is seeking free-lance journalists to work as contractors on the production of radio programs to be broadcast in the English, Shona and Ndebele languages to Zimbabwe. The following skills are required: English speakers must have broadcast journalism experience; must be able to write scripts, do interviews, cover news stories in fluent error-free English. Work must require little or no editing. Shona and Ndebele speakers must be able to write scripts, do Interviews in error-free Shona or Ndebele. Speakers must also be fluent in idiomatic English. Must be able to translate written material from English into Shona or Ndebele accurately. General information on these positions follows: Non-citizen applicants must have visa status permitting work in the United States and current valid work permit. Successful applicants must pass a security clearance process. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of principles and practices of sound journalistic work; applicants must be able to work on computer equipment. Applicants are sought from within the United States only. All work will take place at VOA headquarters in Washington, DC. Send responses and resumes to zimbabweproject@voanews.com Subject line should read "Zim Response". (ICFJ via Georges Lessard, CAJ-List via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U S A. Middle East Television Network: see QATAR ** USA/IRAQ. ANTI-WAR GROUPS LAUNCH "ELECTRONIC IRAQ" ONLINE NEWS PROJECT | Text of press release from the Chicago-based Electronic Iraq online news project dated 8 February 2003; subheading as published A brand new online news project, Electronic Iraq - found at electroniciraq.net - has been launched by veteran anti-war campaigners Voices in the Wilderness (founded 1996) and respected Middle East supplementary news publishers, the Electronic Intifada (founded 2001). Electronic Iraq was launched in February 2003 as the US government made clear its determination to go to war against Iraq. Based firmly on humanitarian foundations, the Electronic Iraq online magazine offers News and Analysis, Opinion/Editorial, Iraq Diaries, International Law, Aid and Development, Fact Sheets, and Action and Activism. The Iraq Diaries section offers eyewitness reports from Iraq, and Electronic Iraq's intention is to publish diary accounts from on the ground during any hostilities. The Electronic Iraq web site utilizes the latest in technology to publish reports from around the world, including from on the ground in Iraq, easily added to the site by nontechnical writers and editors of the Electronic Iraq team. Content from this web site can be easily syndicated on to other friendly sites by webmasters. Visit the site at http://electronicIraq.net More about Electronic Iraq's founders Voices in the Wilderness (VitW) VitW is a joint US/UK campaign to end the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq. Since March 1996, nearly 50 Voices delegations have travelled to Iraq. Today, as the United States makes new threats against Iraq, Voices is maintaining a constant presence in Iraq in solidarity with the Iraqi people. In the schools and hospitals, on the streets and in the homes of Baghdad, Basra, Mosul and other cities we have seen the effects of more than a decade of economic sanctions and frequent bombings. Now we see the anger and fear caused by new threats of violence. For more information, see http://www.vitw.org The Electronic Intifada (EI) EI, an online educational gateway to information about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, offering reference material, commentary and analysis, personal journals from the front lines of the conflict, media news and analysis and even satire. Launched [on] 23 February 2001, EI is independent of any political, factional, ethnic or religious affiliation, and bases its view of the conflict on the foundations of universal human rights and international law. For more information, see http://electronicIntifada.net Contact information: Electronic Iraq, 1507 E. 53rd Street, #500 Chicago, IL 60615, USA; Fax: +1 (775) 254-4323; E-mail: webteam@electronicIraq.net; Web: http://electronicIraq.net Source: Electronic Iraq press release, Chicago, in English 8 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. WWCR`s printed schedule as of 1 February is in, from which we make up our own Specialty Programs list: WORLD OF RADIO (30) Thu 2130 9475, Sat 0700 5070, Sun 0330 5070, Sun 