DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-043, March 16, 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/dxldtd3c.html [note change] HTML version of February issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3b.html 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 1173: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 7445 and/or 15038.6 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WJIE: Mon 0700, 1300, Tue 0700, 1300, Wed 1300, Thu 1300 on 7490 WWCR: Wed 1030 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1173.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL At the Winterfest silent auction, they had two ``Honk if you love Glenn Hauser`` bumper stickers. The highest bid I saw on them was $1.50, but on one of them someone had entered your name, and in the amount column they put ``one sesqui-gigadollar``. This year the auction raised over $800.00 for charity, so it`s a worthwhile event. As I left the hotel, I saw George Zeller, one of the members of the Pirate Forum crew. He must have been the high bidder on one of your stickers. He was holding it up and laughing at it (Pete Bentley, WV, Mar 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. Re Information Radio changing from 8700 to 7000: Unfortunately the change has not yet reported in any news-sources available to the CRW editor (M. Schöch, Mar 6, Clandestine Radio Watch via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Network operator info shows the following bookings for Radio Afghanistan in A03: 0230-0330 on 13680 (DHA 250 kW), 1330-1630 on 18940 (KVI 500 kW). The 18940 from KVI was scheduled to be in use already during B02 with the same time slot (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UAE, NORWAY ** ALASKA. Following story is obviously (to us) about Aurora Communications, and the ex-KGEI SW transmitter they are trying to re- install. Strange that the writer never gets around to identifying the not yet on the air `station`. Kozned seems to be a fine Christian who puts first things first (gh, DXLD) KENAI AREA BROADCASTER FACES FINES $137,000: ALLEGED INCIDENT OF FILLING WETLANDS MAY BE COSTLY By PAULA DOBBYN, Anchorage Daily News (Published: March 13, 2003) A Christian broadcaster is facing up to $137,500 in fines for alleged wetlands damage on the Kenai Peninsula. The charge marks his second run-in with federal environmental regulators, including an ugly confrontation involving a screwdriver. Alexander Kozned of Ninilchik poured gravel and other fill into about 3.5 acres of wetlands, as well as a stream and intertidal zone that drains into Cook Inlet, according to a complaint filed this month by attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The alleged violations happened during the summer of 2002 on Kozned's property a few miles north of Ninilchik, where he wants to install radio antennas to broadcast religious programming to Russia and China. Robert Spencer, an attorney for Kozned, said the area affected is less than a tenth of an acre and that volunteers, not knowing about the wetlands, made an honest mistake. The EPA's reaction amounts to overkill, said Spencer, adding that Kozned did not wish to be interviewed. But officials at the federal agency said Kozned knew of the wetlands and filled them without a permit, despite a 1998 warning. The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued cease-and-desist orders at that time after discovering that Kozned used earth-moving and road- building equipment on wetlands to build antenna pads. The EPA ordered Kozned to restore and revegetate the wetlands he harmed. Kozned complied and was not fined, according to David Allnut, an EPA attorney in Seattle. But the circumstances leading up to that were less than harmonious, according to EPA and corps spokesmen and a written account by the corps. Two corps inspectors arrived on Kozned's property on July 7, 1998, to check out suspected wetlands violations, according to the account. After finishing the inspection and returning to their car, the inspectors noticed that a man, who later identified himself as Kozned, was letting the air out of one of their tires. Houston Hannafious, an inspector, asked Kozned to stop and then pushed his arm out of the way. "At that point the man stabbed Houston in the arm with a screwdriver. The screwdriver broke the skin and caused bleeding," the account states. "Houston informed the man that he had just attacked a federal official. The man accused them of trespassing," it goes on to say. Hannafious is no longer around and the agency has no further record of what happened with Kozned, said corps spokesman John Killoran. The matter was turned over to the EPA, he said. Spencer said he wasn't around then and couldn't comment on the screwdriver incident. At that time, the EPA ordered Kozned to conduct two seasons of monitoring to make sure his restoration efforts were working. By last April, EPA officials determined that Kozned had met their requirements. But during an inspection three months later, an EPA official noticed that Kozned had put gravel back in some of the same wetlands he had earlier filled and did it again without a permit, Allnut said. Spencer acknowledged the work was done without a permit but said there are exemptions for wetlands projects that fall below a certain threshold. In this case, the amount of affected wetlands is much smaller than what the EPA contends, and Kozned may not have needed a permit, Spencer said. Allnut disagreed. "The compliance history here is particularly egregious. It's not someone who got caught unawares," he said. "That fact is, this guy had prior knowledge and proceeded nevertheless." Spencer cast the matter in a different light. "I think it's somebody who doesn't like him or what he does. I think it's absolutely wrong." The attorneys also disagree on whether Kozned is personally responsible for damaging the wetlands. The way Spencer tells it, unknowing volunteers accidentally blundered, while Allnut said Kozned was on the job when the heavy equipment pushed fill onto the swampy soil. The EPA has pictures to prove it, Allnut said, and Kozned himself videotaped the inspection. The EPA and the corps share enforcement responsibilities under the Clean Water Act, which generally requires developers or anyone else to get permission before putting dirt, gravel or other matter into wetlands and other water bodies. Wetlands are particularly important, Allnut said, because they naturally filter contaminants, provide flood control and often offer habitat for a wide range of aquatic species. The EPA has yet to determine the extent of environmental harm caused by Kozned's activities, but officials know that no salmon are present in the immediate area, Allnut said. Kozned has 30 days to respond to the complaint and has the right to a hearing. http://www.adn.com/business/story/2761282p-2810476c.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** ANDAMAN ISLANDS [and non]. Dear Glenn, The observations on AIR Port Blair and Radio Kashmir Leh on 4760 are right. The stations IDs are given at sign on, sign off, and at the starting and ending of particular programs. I am interested to know what BBC Monitoring says about Radio Sadayee Kashmir [q.v.]. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. Hi Glenn, LRA 36, R. NACIONAL ARCÁNGEL, San Gabriel, BASE ESPERANZA, heard with very good reception on 15476.2 kHz at 2220 UT with IDs after every record. Nice music programme indeed. Truly like this station and their taste of music! 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Mar 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Radio Austria State budget changes mean that the central broadcasting organisation, the ORF, must decide whether or not to have an international service. Unlike other international radio broadcasters that are funded by government grant, Radio Austria draws its operating budget from the domestic licence fee. Decision day is March 26, and if the answer is ``no``, Radio Austria International in its present form may go off the air on July 1. The AIB understands that there is little interest in government or ORF for maintaining a foreign service. If no reprieve is granted, programming will be reduced from the existing 6-language international service, to relays of the domestic service in German only. ROI`s Editor-in-Chief, Michael Kerbler, commented to the AIB: ``Austria will be the first European nation to close down its short wave service in times of the European enlargement process. It`s a pity.`` Perhaps something of an understatement (March AIB Newsletter via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA [non]. (presumed), BFBS, 15530, 1500 3/9 presumed BFBS turned on with sports - soccer. World of Radio has mentioned this is likely via Austria (Larry Russell, MI DXPedition, MARE via DXLD) No, I did not mention this as via Austria. Initially 5945 was guessed to be Austria, but soon eliminated. 15530 acknowledged by BFBS as Rampisham, UK (gh DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 9550, Bangladesh Betar External Service -- *1815 on 8 March, OM with sign-on and clear ID, into news, then at 1828 Man from the 'marbles in mouth broadcasting school' mumbling incoherently. Could have gotten details if the newscaster had continued, but this guy was IMPOSSIBLE to understand! Aaargh.... Music at 1831-1835. SIO 242+ --just plain weak, but best I’ve ever heard! (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI DXPedition, MARE via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. I've not been reading your lists for a few weeks so I don't know if this is a new one. Belarus` today 030316 at 1007 on 11196 (+) in full AM, S9+30+, \\ 7235 \\ 6070. Lowe HF-150/PR-150/AP- 150, 10 meter longwire, MLB. 73 de (Kjell-Ingvar Karlsson, Upplands Väsby, Sweden, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Aero band! (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Será realizada nesta quinta-feira, 13, a partir das 09h30 min no auditório da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL) em Porto Alegre a primeira demonstração de rádio digital no Brasil. A apresentação para convidados especiais será do Vice-presidente executivo da RBS, Pedro Parente. Entre os convidados estão representantes do Ministério das Comunicações, associações de emissoras de rádio e técnicos em radiodifusão do Brasil. O evento é patrocinado pela Harris, fabricante de equipamentos para radiodifusão, e iBiquity, empresa norte-americana que desenvolveu a tecnologia digital para rádio. A Rádio Gaúcha é a primeira emissora brasileira a testar a nova tecnologia e vai utilizar seu canal de ondas médias em 600 kHz para a transmissão do som digital. Durante os próximos dias o sistema de rádio digital será apresentado para agências de publicidade de Porto Alegre e Universidades da Grande Porto Alegre. O equipamento é um salto tecnológico entre o sistema analógico atual utilizado por emissoras AM. Durante um mês, a programação normal da Rádio Gaúcha terá transmissão digital em caráter experimental. A experiência é pioneira no Estado. Veja como funciona: Normalmente, a produção da programação de uma rádio já é feita com equipamentos digitais. A novidade está no sistema de transmissão até os aparelhos receptores dos ouvintes. Hoje, a transmissão e os aparelhos receptores são todos analógicos - os sons são convertidos em ondas que usam, no caso da Gaúcha, a freqüência de 600 KHz. Com a nova tecnologia, a transmissão é feita de forma digital, com as informações enviadas através da mesma freqüência. O novo receptor digital, diferente do rádio comum, decodifica e reproduz. A vantagem é que o som é bem mais limpo que o analógico, sujeito a interferências a toda hora. Músicas transmitidas em AM ficam com qualidade de FM - e as transmissões em FM têm a qualidade de um CD. Além disso, é possível enviar dados para os rádio-receptores, já que todas as informações (sons e texto) vêm da mesma forma. Assim, um ouvinte pode escutar a música e ler a letra em uma tela no rádio. Ou ainda receber notícias, a previsão do tempo e dados