DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-091, May 25, 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/dxldtd3e.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 1183: RFPI: Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0730, 1300/1330 on 15039 and/or 7445 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1183h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1183.html MAY DXLD HTML ARCHIVE has been updated through 3-090, eating up a few hours on May 24 when we might have been holidaying or producing a long-overdue Continent of Media... February, March and April are still incomplete. Now you have hotlinks for all the URLs, numerous (but not enough) correxions and cross-references which were not in the individual original txt issues, and a single file for convenience of searching all May issues. http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3e.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ: The past few weeks we could not confirm WOR was still running on 17495-CUSB as well as 7415, Wednesdays at 2200; but on May 21, 17495-CUSB was booming in much better than 7415 for a change, tho 17 faded down quite a bit during the semihour (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL I see you now have yet another DXLD 'posted'. You do make it so easy by having a Plain Text Version available, as this makes it easy to 'Save It' to a Floppy Disk, or to a Set Up Folder on a Hard Disk. I hope, whatever alternatives you may consider in the future, you will at least keep this option. Many Thanks Again (Ken Fletcher, UK) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB Australia is now running 50 kW on its Pacific service; and plans a new program schedule in July. See also ECUADOR (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Voice Int`l Limited, Darwin, 13685, 1133 May 25. Male announcer in English with a world pop music count down. The name of the show was announced as Planet 30. Signal was strong and clean with minor fading events at irregular intervals (Pete Costello NJ, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) I`ve rarely listened, myself, to VI, but from this and other reports I get the impression it is stealthier than most evangelical stations in broadcasting seemingly secular programming. How much preaching do they work into the countdown? (gh, DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 7185, R Bangladesh, 1230-1300, English and other languages; I note slight improvement in the audio quality of this transmitter (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 7230, R. Burkina, Ouagadougou, 0955-1214, May 18, French talks, listeners' program "Concert", then news 1200 followed by "Déjeuner Musical". 25433. Signal gradually decreased after 1000, but was better (!) around 1200. Best received via a K9AY, not via a short, unterminated South American Beverage which also provides good African results above [sic] 10º west longitude (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Quick check of RCI's new frequencies to NAm between 2200 and 0000 UT May 23, 2003: both 6140 and 9590 with SIO 555. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGES) ** CHINA. GREAT NEWS FROM CHINA HUAYI BROADCASTING STATION With great pleasure I'd like to bring you some good news coming from CHBS, China Huayi Broadcasting Station. The first is that I was appointed as regular QSL manager of CHBS, anyone who had sent reception reports to CHBS and have not yet get a QSL response now can get a standard full-data QSL CARD absolutely if you resent your RR to my address: Qiao Xiaoli Fen Jin Xing Cun 3-4-304 Changshu, JiangSu 215500 P. R. China or just email me at 2883752@163.com Return postage, 1 IRC or 1 Euro or 1 dollar would help me get some overseas SWL books, that would be very much appreciated BUT NOT necessary. The second good news is about the Chinese DX programme "Sky of BCL" of CHBS add a midnight schedule, that would be: Every Saturday 0730-0830 UT on 6185 KHz and every Sunday 1600-1700 UT on 6185 KHz Note that CHBS use only 6185 in its Summer schedule and use both 6185 and 4830 in winter schedule. The third one is that CHBS now want official monitors all over the world especially outside the China mainland; anyone who have interest can contact Yuanjia, the programme manager of "Sky of BCL", at chrisyuanjia@sohu.com or snail mail address: Mr. Yuan Jia Club of CHBS P. O. Box 251 FuZhou, Fujian 350001 P. R. China A certificate of official monitor is under designing. Good DX Qiao Xiaoli (dxswl) from SuZhou China 2883752@163.com My email address is: dxswl@21cn.com (May 23, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CHINA. INTERNET CENSORS IN CHINA LOOSENING THEIR GRIP A researcher tracking Internet censorship trends in China says government monitors are allowing more political commentary than they have in the past. . . http://www.ojr.org/ojr/world_reports/1053660077.php (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. When I heard the Chinese accent on 15215 [see TAIWAN] I at first thought it might be CRI so checked 9690, the usual Spain relay frequency, at 0314 May 25 --- but nothing on 9690! A cursory check of 31m did not find it, so I wonder what has happened to it? While I was at it, looked for CRI Spanish Brasil relay on 9665, but only VOR audible there, in English \\ 17565, 17650, 17690 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 9610, R. Congo, 1634-1657*, May 11, Vernacular sports to sudden s/off, clear channel, heard quite regularly here recently, 22332 (Martien Groot, Holland, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** CUBA. I received a very nice letter from the staff of Radio Habana Cuba in February. Among other things, they thanked me for being a listener of over forty years, occasional reception reports submitted and for my support of Arnie Coro's programs. They knew my eleven year old grandson, Brandon, collected stamps from foreign countries and was a short-wave listener. I received a nice QSL card from Radio Habanna and some stamps from Cuba for Brandon. What a nice gesture on their part. Keep up the great work Arnie! I hope to make on air contact with you one of these days again on 20 meters (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, May 23, swl via DXLD) In case you are under the impression that Arnie Coro is apolitical: Item two: May 20th 2003 will be recorded as the day when Cuba was, once again, the object of an intensive radio war event, that violated international radio rules and regulations. A US armed forces EC-130 type Hercules aircraft, especially equipped for psychological warfare operations went up to broadcast TV signals on VHF channel 13, while the plane was flying at about 18,000 feet or 5,500 meters. The TV broadcast was specifically beamed to Cuba from a location above the Florida Keys, and because VHF TV Channel 13 is used by several Cuban television stations, the propaganda broadcast from the EC-130 produced malicious interference to the regular programming of Cuban television networks. A legal analysis of the action shows that it violated several articles of the International Telecommunications Convention's Rules and Regulations, an international agreement of which the United States of America is one of its signatories. The unprecedented action, that was once proposed way back in 1962 to President John F Kennedy, was at that time not approved, considering the fact that it was a very aggressive move... But 41 years later, the broadcast of propaganda type TV programs from a plane flying at high altitude took place. Cuba has denounced the actions, fully documenting to the International Telecommunications Union, all the violations incurred by the Government of the United States of America. At the same time that the unprecedented TV transmissions took place, an also unprecedented increase in short wave frequencies beamed to Cuba for the anti-Cuban Miami based broadcasts, that went up to 24 channels, in what could best be described as a barrage! The anti-Cuban TV broadcasts funded from the United States of America budget started in 1990, and have never [sic] been seen in Cuba, because of the protective actions designed and built by Cuban engineers and technicians, that have proven to be an insurmountable barrier to those aggressive transmissions (Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 24-25, via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODCA via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. FIDEL CASTRO EXIGE A EEUU CUMPLIMIENTO NORMAS RADIODIFUSIÓN El presidente cubano, Fidel Castro, reclamó hoy a los organismos internacionales que "se exija al gobierno de EEUU el cumplimiento de las normas establecidas para la radiodifusión". El líder cubano intervino hoy en el programa de la televisión oficial "Mesa Redonda Informativa" con motivo de la extensión de los programas del Canal Educativo de este medio a todas la capitales provinciales de la isla. Castro se refirió a las trasmisiones el pasado 20 de mayo de las emisoras de radio y televisión "Martí" desde Miami (EEUU), la primera utilizando cuatro nuevas frecuencias, y la segunda, a través de canales también asignados a estaciones de la isla, hecho que afectó las trasmisiones radiales y televisivas cubanas. "No se puede estar exigiendo unilateralmente que un país se ajuste estrictamente a determinadas normas y que otro país haga las fechorías que están haciendo contra nuestro país", afirmó. "Eso es lo que demandamos", recalcó el jefe de Estado cubano, y señaló que Cuba dispone de los equipos con la potencia suficiente para llegar con sus trasmisiones hasta el territorio de Estados Unidos. Castro dijo que esa trasmisiones "no hicieron más que ruido", en referencia a las interferencia aplicadas por especialistas de la isla y señaló que "hacen mal en subestimar a este país, donde hay mucha gente preparada y calificada, no es un país tan indefenso". (EFE 23 de Mayo, 2003 via http://www.UnionRadio.com.ve via Henrik Klemetz, DXLD) Oh come on, Fidel just can`t stand to be contradicted. L`état, c`est lui. ``Cuba --- último territorio esclave en América --- Patria o Suerte, ¡Pensaremos!`` (gh) DECLARACIÓN DEL MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES El pasado 20 de mayo de 2003, el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América llevó a cabo nuevas acciones que constituyen una escalada en la agresión radioelectrónica y televisiva que viene llevando a cabo contra la Revolución Cubana desde hace décadas. La emisora de radio creada y operada por el Gobierno estadounidense con el objetivo de promover la subversión en Cuba, pérfida y ultrajantemente bautizada con el nombre de José Martí, salió ese día al aire utilizando cuatro nuevas frecuencias, hecho que provocó interferencias y afectaciones a las transmisiones radiales cubanas . . . http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2003/05/23/nacional/articulo10.html Tomado de la edición electrónica de "Granma Nacional" fecha 23 de Mayo del 2003 73's (via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Listening to a very good (repaired) 590 transmitter as I type at 1900+ GMT, May 25th. This has been off for many, many weeks. Prior to that, it was for ages running at low mod though always high power as Radio Musical Nacional's flagship transmitter for that national network. However (at least today) it's on with Rebelde, baseball coverage (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing the Cubans could do on MW would compare to what the big broadcasting lobby and the FCC have conspired to do in maximizing co- channel interference (gh, DXLD) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. 