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 MUNDO RADIAL (15) Wed 2200 9475, Fri 2215 9475 ASK WWCR (15) Fri 1045 9475, Fri 2130 9475, Sat 0945 5070, Sun 0045 3210, Sun 0315 5070, Sun 1115 15825, Sun 1830 12160, Wed 1/4/5 1815 15825 TECHNOLOGY HOUR (60) Sat 0300 3210, Sun 0600 5070, Mon 0100 3210 SPECTRUM (60) Sun 0400 5070, Wed 0900 3210 CYBERLINE (55) Sun 0505 5070 WORLD WIDE COUNTRY RADIO (60) M-F 1100 15825, 1400 15825, 1700 15825, Sat 1000 9475, Sun 0900 5070 ROCK THE UNIVERSE (55) Sat 1205 5070, Sun 0905 3210, Sun 1305 12160 THIS WEEK IN AMERICANA [folk?] (55) Sun 0705 5070 INTO THE BLUE [bluegrass] (55) Sun 0805 5070 OLD RECORD SHOP (30) Sun 1430 15825, Sun 2300 3210, Mon 1030 9475 KEN`S COUNTRY CLASSICS (30) Sun 2030 12160 COUNTRY CROSSROADS (30) Sun 1530 12160 MUSIC AND DANCING (30) Thu 2100 9475 MUSICA Y DANZAS Mon 2200-2230 9475, Wed 2230-2245 9475 LATIN CATHOLIC MASS (30) Sun 1700 15825 GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO (55) Tu/Th/Sa 0405 3210 A VIEW FROM EUROPE (05) Sat 1210 15825, Sun 1110 5070, Sun 1810 12160 PRESIDENTIAL RADIO ADDRESS/DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE (15) Sat 2130 9475 AMERICA`S GREATEST HEROES (55) Sun 1605 12160 (WWCR, excerpted by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MOUNT WASHINGTON BURNS Mark Erickson of WOKQ just called me to tell me that the former WMTW building on Mount Washington NH was completely destroyed in the fire this afternoon. Only the metal entranceway survives. Everything else is simply...gone. WPKQ 103.7 and WHOM 94.9 are off the air; WPKQ's transmitter (in the old Armstrong building) and antenna are intact; WHOM's transmitter (in the WMTW building) was destroyed and the status of its main antenna is unclear. Its backup antenna is intact. However, the loss of the WMTW facility means no generator power on the Rock. The Observatory staff were evacuated by Sno-Cat a short time ago. Mark says they'll try to haul a generator up there tomorrow (can you imagine - in this weather?), and WPKQ could be back on the air tomorrow. As for WHOM, its programming will shortly reappear on one of the WCYY frequencies in the Portland market (I'm guessing most likely WCYI 93.9 Lewiston), and the expectation is that a STA will soon be filed to use the WBLM 102.9 auxiliary facilities in New Gloucester as a temporary WHOM site until something can be done up on the mountain. The DX potential here is interesting, of course; one wonders, also, if whatever started the fire would have been caught - and quickly - if channel 8 were still up there and the building were still manned 24/7. Yikes. You can see some of my pictures here: http://www.fybush.com/site-020206.html There is a link there as well to Norm Gagnon's excellent Mount Washington material. Garrett Wollman got there on a SUNNY day when he could see the towers, and his pictures are here: http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/digicam/mtwashington/ -s (Scott Fybush, NY, Feb 9, WTFDA via DXLD) MOUNT WASHINGTON (NEW HAMPSHIRE) OBSERVATORY EVACUATED, POWER TO RADIO STATIONS CUT OFF http://www.boston.com/dailynews/041/region/Mountain_fire_evacuates_summit:.shtml While Mt. Washington is only about a mile high, it is the highest mountain in the East and holds many of the records for worst weather in the U.S. WMTW (TV) no longer transmits from Mt. Washington - I suppose they preferred better reception in Portland to marginal reception in Montreal - the two FM stations there, WPKQ in Conway and WHOM, Portland, are still widely heard, from time to time, throughout the Northeast. (even if you can no longer "Have a 'Gansett, neighbor", while listening to the Red Sox on WMTW-FM - not only is the radio station in the valley but the Narrangansett brewery is DOA) (Joel Rubin, NY, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PORTABLE GENERATOR RESTORES SOME POWER ATOP MOUNT WASHINGTON AFTER FIRE DROVE OUT STAFF --- The Associated Press, 2/11/03 10:23 AM MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. (AP) -- Partial power was been restored to facilities atop Mount Washington, where a fire forced the evacuation of the weather observatory on the peak known for its brutal weather. The generator building and a smaller backup building were destroyed by Sunday's fire, said Scott Henley, spokesman for the nonprofit Mount Washington Observatory. Power was partially restored Monday after a crew with a portable generator made an eight-mile trek to the summit by snow tractor. The power outage silenced three commercial radio stations that have equipment on the peak and left the four winter workers at the observatory without heat and lights. Dozens of state, federal and private agencies with transmitters on the peak, including state police, switched to backup generators. Some of the winter workers went back up Monday but there was no immediate word when all four would be back at work. The workers who took up the portable generator had a hard time getting around the 6,288-foot summit, officials said. "You couldn't see. The wind was blowing at about 50 mph and it was quite cold," said Pete Poulsen, an investigator with the state fire marshal's office. The temperature atop the tallest mountain in the Northeast warmed to 6 above zero Monday afternoon but the wind blew at 46 mph. Tuesday morning, the temperature was 23 below and the wind blew at 64 mph, the National Weather Service said. The peak was the site of the highest surface wind speed ever recorded -- 231 mph on April 12, 1934. The cause of the fire was not known. ------ On the Net: Observatory: http://www.mountwashington.org (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Three links of interest, updating the situation: http://www.whom949.com/extra_05.shtml http://www.wokq.com/ http://www.mountwashington.org/ (Charles Gauthier, St-Lambert, PQ, Feb 10, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. KB-1520 is great, but ... I've been enjoying WWKB-1520's new format. On Monday evenings, after an engineering night course I've been taking at UMass Lowell, I tune them in on the ride home between 9 and 9:30 p.m. local. Last evening (10 FEB), on my drive home in the snow, I listened as usual, but noted a substantial amount of interference, presumably from the Maryland station, with talk in an Oriental language, either Chinese or Korean. Are these guys supposed to be on this late and running enough juice to muck up KB in a substantial part of its skip coverage area ? KB ran a slogan "from Newfane (sp? local town ?) to Newfoundland, the big KB" or something like that. This would indicate that skip listening is expected. So what's with the ethnic thing being on so late, messing up KB's reception here? Normally KB booms in as I travel south on Route 38 from Lowell into Tewksbury. Last night, as on other nights, the signal takes a momentary 1 kHz het beating from the Saudi-1521 pre-sign-on open carrier when I drive near an open marshy area along the Shawsheen River on the south end of Tewksbury near the Wilmington and Billerica town lines. That, and increasing WWZN-1510 slop, are generally the most noticeable degraders of KB listenability on the last 10 minutes of my homeward drive. But the on-channel QRM of such competitive strength at 9:30 p.m. EST is new. KB should notify the FCC of this. Wouldn't a station in MD be getting spanked by WWKB QRM very close by anyway? When I went down to Baltimore on a business trip in 1983, then-WKBW was just about as strong there as it was here in metro- Boston. As far as WWKB's music goes, I'd say it needs a little more '50s doo- wop and '60s R&B and less of the 1970-1974 light pop junk. Mind you it's still better than local WODS-103.3 "Oldies 103" which has dumped almost everything pre-1963 and covers the entire '70s including disco. WODS is a big load of cobbler at this point. And what's with WWKB keeping those dafter-than-dogstuff preachers on after midnight ? I'm sick of hearing about how much misery lies ahead, how the US is going to be punished for its misdeeds, how the world is going to end, how the Branch Davidian Waco Wackos had it right, where to send your money, etc. All this after some great tunes a few minutes earlier. I don't need WWKB to be yet something else to get me depressed. How the !