sobre as condições de trânsito, por exemplo. (do sítio http://www.clicrbs.com.br via Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, Mar 12, radioescutas via DXLD) Same old hype, whatever the language: IBOC tests on 600 for a month (gh, DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. Glenn, My friends in Accra report that on 12 and 13 March the reactivated Radio Burkina was indeed back on 5030 (Chris Greenway, Kenya, March 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. More cuts in regional programming and layoffs in journalistic and production staff of between 400 and 1,200 are being predicted by the lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting in the wake of what it says is funding uncertainty in the recent federal budget. http://tinyurl.com/7k33 (FROM CANADIAN PRESS, Toronto Star via Jilly Dybka, TN) Does anybody know if we have to be concerned about tinyurl and makeashorterlink expiring? (gh, DXLD) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. CAR RADIO PLAYING MARTIAL MUSIC, COUP LEADER GEN BOZIZE EXPECTED TO SPEAK State radio in the Central African Republic, which has fallen to rebel hands, is playing martial music continuously and coup leader Gen Francois Bozize is expected to address the nation shortly, according to a BBC Monitoring contact in the capital city Bangui. The contact confirmed the situation was calm, with people going about their daily business normally. Source: Radio Centrafrique, Bangui, in French 0645 gmt 16 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) DRCONGO REBELS REPORTEDLY READY TO MOVE INTO BANGUI TO OUST BOZIZE'S MEN | Text of report by Gabonese Africa No 1 radio on 16 March The takeover in the CAR by Gen Bozize is a fait accompli, according to the rebels' spokesman, who explained that the CAR process is being terminated to enable a new start. He added that Gen Bozize wants a collective transition. Meanwhile, CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse, who is currently in Yaounde, Cameroon, has remained silent some 24 hours after the tension that erupted in Bangui yesterday afternoon. However, he has been holding consultations with foreign officials, as well as with members of his entourage. Now, let us examine the situation on the ground with our correspondent, Rodrigue Asseyi: [Martial music] [Asseyi] The CAR national radio has been carrying martial music for several hours now and everyone is awaiting a statement by Francois Bozize, the man who has become the new strong man in Bangui and in the CAR. Yesterday, the national radio abruptly interrupted its programming shortly after the attack on Bangui. Although relative calm has prevailed in the CAR capital since this morning, sporadic gunshots are heard following a night a night of looting at the residences of the dignitaries of the regime of Patasse, who has sought refuge in Cameroon since yesterday. Items taken away by uncontrollable groups range from vehicles, to motorbikes and bicycles, to furniture, electronic equipment, and shoes and dresses, especially from President Patasse's residence. Let us listen to this witness report by a Bangui resident, who works in a hotel. [Unidentified speaker] They walked into the hotel and took the day's receipts. They took the manager along and threatened those of us at the reception desk. They took away the manager's cellular phone. They made away with everything in our hotel, including our clients' vehicles. This took place this morning, a little while ago. Right now, there is a growing wave of looting. [Asseyi] Many CAR dignitaries have left their residences and sought refuge in embassies in Bangui. Yesterday, Gen Bozize's men entered the capital city centre through the north as they did previously in October. This time, they met with no resistance. The ease with which they moved in was really surprising. The rebellion took control of the head of state's residence and the Kasai Camp, a major military barrack. Similarly, Bangui Mpouko International Airport - the second best protected site after the state house - was also taken over. In the face of the rebels' progress, the CEMAC [Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa] forces withdrew into a French high school. To some observers, the CEMAC troops gave the impression of remaining passive. Jean-Pierre Mbemba's troops, who had come to support the Patasse regime, ran away across the river, back to their country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, just on the other side of the river, opposite Bangui. The question is, how long will they stay away. According to our sources, Jean-Pierre Mbemba is not done for yet. He is reportedly preparing to intervene on conditions that he receives certain assurances. He is reported to have 3,000 men ready to move into Bangui. There are no further details on the assurances that Mbemba wants. Source: Africa No 1 radio, Libreville, in French 0900 gmt 16 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Supporters of former army General François Bozizé say they have taken over control of the country. A spokesperson for the rebels says they have captured the presidential palace, the airport, and the radio and television station. They say the coup d'état has been completed successfully and General Bozizé will speak to the people later (Radio Netherlands news) (Andy Sennitt, 1531 UT March 16, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA [and non]. It appears that LVDTC and R Mil [Mexico] are within 100 Hz of each other [near 6010]. Or so it appeared on Mar 15 at 0200 when I checked. Absolutely nothing clearly audible behind that het. Perhaps they'll truly co-channel briefly. 73 (Gerry Bishop, Niceville FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. SEÑALES DE TV Y RADIO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS EN ISLA DE TURIGUANO MORÓN, 11 de marzo (José Manuel Caraballo Bravo, APLA / http://www.cubanet.org ) --- La población de la Isla de Turiguano se favorece con la recepción de canales de TV y ondas de radio de Miami, según informó Nilo Gutiérrez, corresponsal de APLA. Desde hace varios días los residentes del poblado de La Loma, en la isla de Turiguano, a pocos kilometros de Morón, disfrutan al azar de varios canales de televisión que se transmiten desde Miami, entre ellos el 7, el 10 y el 51. "Las amas de casa están de plácemes, apegadas a las telenovelas", informa Gutiérrez. Para los amantes de la música, la frecuencia modulada (FM) permanece durante todo el día, con suficiente potencia. "Hay para todos los gustos, música en inglés y en español", señaló Gutiérrez. Según se pudo comprobar, los residentes del reparto Capitania son los más favorecidos por esta casualidad tecnológica. Las autoridades nada pueden hacer, ya que todo llega via satélite [sic]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (via David E. Crawford; Forget the satellite part tho... Tropo works both ways; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Voice of Oromo Liberation / Sagalee Blilummaa Oromoo: I received a partial-data letter for SBO on 15715 in 32 months. In the meantime, I have sent follow-ups and new reports to at least 4 different addresses, including one of those on their letterhead which has 2 slightly different addresses: Sagalee Blilummaa Oromoo (SBO), PO Box 510610, D-13366, Berlin, Germany, and Voice of Oromo Liberation Radio, PO Box 510620, D-13366, Berlin, Germany. The broadcast was via Jülich (W. Craighead, KS, Mar 10 for CRW via DXLD) ** FRANCE. MEDIUM WAVE FRANCE 12.03.2003 CSA - Approved private stations March 12th 2003 675 kHz 1000 kW Superloustic Marseille 981 kHz 5 kW Ciel AM Paris 999 kHz 5 kW Superloustic Paris 1062 kHz 5 kW Radiorama Paris 1071 kHz 300 kW Radio de la Mer Montpellier 1071 kHz 160 kW Radio de la Mer Brest 1071 kHz 20 kW Radio de la Mer Bastia 1080 kHz 5 kW Radio de la Mer Paris 1161 kHz 63 kW Ciel AM Strasbourg 1161 kHz 160 kW Ciel AM Toulouse 1314 kHz 5 kW Radio du Temps Libre Paris 1350 kHz 300 kW Radio Orient Nice 1485 kHz 1 kW Radiorama Marseille 1485 kHz 1 kW Radiorama Reims 1485 kHz 1 kW Radiorama Toulouse 1485 kHz 1 kW RMC info Nancy 1485 kHz 1 kW RMC info Brest 1575 kHz 5 kW Radio Nouveaux Talents Paris 1584 kHz 1 kW Radiorama Nantes 1584 kHz 1 kW Beur FM Perpignan 1584 kHz 1 kW RMC info Strasbourg 1584 kHz 1 kW RMC info Metz 1584 kHz 1 kW RMC info Mulhouse 1602 kHz 1 kW Radio Orient Nîmes Superloustic: Marseille 675 kHz Paris 999 kHz Radio Orient: Nice 1350 kHz Nîmes 1602 kHz Ciel AM: Paris 981 kHz Strasbourg 1161 kHz Toulouse 1161 kHz Radio Nouveaux Talents: Paris 1575 kHz Radiorama: Marseille 1485 kHz Reims 1485 kHz Paris 1062 kHz Nantes 1584 kHz Montpellier 1584 kHz Toulouse 1485 kHz La Radio du Temps libre: Paris 1314 kHz La Radio de la Mer: Paris 1080 kHz Brest 1071 kHz Montpellier 1071 kHz Bastia 1071 kHz Beur FM: Perpignan 1584 kHz RMC info: Metz 1584 kHz Mulhouse 1584 kHz Nancy 1485 kHz Brest 1485 kHz Strasbourg 1584 kHz (via Christian Ghibaudo for PLAYDX via Dario Monferini, Mar 14, DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. PARDON MY FRENCH... I MEAN FREEDOM http://tinyurl.com/7jns (Jeff Mullin, Enid Eagle via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** GERMANY. 7265, Sudwestrundfunk from Rohrdorf, YL DJ in German with many chatty breaks including phone ins and a request all interspersed with funky Pop (mostly in English) tunes including stuff from Uncle Kracker and `I Want It That Way`. Many mentions of Baden-Baden. 0700 News and back to music at 0704 (0615-0715 8/Mar SIO 44+4+) Really NICE reception despite generally horrible conditions (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI DXpedition, MARE via DXLD) ** GERMANY. DW audience correspondent Mrs. Margot Forbes will be presenting new 55 minutes long global Mailbag show starting 6th April 2003 (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So Sundays ** GERMANY: DW Sked effective 30 March - 25 October 2003 -- English 0000-0100 AS 1548tr 7130tr 9505tr 9825we 0400-0500 AF 7225ki 11945ki 15410we 0500-0600 AF 9700ki 11925si 12045ki 13755tv 15410we 0600-0700 AF 9780si 15275we 17860ki 0600-0900 EU 6140ju 0900-1000 EU 6140ju 15440si 1000-1030 AS 17615tr 17715tr 1000-1200 EU 6140ju 15440si 1100-1200 AS 15110tr 17820tr 1200-1300 EU 6140ju 15440si 1300-1700 EU 6140ju 1600-1700 AS 1548tr 6170tr 7225tr 17595we 1700-1900 EU 6140ju 1900-2000 AF 6180ki 7225ki 11965tr 13590we 15390ki 2000-2100 AF 9780tr 15205na 17810we 2100-2200 AF 9440we 11865ki 15205ki 2200-2300 AS 9720tr 15605ko 2300-2400 AS 9890ki 17860vl Transmitters: ju = Juelich ki = Kigali ko = Komsomol`sk na = Nauen si = Sines tr = Trincomalee tv = Talata Volondry vl = Vladivostok we = Wertachtal (Via Alokesh Gupta, Hard Core DX Mail List, reformatted by Alan Roe or World DX Club Contact, via DXLD) gh excerpted English only, SW & MW ** GREECE. Re the ex-Glória [PORTUGAL] transmitters donated to Greece: Yes, no one of them appears to be in operation so far. Perhaps you will remember how we once found the Thessaloniki outlets spot on frequency and without the usual distortion, first believed that now the first 419F became operational but had finally to learn that instead just one of the existing Avlis transmitters had taken over from the old VOA rigs near Thessaloniki (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SPAIN ** GUAM. Correct old time for the Friday night Jim Bohannon Show as delayed on KGUM, K-57 was UT Sunday 1407-1659, not Mon, delayed from UT Sat 0307, whilst on Tue-Fri it was at 1307-1559; and now the latter at least have moved to 1707-1959 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. HISTORY -- La Voz Popular - the official voice of URNG. I noted an interesting history of La Voz Popular, the official voice of the URNG (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca) that broadcast from Volcán Tajumulco, in the Department of San Marcos, during the armed civil war. http://www.entremundos.org/mainFrame.htm?http://www.entremundos.org/Newspaper/Archive/Issue1/DaughterOfLaVoz.htm~contents (Takayuki Inoue Nozaki, Japan, Mar 10, DXplorer-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** GUINEA