6150.7, R. Bayrak, 0318-0334, May 15, UK pop songs by Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Manfred Mann interrupted for NA 0328, then English ID & frequencies, drifting away from Gene Scott [Costa Rica] 6150, 22332 (Martien Groot, Holland, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) See also SINGAPORE ** ECUADOR [and non]. Thanks to many who voiced their support for DXPL, several options were considered in order to keep the program on the air. May not be the best, but provide an alternative in order to keep broadcasting the DX Partyline. The Options are: One: HCJB World Radio Australia has confirmed that they will continue to broadcast DXPL, two releases, one to Asia and one to South Pacific. Two: Several US-based SW stations have offered airtime to keep the DXPL on the air. I`ve just arrived from a conference in Miami and will be following up on these in the next few days. Three: DXPL may be included in the morning release to C&S America, an English broadcast which HCJB will maintain (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) & see AUSTRALIA ** HUNGARY. RADIO BUDAPEST RESTRUCTURING Received a QSL card from Radio Budapest in 512 days for a December 26, 2001 report w/ accompanying letter which stated, "Thank you very much for your letter. We apologise for being so late with our reply. The delay is due to a restructuring at our station. Although, the time and duration of the English language programmes have not changed, for budgetary reasons, we had to suspend the publication of our programme guide, 'Budapest International', as well as the RBSWC DX News for the time being. We hope to launch an updated website soon where you can find the most important information concerning our station. Once it is completed, we will announce the exact address in our programmes." I have received 3 QSL cards for reports after Dec, 2001, the latest report being the first verified. I think someone is going through a pile of mail, starting at the top and working their way toward the bottom (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have given up trying to solicit a QSL from Radio Budapest! None of my reports since early 1997 have been answered - the last QSL from them was for a report of December 1996, which arrived in June 1997! We need to educate the stations I think! (Bob Padula, EDXP ADMIN, May 24, via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. ADVENT TO BUY DANUBIUS RADIO Venture capital group Advent International is to buy 100% of Hungary's leading commercial radio station, Danubius Radio, from British radio group GWR, Advent said yesterday. The transaction, to be financed by Mezzanine Management Central Europe, will be the largest venture capital investment in Hungary this year and will be completed in Q2. It is expected that the contract will be signed in 2 to 3 weeks. A third of Hungarians between 18 and 49 years old tune in to Danubius Radio every week. Last year the radio station generated revenue of Ft 3.5 billion from advertising, giving it a 40% share of the market for radio advertisements and 5%-7% of the country's entire ad market. (Econews; MH 14, Nv 5, Nb 4, Vg 1, NG 5 From 23rd May 2003 http://www.bbj.hu/user/article.asp?ArticleID=178800 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INDIA. I heard the extended service of AIR Hyderabad May 12, 2020- 2030* with a drama programme in Hindi. 33343 QRM from CNR 1. It is the same cyclone which has caused heavy rain damages on Sri Lanka (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) The relay of AIR Patna on shortwave 11620 via Delhi continues. Noted on 25 May at 1600 with local ID "Ye Akashvani Patna he". Good signal here, as usual (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4869.96, RRI Wamena, 2030-2105, May 06, Indonesian pop, IS and ID at 2100 (first log!), clear signal (Jean-Pierre Penaud, France, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) They probably use higher power than the previous 0.3 kW. I also heard very weak signals here on May 09 at 2027-2050, May 10 at *(?) 2020- 2050 and May 11 at 2035-2050 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) This is probably also the station Roland heard: 0930-1255, Apr 30, Bahasa Indonesia, IS, time announcement, local news, 0944 ``Begirnu Negri`` program with South Sea music and Indonesian love songs, no Jakarta news at 1200; from 1255 QRM from SLBC, Sri Lanka fading in. Some days RRI signs off at 1030*. Off the air on Apr 26 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) On the West Coast of North America, I can hear RRI Wamera [sics] from fade in around 1000 (Sunset in Wamera) to around sunrise here at the receiver (~1300). It is now the strongest of the Indos below 5 MHz (RRI Jakarta on 9680 // 11860 and Voice of Indonesia 9524.9 both are stronger, but higher in frequency). Surprisingly, Jambi on 4925 which used to be a powerhouse has dropped down to the strength of the other remaining RRIs. And Wamera is notably stronger than 4890 and 5019.9. Wamera has been running near-continuous music until abruptly going off-air. Only a couple of times have I heard an announcer with a call-in program (music requests). Others have reported mentions of Wamera, but I haven't heard that. And no RRI ID, economic news from Jakarta nor Song of the Coconut Isles - perhaps others have heard these at other times? (Don Nelson, OR, DXplorer via May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. The following regionals were off the air in April 2003: 6070 RRI Jayapura 6153 RRI Biak 7171.3 RRI Serui 7231.1 RRI Fak Fak 7234 RRI Palu 9552.3 RRI Makassar 9680, RRI Jakarta was active in April // 11860 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Martial law chief administrator Major General Endang Suwarya says rebels set fire to a local state broadcasting station in addition to the schools. He ordered his men to shoot arsonists on sight. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s861120.htm (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hi Glenn: Two articles re satellite radio: REALITY MAY BE CATCHING UP WITH SATELLITE RADIO HYPE http://www.thestreet.com/funds/supermodels/10088932.html SIRIUS ROARS BACK AT XM http://forbes.com/2003/05/22/cx_ah_0522tentech.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. IRAN DEMOCRACY ACT Text of the Iran Democracy Act, which appropriates US$50 million to establish an organization called Iran Democracy Foundation that will provide grants to private pro-democratic Iranian-American radio programs and other pro-democratic activities. S. 1082: To provide support for democracy in Iran. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 19, 2003 Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. SANTORUM, and Mr. CAMPBELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To provide support for democracy in Iran. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. IRAN DEMOCRACY ACT. This Act may be cited as the `Iran Democracy Act'. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) There is currently not a democratic government in Iran. Instead, Iran is an ideological dictatorship presided over by an unelected Supreme Leader with limitless veto power, an unelected Expediency Council, and Council of Guardians capable of eviscerating any reforms, and a President elected only after the Council disqualified 234 other candidates for being too liberal, reformist, or secular. (2) The April 2003 report of the Department of State states that Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2002. (3) That report also states that Iran continues to provide funding, safehaven, training, and weapons to known terrorist groups, notably Hizballah, HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (4) Human rights have failed to improve in Iran under the pseudo- reformers. Torture, executions after unfair trials, and censorship of all media remain rampant throughout the country. Stoning and beheading are used as methods of punishment. SEC. 3. POLICY. It is the policy of the United States to-- (1) support transparent, full democracy in Iran; (2) support an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran by which the Iranian people can peacefully change the system of government in Iran; (3) support the aspirations of the Iranian people to live in freedom; and (4) help the Iranian people achieve a free press and build an open, democratic, and free society. SEC. 4. RADIO FARDA REFORM. (a) IN GENERAL- The Broadcasting Board of Governors shall-- (1) require the head of Radio Farda to develop programming for Radio Farda, after consulting with-- (A) Iranian-Americans and other Iranian exiles who-- (i) support a referendum described in section 3(2); and (ii) oppose the current Government of Iran; and (B) the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) at the Department of State and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the Department of State; and (2) ensure that a significant percentage of the programming on Radio Farda is devoted to discussing democratic change in Iran including an internationally-monitored democratic referendum in Iran as described in section 3(2). (b) TRANSLATIONS OF WRITTEN AND VIDEO MATERIALS FOR THE IRANIAN PEOPLE- (1) REQUIREMENT- The MEPI and ECA shall provide grants to appropriate entities to create and maintain websites, translate and distribute books, videos, documents, and other materials on democracy, rule of law free market economics, and related topics. (2) CONSULTATION- The MEPI and ECA shall consult with nongovernmental entities and with Iranian-American opposition groups that support the holding of an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran as described in section 3(2) to select materials to be translated into Persian. (c) IRAN DEMOCRACY SUPPORT INITIATIVE- (1) AUTHORITY- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the MEPI and ECA are authorized to award grants to an eligible entity for the purpose of funding programs and activities to promote a democratic referendum in Iran. (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The following persons are eligible for grants under paragraph (1): (A) A person who provides radio or television broadcasting into Iran that includes programming intended to promote an internationally- monitored democratic referendum in Iran. (B) A person who is working to promote the holding of an internationally-monitored referendum in Iran, as described in section 3(2). (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not less than 10 percent of the funds appropriated to the International Broadcasting Operations account for fiscal year 2004 shall be made available to carry out the provisions of this Act (May 21, 2003 via N. Grace-USA, CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH Iraq Special May 22, 2003 Stations for Iraq - Active stations since the fall of Baghdad Voice of the Liberation of Iraq (Sawt Tahrir al-Iraq) was renamed as Voice of International Coalition for the Liberation of Iraq Radio (Sawt al-Tahaluf al-Duwali li Tahrir al-Iraq) on April 21. It began broadcasting on FM and MW, in addition to SW, from northern Iraq. By May 1 it left the airwaves for good. Radio of the Two Rivers (Wadi al-Rafidayn) still broadcasts. Recorded and produced in Amman. Broadcast from Kuwait via a 50kW Harris transmitter administered by the CIA. Station is tied to the Iraqi National Accord and is considered their "sister" station. al-Mustaqbal (The Future), the mouthpiece for the Iraqi National Accord, also continues its broadcasts. The Accord was offered use of a SOMS-B broadcasting platform by the Pentagon, however, they refused. Programming is fed to the Kuwaiti CIA transmitter via satellite from Amman. Radio Tikrit was renamed Radio Sumer on April 21. Programming format remains the same, however. Only difference is that Sumer broadcasts PSYOP messages aimed at the entire population in support of national unity. There is growing speculation that this is a product contracted out to SAIC here in Washington. Last week an intrepid listener in Cairo heard a glitch in their satellite feed that proves World Radio Network (WRN), a major satellite uplink provider based in London, services their feed. The main reason SAIC is suspected is because the Washington Post Monday revealed that they were contracted for PSYOP products by the Pentagon during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And oddly enough the main announcer on Radio Tikrit/Sumer is the same as the main announcer on the Pentagon's Information Radio broadcasts that were disseminated via Commando Solo. Voice of the Iraqi People (Saudi intel) remains on the air. Information Radio, the Pentagon PSYOP radio station, also remains on the air. Its short wave frequencies have not been heard for a few weeks so it is suspected to have shifted 100% to land-based platforms, including SOMS-B. (SOMS-B are humvees outfitted for broadcasting.) Towards Freedom TV, the CIA's TV channel, left the airwaves last week. It was recorded here in Washington and broadcast for 5/6 hours per day via Commando Solo. Iraq Media Network was launched by the Coalition on April 17 with a station in Umm Qasr called Voice of the New Iraq. Plans are to launch newspapers and television stations. The station and planned network are managed by the Indigenous Media Project, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, is "an offshoot of the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance." (What offshoot is supposed to mean I have no idea.) - Does the US seem to be doing any jamming? The U.S. does not seem to have engaged in any jamming of sorts. Saudi Arabia, however, has jammed broadcasts from Tehran that supported the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Now that SCIRI has shifted off SW to MW it's unlikely the Saudis can effectively block the signals anymore. - Has a Ahmed Chalabi-related station emerged? Good question about Chalabi. The INC was supposed to be given US$4 million back in April to relaunch Radio Hurriah, which at one time broadcast from the CIA Kuwait facility. There was talk in April that they would use SOMS-B on loan from the Pentagon, however, now I am told that they have decided to wait until a government is in place in Baghdad. They will then go through the proper channels to request a license to broadcast legally. - What is Radio Nahran - the UK station down in Basra - like? Radio Nahrain, the British PSYOP station in Basra, broadcast the same type of programming as Information Radio: popular Middle Eastern music and PSYOP announcements. Dave Kernick's site, http://www.intervalsignals.net has a clip of the station. Navigate to the Iraq page and you should be able to quickly find it. As far as I know the station is still on the air (N. Grace, USA, May 13, 2003 answering private questions for CRC, CRW May 23 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. PSYOP: THE LOVE'S NOT MUTUAL The U.S. military is using Metallica and the 'Barney' theme song as instruments of coercion in Iraq --- By Adam Piore, Newsweek Magazine, May 26, 2003 Issue http://www.msnbc.com/news/914527.asp Your parents aren't the only ones who hate your music - some Iraqis hate it, too. U.S. military units have been breaking Saddam supporters with long sessions in which they're forced to listen to heavy-metal and children's songs. "Trust me, it works," says one U.S. operative. The idea, says Sgt. Mark Hadsell, is to break a subject's resistance by annoying that person with what some Iraqis would consider culturally offensive music. The songs that are being played include "Bodies" from the Vin Diesel "XXX" movie soundtrack and Metallica's "Enter Sandman." "These people haven't heard heavy metal before," he explains. "They can't take it." Few people could put up with the sledgehammer riffs of Metallica, and kiddie songs aren't that much easier, especially when selections include the "Sesame Street" theme and some of purple dinosaur Barney's crooning (MSNBC May 26, 2003 via N. Grace-USA for CRW May 25 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE FREE MEDIA IN A FREE-FOR-ALL Iraq's new journalists dream of power - the electrical kind that will keep their computers and their printing presses humming. That's the least they expect from the US-British 'occupation forces'. That and a little safety. Rohan Jayasekera reports from Baghdad. . . http://www.indexonline.org/news/20030523_iraq.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. VOICE OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAQ The SCIRI long supported an overthrow of Saddam's regime without Western involvement. During Saddam's rule, the group broadcast a radio signal into Iraq on a station called the Voice of Islamic Revolution in Iraq. . . http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=24891 (Pakistan Tribune via J.Dybka-USA May 10, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** IRELAND. Re DXLD 3-088: The Gardai are the Irish Republic's Police Service. Probably Gaelic for Guard. 'They certainly were NOT Guarding the Radio Stations concerned in this case, quite the opposite in fact' (Silly Comment from Me) (Ken Fletcher, UK, 1020UTC=1120UTC+1 May 24th 2003, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. ISRAELI OFFICIALS RAID EIGHT PIRATE RADIO STATIONS IN JERUSALEM, SEIZE EQUIPMENT | Text of report by Israel radio on 25 May Police and Communications Ministry staffers raided eight pirate radio stations in Jerusalem at midday [local time]. Four radio operators were detained for interrogation, and transmitters, computers and antennas were confiscated. Most stations are religious and ultra- Orthodox operating in central Jerusalem. Our police affairs correspondent Ran Binyamini notes that some of the stations that were closed today were also closed in a raid over two months ago. Source: Voice of Israel, Jerusalem, in Hebrew 1100 gmt 25 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ITALY. ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION: PREJUDICE AND COMMONPLACES, SAYS GASPARRI (AGI) - Rome, Italy, May 20 - "The issue of electromagnetic radiations is often discussed more because of ideological inspirations rather than scientific reasons and data. There is often confusion and lack of information: for example, many think that the referendum of the 18th June regards mobile phones repeaters, but it only concerns electricity ducts". . . http://tinyurl.com/cn16 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) See also SICILY ** KASHMIR [non]. 5100, Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement, QSL in 97 days. Got a pack of six "SOS from Indian occupied Kashmir" magazines, two grand leaflets, Kashmir viewcards and letter from Islam ud Din But where he/she appreciates listening interest and quotes broadcasting schedule in Kashmiri and English. Address: Islam ud Din But, Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement, P. O. Box 102, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, via Pakistan. For one IRC (Shukrat Rakhmatullayev, Tashkent, Uzbekistasn, Signal via May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2624, Frontiers Soldiers R, Channel 1 (presumed), 1550, May 01, weak. It was not heard 1910 on Apr 29. 3025.5, Frontiers Soldiers R, Channel 2 (presumed), 1910, Apr 29, Korean drama (?). Also heard 1550, May 01, with patriotic songs and talks. 3390.5, PBS, Pyongyang, Apr 29, 1830-1900*, New frequency in Korean, instrumental music, 1900 ID, time announcement and off. 25432. It was heard // 3320 with a late program. Nothing heard on 2850 at that hour (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 15505, R. Kuwait, Sulabiyah (cf. DX-Window no. 219). I monitored that frequency as I promised you. And all the IDs go like this: ``Idhaat Alquraan Alkareem min al Kuwait`` or ``Idhaat Alquraan Alkareem min Dawlat Al Kuwait``, but almost the same... ``the holy Qur`an radio from Kuwait`` or ``the holy Qur`an radio from the ``state`` of Kuwait``. Maybe what you heard at *1000-1500 was a program called ``Adhakaa fil Islam`` (Adhkaa is one of Islam's major beliefs which is giving to the needy people). In Arabic it sounds like the usual ID of ``..Idhaat``. (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, May 08, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LAOS. Sorry folks, External Service has been off the air on 7145 for a time now. Hope they come back soon. 6130, however, continues. Heard OK at 1200 past 1300 (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LATVIA [and non]. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST It's the night of the Eurovision song contest here in Europe, so I've done a quick band scan to see if any stations are relaying the event. So far I've come across Radio Finland doing so on 6120, although they break for news on the hour. Should anyone outside of Europe want to drop in on this international musical and broadcasting curiosity, that's one source. Or visit http://www.eurovision.tv for live feeds (Dan Atkinson, UK, 2016 UT May 24, swprograms via DXLD) Turkey's Sertab Erener won with the song Every Way That I Can, with Belgium in second place and Tatu in third. Erener is one of Turkey's most popular singers, with album sales of over four million. Terry Wogan, who hosted the UK coverage of the event on BBC One, said: "I think the UK is suffering from post-Iraq backlash." Tatu had been the favourite to win the competition all week. They sang Don't Believe, Don't Fear, Don't Ask, a Russian language song, to boos from the 6,000-strong crowd at Riga's Skonto Hall. Despite threats they might take to the stage naked, the pair - Lena Katina and Julia Volkova - sang their song dressed in jeans and white T-shirts. They had already been warned by contest organisers about being late for rehearsals, and that their stage performance could not contravene the show's strict guidelines. Under Eurovision rules, voters in each of the countries could ring or text their votes for any country other than their own. Bosnia- Hercegovina and Russia used jury votes because of their countries' poor telecommunications. Ireland's Mickey Joe Harte was the third performer of the night with his song We've Got the World Tonight, after Iceland's Birgitta and Austria's outlandish cabaret performer Alf Poier. A poll on the official Eurovision website asking the public which act they thought their country would vote for had Spain's entry, Beth, in top place on Friday. Tatu were in second and Turkey in third. 'Unique event' The contest, held at Riga's 6,000-capacity Skonto Hall, was the biggest indoor concert held in Latvia's history. The country of 2.4 million people hailed the show, which was due to be watched by more than 160 million people, as a unique event. "It's important for us as a small country to prove we can do something like this," said Solvita Vevere, a spokeswoman from Latvia's Eurovision organising committee. Latvia paid half of the $11m (£6.9m) needed to run the event. Millions more were spent on the city, including a full renovation of the Skonto Hall. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/2932760.stm Published: 2003/05/24 22:36:48 GMT © BBC MMIII (via Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD) I listened to the middle hour or so on BBCR2; fine reception. The BBC commentator was putting everyone down, tsk tsk. Made the mistake of looking for video feed at http://www.eurovision.com which was a dead end, instead of .tv (Glenn Hauser, swprograms via DXLD) The BBC Radio 2 presenter was Ken Bruce. Terry Wogan does the commentary for BBC 1, and has done so for over 30 years. Organisers of the event fear Wogan's criticisms, whereas British audiences find his witty commentary a main reason to watch Eurovision, as illustrated in this article written before the Estonian Eurovision in 2002: http://www.balticsww.com/eurovision_terry_wogan.htm Great Britain's rather flatly sung entry came last for the first time. The voting is still highly politicised, even though songs are now rated by audience phone voting instead of a jury. The songwriter of the British entry in part blamed the war and continental Europe's opposition to it for Britain's "nill points", whereas Turkey's stance of not allowing it's country to be used as a staging post (and admittedly somewhat better song) took the day at the Eurovision. Nevertheless Wogan admitted that in all his years of hosting the show he'd never correctly picked the winner (he had some money on Spain this time). Indeed that Austria's bizarre schlager-fest came so high in the scores emphasises that the gap in musical tastes between Britain and continental Europe is just as wide as in foreign policy :) (Daniel Atkinson, UK, ibid.) BRITS OUT OF TUNE IN EUROPE Last night was the annual extravaganza called the Eurovision Song Contest. 26 countries competed in the live broadcast from Latvia. I tuned in to see the opening sequence (professional interest, you understand) but I got bored after 6 minutes so I mercifully missed the rest of it. Once upon a time, Britain used to do quite well in this event, but not any more. For the first time in the 48 year history of the contest, Britain scored 'nul points.' Apparently, according to those who endured the programme, the British duo Jemini performed badly and sang out of tune. Some would say that symbolises the British attitude to Europe very well. So, humiliation for a nation that for a few years in the 1960's was the pop music capital of the world. How are the mighty fallen! But far more entertaining than the contest was the unsporting reaction of some Brits to the result. Apparently Terry Wogan, who for years has poked fun mercilessly at the event despite being paid a handsome fee by the BBC for commentating on it, blamed the 'Iraq factor'. A guy who phoned BBC Radio 5 Live declared that Europeans were 'just a bunch of clowns.' At that point, I switched off. Now, under the rules introduced a few years ago, countries which do badly have to skip a year to allow others to take their place. And to learn to sing in tune, presumably. Apparently Britain, France and Germany are exempt from this rule because they pay a substantial part of the EBU's budget. So that's fair, is it? By virtue of being big and wealthy you can buy your way into a contest at the expense of smaller and less well-off nations. I don't blame the EBU for this. No doubt the Brits, French and Germans threatened to withdraw funding if they were not exempt. But, while you can buy participation, you can't - as last night demonstrated - buy votes. As it happens - and, to be fair, this had already been announced on Thursday - the rules are changing so that from next year there will be a qualifying round, and a grand final involving 24 countries. That way, says the European Broadcasting Union, 40 countries can take part. So Britain, like all the other countries, will have to go through a qualifying round! What will happen if they don't end up in the top 24? That remains to be seen, unless some other obscure clause has already been inserted in the rules. Terry Wogan always used to make fun of countries that didn't get any points at the contest, and make jokes about it on his BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show the following week. I wonder what he'll do now? I know one thing. There will have been a lot of European broadcasters sniggering over their coffee and croissants this morning. Wogan's frivolous attitude didn't go down well amongst some of his colleagues this side of the North Sea. Last night, he got his just desserts (Andy Sennitt, RN blog May 25 via DXLD) Saw a brief clip on BBC world. The Brit Group really did suck badly, way off key. Interesting that Turkey won and the song was in English What does that tell you (Lou Josephs • 5/25/03; 8:21:19 AM, ibid.) ** LIBERIA. ELCM RADIO VÉRITAS ON NEW SHORTWAVE FREQUENCY Monrovia, May 19 (Conexión-Digital) --- Señor César Pérez Dioses of Peru confirms increasing reports that ELCM Radio Véritas, the FM and shortwave station of the Archdiocese of Monrovia, has been heard internationally on 5470 kHz. ``Our collaborator could not identify it, but it was reported this past May 10th at 7:00 UTC (GMT) with African music and conversations in a language that our collaborator presumed was vernacular to the African continent. He manifested his doubts over this station because he went carefully over the World Radio-TV Handbook 2003 but it did not report this frequency. Undoubtedly it is Radio Veritas, from Liberia, which has been received several times on this frequency and at this time, which was corroborated with its reception by my Brasilian friend Samuel Cassio.`` Another international shortwave listener has since reported to Conexión- Digital of Buenos Aires that it definitely is ELCM on a new shortwave frequency (Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) Not so new ** LIBERIA. 11512.0, Voice of Liberty, Monrovia (tentative), 1715- 1735, May 20, English, gospel songs. QRM 11510, 33433 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. Last two days, the clandestine station [no-namee, 9745 to Iraq] has not appeared anytime between 2100-2200, and may have QSY'd. This leaves tentative Bahrain pretty much in the clear (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, May 25, dxing.info via DXLD) See also UNIDENTIFIED ** MALDIVES. 1449 MW, Voice of Maldives, 0030-1745. English is noted at 1300-1400 starting with news. At 1311 to 1321 Islamic prayers heard (Jacob, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) Also webcast ** MALI. 7284.4, R Mali, Kati, 1013-1200, May 18, French sermon, folk songs. 15332. Was unable to establish its fade out time. // 31 m (good), 25 m (weak & under adjacent QRM from Turkey 11955). (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5973, Myawaddy R. Station seems to be inactive. Is anybody able to hear it? 6570, Defence Forces BC, Taunggyi, 1620-1632*, May 01, Bamar talk mentioning Myanmar, music with female singer, 1631 closing announcement by man and woman mentioning Myanmar again. Best as 34543 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. LEGAL ACTION OVER RADIO NZ JOB ROW --- 24 May 2003 A dispute between Radio New Zealand's controversial chief executive, Sharon Crosbie, and a senior manager has resulted in legal action, the New Zealand Herald reported today. . . http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2497036a11,00.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3355, R Simbu, Kundiawa, 1115-1202*, May 12, back after 7 months absence, Tok Pisin ID, public announcement, international and South Sea music, national anthem 25232. 3905, R New Ireland, Kavieng, regular again since Apr 15 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, Apr 30, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Adán Mur sent me a mail a few minutes ago and sayed me Radio América, Villeta transmits with 600 watts on 19 meters now!! This is the schedule: Estimado Arnaldo: 1480 KHZ - 1 KW - 24 hours, from Ñemby. 1590 KHZ - 0.2 KW - 24 hours from Villeta. 7370 KHZ - 1 KW - 24 hours - from Villeta, with programation from Ñemby. 15185 KHZ - 0.6 KW - 24 hours - from Villeta, programation from Ñemby 73's & 55's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, May 24, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PERU. 4890, R. Macedonia, tuned in 25th May at 0430 off and on through 0600 with organ and romantic instrumental music with SS announcements, only one ID "Macedonia. . . numbre" in this time, fair to good at times for 1 kW, thanks to Paul Ormandy for tip; wish I had brought tape recorder. Outgunned by RFI Gabon from fade in 0445 to 0500* (David Norrie, DXing from Whitford Forest near Auckland, New Zealand using "fence post antenna" and AOR 7030, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9580v, PBS, Marulas, Valenzuela (Metro Manila) has been inactive on this frequency since May 05 (Schulze, May 13) 11885, R. Pilipinas, Tinang, 0200-0330*, May 01, English replacing 11775 (Cf. DX-Window no. 219), but the old ID-tape still announced 12015! Heard // 15120 and 15270 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. Radio Maryja, 12010 kHz, 1500-1600 UT, via Russian relay, 343, religious talk & music by OM in Polish. 24/5/03 (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO MARYJA POLSKA --- Broadcasting in Polish using Russian transmitters in Krasnodar. Valid March 30, 2003—October 26, 2003 HORA UT KHZ 0500-0715 15455 Monday-Saturday 0600-0800 15455 Sunday 1500-1830 12010 Daily 1500-2200* 7380 Daily * This transmission to be dropped September 7, 2003. QTH: Radio Maryja, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 80, 87-100 Torun, Polonia. E-mail: radio@radiomaryja.pl Web: http://www.radiomaryja.pl (Conexión Digital via Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) ** SICILY. 6060/7175/9515, Caltanissetta. RAI has decided that the SW transmitters at Caltanissetta shall no longer be used for domestic broadcasts and they closed down on May 14 (Luigi Cobisi, Peninsular Italy, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. 6150.8, R Singapore, 2248-2309, May 16, English program of western oldies, news 2300. 54432 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) Beware of confusion with CYPRUS TURKISH, q.v. which is also off-frequency in this area (gh) ** SINGAPORE. Right now (1315 UT) I'm listening to one of my long time early morning favorites, "RSI" on 9600. It's in English and appears to be a "Local targeted" program, yet is well heard on the West coast. Lots of popular music in English, they just played a remake of the old Norman Greenbaum tune, "Spirit in the Sky". The first time I ran across this station (again) back in the early to mid 90's they were playing a lot of oldies from the 50's and 60's and it immediately caught my attention. I have some very nice QSL's from them and in years past they've sent nice large colorful calendars, a pad of "post-it" notes with their logo, a pen etc. Anyway, I digress. The station is SINPO 43434 (some co-channel QRM) and scheduled from at 1100-1400 UT. Heard on Yaesu VR-5000 and roof mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical. 73 de (Phil Atchley, KO6BB --- DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, California, May 23, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Hi Glenn, The press release you quoted in DXLD 3-090 is remarkably similar to one published on 12 May 2002. See http://www.somaliawatch.org/archivemar02/020512101.htm I also saw this item on the Web site of IRIN, but something rang a bell and I figured they may have inadvertently picked up a one year old story. On the other hand, I haven't seen any reports that indicate its broadcasts have been received in the past year, so maybe the whole project really has started a year later than planned. 73, (Andy Sennitt, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 7300, SLBC All Asia Vernacular Service has made some changes. They were on 7115 0025-0400, 0800-1600 with 9770 in //. Then A03 season VOA Iranawila also started using 7115 0100-0300 which has been the VOA's A season frequency. SLBC found it difficult to move as they had only 5 crystals for this transmitter: 7115, 7190, 7235, 7300 and 7445. I suggested 7300 as the only alternative and they used it in // but the crystal was off on 7302.75. Finally they managed to repair a frequency synthesizer and use it. So find SLBC 7300 now. All Asia English Service is now on 0025-0400 on 6005, 11905 15745, 1225-1530 on 6005, 11930, 15745. 11930 is badly interfering with VOA. I am trying to get them on 11905 for this slot as well. In mid March I was able to get fair signals on 15745 around 0200 in Wisconsin. I suppose WEWN was in skip. This season anyway WEWN is not there I think (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) Wonder what he was doing in Wisconsin (whilst in US for IBB Monitor meeting and SWL Winterfest) -- visiting Jensen/Dexter? (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 8300. Some words or phrases were missing in this item in DX-Window no. 219. Correct version is: "Naj reported in DXW No. 215, New Star broadcasting station verified with QSL card. Not mention as he reported, it didn't confirm as WHO service of R Taipei International in my case. It verified using R. Taipei International card, but struck out the name of it." (Ishii, Japan, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. RTI encountered on 15215 in English news at 0314 UT May 25, nice signal; it was way ahead (by a second or two) of \\ 9680 WYFR relay, so I guess 15215 be direct; also \\ 5950 WYFR, but after 0316 they were no longer parallel, with one carrying the A program, the other the B program, ``The Groove Zone`` being on 15215 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIMOR LESTE. East Timor back on the air: The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com/ reports that Thor Stefansson, recently 4W6MM -- and known longer term as TF3MM -- is back on the air as 4W3DX from what's now known as the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste-- previously known as East Timor. Stations operating with permission of the UN Temporary Administration of East Timor -- or UNTAET -- were informed recently that their operating permission had expired, but The Daily DX reports that Stefansson apparently has received operating permission from the new authorities in Timor Leste. Stefansson has erected a huge rhombic that's pointed at Europe, although he still has a tribander that he can aim at North America and elsewhere. 4W3DX has been reported on 20 and 15-meter CW at the low end of the band at around 1500 to 1600 UT and at 0100. Stefansson, who's leaving Timor Leste in June, plans to remain active for the next couple of weeks, much of that time on the higher bands. He reports that the rhombic will remain for DXpeditioners after he leaves (The Daily DX via ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. US TV ANCHOR SAYS WESTERN AUDIENCES BEING MISLED ABOUT TURKMENISTAN | Excerpt from report by Turkmen TV on 24 May [Presenter] [Turkmen president] Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy [Nyyazow] the Great today answered questions put by Robert Simon, a prominent journalists from the famous US CBS News TV. [Reporter, over video of Simon and Nyyazow talking each other] For more than 50 years CBS News TV has stood as one of the best media models in the USA with its "60 Minutes" program, known as the country's best newscast. It has a daily audience of over 15m viewers, including the most influential representatives of political and business circles from the USA and other countries as well. [Passage omitted: a number of world leaders have been interviewed by CBS; Robert Simon is known as the best anchor] The conversation between Turkmenistan's president, Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy the Great, and Robert Simon lasted for about two hours and was conducted in a free and open atmosphere during which the sides touched upon various issues. Turkmenistan's president, Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy the Great, answered the questions of the US journalist with the openness characteristic of him. [Passage omitted: Simon quoted as admiring with Turkmenistan's achievements; Simon is then interviewed] [Simon, speaking to camera in English overlaid by Turkmen interpretation] The first thing we have seen upon our arrival here is Asgabat and its people, who are very kind and hospitable. The city of Asgabat is full of various memorials and new construction sites being build to suit present-day requirements. In particular, its streets are clean and safe for walking in. [Passage omitted: more praise of Turkmenistan] I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the detailed answers Turkmenistan's president gave to my questions. For my part, I think that there is a need for more visits by Western media representatives [to Turkmenistan]. During my visit I also realized that there is some misinformation in the west about Turkmenistan. I have also understood that Western countries should be provided with more information about Turkmenistan. As an example, I would like to quote the fact that prior to my visit here I had read that there is a total ban imposed in Turkmenistan on Western music, whereas upon my arrival here I discovered at a local bazaar that audio cassettes are on sale freely, with melodies of numerous Western pop stars. I think, then, that there the Western audience should be provided with true information about Turkmenistan. Thank you very much. Source: Turkmen TV first channel, Asgabat, in Turkmen 1600 gmt 24 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Simon may anchor on occasion, but I think his primary job is reporter. Somehow, I suspect there is more to the story. Don`t recall seeing Simon`s piece on T-stan yet on 60 Minutes which is certainly not a ``newscast``; surely they will deal with the `Great` cult of personality, which could be taken as criticism. Nyyazow [whose spelling is that?] is the State (gh, DXLD) ** U K. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: See LATVIA ** U K. TV ON THE RADIO? IT'S IN THE PICTURE By Clive Akass [21-05] You could be forgiven for feeling confused at news that NTL and London-based Radioscape demonstrated the transmission of TV images to a PDA using a Digital Audio Broadcasting (Dab) signal. TV over radio, digital or not, seems to make about as much sense as flying through mud, but it's not as daft as it sounds. DAB is set to replace analogue radio in the UK as soon as enough of us can be persuaded to buy the receivers. This won't be very soon as, although early models have sold well, the cheapest is still around £100 - 10 times the price of a cheap analogue set. . . (From http://www.vnunet.com/Features/1140700 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Reforming R. Farda to IRAN: q.v. ** U S A. Stepping thru the YB-400 memories at 0606 UT May 24, surprised to hear with good signal on 15725, Arab music, but with some English lyrics --- must be R. Sawa! Sure enough, quickly IDed at 0607. 15725 is memorized because of WRMI, and I see IBB has Sawa on: 15725 0600 1500 VOA MRN2 ARAB MOR 06 083 which overlaps WRMI considerably after 1200, in case interference be noted over here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. National Association of SW Broadcaster currently counts 17 of the 20 private US SW stations as members. Holds an annual meeting in Washington DC the first weekend of May. DRM was one topic this year. It was suggested that each station produce a DRM program each week or in rotation. Time would be leased from existing DRM facility in Canada, Bonaire or Europe, just as an experimental thing as there are very few possible listeners yet. Jeff White will be chairman of the NASB board for one year. At least one representative will attend the HFCC conferences, August in Norway, next February in Dubai. Hope to do publicity among our audience, which are primarily in the areas where major annual DX meetings are held: at Kulpsville, the Mexican national DX meeting, and the EDXC conference; will attend each of these over the next year and present a display with handouts. Associate members in NASB include HCJB. To be a full member, must be FCC licensees in the US. Also transmitter and antenna manufacturing companies, consultancies such as George Jacobs & Associates. See http://www.shortwave.org for the NASB website (Jeff White, interviewed by Allen Graham at a Mexican restaurant in Miami, for DX Partyline May 25, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not including WWCR ** U S A. If WWCR`s plan to use 9475 as a `step-up` frequency in the mornings between 5070 and 12160 for transmitter 3 doesn`t happen, it could be because R. Australia inconveniently happens to be using same, at least 1100-1300 in English, tho not toward us, at 329 degrees, per difficult-to-obtain schedule in 3-071 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Latest logging from Troy, Michigan using the trusty Grundig Satellit 800. AUSTRALIA 9475 Radio Australia 1100-1145 Correspondents' Reports with a wrap up of the weeks events, discussion mostly on Iraq, Middle East and George Bush. SIO of 333 with some jamming present but not loud enough to affect listening and // to 9580 (SIO of 545). Not listed on HFCC, visit to RA website shows this signal is intended for Asia (Joe Miller, 5/25 Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. Can you hear the jamming on 5070 WWCR at night where you are? Just started in the last week or so. In the early morning hours it`s pretty bad here in Atlanta (LOU KF4EON Johnson, May 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last night at 0230, no jamming at all noticed, but the WWCR signal is always extremely strong here. What kind of jamming??? Describe. Are you sure it is deliberate? (Glenn to Lou) Well, it sounds like a bottle banging against something concrete. It is strongest after 0500 here. At first, I thought it was some military, digital communication. But it is repetitive and nonstop. I think WWCR is directional westward [eastward] from Nashville so I am located off a side lobe southeast of them. It is probably coming from Cuba as I am located between Cuba and Nashville. I've heard bubble jamming of WRMI 7385 in the early morning (0500) hours here before during Christian Media Network broadcasts. I can call the FCC monitoring office here in Atlanta (I've called them before about such matters.) The most they can do is give you a bearing as to where its coming from. Enjoy your show (LOU KF4EON, ibid.) I think I know what you mean; that is constantly heard on several other SW frequencies ``the bonker``, but I don`t recall what it is, but it serves some purpose other than jamming. Possibly one of these has moved in too close to 5070? --- which, after all, is in a utility band (gh) ** U S A. Top 40 WABC Reborn - 5/22 - ABC plans to dump the talk format on its NYC blowtorch WABC (770 AM) on Memorial Day to feature music countdown shows from the station's top 40 days in the 1960s and 1970s, with Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Chuck Dunaway, Dan Ingram, Bob Lewis, Howard Hoffman, and Chuck Leonard. The bad news - it'll run from 6 AM to 6 PM [1000-2200 UT], making it hard to hear in the DC/Baltimore area. WABC's signal reaches the region after dark. But you can listen via http://www.wabcradio.com (from http://www.dcrtv.com which by the way is a nice site for radio scuttlebutt in the Mid-Atlantic area.) ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ http://www.musicradio77.com has a five minute real audio preview of WABC Rewound 2003 and a WABC Rewound bulletin board. http://musicradio.computer.net/images/rewoundDemo2003.ram There are also clips from WABC Rewound in 1999 - 2002. There used to be a great website devoted to the top 40 days of CKLW (back when CKLW, on the Windsor shore of the Detroit River, had the greatest ratings in Cleveland) but I believe the webmaster became ill (Joel Rubin, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. STARBOARD EXPLAINS DROPPING ITS PURCHASE OF WJOB HAMMOND Green Bay, May 19 (CRU) --- Sherry Brownrigg, president of Starboard Network, Inc. e-mailed Catholic Radio Update to set the record straight in regard to the report last week about Starboard's backing out of the purchase of WJOB 1230 in Hammond, Indiana. ``Starboard elected to not go ahead with the purchase of WJOB due to the fact that we decided to hold off on our commitment to Spanish language broadcasting. We wanted to concentrate on our English feed, and we simply did not need two stations in that area. We do plan to pursue Spanish language Catholic radio in the future.`` (Catholic Radio Update May 26 via DXLD) ** U S A. As some of you know, Bob Hope is turning 100 years-of-age on May 29, 2003. Many of us were entertained by Mr. Hope, during our time in the Military Service. And others of us might have enjoyed his good cheer from Old Time Radio, and so forth. To show our appreciation, the US Army MARS is asking you to submit a "Happy Birthday" greeting to Bob Hope via the MARSgram service of the US Army MARS. If you would like to extend your birthday greeting to Mr. Bob Hope, I have set up a way for you to submit this free MARSgram via: http://wa.mars.hfradio.org/marsgram/bob.html Send your message, today! 73 de (Tomas, NW7US (AAR0JA/AAM0EWA) Hood, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. As referenced in previous issue: REMARKS BY FCC COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN Before The Media Institute May 20, 2003 ``Big Macs and Big Media: The Decision to Supersize`` This is a great day to speak at The Media Institute. We`re on the eve of the most sweeping and potentially destructive overhaul of the FCC`s media rules in the history of American broadcasting. But I`m not sure we really know what we`re about to unleash. I`m fresh off the trail of media ownership hearings Commissioner Copps and I held across the country – the so-called Magical Mystery Tour. One of our participants, Ben Bagdikian, former dean of the School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, spoke before a packed audience at San Francisco`s City Hall. In 1983, when the first edition of his book The Media Monopoly was released, he wrote that, ``50 corporations dominated most of every mass medium.`` The number then dropped with each new edition – to 29 firms in 1987, 23 in 1990, 14 in 1992 down to 10 in 1997. The 2000 edition found that just six conglomerates were supplying most of America`s media. This trend will only accelerate after June 2nd. In fact, we`re likely to witness a tsunami of mergers – an unprecedented wave of consolidation. When this wave recedes, we`ll find far fewer media companies left standing. Some of you in this room today may be swept away by that wave. But its principal victim may be our democracy. Lou Dobbs` Moneyline last week ran an online poll asking whether ``too few corporations own too many media outlets.`` Now this show`s audience has a high-end demographic. Yet ninety-eight percent said yes – ninety-eight percent. I wonder who the other two percent were? I would guess that one percent were investment bankers salivating at the prospect of getting a piece of the action. After all, during the first month after the 1996 Act, more than $2 billion in radio transactions took place, and I`ve heard a lot more than that are in the wings today. In fact, Merrill Lynch says the ``Gold Rush`` has already begun. Deutsche Bank predicts that hundreds of TV stations will be sold or swapped. And the other one percent of Moneyline viewers? They probably already work for the big media companies that hope to come out on top. That leaves about 100 percent of the general audience – the citizens whose interests the Commission is sworn to protect – opposed to today`s concentration levels, let alone the more powerful media empires to come. That fits with what I witnessed at hearings across the country. Of the hundreds of citizens I heard from, many extremely articulate, not one person stood up to say, ``I want to see even more concentration in our media ownership.`` Not one. And that`s what we see in the comments pouring in to the FCC – virtually none from the public say ``please, let big media companies get bigger – I can`t wait to see what they`ll produce with all those economies of scale.`` The Free Press and the Future of Music recently surveyed about 10,000 citizen comments and found that only 11 people supported relaxing the rules – about 1/10 of one percent. Aside from these 11 people, the only other proponents for further media consolidation appear to be companies in deal-making mode or their advocates. We heard opposition from the NRA to Tom Petty, from Barry Diller to Pearl Jam, from Norman Lear to Ted Turner. Why is this chorus so in tune? Americans instinctively hold a deep hostility to big media. It violates every tenet of a free democratic society to let a handful of powerful companies control our media. FCC proceedings typically generate comment from a handful of affected companies and inside-the-Beltway types. But this one is radically different. Now, we`re getting tens of thousands of comments weekly, which is unprecedented – and nearly all in one direction. More than 137,000 citizens have weighed in so far. I`ve heard the argument, ``What does public outrage matter? The FCC`s got a job to do, spurred on by Congress and the courts, and we can`t make these decisions by popular vote.`` Let me tell you why I believe it matters. The FCC is charged by law to serve the public interest. And the public has zero interest in seeing media conglomerates grow bigger. The public knows instinctively what the FCC is supposed to do – protect them from large entities gaining too much control over critical channels of communication. A majority of five unelected bureaucrats shouldn`t substitute their own judgment – or the judgment of self-interested corporate CEOs – for the protection of the American people. Americans take this matter – the media that they watch, listen to and read every day – very personally. That became clear to me as I listened to hundreds of them express profound insights in passionate one- or two-minute statements. In a nutshell, people think further media consolidation will only accelerate trends they already find alarming. They think it will only increase sensationalism, crassness, violence, homogenization and lack of serious news coverage across the public airwaves. Dismissing the public`s views is a recipe for disaster, and it will have consequences we`re already beginning to see. We have in our hands a lit match, and we`re moving closer to a powder keg of public anger that may be about to explode. Could that explain why the Commission shied away from floating specific proposals for public comment? We can predict the outcome: the public outcry would be deafening. To borrow an image from a recent speech by the Chairman, in this case the penguins aren`t just swimming, they`re screeching loudly. And it`s tough to sneak a smelly dead fish past a bunch of angry penguins. People always notice what happens to their media, even if they don`t always know why. Many will notice the results from relaxing the rules whether or not they complained in advance. So what kind of backlash might result if the FCC pushes this too far? One of my neighbors stopped me this weekend and asked if I had any part in this media debate. He wanted to know if the ``fix is in`` for even greater consolidation. He concluded, ``well, if you can`t do anything to stop it, you`d better regulate the hell out of the few left standing.`` One very possible backlash is that the public may someday soon demand more intrusive content regulation or a return to the prescriptive solutions of the past. Most people agree with my view that content- neutral structural regulation is highly preferable to content regulation. But if the FCC whittles away the last vestiges of structural regulation, pressure for more intrusive regulation may boil over, threatening the First Amendment values The Media Institute holds so dear. We`re already hearing a growing refrain for media reform from people upset by the content of today`s programming – by the rampant bad taste, sensationalism, sex, violence and lack of positive family programming on TV; by the explicit language and homogenization on the radio dial; by the stories not being covered in the news media, particularly when the media`s corporate self-interests are at stake – which we have seen in this very proceeding. People all over, not just in Minot, North Dakota, have drawn a direct link between consolidation, with its absentee ownership, and the failure to meet the needs of local communities. So I caution those seeking further consolidation, including many of you in this room: use any increased efficiencies you may gain wisely. For if not, people might very well demand to see in license renewal proceedings or in quarterly reports more specific evidence of how owners are meeting the needs of local communities. They might try to return to a world where license renewals bring an opportunity for others to show how they would serve the public interest better. They might demand ascertainment studies or more rigid standards for broadcast decency. They might also seek to force a more balanced perspective of viewpoints on the airwaves or the labeling of corporate cross-promotions. I`m not saying I support these measures, but the public may call for more oversight if they become frustrated by consolidation. Now, I try to remain the eternal optimist, and hold out hope, even as time fades, that extremist proposals can still be moderated. There are yet some ways of moving the match away from the powder keg. Reasoned compromise can diffuse this issue. Rather than allowing massive consolidation, we should take a conservative approach that gradually permits additional mergers we can evaluate before completely unleashing the industry. But hopes fade with time and with setbacks in the opposite direction. Commissioner Copps and I were refused the traditional courtesy we requested of a few more weeks time to seek common ground – and to study more thoroughly the impact of the proposals before we vote on them. And we were denied the opportunity to air the specific proposals publicly, which would have assisted us in avoiding unintended consequences and sustaining the order in court. Despite these setbacks, the Chairman has challenged us to join in a commitment to finding solutions. So today I would like to offer some thoughts on at least some aspects of the issues raised in the proceeding. At the outset, let me say that I cannot support any part of an order that fails to reaffirm the most basic tenet of our 70 years of American broadcast regulation: that in return for the free and exclusive use of valuable and scarce public spectrum, broadcasters have a special obligation to serve the public interest. Nor could I support an order that finds that broadcasters are just another voice in a crowd of ever-expanding and fungible media channels. And I wouldn`t think that broadcasters would cozy up to this ``just another voice`` characterization either. For if broadcasters are no different from cable channels or web sites in the grand media scheme, what`s the basis for the must carry rules and the ``free`` digital television channels broadcasters were awarded? Despite the oft-repeated exhortation that technology has changed everything, a simple fact remains. No technological advances have made it possible for every person who wants to broadcast in a local community to do so. We therefore must reaffirm that the public interest is served by promoting all three of the basic principles that form the foundation of American broadcasting system: localism, diversity, and competition – not just competition alone. First, we must consider how to hold broadcasters accountable to the public for the benefits they claim will result from consolidation. Proponents of relaxing the rules tout efficiencies as justifying newspaper-TV combinations, or TV duopolies and triopolies. So let the buyer disclose upfront what he or she commits to do with those efficiencies. What better programming, particularly locally-originated and oriented programming, will the buyer produce? Will they hire additional reporters to investigate local news stories? What better coverage will result of local events and local artists? Will each entity retain separate editorial discretion, and will the overall editorial budget be increased? How will the owner treat complaints of stories not being covered? Will the broadcaster improve its emergency broadcasting capabilities, or invest in better technology to alert the community to dangerous conditions? Before allowing media companies to expand into traditionally-protected areas, the public should know how it will benefit them. The FCC should then require an annual showing from the consolidated broadcaster that it met its commitments. Were efficiencies channeled into meeting the localism and diversity needs of the community, or did they go straight to the bottom line? The Commission has consistently required broadcasters seeking waivers of ownership rules to make specific, tangible representations of the benefits of consolidation. So given all the benefits claimed in this proceeding, this should be an easy showing for merging parties. And it will allow the FCC and the Congress to make more informed decisions on future levels of concentration. Second, diversity concerns stemming from cross-ownership of a broadcast station with other media outlets like newspapers or cable should be addressed based upon a specific showing of the diverse voices available in individual local markets and the power of the proposed combination to undermine diverse viewpoints. The Supreme Court has said that ``promoting the widespread dissemination of information from a multiplicity of sources`` is of the highest order. So safeguarding diversity should not be subject to abstract diversity scenarios that hypothetical markets of certain sizes may engender. Given diversity`s paramount position in our democracy, it shouldn`t be given short shrift by rules that neither reflect the realities of available viewpoints nor the power of particular combinations. Third, with respect to the national cap, while I clearly prefer to keep the cap at the 35% level that Congress established, in my opinion, the only other number that makes legal and policy sense is 40%, the number the market is at today. Before we increase the national cap, however, we must examine whether UHF stations should continue to retain a 50% discount and whether the increased power of the broadcast networks should be offset by safeguards for the retention of independently-produced content. Both of these issues are inextricably linked to an increase in the cap, and should be considered in further detail before any increase in the national cap takes effect. The UHF discount was put in place to reflect technical limits of the UHF signal in reaching the full audience of a VHF station. Today, however, 85% of the population is receiving broadcast television stations through cable or DBS. If restraints on the ability to reach a full audience have eroded due to cable carriage, so too should the UHF discount. If the whole purpose of this exercise is to update our rules in light of technological developments, we cannot ignore some just because we don`t like the outcome of more stringent limits. Likewise, with the change in the network cap from 25% to 35% and the repeal of the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules and the Prime Time Access Rule, we have seen the near extinction of independent production companies and independent creative entrepreneurs. Whereas 10 years ago, 85% of the programs on television were created and produced by entities independent of the networks, today only 15% to 20% are independently produced. Does network ownership restrain competition and diversity of content production? How have the trends over the past decade affected the diversity of viewpoints from different sources and encouraged competition from small businesses? Without the answers to questions like these in this or a further rulemaking proceeding, it`s difficult to move forward with confidence that we know the full impact of our decisions. I`m not saying I know the final answers. At a minimum, though, we should have well thought out and intellectually-coherent answers to these questions before we raise the network ownership cap. From the outset of broadcasting, policymakers have always understood that localism and diversity are inefficient. If efficiencies were all that mattered, Congress would have told the FCC to give out national or regional broadcast licenses. After all, the most efficient possible structure is for one large company, let`s call it Pravda, to gather the news for everyone. American broadcasting has never been about maximizing bottom-line efficiencies over all else. Going back to 1927, the Federal Radio Commission reported to Congress that it would assign station frequencies to serve as many communities as possible. It specifically sought to prevent New York and Chicago stations from dominating the airwaves. Today our inquiry should not veer off this course. Localism continues to be the core organizational principle of the Commission`s dispersal of valuable spectrum rights. Nothing in the 1996 Act jettisoned this core principle. In fact, the 1996 Act`s legislative history strongly reaffirms localism over efficiencies, saying ``Localism is an expensive value. We believe it is a vitally important value, however, [and] should be preserved and enhanced.`` So to avoid backlash from the public and its representatives, it will be up to many of you in the room today to prove that efficiencies gained by any relaxation of broadcast ownership rules are channeled in the direction of serving local communities and local residents. I often hear from industry sources, ``we`re just giving people what they want. After all, that`s our business. And as we get bigger, we just have more resources and ability to deliver a better quality product.`` This is certainly true to some extent. But let me extend a warning about this. You might call it the ``McDonaldization`` of the American media. McDonald`s spends a lot trying to give people what they want. They only put products out after expensive field testing. Every product is analyzed to satisfy the greatest number of people, even if the local community may have its own unique tastes. Don`t get me wrong, I like McDonald`s, and eat there sometimes. But I don`t eat there every day. And even if I did, I know it wouldn`t be very healthy. The same goes for the media. People also need a balanced media diet – a diverse menu, if you will. But it`s a lot harder to set up a broadcast station than a new restaurant. Any of us with a few resources can open an alternative, say a health food store, right next to a fast food restaurant. But not just anybody can open a TV or radio station. In fact, those are nearly impossible businesses for upstarts to break into, and the barriers to entry may rise even higher after June 2nd. The spectrum can`t support everyone deciding to start their own TV and radio station. Neither cable nor the Internet has changed the huge market power granted by federal license to use scarce broadcast spectrum, particularly when that license comes with the requirement to be carried on cable. If these scarce licenses weren`t valuable, their price wouldn`t continue to skyrocket as they have in recent years. The scarcity of the public`s airwaves is the very reason it`s up to the FCC to ensure a diversity of owners and viewpoints. Fast food chains are welcome to spread as fast as the market will bear. People will always find another place to eat. But they won`t always find a diversity of viewpoints in their media unless we do our jobs. And we won`t be fulfilling our duties if we treat the media like we treat fast food. Unlike typical consumer products, the media produces significant positive and negative externalities. The media is where people receive information and guidance for their democracy and their way of life. A broadcaster is still in some senses a gatekeeper – deciding which issues are important to a community, whether any particular speaker gains access to the airwaves, and how various sides of an issue are presented. So while mass-produced media may be more efficient, it may have disastrous results for our democracy. Put simply, Big Macs and big media don`t have the same repercussions for our communities. And while a person may decide Supersizing their Big Mac meal sounds good in the short term, they may find it leads to damaging results in the long term. I`m afraid that the FCC isn`t only about to further McDonaldize the media – it`s about to Supersize it. Once we place our order on June 2nd, we`ll all have to digest what comes our way. And the public may be about to experience a giant ``Maalox moment.`` I, for one, hope that we take it slowly and avoid indigestion. Thank you, and I would be happy to take a few questions or comments (FCC via DXLD) WHAT THE FCC HAS HEARD SO FAR -- Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page B03 Since last fall, when the Federal Communications Commission asked for "public comment" on its proposed new rules for media ownership, the agency has logged more than 320,000 e-mails, letters and postcards... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33600-2003May23.html 500 CHANNELS, BUT NO CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT WE WANT By Robert J. Thompson, Sunday, May 25, 2003; Page B03 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33609-2003May23.html 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Annandale, VA, DXLD) ** U S A. MOVE OVER, RIGHT WING RADIO - THE LIBERALS ARE COMING by Thom Hartmann Published on Monday, May 19, 2003 by CommonDreams.org NEW YORK - A political explosion happened this weekend in New York, and it may be the big one that gives Karl Rove nightmares. It could mean the end of George W. Bush's seemingly unending ability to tell overt lies to the American people and not get called on them by the American media. At a Saturday talk radio industry event put on by Talkers Magazine, Gabe Hobbs, Clear Channel Radio's vice president of News/Talk/Sports, announced that in the near future this corporate owner of over 1200 radio stations is considering programming some of their talk stations "in markets where there are already one or two stations doing conservative talk" with all-day back-to-back all-liberal talk show hosts. . . http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0519-03.htm (via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) ** U S A. DR. DEMENTO Does anyone know if A) the Dr Demento show is still on the air and B) if it`s audible on any stations in the area (Golden Horseshoe/So Ontario/Western NY) (Fred Waterer, ODXA via DXLD) Yes & no There is an up to date list: http://mypage.iu.edu/~jbmorris/FAQ/stations.html (Brian Smith, ibid.) As of May 19, no less ** U S A. Publicradiofan.com has added some more reading services --- with webcasts, who needs SCA/SCS? Viz.: RAISE AUDIO SERVER Welcome to the RAISE audio server. The Regional Audio Information Service of Asheville, North Carolina, sponsors this audio library of current information. Direct all comments to info@raisewnc.org Please select between Real Audio and Windows Media to listen to the program of your choice. Files are available immediately after broadcast. Real Audio archives Windows Media live stream http://www.raisewnc.org/ THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON EAR: free services for blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled people who cannot effectively read print. http://www.washear.org/ TALKING INFORMATION CENTER, Marshfield MA Turning Print Into Sound http://www.ticnetwork.com/ WCRS - WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS RADIO SERVICE, Akron OH Welcome to the website for WCRS. Written Communications Radio Service broadcasts Newspapers, Magazines and Books over a closed circuit radio frequency for the visually impaired. http://www.wcrsradio.org/ (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette... By Adrian McCoy, Post- Gazette Staff Writer. WEDO-AM's (810) daily Italian radio show "Radio Italia" will go global this weekend. Host Sal Patitucci taped a one- hour show that will air on the Italian network RAI on Saturday. The broadcasts are carried by satellite and shortwave. Patitucci will re- broadcast the show at 11 a.m. Sunday on WEDO. "Radio Italia" airs from 5:05 to 6 p.m. weekdays and at 11 a.m. Sundays. The program features music, news and sports reports from Italy. It has been on the air since 1964 and is one of the area's longest-running ethnic radio programs... http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20030522wedortv7.asp 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. Former military vessel LST-325 taking along ham radio on river cruise: The former tank landing ship LST-325 -- now a museum ship in civilian hands -- will set sail with ham radio aboard on June 3 for a 78-day cruise up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. An all- volunteer crew will handle the vessel, which plans stops at Vicksburg, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Cape Girardeau and St Louis, Missouri; Evansville and Jeffersonville, Indiana; Paducah, Kentucky; Greenville, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana--in that order. Amateur Radio operation using WW2LST/mm will be on all HF bands, with Tom Pendarvis, W0MTP, as the chief operator. Operation on AM and CW using a restored TCS-12 will include 80/75 and 40 meters. The ham station will operate from the Jackson Carter Memorial Radio Room, dedicated to the late Jack Carter, KC6WYX, who made history as WW2LST/mm http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2001/01/10/1/ when he and a crew of volunteers sailed the LST-325 from Crete to Alabama in late 2000. QSL to Bob Wilder, AF2HD, 6032 Idlemoore Ct, Theodore, AL 36582-4117 and include a No 10 SASE to accommodate the special QSL card (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. NARTE registers ham radio net: In association with ARRL, the National Association of Radio Telecommunications Engineers NARTE http://www.narte.org/ headquartered in Medway, Massachusetts, has registered an HF Amateur Radio Net -- The NARTE Net. The NARTE Net will provide a forum for the common interests of ARRL members and NARTE-certified professionals, NARTE said in announcing the net. The NARTE Net meets Saturdays, 1700 UT, and Sundays, 2100, on 18.140 MHz. "The NARTE Net is launched to further the mutual support of ARRL and NARTE in fostering technical awareness, educating and providing credentials to practitioners in amateur and commercial telecommunications," NARTE said. A worldwide, non-profit, professional organization, NARTE certifies professional engineers and technicians in the fields of telecommunications and unlicensed wireless systems installation. The ARRL and NARTE maintain a memorandum of understanding to support areas of mutual interest (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. HAMS WANTED FOR NEW WILDLIFE TRACKING PROJECTS ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, says ham radio assistance is needed for three new wildlife tracking projects. Moell says a biologist at the University of South Florida at Tampa (USF) is studying Florida burrowing owls, thought to range in Florida and the Florida Keys. Some Florida burrowing owl chicks are being radio-tagged, and USF wants volunteers throughout the Southeast to listen for the VHF radio tags in an attempt to determine the owls` routes and final destinations. The second project involves Mexican long-nosed bats. For about a month beginning in mid-June, Bat Conservation International wants volunteers to join a team that will track the bats` movements in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas. Project three involves a study of orphaned great horned owls conducted by the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary and the University of North Texas. After being raised at the sanctuary, up to two dozen of these owls will be released into the wild this summer with radio tags attached. Volunteers are needed to monitor for the radio tags, especially in the Denton and Collin county areas. Moell`s Homing In Web site http://www.homingin.com has details and contact information on all three projects (ARRL Letter May 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) WTFK??? ** VENEZEULA. CAUGHT BETWEEN AN AUTHORITARIAN PRESIDENT AND INTOLERANT MEDIA Reporters Without Borders writes: An April 2003 report says press freedom threatened by a "dictator" and "coup-supporters" in Venezuela. http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=7582 (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. De nuevo hechos violentos sacuden a Venezuela. Durante una concentración pacifica que se realizaba en Catia, Caracas, hubo un tiroteo donde resultaron varias personas heridas y una persona fallecida. La Radio ha informado al momento de todos los acontecimientos. En la página web de Sintonia DX ya hay un sonido incluido en la sección de captaciones recientes sobre estos sucesos lamentables. El audio fue tomado de Unión Radio Caracas via Unión Radio 640 PLC. http://www.angelfire.com/music5/sintoniadx Atte: (José Elías, Venezuela, May 24, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. The following regional stations were heard 1200-1230, May 11: 4798 Son La; 5034.7 // 6165 Dai Tieng Noi Vietnam; 6381 R Lai Chau and 6492.4 Cao Bang. Dai Tieng Noi Vietnam was also heard signing on *2325 in Hmong. 17925, Voice of Vietnam, 0805-0930, May 11, new frequency with Home service heard // 5975, 7210 and 9530. News and reports 0900 in Vietnamese. At 0930 7210 changed to a different program, but the 3 other frequencies continued to be in parallel. At 0930 5925 // 6020 // 9875 carried another program. At 1200-1230 all these brought the same program: 675 MW, 5925, 5975, 6020, 7210, 9530 and 17925 while 9875 was off (17925 is 3rd harmonic of 5975! DSWCI Ed.) At 2300 and onwards the Voice of Vietnam was heard with the same program on 5925, 5975, 6020, 7210 and 9530 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. BROADCASTING SERVICES BANDS GAZETTED --- Herald Reporter GOVERNMENT has gazetted broadcasting services bands following the allocation of the bands to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. . . http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=21332&pubdate=2003-05-24 [and non] MUTARE JOURNALIST REMOVED FROM REMAND STANLEY Karombo, 29, a reporter with SW Radio Africa and a correspondent with the Voice of America (VOA), facing a charge under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), was Tuesday removed from remand by Mutare magistrate, Milton Serima. . . http://allafrica.com/stories/200305230899.html (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. On May 20 I heard the same station [reported on 9745 as LIBYA q.v. by Tarek Zeidan] on 9747.0 at 1845-1932* in Arabic. QRM RAI 9745. 43443 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, May 21 DSWCI DX Window, May 24 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ GOOD NEWS ON THE BPL/PLC FRONT FROM EUROPE Kees Murre, PA2CHM, who's the International Amateur Radio Union liaison for VERON, the IARU member-society in the Netherlands reports that electric utility NUON has ceased efforts to test delivery of Internet service via power line communication (PLC)--what the FCC has dubbed Broadband over Power Line (BPL). "NUON says that it is possible to send an Internet signal through the power line, but at this moment technical limitations stand in the way of large-scale application," Murre said. There's more information on PLC testing in the Netherlands on the ARRL Web site (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ ENCUENTRO DE VERANO DE LAS RADIOS LIBRES 28 JUNIO 2003 Saludos, queridos amigos de las emisoras libres de onda corta. Ha llegado el momento de dar a conocer brevemente sobre la próxima reunión que se celebrará en la frontera Holandesa/Belga en base al éxito que ha tenido la misma en los años anteriores, y al igual que en oportunidades previas, tendremos parrillada, bébidas, diversión y risas; y, esperamos que ustedes también puedan asistir. La razón de este anuncio anticipado es para aquellos que deseen asistir al evento, programen sus tiempos de vacaciones o de trabajo, así como para que nosotros sepamos cuántos van a venir a efectos de tener todo preparado. La reunión será el sábado 28 de Junio y comenzará alrededor de las 1500 hora local [TU +2]; se puede quedar el que lo desee durante esa noche en una carpa (traigan su bolsa de dormir) o en el hotel local de la zona. El lugar exacto del encuentro será anunciado unos pocos días antes de la reunión a todos los interesados que deseen asistir al encuentro, razón por la que le solicitamos nos informe oportunamente por e-mail o por carta. Más informaciones sobre el encuentro de verano, pueden obtener si escriben a: summermeeting@h... [truncated], o por carta a Summermeeting, P. O. Box 2702; NL-6049 ZG Herten; Holanda, o a la direccion de Ytterby en Suecia. Nosotros esperamos que asistan muchos oyentes de onda corta, así como operadores de emisoras piratas al igual que en los años pasados. Las personas que viajen desde lejos, pueden quedarse gratuitamente; sólo les pedimos que nos avisen oportunamente. Saludos, Organización Borderhunter del Encuentro de Verano (SW-Pirates, via Enrique A. Wembagher, Argentina, Conexión Digital May 23 via DXLD) IARU REGIONAL MEETING FALLS VICTIM TO SARS The SARS outbreak in Asia has caused the postponement of the 12th International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 conference http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/ which had been scheduled to be held in Taipei, Taiwan, in September. The Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL) requested the postponement May 18. A new date and venue will be announced at least four months in advance. "On behalf of all Region 3 member-societies and other people concerned, Region 3 directors and the secretary have very much appreciated the preparations to date and the emergency actions taken by the conference preparatory team of the host society CTARL and President Mr. Bolon Lin, BV5AF," said IARU Region 3 Secretary Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB. The postponement also will mean a change in the IARU Administrative Council meeting planned to be held in Taipei September 6-8 (ARRL May 22 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST And now amigos, as always at the end of the program, here is our exclusive and not copyrighted HF propagation update and forecast. Solar flux is hovering around 115 units, and it looks like solar activity will decline during the next several days. A solar coronal hole has caused yet another geomagnetic disturbance that has sent the A index to figures as high as 5 during the past 24 hours. Sporadic E events are likely to happen mostly between 7 am and 11 am local time, and again from about 3 PM to 8 PM local time. Be on the alert for possible double hop sporadic E, as the probability of E skip events increases as we approach the month of June, so chances of two or more sporadic E clouds forming at different geographical locations are most likely at this moment, and that will lead to some interesting double hop DX, typically seen on the 6 meter amateur band (Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited May 24-25, via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODCA via DXLD) ###