DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-048, March 22, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3c.html HTML version of February issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3b.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1174: WWCR: Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sun 0000, 0600, Mon 0030, 0630, Wed 0100, 0700 on 7445 [may be pre-empted for Pacifica anti-war coverage] WBCQ: Mon 0545 on 7415 WRN: Sat 0900 rest of world, Sun 0530 Europe, 1500 N. America WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/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 IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to computer problems, DXLD may not be as large or as frequent as usual. Our main site http://www.worldofradio.com is not being updated, but new DXLDs and any other new info will be accessible at our other site, with notifications at http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/anomaly.html Our e-mail addresses may become overloaded, so please understand if there are bounces, and avoid sending large files. This situation may also have a negative impact on produxion and distribution of the next World of Radio, 1175... (Glenn) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL If you are short of time and unable to keep abreast of the enormous amount of new DX information that comes pouring in from all over the place, one viable solution is to take a deep breath and close your eyes while listening for one full half-hour to the WoR show from whatever source you prefer, broadcasting or internet (Henrik Klemetz) ** AUSTRALIA. VMC (Charleville R.), 12365 kHz, QSL card (PFC) and pamphlet in 25 days for English report & 1$. Report sent to Bureau of Meteorology Service Policy Branch - Marine. This QSL can be seen at http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~dxworld/index.htm/ (Kenji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. VMW (Wiluna R.), 8113 kHz, QSL card(PFC) and pamphlet in 25 days for English report & 1$. Report sent to Bureau of Meteorology Service Policy Branch - Marine. This QSL can be seen at http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~dxworld/index.htm/ (Kenji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. R. Varna, 9800, QSL letter (v/s: Nataliya Gesheva), schedule and New Year Card in 86 days for English report & 1$. This QSL can be seen at http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~dxworld/index.htm/ (Kenji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI has been running continuous(¿) Pacifica coverage of anti-war demonstrations, pre-empting COM and WOR UT Sat. We suspect this may continue indefinitely (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note: RFPI will be prempting most of our regularly scheduled programming this week to bring you coverage of the U.S. war against Iraq which will include live in-studio conversation and a live feed from Pacifica Radio. Thanks to our friends at the Pacifica Network for making this possible (RFPI Weekly Update, week ending March 29, via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Glenn, is R. Prague having tech difficulties? On 20 Mar noted on 6961 kHz at about 0125 UT what sounded like a jumble of stations. Noted familiar IS at 0128 with woman announcer at 0130. Best in USB. Verified as Prague by comparing to 7345 kHz with which it was running //. According to sked Prague is supposed to be in Spanish to Central America from 0130 to 0157 on 7345 and 6200. 7345 was excellent, but didn't hear 6200. 6961 was fairly strong, about S3. Checked again at 0130 on 21 March. Nothing on either 7345 or 6200. Something on 6961 USB, but too weak to ID. Your comment? Best wishes, (Bill Wilkins, Springfield, MO, Mar 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Similar unexplained appearances were on the 5 and 8 MHz maritime bands. Suspect someone is messing around with relaying them without authorization (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 5966.59, Radio María, unknown QTH (Ecuador). March 12 0235 UT. Was heard only this evening and the morning after with strong signal. "María" buys program time from "La Voz del Napo", Tena on 3279.56 and obviously nothing happened with the planned purchase of the station. Some years ago "La Voz del Upano" on 5965.00 was heard for a short period where they emphasized that it was only local broadcasts from "Tena", and not from the listed "Macas". "Radio María" informed at this occasion that transmissions from "Galápagos" had started but they gave only an FM-frequency. Keep your ears clean and watch out for "Radio María Ecuador" popping up on a new frequency or again can be heard on 5966.59 kHz. Who knows, it can very well be "Islas Galápagos"! (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** IRAQ. I`m pretty positive I heard R. IRAQ INTERNATIONAL last Wednesday March 19 on 11787 around 21-2 [sic] UT in Arabic. Signal was weak and reception quite poor. It was that obvious I did not made any remarks in my log book. Not noticed yesterday Thu evening. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, hard-core-dx Mar 21 via DXLD) There was actually some modulation today, but very, very low and only perceptible on music peaks and occasional voice peaks. The transmitter goes off the air around 1300 UT and returns around 1600 UT - that has been the case for the past two days. The carrier is strong here in The Netherlands, but you need to use USB mode to avoid Cairo on 11785. Very briefly this evening the modulation improved enough for me to make a short recording. Shortly afterwards I also recorded Information Radio on 9715, which was running neck and neck with DW Russian, and occasionally overriding it! Links to both files plus today's BBC Monitoring observations are in our Iraq media dossier at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/iraq030319.html Another frequency to check is 6175 kHz. Vladimir Titarev heard them there in parallel with 11787 between 0500 and 0800 this morning. Mar 22 (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Baghdad on 6175 back on the air from 1443 UT with Quran, around 1500 he news lasted till 1535, then a song followed by news analysis by a proffessor in Baghdad University 1545 I think, followed by another patriotic song praising Saddam. The best way is to get them on LSB 6175 kHz. Thanx to Vlad for spreading the word about this frequency. (TAREK ZEIDAN, http://tarekzeidan.da.ru Cairo, Egypt, Mar 22, hard- core-dx via DXLD) Hi, right now (22 March after 0700 UT) I am listening to 11787 kHz. There is a strong carrier again and a very weak modulation. I heard what could be a revolutionary song, then a short announcement by a man, mentioning Iraq, Saddam, (Basra?), Allah Akhbar and ID "Idha'at (jumhuryya?) al-'Iraq min Baghdad" at 0728:20 UT. You have to use headphones, the modulation is really very weak... but it seems it is getting stronger now at 0735... GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, Czechia, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 0800 UT this morning a strong carrier on the frequency. Sometimes seems to disappear for 1 or 2 seconds ... like a short power cut? The modulation is very weak and more understandable 1 or 2 kHz down, getting stronger between 0830 and 0900 UT. Later the signal became quite irregular with a very strong fading but the modulation is still here! A dxer who speaks Arabic could be a great help. Tnx 73, (Pascal Perriot, Tours, France, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Still hearing Baghdad on 11787. It's 0545 UT Saturday 22/3/2003. Nothing but long live Iraq, long live Saddam Hussien, and patriotic songs. The best thing is to try it on the USB. Only then I could manage to hear what they are saying. Strong carrier with very poor modulation. For how long this one gonna last after what we saw yesterday on the TV screens. Around 1000 rockets targeted Baghdad all night long :( [Later:] Unfortunately, around 1110 UT the transmitter of R. Baghdad was off the air suddenly. Wonder is this coz of the attacks or power saving?? As I speak I watch some live feeds from Baghdad on the satellite of some explosions heard in Baghdad. Was the radio transmitter one of the targets. Will keep you posted. [Later2:] Baghdad went back on the air around 1443 UT on both frquencies, 6175 and 11787. Still poor modulation but at least I could hear Qur`an on 6175. 11787 is having heavy QRM from Sa`udi Arabia on 11785. Glad to have them back on the air. Hopefully I'll be able to make some recordings this time. Yours (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1001SWL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later3:] 11787, Baghdad still coming in here with the same poor modulation; 6175 is now occupied with NHK in Japanese starting 1700 UT. But, I managed to get a CLEAR recording of the introduction of the news with the news headlines in a really neat recording. Sure it'd be a vintage one someday! (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Mar 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Propagation was more or less lousy from Mar 17th til last night (21st). Checked the 11787.04 frequency in past two days/night. But when woke up around 0700 UT today, I noted a strong signal from Baghdad, and also on all other bands again. Audio level checked at 0700, 0800, 0900, and 1000 UT, but was always under threshold. Music and talking parts could be recognized, 'word rags' could be traced like 'Baghdad', 'Iraq' etc., but not pleased to make a high quality recording though. Hot news last night was the coming 'SECOND war in the war' in Kurdish people settlement areas, when the separate Turkish army will enter Northern Iraq, despite the Pentagon is against this decision. That settlement area separated after the Osmanic empire collapse by the British and French WW-I winner in the Sevre peace treaty in 1919. Half of the Kurdish people settle on Armenia, Turkey, Syria, and Iran soil too. Then German government will come under heavy pressure, to stop AWACS airplane service by German Air Force pilots and RADAR technicians, serving on four BOEING 707 planes at Konya in Eastern Turkey. 