DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-150, August 19, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. 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/dxldtd3h.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1195: RFPI: Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 [nominal times subject to delay or pre-emption] WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1195.html SOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Traditionally, I've listened to WoR on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, CT. I'm moving to Westchester County, NY. I'll have to find a local station or just keep listening to WPKN over the 'net... Thanks for keeping on the excellent work. Cheers, (Joshua S. Freeman) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Glenn, I've been burning your WOR shows to cd and listening on long car rides. They're a real pleasure to listen to. I've sort of re- kindled my childhood DX'ing hobby (hmmm... a typical, yet harmless mid-life crisis?:)). I just wanted to send along kudos. My only wish is that they were in *.mp3 format, as the conversion from Real to MP3 can be a long, tricky task. Any chance they would be posted in another audio format in the future? Again, the shows are really enjoyable. Keep up the good work (Todd Van Gelder, Maryland, Aug 18) They are converted to mp3 at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/NetworkRadioInternational/files (gh) Thanks Glenn! Note: Always a pleasure to hear your weekly show. I hope this small amount helps in some way to support your outstanding program. Best to ya! (Larry NX2V Guerrera, Jericho, NY, Aug 18, with a contribution via PayPal) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW AFGHAN RADIO STARTS BROADCASTING | Text of report by Afghan television on 18 August Radio Kelid officially started broadcasting programmes today. According to a report by the Bakhtar news agency correspondent, Radio Kelid broadcasts news shows, educational, sports, entertainment, cultural and social programmes round the clock on 88.00 FM. According to a relevant source, Radio Kelid covers an area of 30 km. Radio Kelid has been established with the technical cooperation of the Internews organization. It is also supported by the Orfan cultural organization and the Kelid, (?Morsal) and (?Sapida) weeklies. Source: Afghanistan Television, Kabul, in Dari 1500 gmt 18 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Amani, 15615 is via Armavir-Krasnodar, Russia (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** ALGERIA. Has anybody heard RTA Algiers lately? A week ago there was some discussion on #swl if they are still on short wave, or not. Their web page at http://www.algerian-radio.dz isn't showing any short wave frequency anymore, but their FM transmitter park has been growing enormously. I've sent them an e-mail to ask for definite answer but haven't got a reply until now. 73, (Guido Schotmans - Antwerp, BELGIUM, Aug 19, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. Ayer lunes 18 estuvo fuera del aire LRA36 en los 15476 khz. Alguien sabe si está operando normalmente??? (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Aug 18?, Conexión Digital via DXLD) No puedo determinar a qué hora actual escribes, pero me parece que ayer era el domingo 17 cuando no opera la emisora. O puede deberse a la tormenta geomagnética, anulando señales polares. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Hola Glenn! fue ayer lunes 18 cuando no encontré la emisora y me sorprendio. Generalmente la señal es muy fuerte por aquí. De todas maneras, bien vale la sugerencia. Muchas gracias (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. Now I have monitored RA`s Feedback of Aug 16 from the WRN archive, Roger Broadbent interviewing Richard Trudgeon(sp?), community educator and business manager of ARDS. Some of the points which may not have been covered previously: People in Arnhem Land get some TV services, but not much on radio, especially in their own language. They get very good reception of R. Australia, but that`s in a foreign language, English. Richard is the main program producer, but he`s trying to recruit people in the various communities to participate. Some of the subjects mentioned were diabetes, renal failure, and other medical problems; Australian law, e.g. the people do not understand how courts work and what pleading guilty or not guilty means. Has material recorded over the past 4-5 decades, including religious (apparently the missionaries were active here previously), song cycles, and also some contemporary Y. music. This is a A$5 million project, done for only $280 thousand. No one wanted to fund it, and it took three years to get on the air, since it`s a ``non-sexy`` medium, antiquated shortwave, but it`s ideal for this service to start up. Still trying to correct the aerial to be sure the signal isn`t going off to Fiji instead, hitting ionosphere at wrong angle. Has had report from NZ and Melbourne, but only on `professional ham radios`, not ordinary receivers. Plans to move to digital radio and ``satellites straight down`` at some point in the future. Will create online dictionaries in medical, economic and technical fields. This is all aimed at adults, and elders to turn them into teachers. Richard is getting excited now that ARDS is on the air, but is taking a couple of weeks rest before concentrating on producing more programming. There is an ID clip at about 45 minutes into the WRN 0800 UT file for last Sunday which I plan to insert on WORLD OF RADIO 1196 (notes by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) I reckon I had Humpty Doo last night very poor, off frequency 5048.7 or thereabouts. USB. Cheers (Lew Chapman, somewhere in Australia, Aug 18, ARDXC via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4905.16, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, Beni, 0944-1000, August 18. Spanish. Interview with medicine doctor who talked about different health themes. At 1000, "Cu-Cu" sound and TC and ID as: "Radio San Miguel" by female, 34222 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Ao que tudo indica, a Rádio San Miguel, da cidade de Riberalta, não mantém freqüência fixa em 60 metros. Em Cochabamba, o dexista brasileiro Rogildo Aragão ouviu a emissora, em 16 de agosto, às 0215, pela freqüência de 4905 kHz. Na oportunidade, apresentava o programa Show de los Sábados. Anteriormente, era captada em 4930 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5927.1, R Minería, Oruro, August 18th, 2340-2350, Spanish, advertisement, ID, music of the Andes; SINPO 22222 (Michael Schnitzer, Homepage: http://home.arcor.de/mschnitzer/ Location: Hassfurt, Germany, Receiver: NRD-525, Antennas: 25m long wire, DX-One Professional, EWE to South America, dxing.info via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. Yesterday morning, August 15, I had been listening for about an hour on 1350 kHz without results. Then at 0302 came the surprise: I heard a hymn and a male voice talking, with no doubt, in an African language. A rapid research on WRTH gave me the hint that it might have been RB1 Tsabong opening. Later on I checked my recording and found that the hymn corresponded to a midi version of it found on the web. QRK 2/3 for a few minutes. TEN TEC RX 340, T2FD 29.4 meters long (Valter Comuzzi, Pasian di Prato (Udine), Italy, dxing.info via DXLD) Nice catch! This summer I have also heard Botswana several times on this frequency. Especially fine the station came just on the same day, 15th of August. Somehow I 've heard them mostly on Fridays or Saturdays - extended programme?. Here they've been audible starting approximately 2200 (Jyrki HYtönen, Kannus, Finland, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. 3235.05, 0058-0145, R. Clube, Aug 19. Male announcer mentioned Marília in Portuguese. Lots of station promos at TOH. Then on to music program. S6 signal level. Recheck at 0130 and signal level the same but quality has diminished. Playing various Latin tunes. A few static crashes (Bob Montgomery Levittown, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) So the Guarujá acquisition is partial? Nos próximos dias, a Rádio Guarujá Paulista, de Guarujá (SP), passará a emitir pela freqüência de 5045 kHz. A informação é de Orivaldo Rampazzo, diretor da emissora. Ele conversou com Caio Lopes, de Itajubá (MG). A Guarujá Paulista já ocupa a freqüência de 3235 kHz, que era da Rádio Clube, de Marília (SP). A freqüência de 5045 kHz é da Rádio Difusora, de Presidente Prudente (SP). De acordo com Rampazzo, "a onda curta engrandece a emissora". A Guarujá também está projetando transmitir em 31 metros. O endereço da emissora é o seguinte: Rádio Guarujá Paulista, A/C Orivaldo Rampazzo, Rua Montenegro, 196, CEP: 11410-040, Guarujá (SP). A Rádio Nacional do Brasil transmite, desde 1º de agosto, duas emissões, em português, para o continente africano. A Gerente da Radiobrás, Taís Ladeira, informou ao dexista Sarmento Campos, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), que as emissões ocorrem entre 0500 e 0800 e entre 1900 e 2100. As freqüências utilizadas são as duas que a Radiobrás dispõe, no momento, ou seja : 6180 e 11780 kHz. De acordo com informações de Tobias Jung, publicadas no sítio Rádio Agência, a programação é constituída de espaços que a Radiobrás já produz para o público interno do Brasil. A única exceção seria o programa Giro Afro, este sim, um boletim diário com notícias dos países de língua portuguesa. No entender de Sarmento Campos, "o executivo brasileiro dá sinais de reconhecer a importância do rádio", com o anúncio. Não há previsão do retorno do sinal da Rádio Liberal, de Belém (PA), na freqüência de 4775 kHz, em ondas tropicais. A informação é de Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), que conversou com a direção da emissora. Algumas peças já foram adquiridas. Falta apenas o conserto do transmissor. Por enquanto, a Rádio Liberal pode ser ouvida em ondas médias, em 1330 kHz. Na Internet, possui o seguinte sítio: http://www.radioliberal.com.br (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. 11600, R. Bulgaria 0135-0154 07/Ago SINPO=34442 Español. Con algunas noticias DX y luego el programa "Para los Oyentes Jóvenes", entrevistando jóvenes sobre sus preferencias musicales y tocando algunas canciones de un grupo búlgaro de música "rock". Me parece que el audio es muy bajo en relación a la fuerza de la señal, por eso en el SINPO la O=2 (Elmer Escoto, Honduras SONY ICF-SW7600GR y antena "random" de 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Canada. CHU time/frequency station in Ottawa has not been heard here on Monday August 18 so assume that they are off the air. I tried phoning but no answer, Federal public servants working in Ottawa have been told to stay home today unless their work is essential. This is to keep down the use of electricity. Those government workers who work across the river in Gatineau, Quebec were to report for work as usual today (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Isn`t accurate time an `essential service` for many scientific and civilian applications??? One graf says they have generator backup, so why aren`t they on? Here`s the official CHU page: http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/shortwave_broadcasts_e.html ``The CHU station is located 15 km southwest of Ottawa at 45º 17' 47" N, 75º 45' 22" W. Main transmitter powers are 3 kW at 3330 and 14 670 kHz, and 10 kW at 7335 kHz. Individual vertical antennas are used for each frequency. The electronics systems feeding the transmitters are duplicated for reliability, and have both battery and generator protection. The generator can also supply the transmitters. The announcements are made by a talking clock using digitally recorded voices`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. My blackout observations (long post). Well, where was I when the lights went out? I was with my wife in a supermarket in Port Dover, a resort town on the north shore of Lake Erie. When the power went out we kind of joked that it was "all our fault" because the week previous, we'd been in a supermarket in Fenelon Falls, Ontario when the power went off (although the emergency generator kicked in within two minutes). In Port Dover though --- the backup generator didn't come on and all that was working was the cash register. We got back in the car to head down to our campsite at Turkey Point Provincial Park and of course I did what any radio junkie would do --- I turned the radio on. Before entering the supermarket we'd been listening to WQLN 91.3, the NPR station out of Erie, PA. When I got back in the car, the station wasn't there. I thought at first --- okay maybe some weird tropo happening. However I tuned around the FM band and noticed alot of stations weren't there or there were a lot of weak signals. I managed to tune in CBC Radio One on 99.1 out of Toronto --- with a rather fuzzy signal and heard the news of the big blackout. I usually carry a ham radio HT with me but this time I didn't have one with me --- just the hustle of getting the car all packed up. I thought --- rats. biggest emergency in years and I don't have any ham equipment with me. I did however have my trusty Radio Shack DX-392 along with a 30 ft. piece of wire and a Kaito KA007 multi-band emergency windup radio (courtesy of Durham Radio. I have a review I've written that will appear in an upcoming issue of LI). I also had plenty of spare batteries! So, while setting up the tent and getting dinner ready, tuned into CBC Radio One and listened to all the news reports coming in from around the city. I could pick up CBC-1 out of Paris, Ontario on 89.1, London on 93.5 and occasionally on some other frequencies. CBC-1 went into special programming mode pretty much till Friday night. My French is limited but from what I could tell Radio Canada was also running special programming. My compliments to the folks at the CBC, I thought they did an excellent job under difficult conditions. There were a few technical "glitches" along the way but given the circumstances they were quite understandable. In many cases it was caller's cellphones that went out of commission. Cellphones are wonderful things --- but all too often don't work in a disaster area. Also noticed that on quite a few FM frequencies there was a carrier, but no audio --- so the transmitters were working but the studio/transmitter links were down. After dinner, I switched to listening to some of the ham nets. The Trans Provincial Net ran an extended session on 7.055 MHz with Jeanne VA3FW out of Kingston, Ontario operating as net control. As the propagation shifted they switched to an extended session of the Ontario Phone Net on 3.742 The various local ham radio emergency coordinators had obviously swung into action on local VHF/UHF repeaters that had emergency power. The nets were quite busy and nice to see lots of hams were able to get themselves on the air with emergency power. I heard a lot of familiar voices, including ODXA member James VE3TPZ popping in from Stratford both from home...and from the Red Cross emergency station VA3PRC. (You were louder from home James!) I did notice that quite a number of AM/FM "combo" stations began simulcasting news and taking phone calls from listeners --- running the "AM" programming on the FM "side". Heard this kind of activity from Hamilton, Guelph and Kitchener. The NPR stations were also running special news reports. Other FM stations just kept playing music as if nothing was going on - -- and the evangelical stations kept playing their canned religious programming. Couldn't they at least say a prayer for those in the affected areas, I thought??? I tuned into CBC Radio One out of Windsor on 1550. They had moved their studios to the transmitting site during the emergency and weren't running the "Toronto" feed. They were taking calls and mentioned that people were honking their horns as they drove past the CBE transmitter site! The AM band I found much more useful, especially after dark. I could easily tune in to WABC 770 and WCBS 880 from New York, WTAM 1100 from Cleveland and WJR 760 Detroit were quite loud at my "campfire" location. CFRB 1010 was a little tough to listen to with the co-channel interference from WINS New York. CFTR "680 News" was generally in the clear as was "Mojo 640". AM740 obviously had trouble with their studio-transmitter link. There was a carrier on the frequency but with no audio. The little Kaito KA007 was very handy for listening to TV audio. I could pick up quite a number of the local Cleveland TV stations along with CHCH out of Hamilton and the Global TV Channel 6 transmitter out of Paris, Ontario. There were lots of "eye in the sky" reports --- only I can imagine that very few people were watching! I tuned into the BBC World Service and of course the blackout was the first item of news --- with reports from correspondents in both New York and Toronto. The little Kaito also tunes in the VHF band from 145 to 170 MHz. Just with the little whip antenna I had some faint signals from one of the two meter band repeaters on the U.S. side of Lake Erie. It appeared to be linked to either the I-Link or IRLP systems and there were folks coming in from all over the U.S. Also tuned into one of the marine weather channels where in their notice to shipping they were warning boaters about navigation hazards due to all the normal lighting being out. I listened to WGY 810 out of Schenectady, NY after midnight. They were carrying the "Coast to Coast AM" programme and were very quick at coming up with conspiracy theories on the reason for the blackout. Talk of electromagnetic pulse weapons in the hands of terrorists etc. Spent Friday at the beach...and later went to Port Dover for their "Summer Fest" (the power was back on) the solar panel on the Kaito works great on a bright sunny beach! Also listened to the ONTARS ham net on 3.755 for a little while Friday night. ONTARS remained in "special session" till around 11 PM with Percy VA3BBD in Owen Sound as net controller and VE3EMO the ham station at Ontario's Emergency Measures Organization taking reports from hams across the province as to who was back up and who was still "off". I suppose I could have spent time "chasing DX" during the power outage --- but instead found myself doing more listening just to get a picture of what was going on --- and what would await us when we got back home to Toronto. From talking to a few folks in the building where I work today, all kinds of folks were looking for batteries for their portable radios and finding stores sold out. I'm sure that after this experience, wind-up "emergency" radios like the Baygens, Grundig FR-200 and the Kaito KA007 will be selling like hotcakes! Had a look at the Kaito website and I see that Kaito has a new Dynamo/Solar radio for sale with digital readout. It covers AM/FM and shortwave but lacks the TV audio and the VHF band. You can look at the new radio at: http://www.kaitousa.com/KA007D.htm 73 (Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, Ham Radio Editor, "Listening In" Magazine, ODXA http://www.qsl.net/ve3sre Aug 18, ODXA via DXLD) ** CANADA. BITOVE TUNES IN TO SATELLITE RADIO FIRM PLANS TO FILE APPLICATION WITH CRTC By KEITH DAMSELL TECHNOLOGY REPORTER UPDATED AT 3:48 AM EDT Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 The future of digital radio in Canada grew more clouded this month following news that food service tycoon John Bitove wants to launch a high-tech satellite radio service. Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. plans to file an application to the federal broadcasting regulator within the next few days. The company is a partnership between a Toronto group led by Mr. Bitove and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., a Washington, D.C., broadcaster with about 700,000 subscribers across the United States. The company wants to begin broadcasting its CD-quality sound next year but declined to discuss the specifics of its proposal. Mr. Bitove's plans are being watched closely by broadcasters. Some of the country's largest radio station owners are backing a rival technology, digital audio broadcasting. Currently, about 70 AM and FM stations across the country are simulcasting their signals in digital formats. The potential launch of satellite radio has created "a bit of a conundrum. There's no question it doesn't help what we're trying to do with DAB. It's another distraction," said Steve Edwards, vice- president of corporate engineering and technology at Rogers Broadcasting, a unit of Toronto holding company Rogers Communications Inc. Seven Rogers stations currently simulcast in the DAB format and three additional stations are scheduled to go digital over the next few months. Gary Slaight, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd., argues that satellite radio may have little or no impact on DAB. Nevertheless, Mr. Slaight, one of digital radio's most outspoken critics, thinks the technology's future may be "under review." "I have a feeling even Rogers and CHUM Ltd., who have been waving the DAB flag, may now be saying this may not necessarily be the best way to proceed," he said. First developed in the late 1980s, DAB has had a brief and troubled history. Via a digital radio technology called Eureka 147, broadcasters can transmit a complex signal with many potential applications, not the least of which is a crystal-clear sound. As CD-quality music plays, a radio display will show the song title and artist. Press a button and you can order the CD. Press another and you can order concert tickets. Stations can be personalized according to a listener's needs with the latest weather, traffic or stock market quotes available on request. In 1995, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission released a policy for the introduction of digital radio, foreseeing "digital radio services as coming to replace existing AM and FM services over time." The policy set a rough framework for incumbent players to access the L-band, a valuable chunk of digital spectrum set aside by Industry Canada. Launching services with a single digital transmitter costs about $40,000 per radio station. Blanketing an entire city with eight digital transmitters costs about $300,000 per station. At this stage, there are no data available on DAB's actual listening audience in this country. While Europe's major broadcasters embraced Eureka 147, it was a very different story in the United States. Concern that a new dedicated digital band would undermine the value of FM stations prompted the United States to support a made-in-America compromise called IBOC (in band/on channel). The IBOC plan requires no new spectrum and squeezes new digital signals within the existing FM and AM radio bands. Canadian supporters of Eureka 147 claim the U.S. plan will mean an inferior digital radio signal for the world's largest commercial audience. The two formats are not compatible and require separate digital receivers. To date, the Canadian industry's hopes have largely rested on a single retailer, InterTan Inc., the Barrie, Ont., parent of Radio Shack. In November last year, Radio Shack stores across the country began selling two DAB receivers priced at $299 and $399. Unfortunately, consumer demand has failed to materialize and InterTan has sold only "hundreds" of units, reports David Easden, associate vice-president of merchandising. "We ended up with a very cool radio that a number of early acquirers bought in to, but kind of a radio that's out of the average individual's reach," Mr. Easden said. "It's great technology but it hasn't maybe taken off quite the way I think the industry had hoped it would." Radio Shack has discontinued the sale of the two DAB receivers and later this month will begin selling a cheaper $99 unit. Digital Radio Rollout Inc., an industry lobby group, is confident the more affordable DAB unit will lead to a "significant breakthrough" in consumer interest, said spokesman David Bray. Satellite radio has complicated matters further. In the United States, XM Satellite and competitor Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. have each quickly built a base of subscribers willing to pay a monthly fee of $10 (U.S.) to $12 to listen to commercial-free radio. Combined, XM and Sirius have invested more than $2.5-billion in operations and continue to lose money. Auto makers are unperturbed and after an initial commitment to support DAB, are now offering satellite radio as an option in a handful of 2004 U.S. models. General Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. are supporting the XM platform while Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG are offering Sirius to customers. The car market is essential for success, industry sources report, noting that the rush-hour commute to and from work is the key radio-listening period. Meanwhile, some retailers report increasing interest in satellite radio systems, especially in rural Canada. Satellite radio has yet to be licensed in this country and getting access to signals mirrors the trade in grey-market satellite TV. Retailers interviewed buy satellite receivers in the United States and then resell them here. The consumer must then set up a U.S.-based account with Sirius or XM to receive signal access each month. Audio Video Unlimited in Williams Lake, B.C., has sold a handful of car stereo satellite units manufactured by Tokyo-based Alpine Electronics Inc. for $1,000 (Canadian) each. "They've been fairly popular," said store owner Brian Sawyer. "Once you get 40 kilometres out of town, you've got no radio period. And we have so many people working in the logging industry. So for all these operators, logging truck drivers, haulers that have been out of the office for 10 to 12 days, satellite radio is fantastic." While satellite radio may appear to have some momentum, there is some optimism digital radio may find an audience among new Canadians. In April, the CRTC granted a DAB licence to Sur Sagar Radio Inc. of Toronto. Some time next year, the Asian language station will begin operating Canada's first stand-alone digital radio service. "It's a new technology . . . and we're sure it's going to be picking up. We wanted to be in something current," said station manager Amar Prett. Wayne Stacey, an Ottawa-based broadcasting engineering consultant, said the fate of DAB is akin to the "chicken and egg" puzzle: innovative broadcasting may drive consumer demand for receivers but at the same time, broadcasters are waiting for greater consumer acceptance before launching further DAB services. © 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved (via Dan Say, DXLD) ** CHILE [non]. A 30 AÑOS DEL GOLPE MILITAR EN CHILE Nos dirigimos, en primer lugar al auditorio chileno, y no sólo a ellos. El 11 de septiembre de este año conmemoramos con ustedes una luctuosa fecha en la historia contemporánea de Chile. Aquel día, hace tres décadas, una junta castrense se levantó en armas contra la democracia y, pisoteando el juramento militar perpetró en el país un golpe de Estado. El presidente Salvador Allende, legalmente elegido pereció en el palacio de La Moneda. Quienes sintonizan desde hace tiempo las ondas de Radio Moscú deben recordar que después de implantada la dictadura, por primera vez salieron al aire los programas con el título de `Escucha Chile`. Aquella fue una de las primeras manifestaciones de la solidaridad de los pueblos de Rusia y de las otras repúblicas soviéticas con los chilenos que eran víctimas de la opresión de los militares. Este programa conquistó popularidad desde los primeros días de su existencia. En las ciudades y aldeas chilenas era escuchado en secreto por gentes de distintas convicciones. Ello se debía a que contábamos solo y nada más que la verdad, denunciábamos los crímenes de la Junta y dábamos los nombres de los patriotas asesinados y de sus verdugos. La voz desde Moscú llegaba incluso hasta los prisioneros de los centros de reclusión pinochetistas. No es casual que la Junta declarase entonces a Radio Moscú como a un enemigo jurado suyo. Un poco más tarde salió al aire además, el programa ``Radio Magallanes`` Semana tras semana y año tras año esos programas fueron creados por un pequeño equipo integrado por periodistas chilenos y soviéticos. Ellos trabajaban activamente con la correspondencia que llegaba a Moscú desde distintos rincones del mundo, sobre todo de América Latina. A través de terceros países, y a veces incluso directamente, nos llegaban también mensajes de Chile. Les invitamos a recordar y a que nos escriban de cómo supieron ustedes de la existencia de los programas Escucha Chile y Radio Magallanes y qué significado tenían para los chilenos en aquellos años. Además, nos gustaría recibir vuestras respuestas a las siguientes preguntas: 1.-¿Qué piensa de la llegada al poder del gobierno de la Unidad Popular y cuales fueron a su juicio las causas de su derrota? 2.-¿Por qué la cúpula castrense resultó entonces más fuerte que la democracia? 3.-¿Qué opinión le merece la figura de Salvador Allende 30 años mas tarde? Les anunciamos que, a partir de mediados de agosto, La Voz de Rusia comienza Las Jornadas Chilenas, a las que desde ya les invitamos a participar con su testimonio. Quedamos a la espera de vuestras cartas por correo postal y por Internet. Las mejores respuestas serán premiadas con recuerdos de la alcaldía de Moscú, de la Fundación Nuevo Mundo 500 y de nuestra emisora, La Voz de Rusia. La fecha para el envío de las respuestas es, a más tardar, el 20 de agosto. De antemano, muchas gracias. Por supuesto que se puede participar por correo electronico: letters@v... [truncated] REDACCION LATINOAMERICANA, LA VOZ DE RUSIA (via Arnaldo Slaen, Aug 18, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CONGO. 5985, 2243-2300, R. Congo, Aug 18. Male announcer in French at tune in with mentions of Congo several times. Signal level between 10 and 20/ S9 level. Fairly clear with little to no interference. Must have been commentary on the news as George Bush mentioned a few times. Two male announcers back and forth with comments. Very nice copy with SF at 116 and A index at 62. 2247 to some very nice African tunes. Sudden off at 2300 in the middle of a tune (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. Las frecuencias de Radio Habana Cuba han mejorado una barbaridad. Este 18/08 la monitoré en 9550, 9600 (fortísima, +40dB), 11760 y 15230 kHz. Muy débil en 11930 kHz. Todas a las 0230. 11875 entra al aire luego de las 0400. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The geomag storm got new 9600 here; quite weak around 0130 Aug 19. I meant to mention with the Arnie Coro stuff in previous issue, that the http://www.radiohc.cu/ingles/dxers1.htm website, nor via Bob Chandler, ODXA, lacks DXUL scripts between Aug 2 and 16 --- was the show on vacation, or in repeats? In fact as of Aug 19, radiohc still has doesn`t have the Aug 16 script (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. A Rádio Havana Cuba tem novo concurso, conforme dica de Valdirei Carneiro, de Curiúva (PR). O tema é a trova cubana. Para participar, o ouvinte deve responder, até 31 de dezembro, as seguintes questões: 1) Mencione 3 temáticas que coincidam entre os trovadores tradicionais e os atuais e suas respectivas canções; 2) Nomeie 3 representantes da trova velha e 3 da nova trova cubana; 3) Que é, para você, um trovador? Respostas para: Rádio Havana Cuba, Apartado 6240, La Havana, Cuba (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Hoy Lunes 18 de Agosto hube de sintonizar desde mi QTH: Sur de Miami la emisora de Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba "CMCA RADIO CIUDAD DE LA HABANA" en la frecuencia de los 910 AM con una señal aceptable, moderada pertubación de propagación entre las 1300-1400 UT. La emisora emitía el programa "BUENOS DIAS CIUDAD". En ese tiempo de una hora se abordaron distintos temas: noticiosos, infantiles, informaciones sobre la salida y llegada de trenes y ómnibus a las respectivas terminales, así como otros temas a los residentes de Ciudad de la Habana. Lo interesante resultó que en la identicación de la emisora se anunció: "CMCA Radio Ciudad de la Habana la emisora joven de la Capital 94.9 FM, 820 AM desde el quinto piso del edificio # 1, Radio Ciudad de la Habana". Teléfono: 55-46-44`` Nuevamente sucede, se anuncia una frecuencia y se emite por otra. Revisando el WRTH encuentro CMCA 820 AM 10 kW desde Santa Catalina, Municipio de 10 de Octubre. En dias pasados también sucedió con Radio 26 la emisora provincial de Matanzas en los 1060 AM, por donde se continúa escuchando. Cordiales 73's (Oscar de Céspedes, FL, Aug 18, Conexión Digital via DXLD). ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Hola Glenn, HIJQ, primera vez que la encuentro tan temprano, 2028 UT, en los 4959.86 kHz, con SINPO 2/2. Tocaba el tema "Not gonna get us", de la banda Tatoo. Luego escuchada a la 0120, con el espacio "El Guerrero de Super Q", con una alta dosis de rap estilo "The Noise". (17/08). (Adán González, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. Radio Buenas Nuevas, en 4799.79 kHz, en lengua indígena a la 0153 UT. SINPO 3/3. (17/08). (Adán González, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 3325, R. Maya de Barillas 2349-0000/ 29/Jul SINPO=34332 En español. No escuché los acostumbrados "saludos" en lengua indígena, sino el programa "La Biblia dice". Apaga el transmisor a las 0000 (Elmer Escoto, Honduras SONY ICF-SW7600GR y antena "random" de 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. 15000 khz - WWVH - Hawai/USA --- Cartão QSL Full data sob o nº de série 22048, Carta agradecendo a recepção e confirmando também os dados do informe, pedindo novos informes. Foto aérea da estação e NIST Brochure. V/S - Dean T. Okayama - Engineer-in-Charge, 37 dias. NIST Radio Station WWVH, P.O. Box 417, Kekaha HI 96752 - USA, site: http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq e-mail: wwvh@boulder.nist.gov (Alexandre Deves Sailer / Viamão – RS, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3249, R. Luz y Vida, 0029-0032 28/Jul, SINPO=22222, señal débil. Locutor en español con mensajes cristianos "Que Dios te bendiga en ésta hora... mantengámonos en el Camino del Señor". Anuncian un número telefónico (ininteligible). Hora "Las 6 con 30 minutos. Radio Luz y Vida, San Luis, Santa Bárbara". La frecuencia varía (Elmer Escoto, Honduras SONY ICF-SW7600GR y antena "random" de 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9690, 11620, 13710. All India Radio 1430 check, Good signals on the eve of their independence day. 11620 runs behind the other frequencies by some seconds (David Norcross, SLO Cen Cal Coast CA, Aug 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ergo heard on Aug 14. That would be the AIRGOS to SEAs at 1330-1500 (gh) ** INDIA. PRIVATE RADIO NOT ALLOWED IN NEWS PTI[ MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2003 01:38:02 PM ] NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said private radio is not permitted to broadcast news and current affairs. Following a complaint received through the CEO of Prasar Bharati on June 11, 2002 regarding broadcasting of news and current affairs on private FM Channel in Mumbai, the matter was taken up with the company, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply. In its response, the company said it had happened inadvertantly and they had taken measures to ensure this is not repeated. Central Monitoring Services of the Ministry had also been asked to monitor Radio Mirchy, 93.5 RED FM and Radio City Private FM channels on July 19 and July 20, 2003, the Minister said. He said monitoring is being done by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to ensure that the terms and conditions of licence agreement are adhered to (Times Of India, Aug 18, 2003 via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, dx_india via DXLD) What is the so-called democratic government of India afraid of? (gh) ** INDONESIA. 15150, Voice of Indonesia, 2028-2106* Aug 10, tuned in to hear English program with ID ("From Jakarta, you are listening to the Voice of Indonesia.") and e-mail address, program preview, Indo vocals followed by travelogue feature. Mix of music and talks rounded out the programming until news at 2055. ID, schedule and close down announcements at 2103 ("Now we are saying goodbye to our listeners from the Voice of Indonesia, Jakarta."). After brief pause there was another vocal until 2106. Fair and steady signal making for enjoyable listening (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4869.96, RRI Wamena, 1029-1110 Aug 18. I thought this was a local station at first, it being so strong. Stayed with this during the period and noted steady music. On the hour a quick ID by a man and then back to music. No news or other pertinent details noted. Signal was good even after 1110 (I left the recorder on while I walked the dogs) (Bolland, Chuck, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4870.9, RRI Sorong, 0924 Aug 15, azan magrib call to prayer started followed by 0929 lagu padang pasir (desert songs, i.e. Arabic style) then tedious information but with many mentions of Sorong from around 0935 until unceremonious 1005*. Crazy freq choice as RRI Wamena not far away on 4870 at similar strength. However, Sorong may have no choice but to use their very old 10 kW transmitter. The usual but extremely irregular 4875 xmtr (actually 4874.6) was first mentioned in WRTH in 1978 and before that 4871v was used. From 1986-88 both transmitters were used, 4871 in local a.m.'s and 4875 in evenings but since then only 4875. 9743.6, RRI Sorong, 0759* Aug 15, close down just after HCJB 9745 had s/on. Before that was weak but clear. 15125, RRI Jakarta, 0807 Aug 15, reactivated after many moons \\ 9680 11860. Observed past 1030 but fading as band propagation collapsed. Again at tardy *2223 on the same date (David Foster, Australia, DXplorer Aug 16 via BC DX via DXLD) ** IRAN. For how long has Iran been jamming Israel? Kol Israel`s Farsi service has been unjammed for a long time, but powerful jammers are heard on 15640 - and spreading down to 15650 some days - and weaker jamming on 17545. I haven`t heard jammers on new 17525 [x13860] yet (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 11/15 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 7460, Radio Sedoye Payeme Doost, *0227-0315* Aug 11, musical opening, woman with ID and announcements in Farsi. Some vocals but mainly long talks. At 0310 a man with ID and sign off announcements with music played until carrier cut. Good signal (Rich D'Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. KOL ISRAEL ENGLISH CHANGES Comments in Brackets [] are mine [Doni`s]. As of this past Thursday, they were totally removing the evening (Israel time) English broadcast. Instead, they removed the 15 minute broadcast, and added a 5 minute one. They also shortened the afternoon broadcast from 15 minutes to five minutes. http://bet.iba.org.il/?lang=23 English-language broadcast changes begin [began] Sunday This is an important announcement to local and overseas listeners of Kol Yisrael English-language news broadcasts. English news broadcasts can now be heard at the following local [Israel] times on Reshet Aleph, in the AM and FM bands: 7:00 to 7:15 a.m 1:10 to 1:20 p.m. [Instead of 1:15-1:30 p.m.] 8:00 to 8:05 p.m. [Instead of 7:30-7:45 p.m.] There is also a 10 p.m. broadcast in Reshet Hey on the FM band that can be heard in the Jerusalem area. [88.2 FM - difficult to receive without a decent PLL digital tuner, as there is another IBA radio station on 88 FM.] Overseas listeners can hear these broadcasts [on shortwave] at 4, 1010[-1020 instead of 1015-1030], 17 [a 5 minute broadcast - instead of the 15 minute broadcast at 1630 UT] and 19 hours UT. [I have not heard about the frequencies being used at the 1630 broadcast.] [That's Midnight-12:15 AM, 6:10-6:20 AM, 1-1:05 PM, 3-3:25 PM Eastern {daylight -- gh} Time. All of them are relays of the domestic English service, besides the 3 PM.] Daily Kol Yisrael news reports in English can also be heard on the Internet at websites http://www.iba.org.il and http://israelradio.org.il 17.08.2003 15:10 (Doni Rosenzweig, Aug 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ENGLISH RADIO NEWS CUTS DRAW PROTESTS By TOVAH LAZAROFF, From the Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1061110452195 Despite protests from listeners here and abroad, Israel Radio's English and French news on Sunday lost the bulk of their evening broadcasts to make way for Channel 1's 7:30 Hebrew news program. Past and current English News radio staff said the move to a five- minute news bulletin has destroyed what was once a vibrant news program that drew listeners from Washington, New York, London, and the Arab world, including the late King Hussein. Staff members already struggling to present a comprehensive news program in 15-minute segments instead of the half-hour they once had, said the 10-minute loss makes their programs irrelevant. According to Zvi Pantanowitz, a former head of English news, "Given what is happening in Israel today, to expect the whole thing to be summed up at the end of the day in five minutes is a bit ridiculous." Oren Helman, a spokesman for Israel Radio, disputed the claim that the new schedule will destroy the foreign-language evening news broadcasts. He said they have not been canceled, but rather replaced by a new schedule of five-minute news bulletins in English, French, and Spanish from 8:00-8:15 p.m. The bulletins are a tribute to the importance of foreign language news to listeners here and abroad, he said. Helman said Israel Radio shortened the broadcasts after receiving many requests from listeners to air Channel 1 television's Hebrew news program. Israel Radio feared it was losing listeners because it was not broadcasting the Channel 1 program, Helman said. But according to Marvin Silverman, national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, the cutbacks are simply the latest in a series of moves by the Israel Broadcasting Authority directed against English radio and television broadcasts. "There appears to be an attitude on the part of the powers that be at the IBA that the English-speaking audience are second-class citizens," he said, adding that the televised English news program on Channel 1 has also been cut back. Silverman said without comprehensive English news programs, it is hard for new immigrants and tourists to get accurate news about Israel. "The president and the prime minister talk about aliya from North American and then do all kinds of things to give a contrary message," he said. "The world speaks English, and to cut off the English news is to prevent others from hearing Israel's side of the story," Silverman said, adding that for lack of an alternative listeners abroad will be forced to rely on CNN and BBC. Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert, who was also appointed communications minister on Sunday, and is responsible for the IBA, was out of the country and could not be reached for comment. English and French news retain their 15-minute morning slots at 7 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. on Radio 1, but lost five minutes of their 15-minute lunchtime broadcasts, which can now be heard from 1 p.m. in French and 1:10 p.m. in English. The 15-minute Spanish evening news was split, with 10 minutes moved to 1:20 p.m. and another five minutes in the evening after the English and French news (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. According to Mr. Tohru Yamashita of Asian Broadcasting Institute, North Korea lost patience to the fact that South Korea did not stop their propaganda broadcasts to North in return for the close of "Voice of National Salvation" on August 1. "Korean National Democratic Front", the parent organization of "Voice of National Salvation", announced in P`yongyang on August 12 that they will relay Korean Central Broadcasting Service for 12 hours a day from August 15. On August 15 they broadcast at 0700-1300 and 1700-2300 KST (2200-0400 and 0800-1400 UTC on August 14-15) on 1053 (Haeju), 3480 (Wonsan), 4557 (Haeju), 4450 (Pyongyang) with the name of "Pyongyang branch of Korean National Democratic Front". The station is not a clandestine, but a formal one from North Korea now (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, BC-DX Aug 15 via DXLD) I notice that the Korean Central Broadcasting Station has now popped up on 6250.3 // 6398.9 naturally in Korean. From memory this station is a relay of the Domestic service and is relayed to the substantial Korean diaspora in Japan. I wonder if the senders were redirected away from the former northern based clandestines that were closed at the end of July (Robin L. Harwood, Norwood Tasmania, Aug 18, EDXP via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Os ouvintes mais assíduos da programação em espanhol da Rádio Coréia recebem a publicação Anual Report. Possui ótima encadernação e interessantes informações, conforme dica de Osmar Rodrigues, de Atibaia (SP). A publicação pode ser solicitada ao endereço eletrônico: intl@kbs.co.kr (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. V. of People of Kurdistan, 8170, July(?) 11, 1705 in Arabic, 4085 x 2? SINPO 25522 (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, August World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEBI, 790 kHz, Aguascalientes. Friendly VL and two stickers from Ing. Alfredo Rivas Godoy, Dir Gen who also said that XEBI is one of the oldest stations in Mexico, having been established in Sept 1936. Thanks to Henrik Klemetz for originally providing the ID on this one. (My 17th Mexican State QSL'd). (Paul Ormandy, ZL4TFX, Aug 19, EchoLink Node 87378, Host of The South Pacific DX Report http://radiodx.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Harold Hausenfluck of Richmond, Virginia alerted me to a station that turned out to be Radio Pakistan in Urdu heard Saturday Aug 16 on 15065 before 1800 and signing off around 1906 GMT with South Asian music, brief Kor`an, IDs. Good signal strength. Modulation could have been clearer, but not as bad as some. 73 (Charlie Gambill, Aug 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 15728, R. Pakistan 8/05 0220-0233 Farsi. Said programa en Farsi. ID, news, mentioning Iran (Sheryl Paszkiewicz, WI, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN: MINISTER SETS TARGET OF 25 TV CHANNELS, 100 RADIO STATIONS IN A YEAR | Excerpt from report by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency Islamabad, 18 August: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shaykh Rashid Ahmad said on Monday [18 August] that target of 25 television channels and 100 radio stations would be achieved within a year in the country. Addressing PTV General Managers Conference here, he said four channels of PTV and seven in private sector are presently functioning in the country. Some new channels are also being allowed to start working, thus the number of television channels would reach to 25 within a year, he added. Similarly, the minister said, new radio stations are being opened in private and public sector and there would be 100 radio stations in the country within a year. Shaykh Rashid asked Pakistan Television to prepare itself to meet this new challenge. Only those television channels which have better performance would survive in future. He said PTV has best talent and infrastructure to face the challenge of private channels. The minister said there is a big margin to improve news and current affairs programmes and directed to separate the news and current affairs. He said PTV News, Sports and Home channel will be started in a bid to provide latest information to the viewers. Appreciating the performance of PTV National, he said the viewers have appreciated this new channel which has recently been launched to telecast regional language programmes. [Passage omitted] The minister expressed the need to start a channel for children to educate them. He congratulated Chairman PTV Syed Anwar Mahmood and Managing Director PTV Akhtar Waqar Azeem for earning a profit of 70m rupees. Source: Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Islamabad, in English 1417 gmt 18 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. This week`s RVi Radio World is made up of vintage recordings from here and NZ, Samoa, including R. Wewak, 3325, full ID in Pidgin and English, GSTQ. As usual the audio is only available for one week until the next show http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw/rw_HI.asx http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw/rw_LO.asx (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4995, R. Andina, Huancayo 0300-0307 31/Jul SINPO=35222/35221 Leyendo carta de un "hermanito' a quien supuestamente le hicieron brujerías por medio de un muñeco y lo invita "a venir a mi consultorio en la ciudad de Huancayo... Usted me está escuchando a través de Radio Andina" y luego algo ridículo: "Les voy a adivinar de qué color es su radio. Hay un hermanito que nos escucha con un radio color negro. Otro hermanito nos escucha con un radio color gris, otro hermanito con un radio color plata...." (hi hi hi). El ruido atmosférico y el "fading" hacen muy difícil la escucha (Elmer Escoto, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, SONY ICF-SW7600GR y antena "random" de 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. La peruana de 5030 kHz puede oírse a las 0005 UT, con SINPO 2/1. Desconozco el nombre esta estación. (18/08). (Adán González, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Los Andes, Huamachuco, reactivated, as in 3-146 and 3-147, which I guess you don`t have time to read?? (gh) ** POLAND. R. Polonia English schedule: NEWS FROM POLAND – reports and correspondents` dispatches on events in Poland as they happen, including Press Review: M-F 1200, 1700 EUROPE EAST --- Reports from a network of correspondents all over the region: how are Poles, Czechs and Hungarians getting ready for EU membership, when will the Baltic states join NATO and why tourists should avoid Belarus`: Sat 1700 MULTIMEDIA SHOW --- News, chat and interview for shortwave and satellite enthusiasts: Tue 1730, Thu 1230 PANORAMA --- investigates a topical issue, from horse racing to child abuse to Polish millionaires: Sat 1205, Sun 1705 BUSINESS WEEK --- what`s happening in Europe`s fastest growing economy: Fri 1220, 1720 DAY IN THE LIFE --- anyone from government minister to polar explorer to Miss Poland: Wed 1720, Tue 1220 FOCUS: the arts in Poland: Thu 1720, Mon 1220 THE WEEKLIES: Sat 1730, Sun 1200 [press review?] COOKERY CORNER: Mon 1720, Wed 1220 DISCOVERING CHOPIN: Wed 1730, Fri 1220 POSTBAG: Fri 1730, Sun 1235 REQUEST CONCERT: Sun 1730, Tue 1230 SOUNDCHECK: Thu 730, Sat 1230 LETTER FROM POLAND: Tue 1720, Thu 1220 CHART SHOW: Sat 1730, Mon 1230 (Website via Mike Barraclough, Radio World, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Re Portugal and the spurs - this is a regular occurence, Wolfie. Whatever the cause, the effect can produce massive signals. 15525 is used by one of the older 100 kW units. I will try some of the signals you quote between 1600 and 1800 (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 15 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Frecuencia RM sale al aire en la programación de La Voz de Rusia los días martes: España: 2030-2100 UT por 11630, 9480, 7440 kHz America Latina: 0000-0100 (UT del miércoles) por 12010, 11750, 11510, 9965, 9830, 9665, 7330 kHz 0100-0200 (UTC del miércoles) por 12010, 11510, 9965, 9945, 9830, 7330 kHz (info enviada por gentileza de Pancho Rodriguez) (via Arnaldo Slaen, Aug 18, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ¿A qué horas exactas? (gh) See also CHILE [non] ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. 15705, Sawt al-Islah (Voice of Reform), 1915- 2001* Aug 10, presumed the one with long Arabic talks by various men with a couple of musical selections as bridges. Fair signal but heavy jamming reduced reception to poor level. Although transmission ended, jamming continued past 2025 tune out (Rich D`Angelo, PA, Cumbre DX Aug 19 via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, 0016-0044, R. SonderGrense, Aug 19. Very clear reception. 0015 Enya tune, Sail Away. S9 signal level with some fades. But very good reception. Then to more US pop tunes after male announcer with intros in Afrikaans language. Then to long talks at 0020. Some static crashes but fairly nice (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TOGO. 5046.68, Rdiff. Togolaise 1911 Aug 12. Audible and talk program in French. 1950 Changed to English News program. Radio Togo and Radio Lomé ID confirmed. Fair (Nobuo TAKENO, YAMAGATA, JAPAN, NRD- 535D with 10 meters wire, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 5046.66, 2331-2400, R. Togo, Aug 18. French tune at check in. A bit of a surprise as audio has been a problem. S9 signal level with some fades. Fairly clear however. Popular US pop tune at 2336; the name escapes me. Signoff with NA at 0006. Nice copy (Bob Montgomery Levittown, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TURKEY. VOT in the first week of July started a new series of programmes titled ``Religious Traditions in Turkish Music`` which was heard in the Sunday transmission at 1230 on 17830 to Eu, 17595 to Au/As (Edwin Southwell, UK, Radio World, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** UGANDA. Re Idi Amin`s UBC: North American service when you could hear the damn thing was at 0100 UT on 15.320, I think. At least that's what was on the QSL I got 3 years later (Lou Josephs, USA, 8/18/03; 8:50:52 PM, Media Network blog via DXLD) I thought it was 15325; 9515 is mentioned in the vintage clip at http://www.intervalsignals.net I plan to include in WOR 1196 --- BTW, prepare to cover your eyes if you mistakenly go to .com instead (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. For the benefit of those of you outside the BST time zone, this note relates to Tuesday 19 August. Sir Henry Wood, the man who single-handedly invented the BBC Promenade Concerts, died on this date in 1944. I think he was aged 70 (PAUL DAVID, Chairman, Brent Visually- Handicapped Group, Registered Charity No.: 272955, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Three cheers ** U S A. WBCQ`s main site http://www.wbcq.us has been down for several weeks, but lately we have been seeing this: ``We've been delayed... New Website Opens On Monday, August 18, 2003`` NOT: still not open on Aug 19 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 11785 - SITE? Radio Sawa 8/05 0230-0300* AR pop music, American pop music, ad, website. IDs. News mentioning Colin Powell, FM and kHz. Clever that they are on Baghdad's frequency (Sheryl Paszkiewicz, WI, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Morocco per SW Guide (gh) ** U S A. NEW STATION, 93.7, SCANS FOR IDENTITY By Robert Philpot, Star-Telegram Staff Writer If you've hit the "scan" button on your car radio lately, you might have been surprised to see it stop at 93.7, where a Fort Worth-Dallas radio station didn't previously exist. And perhaps more surprised to hear a smooth-jazz CD on the dial halfway between classic-rock land and regional Mexico. This is KNOR, which somehow found a home on Fort Worth-Dallas' overpopulated radio dial. What's KNOR gonna be? Don't know yet. When is it gonna play music full time? Don't know that, either. . . http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/living/6559104.htm (via Artie Bigley, Aug 18, DXLD) ** U S A. When I came through Albuquerque this morning I noted that KDEF/1150 was having problems. They obviously lost their satellite feed. The automation was still playing the commercials and IDs at the proper time. But when it would switch back to the programming all it got was dead air. This went on for at least an hour until I risked the roaming fees on my cell phone and called the station. Surprisingly I got a live person after only 2 rings on a Sunday morning. He said he was working on the problem with the satellite feed. Everything was back to normal within 10 minutes of my call. Made for an interesting format - dead air, commercials, IDs, more dead air. I can see the promos - "When you're tired of all the talk, all the music, and all the noise - relax with us. Dead air 11-50, KDEF, Albuquerque." (Patrick Griffith on the road in Alamogordo, Aug 17, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Local station WVIP, 1310, Mt. Kisco, New York has had an open carrier since the blackout ended here around 10 pm on Thursday. It is a relay station for Radio Visión Cristiana (1330 in New York City and a transmitter in the Caribbean.) It is a Spanish-speaking Christian station group. This station is 5000 watts directional during the day; low power at night. Two short towers in a meadow. It's hard for me to believe that no one has had the time to drive up here and reset the satellite receivers. They have recently dramatically cleaned up the transmitter hut by rebuilding the exterior walls and adding a new modern door in the last few months. WVIP`s studio facilities burned to the ground a few years ago. Since then, they have been on the air from (briefly) a mobile trailer next to the transmitter house, and then from another station's facilities nearby (WGCH Greenwich, CT 1590). They were sold to RVC a sesquiyear ago approximately. I have not noticed if their power change from high to low power is occurring at the correct time. It's a shame that a full-powered station in the New York City metropolitan area is now this disposable. So sad (Karl Zuk, N2KZ, Aug 17, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. Back from the Blackout --- As we go to press (so to speak) Sunday night, the Blackout of 2003 is well on the way to the history books: power is back on across the region, and the radio and TV dials are back to normal. But it's worth a moment to update our Friday recap of how broadcasters from Long Island to Cleveland handled the power failure - and to offer some lessons to broadcasters looking to make sure they don't go dark the next time the power goes off. We'll start with the market-by-market look at who stayed on and who didn't: http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Aug 18 via DXLD) When next week`s edition is published, the above issue (illustrated} should be found at: http://www.fybush.com/nerw-030818.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also CANADA ** U S A. Could Louisville broadcasters handle blackout? http://www.courier-journal.com/features/columns/dorsey/2003/dorsey20030818.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WIRELESS GROWTH HINDERS RESCUERS FCC VOWS TO FIX RADIO INTERFERENCE By Christian Davenport, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, August 18, 2003; Page A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7270-2003Aug17.html The explosive growth of the mobile phone industry has crowded and tangled the nation's airwaves to such an extent that wireless company signals are increasingly interfering with emergency radio frequencies used by police and firefighters, public safety agencies said. Emergency departments across the country -- including some in the District, Maryland and Virginia -- report unsettling stories of officers who can't call for backup, dispatchers who can't relay suspect descriptions and firefighters who can't request ambulances because of radio "dead spots" believed to be caused by wireless phone interference. "Just by the grace of God or good luck, we've been able to avoid a major problem," said Gary Manougian, a police officer in Portland, Ore. "But I don't think we can go on like this indefinitely." The Federal Communications Commission has vowed to find a solution, even if it has to reorganize a large swath of the radio spectrum -- a massive and controversial task, potentially costing hundreds of millions of dollars and taking years to complete, industry officials said. FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell said in a speech last week that "it is one of my top priorities . . . to ensure that public safety has the reliable spectrum resources it needs to do its lifesaving work." He warned that solving the problem "may be one of the most challenging spectrum policy proceedings" to come before the agency. No death or catastrophe has been attributed to such communication problems, said Robert Gurss, director of legal and government relations for the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, a nonprofit organization representing emergency communication officials. But dozens of agencies large and small -- from New York City to Androscoggin County, Maine -- have registered complaints, and one public safety coalition estimates that interference is a problem in at least 27 states. The issue has its roots in the 1970s, well before the popularity of mobile phones, when the FCC assigned channels in the 800 megahertz band to public safety departments. In the 1980s, wireless companies began to acquire, with federal approval, space adjacent to the emergency radio frequencies. Soon, the wireless phone industry started to grow. Last year, there were an estimated 140 million wireless phone subscribers, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association said. An increasing number of public safety agencies moved into the 800 megahertz band as well, and as the agencies and wireless companies occupied more spectrum space, airwave conflicts intensified. Communication officials said many factors cause interference. A common problem arises when a police officer, for example, is close to a wireless phone company transmitter but far from a tower that carries the signals for emergency radios. In that situation, the wireless phone tower overpowers the officer's radio, rendering it useless, the officials said. To solve the problem, the FCC is considering reshuffling channels in the 800 megahertz band. The idea is to separate the wireless companies from the public safety departments, so they inhabit different ends of the band. None of the companies is doing anything wrong, FCC officials said. As organized, the spectrum, which is a limited resource, simply can't accommodate everyone. There are several wireless companies operating in the 800 megahertz band, including Verizon, AT&T Wireless and Cingular, the FCC said. Most of the complaints that the agency has received have been caused by Reston-based Nextel Communications Inc. because many of its band frequencies abut those of emergency radios. Mindful of the mounting pressure, Nextel has teamed with a broad coalition of partners -- including the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and the International Association of Chiefs of Police -- to develop a proposal to reorganize the spectrum, which, if approved, would give Nextel some prime real estate in the airwaves. Nextel also has offered to pay $850 million for the cost associated with reshuffling the channels if its plan is adopted. The company's proposal is just one of many the FCC is reviewing. Many communication experts said that a complete reorganization of the spectrum is unnecessary, too expensive and too time-consuming. Meanwhile, public safety officials said the situation is urgent. "If we don't fix this now, it's only going to get worse," Gurss said. Anne Arundel County police officer Patrick A. Fisher said he ran into the problem one day this spring. The call from his partner that came over the radio was crackled and fuzzy, and Fisher could make out only two words: "start . . . fire." Fisher sensed a tone of urgency in the other officer's voice and rushed to the street he knew his colleague was patrolling. When he arrived, he saw the other officer futilely fighting a house fire with a garden hose. Fisher reached for his radio, but its reception was too weak until he drove a few blocks away. Finally, firefighters arrived. "If it was another couple of minutes," Fisher said, "the whole side of the house would have been gone." About two years ago, police officers in Portland were chasing a man after a carjacking attempt when their radios went dead. The man ran through a suburban area, then hid in the woods. About a dozen officers dropped into formation around him. "We were trying to set up a perimeter, but our radios wouldn't work," Manougian said. Some officers had to run into nearby homes to call in information to the dispatcher. Denver has identified at least 24 dead spots in its communications system, and the police officers know where they are, said Dana Hansen, superintendent of communications for the city's police department. It's particularly troubling, she said, that many of the dead spots happen to be at major intersections where many traffic accidents occur. When Fairfax County first purchased an 800 megahertz radio system, it had interference problems, said Mernie Fitzgerald, a county spokeswoman. Nextel and Cingular agreed to reconfigure their systems in the county, and they were able to solve the problem, she said. "We haven't had any problems in the last two years," she said. Montgomery County recently spent $175 million on a communications system that includes an 800 megahertz radio network. The county took care to ensure there wouldn't be any interference problems, said Lt. Dallas Lipp of the county fire and rescue department. The county's system is on a different part of the spectrum than local wireless phone networks, he said, so its system is less susceptible to problems. "But we're always monitoring how our system is performing," Lipp said. The District filed an interference complaint last spring with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International. Now, having been awarded a $40 million grant from the federal government, the city plans to build seven transmitters and receivers to strengthen its radio system's signal. Anne Arundel County plans to spend $15 million over five years to build more towers and to update its equipment. And last year, county officials passed a zoning law that required wireless companies to certify that their signals would not interfere with the county's radio system. Cingular asked the FCC to strike down the ordinance. Last month, the commission did so, saying that the county was trying to regulate the airwaves through its zoning code. The county, which has appealed the FCC's decision, has worked with the companies to reduce the interference. The effort appears to be working: The number of known dead spots has dropped from more than 60 to about 20, county officials said. Still, they said, 20 is too many. Meantime, Fisher said many colleagues on the Anne Arundel County police force have found their own solution: They carry cell phones in case their radios go dead. © 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** U S A. GETTING LOST WILL GET HARDER WITH NEW PERSONAL BEACONS BY PAUL ROGERS Knight Ridder Newspapers Posted on Sun, Aug. 17, 2003 SAN JOSE, Calif. - (KRT) - Forget about leaving a trail of bread crumbs. Getting lost in the woods may become a thing of the past, thanks to a new high-tech panic button for outdoors lovers. In a move that could change society's relationship with wilderness, the federal government last week rolled out a new electronic homing system that uses satellites to track "personal beacons" carried by outdoors enthusiasts. The devices will allow rescuers to immediately locate people stranded miles from civilization and facing life-threatening injuries. The beacons weigh about one pound and are slightly larger than a Palm Pilot. Each carries a transmitter that sends a satellite distress signal, when activated, to a national rescue center in Maryland. Used by sailors and pilots for 20 years, the devices were approved for land use for the first time on July 1 by the Federal Communications Commission at the request of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.noaa.gov). They cost $600 to $750, but prices are expected to fall as their use becomes more common. NOAA, which also runs the National Weather Service, predicts that as the beacons are offered for sale in outdoors stores such as REI in the coming months, they will prevent the deaths of hundreds of hikers, hunters, skiers and mountain bikers by providing an emergency lifeline to civilization. "We're extremely excited," said Marilu Trainor, a NOAA spokeswoman. "People buy good trekking shoes, clothing and tents. They should consider adding these beacons to their checklist. It's an investment in your own safety." Some outdoors lovers, however, are wary. While supporting the safety potential, they note that many people head to remote wild areas, such as California's Sierra Nevada, the Mojave Desert or Alaska's vast wildernesses, to sever ties with civilization. By carrying an electronic beacon, people heading into any American wilderness - no matter how remote - will always have the ability to be found, or to contact civilization, at a moment's notice. "People have profound experiences in wilderness," said Steven Shewach, the Sierra Club's national outdoor activities training manager. "They are spiritual. They are emotional. It is inspiring to see the beauty. But there's also a sense of adventure that comes from risk and pushing personal limits, both physically and emotionally. A lot of folks might say I don't want this technology there. I want to handle it on my own." Several companies manufacture the beacons. The more expensive models can pinpoint a person lost in the wilderness to within a few dozen yards. The less expensive models can pinpoint people to within about a mile. The way they work is similar to a tiny radio transmitter. [actually, exactly like a tiny radio transmitter --- gh] Operating on a 406-megahertz frequency, the beacons emit a signal that is picked up by 24 NOAA satellites in orbit after the user presses a button. That signal, which contains unique information about each user, is relayed to the U.S. Mission Control Center at the NOAA Satellite and Information Center in Suitland, Md., for processing, and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Air Force officials then contact local police or search-and-rescue teams to go find the person in trouble. An early test program using the devices in Alaska has saved more than 200 lives since 1994, from stranded snowmobilers to lost hunters. "The desire is to use resources effectively," said Lt. Col. Scott Morgan, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center commanding officer. Personal beacons "do that by pinpointing the location of the person in distress. The bottom line is we'll be able to better locate individuals and save lives." False alarms are a concern. After the beacons are activated, the user has 50 seconds to cancel the signal. People convicted of malicious use of the beacon can face up to six years in prison, $250,000 in fines and a bill from rescue agencies. For several years, hikers have debated whether to carry cell phones or GPS devices. Some do for safety, but others forsake them because of weight concerns and the feeling they compromise the wilderness experience. "Hikers are pretty much out there to get away from it all," said Liz Bergeron, executive director of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, in Sacramento. "I want to be out there with no connection. But these might bring some peace of mind to people's family and friends." In the end, the best route to back-country safety remains the tried-and-true rules, many experts say: Always tell others where you are going and when you'll return. Don't venture too far alone. Carry plenty of food and water. "I normally wouldn't carry one of these beacons," said Vern Gersh, an outdoor guide with Yosemite Guides, in El Portal. "But if I was going to do something more hard-core, alone, off the trail, it might be a good safety net." (c) 2003, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.). (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. I've made a few updates to our http://www.dkosmedia.com website that I would like to call your attention too. We have joined the over 100,000 sites that now carry the Code Amber ticker, the internet's version of the AMBER alert. To add this vital service to your website, click on the banner or the running ticker on my homepage to connect to codeamber.org. We've added obituaries for Roy Neil and Ed Townsend to our "Latest News" section. There is also a link to Roy's bio page; Plans for this week's show and the live365.com re-run schedule are in the "Program/Website" section. The sections are opened by clicking the item on the menu over on the left side. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Big Steve" Coletti, A Different Kind Of Oldies Show on WBCQ, 7415 kHz Shortwave, Saturday Evenings at 8:00 ET, 0000 UT-Sunday, E-mail: bigstevecole@email.com - Web: http://www.dkosmedia.com US Mail: P.O. Box 396, New York, NY 10002 (via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** U S A. SK - ROY NEIL [sics] HINKEL, K6DUE - SK We mourn the passing of someone we never met but worked with for many years. Roy Neil, formerly of NBC News and a co-founding member of, and regular reporter on the Amateur Radio Newsline passed away Friday August 15th from complications following heart surgery in High Point, NC. He was 82. For many years we helped distribute the ARNewsline by way of the old BBS network systems and in the early days of AOL, Prodigy, Compuserve and the long defunct GEnie network. Back in the 90's we used excerpts from ARNewsline on our old Crossband program on Radio Newyork International and later on the Let's Talk Radio satellite network. Through these reports and with comments we occasionally relayed back and forth by way of ARNewsline Founder/Editor, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, we felt like we got to know Roy just a little. We had an affinity for Roy Neil's work from the NBC days. He explained the space program and various scientific discoveries in layman's language, but always had that little extra in his reporting that made techknowledgy hungry minds like mine wanting more. His easy going style made it reassuring that we could also understand a little more of our ever changing science, turning our apprehension of the unfamiliar into comfort with our future. The AR Newsline was not published last week. Roy Neil Biography: http://www.angelfire.com/fl/engservice/K6DUE.html Warning: it plays a very boring MIDI version of the NBC News theme, John Williams' "The Mission" (Big Steve Cole, DKOS News via DXLD) SERVICE SET FOR ROY NEAL, K6DUE; FAMILY INVITES MEMORIAL DONATIONS NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 18, 2003 -- A service has been set for Tuesday, August 19, in High Point, North Carolina, for Roy Neal, K6DUE, who died August 15 following major heart surgery earlier in the week. He was 82. A retired NBC News science correspondent, producer and executive, Neal -- born Roy N. Hinkel -- chaired the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX)/Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Working Group. ARISS Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said Neal played a pivotal role in getting NASA to permit Amateur Radio aboard human spaceflight vehicles. ``Through his extensive contacts in NASA, he was instrumental in convincing NASA management to fly Amateur Radio onboard the space shuttle,`` said Bauer, who expressed condolences to Neal`s family on behalf of ARISS and AMSAT. ``Roy`s successful negotiations with NASA management led to the first on-orbit Amateur Radio operations by astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on the STS-9 space shuttle Columbia flight in November 1983.`` Bauer, who`s also AMSAT-NA`s vice president for human spaceflight programs, also credited Neal with being instrumental in forming the ARISS international team and for moderating its gatherings. ``K6DUE`s extensive experience as a newsman was put into practice as he utilized these talents to keep the ARISS team on-track and focused during these critical, consensus-gathering meetings,`` Bauer added. Neal also often emceed ARISS school group ham radio contact teleconferences. ARISS, a joint project of ARRL, AMSAT and NASA, developed the first permanent ham station in space aboard the ISS. Bauer called Neal ``an encyclopedia of knowledge`` about the US space program and said he was honored to have him as a friend. ``I will miss him dearly,`` Bauer said. ``K6DUE worked tirelessly to expand Amateur Radio operations beyond the surface of the earth. He personally challenged me and the entire ARISS team to develop, operate and maintain a permanent Amateur Radio station on the ISS. The ham radio station onboard the ISS serves as a living legacy to Roy Neal.`` Neal covered all of the Mercury missions for NBC -- becoming a personal friend of the Mercury 7 astronauts in the process -- and later reported the Gemini and Apollo missions and many early space shuttle flights. In the process, he got to know many of the country`s space pioneers. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame for his role in persuading NASA to allow the first Amateur Radio operation from space. Neal also was a regular visitor and sometime presenter at Hamvention and a correspondent and reporter for Amateur Radio Newsline. He hosted the 1987 ARRL video production New World Of Amateur Radio, an overview of ham radio in space. A Pennsylvania native, Neal began his broadcasting career at a Philadelphia radio station. Subsequently, he served as an infantry officer during World War II and served as a program manager for the Armed Forces Radio Network in Europe. Following the war, he resumed his broadcasting career in Philadelphia, this time in television. He went on to set up NBC`s West Coast news bureau. Later, the former NBC correspondent and producer anchored the New Year`s Day Tournament of Roses Parade telecast for many years. An ARRL member, Neal had been licensed for much of his adult life and was active on the air until the last few weeks of his life. He enjoyed DXing, HF and VHF. Survivors include his wife Pat and sons David and Mark. Neal`s services will be 11 AM August 19 at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, 1225 Chestnut Drive, High Point. The family invites donations in lieu of flowers to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Astronaut Hall of Fame, ATTN Linn LeBlanc, 6225 Vectorspace Blvd, Titusville, FL 32780. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (ARRL via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. For those who didn't already receive this: Busta moves... the "Radio Citadelle" on my page, no doubt. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-2661A1.doc (Terry L Krueger Clearwater, Florida USA, Aug 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Odino Joseph c/o Noah`s Ark Baptist Church 576 11th Street North Naples, Florida 34102 File No. EB-02-TP-300 NAL/Acct. No. 200232700020 FRN 0007-3087-3 FORFEITURE ORDER Adopted: August 14, 2003 Released: August 18, 2003 By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION In this Forfeiture Order (``Order``) we issue a monetary forfeiture in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to Mr. Odino Joseph (``Mr. Joseph``) for willful violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act``). The noted violation involves Mr. Joseph`s operation of a radio station without Commission authorization. On August 5, 2002, the Commission`s Tampa, Florida Field Office (``Tampa Office``) issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (``NAL``) to Mr. Joseph for a forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Mr. Joseph filed a response to the NAL on September 24, 2002. II. BACKGROUND On April 22, 2002, the Tampa Office received a complaint from a Naples, Florida broadcaster regarding an unlicensed FM radio station operating on 104.3 MHz in the Naples area. On May 14, 2002, two agents from the Tampa Office drove to the Naples, Florida area to investigate the complaint of unlicensed operation on 104.3 MHz. As the agents approached the Naples area they detected an FM radio station on 104.3 MHz. Using electronic direction finding techniques, the agents positively identified the source of the transmissions to be an antenna mounted on a tower attached to the back of Suite #530 in a strip mall located at 11th Street North, Naples, Florida. The agents determined that the station exceeded the permissible level for a non-licensed low-power radio transmitter by 31,953 times. Accordingly, a license was required for operation of this station. FCC records show no license has been issued for the operation of an FM broadcast station at this location. Thus, the station operated in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. The agents approached Suite #530 and interviewed a man near the suite. This man stated that he subleased Suite #530 along with a ``Pastor Odino`` but that it was ``Pastor Odino`` who operated the radio station. This man identified to the agents the location of the radio station behind locked doors inside Suite #530. Inside Suite #530, the agents found a handwritten note with the words ``Pasteur Odino`` and a telephone number. The agents observed a van parked in front of the strip mall. On the van were signs with the words ``Noah`s Ark Baptist Church`` along with an address that identified the location of the church as another suite in the same strip mall. The signs also listed a telephone number and the name ``Pastor Odino Joseph`` as the church`s pastor. The agents contacted Pastor Odino Joseph at the phone number found during the investigation. During this call, Mr. Joseph admitted to the operation of the unlicensed radio station on 104.3 MHz and promised to cease operation until a license could be obtained. On August 5, 2002, the Tampa Office issued an NAL for a $10,000 forfeiture to Mr. Joseph for operating a radio station without Commission authorization in willful violation of Section 301 of the Act. Mr. Joseph filed a response to the NAL on September 24, 2002. In his response, Mr. Joseph admits that he operated radio transmitting equipment, but requests cancellation or reduction of the forfeiture amount. Mr. Joseph asserts that although the violation was willful, it was not intentional. Mr. Joseph argues that the facts of this case do not warrant an upward adjustment of the forfeiture amount. Further, Mr. Joseph contends that all of the downward adjustment criteria are applicable. In support of his argument regarding the downward adjustment criteria, Mr. Joseph indicates that his violation is minor. Mr. Joseph states that the second criterion, good faith or voluntary disclosure, is also applicable because he did not attempt to conceal the origin of his broadcast or evade detection. Mr. Joseph also maintains that the signal strength of his transmissions was greater than he intended, which was only to reach within a couple of miles from his church. Mr. Joseph adds that he cooperated with the Commission`s agents and terminated all transmissions upon request. In addition, Mr. Joseph argues that he has a history of overall compliance. Finally, Mr. Joseph asserts that payment of the proposed $10,000 forfeiture would impose a financial hardship on him and submits financial information for 1999, 2000, and 2001 in support of this assertion. DISCUSSION The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance with Section 503(b) of the Act, Section 1.80 of the Commission`s Rules (``Rules``), and The Commission`s Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) (``Policy Statement``). In examining Mr. Joseph`s response, Section 503(b) of the Act requires that the Commission take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may require. Mr. Joseph acknowledges in his response to the NAL that he operated radio transmitting equipment without a license. Accordingly, we conclude that Mr. Joseph willfully violated Section 301 of the Act and a forfeiture amount of $10,000 was properly assessed. The term ``willful,`` as used in Section 503(b) of the Act, does not require a finding that the rule violation was intentional or that the violator was aware that it was committing a rule violation. Rather, the term ``willful`` simply requires that the violator knew it was taking the action in question, irrespective of any intent to violate the Commission`s rules. Moreover, the NAL in this case proposed the base forfeiture amount of $10,000 for the violation and did not apply any of the upward adjustment criteria. Thus, Mr. Joseph`s arguments that the upward adjustment criteria are inapplicable are irrelevant. Mr. Joseph`s claim that the violation was minor is not supported by the facts. Specifically, we do not believe that a non-licensed FM operation that exceeds the level for permissible non-licensed low power operation by more than 31,953 times is a minor violation. Moreover, we are not persuaded that a reduction on the basis of good faith or voluntary disclosure is warranted in this case. There is no evidence that Mr. Joseph made any efforts to correct or voluntarily disclose the violation prior to our investigation of this matter. Also, Mr. Joseph purports to have a history of overall compliance with the Commission`s Rules to support his claim for reduction of the forfeiture. However, in light of the fact that Mr. Joseph is not a Commission licensee, we do not believe he has any history with the Commission upon which a history of overall compliance reduction can be based. Furthermore, although Mr. Joseph has terminated all transmissions, remedial action taken to correct a violation is not a mitigating factor. Finally, based on the financial documentation provided by Mr. Joseph, we conclude that payment of the proposed $10,000 would impose a financial hardship on Mr. Joseph. Therefore, we will reduce the forfeiture from $10,000 to $1,000. ORDERING CLAUSES Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503 of the Act, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of the Rules, Mr. Odino Joseph IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for willful violation of Section 301 of the Act. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30 days of the release of this Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified, the case may be referred to the Department of Justice for collection pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act. Payment may be made by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should reference NAL/Acct. No. 200232700020 and FRN 0007-3087-3. Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent by first class mail and certified mail return receipt requested to Mr. Odino Joseph, 576 11th Street North, Naples, Florida 34102, and to his counsel, Marc L. Shapiro, Esq., 720 Goodlette Road North, Suite 304, Naples, Florida 34102. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION David H. Solomon Chief, Enforcement Bureau [Footnotes the referents of which did not survive conversion, deleted here] Federal Communications Commission DA 03-2661 (via Terry Krueger, DXLD) ** U S A. NPR and the International Association of Audio Information Services have asked the FCC for more time to reply to a study of low- power FM interference. They requested a 90-day extension of the deadline, originally set for Sept. 12. posted at 11:09 AM EST http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514383297 (Current via DXLD) ** U S A. Infineon: Glenn, To check the status of the Supreme Court of the United States case of Infineon vs Rambus (SCUS 03-37) go to http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/03-37.htm 73, (Kraig Krist, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmm, I see among the Attorneys for Petitioner is: Kenneth W. Starr (gh, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. Desde Montevidéu, Manrique Beceiro envia panorama atual das emissoras daquele país nas ondas curtas: em 6045 kHz, emite a Rádio Sport, com programação esportiva 24 horas, em paralelo com 890 kHz. Já em 11735 kHz, aparece a Rádio Oriental, em paralelo com 770 kHz. Na faixa de 31 metros, a SODRE pode ser ouvida em 9620 kHz, paralelamente com 650 kHz. Também a Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, em 9650 kHz, em paralelo com 1330 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 17 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. La estación YVTO, 5000 kHz, ha estado más de una semana fuera del aire. No quiero pensar que tan errática actividad sea el preludio a una salida definitiva del aire. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Aug 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. Re Degar Voice, 7115: The website http://www.radioradicale.it has material related to the Degar people. (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXplorer Aug 16 via BC-DX via DXLD) Interesting. Unfortunately, won't propagate to ECNA at that hour. Do they have a website? http://www.montagnard-foundation.org does not appear to be connected to the station itself (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Aug, via BC-DX Aug 17 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4960, 0015-0036 30/Jul SINPO=xxxxx Idioma indígena, probablemente miskito con algunas frases en español. Anuncian un número telefónico que no corresponde al formato usado en Honduras: 895-015. Además los controles de la hora que emiten no concuerdan con la hora en que se realizó la escucha, por lo que debe tratarse de un programa pre-grabado: "10 de la mañana con 30 minutos...". No capté ninguna identificación (Elmer Escoto, Honduras SONY ICF-SW7600GR y antena "random" de 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) En la frecuencia de 4959.98 kHz está transmitiendo Radio Federación Shuar, Sucia (Ecuador). Probablemente sea la emisora Elmer Escoto ha captado. Estoy de acuerdo con Arnaldo. Otra posibilidad es Cima100, Sto. Domingo (República Dominicana); no recuerdo la frecuencia exacta pero está más bajo que Federación. Se reconoce la emisora por su sonido ``débil`` y claro también por su música ``caliente``. [see DOMINICAN REPUBLIC above: 4959.86] Durante bastante tiempo he tenido una estación no identificada en 4960.46 kHz pero solamente en la mañana aproximadamente entre 10-1100 UT con español y algún idioma indígena. Bolivia? (Björn Malm, Ecuador, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DE RADIOS Estimados Amigos, Por medio de la presente los invito a participar de http://www.deRadios.com - Un Sitio de Radios, donde accederá a toda la información de lo que ocurre con las Radios de Argentina y Latinoamérica. Para ello suscribase a nuestro Newsletter Semanal Sin Cargo haciendo click en este link SUSCRIPCIÓN y disfrute los beneficios de compartir la Magia de la Radio en la Web. A la espera de vuestro contacto, los saludo muy cordialmente (Darío Durán, Director General, http://www.deRadios.com +54 223 495-8871 Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ THE PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FROM OTTAWA http://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/myservlet/geomag_CLF/main_e.jsp Here`s the 27-day outlook in graphical form, which we used to get in the P-mail and quote on WOR along with Boulder info. 27 - Day Magnetic Activity Forecast http://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/forecast27days_e.shtml Unfortunately, it is only issued every 27 days, apparently with no daily or even weekly updates, and the current one covers thru Aug 26; further, it is awfully slow-loading (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MAJOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM We have ALL been caught out, by the behaviour of the Sun in the last 30 Hours or so (This includes the observatories!!!). Jan Alvestead has just returned from holidays; you might like to look at his latest report on http://www.trsc.com A surprise Coronal Mass Ejection arrived at Earth at about 1340 UT on Sunday 17th August 2003; this was followed by the commencement of a Severe Geomagnetic Storm at 0100 UT on Monday 18th August 2003. The 'K' Index got as high as '8' at some observatories. It now looks as though the next forecast Coronal Hole, may get into Geoeffective Position on the Sun, somewhat earlier than originally expected. I am afraid it looks as though the 'promised window' for quiet conditions for the next couple of days, is not, now, in the main, going to happen. The Solar Wind IS dropping quite quickly, at the moment, I am NOT confident that this will continue for more than a further 6 to 18 Hours. VERY sorry, folks!! There are also currently, several interesting comments on Auroras, which are very much connected with Solar and Radio Conditions. on the Main Page of http://www.spaceweather.com Can I especially commend you to read the Daily Report and Forecast on this Site after 2210 UT this evening. Because of changes on the Site, I find the best way to access this, now, is to put 'NOAA Forecast' into http://www.google.co.uk and select the second item that comes up on the resultant list (Ken Fletcher, 1811UTC=1911UTC+1, 18th August 2003, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Severe attenuation of Radio Signals observed here on Short Wave, this evening (Hardly surprising!!) This is the best time to look for Transmissions from SOUTH of us, where Northern Signals are Attenuated by Geomagnetic Storm Effects. I bet 5.850 Radio Canada via Sweden won`t be up too much to-night. I would be interested in any observations posted on this one, relating to this evening`s transmission (2000-2130 UT) from various parts of the country, or any other transmissions thought relevant, for example can the 60M experts tell us about transmissions this evening, compared to normal? Many Thanks (Ken Fletcher, 1842UTC=1942UTC+1, 18th August 2003, BDXC-UK via DXLD) DAILY SOLAR SPACE WEATHER AND GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Here are some general guidelines concerning correlation of propagation indices to actual expected propagation conditions. You can find more information at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf8.htm 1.) Dropping indices numbers are better, except for solar flux on HF. 2.) For medium frequencies a solar flux under 150, under 100 better, 70 is best for E layer multi hop. Keep in mind though that the 10.7 cm (2800 MHz) solar flux index is not a "reliable" gauge of ionization in our atmosphere, as the energy of photons at this frequency is to low on the order of one million times. 2a.) For high frequencies a solar flux of 100 is okay, 150 better, above 200 best for F layer multi hop. 3.) Solar flux of at least 100 for E valley-F layer ducting mechanism. 4.) Previous 24 hour Ap index under 10, under 7 for several days consecutively is best. 5.) Previous 3 hour Kp index under 3 for mid latitude paths, under 2 for high latitude paths, 0-1 for several days consecutively is best. 6.) Energetic protons no greater than 10 MeV (10+0) for 160/120 meters and no greater than (10-1) on MF broadcast band. 7.) Background x-ray flux levels less than C1 for several days consecutively for 160/120 meters and less then B9 for MF broadcast band. 8.) No current STRATWARM alert. 9.) IMF Bz with a negative sign, indicates a better chance of high latitude path auroral absorption/unpredictable refraction or scattering of MF RF signals, when the Kp is above 3. 73, Thomas F. Giella, Space & Atmospheric Weather Forecaster, C/S KN4LF, Plant City, FL, USA 33566, EL87WX SWFWMD Rainfall Observer #574 NWS Tampa Bay, FL Skywarn Spotter #HIL-249 Florida Space & Atmospheric Weather Institute: http://www.kn4lf.com/fsawi.htm (via hard-core-dx via DXLD) ###