DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-045, March 19, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. 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Thanks, Glenn FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1174: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1300 on WJIE 7490 Sat 0130 on RFPI 7445 WRN ONDEMAND from Fri: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html from early UT Thursday: [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1174h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1174.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL I enjoy World Of Radio especially now that I can hear it on the internet. A financial contribution from me via PayPal is forthcoming. Sincerely, (Bill Messman) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW RADIO OF WOMEN IN BALKH A radio station staffed by women and targeted at a female audience was launched in Mazar-e Sharif on 9 March, Balkh Television reported. The ceremony was presided over by Mohammad Abdu, the head of Balkh Province's Information and Culture Department, and a representative of the Ampex Corporation of Canada, which provided funding for the station, Balkh Television reported. The new 50-kilowatt FM radio station, named Rabia Balkhi, will broadcast two hours of programs per day, the report added. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 11 March via RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW KANDAHAR RADIO STATION TO BE LAUNCHED The Boston-based NGO Afghans for Civil Society (ACS) on 25 February announced that former BBC producer Akhtar Kohestani will serve as station manager for Afghan Independent Radio (AIR), which is to be launched this spring. AIR will be the first independent radio station to be based in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. For 20 years, Kohestani worked with the BBC's Pashtu Service as a producer of radio programs for Afghanistan. Internews will provide technical support and staff training. Program content will be shared among radio stations throughout Afghanistan. Plans are under development for program sharing with the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, Radio Afghanistan (Kabul), and Radio Afghanistan (Toronto). The project is managed by Afghans for Civil Society and funded by the Carr Foundation and the Open Society Institute (OSI). See http://www.afghanpolicy.org CC (RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. HERAT PROVINCE BANS SATELLITE DISHES, MOVIES The Endowment and Islamic Affairs Department of Herat Province has ordered a ban on satellite dishes and the viewing of movies, Radio Afghanistan reported on 5 March. Herat has also issued a warning to shopkeepers and other businesses to "remove posters of Indian film stars" from their premises, the report added. Radio Afghanistan noted that the former Taliban regime "also restricted movies, televisions, dish antennas, and posters." Herat Province on 1 March issued a ban on playing music in public and the sale and the screening of movies. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 7 March via RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) Backsliders ** AFGHANISTAN. SUPREME COURT BANS SALE OF RELIGIOUS POSTERS The Supreme Court has issued a ban on the sale of posters of the Prophet Muhammad or other religious figures and has warned that anyone caught selling such posters will be prosecuted under Islamic law, Radio Free Afghanistan reported from Kabul on 11 March. Posters bearing images of Muhammad and the fourth caliph of Islam, Ali, have appeared in Kabul markets, according to the report, and the Supreme Court views them as a sign of disrespect. Chief Justice Mawlawi Fazl Hadi Shinwari has accused Iranian Jews of exporting such posters to Afghanistan, Reuters reported on 11 March. In Sunni Islam, the depiction of prophets is prohibited, but Shi'a Muslims venerate representational paintings of Ali and his sons. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 12 March via RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** CHECHNYA [non]. RUSSIA: R. Chechenya Svobodanya. I heard this station yesterday (March 17) at 1958 UT on 5905 kHz. A weak but very clear signal, identification in Russian at 2000 UT. I did not listen carefully to the station signing off at 1958, also in Russian (?), but it surely was much stronger here in Finland. I wonder if someone, please, can advise me: what is the QTH of Chechenyan Radio and is it R. Rossii (St Petersburg?) or R. Ukraine International which ended its broadcast? I did a quick search in different lists and did not find any, more or less accurate information. I would like to update my logs (Matti Ponkamo, Naantali, South West of Finland, DrakeR4-C, 15 metres of wire, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think it originates in Moscow, transmitted from St Petersburg? (gh, DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. ASESINADO COLABORADOR DE EL TIEMPO EN ARAUCA Fecha de publicación: Marzo 18 de 2003 ELTIEMPO.COM - 7:00 a.m. Luis Fernando Alfonso Parada fue baleado en la puerta de su casa cuando se dirigía a la emisora Meridiano 70, de la cadena Todelar, donde también laboraba como periodista. Más información: http://tinyurl.com/7pgt (via Henrik Klemetz, DXLD) ** CYPRUS. From Merlin A-03 schedule: 6180 2215 2245 s....fs Cyprus 250 314 CYPRUS BROAD EUR 7205 2215 2245 s....fs Cyprus 250 314 CYPRUS BROAD EUR 9760 2215 2245 s....fs Cyprus 250 315 CYPRUS BROAD EUR (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9475 kHz, 0228, end of news and analysis, into a program of Egyptian songs, very good, clear, non-muffled signal on March 18 (Drake SW8 with whip antenna; Sony ICF 2010 with whip antenna. Roger Chambers Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [non]. BBC service moves inband for A-03: 11720 2130 2145 ..t..f. Rampisham 500 209 ENGLISH FALKLANDS S AT (via Alokesh Gupta, India, DXLD) ** GABON. Dear Glenn, Here's my latest logging: I noted Radio Gabon on 4777 kHz on March 18 at 1735-1800 UT. Reception was fair to good. The program consisted of various official messages in mostly French. Identified as "Radio Gabon émettant de Libreville". The signal disappeared just before 1800. This must be a reactivation as I haven't seen any loggings of this station for quite some time (Christer Brunström, Halmstad, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On 18 Mar at 1731 R. Gabon noted again on 4777. At 1739 "Radio Gabon" ID by female (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Mar 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. Hi Glenn, I thought you might be interested in the following on KHBC/KAHU 1060 Hawaii. Chuck in Hawaii sends Hawaiian radio information to me as a mutual friend of the late Alan Roycroft. I sent out an email and also published in the DX Times the fact that KAHU 1060 was now KHBC 1060. It seems I was a bit ahead of myself and while the station calls itself KHBC at the moment the Official FCC Call is still KAHU 1060. See the details below from Chuck. Regards (Mark Nicholls, March 19, NZ DX Times via DXLD) Here are two emails from Chuck Boehnke in Hawaii clarifying the situation with KHBC 1060 kHz. Apparently the official FCC Callsign is still KAHU 1060 kHz but they use KHBC on air for most id's except for the Official Hourly ID. See Chuck's explanation below. It is still KAHU but they are hoping to get KHBC in the future (again see Chuck's explanation below) Regards (Mark Nicholls, Chief Editor, New Zealand DX Times, NZ Radio DX League via DXLD) Here is the info on KHBC 1060 AM Stereo, they are 24/7 now if it all works out OK. They still have a few technical glitches but all in all it runs pretty smoothly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KHBC, P.O. Box 515, Hilo, HI 96721, USA Phone numbers: USA area code is 808 Office: 959-5700 Fax: 959-5800 Request line: 296-5422 (296-KHBC) The legal call is still KAHU and is given at TOH. GM and Owner is Buddy Gordon. Format is everything from Adult Standards, Old and new Pop and Rock, Hawaiian, Country, to Jazz and everything in between! Haven't heard any classical music yet but it wouldn't surprise me if some showed up eventually. Saturdays and Sundays (Hawaiian time) "Thor" does his Jazz/Rock show 6 PM to Midnight HST and he does answer the request line (Chuck Boehnke, Hawaii) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- and more information explaining the situation: The KHBC story is incredibly complicated but here are the basic details. The original CP in 1936 was for KWFB on 1210 kHz in Hilo. It actually signed on, after modification, as KHBC on 1370 kHz with 100 watts on May 1, 1936. Down through the years it changed ownership and frequencies and finally became KPUA on 970 kHz which is now on 670 kHz and is owned by New West Broadcasting. Not really the original station any more. The KHBC call stood for Hilo Broadcasting Company. KHBC is now the call of TV channel 2 in Hilo which is but a relay for KHNL TV in Honolulu. When Buddy Gordon bought KAHU he got permission from KHNL to use the call KHBC simply as a "moniker" for KAHU 1060 but the legal call is still now KAHU. FCC rules allow a station to call itself anything it wants to as long as a "real" legal ID is done reasonably close to the TOH. So the ID is done like this, "KAHU Hilo is now KHBC, Hilo's original Radio Station" along with a portion of the song written especially for KHBC back in 1936, the "KHBC Hula". And, Buddy Gordon calls himself the Hilo Broadcasting Company. He doesn't exactly claim to be the original station but claims they act like the original one what with all the different format structures and music and being strictly live and local which they certainly are. It is one neat and unique station! Really pulling in the listeners with its new 5 kW transmitter. There has been a bit of a local flap over the call and Buddy's usage of it. New West Broadcasting is making noises but that is too bad. Once Buddy works out the details with KHNL Television he will apply to the FCC for the KHBC call sign and make it official! Now, is that all perfectly clear? If you understand it please explain it to me! Hi Hi ! Buddy Gordon's roots in Hilo radio go way back to the original KIPA "Rainbow Radio" run by his father. And of course Alan Roycroft was "silent partner" as he ow[n]ed much of the equipment and did right up to his untimely passing. In recent years Buddy made the mistake of bringing in partners (Peris Corporation) in order to finance expansion plans and they became "Big Island Radio" and as time went by Buddy lost control and was pushed out. And being a radio man he went to work and got KAHU and the rest will be history for sure! That's the story as best I can relate it in the space and time available. Aloha, (Chuck Boehnke, Hawaii via Mark Nicholls, NZDX Times, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONG KONG. Will operate on the following schedule for the San Fernando Race this year. The forecasts will be broadcasted on 3940 kHz at the following dates/times: (I have left in the dates and times from their original message ---Johnson) April 17 - 1803 hrs (so UTC 1203 yes?-Johnson) [no, 1003 – gh] April 18 - 0803 / 1803 hrs (so 0803 is UTC 0003 yes? -Johnson) April 19 - 0803 / 1803 hrs April 20 - 0803 / 1803 hrs April 21 - 0803 hrs April 22 - 0803 hrs April 23 - 0803 hrs April 24 - 0803 hrs April 25 - 0803 hrs April 26 - 0803 hrs April 27 - 0803 hrs (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Icelandic national Broadcasting service. QSL for the report of 12/09/2002 on 12120 kHz on a blue lagoon QSL card (Emmanuel Ezeani, Sokoto State, Nigeria, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Mr Prasad said that DD and All India Radio will digitalise its archival content and come out with CDs and audio cassettes. "We have archives of not only music but also voices of leaders and famous personalities. We need to commercially exploit it," he added. http://www.agencyfaqs.com/www1/news/stories/2003/03/15/5846.html (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. I heard the same station [VOI] last year playing the complete 5-minutes long news in English backwards! Then the program continued without mentioning anything... like nothing happened... GOOD funny DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** IRAN. 6120 kHz at 0135 UT with news and comment in English, generally poor on March 18th. On this day continued to mention the use of chemical weapons against Iran and the Kurds in 1980s with US support (Drake SW8 with whip antenna; Sony ICF 2010 with whip antenna. Roger Chambers Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. MEDIA BEHAVIOUR 1515 GMT WEDS 19 MAR 03 [same article with illustrations at:] http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/iraq030319.html Iraqi broadcast media, including Republic of Iraq Television, Iraqi Satellite Channel Television, Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service and the Iraqi News Agency web site continued to be observed at scheduled times between 0000 and 1515 gmt on 19 March. Voice of Youth, the radio station reportedly owned by Saddam Husayn's son Uday operated erratically on 18 March and could not be traced on 19 March. Iraqi media was not observed to cover the People's Assembly session held in the morning of 19 March or the news conference of Iraqi Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id Al-Sahhaf live. However, reports on both events were carried during the 1100 gmt news broadcast cast of the Iraqi Satellite Channel. Both events were covered by the Qatar- based TV station Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel. Iraqi Satellite Channel Television Iraqi Satellite Channel Television in Arabic at 0124 gmt carried the "Views on the News" programme, in which Arab callers phoned in to voice support for Iraq and to commend Iraq's "steadfastness." The station also interviewed "human shields" in Iraq, who spoke about their activities in Iraq. The programme was interrupted at 0146 gmt to carry the call for prayer. The station then carried a programme called "Coffee Pots and Spears," in which Iraqi tribal chiefs praised Saddam Husayn and expressed allegiance to his leadership. At 0335 gmt, the station carried the "Army of Arabism" programme, containing scenes of training by "Arab martyrdom-seeking volunteers" and statements by Arab volunteers. The station carried two newscasts in English at 0300 and 0400 gmt. At 0600 gmt, the satellite channel carried a commentary by Diya Hasan. The commentary was preceded by a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a gun firing bullets at his face, and a picture of US President George Bush, under which the word "the idiot" is written. The commentary warned that Iraq would be a "graveyard" for invaders. At 0840 gmt, the channel carried a rebroadcast of a "new" programme called "The Plotters." The programme, prepared and presented by Iraq Member of Parliament Muzaffar al-Adhami, who accused Kuwait of becoming a "US-British base" for attacking Iraq. At the end of the 10- minute programme, Al-Adhami says more information about Kuwaiti "plots" against Arab countries would be given in the next episodes of this programme. Several times during the day the Iraqi Satellite Channel carried recorded reports on demonstrations in Iraq voicing support Saddam Husayn. Recorded interviews with ordinary Iraqi citizens were carried, in which they were asked "Why do you love Saddam Husayn?" Republic of Iraq Television Baghdad terrestrial television carried, amongst other scheduled programmes, the Kurdish programme, children's programme, a religious programme, and another episode of an Egyptian soap opera. Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service The domestic Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service carried its newscast at 0000 gmt. Verses from the Koran were recited at 0010 and the national anthem was played at 0017 gmt, after which the radio signed off. At 0259 gmt on 19 March, it signed on with the Iraqi national anthem, followed by a regular announcement listing the following Baghdad radio frequencies: Mediumwave 909, 846, 603, 558 and 693 kHz and also FM frequencies (unconfirmed by BBC Monitoring) inside Iraq: 100.4 MHz in Baghdad Governorate; 92.9 MHz in Al-Anbar governorate; 100 MHz in Maysan Governorate; 90.3 MHz in Dhi Qar; 95 MHz in Maysan Governorate; and 88.8 MHz in Ninawa Governorate. This was followed by a Kor`an recitation until 0333 gmt. Religious songs and light music were heard on the radio until 0400 gmt, when the first newscast was carried. At 0423 gmt, the radio carried a review of the Iraqi press, which highlighted the 18 March meetings chaired by Iraqi President Saddam Husayn in response to US President George Bush's speech in which he gave President Saddam Husayn a 48-hour ultimatum. Baghdad radio then carried scheduled programmes. These included a regularly scheduled entertainment morning programme, a religious programme, and a phone-in programme, during which citizens called in to attack the United States and Britain and express loyalty to Saddam. Songs carried throughout the day expressed pride in Iraq and Saddam. Love songs were also carried. Uday Husayn's "Voice of Youth" unheard On 18 March the Voice of Youth, reportedly owned by Saddam Husayn's son Uday and normally observed on 1044 kHz mediumwave, was noted carrying a relay of the Main Radio Service at 0300 and also from 1055- 1500 gmt. The station was in parallel with the satellite feed of the Main Radio Service, as well as 846 and 909 kHz mediumwave. On 19 March at 1440 gmt, the Voice of Youth could not be positively identified on 1044 kHz nor could it be heard on its usual satellite channel on Arabsat channel at 26 degrees east. Republic of Iraq Main Radio Service and the Voice of the Masses radio continue to be heard via satellite. [BBC Monitoring will be issuing regular media news updates on the status of Iraqi and Iraq-related media.] Source: BBC Monitoring research, 1515 gmt 19 Mar 03 (via DXLD) NOTE: if events warrant, DXLD may issue more frequent shorter issues than the usual wait for 100K of material to accumulate --- gh ** IRAQ [non]. Note this says some transmissions come from a ship: IRAQIS TOLD HOW TO SURRENDER From correspondents in Washington, March 19, 2003 THE US military has begun broadcasting messages instructing Iraqi troops on how to surrender and demonstrate they pose no threat to US forces. The messages are beamed into Iraq from a marine amphibious assault ship in the Gulf and from US Air Force "Commando Solo" aircraft that are equipped to make radio and television broadcasts, defence officials said. Some messages instruct Iraqi tank units to line up in the same direction and point their cannon barrels downward to show they are standing down. Others urge soldiers to desert their posts and are similar to messages contained in leaflets dropped on Iraq by coalition aircraft. On March 11, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States was communicating privately with Iraqi military leaders and that it would instruct them in a more public way on what to do to avoid attack by US forces. http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6151415%255E1702,00.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. U.S. BOOSTS PROPAGANDA IN IRAQ BEFORE WAR by NICOLE WINFIELD CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar - Tune into 100.4 FM and you'll likely hear Celine Dion, Sheryl Crow and U.S. warnings to Iraqis to stay away from military targets.... [another Commando Solo story, which omits two frequencies:] ...For the past four months, it has beamed them on three frequencies accessible to Iraqis - 100.4 FM, 690 kHz on the AM dial and 9,715 kHz on shortwave.... http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/5427093.htm (AP March 19 via Mike Cooper, Artie Bigley, DXLD) U.S. TELLS IRAQIS, SURRENDER OR DIE By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/5421428.htm (via Wichita Eagle via Artie Bigley, DXLD) http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5421428.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) TUNE IN AND SURRENDER http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/psi030318.html (Andy Sennitt, March 18 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) COALITION BANKS ON SURENDER http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6151985%255E25777,00.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) PENTAGON PLANNING TO CRUSH HUSSEIN --- Army, Navy, Air Force would confuse, destroy; An overwhelming strike on Iraq By Tom Bowman, Sun National Staff, Originally published March 18, 2003 ...The battle plan calls for Iraqi television and radio stations to be overridden by broadcast signals from Commando Solo, a C-130 cargo plane with a studio on board. The broadcasts would include warnings to civilians to stay inside or away from any fighting. The Pentagon expects to use electromagnetic pulse weapons or what Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the commander of the likely allied invasion, calls "offensive electronics," to destroy Iraqi communications facilities or computers without explosions that could lead to civilian casualties.... http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.war18mar18,0,384642.story?coll=bal-home-headlines (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. RADIO ACTIVE --- U.S.-FUNDED BROADCASTER TARGETS IRAQ WITH NEWS, FEATURES AND POLITICS By Kevin Livingston Staff Writer, The Prague Post (March 19, 2003) From a small studio in the bowels of what was once the Parliament building of communist Czechoslovakia, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq David Newton beams the day's news to Baghdad. Newton and other Radio Free Iraq (RFI) employees are on the front lines of an escalating information war in the Middle Eastern country. They wage their battle as an U.S.