DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-151, August 21, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser 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 1196: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0800, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 [nominal times subject to delay or pre- emption] WWCR: Sat 1030, Sun 0230 on 5070, 0630 on 3210, Wed 0930 on 9475 WRMI: Sat & Sun 1800+ on 15725 WINB: Sun 0031 on 12160 WBCQ: Mon 0415 on 7415 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 [NO LOW VERSION THIS WEEK; SORRY] [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1196h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1196h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1196.html I AM NOT REPONSIBLE for any viruses you may be getting, spoofing one of my hotmail accounts as sender!!! Judging from all the bounces I am getting, further filling up my accounts with spam, making them almost unusable, a lot of these are going out, presumably the latest virus sobig. The entire message typically runs around 100K, whatever the subject may be, which won`t have any relevance to what you might really get from me. I do not believe my own computer is infected. One story about this: http://www.msnbc.com/news/955498.asp Preferably contact me via one of my yahoo accounts, such as the one announced on World of Radio. You are not likely to get an original message from me at hotmail, tho a reply might come from there if that`s where you sent yours (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Got you, via the High Version but with a lot of interruptions, sorry to hear of your Recording Troubles, but as I believe you would say over there, 'I sure hope you will be back on Low Stream Next week'. (Ken Fletcher 2130UTC=2230UTC+1 August 21st 2003) Siempre trato de leerlo completo. Es sin duda un EXCELENTE MATERIAL para todo diexista que se respete. Saludos, (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Venezuela) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476 kHz - LRA36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel En relación al comentario de que el pasado lunes 18 del presente, LRA36 no fue escuchada, les puedo confirmar que efectivamente la emisora estuvo fuera del aire ese día. Esto fue debido a que se estuvo trabajando en la reparación de la antena; no se efectuaron emisiones durante ese día. Las transmisiones de LRA36 están sujetas en ciertos momentos a las crudas condiciones climáticas del Territorio Antártico, en donde soplan rafagas de hasta 360 kms/hora; lo que hace en esos momentos, se retire la antena y se cambie su posición para que no sea destruída, razón por la que queda fuera del aire temporalmente. Inclusive, en esos momentos de fuertes vientos, el personal no puede salir siquiera de sus viviendas por razones obvias (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) What about Aug 27/28 special you foresaw back on July 20? Went ahead and mentioned it on WOR 1196, in case it is still in the offing (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. The ARDS studios are at Nhulunbuy (Gove) and the program is sent via satellite to the transmitter site near Darwin, for which they pay a rental of A$700 a week. The project has a budget of $A1m to become fully operational. Just under 50% of this has been raised to date. Programs include local indigenous music and pre-recorded programs funded by government, NGO and philanthropic groups. The idea of `radio browsing`’ allows listeners to call the station with information and education requests. The staff then web search for answers and put a program together. ARDS was founded in 1973. It’s the community development arm of the Northern Regional Council of Congress (NRCC) which is the Aboriginal & Islander Presbytery of the Northern Synod of the Uniting Church of Australia Australia. Contact details: 19 Pera Circuit, Nhulunbuy NT 0880 (studios) studios); PO Box 1671 Nhulunbuy NT 0881 (mailing) mailing); T: +61 8 8987 3910. F: +61 8 8987 3912. Email: nhulun@ards.com.au Website: http://www.ards.com.au Radio Service Manager: Dale Chesson Background: Australian domestic SW broadcasts using up to 1 kW power are permitted under recent law changes and must use a selected group of frequencies which do not require further notification outside Australia. Holders of other types of broadcasting licences are now allowed to add these SW broadcasts, but only for a domestic audience. Northern Territory obtained self-government in 1978 and now seeks full statehood by 2008. The population of the entire territory is just 200,000. Darwin has people from 130 countries speaking 60 languages. Many parts of SE Asia (such as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia) are closer to Darwin than Australia`s federal capital in Canberra. The NT is embarking on a series of major economic infrastructure projects. A 1000 km gas pipeline is planned across Arnhem Land, linking the Timor Sea gas field Blackrip with the Alcan alumina plant at Nhulunbuy. The pipeline is likely to run through traditional Yolgnu land. Sources: ARDS, Australian X-Band Guide (under preparation), Australian Financial Review Magazine August 2003 (NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES PAGE 38 AUGUST 2003 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. NOVA / NUEVA / NEW RADIO 4781.5 RADIO TACANA, Tumupasa, Departamento de La Paz, 0202, August 20, 45444; música latina, OM: "Sintoniza Tacana la radio... la programación contigo hasta 11 con 30 minutos (0330 UT)", "Transmite desde Tumupasa, norte de La Paz, Radio Tacana" "estaremos mañana a las 6 (1000 UT)..." 0305 música brasileira (música brega de la Amazônia brasilera) hasta 0328, s-off 0331. OM anuncia que ésta es la segunda prueba; pienso que salió al aire por la mañana. Radio Tacana pertenece al Consejo Indígena del Pueblo Tacana --- CIPTA y está localizada en la Población de Tumupasa, Provincia Iturralde, Departamento de La Paz. Al norte del departamento de La Paz, región de Ixiamas y San Buenaventura, al noroeste de Reyes y Rurrenabaque (Depto. Beni). http://amazonas.rds.org.co/Libros2/Bolivia/Bol00025.htm http://www.bolivia.com/empresas/cultura/Pueblos_Indigenas/Tacana.asp 73 (Rogildo Fontenelle Aragão, Quillacollo, Bolivia, Aug 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also heard in other parts of South America and as far off as Europe: Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador: 19 August 2003, 0245, on 4780.96 kHz, Radio Tacana, provincia Iturralde, departamento Pando. [Rogildo Fontelle is stating depto La Paz]. Hermod Pedersen, Huaröd, Sweden: 22 August 2003, 0010-0110, on 4780.96, Radio Tacana, playing non-stop music occasionally interrupted by Radio Tacana-IDs. Before 0000 frequency blocked by het-tone from Mali on 4782. (hard-core-dx via DXLD) 4780.96 Radio Tacána, provincia Iturralde, departamento Pando. El 19 de Agosto 2003 - 0245 UT. Radio Tacána estuve en el aire la primera vez (probablemente) El primer de julio 2003 en la frecuencia de 4780.89 kHz. No he notado nada entre 1 de Julio y 18 de Agosto. En 19 de Agosto en la noche de nuevo estuvo en el aire en 4780.96 kHz con buena señal y calidad de sonido. "Radio Tacána está transmitiendo en 4780 M(!)Hz, banda de 60 metros onda corta". "Desde la provincia de __Iturralde, el departamento de Pando en 4780 M(!)Hz banda de 60 metros onda corta transmite Radio Tacána". 73 de (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CANADA. For those interested in why CHU has been off the air, I talked to them via e-mail and they said that their backup generator failed during the power outage. They will return to the air when either the power grid is stabilized or the backup generator is repaired (Patrick Griffith, on the road in Alamogordo, Aug 19, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) CHU time/frequency station in Ottawa: I made contact by phone today August 20. CHU has been off since the blackout. They are having problems with the backup equipment and in particular the cooling system which requires a lot of energy, apparently. They are working on it and hope to be back on soon, whenever that is (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHU Ottawa. As of this time 1800 UT Thursday August 21 CHU is back on 7335 kHz only. Nothing on 3330 and 14670 as yet (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. WELL WORTH A LISTEN By PAUL GILSTER, Correspondent I enjoy being read to, and I used to tune in radio stations in Montreal or Toronto so I could hear the Canadian Broadcasting Co.'s regular book reading sessions. These weren't available over the CBC's shortwave service, so I had to cope with static-filled AM radio frequencies, but hearing a good book was worth the effort. I can now abandon the CBC, because Audible offers a wide variety of books... http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2797062p-2585870c.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) For a price. CBC Radio One readings still scheduled at 10:40 pm local, and also sometime during Richardson`s Roundup in the afternoon (gh) ** CANADA. GARDINER IN NEW SLOT (CKLW-AM's 50,000 watt signal reaches much of Southwestern Ontario, northern Ohio and a large part of Michigan.) Cam Gardiner comes back to life on AM-800 CKLW radio Sept. 2, flying solo in a new program. The veteran radio man has taken control of the diabetes that nearly killed him nine months ago. Now he will be working in the bright light of day, as host of a show created around him from noon to 3 p.m. called Live Today. His partner for more than 15 years, Lisa Williams, is returning, too, from family leave, but she will resume the station's morning shift, 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. [EDT = UT -4] She will have a new co-host, Mike Kakuk, who has been keeping the morning mike warm during Cam-and-Lisa's absence. "I'm going to miss working with Lisa more than anything," Gardiner said. He acknowledged, however, that getting up in the middle of the night had taken a toll on his health. Live Today will begin with an hour of information from the parent CHUM network, local news, sports and other items with Gardiner doing the intros. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. he will conduct telephone interviews, locally and across the continent, both on breaking news and human- interest issues. "It's local live programming in the middle of the day, something we haven't had in years. The station wanted to open up the slot anyhow," Gardiner said. Melanie Deveau's Windsor Now show shifts to 3-6 p.m. followed Dr. Joy Browne in a new slot, 6-9 p.m. She'll be followed by Dr. Gabe Mirkin and then the Deborah Ray Show, both continuing in their current time slots. Coast To Coast with George Noory continues 1-5 a.m. On weekends, Money Talks with Jerry White is moving to 8 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday schedule changes will put Motor Trend on at 9 a.m., Herbal Pharmacist at 10 a.m., Satellite Sisters from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Halo Radio after 2 p.m., Halt Trading at 6 p.m., the Local Line on Sports at 7 p.m. and Raceline Radio at 8 p.m. Wayne Stevens At Large has been dropped after 10 years but he continues his afternoon show on the sister station, CKWW-AM. Leah Hansen leaves the temporary morning job and returns to swing- shift replacement assignments (Windsor Star Via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) Satellite Sisters? Is that the same program which used to be on public radio in the US, cancelled? (gh) ** COSTA RICA. Radio For Peace International met on 18th August with University for Peace representatives in the first of the meetings to be held between the two organizations during the agreed time period for `conversations` ending October 31st. The next scheduled meeting between RFPI and the University will take place on 4th September. RFPI wishes to thank all listeners and supporters for their crucial dedication and commitment to an ongoing campaign of letter writing, petition sending and raising awareness in countless ways about this issue with their local media. Continuing international attention on events here at RFPI is vital for the survival of the only progressive voice on short wave, YOUR global community radio station!!!! Thank you!!! (RFPI Update Aug 19 via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) For almost two decades, United Nations Radio has maintained a close working partnership with Radio for Peace International --- a short- wave broadcasting station that transmits its programming from the campus of the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Radio for Peace International retransmitted taped and news programmes of United Nations Radio in English, French and Spanish to audiences in the Caribbean and Central America. Starting in September 2000, when United Nations Radio launched its daily live news and current affairs programme in the six official languages, Radio for Peace International began broadcasting the programme in English and Spanish to same target regions (from http://www.un.org/ga/coi/6e.htm via Franklin Seiberling, IA, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 6175, 0950 20/7, Faro del Caribe good with music and ID (Andrew Sunde, Ohai, ICF 2001, 5 MHz dipole, 40m wire, Aug NZ DX Times via DXLD) Haven`t seen this frequency reported in a long time (gh) ** CUBA. GOOD NEWS, AMIGO BOB !!! Three new 100 kW transmitters now on the air replacing the more than 40 year old Brown Boveris. Try listening to 11760 kiloHertz in Spanish. It is beaming to NY, but should deliver a good signal at your QTH. We also use the same transmitter earlier in the day on 11875 kiloHertz. 