BISSAU. GUINEA-BISSAU: PRIVATE RADIO STATION APPEALS AGAINST CLOSURE BY STATE | Text of report by Portuguese radio web site on 12 March Guinea-Bissau's private radio station, "Bombolom-FM", which was closed following a government decree, is in court to appeal the order given by the secretary of state for Information Joao Manuel Gomes. In a statement made to RDP Africa, the station's lawyer, Amine Saad, confirmed that all its attempts to resolve the issue through talks have been exhausted since the Guinea-Bissau government had been given the opportunity to attend peaceful talks, but opted to adopt other measures. Amine Saad believes that the decision to suspend the station should obey judicial criteria established in the 1991 press law, adding that the government has made a judicial mistake. "Bombolom-FM's" lawyer revealed that he would also ask the court to hold the government accountable for the "moral damage" journalist Agnelo Regala was subjected to. Saad will ask for an amount of 70m CFA francs (about 100,000 euros). "Bombolom-FM's" lawyer also revealed that he would press charges against the secretary of state for Information, who he has accused of "defamation" contained in the decree the official signed addressed to "Bombolom-FM's" administration and employees. Source: RDP Africa web site, Lisbon, in Portuguese 12 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GUYANA. Guyana 3291v Off the air for last week of so, 0800 check and 0000 check (Robert Wilkner, FL, R-75, NRD 535, Mar 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. HERITAGE HU-HU OVER HILO’S FIRST RADIO STATION IS ALMOST PAU --- TheBuzz BY ERIKA ENGLE, Wednesday, March 12, 2003 Big Island Broadcasters began a branding brawl on Monday when KAHU-AM 1060 relaunched under new ownership. The March 5 news release announcing the station's launch date trumpeted, "Hilo's original radio station, KHBC, will once again be gracing the airways." However, Hilo's first radio station is still on the air, and is now known as KPUA-AM 670. "The KHBC call letters are simply being used by a new broadcast operation hoping to capitalize on the original station's heritage," said Chris Leonard, vice president and general manager for New West Broadcasting Corp. which owns KPUA and sister stations KWXX-FM 94.7 and KNWB-FM 97.1. The marketing move has caused some confusion, which may be resolved with a planned filing with the Federal Communications Commission. "The legal name of the station is still KAHU, but you can name your station on the air anything you want," station owner Hugh "Buddy" Gordon, sole officer of Hilo Broadcasting LLC said last week. Gordon said he had no plans to change the call letters. Late yesterday, though, he said he would file an FCC request for a call letter change. By law a radio station must perform a legal ID at the top of each hour, giving its official call letters and community of license, such as, "KAHU, Hilo." The ID the station is running says, "AM 1060 K-A-H- U, Hilo is now KHBC." The call letters KHBC for television broadcast belong to Alabama-based Raycom National Inc., which owns Honolulu's KHNL-TV and KFVE-TV. "KHBC is the official license of our (television) transmitter on the Big Island, out of Hilo, but everything that runs on KHBC Hilo and KOGG Maui emanates from KHNL, therefore the name KHBC is not used very often and we felt comfortable licensing it to Buddy. We wish him the best," said John Fink, vice president and general manager of KHNL and KFVE. The call letters KHBC were dropped during an ownership change, allowing Belo TV Inc. to pick up the letters in 1982. The letters went to Raycom during the purchase of KHNL. Fink has sent a letter informing the FCC that the company will express no opposition to Gordon's planned call letter change, providing it is referred to as KHBC-AM on the air. Gordon's Hilo Broadcasting pays a fee to KHNL for use of the letters. The companies also have an agreement where the radio station will carry some news and weather reports generated by the TV station. The original KHBC signed on the air Friday May 1, 1936, at 1400 kilohertz, according to New West's Leonard. Through the years and changes in owners, including the Honolulu Star- Bulletin at one point, the station's dial position and call letters have also changed. Gordon, who is also a minority owner and former general manager of competitor Big Island Radio's eight-station group, invested $90,000 in his new AM stereo station. He also employs many former on-air staffers of KIPA-AM, which belongs to Big Island Radio. Lillian O'Connor, who started with KIPA in 1947 when Gordon's father ran the station, does a one-hour Japanese language show on KAHU beginning at 5 a.m. followed by veteran morning man Mel "Mynah Bird" Medeiros, Stephanie Salazar and Pohai Montague-Mullins and "Bruddah" Brad Freeman. Weekend hosts will include entertainer and radio veteran Iaukea Bright and "Thor," host of a progressive rock and jazz show called "Music for a Change" which has been absent from Hilo airwaves since 1985. END OF STORY (Star-Bulletin? Via Brock Whaley, GA, DXLD) Brock Notes: As far as I can tell, KHBC Hilo began as a c.p. on 1210 Khz (Then a local channel) as KWFV. In 1936 KHBC signed on as mentioned with 100 watts day/night on 1370 (also a local channel back then), owned by the SH Hilo Broadcasting Company LTD. KHBC moved to 1400 on March 29, 1941 when all stations on 1370 moved up 30 kHz as part of the NARBA treaty. At the end of World War Two, KHBC moved again, this time to another "local" channel of 1230. This was to make way for KHON Honolulu to begin on 1400. By this time, KHBC was owned by The Honolulu Broadcasting Company, and cleared many programs that originated on their key station, KGMB Honolulu, that operated on 1320, the frequency used by the Pearl Harbor attack planes to "zero" in on Oahu. Of course the frequency KGMB later moved to was 590. The Honolulu Broadcasting Company operated the Inter-Island Network by means of matched lines, and inter-island FM relay via the Mutual Telephone Company. It claimed state wide coverage thanks to the addition of KTOH Lihue (Kome To Our Hawaii) (1490), which they did not own, to their lineup for daily regional programs. KGMB, and thus KHBC were affiliates of both Columbia and the Mutual Broadcasting Systems. CBS was a no-brainer in the golden days of radio, but the Mutual affiliation was due completely to the "Hawaii Calls" program. The late "Don Lee" network of California (KHJ, KFRC, and others) was the Mutual chain for the West Coast. They told the Honolulu Broadcasting Company that they would clear "Hawaii Calls" (sent out by RCA shortwave station KKH Kahuku on 7.52 MHz) on the full Mutual network, If KGMB and KHBC would clear some Mutual programs and spots, sent to Honolulu on 16 inch transcription discs recorded for that purpose at both KHJ and WOR in New York. Anyway, KHBC was limited, as were all local stations at the time, to 250 watts on 1230, so in order to operate with more power, KHBC shifted to its final dial position (until now it seems) of 970, in 1949. First with 1000 watts and later 5000 watts. The frequency (under different calls) was deleted in mid 1980s, and the 970 programming was moved to 670. There is a great uptempo local song called "The KHBC Hula" that mentions the call letters often. They are the only English words sung, in an otherwise Hawaiian song. I lived on Oahu for 17 years. I have never been to Hilo! (Brock Whaley, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONG KONG. The Hong Kong Yacht club informs Cumbre DX that there will be weather broadcasts for the San Fernando Race starting on the evening of the 17th April. Details to follow as soon as they are finalized. Http://www.sanfernandorace.com (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RRI must have fixed some of its SW transmitters at Cimanggis. Around 0300 on 14 March, V. of Indonesia (External Service) was noted on both 9525 and 11785 in Indonesian and Arabic, and one of the domestic networks was on 9680 and 11860 with RRI news at the top of the hour. The domestic service was probably Pro-2 or Pro-3 but I missed most of the network ID at 0305. All gave good reception here except 11860, which until 0300 clashes with R Japan via Merlin- Singapore. In recent months, only V. of Indonesia had been heard on one frequency at any given time out of 9525, 11785 or 15150 kHz. Regards (Alan Davies, Surabaya, Mar 14, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. KILLING OF MISSIONARIES IN YEMEN UNDERSCORES RELIGIOUS CHAUVINISM, "10-40 WINDOW" PROSELYTIZING The murders of three American missionaries this past December in Yemen is raising questions about religious proselytizing, pluralism and efforts by foreign evangelical groups targeting a region of the globe known as the "10/40 window." The three, described in news reports as "U.S. humanitarian workers," were killed by a 35-year-old man suspected of being an Islamic militant. He told police after the incident that he shot the two men and two women "to cleanse his religion and get closer to Allah." It is still not known if he acted alone, or is linked to a terrorist organization. But the murders, rather than deterring the efforts of religious aid and conversion groups, are resulting in a new, and potentially dangerous determination to "spread the word" about Christianity in Third World nations already torn by sectarian conflicts, and with little history of religious pluralism and tolerance. Critics suggest that this is leading to a "backlash" manifesting itself in the rise of even more xenophobic political and religious movements, as well as resentment against the United States for encouraging what amounts to theo-political and cultural imperialism. It is, some fear, fueling the "Clash of Civilizations" prophesied by political scientists such as Samuel P. Huntington, who suggests that the old differences over secular ideologies and economics are being replaced by even more volatile conflicts involving national identity, language, culture and, of course, religious belief. Complicating the issue is the fact that U.S. government aid and foreign policy are often linked to missionary activities. In the case of the Yemen assassinations, for instance, a CNN report noted that the gunman opened fire at a "U.S.