73 de (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. IRAQ R. Free Iraq noted at the following times and frequencies (MAR 21): 0335-0400* on 7105 (weaker and delayed), 0335-0400* on 7175 (closing with VOA ID in English), *0400-0405 on 7115 (weak) and 9695 (strong), *0500-0505 on 5985 (poor under another station), 1401-1410 on 11835 and 11965 (at same level). Transmissions listed on other frequencies during these times were not heard (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, Drake R8, longwires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. Checking 1566 kHz around 1715 UT I heard Twin River Radio with a speech by a man. The speech was really interesting. He said the following: Well, today or tomorrow you may see the Iraqi are happy with the Americans coming to free them from Saddam. But if they are here to replace him with a clown of their own, and not switching Iraq from a country ruled by dictator into a democratic nation. Like they did with Germany and Japan in the WWII, I swear to ALLAH .....IRAQ WILL BE THEIR GRAVE!!!! A statement like this from a Radio station supposed to be controlled by the CIA sounds Really interesting to me! (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, March 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, It`s Tony Magon from Sydney - still listening to presumed Twin Rivers Radio after 1800 on 1566 - time is now 1706 [1806?] on 22 Mar - Thanks for all the bulletins over the years - they are very informative - Am listening to 1566 via Malmo remote receiver via javaradio. Have now been made redundant as a telephone tech/data tech working for Telstra (Telecom Australia) after 14 odd years. Worked as a marine radio op before that at ZLO ZLB ZLC and VIS (Tony Magon, VK2IC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. PICTURE BULLETIN OF RADIO TIKRIT 1900-2000 GMT 21 MARCH 03 1. Announcer reading a news item, said "Dear Listeners a US army spokesperson said that the actual military operations has now started. This announcement came after the takeoff of the American B52 bombers from an air base in western England. This is the first group of this type of bombers to participate in the war against the Iraqi regime. Sirens were heard in Baghdad and Mosul around 2100 this evening as well as destructive explosions, accompanied by clouds of smoke in the skies of Baghdad." 2. Song. 3. Announcer: "This is Radio Tikrit." 4. Announcement addressing the fighters of the 3rd corps urging them not to let Saddam's cousin "Chemical Ali" [Ali Hasan al-Majid], who was appointed to lead the southern sector, to exit safely. 5. Announcer: "This is Radio Tikrit." 6. Song. 7. Announcement to the 3rd corps officers saying that the war was the only choice to get rid of Saddam. It added: "The allies forces entered your sector of defence and some of your brothers, who came in contact with them left, headed for them and left Saddam. 8. Baghdad song. 9. Announcer: "This is Radio Tikrit" 10. Announcer reading a news item, he said "Dear Listeners a US army spokesperson said that the actual military operations started now. This announcement came after the takeoff of the American B52 bombers from an air base in western England. This is the first group of this type of bombers to participate in the war against the Iraqi regime. Sirens were heard in Baghdad and Mosul around 2100 this evening as well as destructive explosions, accompanied by clouds of smoke in the skies of Baghdad." [The news item was repeated.] 11. Baghdad song. 12. News read by Ibrahim al-Nasir: a. Allies forces advanced and controlled the Faw peninsula, south eastern Iraq, while old Umm-Qasr port had been controlled by the British forces and the new port of Umm-Qasr had been controlled by the US forces. b. US marines killed in a ground clash close to an oil well in southern Iraq. c. Allies tanks crossed the Iraqi desert heading for Baghdad. d. B52 bombers took off from western England today heading for the Gulf. e. Pentagon officials were discussing military strategies to be followed if Saddam opened the dams of Tigris river and flooded the areas between Baghdad and Al-Kut city. f. On Friday, a complex belonging to Qusay was destroyed 24 hours after the allies' attacks. g. UNHCR said today that the exodus of Iraqi refugees was not in big numbers. 13. Announcer: "This is Radio Tikrit." 14. Baghdad song. 15. Announcement for Iraqi people urging them to avoid being in dangerous areas such as the schools and other areas in residential areas where members of the regime were hiding. 