-led invasion of Iraq looks more and more likely. For 10 hours each day, Newton and his staff of 18, most of them Iraqis, send their version of the latest news to the people of Iraq via shortwave radio. Newton was ambassador to Iraq from 1984 to 1988 and served as an adviser to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Gulf War.... http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2003/Art/0319/news1.php (Prague Post Online via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. UK "MESSAGE OF REASSURANCE" TO BE BROADCAST TO IRAQIS - London-based paper | Text of unattributed report from London entitled: "London to Broadcast Message of Reassurance to Iraqis Via Four Arabic Radio Stations When War Breaks out", published by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 18 March On the eve of the start of the expected military operations, London is preparing to address a long message to the Iraqi people via four Arabic radio stations. The message will attempt to reassure the Iraqi people that the war is not intended to harm their interests and basic rights or to seize the wealth of their country. Al-Sharq al-Awsat, which has procured an English version of the message, has learnt that the message will be broadcast in Arabic on Voice of Free Iraq that is based in Prague, Radio Monte Carlo, the Arabic service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and Radio Sawa that broadcasts from Washington. The following is the text of the message: A Future Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi People: An announcement disseminated by the British government that will be presented in writing and by video to the region. We hope it will reach the largest number of Iraqis in case we are forced to carry out military action. Iraq is a country of ancient history, a rich civilization, and an educated people. Iraq has huge potentials. Despite that, the Iraqi people under the rule of Saddam Husayn have been driven to abject poverty. The sons of Iraq have been deprived of their basic human rights. Saddam's defiance of a long series of UN Security Council resolutions urging the removal of his nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction and the destruction of his ability to use long-range missiles, led to the imposition of the economic sanctions on Iraq. Saddam Husayn's regime, which is built on fear and oppression, has resulted in the torture and murder of thousands of Iraqis. It has led to two aggressive wars against two of Iraq's neighbours. Over the past 12 years, Saddam has been defying the will of the United Nations and undermining its authority. We have done everything we could to persuade him to relinquish his weapons of mass destruction in order to avoid a military conflict. So far, Saddam has been refusing to cooperate fully with the United Nations. This has driven us to take the military option to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. We will do our best to minimize civilian losses and the damage to the basic infrastructure of the Iraqi economy. We will mobilize the international community to provide emergency humanitarian assistance. Our goal is to remove Saddam Husayn's weapons of mass destruction that threaten his neighbours and his own people. Our presence in Iraq is required in order to ensure compliance with the United Nations resolutions. It will be a temporary presence. However, our commitment to support the Iraqi people will be a long-range commitment. The Iraqi people deserve to be rescued from tyranny. They deserve to be given the opportunity to determine their future and the future of their country. We pledge to work with the international community to confirm that the Iraqi people can invest in the country's resources in their own interest. The Iraqi people are capable of contributing to the rebuilding process with the help of the world wherever that help is needed. We aspire to assist the Iraqi people to restore the status and real position of their country in the international community as it abides by its international obligations without sanctions imposed on it. We will support the aspirations of the Iraqi people to attain the following: - Peace: A united Iraqi state within its current borders, living in peace with itself and its neighbours. - Prosperity: All the Iraqis to share the wealth generated by their economy and oil reserves as they make use of the talents and skills of the Iraqi people. - Freedom: An Iraq that respects basic human rights, including freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, and the dignity of family life, where its people would live safe from oppression and liberated from pre-emptive detention. - Wise Rule: An independent Iraq that respects the rule of law; a government that reflects the diversity of its people and the freedom of choice of its inhabitants; a government that consolidates security and stability, provides high-quality food, water and other social services to its people, especially in the fields of health and education. - Respect for the World: An Iraq that enjoys the respect of its neighbours and that plays its full role as a member of the international community. We will offer this assistance in the following ways: - Any military campaign will be fast and have precise targets as far as possible. - We will work with the United Nations and the international community to meet humanitarian needs and distribute resources based on specific priorities in order to provide food and care to the Iraqi people. - We will enable the Iraqis to form a government that represents them faithfully and we will encourage the United Nations to play a role in this regard. - We will end the sanctions at the earliest possible opportunity and as soon as Iraq complies with the requirements of the UN Security Council resolutions. - We will support re-entry into Iraq as an active member of the region, and the international community as a whole, by opening the land crossing points. - We will seek to find a just and permanent solution to Iraq's debts. - We will seek more assistance from the international community. - We will back an international plan to rebuild Iraq and help Iraq move to a more prosperous and dynamic economy. - We will support investments in the Iraqi oil industry that will be administered in a just and transparent manner. We will help Iraq embark on clear trade relations in the world market in the interest of the Iraqi people. - We will encourage cultural and educational exchange with other countries. Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, in Arabic 18 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. DO WE WANT A WAR? BACK IT UP! - JAMES BLUNDELL Platinum selling Australian Icon, James Blundell has released a song dedicated to one simple question the whole world is asking, "Do we want a war?" James Blundell, like many people around the world, is a worried man. The prospect of war, an event that could change his and his family's lives forever, is looming, and there seems that there is nothing that anybody can do about it. However, James has done something about it. James Blundell has written and recorded a song that asks the world's leaders to think again. Have the last wars really sorted out the world's problems? Before we step right off the edge, Before 'We are at war' is said, Before we start to count the dead, Back it up Everybody breathes, Everybody bleeds Lines from James' song that he hopes will be heard by millions and will make those millions and many more think again. If you would like to hear or download the song, please visit http://www.jamesblundell.com.au it is available for free and we welcome you pass it on to any parties you feel may be interested in hearing it. Although the song is being given away for free it is copyright protected using industry leading Digital Rights Management software supplied by DMD Secure http://www.dmdsecure.com This means that a free license will be issued to anyone who wants to listen to the song but that it cannot be copied or replicated without the consumer obtaining a new license for their use, also for free. This technology demonstrates the ability for artists all over the world to protect their media assets and to distribute them securely over the internet, with the ability to charge a fair price for their work. James hopes that "Back It Up" will become the anthem of many of the world's peace organizations and concerned parties all over the planet. If you would like to help James achieve this goal and get involved please respond to : info@jamesblundell.com.au (Blundell, March 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [and non]. TWO NEW GUIDES ON SAFETY FOR JOURNALISTS In March, CPJ and IFJ published guides on journalists' safety. See CPJ's "On Assignment: Covering Journalists' Safety" at http://www.cpj.org and IFJ's "Live News: A Survival Guide for Journalists" at http://www.ifj.org. CC (RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. CPJ CONCERNED ABOUT 'EMBEDDING' OF JOURNALISTS The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 7 March outlined its concerns about the U.S. military's plan to "embed" up to 500 journalists covering a possible war in Iraq, according to an 11 March IFEX communiqué. The CPJ says the military's guidelines give unit commanders too much authority in deciding what journalists may report when they accompany U.S. troops. If a reporter could reveal sensitive information, commanders may order him or her to submit copy for review, the CPJ says. Officials could also restrict coverage by limiting journalists' movements or causing delays in filing their stories. U.S. officials have offered no convincing guarantees that journalists who are not accompanying U.S. troops will be allowed to report without restrictions, according to CPJ. CC (RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. EMBED WITH THE PENTAGON: TELLING THE ARMY STORY By Ron Synowitz Reporters who covered the last Gulf War often complain that press controls under the Pentagon's 1991 "pool reporting" system were overly restrictive. Under that pool system, small teams of journalists were escorted by U.S. military officials on short trips to witness specific military operations. Usually, the teams consisted of one television camera crew, a single newspaper reporter, a radio reporter, and a photographer. When the team finished their escorted trip, they would return to the other journalists in the pool and were required to share their work with those who remained behind. Bill Gasperini, a correspondent now working in Kuwait for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was a pool reporter in 1991 for CBS radio. He says he appreciated being allowed to watch some operations by the U.S. Navy and the Marines Corps. But he says many pool reporters found the experience to be a frustrating one: "That was a way for the military both to cut down the number of journalists that would go to a particular place, as well as to be able censor, basically, or to moderate, what we were saying for military [secrecy] reasons," Gasperini said. "A lot of people found that system extremely frustrating because they just couldn't get out -- especially a lot of the writers who were not with the U.S. or the British [press] or the other lead countries [in the 1991 Gulf War coalition.]" Today in Kuwait, the Pentagon is launching a new experiment in relations between media and the military. The process is called "embedding." Instead of being sequestered from the battlefield in a pool, reporters are being assigned to specific military units where they will live and work beside the same soldiers for the duration of any war against Iraq -- or until they choose to pull out of the program. Major General Buford Blount III, the commander of the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division, has met with the journalists who are embedding with his soldiers starting today -- including RFE/RL's correspondent in Kuwait. Blount welcomed journalists into the program: "This is going to be new for us -- and I think new for you, too. The embedding process has got top priority of the army to make it work." The general says the embedding process is an attempt to get reporters to "tell the army story" more accurately by allowing them to share the experience of rank-and-file soldiers in the field. He says his main request from reporters is that they simply tell the truth about what they see: "You were not happy with coverage in the past, and we were not happy either. Over the years, I guess stemming from Vietnam, there has been a gradual mistrust that had developed between the media and the army. And we're trying to stamp that out. We've got a younger generation of officers who don't have that stigma with them. And so, we're going to try to embed and open up. And we're going to make it work. You know, we'll have some bumps, but we'll work through it." Colonel Rick Thomas, the chief U.S. public affairs officer in Kuwait, told RFE/RL that the journalists who are being allowed to link up with U.S. troops include reporters from many countries -- including Germany, France, Russia, China, and even some Arab journalists from the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network. Thomas says that with more than 500 embedded journalists spread across the battlefields and rear echelons of a possible war against Iraq, he does not think it is logistically possible for military censors to review reporters' material before they send it to their editors: "There will be no public affairs officer out there who is going to review or censor anything. And there is no potential book author out there who is going to be able to say that Colonel Rick Thomas or any of my staff slowed down the process of transmitting [news stories]." Instead, Thomas says embedding will rely upon an honor system -- with journalists promising not to report certain categories of information that could help Iraqi forces understand how, when, and where U.S. forces plan to attack: "You will sign ground rules before going out there saying you understand that you will not transmit this type of information. And by signing those ground rules, I'm going to take you at your word that you will abide by it. If I find out that you did not abide by your word, then I'll bring you back to Kuwait City and send some other news organization in your stead." In those ground rules, reporters must agree to honor news embargoes that may be imposed to protect operational security. An embargo means that no reports can be filed about a specific military operation before it occurs, or while it is under way. The embargoes will remain in effect until U.S. military officials determine that the threat of compromising operational security has passed. Only approximate figures will be allowed to be reported about the strength of U.S. troops and their allies, as well as casualties. Information that cannot be reported -- on grounds that it would jeopardize operations and endanger the lives of troops -- include specific troop deployments or numbers of aircraft, tanks, artillery, landing craft, radar units, and trucks. The names of military installations or specific geographic locations of military units in the Gulf region also cannot be reported unless specifically released by the U.S. Department of Defense. News and images that identify or include identifiable features of troop locations also are not authorized for release. Also, reporters are not allowed to disclose information about the effectiveness of enemy attacks, camouflage, deception, targeting, intelligence collection, or security. Photographers and television cameramen also will only be allowed to record images of dead U.S. soldiers if the images do not show their faces or name tags. In compliance with the Geneva Convention, no photographs, video footage, or interviews of Iraqi prisoners of war is allowed. The U.S. military is asking all embedded reporters to only take what equipment they can carry with them. The only equipment being issued to a reporter by the Pentagon is a gas mask and a so-called "NBC suit," which is designed to give protection from nuclear fallout or from chemical and biological attacks. Thomas says reporters will have to conduct their work in a way that doesn't hamper the efforts of U.S. troops: "We're telling you to bring a satellite dish to the battlefield. Bring a video phone to the battlefield. Bring your laptop computer with an ability to transmit back to the rear. And when we pull over to the side, transmit your product." Despite the unprecedented opportunity for news coverage that the embedding process could allow, former Gulf War pool reporter Gasperini says he and many other journalists are not going to take up the Pentagon's offer to live and work beside the U.S. soldiers: "This time, I'm not quite sure how this embed system will work. For large [news] organizations that have many different people, they can have someone who is with different individual units. But you always have to have someone who is looking at the big picture. And in our case, my company decided not to embed because they thought, well, you can end up with a unit somewhere and lose sight of the big picture. And you essentially become useless once certain events transpire elsewhere. And so what we're going to do is to cover the big picture as best we can by following the troops -- assuming there is a war -- into Iraq." Looking back on his experience of 12 years ago, Gasperini admits that information which was cut from his reports by military censors during the last Gulf War sometimes was strategically significant. He agrees that the U.S. military has the right to prevent security leaks that could endanger the lives of U.S. soldiers. Ron Synowitz is an RFE/RL correspondent who is embedded with the U.S. Third Infantry Division. Compiled by Catherine Cosman (RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. THERE'S A HACKER AFOOT Hackers broke into the website of the Iraq News Agency http://www.uruklink.net/iraqnews/ around 10 March. Visitors to the site on 11 March who clicked on the link for the Iraq Satellite Channel Television were taken to an alternate site that features links to the U.S. White House website and to a site called "Muslims for Christ," as well as a link titled "News from the Free World" that takes viewers to the Fox News Channel site. The main page of the site purports to welcome Iraqi viewers with assurances that "[God's] people in the promised land are coming to rescue you from your despair and anguish." The site encourages Iraqis to "Impeach Saddam Now" and "Vote Saddam Out of Office." ("RFE/RL Newsline," 11 March via (RFE/RL Media Matters March 17 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. --------------xxxxxxxxxx CRW 128 EXTRA B xxxxxxxxxx-------------- CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH March 17, 2003 Iraq: Bush Address Underscores Importance of Radio Psyop Analysis by Nick Grace, CRW Washington [Mar 17] Underscoring the importance of ongoing psychological operations (psyop) against the regime of Saddam Hussein, President Bush tonight addressed the Iraqi public, Republican Guard officers, regular enlisted troops, and civilian Ba'ath Party bureaucrats from the White House during his national policy address on Iraq. The President's speech, which was translated live over the U.S. Government's Arabic-language program Radio Sawa, consistently mirrors the psyop messages broadcast to Iraq over the airwaves via the Pentagon's Information Radio broadcasts and transmissions covertly funded by the Central Intelligence Agency and reveals the sophistication and high-level of coordination of current psyop strategies being pursued by Washington to prepare Iraq for liberation. Preliminary monitoring by Clandestine Radio Watch on known psyop frequencies for Information Radio, which is packaged by the U.S. military and broadcast from Commando Solo aircraft in the Persian Gulf, and CIA-backed stations al-Mustaqbal, Radio Tikrit, Radio of the Two Rivers and Voice of Iraqi Liberation was unsuccessful. The clandestine radio stations were not scheduled to broadcast during the address, however, which began at 3 AM in Baghdad. Radio Free Iraq, which began its morning broadcast at 0200 GMT did not immediately carry a translation of Bush's message. His speech was also missing from the 0300 GMT program. Do Not Fight for a Dying Regime "Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio broadcast," he said during the speech, "and I have a message for them. If we must begin a military campaign, it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you." President Bush warned the Iraqi military to defy orders from Baghdad and to be prepared to work in concert with coalition forces. Mirroring psyop messages broadcast over Information Radio - and possibly hinting at announcements aired over the Voice of Iraqi Liberation - the President said "Our forces will give Iraqi military units clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attacked and destroyed. I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services, if war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life." The Voice of Iraqi Liberation, Egyptian monitor Tarek Zeidan noted on DXing.info, began encouraging the Iraqi military to support the U.S.- led coalition force on March 8. "Join the collation forces to get rid of the dictator," the station announced. "Your main mission now is to free Iraq and build a new democratic nation to return Iraq to its natural position in the international arena." A December 2002 psyop announcement broadcast over Information Radio asked more generally: "How much longer will this incompetent leader be allowed to rule? How many more soldiers is he willing to sacrifice? Will your unit be the next one to be sacrificed? When will the Iraqi Army become a legitimate army of the people and not serve as bodyguards for Saddam's Regime?" Likewise, CIA-backed Radio Tikrit urged Iraqi enlisted soldiers to abandon the regime on February 15, according to BBC Monitoring (BBCM). "Those who used you are planning to flee," the announcer warned, "leaving you to face the consequences of your crimes with bloodstained hands. You would be fools not to realize the extent of the popular wrath that awaits you if you do not leave this gang and flee. Each will be witness to reveal the crimes of the others. You are aware of the size of the crimes that Saddam and his gang committed against innocent people. Leave this gang, leave the guards before it is too late." War Criminals Will Be Punished Bush tonight continued with a stark warning to Iraqi soldiers and civilian Ba'ath Party bureaucrats that resembled recent calls over the Voice of Iraqi Liberation, which broadcasts from a ground-based transmitter in Iraqi Kurdistan and is believed to be funded covertly by Washington. "(A)ll Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning," he said. "In any conflict, your fate will depend on your action. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, 'I was just following orders.'" The Voice of Iraqi Liberation, according to BBCM, announced on March 7 a call to "all the workers at Iraqi oil fields and installations, and all persons assigned to mining and blowing up these sites. Brothers: We have already warned in a previous call all administrators, officials and participants in planting explosives in oil fields, wells and installations, and urged them not to implement orders to blow up these sites that may be issued to them by the Iraqi authorities as soon as the war breaks out against the dictatorial regime in Iraq. We stress again that the oil wells and government installations belong only to the Iraqi people, and any deliberate damage to these sites will be considered as a capital crime against the whole of the Iraqi people and the coming generations. The next regime and government in Iraq will put on trial all those who participate in the execution of those orders as war criminals, and they will be severely punished." Radio Tikrit broadcast a similar message on February 19, which was translated by BBCM. "There are many things that can be done by public security officers. Such as refusing orders of the tyrant and the torture of Iraqis who will express support for the forces of change. The public security officer should be brave before it is too late." The Day of Your Liberation is Near The President during tonight's address also sent a message of hope and compassion to Iraqi civilians, promising American commitment in providing humanitarian aid and support for the reconstruction to the Iraqi nation. He said, "As our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free. In a free Iraq, there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, no more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture chambers and rape rooms. The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near." Information Radio, which initially targeted Iraqi soldiers based in southern Iraq, shifted its broadcasts in early March to include civilians. Recent messages, according to leaflets released by U.S. Central Command, have called on the public to avoid military and communications facilities. "For your safety," said one leaflet, "stay in your homes away from military targets. The Coalition does not target civilians." It is expected that Information Radio will increase its calls for enlisted Iraqi soldiers to defy orders and will begin urging them to surrender. Its programming will also serve a humanitarian role by alerting civilians to upcoming food drops and the location of medical centers. The CIA-backed radio stations, on the other hand, are expected to continue the psychological and tactical encirclement of Saddam Hussein, his two sons, and top advisers. The impact of psyop radio transmissions is well documented. Voice of the Gulf broadcasts during the Gulf War in 1991, according to Pentagon studies, resulted in over 90,000 defections. More recently, MSNBC has reported, Information Radio transmissions that blanketed Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 led to the majority of Taliban and al- Qaeda defections witnessed by coalition troops. It has also been credited for protecting the lives of American and coalition troops as well as civilians during previous interventions in Kosovo, Haïti, Panamá and Grenada. (CRW via DXLD) NBC Today Show Wednesday morning March 19 during the local 8 am half- hour had a less than 3-minute feature by Kelly O`Donnell about Commando Solo, with a number of shots inside the plane. Kelly calls it ``psych-ops``. Nothing new to us or in depth. Maybe such segments are available on the website? Look around for it at http://www.msnbc.com/news/TODAY_Front.asp perhaps among the 8 video segments on demand (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. Twin rivers radio (Idha`at wady alrafedayin) Hi Glenn, well today 18/3/03 I tried to concentrate on the stations beaming to Iraq from Kuwait and operated by the CIA --- financed, rather, to check on the latest situation and I was a bit lucky. Twin Rivers Radio on 1566 kHz was on around 1645 UT. The usual formula of this station is pretty close to R. SAWA --- just one Arabic hit followed by another hip/hop, pop. R'n'B --- stuff like that. But today it was a different story. There was a guy with a speech talking to the Iraqi people asking them to unite to kick Saddam out and look forward for a free Iraq, Iraq for all the Iraqis (BTW, this is the slogan of Radio Tikrit, 1584 kHz To all Iraq and all Iraqis) Anyway, he kept on talking about the future of Iraq and we want a democratic Iraq --- not a nation based only on one person's Ideas and thoughts, we want a nation with friends, not only enemies. Followed by a song then back to another speech by another guy also talking about the future of Iraq after Saddam. A couple of days ago I picked this station but the program details as I said, only music and IDs --- change of heart!?? 1584 kHz Tikrit radio is on now as I'm writing this --- 1900 UT nothing special yet. We will see. 4025 kHz V. of Iraq Liberation is on with the usual stuff --- messages to the soldiers and the Iraqi people and reports based on the western media, mainly the US and British news papers. Usually signs off around 2025 UT. Today they went off the air around 2000 UTC!? Wonder why? Hey Glenn, check this out I got from the Washington Times: Israeli communications monitor Michael Gurdus has reported that he intercepted U.S. Central Command orders relayed to U.S. fighter jets that the war against Iraq will begin Tuesday. Gurdus said in an interview with Israel's Channel 2 Television that the Pentagon refers to Iraq as "bad cows" and "kebab." USAF that I can tune in here in the Mideast area --- during the Kosovo war I used to get them on 11300 kHz I reckon. I tried and tried, but this guy from Israel just reminded me of that special monitoring. Maybe we can hear them taking off to Baghdad this time! All the best, Glenn (TAREK ZEIDAN, Egypt, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. No update on the state of emergency schedule... I actually have a copy of the new Kol Israel shortwave schedule, which starts March 30 - but I've been told there are errors in it, so I've been holding off posting it. Take a look at the following couple articles: Jerusalem Post - This first article doesn't agree with the Kol Israel announcement! I emailed the Jerusalem Post... http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/PrinterFull&cid=1047963511197 "TUNE IN TO ENGLISH IN CASE OF WAR Greer Fay Cashman Mar. 18, 2003 English-speaking radio listeners and television viewers whose Hebrew is not sufficiently fluent to understand war-related broadcasts will be able to keep abreast of developments in the event of a war. Channel 2 and local radio stations will broadcast all announcements released by the IDF Spokesman's Office in five languages, including English. Israel Broadcasting Authority spokesman Oren Helman said that morning and afternoon news broadcasts on Radio 1 will continue as usual with constant updates. On television, the English language IBA News will also continue as usual, but when necessary there will be short news bulletins in English." There's a similar article to the below in today's Haaretz http://www.haaretzdaily.com (via Doni Rosenzweig, March 18, DXLD) And on the Israel Radio website March 19, it says English news will remain at normal times for now (Doni Rosenzweig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. ELIMINATING TV TAX WILL CAUSE UP TO 1,000 IBA LAYOFFS Mati Wagner, Mar. 17, 2003, Jerusalem Post Up to 1,000 Israel Broadcast Authority workers may be laid off if a Treasury proposal to eliminate the TV tax is implemented, IBA general manager Yosef Barel said on Monday. The Treasury has recommended replacing the TV tax with paid commercials and government funding. Barel said the Treasury's plan would make hundreds of tax collection workers superfluous. Unprofitable IBA-run radio stations would be closed down. He said that remaining stations would be forced to merge operations, and Arab TV and radio crews would be reduced. The IBA would also reduce broadcasts overseas. Barel said that eliminating the TV tax, which is NIS 515 this year, is a welcome challenge that "awakens managerial ambitions to prove that the IBA can penetrate the commercial market, achieve higher ratings than its competitors, and obtain financing for more daring production projects." The proposed reforms in the IBA have ramifications for the advertising industry. A fall in advertising income caused by the economic recession has hurt the revenues of Channel 2, Channel 10, and the Russian-language Israel Plus. If IBA enters the market, more channels will have to split dwindling advertising revenues. Industry sources expect Channel 2 concessionaires Keshet, Reshet, and Telad and Channel 10 to stage a legal battle against the Treasury decision. Second Authority general manager Moti Shaklar doubted the veracity of the reports on the proposal. "It is unfathomable that in the present economic climate, in such a small country, that the Treasury wants to ruin the delicate balance between income from the TV tax, subscriptions, and commercials." Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, a former communications minister, said the proposal will result in the demise of the IBA and the collapse of commercial TV. Uzi Peled, general manager of Telad, said, "Anyone who thinks the advertising market of $750 million can support all the commercial channels is severely mistaken. Implementing the proposal means closing the IBA and causing irreparable damage to the commercial channels." (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. Mar. 19, 2003 NHK WORLD e-GUIDE This is an emergency announcement from NHK WORLD. The United States has issued an ultimatum against Iraq, saying that it is prepared to launch military action against the country on and after 10 am, Thursday 20 March Japan Time [0100 UT]. The broadcasts of NHK WORLD have been revised. NHK World Radio Japan. *Japanese Language Broadcasts From 10 am, Wed. 19 March Japan Time, round-the-clock broadcasts in Japanese to the Middle East and North Africa have been conducted from the Dhabayya UAE and Rampisham U.K. Relay Stations on the following frequencies: Japanese UTC Time (JST) (kHz) Relay Station 1500-1700 0:00-2:00 17765 Rampisham 1700-1800 2:00-3:00 5985 Dhabayya 1800-2000 3:00-5:00 6015 Dhabayya 2000-2200 5:00-7:00 6145 Dhabayya 2200-2400 7:00-9:00 5970 Dhabayya 0000-0300 9:00-12:00 6180 Rampisham 0300-0400 12:00-13:00 9755 Dhabayya 0400-1200 13:00-21:00 15455 Dhabayya 1200-1500 21:00-24:00 17765 Rampisham We shall inform you of any changes of frequency or transmission station as they arise. English language broadcasts are temporarily suspended in the following time slot. We shall inform you when the service resumes. UTC Time (JST) Frequency (kHz) 0100-0200 10:00-11:00 17560 Yamata Arabic language broadcasts: From 10 am, Thu. 20 March Japan Time, Arabic language broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa shall be expanded from the usual two to three hours a day. Special Transmissions UTC Time (JST) Frequency (kHz) Relay Station 1600-1630 1:00-1:30 11880 Sri Lanka Regular Transmissions UTC Time (JST) Frequency (kHz) Relay Station 0400-0430 13:00-13:30 11930 Gabon [and faulty item:] 0730-0800 16:30-16:00 [sic-1700] 15220 Ascension 0700-0730 16:00-16:30 [1630-1600 sic] 15220 Ascension [??or 0630-0700 1530-1600 [1630-1600 sic] 15220 Ascension] There is a fault on the 15220 Ascension item. JST - Japan Standard Time. UTC = JST minus 9 hrs wb French language broadcasts From 10 am, Thu. 20 March Japan Time, French language broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa shall be expanded from the usual two to three hours a day. [how does this compute, adding 30 minutes to 50 minutes??; same problem with other languages --- gh] Special Transmissions UTC Time (JST) Frequency (kHz) Relay Station 1630-1700 1:30-2:00 11880 Sri Lanka Regular Transmissions UTC Time (JST) Frequency (kHz) Relay Station 0500-0530 14:00-14:30 17820 Sri Lanka 1500-1520 0:00-0:20 7190 Yamata NHK World TV. Full use shall be made of the round-the-clock broadcasting, changing the format as necessary in order to deliver the latest information (via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. I recall I saw a while back a report that Hit Shortwave was heard on 4940/4050 with different programming. I can confirm this as on 17 Mar at 1556 the 4050 transmitter was already on the air and not in parallel with 4940. Apparently 4940 closed down at 1602, but before that I managed to hear one "Hit Shortwave" ID. After 1602 there was a weakish Chinese station (China Huayi BC?) on 4940 but no trace of AIR Guwahati. At that time both Kyrgyz R outlets, 4010 and 4795 were on the air. So, if all these transmitters are located at the same site, that makes a total of (at least) four active swbc transmitters in Kyrgyzstan (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** LITHUANIAN TELEVISION BROADCASTS TO BE AVAILABLE ON INTERNET | Text of report by Lithuanian television on 17 March From now on, you will be able to watch Panorama [Lithuanian television's core evening news bulletin] not only at the usual time, 2030 hours [Lithuanian time, 1830 gmt], or watch its replay on Channel 2 of Lithuanian television, but also on the Internet --- video shows web site at http://www.lrt.lt You will be able to watch Panorama, Paskutine Kryzkele and other popular Lithuanian television programmes on the Internet. If you are unable to watch your favourite programme, view it on-line at your convenience. Both radio and television programmes will be kept in the on-line archive for about a month. Source: Lithuanian Television, Vilnius, in Lithuanian 1830 gmt 17 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MOZAMBIQUE. Dear Glenn, Radio Mozambique regular broadcasts begun on 18th March 1933 – 70 years ago! http://www.teledata.mz/radiomocambique (someone in Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From the Historia page: PRIMEIRA EMISSÃO Ao cabo de uns meses de trabalho e de penosas dificuldades, o emissor de radiotelefonia de 30 Watts, cedido pela Companhia dos Correios e Telefones, fez ouvir-se timidamente a primeira chamada, no dia 17 de Março de 1933 – ``Aqui CR7AA, Estação Emissora do GRCM``, na voz de Mário Souteiro. Os programas começaram com regularidade no dia seguinte. Concretizava-se assim o sonho de Augusto das Neves e Firmino Lopes Sarmento. Iniciando as emissões com concertos ao vivo, o Grémio ampliou a programação a partir de Março de 1934, incluindo nela noticiários. Dado o interesse que a estação obteve na vizinha África do Sul, em 1935 a direcção decidiu introduzir nos seus serviços a locução inglesa, a par da portuguesa, seguindo nesse ponto o exemplo da maioria das estações mundiais (via gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Extra RNW frequencies in the event of Iraq war When military action against Iraq begins, Radio Netherlands will add the following additional [sic] frequencies in Dutch: 0330-0425 UT 7310 kHz beamed towards Turkey and Israel, also audible in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. 1330-1425 UT 21735 kHz beamed towards Afghanistan and Pakistan (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 17 March 2003, also via Manfred Reiff, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma's Public Radio KOSU When war starts, KOSU plans to suspended its regular programming to provide continuous live coverage from National Public Radio. NPR News will stay on the air for at least the first 24 hours and possibly the first 48 hours. After that, KOSU will assess how quickly to return to regular programming on a day-to-day basis. (KOSU newsletter via DXLD) ** PERU. 4965, Radio Santa Mónica, 1025 , fairly good signal with nice clear ID through huaynos (David Norrie, AOR 7030 Auckland, New Zealand, March 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PUERTO RICO. SMALL RADIO STATIONS ALLEGE CRISIS IN THEIR MEDIA Tuesday, March 18th, 2003. SAN JUAN (AP) --- The island`s small radio stations denounced that they are facing the worst crisis in their history from the competition of the consolidation of big chains that attract the commercials by the government and private companies. However, they are counting on the aggressiveness and creativity of their marketing strategies to survive. "Ten years ago it was easier to market small radio stations. Today, sadly, radio corporations and publicity agencies capture everything. We depended on local businesses, and these are being strangled by the megastores," Cadena Gigante owner Aureo Matos said in published reports. Matos also said small radio stations do not have the funds to subscribe to survey services, which distances them from the market. "Compared to 10 years ago, we are invoicing much less than half what we were. It has been a multimillion-dollar impact," broadcaster Efrain Archilla Roig indicated. http://tinyurl.com/7pnu (Puerto Rico Wow via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Re VOR streaming: Interesting assumption. The schedule is indeed the very same than on Oranienburg-Zehlendorf 603, at least for the 0500-2300 UT period when the transmitter is on. Anyone able to find out from the IP number where the streaming server is located? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON. RFO 1375: This station was still on the air as of 2200 UT this afternoon, with their usual musical mix and several world news reports. This one is easy to recognize as the French is spoken with a Parisian accent as opposed to the Canadian- accented French that one usually hears on the mw band. I will miss this one if and when it really does go off the air. They usually put in a fair signal here in southeastern Maine and the station is a good verifier (Charley Washburn, ME, March 18, ODXA via DXLD) ** SOLOMONS BROADCASTING STAFF THREATEN STRIKE APRIL 1 | Text of report by Radio Australia on 18 March Staff at the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation have lodged notice of strike actions, one of which comes into effect on 1 April. Angered by plans to restructure the organization, staff have called for the resignation of the corporation's general manager, Johnson Honimae, who says he has the board's support and won't resign. Mr Honimae says staff have lodged a number of formal complaints opposing the restructure. [Honimae] They have earlier referred to the whole restructure to the Trade Disputes Panel, and then following that they have issued (?plans for) the strike action. So there's two actions waiting to happen. I hope we don't have to go that far, because my board is prepared to sit down and talk this whole thing [through]. Maybe it's just some misunderstanding that's causing all this. Source: Radio Australia, Melbourne, in English 2000 gmt 18 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [non]. For A-03 the SLBC via UK broadcast remains: 6010 1900 2000 ......s Skelton 300 160 SLBC S,W EUR (Merlin via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** TURKEY. Heard almost daily with variable fair to good reception on 9655 kHz and 6020 kHz at 2300 UT in English. Often suffers from rather poor modulation. The news and Review of the Turkish Press, while only about 10 minutes, is interesting, especially with Turkey's unclear role in the impending war. Despite the crisis and imminent war, there does not seem to be any increase in news coverage (Drake SW8 with whip antenna; Sony ICF 2010 with whip antenna. Roger Chambers Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International. Version # 1. Tentative Summer Broadcasting / A03 schedule (effective from 30 March 2003) kHz / UTC / site / Azimuth / Target Area 5905 / 2100-0000 / Kharkov / 290 / W. Europe 7410 / 0400-0700 / Kharkov / 290 / W. Europe 9620 / 0000-0400 / Kharkov / 055 / Russia 9620 / 1300-1700 / Kharkov / 055 / Russia 11550 / 1700-2100 / Kharkov / 277 / W. Europe 12040 / 2300-0400 / Nikolaev / 314 / N.-E. America 15415 / 0700-1300 / Kharkov / 277 / W. Europa The schedule on languages: German: 1700 and 2000 11550, 2300 5905. English: 2100 5905, 0000 and 0300 12040, 1100 15415. Ukrainian: programs are transmitted on all frequencies and at all times, except at the time reserved for German and English programs. Further changes are possible, in particular, the transmitters from Brovaria could be included. In the view of creation of the new international Broadcasting Company "Ukraine and Svit" there can be more serious changes in the program schedule (Alexander Yegorov, Kiev, Ukraine, Rus-DX March 16 via DXLD) ** U K. BBC MONITORING GETS NEW DIRECTOR -- 14th March 2003 Chris Westcott has been appointed Director of BBC Monitoring. Westcott, currently head of new media at BBC World Service, is an experienced journalist who has worked for the BBC's domestic radio channels and for the World Service. Westcott succeeds Andrew Hills. (from aib.org.uk via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. BBC SCALES BACK PUBLIC SERVICE SITES Dominic Timms, Friday March 14, 2003, The Guardian The BBC is winding down websites dedicated to Crimewatch and Watchdog despite investing an estimated #500,000 of licence payers' money in developing the services. BBC insiders said both sites would effectively be closed later this year and that the BBC's Holiday, motoring and homes and antiques sites would be severely cut back. Insiders said most of the staff on the corporation's Holiday site faced redundancy after BBCi decided to scale back the amount of online support for the TV programme. .... etc. etc. http://media.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4624729,00.html (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. BBC COVERAGE OF IRAQ CRISIS --- Full details in press release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/03_march/18/coverage_iraq.shtml (via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) Much of it concerning TV, but notably on radio, Five Live becomes a continuous news channel (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC PUTS INCREASED EMPHASIS ON ITS ARABIC RADIO SERVICE By CHARLES GOLDSMITH, Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LONDON -- Britain isn't exactly Saddam Hussein's favorite country these days. But the state-funded British Broadcasting Corp. counts the Iraqi leader as a listener.... http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB10480225427395200,00.html?mod=todays%5Fus%5Fmarketplace%5Fhs (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. The nexus for this group is the statement that over 50% of visitors to BBC Online are from America -- ostensibly seeking alternatives to an increasingly disappointing domestic news media. But the rest of the article is eye-opening as well, IMHO (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) RESISTANCE TO 'BRAINWASHINGTON' By Jochen Bolsche March 18 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/18/1047749768373.html (via Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) Unfortunately that's the WebDiary of the Sydney Morning Herald and not well known, being not 'in print'. Still it was heartening to read that people are finding foreign material and foreign language material worth conveying to others in a translation. More on the overseas readers of Euro-media (and the ABC) at: WIRED NEWS: MEDIA WATCHDOGS CAUGHT NAPPING http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,58056,00.html With good luck they will realize that they can hear the programs live via shortwave for the most part (Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. KUWAIT [sic] 6185, 0101-0140, Radio Sawa Mar 19, ID heard several times 0108, canned ID. Station also has a website http://www.radiosawa.com/ in Arabic and English with complete listing of MW, FM and shortwave as well as satellite frequencies and schedules of broadcast. http://www.radiosawa.com/radiosawa_swavefreqs.cfm provides shortwave schedule. News items at 0115. Lots of mentions of Saddam. Arabic music program at 0130. Music program in first part of the hour had some English pop tunes. Clear reception here on a portable receiver. ID again at 0135 and again by female announcer at 0138 with mentions of FM broadcast. Excellent reception (Bob Montgomery, PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Sorry, wrong frequency: 7185 (Montgomery, ibid.) Neither 6185 nor 7185 appears on the R. Sawa schedule; nor on the IBB schedule (as `MRN`). Furthermore, R. Sawa is not scheduled on any SW frequency between 2300 and 0300, just on MW. Perhaps certain impending events prompt them to expand. But why do you think this is from Kuwait, which until now has not operated on SW with IBB emissions?? (Glenn Hauser, March 18, ibid.) This station recently dropped the 0730-0830 service on SW. However, it was noted back on air at 0735 tune in today March 19 on new 21630 and 17780. The latter frequency changed to 17765 at 0800. The 17 MHz channel is satellite delayed compared to 21 MHz. Both are still on air at 0930+. All 11, 13 & 15 MHz bands have been scanned but the station not found here at this time. A check of the IBB website reveals no listing for these new frequencies / transmissions yet (Noel R. Green [Blackpool-UK], Cumbre DX via DXLD) 6185 is via Iranawila and Kavalla, 7185 via Briech, Morocco. 73 wb df5sx: [ha! so both have been added --- gh] VoA Radio Sawa 0000-0300 VOA ARAB 9645 MOR 0000-0300 VOA ARAB 7185 MOR 0000-0300 VOA ARAB 6185 KAV 0000-0800 VOA ARAB 1260 RHO 0000-2400 VOA ARAB 990 CYP 0000-2400 VOA ARAB 1548 KWT 0300-0600 VOA ARAB 6160 KAV 0300-0600 VOA ARAB 9660 MOR 0300-0600 VOA ARAB 9805 MOR 0500-0700 VOA ARAB 7150 WOF 0500-0700 VOA ARAB 11920 KAV 1500-2400 VOA ARAB 1260 RHO 1700-1800 VOA ARAB 11825 MOR 1700-1900 VOA ARAB 11905 KAV 1700-2100 VOA ARAB 7280 KAV 1800-1900 VOA ARAB 7180 WOF 1800-2100 VOA ARAB 11825 IRA 1800-2300 VOA ARAB 9530 WOF 1900-2000 VOA ARAB 9615 KAV 1900-2000 VOA ARAB 11905 IRA 1900-2300 VOA ARAB 7195 WOF 2000-2100 VOA ARAB 11905 KAV 2000-2300 VOA ARAB 9650 KAV 2100-2300 VOA ARAB 7280 IRA 2100-2400 VOA ARAB 11765 MOR 2100-2400 VOA ARAB 9745 KAV 2300-2400 VOA ARAB 6185 IRA (March 19, 2003) (via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** U S A. Just tried to reach http://www.voanews.com --- Only result: ---------- Error Occurred While Processing Request - Error Diagnostic Information Request canceled or ignored by server. Server busy or unable to fulfill request. The server is unable to fulfill your request due to extremely high traffic or an unexpected internal error. Please attempt your request again (if you are repeatedly unsuccessful you should notify the site administrator). (Location Code: 26) ---------- Guess it could be of limited use in the days ahead... (Kai Ludwig, March 18 2255 UT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nor could I when trying to check on Talk to America topics (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PRESIDENT BUSH'S ULTIMATUM AND A RETURN TO 'FEAR FACTOR' By Tom Shales, Tuesday, March 18, 2003; Page C01 George W. Bush may want war with Iraq as much as he wants a second term, but it's doubtful he would like to go down in history as the man who wouldn't take "peace" for an answer. So in his brief speech to the nation that amounted to a declaration of war last night, Bush spoke with funereal solemnity and an aura of mournful regret. There certainly was not a trace of bravado in his voice, manner or frozen features.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42694-2003Mar17.html (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. Charles Josey, K4LNL, owner and operator of shortwave station WWBS, Macon, GA died on February 28. Here's a link to the local paper's obit: http://www.legacy.com/macon/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=832456 (Ken W. English, Salt Lake City, UT, March 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Charles Carey Josey, 60, went home to be with the Lord Friday, February 28, 2003. A memorial service will be held Sunday at 3P.M. at "Warehouse" Ministries located at the corner of Fifth and Poplar (300 Poplar Street), with a graveside service to be held Monday at 3P.M. in Riverside Cemetery. -Mr. Josey was retired from Philips Medical after thirty-five years, and was the chief engineer and owner of WWBS short wave radio. he was also an amateur radio operator K4LNL (Gone Silent Key). -He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann Josey of Macon; a daughter, Paula Josey of Columbus; two step-children, Suzi Rohrbeck and Bryan Nichols; a sister, Myrna Warren of Montezuma; two granddaughters, Heather and Nikki Nichols. -The family may be contacted at 159 Hadden Hall Dr., Macon. -Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home has charge of arrangements (The Telegraph, Macon, via DXLD) No, we had not heard. Have been intending to check WWBS paltry two 2- hour broadcasts per week, now entered on CALENDAR as reminder, UT Sat & Sun 0000-0200 on 11900 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5920, WBOH not testing for the moment, 1227 March 18 (Hans Johnson, LA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. 7490, WJIE seems to have been off for a few days now (Hans Johnson, LA, March 18, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Back with big signal around 0452 March 19, good modulation except for occasional crackle. Still no sign here of 13595 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KENS-1160 San Antonio changing from newstalk to Disney: The Business Journals are carrying a story about this and they say the planned switchover date is April 1 (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, March 17, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Does anyone in So Cal know anything about KHPY-1670? Have they changed? I can't hear them here tonight. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, March 17, NRC-AM via DXLD) Hi Patrick, Am hearing Radio Católica on 1670, announcing 660 kHz and advertised a rally at Los Angeles Sports Center. I guess one of the CA X-banders has gone all religious, relaying KGDP???? Modulation ain't great either... Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, ibid.) They [KHPY??] have been doing some foreign-language programming as of last week, but not at all times. They were playing oldies on Saturday night, even though they were doing foreign-language earlier in the week. Poor audio quality on the foreign-language programming, by the way (Rick Lewis, AZ, ibid.) Thanks Rick... that sounds like them as the audio was not good... They were very steady so I presume using the full 10kW and they closed at 0800z. Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. NATIONAL PROSPEROUS RADIO http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030324-433259,00.html Long article about NPR`s success (via Jilly Dybka, and Daniel Sampson, WI, http://www.primetimeshortwave.com DXLD) ** U S A. From NPR's website: "Host Bob Edwards speaks with Mike Martini and Mark Magistrelli, who just finished producing a second CD on the origins of WLW, a radio station and network based in Cincinnati. For 20 years, from 1921-1941, WLW was a network with talent and resources to rival CBS and NBC. During the late 1930's, the station was granted authorization to broadcast at 500,000 watts -- the most ever allowed to an American radio station by the FCC." [7:20] URL is: http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1195311 (Blaine Thompson, Fort Wayne, IN NRC-AM March 18 via DXLD) This is a fantastic effort on the part of Martini and Magistrelli, supported by Dr. Jim King, whose commitment to historical documentation is essentially: "do it right." I got one of the first copies of this package and there is so much to enjoy. Not only is the audio wonderful to hear, but there is a reproduction of a tour brochure from WLW's site, as well as quite a nice written history. We wrote about this in the February issue of Radio Guide Magazine ... and the response has been quite good. If you want to look at the package, go to https://pledge.wvxu.com/Pledge.asp?BRSR=MSIE&VER=6&REF=http://www.wvxu.org/html/body_members.html and under "Premiums", select the next to last one, and click on "View the Selected Premium" the picture was taken at the original control console at WLW. (Barry Mishkind - Tucson, AZ - http://www.broadcast.net/~barry Visit The Broadcast Archive http://www.oldradio.com NRC-AM via DXLD) I have a *different* WLW tour brochure. Someone was selling them at the Dayton Hamvention last year. It's a reprint of something originally printed in "ca 1935" - all black-and-white, and titled "A Trip Through WLW". (Doug Smith, ibid.) ** U S A. GULFPORT [Mississippi]- A radio station that has been part of the Coast landscape for 53 years will cease broadcasting later this month. But it will be back with a stronger signal and different name. Triad Broadcasting said WVMI-570 AM will stop broadcasting at 10:30 p.m., March 27. On April 3 at 6 a.m. the new Talkradio 1640 WTNI will replace it. Joel Robertson, Triad's chief engineer, said the current pattern of WVMI's 5,000 watt signal is directional, and there have been some weak in some areas, such as downtown Gulfport, Saucier and Moss Point. Triad Broadcasting built a new transmitter and antennae system that doubles the power output and improves the quality of the signal and considerably increases the coverage area. And the signal is now omni-directional. Triad Broadcasting Co. L.L.C., of Mississippi owns WVMI, WCPR, WUJM, WXBD, WXRG and WXYK. (http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/5414622.htm via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) Seems this station does not know the most basic fact about the MW band --- 5 kW on 570 trumps 10 kW on 1640 bigtime, as far as coverage. The only advantage would be non-direxionality. And/or the Sun-Herald fell for the hype (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VANDALS KNOCK DOWN TOWER, PUT FOLKSTON RADIO STATION OFF AIR Posted: 10:03 a.m. EST March 18, 2003 FOLKSTON, Ga. -- Listeners won't be able to hear WOKF-FM in Folkston for a while after vandals knocked down a 300-foot transmitting tower. http://tinyurl.com/7po3 (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** U S A. Thought you might like to know that KXEL, 1540 AM in Waterloo IA, appears to be running a half-hour in a Slavic language; Serbian? This is at 9:00 P.M. Central, 0300 UT. It's about equally divided between news and ethnic music. News seemed current, at least for the day, judging by person and place names. There were several references to Belgrade, and the use of a CNN stinger grack between some stories. They went out at 9:30 and just played the usual canned KXEL ID. This was on Monday, 17 March. Finally, there's another controversy brewing over Ernst Zundel, whose show ran briefly on KXEL along with the usual S/W outlets. According to a Jeff Rense program of about two weeks back, he got married recently and settled in Tennessee. From there, the Justice Dept. deported him back to Canada. According to the guest, his greatest fear is of being deported back to Germany. There should be summaries and/or archives at: http://www.rense.com and there's apparently a Zundel web site maintained by the wife he left behind (Max Swanson, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We had news about this recently under DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. Schedule at http://www.kxel.com is no more explicit than ``paid programming`` 9 pm-midnight Mon-Sat, 6 pm-midnight Sun (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Saludos colegas diexistas. Espero se encuentren muy bien. Hoy les quiero comunicar dos noticias que me han hecho sentir muy feliz. La primera es que desde el día de ayer, Unión Radio Porteñas 640 (Ondas Porteñas) tiene su señal en internet, y puede ser escuchada en todo el mundo a través de este poderoso medio. La segunda es que mi programa Sintonía DX, estará arrivando a sus 11 años este 19 de Marzo a través de Porteñas 640, emisora en donde comenzó un 19 de Marzo del año 1992. Por cierto, mañana estaré haciendo un programa especial entre las 10 y las 12 de la noche [0200- 0400 UT Thursday March 20] donde estaré colocando muchas grabaciones que me han enviado colegas diexistas durante estos 11 años y muchos recuerdos que Sintonía DX tiene en su fonoteca. Aprovecho esta oportunidad para invitarlos a todos ustedes a participar enviando sonidos, grabaciones, comentarios o sus saludos, los cuales serán transmitidos con mucho cariño. La dirección para escuchar Unión Radio Porteñas 640 es la siguiente: mms://puertolacruz.no-ip.com/am [later corrected to:] http://intranet.unionradio.com.ve/intranet/Default.htm Buscan audio de emisoras y en la parte de abajo aparece 640 AM, y hacer click allí. Nota: Me gustaría saber si la pueden escuchar ahora. Muchas gracias (José Elías, Venezuela, March 18, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** YEMEN. I picked up Yemen today around 1955 UT today on 1188 kHz. First time to pick them up on this frequency, // 909 and 9780 kHz. A sheik giving out some fatwas by the phone. Checked WRTH 2002 --- the latest I have :( > --- and there was nothing about this frequency under Yemen!? (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2003 WRTH has it at Al-Hiswah, general program, 0300-2215, power unknown (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ BOYCOTT MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND TUNE IN THE WORLD: HOW TO LISTEN TO SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS VIA RADIO AND THE INTERNET A BUZZFLASH MEDIA WATCH SPECIAL REPORT by Gloria R. Lalumia March 18, 2003 SURGING SHORTWAVE SHORTWAVE RADIO FOR BEGINNERS WHICH RADIO? LISTENING TO SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS—RADIO LISTENING TO SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS—VIA THE INTERNET TIME ZONES In case you weren't aware of it, here's what I think is good advice from BuzzFlash.com: http://www.buzzflash.com/mediawatch/03/03/18.html (via Bill Messman, DXLD) BRAZIL HAS SECOND CAR SW RADIO MANUFACTURER BRASIL - A Motobrás não está sozinha na fabricação de receptores de ondas curtas analógicos no Brasil. Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS), descobriu que, em Erechim (RS), funciona a Eletrônica Lidbom Ltda., que produz dois modelos de robustos rádios. Cobrem as faixas de 25, 31, 41 e 49 metros. O modelo de cabeceira Saturno tem o gabinete em madeira. Muito bonito! No futuro, a empresa pretende incluir, novamente, nos receptores, a faixa de 19 metros, de acordo com um dos proprietários, Arthur Lidbom. Os interessados em obter catálogo, devem entrar em contato pelo telefone 0XX (54) 522-1545, e falar diretamente com Marlene. O endereço postal é o seguinte: Eletrônica Lidbom, Rua J. B. Cabral, 280, CEP: 99700-000, Erechim (RS). (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX March 18 via DXLD) RF ID TAGS WORLD WAR II ERA TECHNOLOGY IS FINDING NEW USES Rachel Ross, Technology Reporter Cattle, dogs, car parts and airplanes. Just about anything can be tracked with the power of radio waves. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have been around since World War II and hyped since the early '90s. But it's only in the past few years that these tiny tracking tools have really started to find a place in our everyday lives. For manufacturers it's a godsend because RFID tags let them track individual items while they are still in the box. But many consumers fear the technology will be yet another means of eroding their privacy. Full Story: http://makeashorterlink.com/?F37862BD3 (via Brian Smith, ODXA via DXLD) The RFID tags that operate on 433 MHz have been an issue for the ham radio community as that frequency falls within the 70 cm. ham band. In the U.S. the ARRL has been raising the issue with the FCC. Here's a link to a story from a year ago: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/02/13/2/ (Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, Ont., ODCA March 18 via DXLD) DRM +++ Glenn, Unsure if anyone caught my QRD joke in DXLD 3-043. When I proposed QRD for describing digital distortion I imagined QRD spoken as "crud". To me, when hearing digital signals, crud seemed appropriate. 73, -.. . (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oh, I see; I was thinking QR-Digital (gh, DXLD) DSL +++ Hi Kim, interesting to read about your bad experiences with DSL. I have my DSL connection for one year now and am really satisfied, the radiation from the phone line singles out from the general noise floor only when I put the radio closer than about 30 centimetres to the cable leading from the phone socket via the so-called splitter (just a filter responsible for dividing the high frequency DSL signal from the phone or ISDN signal*) to the DSL modem. This Deutsche Telekom set-up can work over distances up to 4 kilometres, it is 768 kbit/s down and 128 kbit/s up (the usual European high speed Internet connection is asymmetrical, hence also the name ADSL). Perhaps phone companies in the USA use DSL systems with considerably higher signal levels on the lines to bridge larger distances between exchange and subscribers and/or overcome poor line quality? *) I indeed subscribe to DSL with analogue telephone, for just a single phone one really needs no ISDN. Best regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 18 to Kim Elliott, via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WINTER SWL FEST I flew from Nashville to Philly, took 2 trains and a cab and arrived Thursday evening to partake in the hospitality room. It was fun hanging out with fellow SWLers and hams. Free beer! :) The Fest started on Friday with a bunch of forums. The pirate radio talk by George Zeller was great. He is very funny. The Fest is held at a Best Western. There were more folks there on Sat and Sun than on Friday, but 250 sounds about right. There were several low-powered FM pirates and SW pirates broadcasting almost continuously. I hung out with the folks from Big Thunder pirate radio --- they broadcast from a big rig. They took a picture of me in the truck. :) Nice folks. Just some of the many nice folks I met throughout the weekend. In one of the ballrooms there was a presentation of DRM --- digital radio with special broadcasts directed at North America just for this presentation. There's an article at MSNBC about it: http://www.msnbc.com/news/883723.asp Everyone I met was really nice. There were also some real characters, like Jay, (who you may have heard mentioned on pirate broadcasts). There was a big banquet on Sat night with a raffle for A TON of items -- none of which I won, haha. There was also a silent auction and I won a 20's radio sign for the radio shack. :) On the trip home my plane was full so I volunteered to get bumped. I got a free one way ticket anywhere in the US so I will probably go again next year. I recommend it if anyone is thinking about it. There were some great talks on Digital Radio, Radio in WWII, DXing from Australia, ham radio, and Dr. Adrian Peterson's QSL collection is something to behold! (Jilly Dybka, TN, March 15, ATS-808 yahoogroup via DXLD) TRANSMISSIONS SANS FRONTIÈRES - UPDATE "Transmissions sans Frontières" is a two day conference that will explore the boundaries of radio. Immediately following the International Features Conference in Toronto, it will offer North American delegates an opportunity to explore radio with some of the finest in Canadian, European, and American radio producers. "Transmissions sans Frontières" takes place May 24 and 25, 2003 at Victoria College, University of Toronto, Ontario Confirmed presenters include: Peter Leonhard Braun, Garvia Bailey; Victoria Fenner, Anna Friz, Christos Hatzis, Kari Hesthamar, Julie Shapiro, Laurence Stevenson, Steve Wadhams, Gregory Whitehead, and Barb Woolner. Bios can be seen on the TSF website. TSF Registrations will include admission to the Friday and Saturday evening performances in the "Deep Wireless" performance series. Watch the website for details. See the TSF website for many, many more details, including those sessions that have been confirmed thus far. http://www.radiosite.ca/TSF/TSF_Index.html NOTE 1: There are still some subsidized spaces available to Ontario community radio producers. NOTE 2: those wishing to book the very reasonably priced accommodations at Victoria College should do so immediately. "Transmissions sans Frontières" is presented by the Canadian Society for Independent Radio Production (CSIRP), with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. It will be done in collaboration with "Deep Wireless: A Celebration of Radio Art", a month long festival coordinated by the Toronto based group New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA). (via Barry Rueger, CAJ-list March 17, via Ricky Leong, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ DELLINGER EFFECT Nearly total blackout noted on all broadcasting bands (and in remaining UTE portions too) of 49 to 11 mb, when the receiver switched-on around 1155 UT. Usually the effect takes place mostly in 49/41/31 mb only. Disturbance decreased from around 1244 UT, some easterly stations like ORF Moosbrunn-AUT 6155 and Zagreb Deanovec 6165 appeared again much later, after 1255 and 1305 UT. At 1155-1245 UT heard only 2-3 transmissions on each band, preferably the nearest local ground wave stations like Wertachtal, Lampertheim, Juelich: 49 mb only local SWR Muehlacker ground wave 6030, very poor 6075WER beast. 41 mb only local SWR Rohrdorf ground wave 7265. 31 mb only 9860WER, RTB 9970JUL the strongest champion, 9895FLE very weak. 25 mb 11885LAM 12095RMP 22 mb 13800NOR 13780WER 13720REE 13660SKN 19 mb 15585REE 15500TIN! 15370LAM 15290ROU 15250TIN 15120LAM 17 mb 17500REE 17570SIN 17585RMP 17600MSK-Russian 17745ROU 13 mb 21840WER 21800FIN 21665RFI RTB 21565JUL 73 wb Peak on http://www.ionosonde.iap-kborn.de/magnetic.htm (Wolfgang Bueschel, March 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shows a nT spike just before 2100 (UT or CET?) March 17 (gh, DXLD) There was also a complete blackout yesterday at about 1900 UT. Even normally loud stations like CBC on 9625 were unheard for more than 20 minutes. The only station I was able to hear was a transmission from Greenville on 31. Even bands like 19 and 13 meters were totally blanked out. Stations started to return around 1925 UT, but at significantly weaker levels than normal (Ralph Brandi, NJ, March 18, DXplorer via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) SPACE WEATHER NEWS FOR MARCH 17, 2003 http://www.spaceweather.com Geomagnetic activity intensified to moderate levels on March 17th, improving the chances for Northern and Southern Lights. High-latitude sky watchers in places like New Zealand, southern Australia, Alaska, Canada and northern US states such as Michigan and Minnesota should remain alert for auroras. Earth has been inside a high-speed solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun since March 14th. The coronal hole is a large one, and solar wind gusts could continue to buffet our planet's magnetic field for several more days. Visit http://www.spaceweather.com for movies and images of ongoing geomagnetic activity (via Russ Edmunds, NRC-AM via DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 19 MARCH - 14 APRIL 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels with a continued chance of high levels of activity. Region 314 is expected to have X-class potential until it rotates beyond the west limb on 21 March. Activity is expected to be very low to low from 22 March until the return of Regions 306 and 314 on 01 and 02 April respectively. Low level with a chance of moderate activity is expected after 02 April. Greater than 10 MeV proton events are possible from Region 314 until 21 March. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux may reach high levels on 19 – 24 March, 27 – 28 March and again on 04 – 06 April due to returning coronal holes. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to major storm levels. On 20 March a CME shock is expected from the X1.5 flare that occurred on 18 March with major storm levels possible. The large equatorial coronal hole is expected to continue to produce unsettled to isolated minor storm conditions until 21 March. Two smaller but more intense coronal holes are due on 25 – 27 March and 30 – 31 March and are expected to produce active to isolated major storm levels. A weak but persistent coronal hole is expected on 01 – 04 April with unsettled to isolated active conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Mar 18 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Mar 18 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Mar 19 130 25 5 2003 Mar 20 125 25 5 2003 Mar 21 125 15 3 2003 Mar 22 115 10 3 2003 Mar 23 110 10 3 2003 Mar 24 105 10 3 2003 Mar 25 110 15 3 2003 Mar 26 120 15 3 2003 Mar 27 130 15 3 2003 Mar 28 140 10 3 2003 Mar 29 145 15 3 2003 Mar 30 150 15 3 2003 Mar 31 150 20 4 2003 Apr 01 150 15 3 2003 Apr 02 150 20 4 2003 Apr 03 150 15 3 2003 Apr 04 145 10 3 2003 Apr 05 145 10 3 2003 Apr 06 140 10 3 2003 Apr 07 140 10 3 2003 Apr 08 140 12 3 2003 Apr 09 135 15 3 2003 Apr 10 135 15 3 2003 Apr 11 135 20 4 2003 Apr 12 135 20 4 2003 Apr 13 130 20 4 2003 Apr 14 130 25 5 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1174, DXLD) ###