-funded hospital" in San'a where the victims worked. "10/40 Window" -- Religious Liberty Or Cultural Hegemony? The public image of foreign missionaries was typified by the role of the slain aid workers in Yemen. They included a hospital administrator, the facility's business manager, and an obstetrician. Another employee, a pharmacist, was wounded by the attacker. News reports say that the hospital "has been providing medical services to Yemeni citizens for nearly forty years." While some missionary efforts do provide laudable services such as literacy programs and health clinics, others emphasize a hard-shell, apocalyptic and evangelical form of Christianity. Many are part of the "10/40 Window Movement" focusing on that region of the world between ten and forty degrees latitude, a swath of non-Christian nations stretching from the Islamic Middle East through India (Hindu), China and into Southeast Asia. "The first and most fundamental reason why committed Christians must focus on The 10/40 Window is because of the biblical and historical significance of this area," notes a posting for the "AD2000" missionary group. "Of the world's 50 least evangelized countries, 37 are within The 10/40 Window..." The stakes are high on a planet where religious groups, especially Christianity, compete now vigorously for followers in an emergent "belief marketplace." The "Window," also described as a realm populated by "strongholds of Satan," boasts 97% of the world's population. "The majority of those enslaved by Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism" live here, says AD2000. Many evangelicals perceive the countries within the 10/40 Window as targets for aggressive proselytizing and conversion. In the 1990s, there were heady efforts to "carry the gospel" and convert hundreds of millions of Muslims, Hindus, Animists, Buddhists and other non- Christian ethnic groups in time for the new millennium and, predicted some, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The timetable proved to be unrealistic, but that has not deterred a new generation of foreign missionaries and would-be proselytizers from taking up the call. Just as Islamic "holy warriors" are perceived as heroes, some Christians describe murdered missionaries are martyrs in a sacred cause. "These killings of missionaries are modern-day martyrdom," said Pastor Gary Wiens of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. According to a KRT News Service report, Wiens has taught seminars at missionary training conferences which focus on evangelical conversion programs in troubled political hotspots like Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus. "Everyone at these conferences is very aware of the political situations in each of their countries," he says. "Sure, missionaries feel vulnerable ... but they're there for the duration because of their love of the Lord and their love of the Arabic people." Another House of Prayer evangelist and missionary trainer, Kirk Bennet, says that the global effort to proselytize Christianity is spawning "a new kind of Christian believer who's growing up and finding God worthy to do whatever it takes." "These believers, many of them young, are unafraid to say 'I'm an American and I believe in Jesus Christ.' " There is growing evidence, though, that this aggressive evangelism is possibly doing more harm than good. A story in the Indian Observer newspaper warned that Christian missionaries "will be making a big mistake if they treat recent attacks on Christian missions and missionaries ... as misdeeds of miscreants of the lunatic fringe of heathens." "The resentment against missionary machinations runs deep in the Hindu society," warned writer Virendra Parekh, "though its expression remains mostly stifled or sporadic." "Most Hindus find it difficult to understand the aggressive self- righteousness of Christianity and Islam and their insistence on converting others," he adds. Comparable attitudes exist in many Islamic, Sinic/Buddhist and other non-Christian nations, where missionaries -- especially those backed by U.S. dollars -- are viewed with suspicion, or even considered agents of foreign powers. Throughout the Muslim world, for instance, there is the "Islamic Resurgence" that mirrors aggressive Christian proselytizing, creating what historian John L. Esposito describes as "an Islamic awakening in personal life." Esposito notes that this process is characterized by a constellation of behaviors, including "increased attention to religious observance, proliferation of religious programming and publications, more emphasis on Islamic dress and values..." He adds that many Muslim governments, including the more nominally secular states of Turkey and Tunisia, are "becoming aware of the potential strength of Islam, have shown increased sensitivity to and anxiety about Islamic issues..." The historical record supports the claims that with evangelical meddling come unexpected consequences and often deadly political developments. Paul Cohen in his definitive work "China and Christianity: The Missionary Movement and the Growth of Chinese Antiforeignism" (Harvard University Press, 1963) noted that broad resentment to missionary proselytizing found voice among all classes of Chinese society. As is the case today with many Third World nations under assault by Christian groups, the Chinese developed "deep-seated resentment" and perceived Christianity as integrally linked to foreign imperialism. Missionary activity also had the effect of "disrupting the Chinese political and judicial system." It remains problematic that even in countries where Christian missionaries enjoy free reign and high rates of success, this automatically leads to a more enlightened and especially secular culture. Throughout Latin America, for instance, there is aggressive proselytizing and recruitment by well-funded Protestant evangelical groups, Mormons and even New Age sects that is slowly eroding the status and authority of the Roman Catholic Church. As with the confrontation between Islam and western Christianity, however, neither party wants the establishment of a truly secular culture, a civil society with separation of mosque-church and state; expansive rights for women and sexual minorities; and robust, meaningful freedom of expression, including the right to question or criticize prevailing religious institutions. Instead, it is a "turf war" for believers, followers and ultimately power. (A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S #1076 1/06/03 via DXLD) MISSIONARY KILLED IN PHILIPPINES BLAST WAS A HAM A Southern Baptist missionary who was among 21 people killed as a result of a terrorist bomb blast in the Philippines was an avid Amateur Radio operator. Bill Hyde, KB0KUB, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died March 4 in Davao City --- the second largest city in the Philippines. He was 59. Hyde and his wife, Lyn, worked extensively with the Southern Philippines Baptist Missionary Seminary. Hyde suffered fatal injuries when he went to retrieve luggage while picking up fellow missionaries at the Davao City airport. According to reports, a backpack carrying a bomb exploded. Hyde died shortly afterwards after surgery for severe head and leg injuries. One of the other missionaries and her infant son were injured. In addition to his wife, the couple`s sons, Steven and Timothy, survive. A friend, Larry Greene, N7LG, said Hyde maintained a ham station at the couple`s remote outpost because it was their only reliable means of contact with the rest of the world. Hyde, a Vietnam veteran and a former music teacher, had served as a missionary since 1978 (ARRL Letter March 14, via John Norfolk, DXLD) INTERNATIONAL - WORLDWIDE: RADIOMINISTRIES.ORG Radioministries.org is a new website dedicated to assisting missionaries in remote regions with the communications through Amateur Radio. According to the groups Director, Scott Thile, K4SET, many missionary and relief groups are working in areas without access to land based phones, cell phones, or the Internet. These groups must find alternative ways to communicate within the group, and with family, friends and supporters back home. Thile says that only a small number can afford satellite telephone service. Others must rely on alternate channels including ham radio. K4SET hopes the new website will be of assistance to those in the missionary field. For more information visit http://radioministries.org. You can contact Thile by e-mail to k4set@radioministries.org (K4SET, Amateur Radio Newsline via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. BLACK RADIO EXPOSED: AN INTERVIEW WITH SHORTWAVE SPECIALIST MIKA MAKELAINEN By: Todd Brendan Fahey, etherzone.com March 3, 2003 Recently, shortwave radio enthusiasts picked up a new and extremely strong radio signal being broadcast in Iraq. Dubbed "Radio Tikrit," the station which broadcasts on 1584 kHz has been exposed by radio specialists and confirmed by such eminent venues as The Wall Street Journal and the Guardian (UK)--and by the stony silence of the CIA--as a "black operation." ... http://www.etherzone.com/2003/fahe030303.shtml (via Nick Grace, CRW via DXLD) A long dialogue, with the author pressing MM about the possibility of a similar black clandestine operation for North Korea (gh, DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. NHK A'03 (Partial schedule via Merlin) ------------------------------------------------- (Sorted by Language) [ALL smtwtfs] FREQ START END SITE PWR BRG LANG TARGET ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 15220 0700 0730 Ascension 250 27 ARABIC N AF 11740 1030 1100 Singapore 250 1 BURMESE SE AS 11740 1230 1300 Singapore 250 1 CHINESE SE AS 11860 0100 0200 Singapore 250 340 ENGLISH SE AS 5975 0500 0600 Rampisham 500 140 ENGLISH W EUR 7230 0500 0700 Woofferton 300 70 ENGLISH EUR 11740 0600 0700 Singapore 250 1 ENGLISH SE AS 17585 1000 1100 Dhabbaya 500 315 ENGLISH SE EUR 6035 2100 2200 Singapore 250 140 ENGLISH OC 6055 2100 2200 Skelton 300 140 ENGLISH W EUR 6180 2100 2200 Skelton 300 70 ENGLISH EUR 11855 2100 2200 Ascension 250 85 ENGLISH AF 6025 0000 0200 Rampisham 500 105 NHK EXTRA ME [i.e. Japanese??] 9570 0200 0400 Rampisham 500 105 NHK EXTRA ME 15480 0400 1200 Dhabbaya 500 300 NHK EXTRA ME 15165 1200 1400 Rampisham 500 105 NHK EXTRA ME 17860 1400 1800 Rampisham 500 105 NHK EXTRA ME 6115 1800 2200 Dhabbaya 500 300 NHK EXTRA ME 6015 2200 2400 Dhabbaya 500 300 NHK EXTRA ME 15400 1230 1300 Ascension 250 27 FRENCH AF 17790 1230 1330 Ascension 250 85 FRENCH AF 9660 1100 1130 Rampisham 500 168 GERMAN W EUR 11710 1100 1130 Skelton 300 70 GERMAN EUR 11860 0200 0300 Singapore 250 340 JAPANESE SE AS 11740 0700 1000 Singapore 250 1 JAPANESE SE AS 11920 0700 1000 Singapore 250 140 JAPANESE OC 11710 0800 1000 Skelton 300 70 JAPANESE EUR 17650 0800 1000 Ascension 250 27 JAPANESE AF 17720 0800 1000 Dhabbaya 500 285 JAPANESE ME 12045 1500 1700 Singapore 250 315 JAPANESE S AS 21630 1500 1700 Ascension 250 85 JAPANESE AF 6175 1700 1900 Skelton 250 150 JAPANESE W EUR 9750 1700 1800 Rampisham 500 62 JAPANESE EUR 6035 2000 2100 Singapore 250 140 JAPANESE OC 6115 2200 2300 Skelton 300 125 JAPANESE W EUR 15220 2200 2300 Ascension 250 235 JAPANESE S AM 11710 1130 1200 Skelton 300 70 RUSSIAN EUR 6135 0330 0400 Ascension 250 85 SWAHILI AF 11740 1130 1200 Singapore 250 1 THAI SE AS 11740 1200 1230 Singapore 250 1 VIETNAMESE SE AS (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. Radio Sadayee Kashmir noted today (15th March 2003) on new 6100 at 0230-0330. Till yesterday they were on 6135 and earlier on 9890. The new frequency is next to Radio Kashmir, Srinagar on 6110 and AIR's Urdu Service on 6155 to Pakistan. I must check up today if any change is there for 6135 also used for the evening broadcast at 1500-1600. The song about Allah used at the starting and ending of the broadcast was noted back today. It was not broadcast for 3 days. [later]: Radio Sadayee Kashmir noted on new frequency and timing for the evening broadcast from today 15th March 2003. They are heard just now on 6100 at 1430 to 1530 UT (ex 1500-1600 on 6135) As reported earlier today, they were noted on 6100 for the morning broadcast at 0230-0330 (ex 6135, 9890) ==== 73 (Jose Jacob, Mar 14, dx_india via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Diplomacy and North Korea from All Things Considered, Friday , March 14, 2003 --- North Korea is the world's most isolated country. Little gets out or in -- especially information. A Korean- American activist is trying to change that by smuggling in millions of tiny, solar-powered radios. The U.S. government is also trying to undermine Kim Jong Il's media monopoly by stepping up its Radio Free Asia broadcasts. NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Seoul... [4:17 audio link at:] http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1192886 (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) See also IRAQ non ** KYRGYZSTAN. Re: DXLD 3-042. Hi again Glenn. On 11 March I posted the text below regarding R Extol item (RUS-DX via DXLD 3-039) to DXing.info http://www.dxing.info/community/viewtopic.php?t=888 Yes, this item in RUS-DX was very interesting. But there are still some questions I'd like to be answered. I recall that most of the broadcasting transmitters in Kyrgyzstan are owned by a state company, let's call it "Kyrgyz Telecom" (maybe someone knows the original name). This company rents the transmitters to various private and state broadcasters. I believe 1467 is just one of these transmitters (some years ago there was listed a transmitter estimated 30 kW in Bishkek on 1467), and R Extol just buys the airtime. Are the R Extol programs in Russian? And the TWR programs too?. Is Mr. Timur Karimov working at R Extol or at "Kyrgyz Telecom"? Are those 4050/4940 programs really made by R Extol? It is hard to believe that a private station (?) would transmit month after month non-stop pops on shortwave, without ads and announcements and without proper ID. Well, just recently they added short Farsi Christian program. Could it be that this SW operation is done by "Kyrgyz Telecom"? Why - maybe to keep frequencies occupied, transmitter(s) functioning and/or attracting airtime buyers. Hopefully we get these questions answered in the near future. ------- And I add one more thing. The program source of 4050 does not close at 1900. Some days I have noted that the 4010 transmitter remains on the air for several minutes with blank carrier after the National Anthem from Kyrgyz Radio. All those days 4050 keeps playing music until 4010 transmitter is switched off. Both transmitters are usually switched off almost simultaneously (couple of seconds interval). Makes me think there is a tape recorder or CD player running at the site and it is turned off when the technician is done with the transmitters (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [and non]. Re Agel/Angel: Hi Glenn, this one is sure: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/monte-carlo-radiodiffusion/textes/oc7.htm (TWR SW antennas) http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tvignaud/galerie/tv-fm/06mt-agel.htm (FM/TV equipment) It's a fortress and there is also military communications equipment there: http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/actu/aa2001/547/cont/cont.html But even this official French defense website confuses the spelling for a moment: in the text, they write correctly "Mont Agel", but one photo is referring to "Mont Angel". 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Thank you very much to those of you who took part in the Amsterdam Forum programme on Iraq. You can listen to the program, and read a transcription of part of the discussion, on this website page: http://www.rnw.nl/amsterdamforum/iraq2 The program will also be broadcast on the radio on Friday 14 March, Saturday 15 March and Sunday 16 March. This page has details of broadcast times and frequencies in your region: http://www.rnw.nl/amsterdamforum/frequencies I will send you details of next week's programme shortly (Adam Coles, Website Editor, Radio Netherlands, March 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. From the new On Target the A03 RN English schedule: 0930-1130 FE/Pacific 9785B 12065P 13710I 1030-1225 Europe 6045J 9860W 1030-1225 ECNA 5965S 1430-1625 WCNA 15220S 1430-1625 South Asia 9890M 11835M 12075T 1730-1830 Africa 6020M 7120M 11655F 1830-2025 Africa 6020M 7120M 9895F 11655F 13700F 17605B 21590B 2030-2230 Europe 1512 (Wolvertem) 2330-0125 ECNA 6165B 9845B 0430-0530 WCNA 6165B 9590B SW sites: B=Bonaire, F=Flevo, I=Irkutsk, J-Juelich, M=Madagascar, P=Petropavlovsk, S=Sackville, T=Tashkent, W=Wertachtal (Andy Sennitt, Holland, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Shortly after publicizing Jim Bohannon on KOMA 1520, weeknights 0307-0600 UT, he goes on vacation and there is a substitute host, some guy from Philadelphia Thursday night; and pre-empted for stupid ballgame Friday night. Well, keep checking next week... (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GUAM ** PERU. After we in SWB published, for the first time, information about "Iglesia Bautista Fe" in Yanahuara, Arequipa and the flood of emails and telephone calls were coming in it seems that the station has stopped the relay of "Canal 33" and transmissions from the church in Yanahuara! For the moment just classical music all the time without talk. I will take the opportunity to say thank you for the great help I have received in the work to solve the mystery on 4890 kHz from the members in SWB: CB/ Christer Brunstrom, JE/ Jan Edh, TBV/ Tore B. Vik, TN/ Thomas Nilsson and TK/ Thord Knutsson. Best Regards (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, 15th of March, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. Poland approves LF amateur band: The Polish telecommunications authority (URTiP) has approved use of the 2200- meter band (135.7-137.8 kHz) for amateur use on a secondary basis. Polish amateurs will be allowed to run 1 W EIRP (equivalent isotropically radiated power) on CW on the new LF band.--Sylwester Jarkiewicz, SP2FAP (ARRL March 12 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** QATAR. DAILY SAYS US CENTCOM HQ TO BECOME "MEDIA CAPITAL OF THE WORLD" | Excerpt from report in English by Qatari newspaper Gulf Times web site on 12 March The state-of-the-art Al-Sayliyah base, the newly set-up forward headquarters of the US Central Command (Centcom), is in the process of becoming the media capital of the world. Journalists and supporting technicians from all major media organizations, who have been descending on Doha over the past several weeks, will be filing reports from the base, if the US-led coalition forces launch military action against Iraq. Work is progressing briskly inside the Coalition Media Centre, housed in a sprawling warehouse in the base, located about 20 km south of Doha city. The media centre is designed to be the main briefing source in the region for the world media in the event of a war, expected to be led by General Tommy Franks, commander of US forces in the Gulf. A briefing room to seat 300, individual rooms for major TV networks, work desks for international and local journalists are among the facilities that are getting ready. The briefing room has a visually appealing backdrop to its stage, done up like that in a TV studio. Senior Centcom officials will be addressing the world from the stage by way of daily briefings in the event of a military conflict. Plasma display panels to screen TV footage and electronic clocks to simultaneously show the local time of the US, UK, Iraq and Qatar also adorn the briefing room stage. The number of satellite uplink dishes erected in the media centre compound is set to go up in the coming days as more and more TV networks set up their gear. The media centre had become partly functional on 26 February when the UK-based Sky News telecast live the press conference of the British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Notwithstanding the preparations on a war footing, senior Centcom officials yesterday told a group of Doha-based journalists that they were hoping for a "diplomatic solution" to the US-Iraq standoff and in that event the media centre would never have to function. Talking to reporters, senior US official Col Shepherd remarked: "We hope we won't have to use this." ... Source: Gulf Times web site, Doha, in English 12 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. The Voice of Russia can now be heard live [on webcast] Hi Glenn, interesting development. English hours are listed as 04-10 UT, and I've confirmed hearing English both early and late in this interval. When I have time I'll add the specific programs from their schedule into the PRF database. Would you happen to know whether, in the past, programs have generally stayed at the same UT time, or have shifted by an hour for summer time? (Kevin Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, PublicRadioFan.com Mar 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I recall, they times do shift by DST, along with the SW transmission hours, at least to NAm. But only 0400-1000? They couldn`t pick any less convenient hours for (most of) us. (gh to Kevin) Yes, the configuration of hours in various languages doesn't make much sense. It may be that they're just streaming the feed that's going to one particular transmitter, possibly one of the MW's in Germany judging from the amount of German on the schedule. The 6 hours chosen for English almost match the 6 hours of lowest usage at PRF (there's a big drop off around 04 UT as the Eastern USA starts going to bed, and things start picking up again around 11 UT) which makes me less than eager to enter all the program details (Kevin Kelly, MA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. -(presumed) 22170 harmonic, 1404 March 9, Chinese, but played clip of President Bush, so VOA or RFA? 3 x 7390? HFCC lists 7390 VOA via Russia! (Larry Russell, MI DXPedition, MARE via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. The "UNID Chinese" station via 648 Razdolnoye (Ussuriysk) is scheduled to be VoR in Chinese, as per scheme published in DXLD3038. The transmitter in Razdolnoye on 648 kHz has 1000 kW and is beamed at 230 degrees (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. STATE-OWNED RUSSIAN RADIO STATION STEPS UP BROADCASTS IN [sic] IRAQ | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR- TASS Moscow, 14 March: State-owned radio Voice of Russia [Golos Rossii] has increased its broadcasting for Iraq in the wake of the deterioration of the situation in the region. The radio company's director, Armen Oganesyan, told ITAR-TASS on Friday [14 March] that the Voice of Russia had "increased Arabic- language broadcasting from three to four hours". He said special news bulletins and analytical programmes were prepared for Iraq. "For the population of Iraq, they are practically the sole information source, from which Russia's official position on the Iraqi problem can be learnt," Oganesyan said. He said more extensive broadcasting became possible after new transponders were added to the system covering the Middle East in Arabic, English and Russian languages. Besides, real-time information and analytical programmes in the Arabic languages are available on the Internet site of the Voice of Russia. The focus of the programme is on possible consequence of a war against Iraq. The Voice of Russia also conducts an interactive poll on the site: "Who Needs A War in Iraq and Why?". Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1241 gmt 14 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA/UKRAINE. VOICE OF RUSSIA RADIO STARTS BROADCASTING IN UKRAINE | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 14 March: The Moscow-based state broadcasting company Voice of Russia (VOR) has launched programming on Ukraine's domestic radio channels, Armen Oganesyan, the company director, told ITAR-TASS on Friday [14 March]. A programme titled "Welcome Ukraine" will be broadcast in the Russian language at the afternoon prime time (1630 hours) [1430 gmt] each Saturday on Channel 3 of Ukraine's state radio. The programmes will mostly contain exclusive materials featuring historic ties between Russia and Ukraine, as well as reports on culture, science and economy in the two countries. VOR opens programming on the domestic wavelengths in Ukraine under an agreement with Ukrainian broadcasters. On its part, it will be relaying Ukrainian programmes for the CIS and other countries on its international wavelengths. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1407 gmt 14 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RWANDA. See SEYCHELLES non ** SERBIA-MONTENEGRO. EMERGENCY BROADCAST RESTRICTIONS -- From RFE/RL Serbia-Montenegro: Serbian Media Restricting RFE, VOA, BBC Broadcasts Under State Of Emergency By Dragan Stavljanin and Jolyon Naegele. Prague, 14 March 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Authorities in Serbia are calling on the domestic news media to behave "responsibly" under the state of emergency imposed after this week's (12 March) assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac met with editors in chief this week and asked them to exert caution in their coverage, to take full responsibility for their output, and not to report rumors or analysis based on rumors -- for as long as the state of emergency is in effect. For hours on the day of the assassination, domestic news outlets were forced to rely on foreign media reports for news of Djindjic's death. State television RTS and even the private Beta news agency were unable to get official word about Djindjic's death for more than 2 hours and were merely quoting Western news agencies or rebroadcasting Western satellite news broadcasts. The authorities have yet to impose specific legal measures restricting civil rights, which they are allowed to do under a state of emergency. Acting President Natasa Micic has said the state of emergency will remain in effect until those who were behind Djindjic's murder are caught and brought to justice. Asked by Serbian reporters working for foreign news organizations whether these recommendations would affect them, Korac noted that the authorities have no direct control and thus cannot influence what is being reported, nor exert any influence on them. No questions or answers dealt with rebroadcasting of Serb-language programming. The Belgrade-based radio station Studio B, which is under the auspices of the municipal assembly and can be heard across half of Serbia, yesterday stopped rebroadcasts of Serbian programs on FM by RFE/RL and the Voice of America (VOA) on both television and radio. RFE/RL has more than 50 affiliates in Serbia, the densest network of any of its broadcast regions. Studio B management explained its decision as being an inevitable consequence of what it termed the government's "decision and recommendation." However, Slobodan Orlic [sic], the outgoing federal (Yugoslav) minister for information and a member of the leadership of Serbia's ruling DOS coalition, today told RFE/RL that the Serbian government had made no such decision to stop rebroadcasts. Orlic says the only limitation is the official interpretation of that part of the declaration of the state of emergency dealing with the media – that is, to avoid disseminating information not backed by proven facts and to desist from analysis based on rumors, or sensationalism aimed at questioning the state of emergency or anything that could hinder the investigation into Djindjic's assassination. Studio B management's decision to cut off rebroadcasts of RFE/RL and VOA is thus based on the assumption that it could be held responsible for some inappropriate programming over which it has no direct control. One private radio station in Serbia's northern Vojvodina Province, Radio 021, based in Serbia's second-largest city, Novi Sad, has also halted rebroadcasts of RFE/RL's main Serbian-language news program at midnight and the BBC's morning show in Serbian. Radio 021's editor in chief justified this move with similar arguments to those of Studio B management. Other affiliates in Serbia are believed to be rebroadcasting RFE/RL programs as normal so far. Broadcasts by CNN and other television news channels transmitted via satellite in major languages have not been affected. © 1995-2003 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., All Rights Reserved. http://www.rferl.org (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES. Last transmission from FEBA will be on 29th March and QSLs will be issued up to 30th April (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. FEBA A'03 (Partial Schedule Via Merlin) --------------------------------------- 15400 0345 0430 smtwtfs Moscow 250 169 ARABIC ME 15400 1100 1300 smtwtfs Armavir 200 173 ARABIC ME 11800 0015 0130 smtwtfs Samara 250 129 BANGLA S AS 11995 0200 0300 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 DARI ME 15130 1830 1900 smtwtfs Ascension 250 70 FRENCH C AF 6125 0530 0630 .....f. Dhabbaya 250 300 MALAYALAM ME 15400 1200 1500 smtwtfs Samara 250 129 NEPALI S AS 9590 1700 1730 s....f. Dhabbaya 250 230 OROMO E AF 9660 0530 0700 .....f. Dhabbaya 250 345 PERSIAN ME 6125 0500 0530 .....f. Dhabbaya 250 300 SINHALA ME 11690 1700 1730 smtwtfs Kigali **** 250 30 SOMALI E AF 15580 0015 0200 smtwtfs Chita 250 230 TAMIL S AS 7460 1400 1615 smtwtfs Irkutsk 500 224 TELUGU S AS 11690 1730 1757 smtwtfs Kigali **** 250 30 TIGRINYA E AF 9495 1300 1415 smtwtfs Novosibirsk 250 195 URDU S AS (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Mar 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I see in a schedule for FEBA via MER sent out by Jose Jacob that there is a listing for Kigali - that's very interesting, and I cannot remember Kigali being used by any other organisation except DW previously - can you? And it seems to have been arranged via MER too. (Noel Green, UK, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, seems for the first time - except regular Radio Rwanda 6055 kHz domestic service relay and local FM too, via same DW site - that Merlin brokered FEBA can use Rwandan soil transmitter. Or has been an United Nations Radio relay via Kigali happened in past decade?? 11690 1700 1730 smtwtfs Kigali 250 30 SOMALI E AF 11690 1730 1757 smtwtfs Kigali 250 30 TIGRINYA E AF [? I thought in Oromo on Sun+Fri too, but negative, wb] 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Bueschel, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. Concerning the Continental 419F transmitters from Glória [PORTUGAL] listed as moved to Playa de Pals: This indeed was done, but the transmitters never went on air again, they were only stored: http://www.arbe-inc.com/ralib/somni/somni-ang.html So it is intended to reactivate Playa de Pals for transmissions into the Middle East. I only wonder how they will use Pals for this purpose with the existing antennas aiming at the former USSR, an azimuth at least 45 degrees different from the now desired one? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TOGO. Hello, Togo seems to be reactivated. 5046.7 Radiodiffusion Togolaise, Lomé, March 15th, 2220-2230, French, political information, ID, SINPO 53423. vy 73 (Michael Schnitzer, Germany, hard-core-dx via DXLD) So how was the modulation? It had been extremely low (Glenn Hauser) Has been for some time, Michael. Can also be heard signing on in the morning. Cheers, (Piet Pijpers, The Netherlands, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. On 14 Mar at 2136 I heard a strange station on 4939. Checked it against Turkmen R on 5015 and it was in parallel. Another similar spur was on 5091. So the transmitter put out spurs +/- 76 kHz. (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Glenn, I finally heard from Alexander of RUI. Here is his reply. "Here is very tentative schedule of RUI. Radio Ukraine International A03 very first plan of schedule (from 30 March 2003). Frequency; Time UTC; Tx Site; Azimuth; Target Area 5905 2100-0000 Kharkiv 290 W. Europe 7410 0400-0700 Kharkiv 290 W. Europe 9620 0000-0400 Kharkiv 055 Russia 9620 1300-1700 Kharkiv 055 Russia 11550 1700-2100 Kharkiv 277 W. Europe 12040 2300-0400 Mykolaiv 314 N. America 15415 0700-1300 Kharkiv 277 W. Europe The changes will be very possible." 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, VA, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see RUSSIA ** U K. I see that this week, BBCWS has shortened the 1430 UT airing of John Peel's show from 30 to 25 minutes to air "Sports Roundup," even though Sports Roundup" also airs at 1145, 1645 and 1745. I wish they'd "roundup" these sports programs and send them away. Then, at 0130 UT, Peel's show is also shortened to 25 minutes to add "The World Today," even though a newscast is only five minutes away. Same thing with the 2030 UT Peel airing on Friday -- it also loses five minutes to "Newshour." I guess this is another intentional effort to drive away listeners. The shorter the program, the less likely people are to make a point to listen to it. And we hardly need more news programs, since BBC newscasts increasingly read the same copy and play the same correspondent reports over and over again. "And now, the main points of the news again." AAARRRGGHH! (Mike Cooper, Mar 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmmm... that must be why I seldom bother to list BBCWS or domestic network 15-minute shows in CALENDAR, no matter how interesting they appear to be (gh, DXLD) ** U K [non]. OMAN. BBC Eastern Relay 11955 Mar 14 0115 carrying "The World Today" on the World Service. Usable channel for WS program. THAILAND. BBC Asian Relay 15310 Mar 14 0115 carrying "The World Today" on the World Service, \\ 11955 but with slight delay. No QRM on this frequency at all here, but very weak signal. Sites per BBC frequency sheets from their website (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. Re. "The BBC suggests that, if no agreement can be reached, the matches affected could be shown only on terrestrial analogue channels." Just the same thing that happened during last year`s football world championship here in Germany: The public broadcasters established within the ARD-Digital bouquet a specially manipulated channel for the football matches, marked with flags as encrypted to fool Pay TV receivers especially in Spain and Poland. But Kirch Media did not permit this solution, declaring that these transmissions would be still free-to-air and hence forbidden. Result: All ARD and ZDF had to offer users of DVB receivers was a reference to the analogue Astra outlets, cable and the terrestrial transmitters. The reports about a relocation of the BBC transmissions to Astra 2D already caused some disappointment here in eastern Germany, since listeners who cannot operate a dish of at least 1.50 metres diameter will no longer be able to receive the BBC radio programs. Almost as bad as the policy of NOS to encrypt even the radio services, counteracting all sweet talks about a unified Europe. As WDR chairman Fritz Pleitgen already pointed out: TV-wise, Europe is in fact a conglomerate of many GDR's. And the Netherlands are even radio-wise a closed society. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non?]. 4015, Laser Hot Hits, 0530 and later, usual jingles and Ontario address. Move from 3970v probably. Very poor signal. First time I heard this one here, March 15. 73 (Piet Pijpers, Netherlands, BDXC via DXLD) ** U S A. AMERICAN RADIO WINS FANS IN SYRIA By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN, Times Senior Correspondent © St. Petersburg Times published March 15, 2003 SYRIAN-IRAQI BORDER -- Now playing on your 1260 AM dial -- it's Radio Sawa! Launched a year ago, Sawa is drawing a wide audience in the Middle East with its snappy blend of pop music and Arabic-language newscasts. The approach is clever enough that few listeners realize Sawa is a creation of the U.S. government, aimed at improving America's image in a hostile region. "It comes from London," says Mousanna, a young Syrian taxi driver, when asked what he knew about the station. Mousanna says he first heard Sawa -- it means "together" in Arabic -- while visiting the Syrian capital, Damascus. When he got home to Deir Ezzor, a city in eastern Syria, he told his fellow cab drivers about it and now they all tune in. On a recent trip with two American passengers, Mousanna said he likes Sawa because it plays "a lot of nice, slow songs" as well as livelier fare by Jennifer Lopez, one of his favorites, and the Spanish group Ketchup. He also likes the newscasts, which have reported on the Iraqi crisis in a factual way but tend to downplay the huge international criticism of the United States.... http://www.sptimes.com/News/cgi-bin/mailstory.pl (via Mike Terry, Terry Krueger, DXLD) http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/15/Columns/American_radio_wins_f.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. Last year, I tried to find WINB, because I take US 30 across half of PA, and it goes just six miles north of Red Lion. Nobody I talked to had heard of it, and they said the only radio stations they knew about were a few miles outside of town, on Windsor Rd. So I checked them out. It was Sunday morning, and both stations were unattended, but I found a technician who was just leaving. He said he was from Florida, and was just there doing some work on one of the towers. All he could tell me was that the TV station was a religious one, and the station across the road he thought was just a local AM station. He left, and so did I, disappointed. Since then, I saw a copy of WRTH and it said WINB was at 2900 Windsor Road. I figured I just hadn`t gone far enough down the road, so I decided to look for it again this year. I wound up right back at the same religious TV station. The white sign to the left of the entrance says ``WGCB TV-49`` and the small sign right under it says 2900. Down the hill from there there`s a big old barn with a sign that says ``Gospel Barn``, and the mailbox on the station across the street says WTHM. I had had enough adventure for one day, so I just shook my head and drove away (Pete Bentley, NY, Mar 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think that was it (gh) ** U S A. WBCQ hopes to test DRM on 9330 be the end of this year, although good old analog AM shortwave will be around for many years to come, 10 or 15, and that`s what the digital people are saying (Allan Weiner, Worldwide, March 15, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5070, WWCR with World of Radio #1172. Mention of a station using an xmtr with a sesqui-megawatt. How many sheets of legal-sized toilet paper is there to a sesqui-megawatt? :) (0720-0730 8/Mar) SIO 4+4+4+ (Ken Zichi, MI DXPedition, MARE via DXLD) ?? don`t get it (gh) ** U S A. Hi Glenn. DXLD 3-042 under USA you had my posting about WBOH transmitter site. Heh, now I noticed the [sic] name. But it is their typo, their e-mail header FROM: line says that funny Fundametal. Cheers (Jari Savolainen, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it`s always been like that ** U S A [non]. AWR A'03 VIA MERLIN AWR A'03 (Partial schedule via Merlin) ------------------------------------- (SORTED BY LANGUAGE) FREQ START END DAYS SITE PWR BRG LANG TARGET ---------------------------------------------------------------- 15460 1700 1730 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 AMHARIC E AF 11975 0300 0330 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 230 AMHARIC E AF 15520 1700 1730 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 AFAR E AF 15320 1300 1330 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 85 BANGLA S AS 9720 0030 0100 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 100 ENGLISH S AS 9810 0030 0100 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 75 ENGLISH S AS 15160 0330 0400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 ENGLISH C AS 17740 1300 1330 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 ENGLISH C AS 15320 1330 1400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 60 ENGLISH S AS 17630 1630 1700 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 90 ENGLISH S AS 11945 0230 0300 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 FARSI ME 9720 0000 0030 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 100 HINDI S AS 9810 0000 0030 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 75 HINDI S AS 17700 1400 1430 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 100 HINDI S AS 17630 1530 1600 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 75 HINDI S AS 17630 1430 1500 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 105 KANNADA S AS 17835 1100 1300 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 60 MANDARIN W CHN 17700 1530 1600 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 105 MALAYALAM S AS 17630 1600 1630 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 90 MARATHI S AS 17700 1500 1530 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 75 NEPALI S AS 15520 1730 1800 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 OROMINYA E AF 17630 1500 1530 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 75 PUNJABI S AS 15160 0300 0330 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 RUSSIAN C AS 17740 1330 1400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 45 RUSSIAN C AS 11975 0330 0400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 210 SWAHILI E AF 12015 0330 0400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 205 SOMALI E AF 15460 1630 1700 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 SOMALI E AF 17700 1430 1500 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 120 SINHALESE S AS 17865 1330 1400 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 105 TAMIL S AS 11945 0300 0330 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 TIGRINYA E AF 15460 1730 1800 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 225 TIGRINYA E AF 17630 1400 1430 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 105 TELUGU S AS 15320 1400 1500 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 250 60 URDU S AS 15550 1400 1500 smtwtfs Taipei 100 250 VIETNAMESE SE AS 15445 0100 0200 ......s Taipei 100 250 VIETNAMESE SE AS 15445 2300 2400 smtwtfs Taipei 100 250 VIETNAMESE SE AS Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I read on some public radio station website that REWIND is going out of produxion at Marchend, so hear it while you can: Some stations run the one-hour version, some the half-hour, as listed at: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=281 As I`ve said before, padding it out to an hour was a mistake, but look for all the stations listed to move something else into those timeslots come April. Nor anything about its demise found yet at http://rewind.kuow.org/ (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WILL HAM RADIO BE SHUT DOWN IF WAR IS DECLARED? From The ARRL Letter, Vol 22, No 11 Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on March 14, 2003 Some US amateurs have been wondering if the FCC will shut down Amateur Radio in the event that war breaks out in the Middle East. The short answer is "no." Just prior to the Gulf War, §214.4(b)(4) of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations was deleted. This section had mandated the closing of all Amateur Radio stations except Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) stations in the event that the president proclaimed a war or national emergency. The last time Amateur Radio was shut down was during World War II, although the FCC continued to give Amateur Radio examinations. While the Amateur Radio Service will not automatically be shut down if the president invokes the War Powers Act, Amateur Radio licensees must continue to observe any directives the FCC may issue in the interests of national security and of making spectrum available for government use. The FCC is directed to work in coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to issue "appropriate rules, regulations, orders and instructions" for use of the spectrum "as may be necessary to ensure the effective use of those portions of the radio spectrum shared by government and non-government users." Amateurs share most UHF allocations with the US government. Source: The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 11 March 14, 2003 Editor's Note: The following ARRL Bulletin on September 11 reports this: "Should a state of war be declared, Amateur Radio would not automatically be shut down. This requirement was eliminated prior to the Gulf War." You may find this bulletin on the ARRL Web at: http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/2001-arlx009.html. In addition, the ARRL's FCC Rule Book states this on page 5-11 and 5- 12: "Before 1990, a war or national emergency proclamation by the President automatically mandated the closing of all Amateur Radio stations [97.407(b)]. This is highly improbable now. Part of Section 214 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (which deals with the National Security Council) was changed on December 11, 1990, eliminating the requirement that the Amateur Radio Service be automatically shut down during such an emergency. Instead, when a national emergency is declared, amateurs are obligated to observe whatever orders the FCC may issue in the interests of national security." -- ed. (ARRL Letter via Mike Terry, John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. THE "LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN" ANNOUNCES NEW SLATE OF GUEST HOSTS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 17TH For Immediate Release March 14 David Letterman, host of the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, will take an additional week off from the show as he continues to recuperate from shingles, and his show will feature guest hosts in original episodes airing from Monday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 19. Guest hosting the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN next week will be Brad Garrett of the hit CBS comedy series "Everybody Loves Raymond" on Monday, March 17, comic Tom Dreesen on Tuesday, March 18 and Bonnie Hunt, star of "Life with Bonnie" on Wednesday, March 19. As previously scheduled, the show will be dark and in rebroadcasts Thursday and Friday due to CBS Sports' coverage of the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. "Dave is getting better and he is eager to get back to work, but his full recovery will be evaluated week-to-week," said Dr. Louis J. Aronne of New York Presbyterian Hospital, who has been treating Letterman (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. RE: DXLD 3-035, FORTHCOMING FIRESIGN THEATRE CD... ``All Things Firesign`` is at last in hand! The liner notes: ``Beginning on the 4th of July and running until New Year`s Eve 2002, The Firesign Theatre returned to their natural home, radio. Commenting, in its uniquely surreal audio comedy style, on property, propriety, surety, securitty and the state of the State for National Public Radio`s flagship news program, All Things Considered, The Firesign Theatre reminded old fans (and taught new listeners) of the dynamic power of audio to entertain, inspire and intrigue the soul. And, they made us laugh. Here are all 28 of their high-timely, poetically provocative pieces (including the Thanksgiving Pageant that radio listeners never got to hear), gathered on one CD and guaranteed to produce repeated guffaws. From the Drums of War to New years Cheers, it`s Firesign...all Firesign...Like you`ve known them, and like you`ve never known them. This is not nostalgia. This is now, baby! This is ALL THINGS FIRESIGN.`` The track list needs to be revised slightly (with timings; total time 59:08): FIRESIGN`S FOURTH 1. An Undermutter Moment :43 2. ``The Grass Roots Gourmet`` 1:30 3. ``Crisis In Terror!`` 2:45 4. Beat St. Jack`s ``Famous Accountants School`` 2:03 FIRESIGN PRIMETIME! 5. TIPs Hotline 1:25 6. Mutt `N` Smutt Are ``Huntin` Blind`` 1:48 7. The Arts Of Defense 2:47 8. More Undermutter Mutterances :46 FIRESIGN INVESTIGATES! 9. ¡Piñata! ¡Piñata! 1:04 10. ``Everything You Know Is Wrong!`` (About Shoes!) 2:40 11. Unwanted Workers Of America 1:46 12. Hal Stark Is ``Off The Road`` 1:55 FIRESIGN GOES TO WAR! 13. No Jokes About America! 1:24 14. Nick Danger In ``Lucky Liability`` 2:08 15. It`s Saddam Shame! 2:39 16. Beat St. Jack`s ``Baghdad Bush Suit`` 1:44 FIRESIGN GETS REAL! 17. ``Harry`s World`` 1:42 18. ``S**t Happens!`` 1:47 19. Our Holiday Wine Testing 1:49 20. Bob Heeblehauser`s ``Tacomasaur`` 2:00 FIRESIGN`S FIGHT NIGHT! 21. Mutt `N` Smutt`s ``Scary Sale!`` 2:24 22. Undermutter`s Monster Update :44 23. Inside ``Cabletown!`` 2:03 24. ``Mask Your Movies!`` 1:31 25. Hal Stark`s ``Parking Woes`` 1:07 FIRESIGN`S HOLIDAY HANDOUTS! 26. ``Thanksgiving, Or Pass The Indian Please!`` 4:35 27. ``A St. Nick Dangerous Christmas Eve`` 5:31 28. ``Goodbyes and Hellos!