@#$ does this stuff fit in with a feel-good format? Same for WSAI-1530 ... they turn into a toad after midnight too. Wouldn't this cheese off the long-haul drivers and third-shift factory workers who are likely to be the main audience then? I like WSAI musically better than KB, though KB has the edge in personalities and classic DJ and jingle "feel". In the car, WSAI is not local grade here at night because of mediocre signal strength, occasional on-channel incursions by foreign and other domestic signals, and "crossfire" from the sidebands of WWKB "to the left" and WPTR "to the right". To its praise, WSAI isn't afraid to inject generous amounts of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and great NYC street- corner doo-woppers into its mix, whereas WWKB would rather blend in schlock like "My Baby Loves Love", "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes", etc. I'll take Chuck Berry, Solomon Burke, and Bobby Blue Bland over that crap-o-la any day. For that matter, I'll take '50s/'60s C&W crossover by Johnny Cash, Faron Young, etc. as well. I did in the '60s when a kid; still do today. All of these oldies stations should "think outside the box" once in a while and play great music that wasn't necessarily on the Billboard Top 10. Surprise us with goodies that many of us remember but which seldom show up on the radio these days ... songs that used to creep into the "Northern Exposure" TV show and into a handful of movies directed by those who really know their oldies. "It's Alright" by Adam Faith (in "Good Morning Vietnam") and "Walking Back to Happiness" by Helen Shapiro (in "4 Weddings and a Funeral") come to mind. Great early '60s British hits both ... KB are you listening? Radio stations should remember that they're competing with the CD collections of listeners. I've got compilations on the Rhino, Time-Life, Eric, Collectibles, Ace, and Collectors' Choice labels that totally smoke what most oldies stations have to offer. And I'm sure that I'm not alone in this. It is kind of fun to have three AM music stations in a row here in the Northeast: WWKB-1520, WSAI-1530, and WPTR-1540. All play different variations on "gold". You can extend that block up to 1570 if you include CBE-1550 (if doing music, as on Sat. evening), WQEW-1560 Disney, and our little local WNSH-1570. Is this just a momentary aberration or will music stay around on AM for a while? I say let's enjoy it while we can (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, NRC-AM via DXLD) WWKB is down to 90 minutes of preachers (11:30 PM-1 AM), after which they're carrying Joey Reynolds' talk show, which is a nice gesture toward one of their more famous personalities from their heyday. Rumor has it the preachers will be gone once their current contract runs out...we'll see. "Newfane" is indeed a town in Niagara County, part of KB's local coverage area --- and yes, they know they're getting a big skip audience at night. WTRI Brunswick MD is Korean...no authority I can find for them to be up that late! s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) 1520 WTRI MD is presumably on day facilities with Asian talk and music under a sermon. My latest 2003 Log shows them with a totally different format. Guess I missed a meeting. No dice on the Sa`udi on 1521 (Dave Hochfelder, New Brunswick, NJ, Feb 10, Sony ICF-2010 with Quantum QX Pro, NRC-AM via DXLD) Maybe it's not in keeping with the WKBW of the 1960s, but it does sound a lot like the Mexican borderblasters of that period such as XERF, XELO, etc.; I always thought it was hilarious the way they would abruptly switch from raw blues (like "Back Door Man" by Howlin' Wolf) and effortlessly segue into the pre-recorded rants of the Rev. Billy Sol Hargis. In fact, guys like the Rev. Asa A. Allen were often the most "entertaining" parts of border radio. When I was in college, there were times when my friends and I would listen to them and be on the floor doubled over in laughter (Harry Helms, AK6C, Ridgecrest, CA, DM15, ibid.) Actually it was Billy James Hargis --- one of the few gospel huxters I ever met. Later parodied by someone as Billy Sol, to be confused with Estes (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WHO WILL RESCUE MIGHTY MOX? Still No. 1 in St. Louis, KMOX's audience has eroded as rival stations, the Internet and cable TV have chipped away at its relevance BY DIANE TOROIAN Of the Post-Dispatch 02/06/2003 12:00 AM For about 25 years, KMOX-AM (1120) has been St. Louis' No. 1 station, a streak no other outlet in America can claim. Radio programmers across the nation call the storied KMOX one of the nation's best stations. And in New York, KMOX's owners, Infinity Broadcasting, consider the station to be a gem among its 186 properties. Still, whomever Infinity puts in control of the 50,000-watt powerhouse will face a daunting array of challenges. Although the station consistently delivers big bucks to its owners, its audience has dwindled.... [two versions found via:] http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/search.nsf/sitesearch?openview&ch=Home&type=1&query=Who+will+rescue+Mighty+MOX? (via Will Martin, MO, DXLD) STATIC FREEFALL CARROLL'S DEPARTURE FROM KMOX PACED BY STATION'S RATINGS DECLINE --- BY D.J. WILSON The lead-in to Karen Carroll's announcement last week that she was resigning as general manager of KMOX-AM had the usual promos about how the station had won the Edgar R. Murrow Award for best newscast and how listeners were tuned in to "Total Information AM." No mention was made of declining ratings, personnel problems and surprise financial audits of the station and its nonprofit charity or that maybe KMOX had been drifting in the wrong direction since Carroll took over the station five years ago... http://www.riverfronttimes.com/issues/2003-02-05/news.html/1/index.html (Riverfront Times via Will Martin, MO, DXLD) ** U S A. DAZZLIN` FOR DOLLARS By JIM FINKLE, The Orange County Register, Saturday, February 8 KCRW has first-class trips and laptops up for grabs in its hunt for donations during its winter pledge drive... http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=24439§ion=BUSINESS&subsection=BUSINESS&year=2003&month=2&day=8 (Orange County Register via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. ACACIA SAYS WEBCASTERS INFRINGING ON PATENTS http://digitalmass.boston.com/news/wire_story.html?uri=/dailynews/041/technology/Acacia_Says_Webcasters_Infring:.shtml (via Joel Rubin, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. Creo que este año, Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo no está efectuando en Onda Corta, la retrasmisión del Concurso de Agrupaciones Carnavalescas desde el Teatro de Verano, en Montevideo. Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo trasmite en 6010, en forma diurna, siendo este concurso en horas de la noche local (2300-2400+). El concurso ya ha comenzado, y durará hasta principios de marzo (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, Feb 9, Conexión Digital via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4890: Los dias siguientes a que el amigo Samuel reportó esta frecuencia estuve chequeando la señal, pero acá sólo me llegó Radio Chota en 4890.3 nada en 4890.0 kHz; ayer que tuve una buena propagación desde Perú, no hubo nada, pero si por ejemplo CPN Radio en 6141 con tremenda señal. Si como comenta Don Henrik que de plano hay que descartar a Radio Chota y que ha sido escuchada en Brasil y Argentina, mas no ha sido reportada por Björn Malm desde Ecuador, me inclinaría pensar que pueda tratarse desde una estación en Bolivia pero la investigación queda abierta (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Feb 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Yo también tengo mil dudas acerca de esta misteriosa emisora. Al principio, pensé que se trataba de Radio Chota, que había vendido espacios de aire a algún grupo religioso, pero la afirmación de Henrik da por tierra con esa posibilidad. No había pensado en la alternativa de Bolivia, aunque es muy plausible que así sea. Lo que me llama la atención es que no ha sido reportada desde ninguna parte del mundo e incluso el mensaje que envié a la Lista DXplorer informando al respecto no llamó la atención. No va a quedar otra alternativa que estar en sintonia aunque sus programas no son demasiado atractivos. De todas maneras, si solamente anunciaran la dirección de alguna iglesia o algún QTH adonde escribir para pedir material de lectura tendríamos una punta para avanzar sobre territorio más firme (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Feb 10, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ BROADBAND VIA POWERLINES (PLUS QRN) COMING REAL SOON NOW http://digitalmass.boston.com/news/2003/02/10/broadband.html (via Joel Rubin, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WiNRADiO DRM WiNRADiO has released the WiNRADiO G303i, which it says is the first commercially available radio that can receive DRM with no hardware modifications. Radio Netherlands has not yet had the opportunity to test this receiver. More information on the WiNRADiO Web site at http://www.winradio.com/home/g303i.htm (From Digital Radio Mondiale via Mike Terry, Feb 7, DXLD) KCHIBO RADIOS The previous weeks I have made a test of seven KCHIBO radios ranging from $8 to $60 as found in our local market (Thessaloniki Greece). It is a PDF file. For more info please visit my web page http://www.geocities.com/zliangas (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO SHACK AND ULTIMATE ELECTRONICS LOSE DOCUMENTATION RS is closing out the DX-398 SW radio at $99.97 each. I just got a demo model at my closest RS. They appeared to have lost the box and manual and soft case, but they took my name and number to let me know if it turns up. I already had one, of course, so I have the manual already form the original. I`m trying to think of the best way to configure the memories on them both to get the best, or at least most useful arrangement of loaded frequencies. It may not really matter. It is actually easier to just remember the frequencies and punch them in rather than use the radio memories. But then, as I get older, I may not be able to so readily recall such things, and to associate stations with their current frequencies. Unless it is an illusion, I think I am beginning to detect signs of memory deterioration with aging, so it wouldn`t be inappropriate to let the hardware memories supplement the failing organic memory bank... :-) I wonder how a Radio Shack would lose the accessories/box/etc. from a shelf-demo model? They have so many such items that I would think that keeping track of the ancillary items from the hundreds (?) of display items would be part of the standard configuration of operating an RS store or franchise. But I ran into a similar situation at an electronics outlet I was also just at a few days ago: Ultimate Electronics. It`s a relatively new chain that has a number of stores here in St. Louis area; don`t know how far they reach nationally [website shows stores in: AZ, CO, ID, IL, IA, MN, MO, NV, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT --- gh]. I was buying a replacement tape (cassette) deck, as my auto-reverse Sony ceased auto- reversing. Unfortunately, it seems like cassette decks are slipping off the commonly-available-product spectrum, and I had to get a dual- deck model for more than I really wanted to spend. There was a discounted floor model but the discount was only 10%, and when they checked in back for the box, manual, and accessories, most of that stuff was missing, so I got a new-in-box one. So there too, the system for keeping track of the stuff that went with the floor models fell down on the job (if they ever HAD a ``system`` to begin with...) (Will Martin, MO, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GRUNDIG S350 [non] The promised "First Looks" review of the Tecsun BCL-2000, soon to be released as the similar Grundig S350, is now posted online at http://www.passband.com/pages/receivernews.htm (Larry Magne via Harold Sellers, ODXA via DXLD) THIS DAY`S INUKTITUT LESSON +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Languages of Shortwave --- Inuktitut NUNAVUT SAYS INUKTITUT NEEDS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE PROTECTION IQALUIT - The Nunavut government says census statistics released this week will help it in its fight to get Inuktitut recognized as an official language in the territory. Statistics Canada released results for language, mobility and migration from its 2001 census on Monday. And for the first time Nunavut is identified as a separate jurisdiction in this category, since it became a territory in 1999. Statistics from the 2001 survey show that Inuktitut is the language used in most Nunavut homes. It's the mother tongue for more than 70 per cent of all residents of Nunavut - Inuit and non-Inuit combined. Jack Hicks, Nunavut's director of evaluation and statistics, says the data show the territory is a special case, and the only jurisdiction in Canada where English or French is not the dominant language. "This is the first time that we'll have a jurisdiction at the provincial or territorial level where, for example, a non-official language in national terms is dominant," said Hicks. Jack Anawak, Nunavut's minister of culture, language, elders and youth, says while Inuktitut is by far the dominant language in the territory, it doesn't get the same protection as French and English. Anawak says Inuktitut should also be recognized by the federal government as an official language in the territory, and the language statistics prove the point. "Inuit have been around for at least 4,000 years and therefore, with its own territory, there should be some special recognition whether it's the Constitution or some way of recognizing Inuktitut. It just has to be, I mean there really should be no choice about it." Anawak says while most Inuit speak Inuktitut, Nunavut is besieged by English programs and culture. He says national recognition of Inuktitut as an official language in the territory is needed to help preserve the language. Written by CBC News Online staff Last Updated Wed, 11 Dec 2002 ``To understand the nature of "Inuktitut", the word needs to be built from its roots. "Inuit" refers to three or more Arctic aboriginal persons, and an "Inuk" is one Inuit person. Consequently, "Inuk-titut" roughly translates as "in the way of an Inuk". Inuktitut is not just a language; it is a way of life. An Inuk not only speaks in Inuktitut, but he or she also acts, thinks and lives "in the way of an Inuk". As you can image, truly understanding Inuktitut might take non-Inuit a lifetime or more. Nevertheless, learning a few phrases and words can establish goodwill between visitors and Inuit, especially when dealing with a guide or other Inuit for several days. ``Pronunciation guides: Inuktitut could be called a vowel-based language. That is, every syllable ends in a vowel sound, unless there are two consecutive consonants. In this case, the syllables are split between the two consonants. For example, Inuktitut is pronounced "I- nuk-ti-tut" or "Ee-nook-tee-toot", not "In-ook-tit-oot". An exception occurs in words like "Pangnirtuq" because in Inuktitut "ng" is a single consonant. The pronunciation is "Pang-ni(r)-too(k)" which translates to "place with mature male caribou". Hopefully, you noticed the (r) and (k) which emphasize that the Inuktitut "r" and "q" are not pronounced like the English letters. In Inuktitut, "r" and "q" are released in the throat, not from the mouth or lips, and are hard for an English tongue to master. Apparently, they are sounds easier for Francophones to handle.`` -- http://www.tununiq.com/masters/iinuk.htm Inuktitut is one of the more interesting and unusual languages that can be heard on the CBC Northern Quebec Service (Fred Waterer, Ont., Programming Matters, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) THIS DAY`S CZECH LESSON +++++++++++++++++++++++ CZECH FROM HEAD TO "FOOT-FINGER" [08-01-2003] By Pavla Horakova The ABC of Czech - the Czech language series which followed the alphabet - reached the letter Z in December but in the New Year we are back to take you on a new journey around the Czech language - from head to toe. Hello and welcome to our new Czech language programme in which we'll look at the Czech language from head to toe. Now let me explain that. We are not going to list the vocabulary connected with body parts - that would be too simple. Instead, we will look at how the Czech language uses parts of the human body to create phrases and idioms. I am sure every language is full of them - just look at a few in English: "pay through the nose", "go hand in hand", "be head over heels in love", "get cold feet" or "give someone the cold shoulder". Czech is n-o exception in this respect and with some body parts, such as legs, for example, I could count more than two dozen idioms or fixed expressions. These will be in our focus during this new Czech language course. We will start next week with "head" and proceed all the way to the "toe" during the following weeks. Speaking of this very idiom - "from head to toe" - why don't we take a closer look at it right now. It is not as simple to translate as it seems. Matthew is a businessman from New York. He has been living in the Czech Republic for several years and still finds the language puzzling. For example the fact that there is no special word for "toe"... "The fact that you still call toes "foot-fingers" is really amazing, I think. You have thirty-seven cases for every noun and adjective and you have foot-fingers? Somebody is walking around limping and they say I hurt my finger? Which, when I carry it forward, means your ankle is your "foot-wrist", your knee is your "foot-elbow" and your hip is your "foot-shoulder" and I don't know where it meets. But it's a great language." So there you go, there is no special word for toe and that's why the idiom in Czech goes "from head to heel" or od hlavy k pate. And don't worry, it's not thirty-seven cases as Matthew said, but only seven. That's all for now but as I said we'll be back next week with the first handful of idioms using the word head or hlava. Until then you can try and find how many of them you can count in your mother tongue. Thanks for listening and tune in again, please (R Prague website) Can be heard UT Weds and Sats (Fred Waterer, Ont., Programming Matters, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ UPDATED VERSION OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC STYLES ONLINE This site is alive again. It contains some updates and changes, for instance a clickable Bolivian Aymara DJ, but there are also some new sound bites and rhythms included. Please amend bookmark if different from following: http://home.swipnet.se/gersnaes/henriks/lamusic.html (Henrik Klemetz, Feb 10, dxing.info via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ RE DXLD 3-022, Noon 6 MHz Australia Anomalous Propagation Bob Padula wrote, "Thus, after observing this midsummer phenomenon for some 40 years, the hypothesis survives, in that this form of propagation is directly associated with low sunspot activity, causing much lower absorption, in turn allowing refraction of signals not otherwise possible. "I do not believe that sunspot activity is the sole cause: the hypothesis is that the effect is also linked to reduced ground- bouncing, causing considerable less absorption off the earth's surface, due to the presence of Sporadic E clouds over the southern Hemisphere with refraction off the top surfaces of those moving clouds." I agree that the low D-layer absorption is part of the story. I agree that something else is at work; otherwise the effect would be noticed over a wider area. There was a geomagnetic storm in progress on Feb. 2 from an earlier coronal mass ejection from the sun. The geomagnetic disturbance supports the idea of a Sporadic-E layer cloud. Working against this theory is the fact that the stations heard cover a wide geographical distribution. Sporadic E-Layer clouds are normally concentrated such that moving the transmitter or receiver a few miles will cause loss of signal. To make the ionospheric duct work, the E-Layer cloud would have to extend over a very wide area to receive the widely dispersed stations logged. I throw out the following hypothesis for further study and experimentation. It is a long-path hypothesis that does not depend on Sporadic E-Layer to F-Layer propagation. As we approach the Vernal Equinox, the sun still illuminates the upper atmosphere above Antarctica 24 hours a day. The surface of Antarctica is no longer illuminated all day. Thus, the lower atmosphere becomes cooler than the upper atmosphere. A huge temperature inversion develops across the Antarctic continent. The height of the inversion is sufficient to cause a duct to be formed between the ice surface of the Antarctic snow pack and the inversion layer. Such inversions are common over the oceans and work well up into the UHF frequency range with low loss. 180 degrees in longitude from Australia it is midnight when it is noon in Australia. Signals from Africa and Southwest Asia could propagate one or two hops to the edge of Antarctica where they would be trapped in the duct. The duct would conduct the signal across Antarctica with very little loss. When the signal comes out of the duct it again propagates via the ionosphere to Australia. Food for thought. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ Fascinating theory, but I wasn`t aware HF signals could be subject to tropospheric ducting like VHF and UHF are. Has Bob directional antennas to determine whether the signals are coming over the pole or not? Besides, a lot of them are from SE Asia, surely short path (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SWEEPING CARRIERS Dear Sir; Can you Please help me in understanding what the 'carriers' are that appear nowadays on shortwave that slowly drift up in frequency (either smoothly or a slight frequency zigzag effect) at seemingly consistent spacings throughout the band to MUF with all of them cascading along together?? I have observed them on several quality receivers / locations fixed and mobile. They seem to accelerate in their 'drift' as frequencies increase. IF this effect has been already explained, Please direct me to any relevant information so I can become enlightened. I have been a radio enthusiast for 20+yrs and this annoyance seems to have developed recently. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely (Frank Tangel, Tangel@vei.net Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Most likely these are ionospheric sounders, constantly measuring the maximum usable frequency and perhaps other factors, tho I have not noticed the acceleration, zigzagging and cascading you mention. Ideas? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###