15. Baghdad song. 16. Announcement for the Iraqi people urging them to keep calm and if they felt insecure they could go to safe places. 17. Baghdad song. 18. Commentary ridiculing the awards promised by the Iraqi regime to those who would shoot down a plane or missile or kill or arrest an allies soldier. 19. Baghdad song. 20. Announcer: "This is Radio Tikrit." 21. Political analysis: On the scale of the ground war and the advancement of the allies forces. Source: Radio Tikrit in Arabic 1900 gmt 21 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) We been inundated with BBCM reports like this, and also `Media Behaviour` reports in various European, Asian and African countries. We just don`t have time to process them all for DX LISTENING DIGEST, with our suddenly restricted Internet time. There should be more at Media Network, http://www.medianetwork.nl (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. On 21 Mar at 2140 on 9715 Information Radio can be heard with good signal on a clear channel (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, had-core-dx via DXLD) COMMANDO SOLO, OTHER RADIO IN VIDEO http://video.csupomona.edu/streaming/worldlink/worldlink_index.html not[e?] the cd players for broadcasts and the Sony md players on Commando Solo (Lou Josephs, Mar 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TROOPS OPERATE FLYING RADIO STATION Some soldiers on this mission in Iraq are working in a "flying" radio station. It may sound strange, but some troops are providing radio and television programming to people in the Middle East, and they're sending their messages from an airplane loaded down with radio and television equipment. Jackson 03/20/03 http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1191039&nav=2CSfEj7F (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) US PROPAGANDA BEAMED TO FRIEND AND FOE 21.03.2003 3.30pm - by DAVID USBORNE NEW YORK Call it the Airwaves War. The United States is engaged in an effort more comprehensive than ever before to use the power of broadcast to soften its enemy in Iraq and to soothe its population at home. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3251263&thesection=news&thesubsection=world (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. March 21, 2003 Subject: "Silent" Radio Broadcast Dear members of the public, Today between the hours of 13:00 and 15:00 in the afternoon the "silent" radio broadcast on Israel's Reshet Aleph will broadcast a program to let people know to what frequency they need to tune their radio depending on their area.. http://www.idf.il/english/announcements/2003/march/21.stm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** JORDAN. 11690, Radio Jordan, at 1320 UT Mardh 22; SINPO 21221, talk in English. Later, at 1415, SINPO 32222 with pop music (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Drake SW8 with whip antenna only, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan: Extended schedule since Nevruz (New Year = 21/3, or start of war?) now on 4085 til 2200 UT, heard today 22/3 also with English interviews, clips from Bush speeches; booming audio, signal much stronger than for example V. of Liberation of Iraq (4025) Voice of the People of Kudistan: Used to be 4025 in parallel to 4400 til 1800 UT; does anyone know where the 4400 output went in the meantime? (Wolfgang von Poellnitz, Rig: HARRIS RF-550 / RF551 Preselctor, JRC NRD-535D and longwires, Warsaw - Poland, hard-core- dx via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEW / 70 AÑOS EN EL AIRE, written by Pável Granados, published by Editorial Clio in 2000. ISBN 970-663-077-5. 228 pages in total with 800 illustrations. Price M$550.00 (some US$ 50). A gorgeous book using high quality paper (so very heavy). Contents include La XEW en el Cine Olimpia (los inicios, los primeros años de la XEW, etc.). La XEW desde la Calle de Ayuntamiento (la historia técnica, voces fundamentales de XEW, la publicidad radiofónica en la XEW, etc.) and La XEW hoy (la nueva XEW). Very interesting reading and a lot to see. Highly recommended (Librería Radio Nuevo Mundo March 11 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO NZ ASKS GOVERNMENT FOR $2.5M MORE By VERNON SMALL 21.03.2003 Radio New Zealand wants $2.54 million more a year to avoid "cutting into the bone". http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3251155&thesection=news&thesubsection=general (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** NICARAGUA. Thanks to God, I am fairly well, though there are a lot of difficulties with respect to the shortwave transmitter for not having the required power, and now it is more difficult to obtain the spare parts, simply because they do not exist any more in the international market. However, in order to maintain communication for our 385 indigena communities, we have created a society with the objection of improving the communication in the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. We have already elaborated projects to acquire a radio station with sufficient power in shortwave, linkng with another FM station with 2 kW at least. We hope that some international organization would extend us generous hands to materialize the objectives we have planned (Evaristo Mercado P., Director de Radio Miskut [5770], Dec 2, 2002, via Tetsuya Hirahara, ``El Tiempo Hechicero`` DX News, Dec, via Radio Nuevo Mundo March 11 via DXLD) ** PERU. 4890 kHz, Radio Macedonia: Is now already history but the "special preview" you got via email March 11 was the direct cause why this ``mystery`` was solved. When we published the information about "Iglesia Bautista Fe" in Yanahuara, Arequipa the three pastors and the secretary of the church got a lot of telephone calls from several curious DXers from all of the world, among others from me. Due to the many calls they stopped the transmissions with TV-audio from ``Canal 33`` and their Devine Services during 4-5 days". Only non-stop classical music was heard. In Glenn Hauser`s DXLD from March 12 you can find a lot of information about the station. Thanks goes to all who have shown interest for this station: CB/ Christer Brunström, JE/ Jan Edh, TBV/ Tore B. Vik, TK/ Thord Knutsson, TN/ Thomas Nilsson and all members in SWB. Info regarding 4890 you also can find at HCDX and other sites as well (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. RDP Internacional-Rádio Portugal A03 transmission schedule from March 30th to October 25th (all transmissions in Portuguese): UTC kHz kW deg Target Monday to Friday: 0500-0700 15585 100 310 North America 0500-0755 9815 300 45 Europe 0500-0755 9840 100 52 Europe 0645-0800 11850 250 55 Europe 0800-1200 12020 300 45 Europe 0800-1200 11960 100 52 Europe 1000-1200 21830 100 142 Africa 1000-1200 21655 100 215 Brazil-Guinea 1000-1200 21725 100 215 Brazil-Guinea 1200-2300 17575 100 294 North America* 1300-1500 21810 100 81.5 Middle East-India 1600-1900 15445 300 45 Europe+ 1600-1900 15525 100 52 Europe 1600-1900 17650 100 66 Europe 1600-1900 17680 300 144 Africa 1600-1900 21655 100 215 Brazil-Guinea 1600-1900 21800 100 215 Brazil-Guinea 1900-2300 13720 100 52 Europe* 1900-2300 11945 300 144 Africa* 1900-2300 21540 100 261 Venezuela* 1900-2300 21800 100 215 Brazil-Guinea* 2300-0200 9715 100 294 North America 2300-0200 11655 100 310 North America 2300-0200 13700 100 261 Venezuela 2300-0200 13660 100 215 Brazil 2300-0200 15295 300 226 Brazil Saturday and Sundays: 0700-1345 12020 300 45 Europe 0700-1345 13640 100 52 Europe 0700-1655 21830 100 142 Africa 0700-2000 21655 100 215 Brazil-Guinea 0830-1000 11995 250 55 Europe 1200-2000 17575 100 294 North America+ 1200-2000 17615 100 261 Venezuela 1200-2000 21800 100 215 Brazil-Guinea (inactive temporarily) 1400-2000 13770 300 45 Europe 1400-2000 15555 100 52 Europe+ 1700-2000 17680 300 144 Africa 1900-2300 13720 100 52 Europe* 1900-2300 11945 300 144 Africa* 1900-2300 21540 100 261 Venezuela* 2000-2300 21800 100 215 Brazil-Guinea* * Extraordinary transmissions + Extension to 2300 probably Regards (Ramón Vázquez, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON. Re upcoming closure: 1375 is St. Pierre's only mediumwave outlet, and the only station in the world on the frequency. St. Pierre et Miquelon are two tiny islands governed by France, located off the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada. RFO AM outlets worldwide were recently upgraded to 20 kilowatts, including St. Pierre, so this comes as a surprise to many. It's unlikely that broadcasting would be resumed locally (mwcircle.org e-mail via Jim Renfrew, NRC IDXD via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 1521, BSKSA Duba, FEB 25, 0200 - Pre-sign-on blank carrier totally clobbering WWKB, as noted on car radio in Tewksbury, MA. + MAR 1 2038 - Fade-up almost two hours before sunset; bits of Arabic talk and strong het against WGAM daytimer (Mark Connelly, Billerica MA; Drake R8A, 2-feedline Flag antenna, 18-m noise-reduced vertical, Superphaser-2 phasing unit, NRC IDXD via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC GENERAL-MANAGER SAYS HE WON'T QUIT 19/03/2003 16:15:20 | Pacific Beat Stories Staff at Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, have lodged a 28 day notice of strike action, which comes into effect on April 1st http://www.goasiapacific.com/location/pacific/GoAsiaPacificLocationPacStorie_810770.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** TURKEY. 11815, Voice of Turkey, from 1350 March 22 with talk on European Human Rights Commission. DX Corner just after 1400 UT, on March 22 (fortnightly, I believe) Much better than has been usual at 2300 on 6020 and 9655 (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Drake SW8 with whip antenna only, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ? You mean 17815? (gh, DXLD) ** U A E. DUBAI, 13395 [you mean 15395??], UAE Radio, with English news at 1330 UT March 22. Report of the US forces taking control of An Nasiriyah. As during the Gulf War in 1991, they do not seem to expanded their news cast. The brief newscast was followed by usual weather report (a lof of 22 C); then a program on "Arab Centers of Civilization," focusing on Aleppo, Syria. SINPO 44333 on March 22 (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Drake SW8 with whip antenna only, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE? RADIO CONTINENT IN DANGER OF DESTRUCTION The radio station ``Continent`` may be ``physically destroyed,`` according to the station general director, Serhiy Sholokh, who addressed an open letter to the chief of the State Tax Administration [STA], Yuriy Kravchenko, on Thursday. The letter says that rumors are circulating among the managers of the radio station that ``law- enforcement officers are due to break into the newsroom very soon and withdraw all the equipment, cut off the transmitter, dismantle the aerial and block the bank accounts ostensibly for some fiscal offences. It will be clarified later that there was a mistake, and conducting the search was groundless.`` http://eng.for-ua.com/news/2003/03/21/132437.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K. From The BBC: Listeners to the BBC in Africa can expect a new schedule in April aimed at making it easier to find African programmes throughout the week. A new simplified pattern has been devised so that listeners across the continent can tune into our programmes at the same time each day. During the week at 1630 and a new time of 1830 GMT, you can listen to the following programmes: Monday - Fast Track Tuesday - Postmark Africa Wednesday - Africa Live Thursday - Artbeat Friday - Fast Track Africa Live is at the heart of our new schedule and from 4 June it will be broadcast weekly with two live editions every Wednesday. The new schedule makes it possible for interactive debates begun during the 1630 GMT edition of Africa Live to be continued two hours later in the second edition. Friday Fast Track will now run for half an hour and will aim to air your views and opinions on sporting issues ahead of the weekend action. The weekend is the time for comprehensive analysis of the issues shaping the continent. African Perspective takes an in-depth look at selected themes, and This Week and Africa looks back at the stories that have shaped the week. The weekend also offers another chance to hear Artbeat and Postmark Africa. All the programmes can be heard on the net as well (via Mike Terry, March 22, DXLD) ** U S A. 5015.08, unID "American.....Forces" unknown QTH. Was sent as "special preview" around March 15. A very fast reply came from CB/ Christer Brunström. I followed his advice and checked WWRB 5085 kHz. It turned out that it was the same programme was heard on 5085 kHz. Probably a spurious frequency. Thanks a lot, Christer! (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) As I have pointed out numerous times here, it`s a mixing product with their too-close other transmitter on 5050 (gh) ** U S A. OUTRAGEOUS TIMES FOR TALK RADIO By Ellen Goodman The Boston Globe, 3/20/2003 http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/079/oped/Outrageous_times_for_talk_radio+.shtml THIS IS HOW I spent the week before the war: driving across the Florida landscape, locked in the alternate universe of talk radio. I tuned in as an act of professional penance, and I'm sorry now that I didn't take my hands off the wheel to make notes. But I took away lasting memories of propaganda, a souvenir list of fact-free opinions delivered by a cast of angry baritones. Somewhere between Orlando and Tampa, a host spent the morning touting the discovery of an Iraqi drone as the smoking gun in the case against Iraq. Reporters on the scene would describe this drone as a ''weed whacker with wings.'' There was another host, somewhere between Tampa and Fort Myers, who took antiwar women's groups angrily to task on the grounds that the women of Iraq were bitterly oppressed. He didn't seem to know that Iraq -- which surely oppresses both genders -- is a secular state where women are more equal than among our friends the Sa`udis. On the last lap between Fort Myers and Naples, there was the assertion, repeated again and again, that Saddam was somewhere behind the terrorism of Sept. 11. Never mind that the CIA disagrees. The only counternote to the drumbeat of war I heard all weekend was from an elderly peace activist who apparently offered himself as a hapless human shield against the host and listeners who attacked him. On this Orlando station, he couldn't get a fact in edgewise. I am normally protected from talk radio by my day job, but it was no surprise that the hosts were all right wing. That is, by now, a given. Some venture capitalists are trying to start a left-leaning network, but today it's as if one medium has been thoroughly ceded to the right, and in this case prowar, wing. In my car-bound venture, I kept thinking of the old adage, ''Truth is the first casualty of war.'' But this time, truth became a casualty before the first shot was fired. Truth was wounded in the prewar. Half-truth now limps dangerously to the front line. In many ways, talk radio seems to have taken up where yellow journalism left off. It bears the trademark disregard for history, casualness about facts, and a penchant for propaganda. Remember reading about the Spanish-American War in 1898? Publishers like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer built a war constituency and circulation in symbiotic frenzy with headlines like ''The Country Thrilled with War Fever.'' According to legend, William Randolph Hearst sent a telegram to his reporter that said, ''You supply the pictures and I'll supply the war.'' Today newspapers fret over ethics and hire ombudsmen and run correction boxes. The New York Post may blast the French and Germans with the headline ''Axis of Weasel.'' But most of us have a ''one hand'' and ''the other hand'' and often wring them. The old yellow haze has drifted over to the territory of Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. In that territory, the best defense of the right-wing media is an offense against the left-wing media. Facts are as fungible as the word ''infotainment.'' In that talk-war-world, it doesn't matter if the drones are deadly or comic, if the United States is part of a worldwide ''coalition'' or isolated, if the French simply disagree or are ''cheese-eating surrender monkeys.'' Half a truth is good enough. I am not saying that this is Talk Radio's War. It's not. It's this administration's war and will be, like it or not, this country's war. There has been enough reason for knowledgeable people with strong moral sensibilities to disagree about the short-term and long-run gains, about the risks of war and the risks of delay. But talk radio has followed the leader. That leader, George Bush, has openly rejected nuance, embraced simplicity, applied spin when facts weren't enough. He has stayed ''on message,'' unembarrassed to tell us, ''I don't see many shades of gray in this world.'' So too talk radio, a medium that is equally black and white, us and them, good and evil. Talk radio has become the Bush National Radio Network, a support system for the prowar movement. Now we have a war that may change the world, for better or worse. Forty-five percent of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was ''personally involved'' in Sept. 11. The president has linked Iraq to our deepest fears as if that country and not North Korea were already a nuclear rogue. We go into this war carrying the casualties of the prewar season: a kitbag of half-truths. What media is now black and white and yellow all over? Stay tuned. This story ran on page A17 of the Boston Globe on 3/20/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/079/oped/Outrageous_times_for_talk_radio+.shtml (via Dave Fisher, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO BACK TO NEAR NORMAL DESPITE WAR Thu Mar 20, 7:11 PM ET By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. radio operators returned to more normal programming on Thursday with few other than some all-news channels offering uninterrupted coverage of the war in Iraq (news - web sites), a move that relieved pressure on advertising revenues, experts said on Thursday http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=638&ncid=762&e=3&u=/nm/20030321/en_nm/media_radio_war_dc (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. SHORT WAVE RADIOS GOING FAST (Walker, March 21, 2003, 11:00 a.m.) Most of the world gets its news from short wave radios, and now those radios are selling quickly here in the United States. http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1191727&nav=0RceEjg2 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. HOSTAGES TAKEN AT RADIO STATION By SHEILA BURKE, Staff Writer DICKSON, Tenn. — A man with a gun was holding a female acquaintance hostage Thursday night in the studios of WDKN-AM radio station, not far from the square in Dickson, authorities said. http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/03/30513115.shtml?Element_ID=30513115 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** YEMEN. Hello Glenn, Received yesterday a verification from Sana`a Radio 9780. It was a QSL-card and a stencil after 14 weeks for a report with 1 IRC. My previous report from 2001 in conjunction with the Nordic Championships in DX-ing was returned due to suspension of postal deliveries to Yemen at that time (Lennart Weirell, Västerås, Sweden, Mar 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###