`` 4:38 Written and Performed by The Firesign Theatre Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, Davis Ossman and Phil Proctor Artemis Records 751167-2 http://www.artemisrecords.com http://www.firesigntheatre.com (John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I received a call today from Monte the CE at Salem this afternoon. He was quite pleased to find KTFH [1680] was getting out well. The station is running 10/1 kW non-direxional during their test mode. At LSS he drops power and at LSR boosts to 10 kW. The station will be International Programming covering many minority languages in the Puget Sound like CC, KK, JJ, and even Russian. It should be an interesting station. At least they are doing something different. Their target date is still 3/31. I asked Monte about KKOL. They will boost power from a new site as soon as they get everything in place. He didn't have an exact date on it, but he said the power will be 50/5 kW U4, not the 50/35 U4 I had earlier seen reported. I would think KKFH located near the water on Bainbridge Island West of Seattle would get out well on skip, especially on 1680 khz. They fade much like a SW signal here, especially at night (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. There is a pirate, "Phat Rock," active in western Las Vegas on 1650, apparently 24 hours via taped programming. Their format is techno/industrial music with very tight, professional production; the announcer, "DJ MidMass," has a good voice and delivery. I suspect he must be a club DJ. They even announce their web site over the air: http://www.phatrock1650.com/ They bill themselves as "Summerlin's phattest (phatest?) radio station" and try to give the impression they are in the Summerlin section of the city (about ten miles west of the Strip), but I seriously doubt they're in Summerlin proper --- I live in Summerlin at the intersection of Lake Mead and Mariner, and their signal is marginal here and is almost gone if you follow Lake Mead Blvd. to its end. Driving around today, I found the signal peaked near the intersection of Rainbow Blvd. and Summerlin Parkway, southeast of my new home. Based on signal strength, I suspect he's running about 10 to 20 watts. Hopefully this guy will still be on the air when NAB rolls around so some of you can hear him! (Harry Helms, AK6C/7, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. It looks like KENS in San Antonio is about to switch to Radio Disney. There is a farewell message on their web site at http://www.kensradio.com/ (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, March 15, NRC-AM via DXLD) http://community.webtv.net/n0nnk/RADIODISNEY/ http://community.webtv.net/AM-DXer/ Viz.: And now, the end is near; And so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear... "We're Being Replaced by A Real Mickey Mouse Outfit!" Good Luck To Radio Disney, and pray that we find a new home for San Antonio's Best TALK radio shows. On behalf of Tom Clay, Constance Clear, Duke and the Doctor, Doctor Peter Holmes, Dave Ramsey, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Dr Laura, Ernie Brown, Danny Patino, Mark Nicholson, Joel Klein, Manuel Flores and Dee Holmes, The Soon To Be Famous Jalapeño Brothers, and all of You that gave us a shout, thanks for listening. We also pay tribute to Barbara Phipps, a woman who sold where no man had ever sold before. Patti Lee García, who did an incredible job in organizing our efforts. And of course to the man that gave us inspiration and hope throughout the battle, Mr. Bill Hill, who has to be one of the best people you could ever work for in the world. Thanks, Bill. We dug it, because you GET it. We had a good time and we hope YOU did too! See You On The Radio! The Staff of Talk Radio 1160 KENS (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. The experimental IBOC station on 1670 in Frederick, MD was transmitting audio yesterday. Some big band music, a little news here and there. I heard them last month running "pink noise" through it --- surely meant to simulate a worst-case scenario --- and good God, it was hash from 1650 through 1690, just horrendous. With the music yesterday, there was weak hash on 1660 and 1680. They seem to be off today. 73 and good DX while it lasts! (Bruce WB3HVV Collier, York PA, March 14, IRCA via DXLD) IBOC tests in Brasil underway on 600 R. Gaúcha: see BRAZIL Glenn, I had to laugh. "RADIO IS GOING DIGITAL, By Gary Krakow, MSNBC If you're sick of all-talk AM radio, scratchy static or shortwave signals that sound like they're being sent from Mars, take heart." If digital radio is anything like digital phones it will SUCK big time. We use a major communications provider's cell phones. The cell phones provide both regular calling and radio communications within a group. No we don't have scratchy static, but we do have voices sounding like they are talking thru tin cans. Also, the digital signals easily become garbled. Don't get too close to that PC monitor or PC while talking on the cell phone as they cause distortion and drop out. Also, if someone is out-of-range the digital signal becomes distorted and drops out. If someone is moving while talking the signal becomes distorted and drops out. I could go on and on... Will digital radio suffer the same problems as the digital cell phones? I hope not, but we might need a new QRD (for digital distortion. 5 = nil and 1 = severe, etc). Don't get me wrong as I'm not resistant to change. I've worked as a computer developer since 1979 so I'm constantly dealing with change. However, I do believe, in our quest for the "latest and greatest" we tend to 1. believe the marketing hype, 2. tend to overlook or gloss over deficiencies and 3. don't want to feel left out. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3279, 0800 3/9. ID sounded like Radio Ma-Dia? or Ma- Neah? good on 500' wire, too much storm noise. Soft ballads, religious? Then some chanting. Mentions of Jesus, Mary. 3/9 (Larry Russell, MI DXPedition, MARE via DXLD) So: R. María, ECUADOR (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ E-BOMB TEST ON BAGHDAD? NPR Talk of the Nation Science Friday 14:31 Segment about the electromagnetic pulse bomb, and the threat it poses elsewhere, March 14: http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1192402 (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HIGH TECH SHOWDOWN: IRAQ MAY TRY TO JAM SATS I'm Blair Alper, KA9SEQ, with this late breaking story. If Iraq could tries to jam U.S. military satellites during a possible invasion, it will be in for quite a surprise. This, according to a Pentagon official who hints that the United States already has countermeasures in place. News reports say that Iraq is reportedly seeking ways to jam the Global Positioning Satellites that would be used to help guide so- called smart bombs. But Brigadier General Franklin Blaisdell who is the Air Force's space operations director says it really can`t be done these days. He says that any enemy that would depend on G-P-S jammers for their livelihood is in grave trouble. Blaisdell says that, as it did during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Defense Department is buying access to commercial communications satellites. This, to help provide the massive bandwidth needed to connect all the high-tech gear a modern army uses. He adds that the military also successfully launched a broadband communications satellite on Monday the 10th. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Blair Alper, KA9SEQ, reporting (via Mike Terry, John Norfolk, DXLD) RADIO SHACK DISCONTINUING GRUNDIG YB400 According to my local RS manager, they have decided to stop stocking the Grunding YB400 (SKU 200-0234). Currently, the unit is selling for $149.00 but usually Radio Shack will begin marking products down within a month or so of discontinuing them. For those looking for one of these radios, it would be a good idea to keep an eye on your local store. Not the best MW portable, but a good starter or backup portable. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, NNN0HSI, Navy MARS/SHARES, Helena, AL, IRCA et al. via DXLD) I've been wondering for quite awhile about the direction Radio Shack seems to be taking. First the components went from racks on the walls to drawers in cabinets with most parts no longer carried. Next all Sangean made RS products disappear. Now the YB-400 is discontinued, and at my local RS all shortwave receivers have disappeared. There are still scanners and the RS 10 meter transceiver still on the shelf. All 2M rigs are long gone. RS seems to be pushing RCA brand electronics, Compaq computers, and cell phones. Must be more profit in that for them. I guess there isn't much of a market for non-scanner radios or components for that matter. For all it's shortcomings, you could at least run down to RS and buy a 43 volt zener diode on a Sunday afternoon. Another sign of the times (Rick Robinson, Hendersonville, NC, NRC-AM via DXLD) MOUSECASTER From WBNS-10TV EYEWITNESS NEWS Technology Previews (US report) Roger McCoy, Stay Connected Reporter The MouseCaster from SmarTec is one of the quirkiest devices to come down the digital highway. The $35 computer mouse doubles as a digital FM radio, with the signals from your favorite stations played through your desktop PC. "You can preset all your favorite stations just like in your car," says Mendy Hill, MouseCaster spokeswoman. "So you can switch from one to the other with the click of a mouse." MouseCaster also lets you record songs and programs in a variety of formats. It took the company two years to work out how to combine a mouse with a radio and make sure that both worked perfectly and were easy to use. "We haven't taken a new idea," says Hill, "we've just combined two ideas." http://www.mousecaster.com UK report: From http://www.innovations.co.uk £29.99 Catalogue Number : MH6235 This plug'n'play wheel mouse contains FM tuner which, combined with its smart on-screen control panel, turns your multimedia PC into a crystal-clear FM radio receiver. No Internet connections are required. Listen to local FM radio broadcasts while you work or play, record songs (or whole programmes) as MP3 or WAV files, even make the radio act as your alarm clock. 28 preset station memories. Easy- install CD included. PC requires PS/2 port, W98 or later, 8 MB HDD, soundcard with line-in port (via Mike Terry, UK, DXLD) ?? Why not use an FM radio to hear FM radio? And what about SW, MW? (gh, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi Glenn: Mention of shortwave in this item about powerline networking. I just attempted -- unsuccessfully -- to install DSL, and noticed noise through much of the shortwave spectrum. I'll try cable modem next, which I understand produces less interference in the shortwave ranges. 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Location: http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t479-s2131923,00.html RUPERT GOODWINS' DIARY, MONDAY 10/03/2003 An idea I'd thought consigned to the grave is scrabbling at the lid of its coffin again. Powerline networking is back, for the third or fourth time. Siemens, one of the few telecommunications companies that seems to be making a success of its lot at the moment, is pushing its second-generation devices. Usual claims: hassle-free, 10 megabits a second, old problems of interference and cumbersome adaptors fixed, etc. Well, it might be true. But the only way it'll be more convenient than Wi-Fi is if it comes built in to computer power supplies as standard. Nobody wants to have to wire up an extra power point just to do the networking -- even less so if your second computer's a laptop. Siemens makes the only argument that stands up, that powerline networking is complementary not competitive to Wi-Fi, but to me it feels like the technology is a classic case of engineers spotting a nice idea and then assuming that people will buy it. I've never heard anyone say "Gee, I wish I could send data over the house wiring!" Perhaps I'm biased. I am, after all, a radio ham and do, after all, listen to shortwave rather more than is socially acceptable. And I've heard the tests done by the Radio Society of Great Britain, where signals of the same sort as used in the technology were picked up half a continent away. It interferes with the good stuff, and in the words of Microsoft: just how far do you want your private data to go today? Here's a prediction: people will still be trying to sell powerline networking in five years' time, and people will still not be buying it (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Still no significant solar flares to report, it has been one month since the last M class flare was spotted. The high solar wind speed caused by a coronal hole subsided early in the week and propagation conditions have been normal for the past week. Another large coronal hole is visible and expected to cause the geomagnetic field to become disturbed up to possible minor storm levels at any time and will lead to poor conditions. Once this subsides after a couple of days things should return to normal conditions. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, Mar 14, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ###