DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-098, June 4, 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/dxldtd3f.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 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1185: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1930 on RFPI 15039, 7445 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [from early UT Thu] [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1185.html ** BOLIVIA. 6585 Bolivia, Radio Nueva Esperanza YEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!!!!! I got here in Moscow and even recorded more than one hour of it starting from 0036 up till 0143 June 4, mostly talk station, only one music fragment (choral singing), 0054 YL interview, mentioned ``departamento de salud``, some quick IDs with ``... A-EME (AM) nacional, ... banda internacional``, mix in Aymara and Spanish, mentionedd El Alto (suburb of La Paz where the station is located), Urkupina (local festivity), at 0143 station went on the noise level 'cause of local sunrise (0543 MSK) and carrier was heard till 0146. 23322 when I picked it up, then surely worsened. Yuspayrampa Jila Marcelo Aragaoru Quchapanpata, Diuspargayki Marcelo Aragao weraquchaman Quchapanpamanta, Muchissimas gracias a Sr. Marcelo Aragao de Cochabamba por su primera informacion sobre esta estacion!!! (Artyom Prokhorov, Russia, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CHINA. Mi querido amigo brasileño Celio Romais me cuenta que está desarrollando un proyecto para el sitio en la red del colega Sarmento Campos. Se trata de entrevistas con personas que hablan de la vida y su trabajo en emisoras de radio en ondas cortas. Sarmento Campos lo define como: "A história do rádio por quem a faz". La primera edición estará dedicada a Guilherme Korte, periodista brasileño que trabajó en la Rádio Internacional de China. La entrevista está en el siguiente sitio: http://planeta.terra.com.br/arte/sarmentocampos/HistoriaOndasCurtas.htm o en el portal http://radioescuta.aminharadio.com (Arnaldo Slaen, June 4, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ya ** CHINA [non]. CHINA (CRI) ON MW IN EASTERN EUROPE Dear Glenn, I hope all is well with you and it is quite a while since we were in contact. I just wanted to mention that there have been various DX reports of transmissions of CRI on MW in eastern Europe and I wanted to explain what is going on. Following the success of WRN's transmission of CRI via Luxembourg on 1440 kHz to western Europe we have been carrying out pilot transmissions from sites in eastern Europe. Various times, frequencies and antenna directions are being tried. In a few weeks time, in consultation with CRI, the optimal arrangements will be decided and a regular pattern of use will be established and WRN will then issue a press release. At the moment transmission is in Russian at 1700-1800 UTC on 1548 kHz from Moldova. Regards (Jeff Cohen, World Radio Network, London, June 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Thanks for all your hard work and interesting publications. In case you're not familiar with the Falun Gong persecution in China, please learn more at http://www.faluninfo.net and http://www.clearwisdom.net as well as http://www.falundafa.org Also, an American citizen, Charles Li, was arrested on trumped-up charges when he went to China to visit family for the New Year and is being held in a labor camp: http://www.rescuecharles.org The Chinese tyrant, Jiang, is being sued for Genocide in a Chicago District Federal court. Learn more at: http://www.upholdjustice.org Finally, the Mainland's attempt to impose its will on Hong Kong via the "Article 23" Law is a blatant totalitarian gambit and must be exposed. http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/2/26/32617.html and http://www.article23.org.hk/english/intro.htm This issue seems to have important consequences for Chinese history, culture as well as global human rights and should be more well known! Thanks again! (Gary Pansey, Melbourne, FL, June 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. R. Okapi, Kinshasa, 6030-USB, May 10 at 2210 Afropop/US soul instrumental non-stop music; only two female ID jingles in 30 minutes; SWR [Germany] was absent this night; co-channel jamming to R. Martí from 2305; SIO 353 (Luca Botto Fiora, Rapallo, Italy, Drake R7, Grundig Sat 500, Hitachi KH-WS1, various antennas, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Certainly a rare one, especially on this frequency. Why go to all the trouble to set up the station and network if they are just going to play music? (gh, DXLD) RADIO OKAPI, SEUL MOYEN DE COMMUNICATION DANS L'EST DE LA RDCONGO L'observatoire De L'opinion Dernieres Depeches Culture 3 Juin, 17h16 par Jan HENNOP Sept heures du soir, le jour vient de tomber, et un petit air familier commence `a resonner `a Kindu, petite ville sous controle rebelle dans l'est de la Republique democratique du Congo (RDC). "Okapi, Okapi", chantent les enfants quand l'indicatif de Radio Okapi annonce le programme d'une heure reserve aux nouvelles locales de la zone de Kindu, au bord du fleuve Congo, dans la province de Maniema (centre-est). Pour des millions de Congolais, cette station qui diffuse 24 heures sur 24 est l'unique lien entre le monde exterieur et leur pays ravage par la guerre. . . http://infos.aol.fr/info/ADepeche?id=161680&cat_id=6 (AFP via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Monitoring HCJB this morning on off channel 15114.2 kHz. at 1120, now past 1135 UT. There is no longer any program information for HCJB on the internet, whether from Ecuador or Australia. The DX Partyline site can be accessed directly http://dxpl.hcjb.org/ but it has not been updated in some time (January?). Using Google to try and find the "Morning in the Mountains" web page directly yields a link, but that link loops to the main HCJB site http://www.hcjb.org which provides no information whatsoever about the program. The program I am hearing on 15114.2, now past 1145, does not sound like "Morning in the Mountains". It is a lengthy discussion about one family's ordeal and how faith helped them through it. But I will continue to monitor. [Later:] The program between 1130 and 1200 is "Family Life Today". The 1200 program is "Precept" with Kay Arthur. Her references to the "liberal media", praise for Ann Coulter's diatribe "Scandal" and observations about the Florida election fiasco (the Democrats were at fault for vilifying that poor FL secretary of state) makes me wonder if this is a really a religious program at all or a religious station ministering to Latin America in fact. After all, what do the people of Central and South America (including the missionaries) care about this? This program is also on the HCJB Australia schedule. One has to question why. It's really sad what's happened to HCJB. It's probably best that the founders can no longer hear it. 1215 program is "Proclaim" and 1230 program is "Renewing Your Mind", both more conventional religious teaching programs. All of the programs mentioned over my past three posts are M-F daily programs. So, no sign of "Morning in the Mountains", as we've come to know it. The good news is that signal to (at least my NY location in) NAm are very strong and stable (S9+), so DX Partyline should be easy to hear on Saturday morning at 1230 UT. They'll have to recalibrate the transmitter, though --- signal is still on 15114.2 kHz at this time. (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, Lowe HF-150 stack, A/D sloper antenna oriented west to east, swprograms and DX LISTENING DIGEST) John Figliozzi wrote: ``It's really sad what's happened to HCJB. It's probably best that the founders can no longer hear it.`` Either you are suggesting radio waves cannot penetrate the earth to reach the founders who are down in hell (unlikely given their good works in the 1930's) or that heaven is some sort autocratic fascist regime run by Taliban exiles that does not allow the founders to have shortwave radios. Or are you simply suggesting there is no after life? 8-) Any way you go, you are in trouble. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, ibid.) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ I am only suggesting that they can't hear it. As for the metaphysical reasons supporting or debunking that statement --- I'll leave that for you. :-) (Figliozzi, ibid.) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [nons]. Radio UNMEE heard *1031-1130* June 3rd on 21550, abrupt sign on with lady in vernacular, talks with occasional musical bridges to 1115 when start of English programme announced, this had information on a UN humanatarian conference in Asmara and a children`s party being organised there by the UN, abrupt off mid sentence 1130. Fair to good at first on clear channel though faded down during the broadcast. Is Tuesdays only (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Radio Ethiopia heard on 9704.2 June 3rd 1945-2000*, Horn of Africa music and announcements, closed 2000 after anthem. Weak to fair, used LSB due to Arabic station on 9705 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW email newsletter has started carrying a link to an interesting test, ``Don`t Compromise --- Germanize!`` So if you have `ever wondered what it was like to be a German? There`s no need to wonder any more. Visit today to take a few tests and join the Germanizer club` --- http://www.germanizer.com (Chirs Brand, Communication Webwatch, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Remarks from the SRS Drop Box in Merseburg : All reception reports to Pirate Stations are very welcome, but some reports make it quite difficult for me as the drop box operator. Thus the following remarks seem to be necessary : 1 Please include 'SRS Germany' in the first or second line of the address if you want to send a report to the Merseburg Drop-box ! 2 If you do not know how to use the c/o please do not use it ! SRS Germany c/o Station ABC is nonsense ! The correct way would be Station ABC c/o SRS Germany Postfach 1136 06201 Merseburg Germany 3 Do not use abbreviations, use the station name. E.R. can mean Enjoy Radio or Eldorado Radio, thus I have to open the letter .. 4 If you are not sure about what you heard do send the report to me personally (or ask at first via E-mail) or wait for the next log list and try to find out the station name. 5 Do not send unused stamps unless you are sure you use the correct currency. I keep getting reports for Dutch stations with German stamps as return postage. An address in Germany does not necessarily mean that its a German station. Remark for all those outside the Euro-zone : A common currency in the region does NOT mean that stamps can be used in different Euro countries, too ! 6 Remember to enclose return postage. Several listeners do not include return postage. Several other listeners include only simply return postage. The normal value (in Europe) is 2 times the postage value for a simple letter (means 2 normal stamps) or 1 USD (Now at the moment that the USD is falling down this relation is not valid.) Do not send IRC's for reports inside Europe, that is wasting money. For reports from outside IRC's are a good thing, old and new IRC's are valid in Germany as well as in the Netherlands (even if they sometimes tell something different) 7 Try to avoid sending Euro-Coins as return postage. Since letters undergo a 'treatment' in large 'sorting factories' build by the post these letters that contain sharp things are often destroyed since letter run between several rolls that are pressed together .. If you enclose coins secure them with tape to a sheet of strong paper. 8 Please include good details in your reports. I see many reports that consist of details like 'music announcer address'. If I were the radio station I would not issue a QSL for these reports. 9 If you do not get an answer from a certain station please inform me via E-mail. Stations that do not qsl are not allowed to use the drop box in Merseburg. Yours, Martin from Merseburg Information about Pirate Radio Addresses at my homepage : Pirate R Address List http://listen.to/pwdb (Martin Schöch, Germany, June 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Community radio Date: 2 Jun 2003 05:43:28 -0000 From: "sajan venniyoor" venniyoor@rediffmail.com Subject: all about AIR On Sun, 01 Jun 2003 vincent.dsouza@vsnl.com wrote : This is for the attn of Lakshmi Murthy Assistant Director (Documentation) at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management(MANAGE), Hyderabad. Can you tell us what you pay AIR for that time, is it prime time, what are timings, etc etc. Where wil u produce the progs? Will help to compare/share notres on those ppl who want to tap into AIR time and run CR progs. Dear Vincent, Allow me to intercept your query to Lakshmi Murthy. I am sure Dr. Murthy will give you the exact details of MANAGE's deal with AIR, but I have just written an article on CR for Prasar Bharati's house magazine, DarshanAir and I'll reproduce some of the info I've taken from Dr. H O Srivastava, Chief Engineer and Head of AIR Resources (AIR's technical consultancy wing, which handles the leasing of AIR's transmitters and studios). "Since the campus radio scheme wasn’t finding many takers, AIR Resources looked to other ways to help educational institutions and NGOs get their programmes on air. During the 10th Five Year Plan, AIR was phasing out many of its old Medium Wave and FM transmitters. These decommissioned transmitters, which would normally have been junked, were perfectly serviceable and Prasar Bharati decided to offer them to potential broadcasters - for a price. For 8 hours a day, AIR would run the FM transmitters at half their power rating for anyone (well, almost anyone) who had the software and could pay the asking price of Rs.24.7 lakhs (Rs 2.47 Mn) a year for a 1 kw transmitter or up to Rs 56.7 lakhs (Rs 5.67 Mn) for a 10 kw FM transmitter. AIR, of course, would pick up the bill for electricity, maintenance and other running expenses. The scheme proved so attractive that the FM transmitter at Hyderabad was snapped up almost immediately by MANAGE, the National Institution for Agricultural Extension Management, which is expected to go on air this June. 16 other FM transmitters and nine 1 kw Medium Wave transmitters are in the process of being resurrected for community radio, in places as far apart as Cochin and Chittorgarh, in small towns like Adilabad and in cities like Delhi and Mumbai." As I have explained, the FM transmitters range in power from 5 and 6 kW to 10 kW, but will be run only at half power. The 1 kW transmitters will be run at full power. Dr. Srivastava also tells me that some of the transmitters are already ready for use, but others need refurbishing and may take between 6 months to a year to put back into action. Just to give you an idea, transmitters/studios are available at Vijawada, Kanpur, Bhubaneshwar, Auranagabad, Sholapur, Adilabad, Nagpur, Pune, Jorhat, Surat, Chandigarh, Mysore, Alwar, Kurukshetra, Banaswara and the four Metros. This is not an exhaustive list. As for the cost of running them, AIR is leasing them out for 8 hours a day at the cost of Rs. 24.7 lakhs a year for the 1 kW Medium Wave, Rs. 43.7 lakhs for the 3 kW FM and 56.7 lakhs for the 5 kW FM transmitters (the original power ratings of the FM transmitters are, of course, 5/6 kW and 10 kW). Since 8 hours a day may be more than some NGO's or edu. institutions need, I think the total airtime can be split between two or more groups on a pro rata basis: you'll have to check this with Dr. Srivastava (hariom47@hotmail.com). The timings shouldn't be a problem, since the regular AIR establishments at all these places runs from 6 am till midnight (round the clock in the Metros). Since the best times for listening are supposedly 6am to 10am and 6.pm to 10pm - with another peak in the afternoon - the users may like to split it up that way. I am sure Dr. Srivastava and/or Dr. Lakshmi Murthy of MANAGE could give you a clearer picture of how the scheme actually operates, but this should give you a fair idea of how it works. Incidentally, I am just as curious to know where MANAGE will produce its programmes. Sajan. Via cr-india mailing list cr-india@mail.sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cr-india (via dx_india via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Voice of Indonesia heard at 2005 on 15150 June 3rd, news headlines in English, fair on clear channel (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. ANALYSIS: FREE, PLURALISTIC MEDIA A PRIORITY FOR IRAQ - ATHENS MEETING | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 4 June 2003 An international group of media specialists has drawn up a plan to promote free and pluralistic media in Iraq after three decades of state control and censorship. Iraqi, Arab, European and US delegates meeting in Athens this week issued policy recommendations intended to ensure that media freedom and independence are enshrined in legal and regulatory reforms in post-war Iraq. Speakers at the Athens gathering said they hoped the draft would complement the efforts of the US administration in Baghdad, which has launched locally produced TV and radio broadcasts and two newspapers. Recommendations Internews, a non-profit organization promoting free and open media, coordinated work on the draft policy recommendations. Their proposals include: \ \ National radio and TV should reflect the ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity of all the people of Iraq. \ Incitement of violence or religious or ethnic hatred should have no place in the Iraqi media. \ Iraqi mass media must be protected from interference by government and non-governmental authorities; censorship should be forbidden. \ Broadcasters in Iraq should be required to seek licensing by an independent authority for the purposes of frequency allocation. \ National and regional government broadcasting should be transformed into public service broadcasters, which would enjoy editorial independence. \ There should be no statutory regulation of the print media, although it may be desirable to set up a media complaints commission. Press not yet independent, says USA Robert Reilly, the US administration official in charge of media, said most of the 150 or so newspapers and pamphlets published in Baghdad now could not be termed independent. "They are party publications, publications tied to a particular religious sect... they are not what is being normally understood as free press," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. Reilly added that he would take the draft media law back to Baghdad, but would not comment on the chances of it being adopted. The US civil administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, sacked more than 5,000 staff formerly employed by Iraqi state TV, radio, the Iraqi News Agency and several newspapers, when he abolished the Information Ministry last week. Need to move fast Media analysts point out that Iraqis are a cultured and sophisticated audience who followed news through international broadcasters for decades, despite tight government controls on the flow of information. In the future, they must be able to believe what they are told by their radio, television and press if they are to trust their fellow citizens and their leaders. "The media must become an essential instrument in making the government transparent and accountable, and in generating national debate on the crucial decisions on the rebuilding of Iraq in the years ahead," Internews believes. The organization sees the short-term priority in Iraq as the building of permanent legal foundations for free media, while providing security and protection during the transition from repression to freedom. Full details of the policy recommendations can be seen on the Internews web site: http://www.internews.fr/iraq_media_conference/default.htm Source: BBC Monitoring research 4 Jun 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Baghdad Blogger --- His irreverent web diary became an internet sensation during the war. Now, in the first of his fortnightly Guardian columns, Salam Pax reports on life in the Iraqi capital Salam Pax, Wednesday June 4, 2003 The Guardian (London, UK) .... Although the ministry of information has been broken up and around 2,000 employees given the boot, the media industry, if you can call it that, is doing very well. Beside all the papers we now have a TV channel and radio; they are part of what our American minders have called the Iraqi media network. Some cities have their own local stations and there are two Kurdish TV channels. But the BBC World Service killed in one move a favourite Iraqi pastime: searching for perfect reception. The BBC Arabic service started broadcasting on FM here and it is just not the same when you don't hear the static... URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4683060,00.html (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Galei Zahal, 15780.6, May 11 0756 song by Sting, ads, IDs; frequency variable due to transmitter overheating, SIO 353 (Luca Botto Fiora, Rapallo, Italy, Drake R7, Grundig Sat 500, Hitachi KH-WS1, various antennas, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** KENYA. Presumed Radio Free Africa (no ID), 1386 kHz, heard June 1st 1920-1950 Z, peaking S3 and mixing with Lille. Played some African music, but mostly western pop and rap. First time heard since France Info is on 24 hours. Nothing today (June 3rd), as Lille is too strong. Missed Kenya s/off 1386, but Guinea is fair at present time (2130 Z) on 1385.9. 73 (Wolfgang Seyfried, Bad Wildbad near Stuttgart, Germany AOR 7030+ slooping wire 15 meters, MW DX via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. FRENCH RADIO PLEDGES NOT TO "DROWN" MALAGASY PECULIARITIES IN AFRICAN CONTINENT | Excerpt from report by Malagasy independent newspaper L'Express de Madagascar web site on 4 June Radio France Internationale (RFI) has increased the number of its FM radio transmitters in Madagascar from seven to 10. In addition to the existing transmitters in Antananarivo, Mahajanga [northwestern port], Toliara [southwestern port], Fianarantsoa [souhcentral Madagascar], Toamasina [eastern port], Antsirabe [central Madagascar] and Antsiranana [northern port], three more have been established in Sambava [northeastern port], Nosy Be [islet off northwestern coast] and Tolagnaro [southern port]. The new transmitters were officially inaugurated by an RFI delegation which arrived in the country two days ago. With the three new transmitters, the Big Island [Madagascar] now accommodates 10 per cent of RFI's FM transmitters scattered all over the world. This is certainly not a matter of chance, said Gilles Schneider, head of the delegation and RFI managing director for programmes and information, who spoke straightforwardly about "Malagasy peculiarities" - and "complicity of cultures" which has always existed between Madagascar and France - in a news conference held at Grill du Rova [restaurant, Antananarivo] yesterday. [Passage omitted]. Yesterday's news conference at Grill du Rova was particularly an opportunity for RFI - which had been strongly criticized in the country, especially in the capital, last year at the height of the political crisis - to clarify a number of things. Gilles Schneider emphasized from the outset that "RFI is not the voice of the French government". However, he also admitted that "RFI did experience a credibility problem during the [2002 post-electoral] crisis [in Madagascar]". The crisis, he said, was mainly due to the "slightly stand-offish manner in which we handled our news [about Madagascar], and that was viewed as a taking of stand [in favour of the Didier Ratsiraka camp]". However, RFI, through Mr Schneider, was yesterday anxious to make its mea culpa by acknowledging that it had committed, during the Malagasy crisis, "some blunders and even some mistakes, from which we have learnt a lesson". What lesson? Here is Gilles Schneider's straighforward answer: "Not to drown Malagasy peculiarities in the African continent." [Passage omitted] Source: L'Express de Madagascar web site, Antananarivo, in French 4 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MALAWI. MALAWI BANS NEWS ON COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS Even as Malawi hosts an international conference on promoting community radio in Africa, the government has declared a ban on the broadcasting of news on community stations. Evans Namanja, director general of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, said this contravened the Communications Act. "Maybe they have misinterpretations as to what a community radio is," he said. Namanja said news was meant to be broadcast to the broader public and not target one community. One of the participants in the conference is Soulé Issiaka, manager of the Radio Netherlands Africa Bureau, who says this is a first in his long career. "In my 35 years in radio, I have never come across a radio station that is stopped from airing news,' he said. "News is what concerns people and the role of every community station is to air news that concerns the community they serve." Denis Mzembe, chairman of the National Media Institute of Southern Africa, believes the authorities in Malawi are trying to stifle criticism of the ruling party. He said there was a real effort underway to undermine dissent on the airwaves (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 4 June 2003 via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. R. Pakistan, 7571.05, May 23 2116 relay of domestic service to ME, Pak songs, announcements and talk in Urdu, SIO 433 (Luca Botto Fiora, Rapallo, Italy, Drake R7, Grundig Sat 500, Hitachi KH-WS1, various antennas, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** QATAR. NEW ACTING DIRECTOR NAMED AT AL-JAZEERA The board of directors of Al-Jazeera Satellite TV have appointed news anchor Adnan al-Shareef as the station's acting director. His predecessor, Mohammed Jassem al-Ali, was abruptly removed from his post last week in the wake of allegations that the station had been infltrated by Iraqi Intelligence. Ali, who retains his position on Al- Jazeera's board of directors, denies the allegations. Shareef, 55, started his career at the Qatari Radio and Television Corporation in 1970. He stayed there for 20 years before moving to the BBC Arabic service, and then to the short-lived BBC Arabic television in 1994. He served as head of Al-Jazeera for just a month before prior to launch, but left to rejoin the BBC when he was passed over in favour of Ali. He returned to Al-Jazeera as a news anchor in 2000 (Andy Sennitt, RN Media Network June 3 via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Since 1 May, Romania uses new postal codes with six digits. For a complete list see: http://www.posta-romania.ro and click on English translation (A-DX via Peter Kruse, via Tony Rogers, DX News, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. MOVIE BY SA`UDI WOMAN DEBUTS ON INTERNET Donna Abu-Nasr AP, Published on Saturday, May 31, 2003 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY ALKHOBAR, 31 May 2003 The film is only seven minutes long. It was shot with a video camera, cost $1,000 to make and can only be seen on the Internet. And it is remarkable. Who...? was filmed by Haifaa Al-Mansour in this country, which has no movie industry or even theaters. Haifaa is believed to be the only active female Saudi director. She was inspired to make Who...? by rumors that spread a few months ago in Riyadh and Alkhobar. There were whispers of a serial killer roaming the streets targeting women. The rumors were so strong, officials denied the killers existence in statements carried by local papers. The film shows that people were frightened by something, said Haifaa, who declined to give her age but appears to be in her late 20s. Its their story brought back to them. Who...? was screened last month at a film festival in the United Arab Emirates, where it won a lot of encouragement but no prize. The film was very good. I would have given her a prize because the movie had the potential of being turned into a long feature film, said Mohammed Rida, a movie critic for two Arab dailies who is based in Los Angeles. Who...? begins with this statement: We fear the unknown and yet some of us are without faces, and the question remains: Who? In the opening shot, a woman, played by Haifaa, is having a bad dream in which her sister is being strangled by a man. In the morning, relieved it was only a dream, the woman goes about her daily routine. She sees her son off to school and then goes to the kitchen to chop tomatoes for lunch. The doorbell rings. A beggar cloaked head to toe in a black abaya thrusts a letter into her hand, telling a tale of woe about a sick husband. The woman goes to her room to get some money without closing the door in the beggars face, which would have been considered impolite. When she returns, the beggar is gone. Shrugging her shoulders, the woman returns to the kitchen where the beggar is waiting. The beggar grabs the woman and bangs her head against a table. Screaming, Who? Who? Who? the woman manages to pull down the attackers veil to discover, just before her death, that the assailant is a man. Haifaa said her aim was to show that times have changed in the Kingdom, and that things are often not what they seem. I want people to know that some may use the hijab (veil) in a positive way for virtue while others would use it negatively for criminal purposes, she said. I wanted them to stop and think about it. Society is not as safe as before, she added. People need to be cautious and stop taking their safety for granted. Haifaa, an English-language teacher, had dreamed as a child of making movies. She began Who...? by watching films critically and reading books about film. Then she wrote her script, bought a video camera and enlisted her sister Sara, brother Haroon and nephew Abdul-Aziz as actors. She asked a friend to compose music and another to edit the film all for free. Who...? was filmed in one month. Haifaa shot interiors in the Alkhobar apartment where she lives with her parents and in her brothers apartment. For exteriors, she shot early in the mornings to avoid upsetting people not used to seeing a camera on the street. Haifaa said she would not have been able to make Who...? without the backing of her family. My family never said its a shame to make the film or to have my name made public, said Haifaa. They were very interested in the movie and gave constructive criticism. Haifaa said her only wish was for people to see the movie on the big screen. For the time being, she`s putting the final touches on another seven- minute movie, Bereavement of the Fledgling. Who...? can be viewed at the following url, http://www.haifaa.com/Films.html Copyright (c) 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) FEMALE SAUDI DIRECTOR DEBUTS FILM ON NET Article published May 28, 2003 The film is only seven minutes long. It was shot with a video camera, cost $1,000 to make and can only be seen on the Internet. And it is remarkable. "Who...?" was filmed by Haifaa al-Mansour in this conservative Muslim country, which has no movie industry or even theaters. Some Saudis believe it's against their religion to own TV sets or show images of the human form. Al-Mansour is believed to be the only active female Saudi director. She was inspired to make "Who...?" by rumors that spread a few months ago in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and Khobar, a town in the oil-rich Eastern Province. There were whispers of a serial killer roaming the streets targeting women. The rumors were so strong, officials denied the killer's existence in statements carried by local papers. "The film shows that people were frightened by something," said al-Mansour, who declined to give her age but appears to be in her late 20s. "It's their story brought back to them." "Who...?" was screened last month at a film festival in the United Arab Emirates, where it won a lot of encouragement but no prize. "The film was very good. I would have given her a prize because the movie had the potential of being turned into a long feature film," said Mohammed Rida, a movie critic for two Arab dailies who is based in Los Angeles. "The film is also very exceptional in that it was made by a Saudi woman," added Rida, who lectured at the festival. "Who...?" begins with this statement: "We fear the unknown and yet some of us are without faces, and the question remains: `Who?'" In the opening shot, a woman, played by al-Mansour, is having a bad dream in which her sister is being strangled by a man. In the morning, relieved it was only a dream, the woman goes about her daily routine. She sees her son off to school and then goes to the kitchen to chop tomatoes for lunch. The doorbell rings. A beggar cloaked head to toe in a black abaya - which is how women in Saudi Arabia are required to dress in public - thrusts a letter into her hand, telling a tale of woe about a sick husband. The woman goes to her room to get some money without closing the door in the beggar's face, which would have been considered impolite. When she returns, the beggar is gone. Shrugging her shoulders, the woman returns to the kitchen - where the beggar is waiting. The beggar grabs the woman and bangs her head against a table. Screaming, "Who? Who? Who?" the woman manages to pull down the attacker's veil to discover, just before her death, that the assailant is a man. The ending was shocking partly because in one of the world's most conservative countries, it is rare for anyone to even imply criticism of the requirement that women fully veil themselves. Al-Mansour said her aim was to show that times have changed in the kingdom, and that things are often not what they seem. "I want people to know that some may use the niqab (veil) in a positive way for virtue while others would use it negatively for criminal purposes," she said. "I wanted them to stop and think about it." "Society is not as safe as before," she added. "People need to be cautious and stop taking their safety for granted." Al-Mansour, an English-language teacher, had dreamed as a child of making movies. She began "Who...?" by watching films critically and reading books about film. Then she wrote her script, bought a video camera and enlisted her sister Sara, brother Haroon and nephew Abdul- Aziz as actors. She asked a friend to compose music and another to edit the film - all for free. "Who...?" was filmed in one month. Al-Mansour shot interiors in the Khobar apartment where she lives with her parents and in her brother's apartment. For exteriors, she shot early in the mornings to avoid upsetting people not used to seeing a camera on the street. Al-Mansour said she would not have been able to make "Who...?" without the backing of her family. Women in Saudi Arabia live strict lives. They cannot get an education or a job, travel or even stay at a hotel without permission from a male guardian. "My family never said it's a shame to make the film or to have my name made public," said al-Mansour. "They were very interested in the movie and gave constructive criticism." Al-Mansour said her only wish was for people to see the movie on the big screen. Instead, she had to e-mail it to friends and relatives and posted it on her Web sites with English and French subtitles. "E-mail was not the best medium. It's informal," said al-Mansour. "I wish people had seen it on bigger and official screens." Al-Mansour said it's time things changed for the movie industry in the Persian Gulf, pointing out that even a country as conservative as Iran has a vibrant film industry. "Movies are important. They're entertaining, they carry a message and they document the history of the country," said al-Mansour. Eventually, al-Mansour would like to make a long feature film. But for the time being, she's putting the final touches on another seven-minute movie, "Bereavement of the Fledgling." It's about a young village boy who goes to the city for an education and never returns. --- On the Net: http://www.haifaa.com/Films.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Unfortunately I find no place to play it tho I don`t have Arabic script installed; is it there only? (gh, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. SAUDI ARABIA: AL-ISLAH SATELLITE TRANSMISSION ON HOTBIRD REPORTEDLY TO RESUME SOON | Excerpt from report by London- based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia web site on 4 June The movement [Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia] has learnt from the parties that are following up the issue of Al-Islah TV channel that the French party, which exerted pressure to end the transmission in response to Saudi pressure, has withdrawn fearing a political scandal. The issue now is pending procedural matters that are due to be finalized soon. Several legal and media parties have intervened to inquire about the reasons behind the sudden halt in the transmission. This prompted the party concerned to back away and search for a procedural cover to justify what happened. If everything goes well, the transmission on Hotbird is expected to be resumed within days, God willing. [Passage omitted on Al-Islah transmission on Sesat.] [On 23 May the Movement for Islamic Reform said the French government had put a "block" on Al-Islah TV transmissions via Hotbird and that transmission had been "temporarily transferred to another satellite". The report said: "At the request of the Saudi government, the French government has applied pressure on Eutelsat [Paris-based firm providing transmission service through commercial satellites] to block the transmission of Al-Islah Channel, which was broadcasting on the Eutelsat-owned Hotbird." The broadcasts of Al-Islah TV can also be received via the Sesat satellite at 36 degrees east; transponder: B6; frequency: 11136 MHz polarization: horizontal; symbol rate: 4883; Forward Error Correction, FEC 3/2. ] Source: Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia web site, London, in Arabic 4 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. SAFRICAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION NEWS CHIEF RAPS LIBERAL VIEWS ON MEDIA FREEDOM | Text of report by South African news agency SAPA web site The SA Broadcasting Corporation's (SABC) news programming chairman Thami Mazwai has caused a stir again in parliament by dismissing objectivity in journalism as a "delusion" that simply "does not exist". Addressing the National Assembly's communications committee on Tuesday [3 June], he said South Africa's public broadcaster should not be driven by Western, liberal views on media freedom. "Others on the board may feel different, but as Thami Mazwai I feel that objectivity is a delusion... the notion known as objectivity does not exist." All persons, journalists included, interpreted issues or happenings differently, he said. Mazwai faced heavy criticism from opposition parties, and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), for comments made before the committee in August last year, such as that the SABC could not afford to be driven by old cliches, such as objectivity or the right of the editor. Democratic Alliance communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts said on Tuesday she was even more concerned by Mazwai's latest comments, saying he was clearly linking SABC news to government objectives. Mazwai said all stakeholders, including political, religious and traditional leaders should come together to help define what was seen as the role of the media in the South African context. People from different communities or cultural backgrounds would have very different perceptions of what was right or wrong. "What I will fight against is the view that liberal values must always be imposed on us... we must allow South Africans to determine what is right or wrong for them. "(We should) define what media freedom is instead of us swallowing hook, line and sinker what the role of the media is," he said. Referring to the SABC's draft editorial policy, CEO Peter Matlare said the SABC had no intention of diluting its constitutional independence. While the normal newsroom decisions should and would continue to be taken by journalists, matters of a strategic nature had to be dealt with at a higher level. If the board and management were responsible for the rest of the business of the broadcaster, there was no reason why news, which was critical to the organization, should be excluded. This policy was based on international experiences, and took into account issues of corporate governance and accountability, he said. Opposition parties have criticized the SABC's proposal of a decision- making system of "upward referral", with responsibility for news decisions ultimately lying outside the newsroom. SABC board chairman Vincent Maphai appealed to MPs to allow the corporation time to consolidate after a tumultuous period of change over the last four years. He said it had been difficult for the SABC to define its place when new regulations or legislation were introduce every six to eight months. "It has been very disruptive, the continuous requirements for fundamental re-thinking of what we are doing is not particularly helpful." After trying to establish an identity for its three channels, the broadcaster now had to make further changes to accommodate the planned two new regional channels. Planning for the new channels should be complete by the end of the year, and the SABC should be ready to be "corporatized" by October this year, Maphai said. Source: SAPA news agency web site, Johannesburg, in English 1215 gmt 3 Jun 03 (Via BBCM via DXLD) ** U A E. UAE: THALES INSTALLS 800 KW MEDIUMWAVE TRANSMITTER IN ABU DHABI | Text of press release in English by Thales Broadcast and Multimedia on 4 June Thales [French transmitter manufacturer, formally Thomson-CSF] today [4 June] announces that it has successfully installed an important turnkey radio broadcasting project in Abu Dhabi for Emirates Media Inc (EMI), the foremost news and information media organization in the United Arab Emirates. Working in close collaboration with their local partner Bin Jabr TRS Est and the EMI client team, Thales could hand over the radio station in less than six months following the date of order , which represents a record breaking time for such a complex project. The turnkey radio broadcasting solution for EMI include: 800 kW mediumwave transmitter type S7HP; four-mast directional medium wave antenna system with three switchable antenna patterns (300/0/+60 degrees); new building including access road; mains supply; fresh water supply, etc. The new S7HP transmitters are compatible for future upgrades to digital operation in DRM [Digital Radio Mondial] mode. "Our teams worked hard against the clock," said Willi Tschol, Head of the radio broadcasting activities at Thales Broadcast and Multimedia. "Perfect team work, creative solutions and flexible interface management made this record-breaking time scale possible." The Thales S7HP line of high power transmitters are currently broadcasting daily more than 20m watts of mediumwave or longwave power, while the Thales antenna unit expertise extends to more than 250 high power medium and longwave antenna systems and antenna supporting structures worldwide. The new station is situated only one kilometre away from the existing Dab'iyyah mediumwave station, in service since 1982. This station was already one of the most powerful in the region, with two, one-thousand kW mediumwave transmitters and a four-mast directional antenna system. All equipment was delivered by Thales. Emirates Media Inc are broadcasting services from the new station on 1170 kHz since 8 May 2003. Source: Thales Broadcast and Multimedia press release, Conflans Sainte Hororine, in English 4 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) TFK! ** U K O G B A N I. REPUBLICAN COUNCILLORS WANT RTE TRANSMITTERS IN NO. IRELAND Republican councillors in Co. Down, Northern Ireland, say they're planning to send a letter to the British Secretary of State for Northen Ireland and the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, calling for transmitters of Irish public broadcaster RTE to be installed in South Down. SDLP councillor Peter Fitzpatrick says he hopes the letter will lead to a discussion on the subject at the next intergovernmental conference. Mr Fitzpatrick said many people in the area could not access RTE or the other channels in the south - TG4 and TV3. "There was a commitment made in the Good Friday Agreement on the part of both governments to make TV channels more accessible in the North and South," he said. Another Republican politician, Willie Clarke of Sinn Fein, supports the idea. "I'm sure money could be found for a transmitter to be installed in the north," he said. However, a spokesperson for RTE said there were no RTE transmitters in the north and there was no plan to install one in the near future (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 3 June 2002 via DXLD) ** U K. ANOTHER RADIO VOICE FOREVER SILENCED News has just reached me of the death from cancer, at the age of 74, of the BBC's former Racing Correspondent, Peter Bromley. In a career spanning over 40 years, on both radio and television, Bromley described over 8000 horse races, including some in the United States, and some of his best commentaries were of course heard on BBC WS (PAUL DAVID Chairman, Brent Visually-Handicapped Group Registered Charity No.: 272955, June 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOICE OF AMERICA A History, by Alan L. Heil, Jr., is a new book published by Columbia University Press, 544 pages, 24 photos, $37.50 cloth. 1-800-944-8648 http://columbia.edu/cu/cup (from a display ad in The Channel, AIB, April-May, no ISBN! via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. IBB began test broadcasts in DRM mode June 3. Schedule is: 1200-1400 GMT 15430 kHz 1400-1600 GMT 13605 kHz 1600-1800 GMT 11790 kHz 1800-2000 GMT 9855 kHz All via 50 kW transmitter in Morocco, all carrying Radio Sawa program in Arabic, all beamed 37 degrees (Dan Ferguson, IBB, June 4, SWBC topica list via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. AVOIDING GOVERNMENT MIND CONTROL As you may know, I am a long time listener to WWCR and other stations/programs which detail the facts about government attempts at mind control. I stumbled across this article, and read it between alien abductions. I am sending it to you as a public service. From a personal survival bunker somewhere in So Ontario. Go to: http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html I'm surprised I haven`t seen this advertised for sale by the survivalists. ===== "To those of you who seek lost objects of history, I wish you the best of luck. They're out there, and they're whispering. " (Clive Cussler) (Fred Waterer, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WITH A WHIMPER, NOT A BANG SOMERSET, KEN SHMIDHEISER and JEFF NEAL http://www.somerset-kentucky.com/search.cfm?search=detail&ID=3104 The vocal era of right-wing supremacist Steve Anderson, who once spewed hate and vitriol from his pirate Pulaski County radio station and later ended up in a noisy shoot-out with a Bell County deputy, ended in a whimper Friday. In a plea bargain reached with federal prosecutors, Anderson, 55, of Somerset, entered guilty pleas to: • Unlawful possession of a machine gun; • Using, carrying, brandishing and discharging at firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; • Possession of unregistered firearms. Anderson also agreed to forfeit the unregistered firearms. Anderson`s plea was entered before Eastern District Judge Danny C. Reeves in U.S. District Court in London. Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Reeves at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 12 in London. ``We feel very good that this saga is finally winding down,`` said Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Friday from his Lexington office. ``Throughout the prosecution of this case, we have focused on this man`s possession of illegal weapons, combined with his assault on a police officer in Bell County. ``This is a serious crime and it was treated as such,`` Van Tatenhove added. ``Anytime someone possesses a machine gun, pipe bombs, grenades, other destructive devices, and then shows a willingness to enter into a confrontation like he entered into in Bell County ... you can`t help but conclude that there`s a real propensity to act in a violent manner.`` Anderson`s attorney, David Tapp of Somerset, said Anderson ``was in good spirits`` after Friday`s hearing. ``I think everyone is pretty pleased with the agreement,`` Tapp said. ``I think the government got what it needed, and this is what Steve wanted to agree to. The judge spoke to (Anderson) for 30-40 minutes during the hearing, and it was clear that Steve understood everything involved in the plea agreement. He had no questions.`` Van Tatenhove said he expected Anderson to receive ``at least 10 years`` in prison for his crimes, although he pointed out that ``the sentence was at the discretion of the judge.`` ``We feel that this man will be held accountable for his actions,`` Van Tatenhove said confidently. In exchange for Anderson`s plea, the government did agree to drop one count that would`ve called for a minimum prison sentence of 30 years. Tapp said federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss that count during final sentencing. ``(Anderson) is looking at around 15 years,`` Tapp said. ``And although you can get good time credit in the federal system, he`ll serve at least 85 percent of his time.`` Anderson, who was even too extreme for the Kentucky State Militia—one of the most active groups of its kind in the country— and was kicked out of the organization in April 2001, gained international notoriety for his ``United Patriot Radio`` broadcasts. A proponent of Christian Identity, a racist and anti-Semitic religious sect that teaches that whites (``Aryans``) are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel and are God`s chosen people, while Jews are descendants of Satan and non-whites are soulless ``mud peoples``, Anderson became an extremist among extremists. From a clandestine radio station at his heavily fortified home on Elrod-Martin Road, Anderson filled the short-wave airwaves with inflammatory rhetoric against blacks, Jews and immigrants. He also advocated the use of weapons and violence against law enforcement officers. ``Dead men don`t arrest anyone, dead men don`t kick in doors, dead men don`t prosecute anyone…take care of business….If you`re going to call yourself militia, then be militia,`` he said during a Sept. 2000 broadcast in what was to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. As local and federal lawmen focused their attention on Anderson`s ``compound`` and illegal broadcasts, he became more and more outspoken, at one point threatening a journalist covering his story for this newspaper. Then, on Oct. 14, 2001, as Anderson was returning from a white supremacist gathering in North Carolina, he was pulled over because of a broken taillight by Bell County Sheriff`s Deputy Sheriff Scott Elder. Elder asked Anderson if he had any weapons, at which point Anderson stepped out of his pickup truck and began peppering Elder`s cruiser with gunfire from his semiautomatic assault weapon. Elder`s 17-year-old girlfriend crouched on the cruiser`s floor miraculously escaping injury from more than 20 shots that riddled the vehicle. Elder also escaped uninjured. Anderson, a trained survivalist, fled the scene in his pickup, lost police when he drove his truck onto a rugged unpaved road, and managed to escape into the mountains of eastern Kentucky. When authorities found Anderson`s truck the next day, they discovered six pipe bombs and ammunition in it. A small arsenal of weapons and explosives was discovered during a subsequent search of Anderson`s Elrod compound including a machine gun, two bombs, a silencer, a sawed-off rifle, and 25 other destructive devices, according to Van Tatenhove. For more than a year, Anderson was able to elude capture despite a nationwide manhunt. His luck ran out last November 22. Acting on a tip following a November 2, 2002, episode of ``America`s Most Wanted`` which televised Anderson`s story, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms arrested Anderson without incident in Cherokee, North Carolina. He was returned to Kentucky to face prosecution in federal court. Van Tatenhove told the Commonwealth Journal that Anderson could`ve still faced state charges, such as attempted murder, stemming from the Bell County incident. ``Those types of state charges are not usually forwarded on to federal court,`` Van Tatenhove said. ``There is nothing preventing Karen Blondell (the Commonwealth`s attorney in Bell County) from pursuing state charges against (Anderson).`` However, Blondell said federal prosecutors consulted with her office and Elder, now a police officer in Mercer County, before entering into the plea agreement. Blondell said she would not prosecute Anderson on the state level. ``Both sides talked with (Elder) and he was satisfied with the agreement,`` Tapp added. Elder said he was pleased that Anderson was entering the federal prison system — where there is no parole. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin L. Hatfield, formerly a Somerset attorney. Story created Monday, June 02, 2003 at 12:15 PM (Somerset KY Commonwealth-Journal June 2 via DXLD) ** U S A. STUPID ANCHORMAN TRICKS On Wednesday, June 4, the business TV network CNBC interrupted an interview to switch to Aqabah Jordan for a statement by President Bush about the historic meeting, hosted by Jordan, between the heads of the governments of Palestine, Israel, Jordan and the USA. After a few minutes, Mark Haines interrupted the speaker by saying, "I don't know who that guy is or why he is talking so long but we are going to cut away until President Bush comes on." That guy happened to be the king of Jordan. Duh! Folks wonder why we criticize the international coverage provided by our conglomerate-controlled domestic networks. Haines is not a cub reporter in the NBC system nor new to the trade. He should have known better or found out who "that guy" was before exposing his ignorance of the Middle East. His remark was insulting to not only the king but to the people of Jordan. I return you now to an enlightened shortwave news broadcast which is most likely in progress. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ ** U S A. NETWORK TECHNICIAN CONVICTED FOX ENGINEER STOLE FROM IRAQI PALACE By Jerry Markon, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, June 4, 2003; Page A02 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10525-2003Jun3.html A former Fox News Channel technician pleaded guilty yesterday to smuggling paintings from the palaces of Saddam Hussein when he returned to the United States from covering the war in Iraq. Speaking in a firm voice, Benjamin J. Johnson, 27, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to one count of smuggling. His lawyer, Christopher Amolsch, said Johnson "feels horrible about what happened. It was a poor choice, and he has to live with it for the rest of his life." Federal authorities had listed the charge against Johnson in late April as one of five cases in which paintings, a collection of gold- plated knives and guns and assorted other weapons and artworks were looted from Baghdad and brought into the United States. Four of the five cases involved journalists, including a Boston Herald reporter who was detained at Logan International Airport. Authorities said they seized a painting, a wall decoration and other items from him, but he was not charged. Johnson worked in Iraq as a satellite truck engineer for Fox. He was stopped by Customs Service agents April 17 at Dulles International Airport when he declared $20 worth of cigarettes on his arrival from London. Sweating profusely and with his hands shaking, Johnson was questioned by the agents, according to the complaint filed against him. Agents noticed that he had Iraqi monetary bonds and a box with 12 paintings. Johnson initially said Iraqi citizens had approached him on the street and handed him the paintings, the complaint said. But under questioning, he admitted he had picked up several paintings from a ballroom in a building he described as "the new Presidential Palace" and the rest from the palace of Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son. Fox News Channel has fired Johnson. He faces five years in prison when sentenced Aug. 29, but under his plea agreement is likely to receive probation. A charge of lying to a federal agent was dropped as part of the agreement. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** U S A. THE DEMISE OF ANALOG TV Have you ever laughed so hard you started crying? I felt that way the other night after trying for new DTV catches. After throwing the big switch and calling it a night. It was the contrast between analog and digital DXing. In the courtroom one may have to answer yes or no, but their are a lot of grey areas. All through life their are lots of grey areas. DXing digital is like: there is a signal or there isn`t a signal. Yes or No. But times change and we are supposed to go along with it. I got a computer and trying to learn about it. Like an old dog can learn new tricks. But let me tell you, I for one am going to miss Analog TV. Many a night I spent looking at a weak signal and just trying to log one new station. It was fun. It was a challenge. Many little tricks I learned to enhance DXing. Now the demise of analog TV DXing is like losing a long friendship; it is slipping away in the darkness (Roy Barstow, Cape Cod, WTFDA via DXLD) It's really a kick in the head when you see for yourself that all those channels you *thought* were empty really have dtvs on them. So much has changed. My high band VHF is gone; local DTVs on 10, 11, 12. UHF from 30-40 is one big DTV wasteland. Everything is turned upside down. But we'll adapt, eventually (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, IBID.) Ref Roy's so well stated: "Many little tricks I learned to enhance DXing. Now the demise of analog TV DXing is like, losing a long friendship, it is slipping away in the darkness." ... DVB-T (digital terrestrial) and digital satellite require two sets of computer instructions to work. One is the "software" that is unique to each telecaster and the other is called "firmware" which is the so- called "standard" which all stations use. The firmware has built into it a system of monitoring the number of errors in any given segment of time - such as 1 error (one missing data bit) in say 10,000 data bits. When the data bit "errors" exceed the firmware's pre-programmed threshold point, you have no reception. And in most boxes the screen goes to a blue screen. What is important here is that the firmware determines WHERE this point might be. And the manufacturer who subscribes to the firmware "standard" has adopted that particular firmware "setting" to be in his set top box. Let me make a forecast (I will whether you allow me to do so or not!). Somebody with far more native intelligence than I will work out how to MODIFY the STB (or TV set's) firmware with a new set of instructions, perhaps making the acceptable "error rate" something more like 1 error in 1,000 to still produce a picture - of a sort. The present firmware is VERY consumer conscious - it stops reception when the number of data stream errors exceeds a very small number - in recognition that the AVERAGE consumer would tolerate virtually no "pixelation" before he turns off the TV set. But you (and I) are hardly an AVERAGE consumer when we are chasing DX. We would gladly accept more pixelation if we could reduce the "threshold" of the blue screen switch-on a few more dB. Jim Gould in Indiana and a handful of others have the native intelligence to explore the firmware in STBs and to work out how this "threshold point" can be modified - not for your typical and AVERAGE viewer but for the Roy's of the world. Now that you know it IS possible, all we need is somebody who is smart enough to do something with that knowledge! What follows is a "Coop's Comment" scheduled to appear in SatFACTS Magazine on June 15th. It deals with the satellite world but the points made are equally applicable to DVB-T (American terrestrial digital TV) as well. ... COOP'S COMMENT Bit error rate (BER). The MPEG-2 "standard" establishes 3.456 Mbit/s as the "data rate" for "film/broadcast" television. Programming with a higher rate of motion (a sporting event, for example) has a MPEG-2 "standard" of 4.608 Mbit/s. FEC. Forward Error Correction. For a 36 MHz bandwidth transponder, the total data stream size (# of Mbit/s) is established by the forward error correction (FEC) chosen. If the FEC is 1/2, the maximum symbol rate (the sum of all material carried by the transponder) is 30 Msym/s. If the programmer elects to increase the FEC to 7/8, the maximum symbol (data) load increases to 60 Mbit/s. PanAmSat routinely likes to use higher FECs because this allows them more "data room" in a given transponder width. At FEC 1/2, which equates to 30 Mbit/s, if the programme data stream is 3.456 Mbit/s, the total capacity of the 36 MHz is 30 divided by 3.456 creating 8(.681) programme channels. If the programmer elects FEC 7/8, the maximum number of programme channels at 3.456 Mbit/s per programme channel is 60 divided by 3.456 or 17(.362). However, increased FEC rates require "additional FEC overhead" - Mbit/s set aside to operate the FEC system, so the actual number of Mbit/s available is significantly less (it works out to 48.382 Mbit/s for 7/8 FEC). At FEC 1/2, the original 30 Msym/s is reduced proportionately to 27.647 Mbit/s. Lost? Confused? Stay with me. When we were living in an analogue world, our "threshold" was defined as the point where sparklies (noise) just began to be visible. In the MPEG-2 world, "threshold" is where all reception stops because the receiver's forward error correction is no longer able to cope-with and correct the quantity of data stream errors received. Data stream errors are simply bits of information which "don't fit" the format; think of a wayward data bit as one that tells the receiver it is "a red pixel" in the middle of a sea of blue. The receiver's firmware programming says - "Hey - wait a minute! This is a blue scene - there should not be a 'red' pixel in here" and FEC is told to correct the mutant data bit - back to blue. The firmware "counts" the number of data-bit-errors occurring over a predetermined time span and when there is one too many (i.e. the errors exceed some firmware established 'maximum') the receiver's processor is told to stop working. And you get a full blue screen! Now the important point. It is (computer) programming built into the receiver which establishes the maximum number of errors in a predetermined span of time. Back in the analogue days, when a "pixel" was lost or destroyed by noise or some other contaminant, we had a sparklie. If the picture was truly bad, we had lots of sparklies - but we still had video. As analogue was being phased out some clever folks worked out "threshold extension" systems which took each bad analogue sparklie and reworked it by comparing the sparklie's information to the pixels left, right, above and below. If they were all "blue" then the threshold extension corrected the sparklie and made it blue as well. When you started with a 3 dB C/NR analogue signal (7 to 8 dB C/NR being threshold for no sparklies in a quality analogue receiver), after "correcting" several thousand sparklies the image was - well, washed out. But essentially much better than without threshold extension. So here is a challenge. "Threshold" (resulting in no reception) with digital is established by a set of human-created "written rules" in the processing instructions. Where does it say that we cannot accept a lower grade image, one with pixel errors we can actually "see," that is - digital threshold extension? Can there not be a "threshold defeating program" built into receivers to allow them at user option to accept pixelations of the video rather than the complete turn off of a blue screen? We think there is an "inventive opportunity" here. Analogue "sparklies" were acceptable, terrestrial "snow" was acceptable - why not "digital pixelations?" ... (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, June 4, WTFDA via DXLD) Interesting item. (there is one typo: DVB-T is the *European* (and many other countries) terrestrial digital TV system. It's not used in the U.S. or Canada - we use ATSC.) The specific numbers in the text do not apply to ATSC - the FEC is not adjustable but the assigned program bandwidth is, and to far more than two values. For high definition, figures of 15Mbit/s (or more) are common. But that's just semantics. The premise Bob suggests is a valid one for ATSC TV. Chipmakers are developing new and improved ATSC receiver chipsets as we speak; is it possible they are addressing just this concept? ========================================================== (Bob, can you explain off-list exactly what the FEC numbers mean? I know what FEC *is* but not what a figure of 1/2 or 3/4 etc. signifies.) For what it's worth, the threshold in the WinTV-D is quite low; this card can be convinced to display video in the presence of enough errors to make the picture unrecognizable. (witness the screen capture of Girard's reception of KOTA-DT) Less severe distortion - like macro blocking of half the screen while the other half displays a sensible picture - is not particularly unusual. Unfortunately it looks to me like the WinTV-D's decoder is implemented in the firmware on the card rather than in the software drivers - my impression is that the driver software provided with the card is VERY similar to (if not identical to) that used with their analog-only cards. It does seem to be a growing trend to allow field upgrades to firmware (witness the BIOS in your PC; until the last few years the BIOS was permanently stored in read-only memory and could only be changed by physically changing a chip. Now, you can easily upgrade it in the field.) The downside of this change... ATSC digital TV has a concept called "conditional access". Basically this is the replacement for "scrambling". With CA, the picture is not actually scrambled - rather, a signal is sent that tells your TV to refuse to display the station unless proper conditions are met. As you might imagine, CA is implemented in firmware. Under the DMCA and related legislation, it becomes a serious criminal offense to attempt to circumvent conditional access. Such legislation has been ruthlessly used. Modify your TV's firmware, and if someone finds out, you may end up arguing with a federal prosecutor... (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) I obviously have no idea how DTV DXing will turn out with better technology. Right now, somewhat sarcastically, it seems as if what we need is a super "Text ID" receiver. How narrow is the Text ID bandwidth? Is it at the same freq. for all stations? Would this really be TV DXing? If a few random pixels were on the screen at the same time would this then be TV DXing?? I love analog TV DXing because you can visually see propagation change. Propagation has a lot to do with my interest in DXing. Maybe I'll get into 2 meter and UHF ham DXing instead, having never done it before. Who knows? I know I certainly won't continue TV DXing if and when I no longer enjoy it (Jeff Kadet, IL, ibid.) ** U S A. THE IBOC SYSTEM - FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE Barry Fox, of http://www.newscientist.com/ delivers some interesting background on our recent IBOC problem and on competition from proponents of the Eureka digital system at: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993772 (from CGC Communicator via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXL:D) ** U S A. The story I linked to http://www.techcentralstation.com/1051/techwrapper.jsp?PID=1051-250&CID=1051-060203D made a point about the FCC's position on media consolidation that gets lost here and elsewhere: given recent federal court rulings, the FCC really didn't have much choice other than to rule as it did yesterday. The FCC doesn't make communications law; it has to follow the court rulings until Congress changes the law.. There are competing lobbies and interests. Remember how the recording industries have sought restrictions on new technologies, from cassette tapes and the first VCRs in the 1970s to TiVo and DVD copiers today? There's a reason why the recording industry has failed to get those restrictions, and it's because the manufacturers of recording hardware are much larger and richer---and thus have more Washington clout--- than the recording industries. Now take a look at the companies who are positioning themselves to get a piece of the new wireless action, such as Microsoft and Intel. We're used to thinking of Clear Channel as a giant, but Microsoft could buy CC out of its petty cash fund. The NAB is a pipsqueak compared to the Electronics Industry Association (EIA) and monsters like Microsoft. Stay tuned. We're in for some interesting and bloody battles in the next few years! (Harry Helms W7HLH Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC RULE FIGHT CONTINUES IN CONGRESS OPPONENTS OF OWNERSHIP CONSOLIDATION ALSO PLAN LEGAL STRATEGY By Frank Ahrens, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, June 4, 2003; Page E01 Several lawmakers and advocacy groups vowed yesterday to fight in the courts and on Capitol Hill to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's new media ownership rules, saying they give big newspapers and broadcasters too much influence over public opinion and hurt smaller media companies. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10135-2003Jun3.html 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, DXLD) ** U S A. WTIR 1680 Winter Garden FL changes calls to WLAA to go with its new Spanish format; WTIR calls move to WXXY 1300 Cocoa FL (100kwatts.tmi.net/updates.html 22 May via Jeff Weston, Medium Wave Report, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** U S A. DEBATE OVER RADIO TOWER REVIVES [Boston, Massachusetts] By Andrew Lightman / Staff Writer, Tuesday, June 3, 2003 Tired of hearing WNUR's-1600-AM broadcast in their toilets, hot water heaters and pipes, the 500-member Oak Hill Park Association is fighting to stop the proposed expansion of a nearby radio tower array, With signals interfering computers, answering machines, telephones and televisions throughout Oak Hill Park, residents fear what life will be like when five new radio towers take root in their neighborhood. . . http://www.townonline.com/newton/news/local_regional/new_covneradiotowersdsms06032003.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. EXAMINING WOMEN'S RADIO SILENCE When their bosses at WRKO-AM dropped ''Daytime Divas'' Doreen Vigue and Darlene McCarthy late last month, McCarthy recalls that the hosts had been told simply: ''This is a business decision.''" . . . To read the entire story, click on the link below or cut and paste it into a Web browser: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/155/living/Examining_women_s_radio_silence+.shtml (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC TO CARNEGIE HALL Surprise Move Would Give Orchestra Acoustical Edge By Brian Wise, WNYC.org NEW YORK (2003-06-02) Forty years after it left for Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic plans on moving back to Carnegie Hall. The surprise move could come in 2006, and gives the orchestra a chance to escape the troubled acoustics of Avery Fisher Fisher Hall without enduring the cost of renovation. It would also make the Philharmonic a managing partner rather than rent-paying tenant . . http://www.wnyc.org/music/articles/16555 [with audio links] (via DXLD) U S A. NEW 60-METER BAND TO BECOME AVAILABLE JULY 3! NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 3, 2003 -- The new five-channel 60-meter amateur allocation becomes available to US Amateur Radio operators at midnight local time on July 3. The FCC Report and Order (R&O) granting the allocation was published in the Federal Register, which announced the effective date today. The local time designation means that amateurs in the US territory of Guam likely will be the first to get a crack at the new band. [``where America`s day begins``] The new band will be a secondary allocation -- federal government users are primary--and the first on which the only permitted mode will be upper-sideband (USB) phone (emission type 2K8J3E). The FCC last month announced it would grant hams access five discrete 2.8-kHz-wide channels in the vicinity of 5 MHz instead of the 150 kHz-wide band ARRL had requested--and which the FCC initially proposed more than a year ago. The ARRL remains optimistic that Amateur Radio eventually may be able to enjoy a band segment with multiple mode privileges at 60 meters, but ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, has said that in the meantime hams will have to be on their best behavior when taking advantage of the limited channelized allocation. ``In terms of Amateur Radio spectrum, we usually say, `Use it or lose it,``` he said. ``The watchword for 60-meter operators should be, `Misuse it and lose it.``` Sumner has predicted that, over time, amateurs can and will ``develop a record of disciplined, responsible use of the five channels in the public interest that will justify another look at these rather severe initial restrictions.`` The FCC has granted amateurs 5332, 5348, 5368, 5373 and 5405 kHz--the last channel common to the amateur experimental operation under way in the United Kingdom. The channels will be available to General and higher class licensees. In terms of day-to-day operation, use of the new band is expected to resemble the sort of channel sharing typical on local repeaters. A lengthy period of experimental operation on 5 MHz under ARRL`s WA2XSY Part 5 license preceded the May R&O. Last-minute opposition last fall to the granting of a band segment at 5 MHz came from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which cited the ongoing spectrum requirements of federal government licensees having homeland security responsibilities. The NTIA administers spectrum allocated to the federal government. A compromise between the FCC and the NTIA resulted in the limited allocation at 60 meters. The NTIA selected the channels the FCC authorized to minimize the possibility of interference to federal government users. The NTIA also dictated the use of USB only as an interoperability convenience, so that federal government users -- who also use only USB -- could readily identify amateur stations if necessary. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, says hams hoping to operate on the new allocation need to be very careful if they`re considering modifying their current transceiver or transmitter. The ARRL recommends that members check with the manufacturer of their equipment regarding specific modification information. Some modifications not only might void the warranty on a piece of equipment but could affect or alter a transmitter`s operation in unpredictable ways. ``Hams need to be sure that any modifications put them right on the desired channel,`` Hare said. The FCC, following the lead of the NTIA, has said that the channel frequencies in the R&O are all ``channel- center frequencies.`` ``Most hams are used to just having to think about band edges, so on other bands, if a mod were a bit `off,` all operators would need to ensure is that they are not transmitting outside the band.`` But, Hare recommended, on 5 MHz, amateurs must be within ``a few tens of Hertz`` of suppressed-carrier accuracy, and, he points out, amateurs have a mandate not to have any of signal occupy spectrum outside the assigned 2.8 kHz channels. Additionally, hams need to make sure before they go on the air on 60 meters that any mods they`ve made do not have unintended consequences, such as spurious emissions on non amateur frequencies. The NTIA advised in a letter to the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) that users of 60 meters should set their carrier frequency 1.5 kHz lower than the channel center frequency, according to this NTIA chart: Channel Center Amateur Tuning Frequency 5332 kHz 5330.5 kHz 5348 kHz 5346.5 kHz 5368 kHz 5366.5 kHz 5373 kHz 5371.5 kHz 5405 kHz 5403.5 kHz (common US/UK) Noting that high-frequency audio response can vary considerably from radio to radio, Hare has suggested a more conservative approach. He suggests restricting audio bandwidth to 200 Hz on the low end, and 2800 Hz on the high end -- for a total bandwidth of 2.6 kHz. Hare notes that some transmitters that the Lab has looked at are capable of bandwidths of 3.0 kHz or greater. In its letter to the FCC, the NTIA also stipulated that radiated power should not exceed ``the equivalent of 50 W PEP transmitter output power into an antenna with a gain of 0 dBd.`` The FCC R&O set the requirement at 50 W ERP and said it would consider a typical half-wave dipole to exhibit no gain. Hare said that amateurs` willingness to adhere to the channel-bandwidth and power constraints imposed on 60 meters will be an important factor in ham radio`s use of this band -- now and in the future (ARRL June 3 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. MUSIC ON VATICAN RADIO: If you spent your teenage nights in the 60s listening to R. Luxembourg and the pirate ships, VR will broadcast something for you every Saturday from 5 July to 27 September. The programme will be called ``Carnaby Street`` and will present British pop and rock music from the late 50s to the mid 70s (that is, as the producers of the show say, from the Shadows to the Pink Floyd). Time and frequencies: 1430 on 5890, 7250, 9645. Same schedule for another interesting programme on Sundays from 3 August to 28 September: ``Glenn Miller & Co``, and this I easily presume will deal with American big bands (Stefano Valianti, Southern European Report, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ?? Unclear why the RCC is running such secular music shows; does this mean the church endorses all the lyrics of the pop and rock music played from the 50s to the 70s --- or carefully censors what it does play? (gh, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 4880, SW Radio Africa heard on 4880 1835-1900* June 3rd, Interview with white lady farmer in English on land redistribution policy, 1845 speech by MDC leader in English with occasional vernacular translation calling on Zimbabweans to support the nationwide strike action and liberate themselves, 1855 identification announcing 4880 only, song in English and off. Fair, interference at times from utility stations and numbers station on 4879.8 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. JOURNALISTS BEATEN, EQUIPMENT CONFISCATED BY RULING PARTY SUPPORTERS | Text of report by Namibia-based Media Institute of Southern Africa web site on 4 June On Monday 2 June 2003, two journalists from the "Voice of the People" Communications Trust or VOP were detained, interrogated, beaten and had their mobile phones and recorders confiscated by ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) youths and war veterans. In a related incident, the home of John Masuku, coordinator of VOP, was searched and VOP administrative files and a computer used in the production of programmes confiscated. VOP reporters Shorai Katiwa and Martin Chimenya went to the University of Zimbabwe to cover a demonstration by students who intended to march in support of a mass action called for by the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). However, no students were available to comment as the police had dispersed them earlier in the day. On their way from the university, the reporters approached a group of people whom they assumed to be students of the university. The group was, however, was made up of war veterans and ZANU-PF youths. Katiwa and Chimenya were immediately detained and searched and had their two mobile phones and minidisk recorders taken by the group. After interrogation, the journalists were beaten. The war veterans and the ZANU-PF youths were said to have been incensed further when they found business cards of opposition members of parliament in the wallets of the journalists. They accused the journalists of being MDC members and working in support of the mass action. John Masuku, coordinator of VOP, told the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe) that the journalists were taken to Borrowdale Police Station for further interrogation. From Borrowdale they were taken to the ZANU-PF headquarters in the Harare city centre, where they were beaten and further interrogated. The two were asked how they send their programmes for broadcasting, to which they replied that they use a computer, which is kept at Masuku's home. The police and intelligence officers were then called and asked to accompany the journalists to see the computer that is used to send the programmes. Masuku told MISA-Zimbabwe that the police vehicle approached him as he was leaving a shopping centre in his neighbourhood. Armed police surrounded his car and ordered him to step from the car as they wished to question him over the VOP programmes. The police accompanied Masuku to his home where they searched and confiscated VOP administrative files and the computer to the Harare Central Police Station. The two journalists were released into the custody of Masuku and informed to report to the police station the following day. On Tuesday 3 June, Masuku, Katiwa and Chimenya went back to the Central Police Station in the company of their lawyer, Jacob Mafume. The police informed them that they had not found anything suspicious in the computer or the files. These were immediately returned to them. They were however informed said that the police could not do anything about the mobile phones and minidisks and were advised to report the items stolen. Masuku confirmed that they have since made the report to the police. VOP transmits news to Zimbabwe via short wave. Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa, Windhoek, in English 4 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. I heard a Spanish speaking station on 06/01/03, 0020- 0043+ Z bx [?] Latin American music with a fairly strong signal. The announceer was a YL. The signal was readable from 6938 to 6942. I was getting QRM from MW station broadcasting a Braves game on a stated frequency of 910 kHz. The only SW station I know about near 6940 is Ethiopia, and I doubt they have a Spanish service. Does anybody have any thoughts on this one? 73 (Joe Wood, Gray TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So did you check 910? I suspect you have a local or near-local which is mixing with a strong SW signal, i.e. R. Martí on 6030 to produce 6940. Check 6030 also to see if it match (gh, DXLD) Thanks for the advice. I will check 6030 next time I hear the 6940. Yes, I live within sight of the local 910 tower. 73 (Joe Wood, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ THE SHORTWAVE GUIDE VOLUME 2 Dear WRTH reader, The new edition of The Shortwave Guide has now been published . . . and we think it is even better than the last edition. Once again it has all the A02 [sic! Surely means A-03!] international schedules and the domestic broadcasts shown as color bar graphs, and we have added clandestine broadcasts. Following comments from you, the users, we have increased the size of the bars, and reduced the number of languages identified by a separate color to 12; all other languages are now identified above the bar. Check out all the details at our website: http://www.wrth.com Here's one review of volume 1: "This brand new volume is very easy to read and you can make quick reference for any and every shortwave frequency. The Shortwave Guide is outstanding and a very valuable addition to the current library of every DXer, shortwave listener and international radio monitor. We would ardently hope that we will see a new edition every year" (Adrian Michael Petersen, AWR Wavescan 400). For other reviews visit: http://www.wrth.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To order a copy Visit your usual retailer. In the USA and Canada log onto http://www.universal-radio.com In Australia and New Zealand e-mail: radiobooks@x... [truncated] You can also order direct with free airmail from www.wrth.com We hope you really enjoy using this new guide. 73s from the WRTH team (via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, June 4, Conexión Digital via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 40-METER ``REALIGNMENT`` TOPS WRC-2003 AMATEUR RADIO ISSUES NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 3, 2003--When delegates gather June 9 in Geneva, Switzerland, for World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03), Amateur Radio will enjoy robust representation. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is looking to WRC-03 to resolve the longstanding issue of a harmonized worldwide 40-meter amateur allocation. In addition, the IARU has taken positions on several other issues of importance to hams. ``Forty meters is the biggie,`` says ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, who will attend the month-long international assembly in the role of administrative officer of the IARU observer delegation headed by President Larry Price, W4RA. ``It`s complicated, controversial and involves multiple radio services, and there`s simply no way of predicting what the outcome will be.`` Citing its desire to ``meet the needs of communications for humanitarian assistance,`` The IARU has expressed strong support for a realignment of the band to make available to hams globally 300 kHz of spectrum in the vicinity of 7 MHz. While Region 2 amateurs -- including US hams -- now enjoy 7.000 to 7.300 MHz, hams in most of the rest of the world -- Regions 1 and 3 -- may use only 7.000 to 7.100 MHz. Methods to get the issue off the dime must address the incompatibility arising from how, where and on what timetable the broadcasters in Regions 1 and 3 should be shifted to higher frequencies while continuing to meet the needs of fixed and mobile services in the band. The IARU already has expressed its support for three possible plans to phase out broadcasting over a period of time. In addition to Price and Sumner, the IARU delegation to WRC-03-- sponsored by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)--also will include Wojciech Nietyksza, SP5FM; Michael J. Owen, VK3KI, and Ken Pulfer, VE3PU. In addition, Robert W. Jones, VE7RWJ, will serve as a consultant to the IARU during WRC-03. Jones, the immediate past director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau and a conference veteran, has a particular interest in the 7-MHz issue. ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, and ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, will serve on the US delegation, headed by Janice Obuchowski, a former assistant secretary for communications and information and former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Other Amateur Radio-related agenda items include proposed revisions to Article 25 of the Radio Regulations. Article 25 details the requirements for Amateur Radio and includes the obligation to demonstrate Morse code proficiency to operate below 30 MHz. Sumner said he expects the WRC-03 delegates to delete the international requirement, although administrations could continue to require Morse proficiency if they wished to do so. The IARU favors a revision to Paragraph 25.6 to incorporate an ITU Recommendation (ITU-R M.1544) by reference to establish a minimum international standard for Amateur Radio licensing. The IARU also supports adding two new provisions to Article 25. One would urge administrations to take steps to allow amateur stations to prepare for and meet communication needs to support disaster relief. That`s something US hams take for granted, but it`s not commonplace in some other countries, Sumner pointed out. The second would authorize administrations to permit an individual licensed in another country to operate temporarily while in their territory ``subject to such conditions or restrictions it may impose.`` Such arrangements are common, but the international Radio Regulations do not explicitly provide for them. The IARU also has expressed support for giving greater flexibility to administrations in the formation of Amateur Radio call signs, an agenda item that Sumner said ``appears to be non-controversial.`` Expressing concern over interference potential, the IARU opposes allocating any spectrum to the Earth Exploration Satellite Service (Active) to deploy spaceborne synthetic aperture radars (SARs) in the 430 to 440 MHz band. Amateur Radio is co-primary at 430 to 440 MHz in Region 1 and in several countries in Region 2. As an observer at the conference, the IARU can only request that ITU member-states take its views into consideration when deciding on WRC-03 agenda items. ARRL has launched a special WRC-03 campaign to help generate the funds needed to continue the defense of Amateur Radio spectrum. Sumner said ``unquantifiable thousands of hours by volunteers and staff members`` have gone into WRC-03 preparations. https://www.arrl.org/forms/fdefense/wrc-03/ [https: is correct] More than a dozen other Amateur Radio licensees are expected to be in Geneva to help represent Amateur Radio. They include Jim Dean, VE3IQ, of the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) as a member of Canada`s delegation, IARU Region 1 Vice Chairman Tafa Diop, 6W1KI, as an African Telecommunications Union observer, IARU Vice President David Wardlaw, VK3ADW, on the Australia delegation, Region 1 Chairman Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, on the Norwegian delegation and SRR President Roman Thomas, RZ3AA, on Russia`s delegation. WRC-03 concludes July 4. More information on WRC-03 is available on the ITU WRC-03 Web page http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/conferences/wrc/wrc-03/index.asp and on the FCC web site http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/conferences/wrc/wrc-03/index.asp Given the international nature of WRC-03, the ITU has advised those attending the conference ``to take prophylactic measures in order to reduce to a minimum the risk of contamination`` from SARS--Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The ITU noted that the World Health Organization was monitoring the SARS situation on its Web site. (ARRL June 3 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ Glen[n], just to let you know I have the Grundig up and running again. If you want to tell your listeners if they need to replace the AC plug on the Grundig 800, Radio Shack no. is 273-1770, and the adaptaplug is 273-1716; the coast $21.00 and some change. To purchase the original, Universal shortwave sells them for 39.95 + 4.95 shipping, wopping $44.90, so Radio Shack is cheaper. 73 (Ron Trotto, Waggoner, Illinois, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ARNIE CORO'S DXERS UNLIMITED'S HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION FORECAST Now here is item one: HF propagation conditions continue to be in very poor shape to say the least, as the Earth is constantly receiving the solar wind blasts and radiation that have caused so many interesting events during the last few days. Monday morning here in Havana, I got a call on the metropolitan area primary 2 meter band repeater from a local radio amateur. Arnie, he said, just take a listen to the short wave bands. They are totally dead. I can hear nothing with my two radios. What's happening, Arnie ?, he said. I then moved from my desk, and went to the main operating position at CO2KK my ham radio station, connected the antennas, and started to scan from 5 megaHertz up, only to confirm what the local operator was saying. Nothing heard from 5 megaHertz all the way up to 30 megaHertz. Nothing at all, and when I say nothing, I mean it amigos, the whole HF spectrum was totally dead, like if it was a microwave band!!! Obviously some kind of total ionospheric absorption event was in progress, the so called Moss- Dillinger effect or total short-wave black out. Several other local radio amateurs, that are new to our hobby listened to the QSO between CM2OP Olimpio and myself, and immediately started to explore the short-wave spectrum, witnessing for the first time this interesting phenomenon that can completely wipe out HF reception due to a tremendous increase in free electron concentration at the D layer of the ionosphere that effectivdly blocks all signals going up or down!!! And now as always at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus low band VHF propagation forecast. Sporadic E events now in full swing, with the Maximum Useable Frequency curve reaching as high as the FM broadcast band several times last week, and more similar events are expected. HF propagation conditions are rather poor due to the effects of recent solar activity specifically from solar active region 10365, soon to turn around and disappear from sight. Solar flux is now going to start moving down, and hopefully the A and K indexes will be also coming down to more HF propagation friendly figures during the next 3 to 5 days (Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited June 4 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 04 - 30 JUNE 2003 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels. Moderate levels are possible early in the period from Region 375, which has already produced a number of low M-class events. Active Region 365 maintained its size and complexity as it rotated around the west limb. It will return by mid June and may produce moderate levels. A small chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event is possible from Region 375 early in the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is likely to reach high levels on 08 – 16 June and again on 20 – 24 June due to recurring high speed solar wind streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to active levels with occasional minor to major storm periods. A large recurrent southern coronal hole is currently in a geo-effective position and is expected to produce active to minor storm levels through the 11 June. Recurrent coronal hole high speed streams will likely produce unsettled to active conditions with isolated minor storm levels throughout the latter half of the period (17 – 30 June). :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jun 03 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Jun 03 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jun 04 115 30 5 2003 Jun 05 115 30 5 2003 Jun 06 115 35 6 2003 Jun 07 115 25 5 2003 Jun 08 110 20 4 2003 Jun 09 110 20 4 2003 Jun 10 105 25 5 2003 Jun 11 100 20 4 2003 Jun 12 105 15 3 2003 Jun 13 105 15 3 2003 Jun 14 110 15 3 2003 Jun 15 115 15 3 2003 Jun 16 125 20 4 2003 Jun 17 125 20 4 2003 Jun 18 120 25 5 2003 Jun 19 120 20 4 2003 Jun 20 115 20 4 2003 Jun 21 120 20 4 2003 Jun 22 125 20 4 2003 Jun 23 130 25 5 2003 Jun 24 130 30 5 2003 Jun 25 120 25 5 2003 Jun 26 115 25 5 2003 Jun 27 110 15 3 2003 Jun 28 115 15 3 2003 Jun 29 120 35 6 2003 Jun 30 120 30 5 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio June 3, WORLD OF RADIO 1185, DXLD)