73 and DX (Arnie Coro, Dxers Unlimited, Aug 19 with his script to Bob Chandler, ODXA via DXLD) Viz.: Item one: Big thank you from our engineering staff. They simply loved the reports provided by listeners in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe and even Australia and New Zealand of the new 100 kW transmitter during its first on the air test on 9600 kiloHertz; now they have two more of the new ones on the air. One is on 11760 kiloHertz with our East Coast of North America beam in Spanish, and the other one is on 9550 kiloHertz with our Caribbean and Southern region of North America phased dipoles array. So, once again, your kindfull coöperation is requested. Monitor both 11760 kiloHertz and 9550 kiloHertz from 00 to 05 UT and send your signal reports directly to me via e'mail to arnie@r... [truncated by yahoogouprs]. By the way, for the technically minded our new transmitting equipment is using pulse step modulation, a system that is much more energy efficient than the conventional AM plate modulated system. [Later:] You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, and yes amigos, we are really happy here after almost completing the start up procedures of three new short wave 100 kiloWatt transmitters. They are now used for our Spanish language evening local time in Havana broadcasts, from 00 to 05 hours UT. The frequencies are 9550 kiloHertz to the Caribbean and Southeastern North America, 9600 kiloHertz beaming to South America's Atlantic coast and 11760 kiloHertz beaming to Eastern North America. We are also using the three new transmitters during our Spanish language morning broadcasts that start at 11 hours UT and last until 15. The morning frequencies are at this moment 11705 kiloHertz to South America, 9550 kiloHertz to the Caribbean and 11760 kiloHertz to Eastern North America, but we may be changing the 11705 kiloHertz frequency soon. On 9550 kiloHertz we are also broadcasting in English, Creole and French to the Caribbean during our local afternoon .... Send your signal reports and comments to arnie@r... [truncated] (Prof. Arnaldo Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 19 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) ** CUBA. El gobierno cubano "censa" todos los ordenadores de la isla y "decomisará" los de origen dudosa En toda la isla se inició la semana pasada la "Operación Windows", que tiene como objetivo la realización de un inventario de computadoras en centros de trabajo y residencias particulares y el decomiso de las que se consideren de "origen dudoso", según publica el diario online "Cubanet" La operación es controlada por la Seguridad del Estado e incluye a la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria y el Departamento Técnico de Investigaciones. Participan también presidentes de los Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR), jóvenes comunistas y estudiantes universitarios. En las viviendas privadas se recogen en formularios el nombre del dueño del equipo, la marca del mismo, documentos que legitimen la propiedad del mismo, año de adquisición del ordenador, uso y cómo lo adquirió. En las empresas se solicitan facturas de su compra, documentos de su existencia, roturas, pérdidas por robo y uso de los equipos, así como los autorizados a permanecer en viviendas. De acuerdo a informaciones ofrecidas por fuentes dignas de crédito, la "Operación Windows" no podrá obtener todos los datos que se estiman, ya que tanto los centros de trabajo como cualquier particular podrían no declarar la existencia de computadoras, pudiendo esto burlar el levantamiento de las mismas. cnet/20 (via José Elías, Venezuela, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. "We Will Succeed" -- BBG Chairman Tomlinson Announces Initiative to Improve Radio and TV Martí Delivery to Cuba [naughty, naughty, ``venceremos`` is reserved for the Commies! -- gh] Miami, FL, August 21, 2003-- At a press briefing this morning in Miami, Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, joined by Office of Cuba Broadcasting Director Pedro Roig and fellow BBG Governor Joaquin Blaya, issued the following statement concerning Radio and Television Martí: "We have been working diligently to strengthen the signals of Radio and TV Martí, to allow the people of Cuba access to uncensored news and information. As part of this effort, I am pleased to announce that we will soon undertake testing to see if TV Martí can be sent to the Cuban people by satellite. This would allow viewers in Cuba to receive the TV Martí signal via state of the art satellite technology through free-to-air reception. Free-to-air means that the satellite signal is not encrypted and can be viewed by anyone with a dish and an ordinary digital receiver. Radio Martí's signal would also be included in the transmission. "Hispasat will provide a powerful signal with a footprint that fully covers all of Cuba and nearly all of Latin America. Satellite receivers now on the island that are able to receive direct-to-home, free-to-air can be easily tuned to receive the signal. According to various commercial sources, satellite dishes are being used by more and more Cubans, and the numbers continue to rise. Moreover, we expect that as a powerful television signal with reliable, objective news and information becomes available to the Cuban people, it will inevitably find viewers. If we build it, they will come. "VHS tapes with the best of the week's programming on TV Martí will also be made available to the Cuban audience. We are confident that with the extraordinary resourcefulness of the Cuban people, and with the assistance of those outside Cuba who wish them well, these VHS tapes will quickly find an eager and growing audience of Cubans who thirst for unbiased, fair, and professional reporting that is otherwise unavailable to them. We are confident that broadcasting the truth is not only right, and our duty. It is also comfort and an encouragement to the dissidents living in Cuba who -- as did their predecessors in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union -- brave the dictator's anger to speak the truth. "But the Castro regime is not content only to misinform the Cuban people. The Cuban government also spends huge sums to block Radio Martí and its television services. We hope that the measures we are announcing today will make it easier for the Cuban people to hear and see our signal through the electronic curtain that Fidel Castro has caused to descend upon the unfortunate Cuban people. But if our efforts to penetrate this obstacle do not succeed, we will not stop trying. We will succeed. "We are also making improvements in our programming to Cuba. TV Martí is now implementing a new format with a heavy emphasis on news and information programs. As a result, news programming will nearly double. On the entertainment side, we have arranged for Major League baseball games to be broadcast on TV and Radio Martí, including the playoffs and World Series. The Voice of America's half-hour radio program, Ventana a Cuba, that is now aired on Saturday and Sunday will be increased so that listeners can hear it every day. Cubans with access to the Internet will be able to receive the entire increased output of U.S. international broadcasting online. "All of these efforts are part of the Administration's commitment both to strengthen and modernize TV and Radio Martí, and to improve the content and usefulness of our broadcasts. The freedom of Cuba's long- suffering people remains a high priority for this Administration as it does for the American people. So long as the Cuban people remain in chains, the liberty of all people is threatened. Our efforts to provide a reliable, accurate, and accessible source of news and information to the people of Cuba will advance the day when they can breathe free." (BBG Press release Aug 21 via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. THROWING A BONE TO MIAMI'S CUBANS [do they mean to imply that Miami`s Cubans are (mad) dogs ??] By NBC 6 Reporter Hank Tester --- POSTED: 12:15 p.m. EDT August 19, 2003 UPDATED: 9:05 p.m. EDT August 19, 2003 MIAMI -- NBC-6 has learned that early in September the Bush administration will announce that the signal for TV-Martí will be beamed into Cuba via satellite. The satellite delivery system announcement is an attempt to answer harsh criticism by Cuban exile power brokers and politicos that TV- Marti is a failure. They charge the U.S. Government has been unable to figure out how to penetrate the Castro government's electronic jamming of TV-Marti's over-the-air signal. . . http://www.nbc6.net/hanktester/2415506/detail.html (via Jilly Dybka, WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) U.S.-FUNDED TV MARTÍ TO REACH CUBA VIA SATELLITE --- BY MADELINE BARO DIAZ, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Posted on Thu, Aug. 21, 2003 MIAMI - (KRT) - Officials with U.S.-funded TV Martí, the television station that broadcasts an alternative to Cuba's state-run media, announced Thursday that they will start using a satellite to reach the island. The Office of Cuba Broadcasting, based in Miami, said the effort was aimed at thwarting the Cuban government's repeated jamming of TV Martí`s signal. Within a few days, its employees will begin using the Histasat satellite, located over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and near the equator, to strengthen the signals of both TV Martí and Radio Martí. "We have great confidence that this platform, this satellite, is the answer we have been waiting for," said Pedro Roig, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. "It is the most modern communications technology available." Cuba analysts, however, described the Bush Administration's attempt to strengthen the ability of the stations as not just an attempt to evade the blocking technology of Fidel Castro's government. Experts said the plan also helps address a wave of criticism from prominent Cuban- Americans that the administration has not had a tough enough policy towards Cuba - much as the indictment Thursday of a Cuban general and two pilots for the 1996 deaths of four Cuban-American fliers did. Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, said those moves were only a start. "The Cuban community would like to see more," Suchlicki said. "They had big expectations." TV Martí, which went on the air in 1990, broadcasts its signal from a balloon that is tethered to Cudjoe Key. Because of Cuba's efforts to block its signal, the U.S. government has had better luck with Radio Martí, which Cubans have been able to pick up on shortwave radios or on AM radio outside of Havana. Using satellite technology will cost close to $1 million, money that will come from TV Martí's $10 million annual budget. Although the satellite might get around the jamming, only Cubans with satellite dishes will be able to pick up the signal. Roig said he did not know how many Cubans have satellite dishes, but some estimates put the number at close to 20,000. Officials also said Cubans might be able to fashion a device that would allow them to get the signal. In Cuba, the plan was met with some skepticism. Elsa Morejón, whose husband Oscar Elias Biscet was convicted in April along with 74 other dissidents in Cuba, is a weekly contributor to Radio Martí, where she speaks about Cuba's penal system. She called the plan to send Radio and TV Martí signals to Cuba via satellite "unviewable" because only a few privileged Cubans have satellite dishes at home. "What are they going to do, broadcast for foreigners?" she asked. "Those (dishes) are concentrated in the capital because this is where the foreigners and the money are, but in the interior provinces they don't exist." Satellite dishes cost about $700 for 200 channels on the black market - almost 100 times more than an average Cuban's salary. Some Cubans tape new release movies and sporting events and make a brisk side business renting the videos for a few cents. Though the satellite dishes are generally tolerated, last year the government swept several Havana neighborhoods and seized some. Cubans generally hide the dishes in water tanks or other receptacles on their roofs and sometimes share programming by splitting cables into various apartments in a building. Morejón also said beaming Radio and TV Martí programming via satellite might cause the Cuban government to clamp down on those who have dishes. "Maybe there is tolerance now because most people only watch entertainment," she said. "They (the government) will see who has satellites and taken them away." Radio Martí officials said even if the latest signal is jammed they are committed to getting TV Martí into Cuba. The station hopes to nearly double its programming, with a heavy emphasis on news and sports. Otto Reich, Bush's chief adviser on Latin America, touted the satellite broadcast as "one more step the Bush administration is taking to break through the information blockade." In Miami, however, the announcement failed to satisfy some of the Bush administration's staunchest critics, who have alleged that a lack of political will - not a lack of adequate technology - has kept TV Martí off the air. "This is a mockery," said Cuban exile activist José Basulto, who earlier this year broadcast a video message to Cuba from a plane to show how easily the U.S. bypass the Cuban government's jamming. "This will only reach the hotels and Cuban government officials." --- (South Florida Sun-Sentinel correspondent Vanessa Bauza contributed to this report.)--- (c) 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) TV MARTÍ WILL TRY TO REACH CUBANS WITH SATELLITE TRANSMISSIONS --- BY NANCY SAN MARTIN, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Posted on Thu, Aug. 21 MIAMI - (KRT) - TV Martí will begin satellite transmissions to Cuba as early as next month in an effort to break through the government jamming that has left the $11 million-a-year station largely unable to get its pro-democracy message to its intended audience, U.S. officials announced Thursday. ``The freedom of Cuba's long-suffering people remains a high priority for this administration,'' Kenneth Tómlinson, chairman of the federal agency that oversees the broadcasts, said at the Miami office for TV Martí. ``Our efforts to provide a reliable, accurate and accessible source of news and information to the people of Cuba will advance the day when they can breathe free.'' The decision was viewed by some Cuban-Americans as part of an effort by the Bush Administration to quell rising frustrations among South Florida's exile community, which has openly criticized Washington in recent weeks for doing little to step up U.S. pressures on Cuba. Thursday's announcement came as federal authorities unsealed a Miami grand jury indictment against two Cuban MiG pilots and the head of the island's air force for the 1996 shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes that killed four people. At a monthly cost of about $80,000, the satellite TV broadcasts will begin with a three-month trial period and, if deemed successful, will be extended on an annual basis for up to seven years, Tomlinson said. The signal for Radio Martí, now broadcast on short-wave and AM frequencies, will also be broadcast on satellite now, he added. TV Martí also will nearly double its airtime to eight hours, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, to include more news programs as well as Major League baseball games - Cuba's national sport. Its top programs will be copied on VHS tapes and given to travelers to the island for distribution to friends and relatives. ``We hope that the measures will make it easier for the Cuban people to hear and see our signal through the electronic curtain that Fidel Castro has caused to descend upon the unfortunate Cuban people,'' Tomlinson said. ``But if our efforts to penetrate this obstacle do not succeed, we will not stop trying. We will succeed.'' One State Department official dismissed the assertions that the TV Martí decision was politically inspired, saying that ``This is part of a long-standing and continuing effort by the administration to provide more and better information to the Cuban people.'' Pedro Roig, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, operators of TV Martí, characterized the satellite transmissions as ``historic,'' adding that ``this will break the monopoly of information that Castro has over Cuba.'' TV Martí currently relies primarily on a regular TV signal, broadcast from a balloon tethered 10,000 feet above Cudjoe Key in the Florida Keys. Those transmissions have been easily blocked by the Cuban government, and few Cubans have ever seen its programs. Cuba may be able to block the TV Martí signal, however, since jamming out of Cuba briefly disrupted U.S. government and private Los Ángeles station broadcasts this summer to Iran of programs critical of the Shiïte Muslim government there. The signal will be broadcast from the Hispasat satellite, operated by a private Spanish company, which orbits above the Atlantic and close to the Brazilian coast. It will allow Cubans with any satellite dish and receiver, such as those used by Direct TV subscribers, to obtain the free-of-charge transmissions. Hispasat provides a powerful signal with a ``footprint'' that covers all of Cuba and a large portion of Latin America, making it more difficult to jam, Tomlinson said. It is also widely used by broadcasters in Latin America and Europe. U.S. broadcasters hope to tap into a flourishing but illegal satellite receiver market in Cuba that has become apparent over the past five years. U.S. authorities estimate that as many as 15,000 satellite dishes are now in operation at Cuban households. Cuba's jamming of the regular TV Martí broadcasts has been so effective that a survey done in September in Havana, commissioned by Tómlinson's Board of Broadcasting Governors, sampled 1,000 adults and found that only 0.1 percent reported they had watched TV Martí within a one-week time period. ``This indicates, at least numerically, that at least 1,700 people tuned in that week. What it doesn't tell you is how well they were able to see the broadcasts,'' said BBG spokesman Joe O'Connell. (c) 2003, The Miami Herald.(via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CUBA. LA HABANA INFORMA A E.U. QUE DIPLOMATICOS IRANIES EN LA ISLA INTERFERIAN SEÑALES DE SATELITE DE COMUNICACIONES ESTADOUNIDENSE El gobierno de Cuba ha informado al de los Estados Unidos que la fuente de interferencia que afectaba las transmisiones estadounidenses en lengua farsi hacia Iran, via satélite, procedía de unas instalaciones diplomáticas iranias en o en los alrededores de La Habana, según ha dicho el Departamento de Estado. Y en lo que parece ser una insólita muestra de cooperación desplegada entre los dos antiguos enemigos de la Guerra Fría, La Habana parece haber actuado para satisfacer una reciente protesta formal de Washingon. "La interferencia ha cesado," dijo Jo-Anne Prokopowicz, una vocera del Departamento de Estado. A mediados del pasado mes de julio, tras negar que su régimen fuera responsable por la interferencia, Cuba prometió investigar la denuncia estadounidense y finalmente ha informado a Estados Unidos que ha encontrado la fuente de la interferencia y le ha puesto fin. "Cuba nos informó el 3 de agosto que había localizado la fuente de la interferencia y que había tomado acción para detenerla," dijo Prokopowicz. "El gobierno cubano nos has comunicado que la interferencia provenía de una facilidad diplomática iraní", y agregó: "Ahora le daremos a este asunto seguimiento con el gobierno de Iran." El 15 de julio pasado, la Junta de Gobernadores de los Servicios de Transmisiones de Estados Unidos acusó a Cuba de interferir su programación dirigida hacia Irán al igual que la de una emisora privada de la oposición iraní que opera desde territorio estadounidense y transmite hacia Irán. La interferencia afectaba todas las transmisiones en lengua Farsi que utilizaban el satélite Loral Skynet, en un momento en que tenían lugar en Irán protestas públicas crecientes contra el régimen de Teherán. Terranet --- AFP --- Lebanon --- USA --- La Nueva Cuba --- Agosto 21, 2003 (TOMADO DE LA EDICION ELECTRONICA DE "LA NUEVA CUBA" FECHA 21 DE AGOSTO, 2001. http://www.lanuevacuba.com/master.htm via Oscar de Céspedes, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Satellite-jamming case: see also IRAN ** CZECHOSLOVAKIA. RADIO PRAGUE'S FINEST HOUR In the early hours of the morning on 21 August 1968, troops of the Warsaw Pact countries crossed the border into Czechoslovakia, and within hours they had brought an end to the bold experiment called "Socialism with a human face" that was being pursued by the government of Alexander Dubcek. This tragedy for Czechoslovakia was played out on the airwaves of Radio Prague. To commemorate the 35th anniversary of these dramatic events, Radio Netherlands publishes a special feature, including another chance to hear extended highlights from the Media Network documentary Truth Will Prevail. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/prague010830.html (Media Network blog Aug 21 via DXLD) I think MN won a NY Festivals award for this one (Lou Josephs • 8/21/03; 5:20:07 PM, ibid.) ** GERMANY. Re: ADDX / RMRC European DX Conference 2003 report on Juelich 3965 today Some just posted comments reveals that the DRM transmission was a no- show and could not be decoded, the cause is described as a software fault at Jülich. The incident kicked off an argument about the skills of the T-Systems staff. Well, they did the AM transmission fine as always, so I have no reason for any criticism (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. Long time DXer, Chuck Boehnke of Keaau Hawaii is seriously ill in the hospital in Hilo. He would appreciate get well cards that are cheerful. At Post Office Box 488, Keauu HI 96749-0488. His e mail address: CCB@flex.com (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, Aug 21, IRCA via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Radio Republik Indonesia has moved its website to a new provider and slightly changed the address: http://www.rri-online.com instead of http://www.rrionline.com It is mainly a news portal, but includes also some information about the radio services. New email address for the External Service "Voice of Indonesia" is voi@rri-online.com (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As previously reported here, for a while both were in use, but only they new one led to English (gh) ** IRAN. OPPOSITION CONDEMNS REGIME'S ALLEGED "JAMMING" OF SATELLITE BROADCASTS | Text of report in English by Iranian Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) web site on 20 August Mullahs' regime uses its espionage and terror nests (under cover of embassy) for "satellite terrorism": The Cuban government has declared that the religious fascism ruling Iran has in recent months been using its diplomatic centre and installations in the suburbs of Havana to jam and disrupt Persian- language satellite television programmes. The Iranian resistance calls on the UN Security Council and competent international authorities to condemn this blatant breach of international law and conventions by the mullahs' regime. It underscores the need to adopt binding decisions against the medieval regime ruling Iran. The mullahs' Supreme National Security Council, chaired by Mohammad Khatami, assigned the Intelligence Ministry in summer 1999 to jam and disrupt Persian-language satellite television broadcasts with the help of the state television, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the Revolutionary Guards' Directorate of Electronic Warfare (known as JANGAL) and the Army's Directorate of Communications and Electronics (known as ARAL). On the basis of an independent investigation by Britain's DERA Defford (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) satellite communications company, the Iranian resistance announced in 2000 that jamming signals were beamed from a location inside Iran near the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. Subsequently, the mullahs used more sophisticated technology to continue jamming satellite programmes from several locations. The use of diplomatic installations by the religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran to jam and disrupt satellite broadcasts shows a new stage in the extension of terrorism to satellite communications. It also displays the mullahs' fear of any cracks appearing in the wall of censorship and repression in Iran. The Iranian resistance calls on the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council and the International Telecommunications Union to adopt effective measures and impose binding sanctions on the religious tyranny ruling Iran. Inaction and silence by international agencies only emboldens Tehran's rulers to continue their blatant violation of international law and conventions. Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, 20 August 2003 [The US State Department on 20 August said it had received information from the authorities in Cuba that an Iranian diplomatic facility was responsible for jamming American satellite television broadcasts aimed at Iran in July 2003. A State Department spokeswoman said the Cuban government had informed the United States that it had taken action to stop the interference. The US had previously accused Cuba itself of jamming the television broadcasts, a charge the Cuban authorities denied. The jamming affected Persian-language broadcasts carried by the Loral Skynet satellite, and reportedly became more pronounced during anti-government protests in Iran.] Source: Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) web site in English 20 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) See also CUBA ** IRAQ. U.S. TAPS MEDIA CHIEF FOR IRAQ --- Regulation Attempted Without Appearing Heavy-Handed --- By Daniel Williams, Washington Post Foreign Service, Tuesday, August 19, 2003; Page A14 BAGHDAD, Aug. 18 -- U.S. authorities have appointed a media commissioner to govern broadcasters and the press, establish training programs for journalists and plan for the establishment of a state-run radio and television network -- part of an effort to regulate Iraq's burgeoning news media while dodging allegations of heavy-handed control. The standards and enforcement mechanisms are being "fleshed out," said a senior official of the governing Coalition Provisional Authority. A board to take complaints about media excesses was envisaged, but the official declined to specify the limits on news coverage. In June, L. Paul Bremer, the civil administrator in Iraq, issued guidelines for all media outlets here, forbidding them from inciting violence, promoting "ethnic and religious hatred" or circulating false information "calculated to promote opposition" to the occupation authority. Occasionally, U.S. soldiers have raided newspaper offices deemed to be in breach of the regulations, and they have closed at least two newspapers and one radio station. But the delicacy of sending heavily armed troops to enforce media rules has prompted the occupation officials to look for other ways to exercise their power to censor. The new media commissioner will be Simon Haselock, a spokesman and media supervisor for U.N. authorities overseeing Kosovo. In June, he drafted a proposal to regulate journalists' activities through a panel that officials here have dubbed a "complaints commission." The commission, which would include journalists, would levy fines. Alleged transgressors could appeal. The system is similar to one functioning in Kosovo. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11484-2003Aug18.html (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) ** IRELAND. RTE is testing on longwave 252 kHz again today. Observed from tune in at 1445 UT with a relay of RTE Radio 1 parallel with 567 kHz MW. At 1449 they switched to a continuous 1 kHz audio tone. 73s (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK, Aug 20, via DXLD) Thanks to a tip from Ron Candy of Canning Town, East London, I noted RTE Radio 1 being carried on 252 kHz LW at 22:00 BST on 20 August (21:00 UTC). However, the programming was several seconds behind the signal on 567 kHz MW, which was by this time clear as it was almost 2 hours after London sunset. In addition, the LW channel was dominated by Algeria, with Ireland quite difficult to hear, suggesting that quite low power was being used. If I remember rightly, in previous existences, the power of the Irish transmitter had to be reduced to 100 kW once the sun dipped below the horizon. I would suggest that the power on this occasion was well *below* 100 kW. If I remember, I will check the frequency again tomorrow before leaving for work around 7:00 BST (0600 UT) by which time the sun will be well and truly up over NW London (PAUL DAVID, Chairman, Brent Visually-Handicapped Group, Registered Charity No.: 272955, Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RTE FIRES UP 252 KHZ AGAIN Thanks to Gerald Gray and Mike Guy for drawing my attention to the fact that Irish public broadcaster RTE is again testing the longwave transmitter on 252 kHz. Gerald writes: "RTE Radio 1 is currently using the 252kHz LW in Trim Co. Meath as at 0030 GMT on 20/8/03. Seems rather weaker than Atlantic 252 used to be, so maybe it's not running the full 100 kW night time power. Haven't had a chance to hear it in the daytime, so I'm not sure whether it's still testing and whether it's using 500 kW." Well, at 1005 UT this morning they were carrying a test tone, so obviously this is not (yet) a regular service. Mike notes that when relaying Radio 1 the audio is delayed by several seconds. I initially wrote here that I doubted the delay was so long, but several people have confirmed that it is. I therefore assume they're feeding the audio from Dublin via ISDN, and the delay is caused by the encoding process. So far, RTE hasn't mentioned the longwave tests on its Web site or in a press release (Andy Sennitt, Holland) 252 is one satellite hop behind both releases of RTE Radio 1 at 28 east (about half a second), and roughly four satellite hops (about 2 seconds) behind the 13 east release of RTE Radio 1. Perhaps they've introduced a delay to allow them time to switch 252 to carry different adverts to 567? Or maybe they're sourcing it from the web? (Ray Woodward • 8/20/03; 4:18:40 AM. . .) Thanks, Ray. I don't think they're sourcing it "from the Web" but they might well be using a dedicated ISDN feed, as we did for Radio 10 FM and Radio Nationaal before it. There are inherent delays in the encoding process. In fact, the more I think of it, the more that would make sense. If they've gone to the trouble of installing that, it suggests to me they're serious about longwave (Andy Sennitt • 8/20/03; 5:46:50 AM) Just to add to the confusion - RTÉ have now synchronised 252 with 567 kHz. Perhaps they couldn't afford the ISDN line! (Del (North Wales) • 8/20/03; 6:51:59 AM. . .) The audio quality is vastly better than I've ever heard previously from RTE on 252, I guess they've tagged it on to the same feed as Tullamore. The ISDN presumably being a back up (like virgin in the UK)? (Ray Woodward • 8/20/03; 7:22:42 AM) In fact I'd go so far as to say the audio quality of RTE 252 is now better than that of the BBC on 198! (Ray Woodward • 8/20/03; 7:51:23 AM) The signal is coming in here in NW London quite well on my kitchen radio - but the car radio doesn't have as good a signal. Right now they're alternating between tone, RTÉ Radio 1 and silence (Richard Logue • 8/20/03; 7:56:31 AM) Well, from all the reports, obviously they're still in the testing phase. As Ray says, they're probably doing comparative tests between different ways of feeding the audio. Maybe they're also at times taking the audio off air from the nearest FM transmitter. I have to say that I find it very hard to get excited about all this. Maybe it's because I'm getting old :-) (Andy Sennitt • 8/20/03; 8:18:27 AM) Well I guess when you (like me) can tune into the stereo satellite version of RTE Radio 1 via Astra 2D Long Wave does seem to be a little insignificant. BTW 252 has dropped behind 567 again (Ray Woodward • 8/20/03; 8:52:32 AM) That, plus the fact that it's neither a new transmitter nor a new network (apologies for the excessive alliteration). It would be interesting were it to start carrying different programming from the existing networks. But that's unlikely. The RTE annual report (available as a PDF file on their Web site) specifically says they plan to relay Radio 1 for the Irish in the UK (Andy Sennitt • 8/20/03; 9:26:12 AM) We heard the transmissions in Basildon Essex at 7 pm today coming in quite well and clear audio. Reception of Atlantic 252 in this location was virtually non-existent (Paul • 8/20/03; 11:42:42 AM) RTE was still transmitting on LW just before 8pm local time. Reception is still acceptable. Chatting about RTE with my partner, we are both looking forward to having an alternative source of news to the BBC. The audio on 198 has been poor for some time, and there have been a string of transmitter failures from that unit. It has led to complaints from older listeners using LW about the poor quality of the transmissions. Were your listeners/readers aware that the mast and the site at Droitwich were condemned some years ago and when parts of the aerial system fall off they are not replaced. Source: Radiophile Magazine (Paul • 8/20/03; 12:17:17 PM) Judging from reports, some people saying it's weaker than before and others stronger, I suspect they may have done something to the antenna pattern. South East England was outside the marketing area of Atlantic 252, and RTE is anxious to get into London to reach the large Irish community who have been unable to hear Radio 1 clearly on 567 since 558 was allocated to commercial radio. When I'm back at work next week I'll try to contact RTE, unless someone else beats me to it :-) (Andy Sennitt • 8/20/03; 2:33:04 PM) I suspect it may be simpler than that, I'd be amazed if CLT spent much on it with regards to maintenance in its latter years of ownership and you can be certain TeamTalk won't have done anything. I reckon RTÉ might well have given the site the sort of preventative maintenance it probably hasn`t seen since it was built - cleaning insulators, checking earth mat etc. etc. It could just be that the site is now back to performing as it did when it was first built? (Ray Woodward • 8/21/03; 2:17:52 AM) Yes Ray, you could well be right. Last night I was just about able to null out Algiers and listen to RTE without much co-channel interference, but then it went into a slow fade and became unreadable for several minutes. I also noticed some other unidentified audio faintly in the background, which I think may have been caused by the "Luxembourg effect", unless I'd left another radio switched on somewhere in the house :-) (Andy Sennitt • 8/21/03; 4:52:12 AM) (all: from Media Network blog Aug 20-21 via DXLD) RTE was on 252 kHz most of last night with a relay of Radio 1 parallel to 567 kHz. However the transmitter power must have been very low as the frequency was completely dominated by Algiers here during the hours of darkness. When Atlantic 252 was on air, they used to reduce power at night to 100 kW, but I suspect that RTE was running much less than this last night. This morning RTE is still on 252 kHz but now in the clear with good reception here in Berkshire. 73 (Dave Kenny, Aug 21, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. For those of you tracking local (Israel) stuff. GalGalatz, which is Army Radio's secondary network (more music), has changed their FM frequency in the north. It has changed from 106.4 to 107 FM. This according to the news on the hour - and their website http://www.glz.msn.co.il (Doni Rosenzweig, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israël a indiqué qu'à compter du 17 août 2003, l`émission de 1645 TU sera temporairement supprimée et celle de 1000 TU sera réduite de 5 minutes (Christian Ghibaudo - 14 août 2003 et Mohamed Khallel - 15 août 2003) (informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 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) ** LIBERIA. On Tuesday, Monrovia's Catholic-run Radio Veritas played gospel songs celebrating peace. The station recently resumed broadcasting after fuel shortages during 10 weeks of rebel sieges shut down transmitters in the city. . . http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3045313,00.html (via Jill Dybka, MSIS, Aug 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) WTFK? Used to be on SW 5470. Rest of story about other things (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. BREAKING NEWS: RADIO 10 FM TO TEST TOMORROW IN DRM!! Talpa Radio International has announced that Radio 10 FM will become the first Dutch domestic radio station to broadcast in DRM. They will make a test transmission tomorrow, Friday 22 August, between 1100 and 1300 UT via the UK mediumwave transmitter at Orfordness on 1296 kHz. Although Talpa Radio is continuing with efforts to secure terrestrial FM coverage for Radio 10, it is seriously considering DRM as a possible long-term solution. Regular mediumwave broadcasts in AM continue on 1395 at 0400-1800 UT (Media Network blog Aug 21 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Will be interesting to see what frequency list will be provided for the new 24 hr broadcast and if reception will be reasonable here in the Northeastern part of the US. I have to guess it will not beamed to the US but only to the Pacific region. I do not see an advanced look at the frequency schedule on the website and only a couple of weeks to go (Bob Montgomery, Levittown, PA USA, Aug 21, swprograms via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. HAM-CONCERT PIANIST-JOGGER COMPLETES 880-MILE CHARITY RUN --- http://www2.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/08/21/2/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 21, 2003 -- Concert pianist and cancer survivor Martin Berkofsky, KC3RE, has completed his 880-mile Celebrate Life Run from Tulsa to the Chicago area. An ARRL member, Berkofsky set out jogging on April 9, his 60th birthday, to celebrate his recovery from cancer and to raise money for research into the disease. He concluded his marathon around midday August 20 in Zion, Illinois. There he`ll perform a special concert today for cancer patients, their families and staff members at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) Midwestern Regional Medical Center. ``How grateful I am for all of the support and help from so many radio amateurs,`` Berkofsky told ARRL. He singled out for special mention the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club and its president, Gregg Wonderly, W5GGW, as well as the Washington (Missouri) Zero Beaters, the Chicago FM Club, and his QSL manager Murray Green, K3BEQ. He also acknowledged ``the countless radio amateurs who kept me company with on the road QSOs, many even driving out to meet me personally and to help me with road directions when my maps weren`t clear.`` Along the way, Berkofsky carried a quad-band ham radio handheld transceiver to chat with locals as he passed through their communities. He marked his daily position using APRS gear loaned to him by John Chamberlain, AC5CV, of Waco, Texas, and he also made some QSOs via EchoLink. Berkofsky says he set a daily record of 23.1 miles on July 16. ``Went through the wall, as runners would say,`` he told ARRL. ``Could have continued even longer had it not gotten dark!`` CTCA and the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation (CTRF) sponsored Berkofsky`s run and are benefactors of the donations pledged on its behalf. CTCA says his run raised more than $80,000 for cancer research. ``How proud I am to say that Amateur Radio played such a large part in this,`` Berkofsky added. It also garnered extensive media coverage along the way, with nearly every local newspaper running a feature story on the pianist as he passed through their towns. In St Louis, Martin`s Celebrate Life Run made the front page of the St Louis Post- Dispatch. He also received TV and radio coverage. Following his Zion encore concert, Berkofsky will fly back to Tulsa for a Saturday night benefit for cancer patients at the CTCA hospital there. He`ll return home to Northern Virginia next week, where he hopes to resume his hamming activity on 20 meters. ``I think it will take months to really understand everything that has happened,`` Berkofsky said. ``What an incredible experience, what incredible lessons. I hope I come out of this as a better person.`` Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (ARRL via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** PERU. Fascinating discussion of the Incas and the quipus in particular on hour 2 of The Connection, Thu Aug 21 --- We have the alphabet. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics. The ancient Mesopotamians had cuneiform marks that they pressed into bricks. Most civilizations develop a language and find a way of writing it down. Which is why anthropologists have wondered for years about the Incas. The great South American seemed to have everything but writing. They formed a complex government, conquered lands from what is now Colombia to Chile, but left no known record of their achievements. They did have strange things called khipus, made out of string, sort of like a grass skirt with knots. Now one anthropologist is taking a new look at khipus, arguing that these twisted knots and different colors of string might actually be the first known three-dimensional form of writing. Listen: http://realserver.bu.edu:8080/ramgen/w/b/wbur/connection/audio/2003/08/con_0821b.rm (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. El programa "La Voz de la Liberación", de la secta "Dios es amor" --- capítulo Perú --- fue captado el 19-08, a las 0532 UT, SINPO 4-3, en la frecuencia de 6020.34 kHz. La misma programación se repetía en 6060.19 kHz. Pensaba --- al principio --- que era Alcaraván Radio, pero el 20-08 escuché a Alcaraván en 6009.8 kHz, mientras la otra estación estaba en 6020.34 kHz. Primera vez que oigo esta emisora. Acá en Venezuela la misma secta se ha apoderado de un gran número de emisoras de OM. 73's y buen DX... (Adán González, Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Victoria uit Peru komt de laatste tijd 's-morgen goed door met id's en al op 6020 (6020.313). Tijd zo vanaf 04.30 utc tot wel 8.26 utc. Ik hoor hem op dit moment (0820 UT) heel zachtjes door de ruis. Ik heb er opnames van gemaakt! groeten, (Hans, SDZ. http://www.hansdezeeuw.nl Aug 21, BDXC via DXLD) ** PITCAIRN. UK HANGS ON TO PITCAIRN http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=6861&cid=5&cname=Asia printer-friendly version: http://www.nbr.co.nz/print/print.asp?id=6861&cid=5&cname=Asia (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Sur les 12 émetteurs ondes courtes de la radio roumaine, 6 seulement sont en activité, d'où un manque de signal sur certaines fréquences. Il n'est pas possible de modifier les fréquences attribuées jusqu'à fin octobre (Radio Roumanie Internationale - 15 août 2003) (informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Getting very weak (classical?) music on 1935 kHz at 1959 UT 20/8/03; from the math I see it can't be a real harmonic --- must be some kind of intermod. Later: it's in again tonight, even stronger: it's from St Petersburg, a mix of Radio Maria 1053 & VOR 1494! (carrying audio from both) 2001 UT; also something on 1926 kHz at 2125 utc 20/8/03 verv weak; couldn't get enough audio to make any ID Best regards (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, Cheshire, UK, Icom R75, Wellbrooke ALA1530 outdoor Loop, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. Thank you for your e-mail. I am surprised to hear from someone in New Zealand about our SW service for Sudan. Are you Sudanese, have you worked there, or are you just interested? Regardless, I am happy to hear that we have people wanting to listen to us from all over the world. We are targeting our broadcasts to Eastern Africa, so you may not be able to hear us, but our programs run at these times at these frequencies: 6 PM to 7 PM (GMT+2) at 17,630 khz. 7 PM to 8 PM (GMT+2) at 17,660 khz We will be on air Monday through Friday. So if you are listening during the week, you should hear us at 8 AM to 10 AM, assuming you are at GMT+12. Unfortunately, after the sun comes up, SW reception starts to diminish. With luck you may be able to pick us up faintly. Right now we are running a test signal that consists of 30 minutes of Sudanese music that repeats for the 2 hours. Starting Thursday (August 7) we will add other content, including some news about Sudan. We are starting humbly and it will be some weeks before we will be able to offer a completely original 2-hour program every day. Still, in the coming days there is much we hope to do. It may be difficult for you to tune us in with only music playing. Starting Thursday it should be easier to identify us when you hear us. If you have questions, please let me know. You may send a reception report to me or to the radio e- mail, which is srs@edc.org. SRS is Sudan Radio Service. We have dropped the word ``independent`` from our working title. We think S-R- S has a nicer ring to it. I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, Jeremy Groce, Radio Programming Advisor. EDC (Education Development Center, Inc.) Sudan Radio Service Project. In Washington, DC: (igroce@edc.org) (via NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES AUGUST 2003 via DXLD) UNITED KINGDOM, 17630, Sudan R. Service, 1608+ 21 August. Oddly enough, found on this frequency with Afro Hi-life music at tune-in, and quickly into multi-lingual IDs, including English by W announcer as "You are listening to Sudan R. Service on 17630 kHz", then long canned English ID/mission announcement by W as: "Good evening, you are listening to Sudan R. Service ? shortwave radio service dedicated to peace and development in the Sudan. We will be bringing you a variety of BBC(?) programs, including programs on health ?. We also will be bringing you independent and balanced news. The Sudan R. Service is operated by a ? Sudan... one of the most important objectives of this radio station is to provide you with accurate... we will also ? cultural programs including music, stories, and ?. We will ? development of ? programs ? on how to prepare your livestock, information of local markets... we need your help... SRS ? Sudan R. Service (address, but couldn't copy)...". As you can tell, there was quite a bit a fading. Pretty weak signal. I left and returned later, around 1630, only to find them gone, possibly back on 17660. At 1658, they suddenly came back on 17630 with M and W alternating and mixed with instrumental music. So they must've erroneously punched up the wrong frequency for the first part of the 1600 hour (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: In "HeartBeat", child-proofing the home and imaginary friends Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Studio 49" Sunday: In "Sounds Nordic" Aeysha and the new room at Music Museum for people with learning disabilities (SCDX/MediaScan Aug 20 via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. Tajik Radio has added an English program for the domestic audience on its 2nd National Channel (1143 & 7245 kHz) at 0800-0830 (Mon-Sat). The program includes news, English lessons and pop music. (Monitored by Alexander Polyakov, Uzbekistan). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. Does the BBC's sexed-up reporting on the blackout count as a glitch? :-) From listening to CBC North Quebec in the first hour after the power went out, and then later listening to WABC radio it was fairly obvious that the Canadians were handling the outage the same way New York City (and I presume the other major cities hit) were: there was some confusion at first, which is understandable, but the people handled it with aplomb for the most part. The BBCWS didn't give this impression at all. In listening to the 0200 UTC edition of "The World Today", the folks in Bush House (to a much greater extent than their correspondents here in North America) kept using the word "chaos" to describe the situation in NYC. I laughed particularly hard when the correspondent said that many people were "taking the chaos in stride" -- if they're taking things in stride, it's not chaos! After the Bush House folks talked to their New York correspondent, they went to their Toronto correspondent, and tried to paint a completely different picture of what was going on, as though they thought Toronto (and by extension the rest of Canada) was a model of how to do things, while New York (and by extension the rest of the US) was a model of how *not* to do things. Ironically, the broadcaster that I thought gave the most objective, just-the-facts report on the blackout was China Radio International (Ted Schuerzinger, Aug 20, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. News of GB2RS on 5 MHz. The experimental GB2RS news reading on 5405 kHz upper sideband each Sunday at 12.30pm local time is still attracting a large number of NoV-holders to the after-news net. Today Peter, GM4WCE, is reading the news from Ellon near Aberdeen. During the peak of summer, the D-region of the ionosphere has been causing considerable attenuation to across-the-UK signals, but last Sunday - when Gordon, G3LEQ, read the news - he found that propagation conditions were much better than during the last month. So far his experiments with various 5 MHz antennas have shown the basic 88-foot reference dipole at 0.15-wavelength above ground to be the best performer. He issued a challenge over the air to other experimenters to find and demonstrate a more efficient and practical antenna that outperforms the basic dipole for NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) propagation. So far no-one has said that they are experimenting with the Jamaica or Shirley aerial arrays which favour Near Zenithal Radiation, but this may be due to space limitations. Anyone able to try them out is asked to contact the GB2RS News Manager, Gordon, G3LEQ, on 01 565 652 652 or by e-mail to gb2rs@ntlworld.com (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News script for August 24, 2003 posted August 20 on uk.radio.amateur by G4RGA via John Norfolk, DXLD) I am somewhat bemused by the hams` fascination with propagation on this `new` band. We all-band DX listeners have been familiar with it forever (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. AMSAT`s Roy Neal, K6DUE, Silent Key. Roy Neal, K6DUE, of AMSAT has become a Silent Key. He was recovering after heart surgery but died from complications on the 15th of August. Roy Neal was for many years the NBC-news Science Correspondent, covering the American space missions for US television audiences. Through his extensive contacts at NASA, he was instrumental in convincing NASA management to fly amateur radio on-board the Space Shuttle. Later, he worked on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station - or `ARISS` - program and provided much support to AMSAT and the ARRL on amateur radio space matters (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News script for August 24, 2003 posted August 20 on uk.radio.amateur by G4RGA via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. HAM RADIOS CAME TO RESCUE IN BLACKOUT http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/blackout_ham_radio (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) When everything else failed, ham radio operators stepped into the breach as backup. . . http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0460_BC_Blackout-HamRadio&&news&newsflash-national (AP via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Re: WVIP Item in DXLD 3-150 Hi Glenn --- I was born in Mt. Kisco and lived in Bedford Hills (4 mi away) for more than 25 years before marriage and totally agree with Karl on the waste of a station. I grew up listening to WVIP-AM mostly hoping for a snow day from school, when it played mostly what was known as elevator music. I recall visiting the station in 1994 (they were next to the cardiac rehab facility I went to, located on Radio Circle) for information to give to the National Radio Club for a station profile. By the time I mailed in the info a month or two later, Tony Fitzherbert of the NRC said the station had switched to automated format and no longer followed the info I sent him. I recall a trailer to the left of the main studio building. Maybe it's the same trailer used after the fire. At 2230 UT on 19 August, the signal from WVIP appears to be at full power as I'm hearing them at S9 +10 level as indicated on the NRD-515 S-Meter. Recheck at 0000 20 August has them at S7+. The 20th ed. 9 of the NRC Logbook shows 33 watts. Not sure if that is now the current low power Karl means or a later Logbook shows something different, but it certainly sounds too strong even for only 15 miles from the station (Mahopac to Mt. Kisco distance). Maybe Karl can indicate the correct time for the power reduction? At 0045 when I bailed out, WVIP still appeared to be at full power as I had not heard a discernible change in level with a signal of S7 to S8. By the way, 1330 is being received at an S5-6 and is being QRMed a lot even using a K9AY loop. I wonder what Radio Visión Cristiana is gaining with two 5 kW (day power) stations 40 miles apart. One final recheck at 0415 had them at a very "fadey" S4 to S7 in addition to a longer fade cycle with an ESPN station. I would guess the way they sound now, they are on lower power (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, JRC NRD-515 /K9AY Loop, Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If it leads to one additional convert, it`s worth it??? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. BLACK DAYS FOR US MEDIA --- WHILE MILLIONS OF NORTH AMERICANS STRUGGLED TO MAKE DO WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, ADVERTISERS WERE ALSO LEFT POWERLESS Stefano Hatfield, Wednesday August 20 2003, The Guardian As politicians, television and newspaper pundits flail around looking for someone to blame for the Great Blackout of 2003, media owners can get down to counting the cost. All told it was, understandably, a miserable and difficult couple of days for much of the east coast media, struggling to get their programmes [sic --- we have programs over here --- gh] and papers out to an audience hungry for information. Many found their back-up systems were simply not prepared for how sudden and total the blackout proved to be. If anyone "won" the media battle, then it was an old stalwart: radio. Some of the sights of the day were crowds of bewildered pedestrians huddled around car or old transistor radios, chattering nervously as the scale of the debacle became apparent. It was through radio that the few advertisers that were able to take advantage of the situation made themselves heard: most notably Duracell, which had a great blackout. The other marketer who was quick to capitalise was actually a Brit. David Morison bid for the keywords "blackout," "black out" and "power outage" on the Google search engine. When people who had power for their computers then entered these words or phrases on Google's web search, they saw Morison's ads, headlined "power outage" which read, "how do you keep your employees informed in an emergency situation?" with a link to his website. There was also blackout-related news and advice on handling power outages. Visits to his one-man site, http://www.emergencyintranet.com increased by 40 times. Television stations in the north-east were soon able to regain their signals, but nobody was watching. The real challenge now is to pin down just how many consumer eyeballs advertisers lost. It's not easy, given that there is still dispute over the 50 million figure ascribed to the number of people who were affected by the outage. The north-east is estimated to contain some 15% of the national viewership, with New York metropolitan area accounting for perhaps half of that. "Make goods" (free ads) will be expected from advertisers to compensate for their ads not being seen. It will certainly affect the crucial Nielsen TV ratings. Meanwhile, early estimates are that anything up to $20m in ad revenues will have been lost by networks that had to switch to blanket news coverage - for anyone with a battery-operated television. To be honest, we were dreading the moment the television news returned. Without power, we were blessedly spared NY1's tales of commuters "bravely" going home ("Normally we take the subway, but today we walked over the bridge! No-one mugged us for our Nikes. That would never have happened before September 11th"). We were also spared the New York Post's uplifting tales of courage: "the day I took the stairs and lived!" and similar. Having been killed by the New York Daily News on the first editions, the Post's journos worked in the dark all night to produce a special second edition on Friday morning - only for terrible distribution problems to prevent many copies ever hitting the streets. Forget the commuters - the executive who fesses up responsibility for that to Rupert Murdoch really is "brave". The New York Times's coverage was excellent, and so extensive it could almost have been prepared in advance without anyone leaving the office. But that could never happen at the grey lady, could it? Accurate reporting was at the heart of what was, for me, one of the jarring moments: on the excellent PBS radio [sic --- maybe he means NPR? Incredibly, many Americans also mix up PBS (TV) and NPR (radio), two entirely separate oganizations --- gh], no less. The anchor said "Now, we shouldn't let this affect our relationship with Canada, should we?". This was early on in the blame game - once it was clear that the culprit wasn't Iraq, North Korea or France, Canada was fingered as the foul perpetrator of a monumental cock-up that couldn't possibly be America's fault. I guess I should vouch for the bravery of some advertising Brits who had to "endure" the blackout terror in the unfamiliar surroundings of the rooftop pool at SoHo House. I counted them all out flat on sun loungers on Friday morning, and I counted them back in the pool that same afternoon. Assorted key Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, WPP executives and commercials production freelancers waved their Blackberries around meaningfully, and swapped stories of the German model who thought her hairdryer might have triggered the entire blackout. Somehow, they all endured the mini fire and evacuation, the "trauma" of having to open their own windows for air, and then their Ben and Jerry's ice cream bars melting. Our indefatigable host Podge, who actually had worked short-handed night and day, was not the first service sector employer to question Mayor Bloomberg's bizarre exhortation to New Yorkers to stay at home and take a "snow day". By Friday night I was sick of the city authorities and the electricity people using the media - as they had all day - to tell us that power had returned to the city "pretty much" everywhere. At 9.02 pm however, after 29 hours, we were still "pretty much" in the dark in SoHo. At 9.03 pm, though, the fan started twirling. It was over. But I will forever cherish my "I survived the blackout" T-shirt as proof of my "bravery". So, that was the blackout. Now, of course, we are being told how wonderful we were for not panicking. Well, of course we didn't - we still had some leftover duct tape from a previous orange security alert, so we were bound to be safe. Unlike during the 1977 blackout, we didn't even go out looting for television sets. What would be the point? We couldn't watch them. Stefano Hatfield is contributing editor of Advertising Age and Creativity Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A [non?]. Getting some jamming on WHRI 9495 between 1200 and 1300 during the Power Hour Show here in Atlanta. After WHRI closed at 1300 the jammer closed one minute later. So much for freedom of speech (LOU KF4EON Johnson, Aug 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Other than the timing, what evidence do you have that this is deliberate interference against WHRI? Please describe the `jamming` in as great detail as possible (gh) ** U S A. KXOK – THE ST. LOUIS LEGEND: http://www.630kxok.com/ (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) historical site; the KXOK calls have taken a sidetrip since to --- Enid OK! At least on TV (gh) ** U S A. HIGH AND MIGHTY --- IN A CORPORATE-CENTERED NATION, LEGENDARY TEXAN JIM HIGHTOWER SPREADS HIS MESSAGE OF PROGRESSIVE POPULISM --- BY TAMARA WIEDER YOU CAN CALL Jim Hightower all kinds of things: former Texas agriculture commissioner; national radio commentator; columnist; public speaker; modern-day Johnny Appleseed; founder of the nationwide "Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour"; author of books such as If the Gods Had Meant Us To Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates (HarperCollins, 2000) and the recently published Thieves in High Places: They`ve Stolen Our Country and It’s Time To Take It Back (Viking); America`s most popular populist. But when it comes to the hell-raising Hightower, it`s best simply to let him do the talking... http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/qa/documents/03106270.asp (Boston Phoenix, via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO STATION TO RESUME BROADCASTING FRIDAY By Daniel Barlow, Reformer Staff BRATTLEBORO -- An unlicensed community radio station shut down by the Federal Communications Commission in late June intends to return to the airwaves on a new frequency on Friday {Aug 22]. Members of radio free brattleboro said the more than 2,000 signatures collected from area residents justifies the station's return to the public airwaves, although the FCC still considers the station to be operating illegally. When rfb was shut down on June 24, station co-founder Larry Bloch said the FCC agents asked him to produce either the station's license or its authority to broadcast. The signatures from area residents supporting rfb's return to the airwaves constitute that authority, Bloch said. "We are a community radio station and the community has given us the authority to broadcast," he said. "We've done some research, spoken with an attorney familiar with the FCC, and this seems to be the most sensible way to return to the airwaves." The station will resume broadcasting on Friday at 5 p.m., at its new frequency of 107.9 FM, Bloch said, and will feature a number of the station's DJs passing the microphone around until 8 p.m. A spokesman for the FCC in Washington declined to comment on the move. "The Federal Communications Commission has no comment on the subject matter you called us about," the spokesman said. Founded five years ago, rfb has broadcast at less than 10 watts from an apartment building in downtown Brattleboro and could only be heard within the town limits. Between 60 and 70 DJs are part of the station and pay dues to keep it running. Station DJs said rfb performed a valuable community service in training residents in the art of radio broadcasting and was a local news source and outlet for opinion. According to the station's promotional information, rfb was "part of the national movement to resist homogeneous corporate influence and return the airwaves to the hands and voices of the citizens, as it was intended." The FCC was acting in response to two complaints that rfb, which used to broadcast at 88.1 megahertz, interfered with the frequency for WFCR, the Amhert, Mass., National Public Radio affiliate that broadcasts at 88.5 megahertz. One of the complaints came from WFCR and one from a Guilford resident. At the time of the shutdown, one of the FCC agents warned a DJ that if the station went back on the air, U.S. marshals would seize the equipment as evidence and "put it in jail." The lawyers with whom rfb consulted advised the station that with the frequency switch and the community support, the FCC is likely to leave the station alone, Bloch said. "We think nothing will happen," Bloch said. "They've got bigger fish to fry than going after a true community radio station." Michael Mello, a professor at Vermont Law School, said rfb's move appears to fall within the realm of civil disobedience. He said while the federal government has legal authority to shut down the station, rfb members may also have a legal case if they challenge the shutdown. More troubling, said Mello, is that the federal government would choose to use its resources fighting a tiny station like rfb when terrorism continues to loom as a larger threat. "The federal government is stretched so thin after Sept. 11, that it is just insane to devote the time and manpower and energy to go after a group of harmless people," he said. "This seems to me to be a misuse of federal resources. It's really quite obscene." The new frequency is the third for rfb, which switched from 88.1 FM to 88.9 FM a few weeks before the shutdown to make room for a planned National Public Radio classical music station. [sic --- NPR owns no stations --- gh] Bloch said no station currently broadcasts at 107.9 FM -- one of the frequencies left open for the 100-watt community radio stations for which the FCC accepted applications in 2001. A license was never granted for that frequency, Bloch said, and the station never applied for one as it would have required it to cease broadcasting. "We're in safe territory," Bloch said. Brattleboro Selectboard member Pat DeAngelo, a vocal supporter of rfb, said she was delighted to hear the station would return, but added that she knew nothing of the legal ramifications that could result when the station resumes broadcasts this week. "I don't know much about the procedure of what they are doing, but I certainly support them," she said. "I like getting my information from local organizations, whether it's rfb or ibrattleboro.com . I don't want to get my news from just one or two large corporations." Bloch said he and many other members of rfb were surprised by the large and diverse outpouring of community support the station received after it was shut down. Along with the more than 2,000 signatures the station collected, numerous "free rfb" T-shirts were sold, he said. "It seems the station's appeal crosses all boundaries," he said. "We've trained over 500 people at the station and it seems that everyone knows somebody who has worked or does work with us." A new program schedule for the station is being developed, Bloch said, and he expects a majority of the station's shows to resume normal broadcast soon (Brattleboro Reformer Aug 20 via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC CHIEF TO PROD TV STATIONS ON LOCALISM POWELL TO RESPOND TO CRITICS WITH CALLS TO SERVE VIEWERS By Frank Ahrens, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, August 20, 2003; Page E01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17211-2003Aug19.html (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) FCC PANEL TO STUDY LOCAL MEDIA http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23027-2003Aug20.html (via Kraig Krist, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [and non]. LOS 15 AÑOS DE LA FM COMERCIAL EN VENEZUELA Era 1ero. de julio de 1988. 2 de la tarde. Regresaba del liceo como cualquier otro día y encendí el radio para hacer mi habitual "escaneo" de bandas. Para mi sorpresa, al final del cuadrante me topé con una potente estación con música continua y excelente modulación; era la frecuencia de 107.3 MHz. Sin saberlo, era testigo presencial de un momento histórico en la radiodifusión venezolana: el comienzo de la "Generación de la FM". Ya dos años antes nos habían bautizado como la "Generación Halley" --- en clara alusión al famoso cometa --- y ahora asistíamos al descubrimiento de la "banda misteriosa", "la banda del ruido". El comienzo de la explotación del "HI-FI" estéreo vernacular estaba a la vuelta de la esquina. Venezuela, para el momento, era uno de los pocos países del mundo donde prácticamente no había radiodifusión en modulación de frecuencia. Durante años sólo conocí una estación en dicha banda, la legendaria Emisora Cultural de Caracas, 97.7 MHz. Lo único que podía oírse en Caracas y en casi toda Venezuela. Después capté, varias veces, la señal de La Voz de Maravén (una de las desaparecidas filiales de Petróleos de Venezuela), localizada en Punto Fijo. Del resto, no había emisoras de FM en Venezuela. Hasta mediados de la década de los 60, la FM fue una banda para enlaces entre estudio y planta. Nada más. En los 70 hubo promesas de concesión de licencias para explotadores privados, sin embargo transcurrieron muchos años sin una respuesta definitiva por parte de los organismos reguladores estatales. Para 1985, yo ya hacía diexismo en FM. Lo veía tan apasionante como el de las ondas cortas. Conectaba la antena del televisor a mi radio y podía atrapar casi cualquiera cosa presente en el éter. Como siempre he vivido en el Litoral Central de Venezuela, mi ubicación ha sido estratégica para captar las frecuencias muy altas. Mis primeros DX's fueron Curazao (Radio Korsou 93.9, Radio Hoyer 2 105.1, Z-FM 95.5- Radio Curom), Puerto Rico (Cosmos 94, Cadena Salsoul 98.5, Criolla 103, Sonorama 107) y las Islas Vírgenes (WVIS, 106.1). Y todo ello gracias a lo "desértico" del espectro radioeléctrico venezolano. Incluso, una vez sintonicé Radio Rosario 99.5 ¡fue fantástico, no lo podía creer! y Radio Cidade de Brasil ¡menos lo creía! Como comprenderán, aquel 1ero. de julio de 1988 significó dos cosas para mí: una, que al fin se iba a hacer radio de una manera más amplia en Venezuela. Dos, que ya no iba a poder hacer más diexismo en FM porque el cuadrante se iba a inundar de emisoras locales, como efectivamente ocurrió. Eran dos sentimientos encontrados. Dulces y amargos a la vez. A partir de la salida al aire de "Éxitos 107", primera estación de radiodifusión sonora comercial en FM de Venezuela, la radio dio un vuelco total en este país de Suramérica. Podría llamarse como el renacer de ese medio que a tantos nos ha embrujado. Luego de 1988, años fructíferos vinieron y la radio inclusive llegó a competir con la televisión en popularidad, sobre todo entre los más jóvenes. Lamentablemente, esa llama que se encendió a finales de los 80 se fue apagando lentamente y propuestas "quemadas" hasta el cansancio como el formato de la "radio participativa", pusieron en la guillotina la creatividad de productores, locutores y musicalizadores. Y ni hablar que eso de la "radio participativa" sólo se limitó a poner a los oyentes al aire cuando telefoneaban a la emisora. ¡Desperdicio total! La Generación Halley-FM se evaporaba. En la actualidad, la tecnología ha sido usada por ciertos dueños de circuitos y estaciones de radio para deshumanizar el medio y circunscribirlo a "dar la hora y pinchar un CD". Las computadoras, que podrían ser un gran aliado, se han convertido en un gran enemigo de la radio y de su audiencia. Ya ni siquiera se puede dedicar o pedir una canción. Ya no se puede disfrutar de otro tipo de música que no sean los mentados "éxitos" del TOP 40. La mercantilización en su máxima expresión es el actual virus que corroe la radio en FM y en general, la radio comercial. La única salvación a la vista podría ser el naciente fenómeno de las radios comunitarias, las cuales rescatan buena parte el sentimiento de "hacer radio" de las primeras décadas: la radio como un servicio público y no como maquinita para producir monedas (Adán González, Certificado de Locutor 26.950, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Aug 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi Last night on the 20th, I was hearing a station on 4939.63 using LSB mode around 0900 to past 1000 GMT. The announcers spoke Spanish and had one female at times and one male at times. They played an awful lot of Spanish language songs. The audio had a bit of echo to it, not too loud or distorted. At no time did I hear anything remotely sounding like an ID from either announcer. I figured at first if it was Radio Nacional from Quito [sic] I would at least hear Quito somewhere in there around the hour, but nothing was heard at all. Any ideas on who this is? I have two listings that have the stations running on this frequency of sorts at variable frequencies. One from Venezuela, one from Bolivia. Tonight at 0809 on this same frequency I can just tell something is there. I hear the het but not much of anything else. Every so often a bit of audio pops in, mostly music. I am using the RX320 and the 50 ft south wire to hear this (Chris Dx'ing in Kentucky, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ PRIME TIME SHORTWAVE After a hiatus of a month and a half the Prime Time Shortwave website is up and running again. I had to take some time off from working on my database due to a torn retina. I can't see too well yet but it shouldn't be too much longer. At Prime Time Shortwave you will find schedules for shortwave stations sorted by time, country and even by frequency. Daniel Lyddy provides the schedules in palm pilot format and I provide the schedules in html, ascii, dBase and Excel formats. Fellow Canadian International DX Club editor provides an up-to-date listing of DX media programs. Prime Time Shortwave can be found at http://www.primetimeshortwave.com Users of screen reader programs can find the ascii text files at http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/time.txt and http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/country.txt Enjoy, (Dan Sampson, Aug 21, swprograms via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ COMPANY CREATES VCR FOR RADIO http://www.nbc5.com/irresistible/2421299/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=1260382&dpp (WMAQ via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) BLOOD FLOW TO BRAIN CHANGES WITH RADIO-WAVE EXPOSURE Tuesday, August 19, 2003 at 17:31 JST TOKYO - Japanese researchers said Tuesday they have found that blood flow in the brains of people who complain of irritation from electromagnetic waves changes when they are exposed to such waves from appliances such as cell phones and power lines. . . http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=270016 (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ POWERFUL GEOMAGNETIC STORM SENT OUT BY THE SUN A strong geomagnetic storm that rated a G4, the second highest rating on the NOAA space weather scales, was reported today at 5 a.m. EDT by the NOAA Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo. These storms are disturbances in the geomagnetic field caused by gusts in the solar wind that blows by Earth. . . http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=12359 (via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ARNIE CORO'S DXERS UNLIMITED HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST According to scientists, this latest geomagnetic storm caught them all by surprise; it came out of nowhere and did send the A index shooting to sky high figures above the 60 mark, while the K index at times went even up to 7. From a very authorized research organization in Belgium, I received the following comment about what happened on the 18th of August that left the HF bands dead for several hours at many locations around the world. Here is what the Belgian solar astronomers said, and I quote: ``Since 0000 UT Aug. 19, the N-S component of the interplanetary magnetic field turned positive again (now near +20nano Teslas), and around 0400 UT, the geomagnetic storm, which has reached major to severe storm levels yesterday, ended rather abruptly. The geomagnetic field is expected to remain unsettled to active until late Aug. 20 or Aug. 21, when the Earth will be submitted to the influence of a low latitude coronal hole now crossing the central meridian of the Sun. Although it started to decay, active region Catania#96 (NOAA0431) produced two M flares this morning (M2.2 at 0759 UT, M2.9 at 1004 UT). This region is thus still capable of producing M flares over the next 2-3 days, before it passes the West limb.`` As you may realize, current solar terrestrial conditions are far from ideal for the enjoyment of the short wave region of the radio spectrum!!! After a significant geomagnetic storm that struck Earth on Monday, conditions are now going back to near normal, but only for a few hours, as scientists are forecasting the impact of yet another stream of particles from the Sun that will further disrupt HF propagation. Solar flux is now around 115 units, and the A index was moving down at the time I was writing the script of the show at around 18 hours UT Tuesday. The optical sunspot count was very near 100, and the effective sunspot number, the figure used for a nowcast [sic] of HF propagation conditions was around 65. Be ready to pick up some interesting AM broadcast band DX if the increase in solar wind speed and particle content causes another geomagnetic storm within the next 24 to 36 hours. Chances for 6 meter sporadic E openings are very low at this moment. We still must wait at least two more weeks to see some improvement in HF propagation (Prof. Arnaldo Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 19 via Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, ODXA via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) PROPAGATION NEWS Solar data for the period from the 11th to the 17th of August, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS. http://www.g0cas.demon.co.uk/main.htm Despite a moderately sized and magnetically complex sunspot group, solar activity was `very low` on the 11th, and `low` for the remainder of the period. The largest solar flare that the group could muster was a C8, early on the 15th. Solar flux declined from 131 on the 13th to 119 by the 17th. The average was 127. The 90-day solar flux average on the 17th was 127, that`s two units up on last week. X-ray flux levels increased to peak at C1 units on the 14th but by the 17th levels were down to B3.7 units. The average was B5.3 units. Geomagnetic activity was unsettled; the most disturbed day was the 12th with an Ap index of 25 units. Around midday on the 17th a sudden storm was recorded at the ACE spacecraft. Just prior to that the three-hourly K index was zero. The daily Ap average was 16 units. Solar wind speeds at the ACE spacecraft declined from 750 kilometres per second to 420 by the 17th. Particle densities were low except on the 17th, when they increased to 23 particles per cubic centimetre. Bz fluctuated between minus and plus 8 nanoTeslas but on the 17th varied between minus 10 and plus 20 nanoTeslas. HF band conditions were once again rather poor due to seasonal effects. Hopefully, HF conditions should start to improve during the coming weeks as we head towards the autumn equinox. The daytime MUFs will increase, although unfortunately not to last year`s levels because of the continuing decline in the sunspot cycle. The minimum is still expected around the end of 2006 or early 2007. VHF Sporadic E is now less prolific than last month, but openings were reported on most days, including a number of double-hop 50 MHz contacts to the Middle East. A short 70 MHz opening to Slovenia occurred on the morning of the 15th. The continuing heat-wave across the UK and much of continental Europe again brought good extended tropospheric propagation at VHF and UHF. And finally the solar forecast. This week solar activity is expected to be mostly low with only a small chance that activity could increase to moderate. Solar flux should be around the 100 mark for the next couple of days but then increase as we head towards next weekend. Geomagnetic activity is expected to be disturbed for most of the coming week due to a recurring coronal hole. This hole has survived several solar rotations and it`s interesting watching it change shape with each rotation. This can be viewed at the SOHO website - look for the EIT 284 Angstroms image. The image is gold in colour and the coronal hole shows up as a large black area. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes should be around 20 MHz for the south and 17 MHz for the north. The darkness hour lows should be around 11 MHz. Paths this week to the Middle East should have a maximum usable frequency, with a 50 per cent success rate, of about 24 MHz. The optimum working frequency, with a 90 per cent success rate, should be around 17 MHz. The best time to try this path should be between 0800 and 1700 UTC. Sporadic E may take place on the occasional day. The RSGB propagation news is also available in a Saturday update, posted every Saturday evening and for more on propagation generally, see http://www.rsgb.org/society/psc.htm (Radio Society of Great Britain GB2RS News script for August 24, 2003 posted August 20 on uk.radio.amateur by G4RGA via John Norfolk, DXLD) FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 20 AUGUST - 15 SEPTEMBER Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels during the period. Activity for most of the period is expected to be at very low to low levels. Region 431 may produce an isolated M-class event before it rotates off the disk on 21 August. No greater than 10 MeV proton events at geosynchronous orbit are expected during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 25 August – 01 September, 05 – 07 September, and again on 10 – 13 September. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to major storm levels during the period. A large coronal hole high speed flow is due to return to a geoeffective position on 22 August with minor to major storm levels possible on 22 – 29 August. Another coronal hole high speed flow is due on 02 – 05 September with minor to major storm levels possible. Towards the end of the period a couple smaller coronal holes may produce isolated minor storm levels. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Aug 19 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Aug 19 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Aug 20 120 15 3 2003 Aug 21 115 15 3 2003 Aug 22 105 25 5 2003 Aug 23 100 25 5 2003 Aug 24 100 20 4 2003 Aug 25 100 30 5 2003 Aug 26 100 25 5 2003 Aug 27 105 30 5 2003 Aug 28 105 30 5 2003 Aug 29 110 20 4 2003 Aug 30 120 15 3 2003 Aug 31 125 10 3 2003 Sep 01 130 15 3 2003 Sep 02 130 25 5 2003 Sep 03 135 35 6 2003 Sep 04 135 25 5 2003 Sep 05 130 15 3 2003 Sep 06 130 15 3 2003 Sep 07 130 15 3 2003 Sep 08 130 25 5 2003 Sep 09 130 35 6 2003 Sep 10 130 20 4 2003 Sep 11 130 12 3 2003 Sep 12 130 20 4 2003 Sep 13 130 15 3 2003 Sep 14 130 10 3 2003 Sep 15 125 12 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1196, DXLD) ###