DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-163, September 12, 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/dxldtd3i.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 EXTRA 44: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 [nominal times often delayed] WWCR: Sat 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WRMI: Sat & Sun 1800+ 15725 (via IBC Radio) WBCQ: Mon 0415 7415, maybe 5105 WINB: Thu 0130 9320 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 Audio stored at k4cc.net is inaccessible from Sept. 11 and is being moved to a new site which should be funxioning by Sept. 13 Anyway, availability of Extra 44 is delayed except for: Summary: http://www.worldofradio.com/worx44.html ** AFGHANISTAN. Reception of the PsyOps transmissions ("Information Radio") in Dari and Pashto is currently reported on 9000 kHz. They are scheduled to be on the air 24h Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Sept 11, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Reported by whom?? ** ALBANIA, 7160 kHz, 0230 UT Sept 11, flute IS, then dreamy orchestral music, s/on in English. "This is Radio Tirana" repeated twice, into broadcast schedule. SINPO 32222, only an occasional word understandable, quite poor (Drake SW8 with whip antenna. Roger Chambers Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. R. Australia: On Asia-Pacific, just after 1200 UT news on September 11, was an excellent item on the "Stans" of former Soviet Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It summarized current geopolitical situation, noting that most of these states have become more authoritarian and repressive, yet more closely allied with the United States. 3000 US troops currently on the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border. The "war on terror" gives an excuse for more repression, using the "Islamic Boogie" as rationalization. At 1230, on "Bush Telegraph," discussion of the genetically modified (GM) foods, including input from Doug Powell, from Guelph University, the largest agricultural school in Ontario. Mr. Powell related experiences selling GM and "regular" food being sold side by side in a farm near the university. Both programs are examples of how "public radio" stations such as Radio Australia provide fine programs of important issues receiving little coverage in the daily rag or Network TV news (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re 3-162: Will: All I can say is that it depends. There are times when RA is taking a direct feed from Radio National and there are times when RA is running a program that it has recorded from Radio National (or its own programs). One way you can research this yourself is to go to each service's web site http://www.abc.net.au/rn http://www.abc.net.au/ra and compare what each service broadcasts at particular times. In order to do this, you'll need to know that Australian Eastern Time is ten hours ahead of UT in this season. (However, the RA web site allows you to read a schedule conforming to almost any time zone in the world, including Australian Eastern Time.) In any event, at 1000 UT (6 a.m. on the US east coast), it's 8 p.m. in Melbourne. RA's "overnight" schedule conforms very closely to Radio National's, although there are exceptions. I would surmise that this is the case because it is less expensive for RA to do it this way and there is less need to have personnel "riding herd" over the computer system that directs the programming traffic. All that aside, I'm sure RA would be pleased to hear from you and I've taken the liberty of copying your message to Roger Broadbent, who is always interested in the views of listeners wherever they may be (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) Another helpful way to understand how this is done is to go to Kevin Kelly's "Public Radio Fan" website. Pick programs by name; you can then see when these programs air over various live webcasts. This is handy because the Radio National, Radio Australia, WRN Europe, WRN North America, and CBC Overnight airings of all these programs will then be displayed for you. You can then see what's live, what's delayed, etc. Keep in mind that Radio Australia considers North American and European listening to be "bonus" listening in comparison to its intended audience of the Asia Pacific region. Their dollars, resources, and scheduling priorities are all keyed to enhance the availability and usability to the Asia Pacific audience -- not the North American and European audiences. This is one reason I'm such a fan of on-demand audio. Scheduling issues disappear. Yes, I know "It isn't radio" but it avoids broadcasters having to make tradeoffs to serve one audience over another when such tradeoffs compromise listener satisfaction and carry a monetary cost as well. Consider it this way -- would you rather hear two or more "streams" à la the BBC World Service? Kevin Kelly's website is http://www.publicradiofan.com/ --- click on "Programs by name" to identify specific programs of interest; you'll then be able to see scheduling patterns (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) Listening on demand is not much of an option for Will, since he only uses library computers (gh) ** BOLIVIA. Gonzalo Espinoza Cortés verified my follow up report of Radio Eco San Borja operating on 4702 kHz. He said that the station in at the present not operating due to the death of his brother Freddy Espinoza Cortés in a power plant accident (planta termo eléctrica) on the 6th of August. 73's JHY (Jyrki Hytönen - Kannus - Finland, Sept 11, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA TURNS 65 --- supposedly the only remaining radio orchestra in North America; the article starts: Things didn't look promising when the Vancouver CBC Radio Orchestra arrived in Tuktoyaktuk. The temperature was minus 30, no one was there to greet them at the airport, and the concert was in a half hour. Instead of a road, there was a train track with a little trolley. So all the musicians loaded their instruments on board and rolled the 200 or so metres into town. When they arrived at the school, it was empty: there wasn't a soul in sight, except for a janitor. He silently swept the floor, initially not noticing the group in front of him. "Where is everyone?" George Zukerman asked. "Oh, you're here," the janitor said. "They're all out fishing on the ice." To let them know the orchestra had arrived, Cam Trowsdale got on top of the school roof with his violin. He started playing -- what else -- the signature tune from Fiddler on the Roof. Across the ice, about 300 men, women and children, along with numerous dogs, heard the tune and came running toward the school. The concert could finally start. . . full story at: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/story.asp?id=19CA5F93-3A99-4B22 -8284-45D4BA107E7F (via Eric Floden, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. THE UGLY CANADIAN TORONTO (CP) - It seemed like a good idea - a light-hearted radio contest to find the ugliest place in Canada. Amid the country's vast splendour, there has to be an eyesore here or there. A tire dump or maybe a yard full of dead cars. The contest, on CBC Radio One's Sunday Edition, began last Sunday. And according to CBC, the response has been mostly positive - by a five to one ratio - and there have been some 20 entries so far. However, Wendy Peck of Kenora, Ont., a pretty place on the Lake of the Woods and not likely to be a contender, finds the whole idea of the contest distasteful. In an e-mail to CBC, her MP and to the media, Peck says she objects to a "feature that seems designed only to belittle and ridicule, using appearance as the sole criteria as to whether a town, place, landscape will be collectively disgraced by our national radio service." CBC says Peck's e-mail has been the only serious complaint about the contest, although a few - about four - people have suggested the whole idea is stupid. CBC says it has responded to Peck's concerns, but that she is still not happy. In her e-mail, Peck acknowledges that she may be a voice crying out in the wilderness, "and that I could personally sound like Chicken Little." "That outcome is preferable to standing idly by while the national radio I take such pride in deliberately harms even one Canadian who has done nothing more than love a place that others find unattractive." (Via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) Isn`t August over? ** CANADA. CJWI-1610 Off Frequency --- CJWI in Montreal has drifted quite far off 1610 --- currently they're about 114 Hz high. Maybe they got their transmitter cheap on eBay. :-) This could be helpful in spotting them for you folks out west (Barry McLarnon, Ottawa, NRC- AM via DXLD) ** CHINA. Additional transmissions for China Radio International: 0200-0257 Tamil on 13715 and 15145 0300-0357 Nepali on 13715 and 15145 0500-0657 German NF 15245*, ex 15215 *co-ch RL in Tatar Bashkir till 0600 NF 17720*, ex 17690 *co-ch RFA Tibetan from 0600 1300-1357 Hindi on 11765* and 13715 *co-ch RFA Burmese 1800-1857 Cantonese on 9585 and 11895 2200-2230 Esperanto on 9860* and 11700 *co-ch Evangelische Missions Ge on Wed Frequency changes for China Radio International: 0900-1057 English NF 17690, ex 11730 1230-1327 Malay NF 15600, ex 15135 1400-1457 English NF 11765, ex 9700 1400-1457 Sinhala NF 9665, ex 11900 1500-1527 Persian NF 11700* ex 11750 *co-ch RAI Inter Turkish, Greek 1600-1657 Arabic NF 11750, ex 11760 1600-1657 English NF 9570, ex 9565 NF 11900* ex 9870 *co-ch Bulgaria German 1630- 1700-1757 English NF 11900* ex 9670 *co-ch Bulgaria French, English NF 11910, ex 15205 1700-1757 Russian ADD 11960 1730-1827 Hausa NF 13670, ex 13685 1800-1857 Russian DEL 9585 1800-1857 Persian NF 7140, ex 9550 1830-2127 French DEL 11660 1900-1927 Turkish NF 9655, ex 9785 NF 11790, ex 11750 1900-1957 Romanian NF 11750, ex 11740 2000-2057 Russian NF 9730, ex 9795 (Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 12 via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 5040 kHz, La Voz de Yopal, Yopal, 1030 UT Sept 11, tuned into Colombian national anthem in progress (Choral with orchestra), Spanish ID and frequency announcements, clearly heard "Yopal" 2 different times, into music. SINPO 22222, better on LSB, but quite poor, fade out by 1045 UT (Drake SW8 with whip antenna. Roger Chambers Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reactivation after long absence (gh) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI SIGNAL STRENGTH BACK TO NORMAL 09/11/2003 - The Copy Exchange - If you have noticed that RFPI's signal on 7445 is better recently, there's a reason. The station's General Manager, James Latham, was able to increase the transmitter power from 15 kilowatts to 30 kilowatts, starting at 0300 UT Thursday this week. The problem was the lack of a capacitor connected between the transmitter and the antenna, which could block 8 kilovolts of Direct Current applied to the final transmitter tube from reaching the antenna, while allowing the Radio Frequency signal to pass through. Details at ... http://copyexchange.com/_wsn/page3.html (Franklin Seiberling, KC0ISV, Iowa City, Sept 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. After a long absence, Voice of the Tigray Revolution, Mekelle, Ethiopia was noted again on 5500. This was in parallel with their usual 6350. Heard on 11 Sep at 1800 with good signal (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. 6170, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 0655-1310, Sat Sep 06, monthly program of Finnish pop music with announcements in Finnish and English. QRM Croatia 6165. Best at 1300 with 24232 // 11690 or 11720. 11690, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 0905, Sa Sep 06, pop music // 6170. QRM Voice of Turkey in Arabic (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) 11720, Scandinavian Weekend R, Villat, 1130, Sat Sep 06, good signal here in Germany and announcement in English (Harald Kuhl, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) In Denmark that frequency was covered by the Voice of Arabs, Cairo in Arabic on 11720 (Petersen, ibid.) ** FRANCE. R. France Int`l has the following [English] changes scheduled Sept. 7: 0400-0430 11910 ex-13610, 0500-0530 15155 ex-11685 (Daniel Sampson, Sept 6, Prime Time SW via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. R. Amistad, re: 3-156: According to the Domestic Broadcasting Surveys, this station was last reported on the air in Mar 2002 on 4698.9. It was definitely off the air in Nov 2002 when I was in Panajachel just eight kilometres from the transmitter site on the other side of Lake Atitlán. It is a ``repeater`` of R Amistad on 97.6 MHz which also was off the air at that time (Ed. Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3340, R. Misiones Int'l, 0337-0402, 11/09, Spanish, Re- activated Honduran noted with OM talks and ballads, mentions of "USA" at 0341, possibly IMF World Misiones, San Bernadino, CA address?, YL with solid ID over music at 0400. Poor under static with a few peaks (Scott R Barbour Jr, Intervale, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have been trying to clear up whether it`s Radio Misiones Internacional or Internacionales. If it modifies ``Misiones``, it would have to be plural, but if it modifies ``Radio Misiones`` it could conceivably be singular. No sign of any website for IMF --- most Google hits lead only to DX reports about it. Latest report in QSL info pages http://www.schoechi.de/ac-hnd.html#R Mision Int gives address as I.M.F. P.O.BOX 6321, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92412 USA according to C. Brunström, Sweden, Play-DX (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4920, RRI-Biak (Presumed) Sep 6 1027-1102 34333-33332 1030 IS. Local news? and Music. Tnx for information from N-1tuusin Web site. 4919.89, RRI-Biak (Presumed) Sep 7 1025-1044 32332-33332 Indonesian, Music. 1030 IS. Local news. ID? at 1042 as "... Indonesia Biak". (Kouji Hashimoto, Yamanashi, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. ANALYSIS: GOOGLE IS 5 - MANY HAPPY RETURNS | Text of editorial analysis by Chris McWhinnie of BBC Monitoring's Media Services It really is just five years since Google, now the most popular web search engine in the world, moved to its first office in a garage and started a search engine service which was to grow far beyond the founders' wildest dreams. Use grew by word of mouth because users repeatedly found that Google provided better and more successful search results with a simple word search. Derived from the word googol, meaning 1 followed by 100 zeros, the search engine had initially been called BackRub. This was a reference to its checking of results, for confidence, against the number of pages linked to each result and their importance. There was also a function which checked the status of a page for keywords and concepts related to a given subject. These ideas came from research by the founders, Stanford University Ph.D. students Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and they soon put Google ahead of the pack. From 10,000 queries a day in late 1998, daily use grew to 500,000 by mid-1999. By the end of 1999, this was 3 million searches per day. A year later it handled 60-100 million per day. The search engine moved from its beta test period in September 1998. The rapid growth was evident in other ways: by December 1998 it had already been named by PC magazine in its Top 100 web sites. In May 2000 Google was awarded a Webby Award by the San Francisco- based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and a People's Voice Award for technical achievement. A month later it became the world's largest search engine with a one billion-page index. Revenue comes from the keyword targeted advertising (see the column on the right of the main results page) and also from Google's utilization on other sites and on company intranets. Small advertisers can place online advertising with a credit card. The search engine is available via mobile telephones, WAP, Japanese i- mode and many other mobile devices. A recent enhancement is the downloadable Google toolbar. This innovation places the search engine in the internet browser as well as blocking advertising pop-ups. Google's translation and language searches have opened parts of the world and the web previously beyond the reach of the individual. In five years Google has grown to handle some 200 million queries each day from about 74 million users (Nielsen/Netratings). There are 3.5 billion pages indexed and it provides news, shopping, web logs, translation and news group searches. It is the first pages many web users see when they log on. Google now has over 1,000 staff. It outran the dot.com failures and is one of the top ten web sites in the world. It has diversified: Google now runs Blogger, a major provider of online diaries and journals. This content can encompass serious journalism as well as downright opinion and rumour. Perhaps Google will use the blog resources to supplement its news gathering operation, which relies on more conventional news sources. Google's news service was launched in September 2002. It is produced without editorial or journalistic effort by software from 4,500 different news sources. The headlines, pictures and text are all arranged without human intervention, with mixed results. The automatic compilation and selection has also meant that the Google news site is excluded from the current events category of the Media Metrix and Nielsen/NetRating's index, although an expert believed that its ratings would rank Google close to the BBC's News web site. Google also collects information about its users and the information they seek. Technology consultant Bill Thomson told BBC Online in February this year that Google probably knows a lot more about us: "Google probably knew when you last thought you were pregnant, what diseases your children have and who your divorce lawyer is." The world's top search engine places the vast resource of the world wide web at our fingertips. Although there are rivals and Google is only top of the search pile, its success appears to lie in its speed, simplicity and ultimately in the results it returns. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 10 Sep 03 (via DXLD) ** JORDAN. 11690 kHz (better at 11689.7 due to RTTY), Radio Jordan, from 1534 UT, better in LSB at this time, pop music, fair at best. from 1557, better reception, English news at 1600, weather including temperatures in Jordan Valley, ID x 2 "Radio Jordan, 96.3 FM, time check " ____ past 9," into "The _____ Review." Occasional word(s) intelligible, poor, September 11th (Roger Chambers, Utica NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Radio Jordan heard today with its English programme on 11960 kHz instead of usual 11690 kHz. Usual phone-in with music & time checks at 1330 UT, News at 1400. Will check tomorrow to see if this is a one off incorrect punch up or a longer term frequency move (Graham Powell Wales, Sept 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx, Graham for this tip, I´m just now at 1430 UT listening to R. Jordan in English on new 11960 kHz. Reception is excellent and signal great, even S9 +20 dB!!! (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Sept 12, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. NORTH KOREAN RADIO ANNIVERSARY - SEPTEMBER 9, 1948 Well, actually, the date September 9 in the year 1948 is not really a date that is associated with radio broadcasting in North Korea. Instead, it is the date on which North Korea announced the formation of its own government. However, there is no known date for the commencement of radio broadcasting in the territory that is North Korea and at the time of partition, there were no known radio broadcasting stations on the air. We could ask the question: In this land of more than 20 million people, when and where did radio broadcasting actually begin? This information was never made known internationally at the time and the exact details are still unknown to the international radio world even to this day. A Google search on the internet does not seem to bring to light any significant information, and the listings in Ludo Maes ``Transmitter Documentation Project`` give very little concrete information. The first reference that we have been able to locate for the introduction of radio broadcasting in North Korea is found in the Australian radio magazine, ``Radio & Hobbies`` dated for the month of March 1949. A report by the legendary Arthur Cushen in New Zealand, just six months after their declaration of independence, states that a radio station is on the air in the capital city, Pyongyang. This station was operating on shortwave under the callsign JWM and it was noted on two channels, 4400 & 7775 kHz. The first listing for North Korean radio stations in the World Radio Handbook does not appear until eight years later, in the year 1957. In this listing four channels are given; on mediumwave 785 820 & 1075 kHz with 6250 kHz on shortwave. The hours of on-air operation were quite brief, just a half hour or an hour in duration. Programming in that era was in Korean, with a Foreign Service in Japanese. There was also a daily 30 minute relay from Radio Moscow ‘s Far Eastern Service in Korean. It is known that Radio Pyongyang in North Korea procured two of the transmitters at 250 kW from Schwarzenburg in Switzerland when Swiss Radio International closed that station. Ludo Maes gives the year for this event as 1995, and it is presumed that nowadays these units are indeed on the air in North Korea. The current edition of the World Radio TV Handbook lists 17 mediumwave transmitters on the air in North Korea, mostly very high powered, ranging up to the massive power output of 1,500 kW. For domestic shortwave, 11 transmitters are listed at eight different locations. On the international shortwave scene, these transmitters are shown as in current use:- Kanggye (KUNG-JEE) 5 @ 200 kW Kujang (KOO-JUNG) 5 @ 200 kW Pyongyang (PEEYONG-YUNG) 10 @ 200 kW It is quite probable that a lot of villages throughout North Korea are still receiving radio programming by cable, through a loud speaker installed in the home. Occasionally, QSLs from North Korea do make an appearance into the international radio world. In the AWR collection, we are holding a total of eight QSLs, seven on shortwave and one on mediumwave. A total of four of the regional shortwave locations have been verified. So, to answer the original question, available evidence would suggest that the first radio station on the air in North Korea was a low powered shortwave unit located near the capital city, Pyonyang, and that was installed early in the year 1949, just a few months after their declaration of independence (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Sept 14 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2349.90, KCBS, Sariwon, 1100-1300, Aug 16, Korean, relay PBS // 2850, 3320 (until 1140), 3960, 4450 (from *1200), 6250, 9665 (from 1200), 11679.7, PBS program until 1140, then KCBS program. New frequency with weak carrier and very low powered transmitter. 2850, KCBS, Pyongyang, 1100-1200, Aug 14 and 15, Korean programs heard // 3350.1 (first from *1210 on Aug 14 due to transmitter problems), 3960.3 (First from *1200 on Aug 14 due to transmitter problems) and 11679.7v. Also heard 2115-2215 fade out // 3959.7 (-2200*), 4450 (only *2200-2220*), 6100, 9665.2 and 11679.7. 3025.6, Frontline Soldiers R, *1500, Aug 25, late sign on with Channel 2 in Korean. 34433. 3320, PBS, Pyongyang, 1100-1200 and 2115-2323, Aug 14, 15 and 16, Korean programs heard // 6250.1 (unstable transmitter) and 6398.7 (from *2200). 4450, KCBS, Haeju (?), *2200-2220*, Korean program heard // 2850, 6100, 9665.2 and 11679.7. This frequency used until Aug 01 to be carrying the clandestine programs of the Voice of National Salvation! 6961.8, KCBS Regional station (maybe spurious signal ??), heard from 1100, Aug 20 // 2349.9, 2850, 3959.8, 9665.1 and 11679.8. 9665, KCBS, Pyongyang, 0630, Aug 16, Korean program on new frequency, 35543. Also heard Aug 14 and 15 at 2215-2230, 0200 and 0500 // Kanggye 11680 (All: Roland Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. ...Throughout the crisis, ELWA has remained on the air with FM broadcasts going out nearly daily, but on a limited schedule, depending on the availability of diesel fuel to operate the generators. ``Due to the high price of diesel fuel [costing up to US$18 per gallon at the peak of the crisis], the hours were reduced. But only one day passed without a morning or evening broadcast,`` Sacra said. ``The weekend of Aug. 9, ELWA was the only station on the air in Monrovia and carried all the official announcements concerning the turning-over ceremony held on Aug. 11,`` he said. ``The radio’s critical ministry gives people something positive to listen to, encouraging believers to stand firm in their faith, and giving non- Christians the message of hope in Jesus.`` SIM founded the station in 1954 to air the gospel across the country and West Africa. ELWA was destroyed twice by civil war, first in 1990 and again in 1996. The station went back on the air in 1997 with a small FM transmitter. Then in 2000 HCJB World Radio provided a low- power shortwave transmitter, again enabling the station to cover the region. ``Unfortunately, the shortwave transmitter is temporarily off the air,`` Sacra said. Spare parts from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., were expected to arrive on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The ELWA Hospital has also remained open, even during the worst fighting, providing care to the injured and needy, especially those with AIDS, Sacra said. . . http://www.hcjb.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=795&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 (HCJB Press Sept 5 via DXLD) Saw somewhere 4760 reported again (gh) ** MEXICO [non]. RFCI gets publicity among Esperantists: note Elmer uses `x` to show where diacriticals go on preceding letter, difficult or impossible? to find in character sets available. Over consonants it`s circumflex ^ while over vowels it`s like a short in English (gh, DXLD) Karaj geamikoj: Jen interesa novajxo pri radia disauxdigo okaze de la Pintorenkontigxo de Monda Komerca Organizo en Kankun', Meksiko. Kvankam la disauxdigos ne rekte celas aliajn mondopartojn, eble gxi auxskulteblos tutmonde; ja la "mallongonda radio" estas tia!! Mi prenis tiun novajxon de famkonata novajxletero "DX LISTENING DIGEST" kiun redaktas kara amiko, radio-jxurnalisto S-ro Glenn Hauser. Bonsxancon!! Elmer MEKSIKO. Specialeventa Radiostacio: Radio Libera Kaskadia Internacia (e-posxto: radio985@efn.org) RFCI disauxdigos cele al Sud- kaj Mez- Ameriko ek de la 10a - 14a de septembro. Ni diselsendos solidarece kun miloj da homoj kiuj protestas kontraux la Monda Komerca Organizo en Kankun', Meksiko, kaj tra la mondo; indigxenaj popoloj en la Amerikoj kaj tutmonde, kaj cxiuj kiuj rezistas la subpremadon kaj tutmondan dominadon fare de korporacioj, registaroj kaj kapitalismaj organizajxoj kiaj MKO. RFCI disauxdigos el Kankun' hispan- kaj anglalingve, inkluzivante surlokajn raportojn, novajxojn, komentojn kaj muzikojn de rezisto kaj revolucio, cxefe amerikajn. Nia signalo celos Meksikon kaj gxi estos ankaux auxskultebla en Kubo, Kolombio, Ekvadoro, Brazilo kaj aliaj landoj de Latinameriko kaj Usono. "Radio Free Cascadia International" estas rekta ago de rezisto kaj solidareco, defiante tiujn kiuj arogas al si proprecon kaj kontrolon de la naturo, popoloj kaj teraj estajxoj. Disauxdiga Horaro ----------------- Ni intencas disauxdigi cxefe en la hispana lingvo, sed ankoraux ne kapablas provizi vin per specifa lingva horaro. Primara Horaro: 1700- 0500 UTC (11 atm - 11 ptm, Mezamerika horo) sur 15045 kHz Dumtaga alterna horaro: 1700-2300 UTC (11 atm - 5 ptm, Mezamerika horo) sur 17552.5 kHz (variema) Dumvespera alterna horaro: 2300-0500 UTC (5 ptm - 11 ptm, Mezamerika horaro) sur 9310 kHz (variema) Depende de la atmosferaj disvastigxad-kondicxoj kaj aliaj faktoroj, la disauxdigoj eble sxangxigxos 1900-0700 UTC (1 ptm - 1 atm). La bendosxangxoj prenos almenaux unu horon. Fontoj: (El la retpagxo http://www.efn.org/~radio985/RFCI/index.htm pere de la novajxletero DX LISTENING DIGEST N-ro 3-161 de Sinjoro Glenn Hauser [ http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/dxld3161.txt]. Elangligis Elmer Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No sign of R. Free Cascadia International here Sept 10, but my anonymous contact says they tested 15045 between 0200 and 0500 UT Thursday Sept 11, when I did not hear them. On Sept 9 and 10 checks, I did notice very occasional 2-way SSB on 15043, seemingly military traffic, users who would not be happy about this. Also, some very weak non-voice utility of some sort centered on 17551. Rechecked 15045 Sept 11 at 1912 UT and they were on with a booming signal, mostly music, but half-heard an announcement in English about testing. 1930 joined something in Spanish with revolutionary chanting; around 2000 music in an Indian language, but few announcements. Big signal, but quite a hum too, obvious during long pauses. Intermittent ``gurgler`` QRM lasting only a few seconds each time, but sometimes obliterating RFCI while it lasted, such as 2008, 2013. RFCI went off without announcement at 2032*. Did not recheck until 2218 when it was on again with program in English, but audio rather distorted, perhaps an internet feed. 2256 into Spanish interview with a (North?) Korean compañero, 2310 more music. Finally caught definite ID in Spanish at 2325, ``La Radio Libre International ``Cascades`` . . . parte norte de las Américas``. 2342 into an unnamed 55-minute program to be mainly about the Chilean 9\11. Still loud at 0025 Sept. 12. At 0058 `Welcome to Democracy Now,` the non-clandestine Pacifica program, but interrupted by gringo giving E-mail and P-mail addresses in English and Spanish: RFCI, P O Box 703, Eugene OR 97440. Apparently went off around 0135, or quick fadeout. After 0230 I waited for it on 9310, but not heard there. Later RFCI told me they did stay on 15045 with 5 kW until 0500* so it was a fadeout. They planned to try 9310 UT Sat but probably not 17552.5. Then on Sept 12 at 1710 check, 15045 is back on with talk in English, but ute QRM. Noted earlier that propagation disturbance had weakened other signals on 19m, this was as expected much weaker than the day before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CLANDESTINE, 15044.97, R. Free Cascadia???, at 2003 UT Sept 11, Just tuned in and am hearing what sounds like LA indigenous vocal music. Strong but pretty weak modulation. No other frequency noted. Just checked again (2025) and they're playing some simple flute music. Hope to have a full report later (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD Hi Dave --- I am hearing a station with music on this frequency but only heard one brief peak between 2130 and 2155 UT. Most of the time at threshold or inaudible (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, ibid.) 15045 Cascadia? 1900 very weak, deep fades; 2100-2120 Sept 11, clear mentions de Cancún by OM "...military civil society after 9/11 ...after the barricades fell .... struggle against World Trade Organization ...9/11 anniversary of horrible coup thirty years ago...`` Some music, poor modulation, deep fades (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mentions de "...Here in Cancún today" Bad fades but some strong audio every five minutes of so. 73's (Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Thanks for the tips, fellas; just tuned in at 2307 and have a decent carrier with a word or two on the peaks, standing by hoping to hear more (Hans Johnson, Cody WY, ibid.) 15044.92 with a S7 carrier here, but very low audio at 2319. Thanks for the tip! (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) CLANDESTINE, 15044.97, R. Free Cascadia (presumed), 2203 Talk by M with what sounded like "...request...area of the world ?? North America ?? transmission... also ?? the Americas... USB(?)... the address ?? care of... 276 ?? greater range... 45... nations... North America... Latin America...". Then at 2209 immediately into an interview with different M but couldn't copy anything other than a mention of occupation, violence, and America. Went to at least 2230 when the audio was lost. Apparent deadair. At 2240, a W announcer was noted. 2242-2245 M announcer and what sounded like a percussion instrument for a time but the audio was distorted. 2246 definitely instrumental music. 2247 W announcer again briefly and more music. 2248 W talking with another W, "Hello ??. OK we're ??. OK we can, um, can you tell us about what's been going on in Cancún today...", followed by the other W talking aboutt the activities in Cancún, obviously!! At 2250 my tape ran out!! Unfortunately, the last 2 minutes were the best. As I mentioned earlier, the signal seems strong enough, but the modulation varies and is mostly very weak. Anyone hear any ID yet?? (Dave Valko, PA, 11 Sept. Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED, 15044.96 Sep 11/12, 2324-0004, female announcer in Spanish, talk broken up by short instrumental tunes every few minutes, 2352 mournful vocal ballad followed by male announcer in Spanish until 0004 tune out during another slow ballad. Only a fair signal with deep fades made program content unintelligible. Bits and pieces of sentences were heard. Occasional short bursts of ute QRM. 2356 someone started sending CW morse code on frequency (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. 4895, Ulanbataar, 2117 8 Sept., in seemingly Kazakh or Turkmen language. Signal S9, 34233 with main QRN from lightning. Talks over classical music background, and China is referred as 'Helky' Violin play at 2130. Also // 4830 with S7-9 same SINPO. Though not sure, I can suppose the previous unID log of 4830 can be from Mongolia Many thanks to BCDX for this log (Zacharias Liangas, Retziki, Greece, ICOM R75 with 16 m horizontal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. Ausstrahlungen des vom US-amerikanischen Kongress finanzierten Radio Free Asia http://www.rfa.org über die Anlagen des Mongolischen Rundfunks. Derzeit laufen diese als offenes Geheimnis anzusprechenden Sendungen wie folgt: 22.00-23.00 (MESZ 00.00) Uhr 7460 kHz Koreanisch 23.00-24.00 (MESZ 01.00) Uhr 7470 kHz Tibetanisch 23.30-00.30 (MESZ 01.30) Uhr 11580 kHz Vietnamesisch 01.00-03.00 (MESZ 03.00) Uhr 17730 kHz Tibetanisch 06.00-07.00 (MESZ 08.00) Uhr 17720 kHz Tibetanisch 11.00-14.00 (MESZ 13.00) Uhr 7470 kHz Tibetanisch 14.00-15.00 (MESZ 16.00) Uhr 7380 kHz Koreanisch 15.00-16.00 (MESZ 17.00) Uhr 7470 kHz Tibetanisch Radio Free Asia sendet über zahlreiche, auch von anderen US- amerikanischen Auslandsdiensten genutzte Sendeanlagen, sowie über weitere Stationen, die jedoch offiziell weder genannt noch bestätigt werden, um die Regierungen dieser Länder aus dem politischen Schussfeld zu halten (Anker Petersen 9.8., B. Trutenau 15.8., Kai Ludwig 18.8.2003, Dr. Hj. Biener, ntt aktuell Sept 7 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. I visited the unmanned transmitter site at Rangitaiki when I was in New Zealand in 1998. Only sheep and cows were seen around the transmitters, all of which were remotely controlled from Wellington some 350 kilometres to the South! (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) Interestingly, this is not the first time that New Zealand has been heard on relay from Australia on shortwave, though indeed it is the longest time block ever. Back in the pre-War era, there were several notable occasions when New Zealand on SW was picked up in Australia and relayed SW by VK2ME at Pennant Hills near Sydney. However, on each of these occasions, they were special event broadcasts, such as news about a large earthquake, a broadcast by Admiral Byrd after his 2 years in the Antarctic, and the special South Seas Broadcast in 1933. It will be remembered that VK2ME was re-designated as VLQ for the commencement of "Australia Calling" in December 1939. During the WW2 era, relays of news bulletins from New Zealand were broadcast by "Australia Calling" - Radio Australia to New Zealand Forces in North Africa and in Japan. RNZI-via R Australia Shepparton is not heard here; the only station heard at this location on 9580 during the relay time is Africa No 1 in Gabon in English and French (A. M. Peterson, IN, Dxplorer, Sep 08 via DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) Neither in Denmark RNZI is heard via Shepparton, just Africa No. 1 (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) I wish RNZI was a little clearer about their transmitter fault! Possible faults that could be interpolated from RNZI text: 1. One of their curtain arrays fell over. RNZI does not state that the curtain arrays are in good health. It is not clear if the TCI design has resonant dampers as part of the guy wire system -- these dampers are handy in earthquake country. 2. Initial power transformer -- very basic component, and not redundant in any way in the Tompson-Thales design. Possibly a fatal design flaw here. 3. Matching network was fried. (plausible, hard to fix) 4. PDM + PSM network was fried. (plausible, hard to fix) 5. Switch matrix self destructed in some way (not probable, but not impossible). 6. Was the safety protection damaged in any way? Fixing it could take several days in some cases extra if also damaged. Other bits of PR that would be helpful: Are the tubes OK? At 40,000 USD each (or even 20,000 USD) -- it would be nice to know if they were not damaged (`Max Power`, Seattle WA, ripple via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 5080.25, R. Pakistan Sep 5 1520-1534 34333 Urdu, Talk. ID at 1529 (Kouji Hashimoto, Yamanashi, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) 15065, Radio Pakistan. Sept. 4 at 1559-1615*. SINPO 35343. Time pips for 1600, then ID in English was heard. News followed (NAGATANI Iwao, Kobe, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. PNG GOVERNMENT TO UPGRADE RADIO STATIONS PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Sept. 10) - Provincial governors in Papua New Guinea have given their support for the upgrading of five State owned radio stations and promised that they would be kept on air at all times. National Broadcasting Corporation managing director Dr Kristoffa Ninkama said this yesterday. He also said he had received letters from the five governors who had given their full support to upgrade NBC radio stations in the country. Dr Ninkama said the provincial capitals which would have their radio stations upgraded include Vanimo, Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae and Kimbe. He was referring to the recent signing of a K24.81 million project to improve the stations. The project was signed between the Japanese Government and the Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu came under the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA). Dr Ninkama said the governors would continue to support the project and ensure that the stations would be maintained at all times. The provincial governments would fund the daily operations of the stations. "Because of these tough economic times we have decided to link FM and Karai throughout the provinces," he said. "If the provincial radio stations are off air, the listeners are able to tune in to FM and AM frequencies." Dr Ninkama said although they might miss listening to their programs on their local stations, they would still be able to listen to the national events happening in PNG. Meanwhile, State Enterprises and Information Minister Arthur Somare recently expressed gratitude to the Japanese Government for their support and assistance to upgrade the radio stations. Mr Somare said: "This is seen as a very important effort, especially where the country entirely depend on radio communication as a main medium of communication to disseminate government¹s development information to its people." The PNG Government recognizes the important role played by NBC in broadcasting development policy programs to create public awareness about the work of the government, he said. September 11, 2003 Papua New Guinea Post-Courier: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/ Copyright © 2003 PNG Post-Courier. All Rights Reserved (Via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, from Pacific Islands Report, and via E. Baxendale, UK, DXLD) ** PERU. FUJIMORI TO HOST WEEKLY RADIO SHOW IN LIMA Friday, September 12, 2003 at 16:00 JST http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=9&id=272345 Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, living in self-imposed exile in Japan, will host a weekly talk show on a Lima radio station, his office in Lima was quoted by local media as saying Thursday. Fujimori will challenge criticism against him and deliver critiques on Peruvian politics, the local media reported. The show is scheduled for broadcast every Saturday morning. (Kyodo News, via Japan Today via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Incredibly lacking in detail ** RUSSIA. 5940.08, Radio Rossii, Magadan, 1040. Noted music and Russian comments from a woman. Noted parallel on 7200 relayed from Yakutsk and 9655 from relayed Irkutsk. At 1044 man talks. Signal on 5940 was threshold while 7200 was poor to fair and 9655 was fair (Bolland, Chuck, September 12, 2003, Clewiston Florida, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. S AFRICAN AUTHORITIES INVITE APPLICATIONS FOR RADIO'S BROADCASTING LICENSE | Text of report by South African news agency SAPA web site Johannesburg, 10 September: Communications authorities are inviting interested parties to apply for Capital Radio's commercial broadcasting licence, it was reported on Wednesday [10 September]. The licence would be valid for six years from the date of issue, Independent Communications Authority spokesman Jubie Matlou said on Wednesday. The successful applicant will serve the eastern coastline of KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape, and will have to pay about 6m rand for assets belonging to the commercial station. These include studio equipment and were looked after by the Department of Communications, Matlou said. Capital Radio was one of the few private radio stations in South Africa in the 1970s that competed with SABC [South African Broadcasting Corporation] radio on the eastern coastline of KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape. The former Transkei homeland government funded the station which shared offices with the defunct Transkei Broadcasting Corporation in Umtata. Capital Radio went off air in the 1990s and was subsequently closed due to problems of funding as a result of the transformation of state-owned broadcasting services. Source: SAPA news agency web site, Johannesburg, in English 1342 gmt 10 Sep 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Radio Sweden --- At 1330 on September 11th, Radio Sweden suspended its regular programming and devoted its broadcast to the untimely death of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. She was stabbed by a man in his 30s in military fatigues in an up-scale department store on Wednesday and died early Thursday morning. She was a strong spokesperson urging support for Sweden to join the Euro in an upcoming referendum. It is yet unclear whether this was a political murder or a more random act. Presumably this program format will continue through today, maybe into tomorrow or the weekend. (heard in a local nature preserve on the Grundig FR200, the wind-up radio I will be reviewing very shortly). At 1130 UT on September 12, Radio Sweden continued its special coverage on the murder of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. An in depth look at lack of body guards for Swedish politicians, just how could this happen, why no suspect was apprehended, etc. Then it focused on the impact of her death on the Referendum on the Euro set for Sunday, September 14, which the government has said will proceed as scheduled. On Saturday, Radio Sweden will have an in depth debate on the Euro Referendum (taped before Anna Lindh's death). On Sunday, special coverage will continue on this important referendum whether Sweden accepts or rejects the Euro. For those seeing this in time, this broadcast is repeated at 1330 UT on 17840, same frequency as 1130 (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAHITI [and non]. Note that I have had threshold audio from Tahiti- 738 every morning I've checked this week and today I had some music on 1098 which I presume was Marshall Is. Conditions are very good to the east and west from here, 35 miles NW of Chicago this week ! 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL, Sept 11, Corazón DX via DXLD) ** THAILAND. Back in February this year I checked in Thailand the frequencies 4830, 6070 and 7115 a few times. Before Thailand was audible on these frequencies with the domestic service(s) with close down at 1600 which enabled reception in Europe during winter. For about a year or so no domestic service is heard on these frequencies any more. Some time ago 4830 carried a English speaking channel entitled "Radio Thailand Network 3" // to a few MW and FM transmitters. This channel didn't exist long and it disappeared on ALL frequencies. In February I noticed: 4830 off the air. 6070 and 7115 relaying R Thailand External Service as follows: 1100 Vietnamese // 7260 UDO (Udon Thani) 1115 Cambodian // 7260 UDO 1130 Laotian // 6030 UDO 1145 Burmese // 6030 UDO I cannot verify the transmission 1200-1215 in Bahasa Malaysia which is also listed on 6070 and 7115 // 11805 UDO, because I didn't tune in at that time. Before and after these times there was no activity on those frequencies. An exception is still the Royal Palace Station on 6149 suffering from Singapore. Their complicated schedule submitted by Alan Davies is still effective (Uwe Volk, Germany, Sep 06, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) R Thailand has not been reported heard on 4830 since May 2001, on 6070 since Feb 2002 and on 7115 since Aug 2002, according to our Domestic Broadcasting Survey database (Ed. Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) ** U K. PIRATES SET SAIL AGAIN TO HERALD A NEW MUSIC REVOLUTION By Ian Burrell, Media and Culture Correspondent, The Independent 11 September 2003 http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/story.jsp?story=442224 One hundred feet above the streets of south London, Danny Blaze gazes out from the balcony of an enormous tower block and takes in the view. "Everything you can see, we cover," he says of a panorama that stretches from the Millennium Dome in the east to the smart suburbs of west London. A further 50 feet skywards, a small antenna is broadcasting the music and message of the pirate radio station Flashback FM, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Flashback is the sound of the underground - the urban music scene that produced the Mercury Music Prize winner Dizzee Rascal and the previous year's victor, Ms Dynamite, who in a year has crossed to the coffee- table classes. In his acceptance speech, Dizzee Rascal, real name Dylan Mills, accused the music industry of trying to ignore the role played by the pirates. "I came from nothing. I came from the underground, the pirate radio scene," he said. "If you don't acknowledge it, it will creep up anyway." Even though pirate radio is are flourishing in Britain the authorities show no signs of tolerating the stations. The boom is coupled with a growing popularity in mainstream radio. More people than ever (43.7 million, or 90 per cent of the population over 15) are listening to legal stations, for an average of 24 hours each a week. The Government's Radiocommunications Agency raided 209 pirate outfits last year, with 181 based in London and others in Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow. Yet despite official disapproval, stations continue to multiply. They are also resisting the challenge posed by the growth of digital broadcasting. The average transistor radio is now able to receive signals from up to 320 legal radio stations, and a digital receiver can tune in to up to 300 more. But this vast selection of legitimate music, commentary and chat, ranging from the Asian Network to Xfm, is not catering for many people in Britain's towns and cities. In Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Leeds and Sheffield, Bristol, Luton and, most of all, London, pirate stations are pumping out a musical diet that would baffle many radio executives. They play grime, sub- low, 8bar, four to the floor, desi beats, US garage, UK garage, hardcore, hip-hop, house, bashment, drum & bass and trance, to name just a sample of the genres and sub-genres that mark out the urban music scene. Matt Mason, editor of RWD, a magazine that has been set up to cover the world of the pirates and the music they play, said such stations were uniquely British. "It's something that will always go on because it's about freedom of expression," he said. "Urban music has become easier to make than ever and it is more multicultural than in any other Western country." Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the moment when Radio Caroline, the floating pirate station, first went on air from the North Sea. Caroline launched the careers of some of Britain's best-known radio stars of the Seventies, including Tony Blackburn and Dave Lee Travis. More modern urban-based pirates have given a start in broadcasting to music business luminaries such as Norman Jay MBE and Gilles Peterson, who sat on the Mercury prize judging panel. Today there are pirate stations to represent every neighbourhood in London as well as most of Britain's biggest towns and cities. But the broadcasting authorities claim they are a menace, stealing electricity from lift shafts and other power supplies and interfering with the signals of legitimate broadcasters. Even the pirates admit the dangers of "sprogging", where a signal splits in two, with the danger of an airline pilot touching down at Heathrow to the sound of drum & bass. The number of operations by the Radiocommunications Agency has increased by 81 per cent from 3,488 raids in 1993-1997 to 6,320 in 1998-2002. But still the pirates will not lower their colours. According to Mr Mason, illegal stations such as Rinse FM (which brought Dizzee Rascal and his "grimy" version of garage music to prominence), Flashback FM, Bassline FM and Freeze FM are giving a platform to the booming culture of "MC-ing" (the British equivalent of rapping). "MC-ing is the ultimate easy thing for kids," he said. "You just need to pick up a pen and paper. The UK MC culture is developing faster than ever. Dizzee Rascal and the So Solid Crew have inspired hundreds of kids." Most areas of London have their own "crews", made of MCs and other music makers, desperate to make their mark. Dizzee Rascal is part of east London's Roll Deep Crew. In north London there is the Heartless Crew, and west London has Black Ops. But the infamy surrounding the south London-based So Solid Crew has given the pirate stations a new relevance by driving the once-thriving UK Garage scene, which spawned the likes of Ms Dynamite, Craig David and Artful Dodger. A succession of firearms incidents and criminal trials involving members of the So Solid Crew led to music venues, record companies and legitimate radio stations becoming wary of garage music, leaving a void for the pirates to fill. Pirate radio is not for acrophobics. Several miles across London from the Flashback antenna, the station's studio has been set up near the top of another tower block. Here, in a kitchen three feet square, the station's DJs broadcast for 24 hours a day from a young woman's flat. She is paid £80 a week for the privilege. In spite of the surroundings, Flashback has been operating for eight years and is run like a business (though it claims to make no profits). Later that evening, in the garden of a pub, 40 DJs, engineers and drivers gather for the station's monthly board meeting, convened by Blaze, the station's "studio manager". He said: "If this was a legitimate business it would be a guaranteed success. If it was supported by the Prince's Trust, I would have an award by now." The DJs are asked to pay a sub of £25 a month, which goes to cover the rent of the studio and the £300 cost of replacing each aerial or "rig" seized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Blaze does everything he can to avoid antagonising officials. During the meeting, he reprimanded one DJ for allowing a caller to talk about drugs on air. Despite Dizzee Rascal's comments, the mainstream music industry is starting to recognise the importance of the pirates. Last week, the giant Emap media group sanctioned its radio station Kiss FM (itself a one-time pirate broadcaster) to stage a competition to allow illegal DJs to compete for the chance to win a three-month contract and go legit. The contest was won by a group of three 18-year-olds called Haunted House who have worked for the pirate station Mystic FM for the past six years. But the Radiocommunications Agency, part of the DTI, was not impressed. In a notice issued shortly before the competition final, the Agency called on Kiss FM to hand over "information that is effectively evidence of [pirate broadcasters] committing a criminal offence". It threatened to raid the station using "legal powers under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949". But Mark Story, managing director of Kiss, said he would "resist through the courts" any attempt by officials to seize the "evidence". Mr Story said that he was thinking of giving jobs to seven of the other contestants. "We want to do this every year," he said. "The standard is really good." HIP-HOP HIJACKERS * BASSLINE FM Broadcasts in London. Style: R&B, hip-hop and bashment * FREEZE FM Broadcasts in London. Style: Garage, drum & bass, R&B * RINSE FM Broadcasts in London Style: Grime, sub-low * CHARGE FM Broadcasts in Essex. Style: Drum & bass, garage * FLASHBACK FM Broadcasts in London Style: Urban * GENESIS FM Broadcasts in Leeds. Style: Reggae, hip-hop * PASSION FM Broadcasts in Birmingham. Style: Garage, reggae, drum & bass * HEAT FM Broadcasts in Birmingham. Style: Garage, drum & bass * ACTIVE FM Broadcasts in Glasgow. Style: House * INFINITY FM Broadcasts in Glasgow. Style: House Buccaneers of broadcasting The man who did most to create Britain's pirate radio culture was Ronan O'Rahilly, a maverick young Irishman from a wealthy family. O'Rahilly, below, founded Britain's first floating radio station, Radio Caroline, which burst on to the airwaves at Easter 1964. The station launched the careers of such broadcasters as Johnnie Walker, Tommy Vance, above right, and even the hypnotist Paul McKenna. In December 1964, a consortium of Texan businessmen set up Radio London (later Big L) on the former World War Two mine-sweeper USS Density in competition with Caroline. It was seeking an audience in the South-east of England, with rising stars such as Ed Stewart and Kenny Everett. Then in 1967 the Labour government did for the Big L (which was also the home of Perfumed Garden, the groundbreaking show of John Peel) and most of the other pirates when it introduced legislation, the Marine Broadcasting (Offences) Act. Only Radio Caroline played on in defiance. After broadcasting through the winter from off the coast of the Netherlands, Caroline too temporarily went off air. But angry and dedicated listeners included students who realised how easy it was to build an AM transmitter, and they set up the first land-based pirates, Radio Free London and Radio Free Caroline. Although they were tracked down and fined, other stations emerged, including Radio Jolly Roger, Radio North-West and Radio Pamela. One station, Radio Jackie, even provoked the authorities with the theme tune "Catch us if you can". The arrival of FM radio led to a new pirate boom in the Seventies and Eighties, compounded by the growth in popularity of contemporary dance music. The most successful was the London-based station Kiss, now owned by the media giant Emap, which was granted a legal licence in 1990. 10 September 2003 23:14 © 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Occasional chex of 7490, 13595 indicate that WJIE has been totally off the air this month. Any news about the situation in Upton, such as the supposedly incoming FEBA Seychelles transmitter? (Glenn Hauser, OK, Sept 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. New on 1690: This may be the 51st x-bander, instead of a TIS. WBIT-1470 in Adel has held a CP for 1690 since 1997. All I'm hearing is someone with CNN Headline News. That's WPTX in Lexington Park. I hear them almost every night in Memphis with weak to moderately strong signals (Adam Myrow, TN, Sept 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) Adel did just file for a license to cover, but don't expect them around in Adel for long. They have a recently-granted CP to move north from the Valdosta area to a suburb of Atlanta. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Looks like I missed that one. I knew about Johnson City IL moving to Chicago but not the Georgia move. Between that and all the FM moves (97.5, 107.9, 105.3, 100.5, now one of the Athens stations is moving too) all I can think is: "What's that wooshing noise? Oh, that's just Atlanta sucking up every radio station in the South!" (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) Whatever happened to the original intent of the X-band? First, it was intended to ease crowding by closing down in-band stations five years after the X-bander came on-air. Results: in most cases both stations remain on air after the 5-year deadline. Second, the intention never was (at least I don't think) to move small-town services to big-city markets hundreds of miles away. Yet that is what we are seeing, with 1690 Johnston City IL moving to metro Chicago (over 300 miles) and 1690 Adel GA moving to metro Atlanta (over 200 miles). 73 (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI (still bitter about 1480 Madison continuing on the air 5 years 2+ months and counting after 1670 Madison came on), ibid.) The same as what usually happens, The alleged regulatory agency has its funding cut, and as a result beomces much cozier with the interests it is intended to regulate, and ultimately becomes more of a surrogate for the industry than anything else, hence it caves in regularly to any pressure from that industry (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 15 mi NNW Philadelphia ), ibid.) M Street Journal is reporting WSWK-1690, Avondale Estates, GA is on with what it calls Surveillance/ Weather/Traffic and a slogan as "Wild Adventures Radio". Can any Atlanta-area DXers confirm this?? (BILL Hale, TX, ibid.) There's a "Wild Adventures" Theme Park in the vicinity of Valdosta, Georgia. I wonder if there's some connection. I'll take a look-see around the dial. (Look-hear?) (Ron Gitschier, Jacksonville (w), Palm Coast (h), FL, ibid.) And just to clarify --- while WSWK is apparently on, it is on from ADEL, near Valdosta, not from AVONDALE ESTATES, which is a suburb on the east side of Atlanta. The Avondale Estates CP has been granted (it'll use one tower of the 1420 site) but has not yet been activated. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) I was through that area recently twice and not a peep was heard. (Powell E. Way, III, ibid.) What I heard and got recorded was "this is Wild Adventures Radio WDEQ, Adel." Later, they said "stay tuned to 92.1." So, my guess is that WDEQ is the FM call and they don't bother to acknowledge the AM station which is reaching Memphis quite well (Adam Myrow, ibid.) Oh, this one is already a pest here. Has to be from Valdosta, nothing but "Wild Adventures Radio" and promos for the park. LOUD here on 1690. Haven't yet caught a legal ID. The park, of course, is off of "exit 13, Valdosta." They tell us that about every 45 seconds. This one is inland and further from me than Biloxi on 1640, but that station doesn't begin to put this kind of S7+ signal into here (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, (Suddenly waaaay to close to Valdosta, GA), ibid.) WSWK-1690 Adel, GA on with "Wild Adventures Park" info. Continuous promos, "Wild Adventures Radio" non-ID's, weather. Similar to the old WTIR-1660 format except just pimping this one park. Mention 92.1 FM during promos. ID at top of hour as "WDEQ 92.1 FM and WSWK 1690 AM, Adel, Georgia". Not Lexington Park as previously surmised (Greg Myers, Largo, FL, Sept 9, ibid.) No, Lexington Park gives CNN news most of the time with occasional local news. I personally think that WSWK/WDEQ has no business on the air with anything more than 1 or 2 watts if all they do is run continuous commercials for Wild Adventures park (Adam Myrow, ibid.) The correct calls for the FM is WDDQ not WDEQ (GM, Largo, FL, ibid.) Thanks. When they fire those call letters off like that, it's easy to misunderstand them even with a strong signal (Myrow, ibid.) I caught an ID on 1690 at 2016 EDT 9/9/03 "Keep you radio tuned to 92.1 Wild Adventures Radio". No AM ID heard. Endless promos of Wild Adventures Park at Exit 13 on I-75, Valdosta, GA. Near local strength with male and female voices underneath. Heard on a 350' N/S BOG [Beverage on ground]. Switching to my 350' NE/SW BOG produced male female announcers with news analysis over the top of WSWK. ID at 2027 9/9/03 EDT "Southern Maryland's most complete news updates, News Radio 16-90 WPTX" into news from St. Mary's county. I'm also hearing very weak audio on 1710 with both BOGs. Is the Lubavitch pirate still operating or this another clandestine station? I can't quite make out any information but it appears to be an English speaking male. The receiver used is a Collins 51J3 with an MWDX5 phasing controller (Rick Robinson, kf4ar, Hendersonville, NC, ibid.) What is causing the strange pulsing signal - occurring about 1 per second on 1680 slopping over to 1690? Sounds like an unstable transmitter. Back in my Navy days in the 1960's we had a shipboard transmitter called at WRT2 which could put out a KW with CW and sideband and about 750 W AM. If not tuned up correctly it would pulsate and sound just about what I am hearing tonight. Looping SW/NW from here (Tom Jasinski, Shorewood, IL, ibid.) I think the CP on 1690 was running out, so they are probably putting it on to keep the license from being deleted. They are requesting a city of license change to one of the Atlanta suburbs, and will likely be sold as soon as that occurs. The original facility WBIT 1470 has been off the air for a while (Neil Griffin, Bainbridge, GA (about 75 miles from Adel), NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NAL for WGSR / RJM communications Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) File Number EB-02-TP-436 ) RJM Communications, Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.200332700026 Licensee of WGSR(AM) in ) FRN 0008028938 Fernandina Beach, Florida )Kalamazoo, Michigan ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Released: July 15, 2003 By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office: I. INTRODUCTION 1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find RJM Communications, Inc. (``RJM''), licensee of radio station WGSR, Fernandina Beach, Florida, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of twenty-one thousand dollars ($21,000) for willful and repeated violation of Sections 73.1125 and 73.1745(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') and willful violation of Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules.1 Specifically, we find RJM Communications, Inc. apparently liable for failure to maintain a presence at its main studio, exceeding authorized nighttime operating power, and failure to make available a public inspection file during regular business hours. II. BACKGROUND 2. RJM is the licensee of AM broadcast station WGSR in Fernandina Beach, Florida. WGSR's station license authorizes daytime power of 10 kW and nighttime power of 30 watts. 3. On August 16, 2002, the FCC Enforcement Bureau's Tampa Field Office (``Tampa Office'') received a complaint alleging that WGSR failed to reduce transmitter power at the required times as specified in the station authorization. 4. On September 10, 2002, two agents from the Tampa Office monitored WGSR's signal. Field strength measurements revealed that WGSR did not reduce power at sunset as required by the station authorization. WGSR remained at daytime power until at least 10:00 p.m. Local sunset is 7:30 p.m. in September. 5. On September 11, 2002, the agents again monitored WGSR's signal. Field strength measurements revealed that WGSR did not reduce power at sunset as required by the station authorization. WGSR remained at daytime power until at least 9:03 p.m. 6. On September 12, 2002, the agents inspected radio station WGSR during regular business hours. The agents met with Mr. Joe Fisher, the only person present at WGSR, who assisted the agents during the inspection. Mr. Fisher told the agents that he was employed by Anscombe Broadcasting Group, LTD (``ABG''). ABG has held a local marketing agreement (``LMA'') with RJM since August 1, 2002. Mr. Fisher stated that RJM had no employee at the WGSR studio since August 7, 2002, at which time Mr. Fisher had fired the licensee's only employee. Mr. Fisher stated that he operated the station's transmitter manually and that he was not present at the transmitter site on the evenings of September 10 and 11, 2002, to make the transmitter power adjustments. The agents found the station's transmitter operating at or about the authorized daytime power level. The agents again measured WGSR's field strength during daytime hours and found the signal strength identical to the previous two nights' measurements, thus verifying that the field strength measurements made during nighttime hours on the previous two nights corresponded to the station's daytime power level. Upon the agents' request to see the station's public inspection file, Mr. Fisher was unable to provide any contents of the file. III. DISCUSSION 7. Section 73.1125 requires the licensee of a broadcast station to maintain a main studio at one of the following locations: (1) within the station's community of license; (2) at any location within the principal community contour of any AM, FM or TV broadcast station licensed to the station's community of license; or (3) within twenty five miles from the reference coordinates of the center of its community of license. In adopting the main studio rules, the Commission stated that the station's main studio must have the capability to serve the needs and interests of the residents of the station's community of license.2 To fulfill this function, a station, among other things, must maintain a meaningful presence at its main studio.3 The Commission has defined a minimally acceptable ``meaningful presence'' as full-time managerial and full-time staff personnel.4 The licensee need not have the same staff person and manager at the studio, as long as there was management and staff presence there during normal business hours.5 Although management personnel need not be ``chained to their desks'' during normal business hours, they must ``report at the main studio on a daily basis, spend a substantial amount of time there and ... use the studio as a home base.''6 From August 7, 2002, until at least September 12, 2002, RJM failed to maintain managerial or staff presence at its main studio. WGSR's main studio was staffed with an employee of another company with which RJM had an LMA to provide programming on WGSR. 8. Section 73.1745(a) states that no broadcast station shall operate at times, or with modes or power, other than those specified and made part of the license. On September 10 and 11, 2002, station WGSR operated with daytime power during nighttime hours. 9. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules7 requires that every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM. TV or Class A TV station in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection file containing the material, relating to that station, described in paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(10) and paragraph (e)(13) of this section. Section 73.3526(b) of the Rules8 requires the public inspection file be maintained at the station's main studio. Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules requires the file be available for public inspection at any time during regular business hours. On September 12, 2002, no public inspection file material was available for inspection during regular business hours at the WGSR main studio. 10. Based on the evidence before us, we find RJM willfully9 and repeatedly10 violated Sections 73.1125 and 73.1745(a) of the Rules, and willfully violated Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules by failing to maintain a presence at its main studio, exceeding authorized nighttime operating power, and failing to make available the public inspection file during regular business hours. 11. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,11 the base forfeiture amount for failure to maintain a public inspection file is $10,000, for exceeding authorized operating power is $4,000 and for violation of main studio rule is $7,000. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must also take into account the statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), which include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, and with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may require.12 Considering the entire record and applying the factors listed above, this case warrants a $21,000 forfeiture. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 12. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Act,13 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the Rules,14 RJM Communications, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of twenty-one thousand dollars ($21,000) for willful and repeated violation of Sections 73.1125 and 73.1745(a) of the Rules, and willful violation of Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules for failing to maintain a presence at its main studio, exceeding authorized nighttime operating power, and failing to make available the public inspection file during regular business hours. 13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this NAL, RJM Communications, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. 14. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.15 15. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau- Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. referenced above. 16. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial statements prepared according to generally accepted accounting practices (``GAAP''); or (3) some other reliable and objective documentation that accurately reflects the petitioner's current financial status. Any claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to the financial documentation submitted. 17. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002), the FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding the size of entities involved in forfeitures. If you qualify as a small entity and if you wish to be treated as a small entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to us within thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your response to the NAL or in a separate filing to be sent to the Technical & Public Safety Division. Your certification should indicate whether you, including your parent entity and its subsidiaries, meet one of the definitions set forth in the list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) set forth in Attachment A of this Notice of Apparent Liability. This information will be used for tracking purposes only. Your response or failure to respond to this question will have no effect on your rights and responsibilities pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act. If you have questions regarding any of the information contained in Attachment A, please contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990. 18. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to RJM Communications, Inc., 1218 S. Park Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Ralph M. Barlow Tampa Office, Enforcement Bureau (via Powell E. Way III, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC AGENTS SHUT DOWN 'FREE RADIO BURLINGTON' Two FCC agents, accompanied by two Burlington, VT police officers, yesterday raided Free Radio Burlington and shut down the unlicensed station. The Brattleboro Reformer reports the move came as the FCC offers its final ultimatum to unlicensed broadcaster Radio Free Brattleboro to leave the air or face the consequences. The Burlington station had been broadcasting for two years with a 10-watt signal at 87.9 MHz from a residence in Vermont's largest city, providing local news and syndicated news programs. FRB DJ Patrick Johnson, one of 30 air talents who worked at the station, told the Reformer that the exchange between the FCC agents and station operators was civil, but the agents warned that if the station returned to the air, the agents would be back with U.S. marshals. The Burlington pirate station, unlike the unlicensed Brattleboro station, had never given rise to interference complaints from licensed FMs in the area. Larry Hildes, a civil rights attorney with the Center for Democratic Communications, told Brattleboro Reformer that the FCC "is not being responsible to radio listeners and members of the community. The FCC is acting only in the interests of giants such as Clear Channel." (Alan Freed, Beat Radio, Minneapolis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.beatworld.com http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/09/11/7014155 ** U S A. WDAF 610 Kansas City: Another long-time full service news/sports/music station on AM (in a major city) has flipped format. 610 WDAF Kansas City switched to all-sports at 2PM yesterday. This had been rumored for quite some time and the end was near when about a month ago, the WDAF calls and format(although somewhat modified) went to Entercom co-owned 106.5 KCIY Liberty MO. There was roughly a 30 day simulcast period until the new lineup and programming was put in place. A new set of calls have been applied for but have not yet been granted: KCSP. At least the format wasn't junked altogether but this is almost as revolting as the 710/810 swap in '97! (Mark Erdman, Herington/Salina KS, Sept 11, NRC-AM via DXLD) And another 81-year old call bites the dust, from the Warren G. Harding administration, when almost all stations broadcast on any frequency they wanted as long as it was 360 meters/833 kHz. No, it's not a 3-letter call, but WDAF has been around since at least June 1922 (listed at http://members.aol.com/jeff560/1922am.html) 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, ibid.) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 7460.0, National R. of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, 2010-0003*, Sep 3 and 6, very weak in Vernacular (maybe Arabic) at 2010 and unusable until R Free Asia in Korean signed off 2300*, then Spanish talk, political speech and pop songs; closed with martial music, 25232 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Sept 10 via DXLD) 7460, WESTERN SAHARA, R. Nacional, RASD, (presumed), 2027-2103, 09/09, AR, OM with talks, brief HOA style music at 2028, followed by talk between two OM, music again at 2052, then different music between OM talks with rapid-fire delivery until acoustic music at 2102, YL with music at 2103. Weak but audible with a few peaks, constant hiss and static (Scott Barbour, NH, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1503: CA, Los Angeles???? TIS type station with Middle Eastern music behind woman`s voice, message "....on sale for Los Angeles, Pomona, and Orange County. Call 1-800-678-6440 or online at ????.com at 0945 EDT 9/11. I called the number and got the college financial aid office, I think in Ojai. Is anyone else hearing this? A pirate or someone off frequency from 1500? Strange (Drake R8, EWE antenna, Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, IRCA via DXLD) 1503 is a Trans-Pacific frequency. Doesn`t the NZ or Aussie sometimes relay an American sports network?? Was it exactly 1503.00, so unlikely a drift or spur? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 2140.00, (presumed LA harmonic 2 x 1070) Sep 10, 0817- 0901, Spanish talk, pop vocals, light piano instrumentals, short guitar pieces (sounding Cuban perhaps?). Very weak signal with occasional fair peaks (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ EiBi BY FREQUENCY Dear friends, all international shortwave transmissions listed on one website - NOW ALSO IN FREQUENCY ORDER!! After receiving several questions, whether my shortwave broadcasting list is available in frequency order, I could not longer withstand and today wrote a program to re-order the time-sorted file frequency-wise. Now identifying unIDs is even easier! You can find the new schedule, as well as the old one, on my website which is reached via http://www.eibi.de.vu/ (preferably use this URL in your bookmarks!!!! --- as it is more unlikely to change than the direct server address at university) or if you do prefer direct links, http://139.18.51.71/~pge98crf/freq-a03.txt for the new frequency-wise list and http://139.18.51.71/~pge98crf/bc-a03.txt for the time-sorted list (as before). For your information, there is also an FM digest for Germany on my website, in case you should be interested. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the hobby! 73, -- (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Find the current overall shortwave schedule on http://www.eibi.de.vu/ DRM +++ DRM AT IBC: CONSUMER RECEIVERS, LIVE BROADCASTS, SESSIONS Contact: Siriol Evans, DRM, pressoffice@drm.org Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Strides Forward at IBC 2003: New Consumer Receivers, Live Broadcasts and Conference Sessions Amsterdam – Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) will showcase its newly launched live broadcasts on several receivers, including a second- generation consumer radio available for purchase later this year, at its booth (8.480) at IBC 2003, September 12-16. DRM will also display a preview model of a USB receiver for business travellers. These receivers are the latest in a series of major DRM developments unveiled in the 2 months that have passed since the digital radio system’s international debut during the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC 03) in June. On June 16th, 16 leading broadcasters made radio history by sending the world’s first DRM broadcasts across the globe. Since then: The number of broadcasters sending live, daily DRM broadcasts or periodic specials has risen to 26. The Chinese government has confirmed that it is currently testing the DRM system for its future use. DRM and the World DAB Forum have announced their cooperation, paving the way for DRM- and DAB-capable receivers in the future. Sony has committed to help expand the markets for digital radio in Europe, pledging its active support in the commercial sectors of both DRM and the World DAB Forum. DRM Chairman Peter Senger will discuss DRM’s future plans in the IBC Conference session Being Heard: DAB, DRM and Satellite Distribution on Monday, September 15th, 14:00 – 15:30 in Room A. Also, Simon Gosby of the BBC World Service will outline DRM implementation in a Sunday, September 14th presentation called Digital Radio: The Future Starts Now: Broadcasting Considerations for a Successful Implementation, 14:00 – 17:00, Room A. DRM is the world’s only non-proprietary, universally standardized, digital system for short-wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave that can use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. With clear, near-FM quality sound and excellent reception that offers a dramatic improvement over analogue, DRM will revitalize radio in markets worldwide. Various DRM receivers are expected to be available in shops in late 2004. The following have already begun live, daily DRM programs or periodic specials: 531 Digital (Medienanstalt Sachsen Anhalt); ADDX Media Magazine; BBC World Service; bit eXpress campus radio (LIKE, University Erlangen-Nürnberg); China Radio International; Christian Vision; Deutsche Welle; DeutschlandRadio; Georg-Simon-Ohm- Fachhochschule, Nürnberg; Kuwait Radio; My Personal Radio, Berlin; Radio Canada International; Radio France; Radio France Internationale; Radio Free Asia; Radio Netherlands; Radio Sawa; Radio Vaticana; RTL; Swedish Radio International; SWR Suedwestrundfunk Das Ding; TDF Radio; T-Systems Media & Broadcast Stations Juelich and Wertachtal; Voice of America; Voice of Russia and Wales Radio International. DRM’s technical highlights at IBC 2003 will include: BBC R&D (10.411) will display a newly updated version of its professional DRM monitoring receiver, which now includes full diversity reception. It will receive signals transmitted by VT Merlin from Rampisham, England on two short-wave frequencies in parallel, demonstrating how using multiple frequencies can improve short-wave coverage. The two transmissions, which form a synchronised multiple- frequency network, are generated using two prototype BBC modulators. The modulators are fed with a Multiplex Distribution Interface stream (MDI) via satellite from Bush House in London, and synchronised using GPS. Coding Technologies (CT) will present a preview model of its new, USB receiver, which is expected to be ready for distribution in 2004. The small device, connected via USB port to a laptop with the right software, makes for a portable, complete DRM receiver ideal for business travellers. The USB receiver also includes an analog receiver for SW, MW, LW and FM. The product is a development of CT, AFG and Fraunhofer IIS. CT will also display the first, second-generation DRM consumer radio, the DRM Receiver 2010. A joint development by CT, BBC R&D, Mayah and AFG, the DRM Receiver 2010 is smaller and less expensive than the first-generation models. As the first mass-produced DRM receiver, it will be ready for distribution in late 2003. Fraunhofer IIS will present the DRM Fraunhofer Prototype Receiver, the NewsBox DRM Radio. It is a novel DRM receiver prototype designed to fit in a 19" hi-fi tuner rack, developed in the BMBF project, RadioMondo. It plays DRM audio and text, and permits navigation within the new data application NewsService Journaline, conveying categorised news in text form. Fraunhofer will also showcase the professional receiver, Fraunhofer Software Radio and the DRM Software Radio. The DRM Software Radio Project, managed by VT Merlin Communications, is at http://www.drmrx.org Harris Corporation, Broadcast Communications Division (8.291), will demonstrate a DAX 5/6 kW transmitter broadcasting live DRM signals. With its new DAX line, Harris Corporation, Broadcast Communications Division, offers 1 through 200 kW MW transmitters that deliver superb analog performance and can be upgraded quickly, easily and cost effectively. Designed from the ground up to be field- upgradeable for digital audio broadcasting, DAX provides exceptional linearity and bandwidth. These qualities not only help to ensure the most accurate reproduction of the digital signal, but also the cleanest analog sound in its power range. DAX features include: Harris’ patented Digital Adaptive Modulation technology; Digital Adaptive Modulation constantly monitors the transmitter load and dynamically corrects for distortion caused by less-than-ideal antenna loads; redundant and ``hot-swappable`` RF modules for enhanced reliability and serviceability; a wideband design for straightforward frequency changes in the field; an intelligent user interface and optional remote metering, control and diagnostics; and comprehensive fault monitoring and automatic recovery to keep the radio service on air. RIZ Transmitters (5.329) will have live demonstrations of the brand new, RIZ DRM Compact Solution. The demonstration will incorporate the RIZ DRM Exciter and the RIZ 1kW SW Linear Amplifier, which will transmit digital signals to a DRM receiver. The RIZ DRM Exciter complies with ETSI’s DRM system specification. It is ready for use with new, digital-ready transmitters as well as analog AM transmitters, of any producer, enabling them to broadcast digital signals. It is capable of remote, automatic service and channel reconfiguration, as well as UEP (Unequal Error Protection), Hierarchical Modulation and Double Bandwidth (18/20 kHz) support. TELEFUNKEN SenderSysteme Berlin (4.141) will present the second generation of its DRM Modulator, which processes the digital signal for digital transmissions. The DRM DMOD 2, with many new features, was developed in collaboration with T-Systems Media & Broadcast and Fraunhofer IIS. Fitted with a GPS receiver as standard (GPS, Global Positioning System), it allows for acute frequency precision as well as usage with SFN systems (SFN, Single Frequency Networks) in general. With the integrated synthesizer, usage in the frequency range of 9 kHz to 30 MHz is possible, thus it is suitable for all commercial and public radio programs broadcasting under 30 MHz. It offers the possibility to transmit both analogue and DRM signals at the same time. This SCS process (SCS, Single Channel Simulcast) was developed by Sony and transmits all signals in one channel (9 kHz or 10 kHz). An optional audio encoder handles the direct processing of audio signals that can be passed on in analogue or AES/EBU digital format. TELEFUNKEN will provide technical equipment for several live DRM demonstrations at IBC. This includes regular DRM transmissions with T-Systems Media & Broadcast and Deutsche Welle on short-wave from T-Systems’ stations in Juelich and Wertachtal, Germany. It also includes Single Channel Simulcast test transmissions on long-wave from the T-Systems site in Zehlendorf, Germany on 177kHz with a TRAM line transmitter TRAM/P500 L and Modulator DRM DMOD 2. Thales Broadcast & Multimedia (8.171) will showcase live DRM demonstrations at its booth with its Digital Starter Kit (TMW 2010D) for medium-wave broadcasters. The kit, which was successfully used in live transmissions for DRM’s June debut, is based on the latest generation 10 kW medium-wave transmitter of the M2W family with a digital encoder/modulator fully integrated in the transmitter. About DRM The DRM system was developed, tested and standardized in a mere five years by the DRM Consortium. Founded in Guangzhou, China in 1998 and headquartered in Geneva, the consortium has expanded into a group of 83 broadcasters, network operators, equipment manufacturers, broadcasting unions, regulatory bodies and NGOs representing 29 countries. As well as clear, near-FM quality sound and excellent reception, DRM offers broadcasters other advantages. DRM’s universal standardization means that it is applicable worldwide. DRM can integrate audio with data and text, so additional content can be displayed on DRM-capable receivers to enhance the listening experience. DRM applications include fixed and portable receivers, car radios and PC-based receivers. And many existing transmitters can be easily modified to carry DRM signals as well as analogue. DRM audio samples are available online at http://www.drm.org (English) and the DRM Koordinations – Komitee Deutschland web site (German) at http://www.drm-national.de DRM Members Commercial Radio Australia (Australia); Nautel Ltd., Radio Canada International/CBC (Canada); Academy of Broadcasting Science of China (China); RIZ Transmitters (Croatia); HFCC (Czech Republic); ESPOL, HCJB World Radio (Ecuador); Digita Oy, Kymenlaakso Polytechnic (Finland); CCETT, Radio France, Radio France Internationale, TDF, Thales Broadcast & Multimedia (France); ADDX, APR, Atmel Germany GmbH, Coding Technologies GmbH, Deutsche Welle, DeutschlandRadio, DLM, Sender Europa 1, Fraunhofer IIS, Georg-Simon-Ohm – University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg, IZT, IRT, Medienanstalt Sachsen- Anhalt/Digitaler Rundfunk Sachsen-Anhalt, Micronas GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Sony International Europe, SWR Südwestrundfunk, TELEFUNKEN SenderSysteme Berlin AG, T-Systems International GmbH, University of Applied Sciences - FH Merseburg, University of Hannover, University of Ulm, VPRT (Germany); Antenna Hungaria, Communications Authority Hungary (Hungary); Basamad College, Tehran (Iran); Hitachi Kokusai Electric Ltd., JVC Victor Company of Japan, Ltd., NHK (Japan); Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting (Libya); Broadcasting Centre Europe (Luxembourg); Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (Malaysia); Agentschap Telecom, Nozema, Radio Netherlands, Technical University Delft (Netherlands); Radio New Zealand International (New Zealand); Voice of Nigeria (Nigeria); Telenor/Norkring (Norway); Radiodifusão Portuguesa (Portugal); RTRN/The Voice of Russia (Russia); Arab States Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia); Government of Catalonia, Universidad del Pais Vasco, (Spain); Swedish Radio International (Sweden); EBU, International Committee of the Red Cross, ITU (Switzerland); Arab States Broadcasting Union (Tunisia); BBC, Christian Vision, QinetiQ, RadioScape Ltd., Roke Manor Research Ltd., VT Merlin Communications, WRN (U.K.); Broadcast Electronics, Inc., Dolby Laboratories Incorporated, Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation, Harris Corporation, Broadcast Communications Division, IBB/VOA, IDT Continental Electronics, Kintronic Laboratories, Inc., National Association of Short-wave Broadcasters, Sangean America, Inc.,TCI, a Dielectric Company, Via Licensing Corporation (U.S.A.); and Radio Vaticana (Vatican City). Siriol Jane Evans, Director, Press & Communications pressoffice@drm.org Digital Radio Mondiale http://www.drm.org phone +44 1481 268 246 cellphone +44 7781 127019 (DRM via DXLD) Sony commits to support of DRM: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3875 (via Harry L. Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ DX EVENT NEAR TORONTO / ALSO SOME SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION At the Ontario DX Association's RadioFest get-together the weekend of Sept. 19-21 in the Toronto suburb of Oakville, I will be presenting a look at AM-FM-TV DXing, looking at everything from basics how-to's, to fixed-location and mobile DXing, to antennae and receivers, etc... There's always lots of interesting people, displays, camaraderie, etc... at ODXA RadioFest. Also, a raffle with prizes that include a Sangean ATS909 with FM RDS station readout. This is indeed -- as AM- 740 QSL Manager Brian Smith claims I once said -- "a bitchin' radio." And, food. Yes, food! Nothing like a good meal or two with fellow hobbyists. This year's cuisine has the official stamp of approval from Food Unites Gourmet DXers Everywhere. FUDGE is the DX organization where the barbeque is as sacred as the longwire, and where both kinds of beverage rule. For official information on RadioFest, which also has a strong shortwave and ham radio base, visit to the ODXA web site at http://www.odxa.on.ca/radiofest.html (Saul Chernos, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION NEWS Solar data for the period from the 1st to the 7th of September, Compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS http://www.g0cas.demon.co.uk/main.htm Solar activity was very low except for the 4th and the 7th which was low. The largest solar flare of the period was a C5/SF on the 7th. This event appeared to have triggered a large 19 filament eruption and a coronal mass ejection. Solar flux levels varied between 105 and 112 units, averaging 108. The 90-day solar flux average on the 7th was 125, two units less than last week. X-ray flux levels averaged B2.6 units and varied little. Geomagnetic activity was `unsettled` throughout, the most disturbed day being the 4th with an Ap index of 19 units, with an average of Ap 14 units. The ACE spacecraft showed solar wind speeds increasing from 370 kilometres per second on the 1st to 700 on the 6th. Particle densities varied between 1 and 7 per cubic centimetre but, on the 1st, increased briefly to 22 per cubic centimetre. Bz fluctuated between minus 10 and plus 14 nanoTeslas on the 1st but, later in the period, varied only between minus 2 and plus 3 nanoTeslas. HF propagation was well up to predicted levels. Although the higher HF bands were largely unexciting, reflecting the declining cycle and seasonal factors, even 28 MHz produced some good signals from the VK9XAB expedition in the late morning, and there were strong long- path openings from Australia at breakfast time on several days. VHF aurora was scarce but there were occasional late-season sporadic-E openings to continental Europe on 50 MHz. And finally the solar forecast. This week, the quieter side of the Sun is expected to be facing us, and solar activity is expected to be mostly low. Solar flux levels should be around the 100 mark. Geomagnetic activity should increase around midweek due to a recurring coronal hole. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes should be around 22 MHz for the south and 19 MHz for the north. The darkness-hour lows should be about 10 MHz. Paths this week to India should have a maximum usable frequency of about 25 MHz, with a 50 per cent success rate. The optimum working frequency should be around 18 MHz, with a 90 per cent success rate. The best time to try this path should be between 0800 and 1200 UTC. 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 (GB2RS Main News script for September 14, posted September 10 on uk.radio.amateur by g4rga via John Norfolk, DXLD) CUMBRE PROPAGATION REPORT Another week with no solar flares to report. Solar windspeed picked up as forecast on Sep 8, but the effects on the geomagnetic field were not as pronounced as they could have been due to the northward bias of the wind. The field reached unsettled to active levels around Sep 9 and 10 but MUFs were mostly unaffected though depressed by 15% at some scattered locations. Conditions are expected to be normal for the next week or so with some change of only fair conditions on Sep 14/15. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, Sept 12, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ###