DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-226, December 18, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser IMPORTANT NOTE: our hotmail accounts are being phased out. Please do not use them any further, but instead woradio at yahoo.com or wghauser at yahoo.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.w4uvh.net/dxldtd3k.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 1212: Thu 2130 on WWCR 9475 Sat 0000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy, 1584, 1566 [not Milano] Sat 0900 on WRN to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia, webcast Sat 0955 on WNQM, Nashville, 1300 Sat 1130 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1900 on IBC Radio webcast Sat 1930 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast Sun 0130 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [NEW] Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0530 on WRN to Europe only, webcast Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 0845 on Ozone Radio, Ireland, 6201v, time variable Sun 1500 on WRN to North America, webcast Sun 1600 on IBC Radio, webcast Sun 2000 on Studio X, Momigno, 1566, 1584 Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast [last week`s 1211] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast, maybe 5105 Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: 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 WORLD OF RADIO 1212 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1212h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1212h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1212.html [not yet] WORLD OF RADIO 1212 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1212.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1212.rm MUNDO RADIAL, nueva emisión para diciembre y enero, a partir del 19 de diciembre en WWCR 9475: viernes 2215, martes 2230, miércoles 2200. Pronto a pedido: (bajable) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0312.rm (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0312.ram (guión) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0312.html ** AUSTRALIA. Northern Territory Shortwave Service VL8K 13.12.2003 17.00 UT on 5025 kHz and n o t on 2485 kHz (45444). VL8A on 2310 kHz (35443) and VL8T on 2325 kHz (25443) at same time. Next day VL8K back to 2485 kHz (45444). Was there any observation about the use of 5025 kHz at this time before? (Frank Schuettig, Sanur / Bali, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4722.86, unID Bolivia 17/Dic/2003 - 0000 UT Quito 17/Dic/2003 21:32. Could it be Radio Yura? I have a long recording so I will try tomorrow to get an ID. Up to 0000 UT much talking both Spanish and Indian language. Said one time "Radiofónico SEPRA" but if it was an ID I do not know. After 0100 nonstop music, mostly Mexican and some cumbias. Yura have always been under 4720 kHz as far as I know. 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOSNIA. Re: ETHNIC PREFIXES BANNED IN BOSNIAN BROADCASTING MEDIA (via BBCM via DXLD) ¿So whát were these prefixes, exactly? (gh, DXLD) These "prefixes" are "Bosnian", "Croat", "Serbian", as shown in the example of "Croat TV Mostar": it would have to drop "Croat" and would be just "TV Mostar". (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 3375.14, Radio Municipal, Dec 14, 1028, pop vocal, 1030 canned ID "...Rádio Municipal... São Gabriel da Cachoeira... Bom dia!" into more pop vocals. Very good signal past grayline (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. Norway: Democratic Voice of Burma was observed on a new of frequency 5905 kHz for their 1430-1525 gmt broadcast in Burmese and vernaculars (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** CANADA. 6230, BINGO! It appears that I've located the culprit. Tonight I put one VFO on 6230 and used the second VFO on 3 different CRI frequencies in turn and switch between the VFO's to be able to immediately be able to compare them. All three transmit the same CRI programming from 0400 to 0457, so I'm not sure which one is the actual culprit, especially as I can't ID the other interfering signal. But the one in English is certainly CRI. Now, what I find interesting is that both of the CRI broadcasts on their "authorized" frequencies also show a weak interfering station, the same one on both frequencies of 6190 and 9560 KHz. While I can't be sure that it's the same interfering station I hear on 6230 methinks that there is probably a transmitter mixing problem at Sackville, as mentioned by Glenn Hauser and others here. 73 from (the "Beaconeers Lair". Phil, KO6BB, DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, Central California, UT Dec 15, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Unbingo: see NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ** CANADA. Could hardly believe my display when I found CBC`s The Current via RCI, Dec 18 at 1315 on 9615, discussing what makes a Méti. Fortunately there was no QRM on 9615, and finally at 1334 switched back to the correct frequency 9515. Somebody`s finger slipped on the keyboard at Sackville. I wonder if the same happened the other day when 13655 was missing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 'STOP JAMMING THE BBC' --- 18/12/2003 08:08 - (SA) Beijing --- British foreign office minister Bill Rammell said on Thursday he had requested China to stop jamming the BBC, especially in light of China's hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games... http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1460862,00.html (AFP via News24.com via Jill Dybka, DXLD) ** CHINA. CRI is again heard on 7405; I thought it was off for B-03, but maybe it was just below the Martí/jamming. Dec 15 at 1440, however, it was about even with the QRM, in People in the Know show, interviewing someone from the Mansfield Foundation about Sino-American relations, and later a professor from Beijing U. on TDY at Harvard. Strange thing is: the 7405 audio runs *behind* \\ 9755 and 13675 which are presumably Canada, the opposite of what one would expect from a domestic site, which 7405 always has been. This hour on 7405 ended at 1456:30 but carrier stayed on and resumed in English at 1500, by which time Martí and most but not all of the jammers were off, leaving CRI loud and almost clear for another hour. At 1500, 9755 was off, 13675 switched to Chinese, and Cuba relay in English on 17720 continued with low modulation and squeal, running *behind* 7405. At 1555 recheck, no sign of 7405; surely would not have faded out completely, and must have gone off before official closing time. Next day Dec 16 around 1530 check, 7405 was very good (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. We have CRI to thank for putting more hours of Esperanto on the air than any other station, but none intended for North America. Ran across one of them Dec 18 before and after 1330 on 9440, fair; talking about ``terroristoj`` and ``Saudi Arabio`` in the same breath. On the English broadcast, CRI was self-congratulatory about their correspondent in Baghdad scooping everyone else on the Saddam capture, to hear them tell it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Hi Glenn, just read this in your latest column CRI PLANS EXPANSION ON RADIO AND INTERNET That would fit CRI's need for new super-power Kashgar site! Together with Urumchi site in Xinjiang (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) China Radio International was heard with their regular English program today 17th Dec. 2003 on 1422 kHz Medium Wave at 1400 UT from their new transmitter site. This is probably their first day of regular broadcast on that frequency. 1422 kHz is a clear frequency in India as there is no AIR station operating on that channel now. Even on the nearby channels of 1413 and 1431, no AIR stations are operating now. But 1413 is occupied by BBC. Earlier in the day they were heard on 21850 at around 1045 with test tones followed by western classical music without any ID or announcements. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad 500082, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The sked noted on 1422 from China yesterday (17.12.2003) was: 1400-1600 CRI English 1600-1630 CRI Hindi 1630-1700 CRI Urdu 1700 sign off. So the target area is for India and Pakistan. Today morning at 0130- 0200 they were noted on 7670 with the music. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CRI Kashi-Kashgar on test again today Dec 17th. Silenced on Dec 15th and 16th. 0644 UT Beethoven's 5th Symphony. 0649 UT Sabre Dance, by Khachaturian 0652 UT Music of Piotr Tchaikovsky 0719 UT "Sah ein Knab' ein Roeslein stehn, Roeslein auf der Heiden..." (Heidenroeslein) text Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, melody: Franz Schubert 21850 S=9 +50 dB, and 9780 S=9 +20 dB On World Map http://mappoint.msn.com From Kashi Xinjiang province. Kashi-Kashgar in far south west China, 39.20N 75.46E. Location is southwest of Kashgar, right between Opal and Shufu villages. Signals are much stronger than CRI's German service on 13820 and 15245 kHz from Urumchi, Xinjiang province, which propagate a much northern path into Europe. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Otro armónico, pero esta vez colombiano, en los 2559.76 kHz, (2 x 1280) a las 2321 UT. Escuchado en la misma fecha, con menciones de "Santander", "Goajira", "San Juan del César". Emitía vallenatos. ¿Qué estación registra el WRTH en la Goajira colombiana? [1280 would be HJHO, 5 kW, Impacto Popular, San Juan del César --- gh] Otro armónico neogranadino, esta vez mucho más potente: la emisora religiosa de la Iglesia Cristiana Cuadrangular, fue captada en los 2619.95 kHz, a las 2353 UT, con un SINPO de 4/3. Se identifica como "La Voz de la Patria Celestial, HJAK, 1310 OM, emisora de la Cadena Nacional de Salvación... La Voz de la Patria Celestial, radio cristiana para Colombia y el mundo". Pueden intentar capturarla; el armónico es fortísimo (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2619.94 kHz, La Voz de la Patria, Barranquilla 14/Dic/2003 - 0300 UT What a nice catch! I heard and got QSL about 30 years ago, since than I have not logged the station. Has been there for the last 2-3 days and this evening with ID: "HJA(K?) 1310 en la banda AM la radio del ..., emisora... de la cadena nacional de salvación; proclamamos las 24 horas el mensaje de salvación a todas las naciónes. La Voz de la Patria... radio cristiana para Colombia y el mundo". 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2619.95 (2 x 1310), HJAK, La Voz de la Patria, Barranquilla, Dec 18, 0929-0955, thanks to Bjorn Malm in Quito for the tip, this was an unidentified for the past few days, religious ballads, announcer between songs with time checks and ID's "...gracias por su sintonía, Voz de la Patria..." good signal this morning. 2879.96 (2 x 1440)(tentative), HJEK, Radio Reloj, Tuluá, Dec 18, 1014- 1030, soft ballads with announcer between songs, 1029 tentative ID could sound like "En Radio Reloj..." followed by announcements (maybe ads), fair to poor signal (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. FROM "LA NUEVA CUBA" MONDAY DECEMBER 15TH, 2003 LA NUEVA CUBA --- INTERNET IN CUBA: ACCESS BARRED By Claudia Márquez Linares*, Havana International Herald Tribune La Nueva Cuba, December 13, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HAVANA --- On the eve of the World Summit on the Information Society, which ended Friday in Geneva, the director-general of Unesco declared on these pages that "freedom of expression, as expressed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ``applies to the Internet as much as it does the older forms of press and radio." ("The free flow of ideas pays off," by Koichiro Matsuura, IHT, Dec. 9) . Here in Cuba the government jails its citizens for distributing this same Declaration and we do not enjoy freedom of expression in any media whatsoever, not even in private conversations. . Since my country was represented at this summit, I feel that as a Cuban and as an enthusiast of Internet I can contribute a few clarifications. . We have heard over and over again the government's data about the number of computers installed in schools for the development of information society since the earliest age. . The Cuban delegation to the summit no doubt criticized the embargo against Cuba and said that all the obstacles we Cubans have to accessing the Web are due to the "imperialism" of the globalized world. . But seen from here, the problem is not in globalization or imperialism but in the lack of freedom. Cuban citizens cannot buy computers, only state enterprises can. . Although, as for other things, the black market does wonders, there is always the risk of losing it all. "Operation Windows," in which the government orders searches and confiscates all electronic equipment that was not bought in its monopolistic hard-currency shops, makes cybernauts go clandestine. . People hide their computers and give up connecting to the Internet in order to protect their laptops. The lucky ones who have access to the Web at work give - or sell - the password. . There are two main Internet providers in the country and they offer services to state enterprises and hotels for foreign tourists. Individual access for local people does not exist. . For the past few years there have been several cybercafés where Cubans can surf the Web. The cheapest price is five dollars an hour, which means that a physician would spend his whole monthly salary in four hours. Given the slow connection, one needs to have rich cousins abroad who send cash, or a foreign spouse. . Entering most hotels where the Internet connection is faster is forbidden to local citizens. The price there is between six and eight dollars an hour - the monthly salary of a Cuban worker. . Even if a Cuban manages to enter such a hotel, the Web sites that address Cuban subjects from a perspective other than the one approved by the Cuban government are blocked. . Schools do have computers, but not the access to the Internet. A few have a Cuban version of the Web on Intranet, which contains only those Web sites that the government of Cuba put there. . Perhaps the connection is so slow because hundreds of persons working for the Ministry of Interior are checking on the traffic on the Web. Although this has never been confirmed, everybody is convinced that the e-mails are under state surveillance. . A Cuban woman buying a card for Internet access was told by the saleswoman, "Pornographic and counterrevolutionary materials are not allowed." The saleswoman did not elaborate if the latter meant reading a newspaper published in Miami, sending data on our husbands who are political prisoners to Amnesty International, criticizing the government through an e-mail or joining a chat group with an exiled Cuban. But she did take the name of the card buyer and noted down the number. . The Cuban paradox is that here the Internet is a tool that the government uses to better control us, to catch its own citizens in this tangled web it weaved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *The writer is vice president of an independent association of Cuban journalists, "Manuel Márquez Sterling" and co-editor of its samizdat review, "De Cuba." Her husband, Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés, is serving an 18-year sentence for opposing the regime (via Óscar de Céspedes, FL, DXLD) ** CUBA. Tal como lo anunciaron la semana pasada en el el Programa En Contacto, la señal de Radio Habana Cuba se está escuchando por los 11800 kHz. A las 1440 UT la tengo sintonizada; la señal es bastante buena, pero la misma tiene un ruido de fondo (José Elías, Venezuela, Dec 18, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Con Ventana a Cuba en la VOA, algunas frecuencias de Radio Martí se quedan sin sus respectivas burbujas. Por ejemplo, el 16/12, 13820 kHz estuvo por más de 20 minutos sin jamming. Aunque en mi opinión personal, la "programación" de la mal llamada Radio Martí no se diferencia mucho de las burbujas...PURO RUIDO (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [non]. Sonnet R tests scheduled on 9290 kHz from Latvia this week have been cancelled - which explains why I couldn't hear a whisper here on 9290 yesterday evening at 1900 ;-) This announcement from http://www.rtidigital.com/index3.htm : TEST TRANSMISSIONS - UPDATE "Sonnet Radio Europe apologises for the cancellation of the Scheduled test programs due air between 15/12 & 19/12/2003. We we're unable to upload or test broadcast program to VT Merlin's server for broadcast due to technical problems with our Communications Provider here in Cyprus (Cyta Telecomms) We had been promised ISDN and DSL Circuits for months and they have failed to inform us of envisaged problems. We are pushing Cyta to render these services so we can broadcast before or just after the Christmas period. Those who have taken time to email us will receive over the coming week details of our tests directly. We will also update this page regarding any progress. Many Thanks to those who have shown interest in our broadcast, this has amounted to hundreds of emails to which we cannot reply immediately." (via Alan Pennington, Dec 16, BDXC-UK via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) That`s too bad, but is there no other way to get the programmes to Merlin? How about overnight express shipment of tape or disc? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) LATVIA [non]/CYPRUS There have been circulating apparently misleading news items and press releases on the last days in regard to "cancelled" Merlin-brokered re-transmissions of the Cyprus-based Sonnet Radio Europe via the Latvian SW transmitter on 9290. The facts: The SW transmitting station in Ulbroka near Riga is owned by the Latvian State Radio & TV Centre (LVRTC), which is the national Latvian transmitter network owner. The Latvian Broadcasting Regulatory Authority has licensed KREBS TV in Riga as the sole first-hand agency for selling air time on this shortwave transmitter. This summer, KREBS TV has been using the services of VT Merlin Communications for coördinating and registering 9290 with the HFCC. However, acc. to KREBS TV, Merlin does not hold any license to broker 9290 nor has Merlin been in touch with KREBS TV about re-transmission of Sonnet Radio Europe via the Ulbroka transmitter. Sonnet Radio Europe has not contacted KREBS TV directly about such a re-transmission either. (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. Survey on reception of Radio Denmark in Europe by members of the Danish Shortwave Club International Since the beginning of December, the 23 daily newscasts by R Denmark in Danish on SW have been opened and closed with ann that the SW broadcasts will finish by Dec 31, 2003 and Director of Radio, Mr. Loensmann was even interviewed on Dec 13. After that date listeners are instead invited to listen to R Denmark via the internet, to make phone calls to a toll-free newsservice +45 70 11 18 30 or for European listeners to listen to the programs on 1062 MW. It all sounds good, but the two first options are very expensive except for expatriates with an established cheap internetservice. Furthermore the phone number mentioned cannot be called free of charge from abroad! During the week Dec 07-15, the DSWCI made a quick research amongst European members on the reception at midday and mid evening on 1062 MW to be compared to the present SW broadcasts. Here are the results listed in order of distance in kilometres from the 250 kW MW transmitter at Kalundborg . Reception quality is measured in SINPO, SIO, QRK or words. QRM on MW is from RAI Uno Network, Italy; Country Radio in the Czech Republic, and TRT Diyarbakir, Turkey. In the United Kingdom BBC Droitwich on 1053 is also causing splashes. [monitoring details full of SINPOs, etc., snipped by gh] Conclusions: At noon reception throughout Europe is very good on SW. Sometimes the 21 MHz fades out when the Maximum Usable Frequency becomes lower. Generally, 1062 MW is only heard well up to 3-400 km away from the transmitter. In the mid evening the reception varies more from place to place. But generally, SW is well heard in Central and Southern Europe which are two of the intended target areas. 1062 MW can be strong out to 1600 km, but is disturbed very much by other stations all over Central and Southern Europe. We thank every participant for your great and enthusiastic assistance in this survey! This also includes general comments from Bueschel, Kinnander and Kipp (Cf. below), Koie and Pedersen. (Ed) Comments: I hope very much that R Denmark will be allowed to continue broadcasting these programs. Otherwise, there would be no source of current news from Denmark except the Internet, and there are a lot of areas of the world where Internet is not possible but shortwave broadcasts can still be eagerly received. Perhaps the last 5 minutes of the broadcast could be in English. That would be a great source of public relations around the world for the state of Denmark. (Kipp). Thank you, Robert! Several other members wrote similar views. (Ed). But here is an extraordinary comment from another member: Dear Sir! I am writing to You from a Swedish tanker M/T Taernvaag on her maiden voyage from Shanghai, via Dumai Indonesia, to Rotterdam. I am Captain onboard this vessel and I am also vessels "radio operator". My wife sent me Your request via e-mail. I am sad to see that R Denmark and NRK are cutting their shortwave service, not only for the reason being a SWL:er/DX:er. I checked yesterday and today (Dec 11) 1130 UTC: R Denmark 13800 SIO 343 and 21755 SIO 243. No sign of Kalundborg 1062 kHz. Our local time is UTC + 5H. I use a Sangean ATS 909 and 10 metres of random wire. I also checked with vessel`s HF transceiver (Furuno and vertical whip antenna). 13800 came in a little bit better but 21755 was very poor. No sign of 1062 kHz. Vessels position at the times for transmissons was, yesterday N 07 46 E 073 52 and today N 09 36 E 068 22. We are heading for Gulf of Aden. I have worked at sea for more than 25 years and yes, shortwave listening is an excellent way of keeping in touch with news and programming from home. I can tell You that even though we receive daily news from Sweden via e-mail and have all modern means of communication, we still use the HF-receiver on bridge very much. The chief officer and second officer listens to R Sweden daily on shortwave. And the Filipino second officer does the same. Despite the fact that we receive news from the Philippines in English every day via e-mail (service provided by Esbjerg Havneservice), he tunes to Philippine broadcasters as often he can. I have sailed with a sailor from Spain who every evening tuned his old Sony radio to REE Madrid, a Dutch motorman that every day listened to R. Nederland, just to mention a few. And these peoples are not into radio like You and me. They simply just like to keep in touch with their homeland. I think it is the same on Danish vessels, and on Norwegian vessels. It looks to me as if news from home is of even more interest when being abroad or being away at sea. The "home service" is of very big value and of course it should be kept going. It is a service that I think all broadcasters should do their utmost to preserve - because there is still a need! (Kinnander, Dec 11). Thank you very much, Christian ! Have safe journeys on the Seven Seas! (Ed) Quotations from the DX-Window, December 17, 2003 (all via Anker Petersen, Denmark, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 4559.81 kHz, La Voz de Naranjal, Naranjal, 16/Dic/2003 - 2350 UT. Quito 16/Dic/2003 19:36 Amigos DXistas! Fine signal, normal sound quality and was not drifting. First time I have noted this station that is transmitting from a "cantón" near the big city Guayaquil. A newsprogram called "El noticiero a las 6", "Naranjal en la noticia". It`s an harmonic from mediumwave 1520 kHz. You can listen to a recording later on at SWB: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB/ARC América Latina, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4773.69, Radio Centinela del Sur 1112 12-16 with ad read by man in Spanish, time check then full ID; good signal on good Latin morning (Brett Saylor, PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Voice of Oromo Liberation was observed on new 9820 kHz for their 1700-1800 gmt broadcast in Oromo and Amharic. Voice of Ethiopian Salvation was observed with an additional Sunday- only broadcast in Amharic at 1830-1930 on 7520 kHz. The existing broadcast at 1600-1700 gmt was observed on a new frequency of 9820 kHz. Dejan Radio was observed on a new frequency of 7560 kHz for their 1700-1800 gmt broadcast in Tigrinya (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** GEORGIA. Radio Hara, a non-political information and music program for listeners in Abkhazia, produced by the Institute of Georgian- Abkhazian Relations in Tbilisi. On the air since 1999, the broadcasts are exclusively in the Abkhazian language. Frequency: 4875 kHz (Dusheti 100 kW), schedule: Tue/Fri 0500-0530, Mon/Thu 1700-1730. Address: Rustaveli Av. 52, 380008 Tbilisi, Georgia. Email: zourab_shengelia @ hotmail.com (Zourab Shengelia, Head of the Institute). (Info: station info via Alexey Osipov, Russia) NB. This station is in no way a "clandestine" type of program. It does not touch political matters or the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. The programs have titles like "The world of technics and science", "News from the medical world", "Musical digest" and others. Please also note the spelling "Hara" which is the only Latin spelling authorized by the station, not "Khara" as distributed in some DX sources. "Hara" means "We" in Abkhazian (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. Since around December 1, I have been checking 189 kHz almost every morning when I get up at 0500 EST in hopes of getting Iceland. It is interesting that this time of year there is a path of darkness between Iceland and most of North America as late as 0630 EST. No luck until today when they were noted with a decent signal from 0500 until 0540 EST tune-out 1000-1040 UT]. Man and woman in Icelandic with apparent news 0500-0518 then into program of music that included Icelandic folk, Irish folk, and American country & western. Because of electrical buzz on the LW band, reception would not be possible without Mark Connelly's noise-reducing balun. Home Page: http://hometown.aol.com/marstonsmarc/myhomepage/profile.html Happy Holidays, (Marc DeLorenzo, Marstons Mills, Mass., Dec 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** INDIA. 9595, 0131- Dec 14, All India Radio. Very strong programming from listed AIR in Urdu with 125 kw via Delhi (according to ILG). Lovely Indian music. Slightly overmodulated talk by OM. Parallel 11620 same modulation but at fair level. 10330, 0137- Dec 14, All India Radio. Excellent reception tonight to India with Hindi service and listed 50 kW. Wonderful Hindi music, and interspersed by what sounds like ads. [I thought it was 500 kW --- gh] 9425, 0144- Dec 14, All India Radio. Growling transmitter, but otherwise a very strong signal with Hindi music. ILG lists as a National Channel in Hindi/English. Parallel to slightly weaker 9470, but without the growl (Walter Salmaniw, Victoria, B.C., DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also SRI LANKA The AIR transmitter mentioned on 10330 is via Bangalore 500 kw (not 50 kw). 9425 is also Bangalore 500 kw. 9470 is Aligarh 250 kw. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, India, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDIA. Words that ring in All India Radios daily transmission at 6 o`clock sharp in the morning. But on Sunday, the announcement was made by 13-year-old Sanchari Pal. And not just that. The programmes that rolled on, Shubhashito, Chashi Bhaider Bolchhi, Pratyahiki, Sangeetanjali, Deshbandana had children in the drivers seat. For Sunday was International Childrens Day of Broadcasting... http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031216/asp/calcutta/story_2665278.asp (via Jill Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RRI Makassar (formerly Ujung Pandang) heard with local ID before 0100 16 Dec on reactivated 9552v kHz. I last heard this frequency on 6 Aug 2003. Regards from Surabaya, (Alan Davies, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** IRAN. La Voz de la República Islámica de Irán ha reducido emisiones en español y las pocas que restan, están mal colocadas de frecuencia. Al menos, a las 0030, cuando en los 9550 está de co-channel con otra emisora y en 5965, está de acompañante de Radio Habana Cuba. ¿Autosabotaje? (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BUENAS NOTICIAS DESDE IRAN... Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Me acaba de llegar el presente esquema desde la IRIB, via correo electrónico. Irán volvió a ampliar sus emisiones en castellano. LA VOZ DE LA REPUBLICA ISLAMICA DE IRAN Esquema a partir del 22 de diciembre: Para ESPAÑA 2030-2130 7130 9750 Para América del Sur/ Central 0030-0130 7220 6015 9555 0130-0230 6015 9555 9750 América del Sur 0230-0330 9750 América del Sur Para Europa 0530-0630 15320 17590 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Venezuela, Dec 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Revised English schedule on VOIRI website since report in DXLD 3-225, 14 Dec. 0030-0230 6120 9580 1030-1130 15480 15550 21470 21730 1530-1630 7190 9610 1930-2030 6110 7320 11695 15140 2130-2230 9780 11740 (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx for keeping an eye on this, and for all your trouble in pulling out other language schedules from their website! (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Voice of Southern Azerbaijan, 9375.0, *1629-1653*, Dec 04. Signed on with some shouting, Azeri talk mentioning Azerbaijan, ID's "Azerbaican Radiosu"; distorted audio, 25332 (A. Petersen, Denmark, Dec 4, for CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ. IRAQI MEDIA CELEBRATES SADDAM'S CAPTURE http://entertainment.townnews.com/ap.inn?file=d7vf1j2o0 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** IRELAND [and NORTHERN?]. Irish church stations heard on CB: With the help of Roger [Caird, Ireland], I have made a compilation of the transmissions from Irish churches that have been heard during the past 2 years. Here we go: [26805-27981.25 kHz] http://www.wunclub.com/wunstr/wunstr0309.html This page also lists other stations in this frequency range, including US broadcast auxiliaries 25-26+ MHz, apparently taken from Guido Schotman`s page, including callsign for KSL facility on 26190 recently reported. Tnx to tip from Jem Cullen, Australia, ripple (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. Urdu Service from Japan NHK Glenn, From NHK WORLD e-GUIDE 12 Dec 2003: This week we introduce our Urdu Language Section, which has recently begun its 'Weekly Program' service via the Internet. Radio Japan's Urdu language broadcasts are available twice daily for listeners in India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries. We first started broadcasting in Urdu in 1942 but had to suspend it because of World War 2. The service was restarted in 1955. Since last month listeners have also been able to access Urdu news and other programs via the Internet. The Urdu language section receives more than 250 letters from listeners around South Asia each month and we have recently also been getting letters by way of e-mail. Because we broadcast to countries that have a very deep connection to the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are currently getting a lot of attention from around the world, our days have become nerve-wracking as we try to provide more accurate and detailed information to our listeners. Meanwhile, we are planning to present a special program (broadcast: Jan. 4, 2004) for the New Year in which listeners can send us their first pieces of calligraphy of the year over the Internet. (URL: http://www.nhk.or.jp/kakizome/ open: Dec. 15, Mon.) We invite you to participate in the program, the first of its kind ever. We hope that our Urdu language programming will provide listeners with enjoyment and relaxation in their daily lives. Takahisa Dosho (Program Director, Urdu Section) NHK WORLD e-GUIDE http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/e_guide/ Published by NHK International Planning & Broadcasting Department chris brand's dx international: http://members.tripod.co.uk/chrisbrand1977 board member of the british dx club http://www.bdxc.org.uk (Chris Brand, Cheshire, England, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. Pakistan: Radio Voice of Kashmir [Radio Sedaye Kashmir] was observed with a new transmission in addition to the existing broadcasts at 0230-0330 gmt and 1430-1530 gmt. This was observed at 0730-0830 gmt on 9890 kHz, with programming in Urdu and an unidentified language (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. Radio Kyrgyzstan In English: 0115-0120 and 0415-0420 Mon-Fri - 1287, 1404, 4010, 4795 kHz Radio Extol In English: 1745-1800 - 1467 kHz (Bishkek, 75 kW) (Alexander Poljakov, Tashkenskaja region, Uzbekistan, Rus-DX Dec 15 via DXLD) ** LATVIA. See CYPRUS [non] ** LITHUANIA. Re 3-225: Again, R. Ezra under the wrong country, LATVIA. I do know the difference, but the neighbors are both in the business of SW broadcasting odd programs. I should move Ezra back to UK [non] which will always be right. Bet I`ll be hearing from Bernd (gh) Actually, Radio Ezra continues to be aired via LITHUANIA, not Latvia ;) I understand that the country names sound similar and may be easy to confuse... 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More so in Spanish (gh) ** MALTA. INQUIRY SEES NO WRONGDOING IN STATION'S ADMINISTRATION OPPOSITION FINDS REPORT "UNACCEPTABLE" http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=142570 An inquiry into the operation of Voice of the Mediterranean Radio has cleared the managing director, Richard Muscat from any wrong doing. The inquiry was ordered by Foreign Minister Joe Borg and conducted by Foreign Ministry officials headed by Gaetan Naudi, permanent secretary. Mr Muscat's actions has been the source of criticism by the opposition, and Labour's foreign and IT spokesman Leo Brincat in a statement yesterday kept up the attack, saying the report smacked of a cover-up and confirmed the Labour Party's call for an independent inquiry. He said the report was unacceptable and its conclusions offended the intelligence of those who read it. The report said that although it would have been better had the radio station requested quotations for every service or item it bought, Mr Muscat had not been obliged to follow such civil service requirements. When he had the time, Mr Muscat requested quotations, but given that he was constrained to quickly modernise the station, it was understandable that Mr Muscat had to make purchases by direct order. Another option Mr Muscat could have taken was to seek the approval of the board of councillors, but the board had not met for a long time. The inquiry report said that an IT contract awarded by VOM to Cyberspace Solutions Ltd, was at comparable or slightly cheaper than normal commercial rates. It said that all the radio station's accounts were audited and shown in the station books and there had never been anything to worry about. This was substantiated by auditors who had never sent any management letter. The report also concluded that one of Mr Muscat's sons used to be frequently at the radio station as an employee of Cyberspace and not of VOM. He used to be at the station because he was very familiar with how the station's systems operated. Mr Brincat in his reaction said that although the report confirmed that the station spent just under a third of a million liri on furniture, equipment, security, transport and refurbishment without a call for tenders, it still tried to justify Mr Muscat's actions. Mr Muscat, Mr Brincat said, did not give a valid reason for choosing the company which employed his son to operate the station's web site. Nor had he explained why he gave a summer job at the radio station to another of his sons. Indeed, he had also employed other people directly. Instead of admonishing Mr Muscat for his behaviour, the inquiry report had come up with excuses to justify Mr Muscat's arbitrary administration. Mr Brincat said that until an independent inquiry was held, it would be a mistake for the government to carry on with its plans to appoint Mr Muscat as resident ambassador to Ireland (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. Radio Mauritania was observed with Arabic programming in progress on a new frequency of 7245 kHz at 0930 gmt. This transmission confirmed on air 0800-0000 gmt (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Depend on XEPPM for something different. Dec 15 at 0635 on 6185, mixture of barnyard sounds, ghostly whines, SFX, mumbling, perhaps left over from Hallowe`en, lasted almost until 0700. Couldn`t catch back-announcement of composer, title of composition (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Blobmitter check: Dec 18 at 1337 centred on 9425 and covering only about 10 kHz, extremely distorted Spanish, presumed XERMX, nothing matchable on 9705 or 11770 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 560, Tecate, BCN XEKTT, 12/13 at 0100 UT with ID "Radio Romántica" and other slogans including call ID "XEKTT" in Spanish, mentions of Tijuana, Tecate and San Diego in ID. Totally wiping out KSFO at times. I heard there was an old CP for Tijuana on 560 that was never built. So I wonder if this is the permanent spot for XEKTT. I am sure KLBU and KSFO sure don't like it. KSFO no longer has a decent signal here in the NW. Generally it is a total mix of the two making neither good, but sometimes it is all XEKTT (Pat Martin, Seaside OR, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Mixing product on 6230 [see CANADA]: I finally remembered to check this before 0457 UT Dec 17. On one receiver I had a distorted weak signal fading up and down a bit, with two different audio sources, on 6230. As I suggested you do before, on another receiver I tuned around the 49m band below 6200. Two audio matches were quickly found: 6165, RN Bonaire in English; and 6100, DW in German, which is also via Bonaire. So it`s a mixing product transmitted from Bonaire. CRI on 6190 via Canada has nothing to do with this, altho conceivably others have heard a different transmission on 6230. Bonaire is also known for putting out such 2A minus B mixing products, for example in the 15 MHz area when they have two transmitters running at the same time on nearby frequencies, such as in our afternoons, 15315 and 15155 mixing on 14995. There could also be one 65 kHz below 6100, on 6035, but masked by the strong VOA transmitter there. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, swl at qth.net via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) Hi Glenn. Thank you for the info. I`d tried the search and match routine but it was very difficult here as the targets only came up enough to compare against another only very briefly. When I checked the CRI frequencies during these brief peaks they "seemed" a nominal match, I.E. Gender, Music/non music etc. Then the S/Off times matched too as both disappeared at the same time. However, after posting it somebody else came up also and said they weren't a match. People closer to Bonaire were probably able to hear these better than I could. 73 from the "Beaconeers Lair". (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced CA, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Mystery Stations??? 6.230, 0300-0500 GMT. Possibly Spanish-Russian and English at times. There seems to be several stations here all at once. Anyone know who they might be??? The English stations seems to be a Utility station with phone-calls on USB (Stewart WDX6AA MacKenzie, CA, Japan Premium Dec 18 via DXLD) Seems 6230 is a mixing product from BONAIRE. Radio Nederland 6165 in EE and DW 6100 GG. Both sign on at 0400. 6165 X 2 minus 6100 = 6230. Strong at 0400 but quickly fades by 0415 approx. here in Central Oregon. R-71 with 130 foot long wire. 73, (Joe Barry, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR. VO1MRC Experiments on 60 metres The Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) station VO1MRC will be conducting a propagation experiment from 0000-2400 UTC on the 20th and 21st of December. During this period, a CW beacon will be in operation on 5269 kHz. The station will be open briefly for 2 way contacts starting 0000 UT each of these days and will operate simplex on 5260.5 kHz CW. Following this it will transmit on 5327.5 USB and receive 5346.5 USB and 3807.5 kHz LSB. The experiment was proposed by MRCN, endorsed by Radio Amateurs of Canada and authorised by Industry Canada (Joe Craig, ukfivemegs yahoogroup via Tom - DL8AAM, via A-DX Dec 17 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) VO1MRC announces 60-meter experiments: The Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) station VO1MRC will conduct a propagation experiment on 60 meters Saturday and Sunday, December 20-21, 0000- 2400 UT both days. During this period, a CW beacon will be in operation on 5269 kHz. The station will be open briefly for two-way contacts with stations authorized to transmit on 60 meters, starting 0000 UTC each of these days and will operate simplex on 5260.5 kHz CW. Following this, VO1MRC will transmit on 5327.5 USB and receive on 5346.5 USB and 3807.5 kHz LSB. MRCN`s Joe Craig, VO1NA, says the experiment was proposed by the club, endorsed by Radio Amateurs of Canada and authorized by Industry Canada (ARRL December 17 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Fun Stuff On V. of Nigeria Today 17800 2140 12/16/03 --- I, an admitted Jeopardy fan, got totally fascinated by the quiz contest coming over from Nigeria today. Tuned in, kept the dial parked, and tried to come up with answers to the questions posed to the panel. The questions were about various political, historical, landmark factoids across the continent, and the question numbering was also curious -- not in consecutive order, and changing with each round. In between rounds, VON solicited donations to support the contest, giving its own mailing address c/o Producer as where to send the donations. In the round I first tuned into, the questions were delivered at random if a correct answer was given; if none of the panelists got the correct answer, the next consecutive numbered question was asked. In the following round, the person who got the correct answer was required to specify a question number and then get asked the question corresponding to the number requested. "No Idea" was an acceptable answer. 2 points were given for partially correct answers, and bonus points were available but I didn't catch on what terms. Questions ran the gamut along the lines of: what year did some African country got its independence; what is the correct form of the title of the head of state of some country; #19 in the "second" round (begun at 2146) was -- who was the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria; what is the tallest building in Nigeria; what does a given set of initials stand for and when was it founded under what leader; who is the Secretary General of the U.N. and what African country did he come from; etc. The winner was declared at 2156, the emcee said "bye for now" and said his name was Oliver something, then was followed by a delightful piece on the fingerpiano. A YL gave an ID and launched into news. And a good time was had by all including this listener (Clara Listensprechen, shortwave basics yahoogroup via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) So they`re back on 17800, at least part of the day, instead of 15120; tuned in after 2200 and signal was fading down, but with the usual crummy modulation, and no QRM for a change to Cuba on 15120 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4570.75v kHz, Radio Naylamp, Lambayeque, 0140 UT Dec 16: I think this is the unID Dave Valko has heard on 4562 kHz. I will send the recording to Dave; it is from this evening with 2 IDs. The one at the end of the recording is 100%. Good signal but heavy distorted signal and drifting. 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PUERTO RICO. 680 WAPA San Juan, 10/10 kW U2 granted. NRC's DX-News 15.9.2003 930 WYAC Cabo Rojo, ex WEKO NRC's DX-News 17.11.2003 960 WKVN Quebradillas formerly silent, is reportedly back on the air with Spanish religious programming and calling itself "La Radio Que Te Bendice" NRC's DX-News 17.11.2003 1660 WGIT Canóvanas. Requests to put in a booster facility on this frequency at Mayagüez with 1/1 kW U1 NRC's DX News 1.12.2003 1660 WGIT Canóvanas. Requests to put in a booster facility on 1660 at Ponce with 1/1 kW U1 NRC's DX News 1.12.2003 (via ARC LA News Desk, via editor Tore Larsson, Dec 17, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Radio Rumania Internacional --- ¿alguien sabe de su vida? Ya ni puedo sintonizarla en español. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. RRI Bucharest spurs --- Noted two symmetrical spurs, 60.55 kHz away from registered Galbeni site in English, Monday Dec 15th: 15105 0700-0730 27 GAL 250 kW 290 deg ROU ENGLISH 0700-0726 11775 15105 Spurs on 15045.45 [thought that would be Costa Rica!] and 15165.55 kHz. Heard on three different receivers. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** SAMOA AMERICAN. KVZK-TV Ch A2 socked in all day here in South East Queensland via double hop Es (a distance of 2450 miles). Armchair copy at 0300z with CBS '60 Minutes' special on the capture of Saddam. Female announcer on the hour : "This is KVZK-TV channel 2 American Samoa". Cheers (Chris Martin, Dec 14, ARDXC via DXLD) ** SARAWAK. 7270, RTVM, Kuching, 1451-1500* 12/17. Pop vocals; M announcer in presumed Iban; closing at 1458 with several mentions of "Iban"; anthem at 1459; carrier off at 1500:33. Good signal // 4895 which was almost gone (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 15200, 0149- Dec 14, Deutsche Welle, a great south Asian evening. DW via Trincomalee in Russian at very good strength. Other SL tonight heard: VOA in Bengali on 11805 (fair), 11820 VOA in English (fair), 15210 VOA Bengali (very good), 15250 VOA English (fair to good), 15690 VOA Dari (fair), 11905 SLBC Hindi (poor), 9770 SLBC English (poor). 11880 NHK in English, suffering from a het (poor). Others at lower levels (Walter Salmaniw, Victoria, B.C., DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also INDIA ** SRI LANKA [non]. Re WRN programming being heard until 0100* on 7460 which normally carries IBC Tamil: WRN is the broker for IBC Tamil (Ed). On Dec 05, at *0000 there was WRN ID and 13 minutes of the Pacific Service from R Australia in English! The transmitter then switched to the IBC-Tamil programme which continued with Tamil talks until a song at 0057 before close 0100*. The Darwin relay of that programme from R Australia on 17775 was first audible after 0013 though very weak. But does that indicate that Darwin is also used for IBC-Tamil replacing Novosibirsk? 34343 CWQRM (A. Petersen, Denmark, Dec 5, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) I asked our member in Sri Lanka if he could confirm that Darwin was relaying IBC-Tamil: "Dear Anker, No, Darwin is not relaying the IBC Tamil. You know IBC is being technically operated by World Radio Network. WRN also relays R. Australia etc on World Space. This is a switching error at the WRN control room feeding Moscow." (G.V.A. Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, Dec 12, via Petersen for CRW via DXLD) Recently one day I could monitor World Radio Network programs instead of IBC Tamil on 7460 at 0005 due to their switching error. An interesting QSL has just been received from World Radio Network, London by post for an email report to them which states that "this was a one time only reception due to a technical fault".v/s is Paula Dine, Adminstration. This QSL can be viewed at: http://www.geocities.com/bcdxnet/qsl/wrn_qsl.jpg Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. Radio Apintie, desde Paramaribo, Surinam, se escuchaba bien fuerte el 15/12, las 0315 UT, en los 4989.99 kHz. SINPO 3/3. Identificaciones en inglés y holandés. "Radio Apintie, the number one"; "Radio Apintie, the Happy Station". Baladas en inglés: Christopher Cross "Anyone else", Stevie B "Because I love you", entre otros. Escuchada hasta las 0438, con buena señal. Junto con The Voice of Guiana, esta emisora es una joya en el dial de la banda tropical. Radio Apintie, el 16/12, a las 0428, en los 4989.99. Muy buena selección musical: Alicia Keys "Falling", Righteous Brothers "Unchained melody" y Eddie Brickell "What I am". No muy buena señal como el día anterior: SINPO 2/2 (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4990; I checked Radio Apintie last night and I agree with George Maroti about the condition of the transmitter. Very good signal here in FL on exact 4990 kHz. Program with popmusic, jingle "Radio Apintie" and commercials in Dutch. I had them here from 0325 (Claes Olsson, Port Charlotte, Florida, Dec 15, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) As per e-mail below from Charles Vervuurt at Radio Apintie, they placed a new transmitter on the air on 12 December. Their old SW transmitter was a 50 watt Phillips transmitter connected to a 1000 watt Sunair amplifier (George Maroti NY, Dec 17, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) ----- Original Message ----- From: "apintie" apintie @ sr.net Dear Mr. George Maroti, Thank you for your email, We are pleased to hear that our new Omnitronix 1000 watt transmitter is giving a better signal. We put the transmitter on the air on Friday 12 December and are running it at 500 watt now for testing purposes. We are using the Omni 1000isw. Wishing you happy holidays, (Charles Vervuurt, R. Apintie, via Maroti, Cumbredx mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) Link to a photo can be found here: http://www.transmitter.be/omn-omni1000isw.html (Maroti, ibid.) ** TAIWAN. GOV'T IN LEGAL ROW WITH KMT-RUN RADIO STATION 2003/12/18 TAIPEI, Taiwan, The China Post Staff http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/detail.asp?ID=44185&GRP=B The government is fighting to get back a piece of what it calls national land illegally possessed by the Kuomintang-run radio station, Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC). The state-run radio station, the Central Broadcasting System (CBS), recently lost a legal battle to the BCC over the ownership of the land in Chiayi County, but Premier Yu Shyi-kun has refused to give up, said Cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-long yesterday. Yu has decided on a "double track" strategy, ordering the transport ministry ¡X [sic thruout – was Chinese character??] which funded the purchase of the land to sue the BCC, while the CBS files an appeal against the Chiayi District Court verdict, Lin said. The land in the southern county's rural Minhsiung township was bought with transport ministry money in 1951 for the erecting of a transmission tower for the use of the CBS, which was then under the BCC, Lin said. But the land was registered under the BCC at a time when transfer of government property to the KMT ¡X the ruling party in Taiwan between 1945 and 2000 ¡X was taken for granted. The BCC remains a KMT establishment, but CBS has become a corporate body funded by the government since 1996. Trying to re-establish its ownership, the BCC earlier this year took legal action the CBS, which still operates the Minhsiung transmission tower, and won the lawsuit in late November. Lin said it was the transport ministry who bought the land and registered it under the BCC in line with the government's overseas propaganda program. Yu maintains that the government must set straight the ownership problems dating from the days when national property was often "stolen" by the KMT. But the KMT said it hopes the legal battle will be free of political interference. Chang Che-chen, head of the party's administrative committee, said the KMT has already returned more than 120 plots of real estate to their original owners since Lien Chan became chairman in 2000 and began reassessing its assets (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. Radio of Tadjikistan In English: 0345-0400 and 1645-1700 - 648, 972, 1143, 7245 kHz 2-nd the program of the Tadjik Radio In English: 1100-1130 ??-?? - 1143, 7245 ??? (Alexander Poljakov, Tashkenskaja region, Uzbekistan, Rus-DX Dec 15 via DXLD) ** TIBET. China, 4905, People's Broadcasting Station, Xizang. Llasa, 1124-1136 Dec 18. Noted a woman in English comments until about 1125, briefly, then into music. When music finished, language changed to Tibetan. This English caught me by surprise until I checked the WRTH and PWBR. Both listed an English segment during this period called "Holy Tibet". Signal was fair but muffled audio (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/IMAGE19.HTML DX LISTENING DIGEST) English starts at 1100, also many other frequencies and two other times. The idea of the ChiComs calling Tibet ``holy`` is to say the least, amusing (gh) ** TIBET [non]. Norway: Voice of Tibet was observed on a new frequency of 12025 kHz for its 1430-1515 gmt broadcast in Tibetan and Mandarin (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. First program of Turkmen Radio (Radio Vatan) In English 1305-1315 Mon-Sat - 279, 1080, 5015 kHz 2nd the program of Turkmen radio In English: 1640-1650 Mon-Sat - 4930 kHz 1745-1755 Mon-Sat - 576, 4930 kHz (Alexander Poljakov, Tashkenskaja region, Uzbekistan, Rus-DX Dec 15 via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) ** U K. Stepping up --- Many believe that Mark Byford, appointed deputy director-general of the BBC last week, will eventually succeed Greg Dyke. But is the main aim of his promotion to counter his colourful boss? Maggie Brown reports Maggie Brown, Monday December 15, 2003, The Guardian One way to take the measure of Mark Byford, the new deputy director- general of the BBC, the internal candidate most likely to succeed Greg Dyke, is to relate what he was doing last Wednesday morning, when the news broke. Dyke was holding a meeting of senior managers. But it was Byford who was centre stage, giving a presentation on the World Service's high impact HIV/Aids campaign that spanned the globe, drew in its 43 foreign language services, and built to a global debate on December 1, World Aids Day. Those at the meeting were moved by his talk. It was a reminder of the core BBC duties, to educate, inform, and, yes, do some good. At the end of a difficult year full of reverses, and with Lord Hutton due to report in four weeks, this was a welcome counterpoint... [ooops, no link provided; this is quite a long story and I prefer not to run its entirety here --- gh] (via Dan Say, Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) Article about Mark Byford, worth a look: http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1106972,00.html (Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Media Backtalk, Washington Post, Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, December 15, 2003 [excerpt] Strasbourg, France: After having lived most of my life overseas, interupted by several stays in the States, I have come to the conclusion that most Americans are completely void of any international knowledge. Why do the cable systems not offer such news programing like CNN International, BBC World and other English speaking news sources, whose segments last minutes not seconds, to the American people. Such an introduction would immediately give a good chunk of the viewing public an opportunity to see the world differently. Howard Kurtz: I'll go out on a limb and say that cable execs have concluded that there aren't big ratings in international news, except when there's a war or natural disaster unfolding. Of course, there are places like BBC America, C-SPAN and Jim Lehrer's NewsHour where such news gets more of an in-depth, unhurried look. But cable news is too often chasing after the latest Kobe Bryant or Michael Jackson pseudo-development. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60333-2003Dec12.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. HEARTS AND MINDS: COMING SOON TO ARAB TV`S: U.S. December 17, 2003 By JIM RUTENBERG http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/17/international/middleeast/17NETW.html?ex=1072672176&ei=1&en=228519e51d91907a SPRINGFIELD, Va. --- The United States' next great hope for winning Arab hearts and minds hides in a squat two-story building in a generic industrial park here, just off I-95. The only hint of what may lie within is the black-tape lettering on the front door that reads "News." Inside, construction crews are working seven days a week to complete studios for the most ambitious United States government-sponsored international media project since the Voice of America began broadcasting in 1942. It is to be called Al Hurra, a slickly produced Arab-language news and entertainment network that will be beamed by satellite from this Washington suburb to the Middle East. The name translates to English as "The Free One." Al Hurra is meant to be America's "fair and balanced" pan-Arab answer to outlets like Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite network that White House officials accuse of fanning anti-Americanism in the Persian Gulf region. The network may start broadcasting as early as next month. But it already faces skepticism, even from an outside Middle East expert appointed by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to review American public relations efforts in the Arab world. Many Middle East scholars have questioned whether its target audience, suspicious of all things American, would ever accept it, especially when its main hub is in Virginia. Even if it does gain acceptance, some scholars said they doubted that a single television network could have enough impact to justify $62 million in first-year costs. The team behind Al Hurra, an odd mix of American media executives and longtime Arab journalists, said it would be editorially independent, in keeping with other outfits of its kind: Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Acknowledging the challenges, they say it will exemplify the best values of American journalism and present the best chance so far to deepen understanding of America in the region. "We're contending with a media environment that includes hate speak in radio and TV," said Norman J. Pattiz, who heads the Middle East committee of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the United States agency that is financing and overseeing the project, as it does Voice of America and several other ventures. "It's in that environment that the Arab street gets its impression of our policies, our culture, our society," Mr. Pattiz said. "We simply cannot ignore the indigenous media." Al Hurra will be available everywhere in the Middle East that Al Jazeera is, said Mr. Pattiz, chairman of Westwood One, the largest radio network in the nation. By midwinter, he said, the network will have a separate outlet and studios in Iraq, paid for by a $40 million appropriation included in the president's $87 billion financial aid package for Iraq and Afghanistan. It will have other bureaux throughout the Middle East. The network, along with an Arabic-language radio venture that began nearly two years ago, Radio Sawa, was put on the fast track after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when American officials recognized a need to address anti-United States sentiment in the Arab media. Other projects born of the time have failed or faltered, a source of considerable frustration and disappointment in American diplomatic circles. In one of the more embarrassing examples, an Arabic video produced last year by the State Department highlighting Muslims living prosperously in the United States was met with skepticism by Arab viewers. Officials behind Al Hurra said this project was better thought out, built with American marketing and production skills. Yet they hope it will have an Arab sensibility, delivered by its Lebanese-born news director, Mouafac Harb, a former Washington bureau chief for the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat. Mr. Harb is in the process of hiring a largely Arab staff of more than 200 people. Bert Kleinman, the network president, said people in Egypt and Bahrain who had taken part in focus groups had reacted positively to a description of Al Hurra - "fair and balanced," "empowering," "tolerant." But he acknowledged, "When we asked if a fair and balanced channel like this could be American, some said absolutely not." With that sort of data in mind, Edward P. Djerejian, director of the James A. Baker III Public Policy Institute of Rice University, said, "We're skeptical that it will be able to jump over this barrier, this obstacle of credibility, in terms of being a state-run media outlet." Mr. Djerejian, appointed by Mr. Powell to study American public relations efforts in Muslim countries, reported back those concerns. But M. C. Andrews, acting director of the White House Office of Global Communications, said the administration fully supported the network. Two senior State Department officials said they disagreed with Mr. Djerejian's assessment of the venture. Executives of the broadcasting board said they were heartened that Radio Sawa, a youth-oriented radio station that mixes Western and Eastern pop and was also supposedly doomed, had built an audience of at least 15 million throughout the Middle East. And, they said, some members of focus groups criticized Al Jazeera for being overheated and said they would give Al Hurra a chance if it was credible. Establishing credibility falls to Mr. Harb, 36, a Muslim whose parents live in Beirut. Mr. Harb said he had come up with the idea to name the network Al Hurra instead of the more Western sounding "Middle East Television Network." "This is a very Arabic name, `The Free One,' " he said. "Not `The Freedom Network.' That would sound militant. This says, `I am free, and if you want to be free, come and watch me.' " Al Hurra's identifying symbol is an Arabian horse, which will trot onto the screen during programming breaks. Getting people to watch, Al Hurra officials acknowledge, will be a major challenge. They say the channel should stand out in the 150- channel environment in part because it will have the highest production values in the region. But the most important distinguishing feature, Mr. Harb said, will be its journalistic approach. "In all Arabic newspapers, the op-ed section is on Page 1," he said. "It's created a culture where you can't tell the difference between news and opinion." He added: "We have to disseminate objective, balanced news. In the West this might sound like Journalism 101, but in that market it'll be a departure." For instance, Mr. Harb said, in a report about an Israeli raid into one of the Palestinian territories, Al Jazeera tends to point out that the Israelis were flying "American-made" aircraft. Al Hurra will not do that. "Why say that?" he asked. "You can feel which way they are leading you." He and other officials say the channel will not pull its punches when it comes to the United States. For instance, Mr. Pattiz said the channel might feature a translated version of the BBC documentary "Blair's War," which extensively broadcast the views of critics of the Iraq war. Al Jazeera officials took issue with Mr. Harb's criticism and said Arab viewers would see the network for what it was, a tool of the American government. "His mandate is clear - that's to promote American points of view," said Jihad Ali Ballout, a Jazeera spokesman. "We are two different beasts altogether: Al Jazeera's job is not to promote anybody's point of view." Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland who served on an advisory group convened by Mr. Djerejian, predicts that the network will come under pressure in Washington if it proceeds the way it says it will. Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board, said he would shield the network from external pressure, though he said he did not expect any. "The people aren't stupid," he said. "If we're slanting the news, they'll figure it out. If we establish long-term credibility, people will begin to ask questions. What went wrong? What retarded a civilization that was once far ahead of the West? And we'll be there to answer them." (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Dear Glenn, Radio Sawa is currently using 7520 kHz in parallel with 7195 (much weaker) between 2200-2300 UT. Regardswisebestest (Lars Åström, Photojournalist SJF, Världsbilden, Malmö Sweden, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Current online IBB schedule http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_w/schedules/cur_langsked.txt shows 7520 Iranawila 315 , and 7195 Woofferton 182 And while we`re there, let`s check Urdu, which is still shown only as VOA, not Aap ki Dunya, and for only three hours a day on SW only: Current Language Schedule Report Dec.17, 4:40:21, 2003. GMT LANG B_CODE NET B_TIME E_TIME ST_CODE XMTR FREQUENCY AZI DAYS URDU VOA M 0100 0200 UDO 07 11730 300 URDU VOA M 0100 0200 UDO 04 9705 300 URDU VOA M 0100 0200 KAV 08 7175 105 URDU VOA M 1330 1430 IRA 05 15540 348 URDU VOA M 1330 1430 KAV 06 11715 095 URDU VOA M 1330 1430 UDO 05 9510 300 URDU VOA M 1700 1800 UDO 01 15130 308 URDU VOA M 1700 1800 UDO 01 15130 300 URDU VOA M 1700 1800 IRA 05 13680 356 URDU VOA M 1700 1800 UDO 03 11975 300 (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. You might think VOA is entirely tax-supported, as is only appropriate for the US government broadcaster. But, perhaps due to budget cuts, VOA is now heard with commercial underwriting credits, just like public radio! Catching our ear at 0529 UT Mon Dec 15 on 6035, and when rechecked 24 and 48 hours later, during a 2-minute break when affiliates may sell real commercials, VOA has a brief sesquiminute feature ``Our Ocean World``, apparently an in-house production (if it`s worth producing and broadcasting, why isn`t it on the program schedules??) concluding with: ``made possible by Royal Caribbean International and Explorer of the Seas, http://www.royalcaribbean.com `` No doubt this also occurs at many other times now on VOA. Other listeners please note and report times and details (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. AFRTS freqs/web site http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave/ Current Shortwave High Frequencies --- Keep checking this web page for posting of new frequencies and transmitters when they become available All Upper Sideband Location Night and Daytime [sic, reversed] Diego Garcia 12579 kHz 4319 kHz Guam 13362 kHz 5765 kHz Keflavik, Iceland 13855 kHz 13855 kHz Key West, FL 12133.5 kHz 5446.5 kHz Pearl Harbor, HI 10320 kHz 6350 kHz RR, Puerto Rico 7507 kHz 7507 kHz ===================================================== Clifford.....the U.S. Navy, not AFRTS, manages the short wave transmissions for Navy vessels underway. You can obtain information about transmitter locations and frequencies by visiting http://www.myafn.net/radio/shortwave Thanks for your interest in AFRTS. Sincerely, Mark Smith, MSG/USA Affiliate Relations, American Forces Radio and Television Service Defense Media Center (California) (via Clifford, via MSG USNS Bowditch Cliff, I think he has Key West screwed up-- "same as Daytime" should be two channels. Here is an edited version. I have only been working on this for a week (MSG USNS Bowditch, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. About ``Ragam``, new on the Dec WWCR schedule, Sun 1300-1500 on 12160. It`s a Tamil music show, actually expected to start in January, says Adam Lock on the Nov 27+ Ask WWCR, which, BTW is now sponsored by Short Wave Magazine (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. We have 13.595 on the air and we are working on getting 7.490 up. We have purchased three 100 kW transmitters from Far East Broadcasting in the Seychelles. We worked with an engineer David Fry. On the last day about two weeks ago his 5-year-old son was run over by a lorry (truck) on his way home from kindergarten in Austria. One of the transmitters has been sent to Kenya and we are setting it up there to reach the Middle East and Africa. Probably take about 6 months. The other two have arrived here in the USA and are in Customs right now. One will go to UPTON and the other will go to KVOH in California. Tentative plan. Once we get on the air we will put you on it (Morgan Freeman, WJCR Nov 30 via DXLD) Hello Morgan, Thanks for the update. I`d like to pass the info on in my DX news, if that`s OK, but a couple of questions. I suppose the boy was killed? I thought it was Uganda the transmitter was going to. Is it definitely Kenya now? All right on putting me on your new transmitter (Glenn to Morgan Freeman, Nov 30 via DXLD) 7.490 is back on the air. Please send me the link to your program. The two 100 kW transmitters arrived. They are huge, industrial requiring massive water pipes and everything. It will be quite some time before we get them on the air (Morgan Freeman, Dec 15, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Here it is mid-December, more than a sesquimonth since the beginning of the B-03 season, and George Jacobs` site http://www.gjainc.com/ still hasn`t gotten around to posting a new schedule for its dwindling list of clients, with nothing more recent than A-03. Can they be losing interest in SW? Nor the FCC has a B-03 schedule up yet! Expected at: http://www.fcc.gov/ib/sand/neg/hf_web/hfff0w03.txt At least, the B-02 is found under ...w02.txt WSHB schedule is pretty hard to find; no longer on Media Network`s hitlist, but here it is thanks to the First Church of Christ, ``Scientist`` -- http://www.tfccs.com/GV/shortwave/wshb.jhtml;jsessionid=FXJMHYD23A1WBKGL4L2SFEQ Sorted by region also showing languages, which depend on day of week: http://www.tfccs.com/GV/shortwave/region.jhtml WEWN frequency schedule: http://www.ewtn.org/radio/freq.htm (Glenn Hauser, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4380.01 (3 x 1460), WBET, Brockton, MA, Dec 16, 0248-0300, probably a one-time event, strong 3rd harmonic during New England snowstorm, generic AP newsfeeds, local weather and ID at 0259 "WBET 14-60", into CNN network news at 0300. // weaker 2nd harmonic on 2920.01 (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Here's notice of an upcoming DX test. PLEASE NOTE: Even if you don't hear a test, be sure and drop a card, letter, or e-mail to the station personnel, thanking them for going to the trouble to run a test! Saturday, December 20, 2003 - WMOX-1010, Meridian, MS will conduct a DX test from 12:00 am to 1:00 am CST (UT 0600-0700). The test will include Morse code IDs. Also, the code will be played 12:04-12:06 am, 12:30-12:34 am and 12:58-1:00 am. Between the code breaks, the regularly scheduled program, "Coast to Coast AM", will be broadcast. Also, between the code breaks, local operator Jim Myrick will verbally identify himself and WMOX AM 1010 at various times, as in "This is Jim Myrick and you are listening to AM 1010 WMOX Meridian, Mississippi". WMOX is scheduled to broadcast at 10 kW during the test. Reception reports (with return postage) may be sent to: WMOX Radio, P.O. Box 5184, Meridian, MS 39301 OR E-mail: smith @ wmox.net (Arranged by Bill Smith of WMOX.) Also, if you hear a test, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know, via either e-mail ircamember @ ircaonline.org or in rec.radio.shortwave! And if you send a reception report to a station, please remember to include return postage with your report. Visit the IRCA Web site at http://www.ircaonline.org (Lynn Hollerman, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: -- I had to respond to David Gleason's attempts to paint the entire National Radio Club with the brush of one station- tech detractor. Gleason makes some good points, about assumptions amongst the Masses that most stations are op'ing out of parameters. A simple sense of professionalism, at least in most major markets, will keep most stations' standards by-the-books. A bit of Corporate scrutiny and/or pressure may add to such results, and rightfully so. Gleason refers to his CE, Tom Koza; I have personally known Tom to be one of the best engineers in the biz, anywhere, for the past 20+ years. All that being said, Gleason's rant flies in the face of the noble efforts put forth in the National Radio CLub, that I have personally observed for my own 34 years of membership. I've lost track of the year that publication was taken over by the extremely competent and scrupulous Paul Swearingen. Paul's too modest to note that he works his ass off putting Club materials together for the membership every week of the year --- with Weekly issues guaranteed throughout each North American DX season, except for Xmas week. With all due respect to Tom Koza, you know damn well IBOC is on it's way to wiping out any possible AM/Medium Wave DX anywhere, once it's widely adopted (Greg Hardison, CA, Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Harry Helms` appearance on Coast to Coast, Dec 14: http://www.nrcdxas.org/ctcam BTW, it's 58.8 meg edited down from the 4 hours show. I left the first hour of "open lines" on just to keep the context of the day. Harry, while I was listening, I couldn't help but think you should have sent Art the aircheck of the sound on 1140. Would have been interesting to have that on and expose some more people to what we all heard (Fred Vobbe, Dec 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) Thanks, Fred! I'd like to get an aircheck myself!! Art and I discussed the 1140 mystery in a pre-interview phone call before my first appearance in October, but he felt it was too "old news." However, he asked to be immediately notified should other mystery signals appear. (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) I'm listening to Art & Harry right now. It took 45 minutes to download but it was worth it. Very interesting material (Marc DeLorenzo, Marstons Mills, Mass., ibid.) A couple of people in the list wondered if I could make the file any smaller. I'm deleting the old one, and uploading (2) files, each about 58 minutes in length. I edited out more bumper music, noise reduced it, and made it into a 64 kbps MP3. BTW, good job, Harry! Thanks for talking up radio on the show (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) I may be doing another appearance with Art in a few months devoted 100% to the radio hobby; during breaks, Art and I were kicking around the possibility and decided that after the FCC removes the CW requirement for ham tickets would be a good time. I'll also be doing the "Strange Universe" show with David Ruben this Sunday on the Talk Radio Network at 11:30 pm-midnight Eastern/8:30- 9:00 pm Pacific [0430-0500 UT Mon Dec 22]; it will be just about my book, not radio. I don't have a link to a station list, but these are the people with Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham so I should be on any station carrying them (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) ** U S A [non]. 'RADIO FREE NRA' CONSIDERS BROADCASTING FROM MEXICO With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff For the story behind the story... Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/17/150442.shtml Just because the lefty majority of the U.S. Supreme Court wants to trash the First Amendment and kick those soft-money-addicted Democrats doesn't mean that National Rifle Association will be silenced. "Instead of trying to buy a domestic radio or cable TV station, the NRA might go gunning for its enemies from outside U.S. borders. Rifleman Wayne LaPierre tells us he may skip the whole controversy by buying or teaming with a Mexican radio station on the U.S. border," reports U.S. News & World Report's Paul Bedard. LaPierre says: "If I could find a radio station in Mexico with 50,000 watts, I would go with them. Fifty thousand watts would cover over half the country." He's also considering broadcasting from a ship in international waters, according to Bedard. "We're going to look at every possibility to not get shut out of the electoral process," LaPierre says. The Christian Science Monitor reported today that NRA's "latest plan for getting its message across could change the face of US journalism." Hooray! It's about time, and we can practically hear Dan Rather and Peter Jennings throwing conniption fits worthy of Yosemite Sam. (NewsMax.com via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) Previous plan was for NRA to buy a US station, thus acquiring with it `legitimate` journalistic credentials. BTW, 50 kW on MW from Mexico won`t cut it any more with the demise of clear channels in the USA (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Charlotte, NC 1660 is now "WFNA, The Franchise" per repeated mentions around 1645 this afternoon. Per CDBS change granted 12/9/03 (although the same source shows it as a "CP Not On the Air" ). (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, Dec 17, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW TIS IN WASHINGTON DC --- 1650 kHz, DC, Washington. Call Pending. 12/16 0830 [EST?] Female with test message. Mentions of W street Northeast, Tower (or Power) 11-4, and District Department of Transportation. Fairly good signal considering the distance, about 35 miles away. Slight QRM from WHKT. The FCC lists six transmitters to be licensed by the Washington, DC, Department of Transportation for this frequency including a transmitter at 1403 W Street NE. See http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/genmen/uls/uls_site_res.hts?db_id=19&link=&application_id=2040591 A clip for this reception is at http://home.comcast.net/~billqsl/sounds/1650-20031216-0900-tis-DC-W-St-NE.mp3 (Bill Harms, Elkridge, MD, NRD-525, Homebrew K9AY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RADIO -- WWKB BANKS ON A UNIQUE FORMAT - UNPREDICTABILITY By ANTHONY VIOLANTI, News Staff Reporter, 12/15/2003 Hank Nevins began this year with a formidable radio challenge: To recapture the sound, personality and past glory of WKBW-AM 1520. The rock station dominated music radio in Buffalo from the late 1950s until the mid 1970s. KB then slipped into decline before disappearing over a decade go. It was resurrected in January, bringing back the oldies along with former KB personalities Danny Neaverth, Sandy Beach, Don Berns, Joey Reynolds and Jack Armstrong... http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20031215/1019616.asp (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW LPFM ON THE AIR IN ZEPHYRHILLS A team from Godstock Ministries based in Pennsylvania, operator of LPFM WFSJ-LP http://www.fishfm.com came to Florida last weekend and built in just 4 days a new LPFM in Zephyrhills, complete with a 95 foot tower. The station's construction permit was to expire on December 14th, but the deadline was met with 2 days to spare. Christian Hit Radio 96.7 The Switch debuted on Thursday, December 11th at 3 pm. http://www.theswitch.fm for more details. The station is currently automated but will add CHRSN and a local staff soon. 4 days has gotta be some kind of record Thanks! (Fishlash, Dec 12) This from the Tampa board of Radio-info.com --- A little too far away for me to hear I suspect, but will give it a check at least when in Tampa if I can remember (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Here`s our accumulation so for of special pages on HOLIDAY SPECIALS [in addition to regular pages below them] MPBN [UT -5] 12/14- 1/1 : http://www.mainepublicradio.org/holiday03.htm VPR [UT -5] 12/13-12/31: http://www.vpr.net/music/holiday.shtml WFCR [UT -5] 12/14- 1/1 : http://www.wfcr.org/holiday.html NCPR [UT -5] 12/18-12/31: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/programs/holiday03.html WNYC [UT -5] 12/18- 1/1 : http://www.wnyc.org/music/articles/23730 WHYY [UT -5] 12/19- 1/1 : http://www.whyy.org/91FM/fmspecials.html WMFE [UT -5] 12/15-12/26: http://www.wmfe.org/907/holidays_03.asp WKSU [UT -5] 12/13-12/26: http://www.wksu.org/programs/holidayprograms/ WYSO [UT -5] 12/21- 1/1 : http://www.wyso.org/wysopgs/special.html WYSU [UT -5] 12/21-12/25: http://www.wysu.org/holiday.htm WMUB [UT -5] 12/13- 1/4 : http://www.wmub.org/special/ WKAR [UT -5] 12/14-12/28: http://wkar.org/holidayspecials/ WBHM [UT -6] 12/18- 1/1 : http://www.wbhm.org/Programs/Specials.html WPLN [UT -6] 12/16- 1/1 : http://www.wpln.org/holiday/index.html WPR [UT -6] 12/21- 1/1 : http://www.wpr.org/music/special/holiday_03.cfm KUNI [UT -6] 12/11- 1/4 : http://www.kuniradio.org/xmasku.html WOI [UT -6] 12/18- 1/1 : http://www.woi.org/latest/december.asp KUMR [UT -6] 12/16- 1/1 : http://www.kumr.org/Christmas.html KWGS [UT -6] 12/19- 1/1 : http://www.kwgs.org/ KCSC [UT -6] 12/13-12/25: http://www.kcscfm.com/programming/specials/program_specials.asp KMUW [UT -6] 12/15-12/30: http://www.kmuw.org/programming/specialprograms/index.html KHCC [UT -6] 12/15- 1/2 : http://www.radiokansas.org/ KANU [UT -6] 12/15-12/27: http://kanu.ukans.edu/holiday_pgmg.shtml SDPB [UT -6/7] 12/24-1/1: http://www.sdpb.org/Archives/ProgramDetail_press.asp?ProgID=925 KBAQ [UT -7] 12/13-12/25: http://www.kbaq.org/programs/holidayspecials KNAU [UT -7] 12/16- 1/1 : http://www.knauradio.org/Home/Home.cfm?ID=1046&c=11 CPR [UT -7] 12/15-12/25: http://cpr.org/cgi-bin/cprframe.cgi?url=/html/holidaymusic03.htm KUNC [UT -7] 12/19-12/25: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kunc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=581614 KUWR [UT -7] 12/14-12/31: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/wpr/holidayprogramming2003.html KCRW [UT -8] 12/19- 1/2 : http://www.kcrw.com/about/pressreleases/031201DecemberHighlights.html#Holiday NWPR [UT -8] 12/15- 1/1 : http://www.nwpr.org/HolidayProgramming/HolidayProgramming.aspx Two of our musical favorites, and the times we have found for them [strictly UT days & times]: PAUL WINTER CONSORT SOLSTICE CONCERT FROM THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE [allegedly] DIVINE [2h] : Sat 20 0200 WFCR Sat 20 0200 WCNY Sat 20 0300 WUGA Sun 21 0200 WOIfm Mon 22 0100 WETA Mon 22 0100 WYSO Mon 23 0300 KWGS Mon 22 0300 NWPR Mon 22 0400 WHYY Mon 22 0400 WPLN Mon 22 0500 YPR Mon 22 1900 KUNI Tue 23 0100 MPBN Tue 23 0100 VPR Tue 23 0100 KGOU Tue 23 0300 KUWR Tue 23 0300 KUNC Tue 23 0400 KHCC Wed 24 0200 KNAU Thu 25 0300 WMFE Fri 26 1700 WMFE Fri 26 1800 WYSU Thu 1 0300 WNYCf CHRISTMAS REVELS [2h]: Sat 20 2300 KCSC Sun 21 1700 WFCR Mon 22 0000 WPRm Tue 23 0300 KNAU Tue 23 0400 NWPR Wed 24 0100 VPR Wed 24 1600 KMUW Wed 24 1800 WYSO Wed 24 1900 WUGA Thu 25 1900 KUNI Sat 27 1800 WMUB from MONITORING REMINDERS Calendar, 0320 UT Dec 18, at http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html#advance where the links are always hot; check back later as some additional pages may be entered (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN. Radio Tashkent in English: 0100-0130 - 6165, 5975, 7160 kHz 1200-1230 and 1330-1400 - 5060, 6025, 5975, 9715 kHz 2030-2100 and 2130-2200 - 5025, 7185, 11905 kHz 2-nd the program of the Uzbek Radio In English: 1200-1210 - 576, 1269, 1323 kHz (Alexander Poljakov, Tashkenskaja region, Uzbekistan, Rus-DX Dec 15 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Armónicos: Occidente AM, desde Tovar, Mérida, Venezuela, se repite en los 2200.04 kHz; captada fortísimo el 15/12 a las 2246 UT (2 x 1100). (Adán González, Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. New Horizon Radio was observed on a new frequency of 9585 kHz for their 1330-1430 gmt broadcast in Vietnamese (BBC Monitoring observations 12-14 Dec via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. We have an unconfirmed report that RTZ may have moved to 6125 kHz. Can those in the area check this out? (gh, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Dec 17 logs: 6045, 2220 Radio Canada Int'l Relay Skelton (G), English CBC news report about law in France, // 5850 via Sweden. QRM from chinese station. After RCI sign-off at 2230, there are still 3 signals left on 6045, which are: CNR // 6285 kHz, VoA via Udon Thani (THA) in chinese, and the usual Chinese music jammer. All transmit on 6045.000. At 2300, all three sign off and leave the frequency free for Zimbabwe, also exactly on .000, with traditional music, singing "Zimbabwe Yamo", male DJ announcements and again typical music. 23432. Rx: Drake R8B, Ant: GRAHN magnetic loop; Exact frequencies determined with EKD-500 and Spectrum Lab Software 73, (Günter Lorenz, Freising, Germany, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. MUGABE PLANNING NEW RADIO STATION According to reports from Zimbabwe quoted by South Africa's Sunday Independent, President Robert Mugabe is planning a series of measures to counter negative reporting of his regime. Sources close to the Mugabe government say that the Department of Information is preparing to spend billions of Zimbabwe dollars on technology to monitor, and potentially censor, Internet activity. Among other measures mentioned by the South African report are "a propaganda radio station" which "would be broadcasting 24 hours a day to worldwide audiences." Only last week, Mugabe addressed the World Summit on the Information Society and accused Britain of using the Internet as a tool in trying to recolonise the Third World (Media Network blog Dec 15 via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) Will there be a new BCer from Zimbabwe? From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200312160333.html GOVERNMENT MOVES TO CONTROL CYBERSPACE Media Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek) PRESS RELEASE December 16, 2003 Posted to the web December 16, 2003 The Zimbabwe government is planning to introduce new measures to police all broadcast and Internet based information circulation in a bid to control the flow of information in the country, The Daily Mirror reported on 9 December 2003. The paper says that this move, if successfully completed means that the government will be able to monitor individual information, messages and letters leading to the arrest of all those involved in circulating information that the government says undermines the sovereignty of the country. The Daily Mirror reported that government through the Department of Information and Publicity is set to purchase equipment to the value of $4 billion to enable it to access the cyberspace. Furthermore the paper revealed that the Department of Information and Publicity led by Professor Jonathan Moyo is at an advanced stage of setting up 24-hour short wave and medium wave radio news station. The government has so far accused SW Radio Africa - a United Kingdom based radio station and Washington's Voice of America's Studio 7 of disseminating negative information about the country. The paper said the government intends to counter the short-wave radio stations by launching its own 24-hour news broadcast. Speaking at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva on December 10, President Robert Mugabe echoed similar sentiments as expressed in the paper saying Britain and the United States of America are using their superiority in information technologies to destabilise Zimbabwe and other small and poor states. "I say this because my country Zimbabwe continues to be a victim of such aggression, with both the United Kingdom and the United States using their information technologies superiority to challenge our sovereignty through hostile and malicious broadcasts calculated to foment instability and destroy the state through divisions," Mugabe said. BACKGROUND In November 14 people were arrested and charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) for allegedly spreading false information. The 14 were arrested while writing e-mail messages to collegues on the worsening economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. Over a hundred media workers have been arrested under other anti freedom of expression laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) on allegations of writing falsehoods or operating media outlets without licenses. Under AIPPA, Zimbabwe's leading independent daily paper The Daily News was closed down on allegations of operating illegally (via Kim Elliott; via Ulis R. Fleming, Cumbredx mailing list, WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 6145, SW Radio Africa, regular, daily 16h00 -19h00 and with excellent signal. 7120, Voice of The People, regular, daily 17h00 - 18h00 with very good signal. Announces P.O. Box 5750, Harare as usual, but I don't think anybody had a response from this address for years (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, Dec 3, DXplorer-ML via CRW via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ PORTABLE IBOC RADIOS?? I want an IBOC radio. I remember at one time being told that they would be here by Christmas. I want one that does NOT go in a car and is portable (Kevin Redding, AZ, NRC-AM via DXLD) Same here; when will the first non-auto IBOC radios finally be available? I'd be very curious about the power consumption of a portable IBOC receiver. Anything that has a lot of processing power (like a PDA, for example) can really run down a battery, and IBOC receivers would be processor-intensive. My XM "boombox" only gets about eight to ten hours off a fresh set of alkaline D cells! (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) The original schedule called for retail availability in time for Christmas 2003, but the codec change delayed production. I believe the Kenwood "black-box" IBOC unit is available now; however it's for interface with Sirius satellite capable Kenwood car receivers only, as someone already mentioned here and is shown on the http://www.wor710.com site Kenwood does have a Sirius receiver that can connect to any car radio, portable, or home stereo receiver. It connects via a cassette, audio line, or FM modulator, comes with a magnet-mount antenna, and it's small (walkman-size), but it doesn't look like the Kenwood IBOC unit would connect to this particular Sirius unit. There's supposed to be an IBOC roll-out at the January CES featuring several IBOC products, and celebrating 300+ IBOC stations on the air. Ford is supposed to have IBOC radios in vehicles beginning with the 2005 model year (summer 2004). (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) Ibiquity receives technical innovation award: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031216/phtu022_1.html IBOC radios to be on display at CES: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=4294 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from unsettled to major storm levels. The onset of a coronal hole high speed stream on 08 December produced active to minor storm levels every day during the period. Major storm levels were observed on 08 December in connection with the co-rotating interaction region and again on 10 – 11 December when solar wind speed increased above 800 km/s. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 17 December 2003 - 12 January 2004 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to moderate levels. Active longitudes are due to return to the visible disk early in the period and may produce moderate level activity. Expect mostly low activity levels in early January. There is a small chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event from mid to late December. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 19 – 23 December, and again on 03 – 05 January. Geomagnetic activity is expected to range from quiet major storm levels. Unsettled to minor storm periods are expected on 18 – 22 December, and again on 01 – 05 January due to high speed coronal hole streams. The large trans equatorial coronal hole is expected to return 07 –12 January with major storm levels expected. :PRODUCT: 27-DAY SPACE WEATHER OUTLOOK TABLE 27DO.TXT :Issued: 2003 Dec 16 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Dec 16 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Dec 17 110 15 3 2003 Dec 18 120 12 3 2003 Dec 19 125 10 3 2003 Dec 20 125 10 3 2003 Dec 21 130 15 3 2003 Dec 22 125 10 3 2003 Dec 23 125 15 3 2003 Dec 24 120 15 3 2003 Dec 25 120 10 3 2003 Dec 26 120 10 3 2003 Dec 27 115 10 3 2003 Dec 28 110 10 3 2003 Dec 29 105 10 3 2003 Dec 30 100 10 3 2003 Dec 31 100 10 3 2004 Jan 01 95 20 4 2004 Jan 02 90 20 4 2004 Jan 03 90 10 3 2004 Jan 04 95 35 6 2004 Jan 05 90 30 5 2004 Jan 06 90 35 6 2004 Jan 07 85 35 6 2004 Jan 08 85 25 5 2004 Jan 09 90 25 5 2004 Jan 10 90 25 5 2004 Jan 11 100 25 5 2004 Jan 12 105 20 4 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1212, DXLD) NW7US PROPAGATION UPDATE: 18-XII-2003 Hello, Radio Enthusiast! The very large coronal hole that has kept the geomagnetic field at active to minor storm levels is no longer in view. This is giving us a nice period of quiet geomagnetic activity, with the result being that we are seeing propagation that is more normal over most of the paths around the world. A smaller coronal hole is currently near the central solar meridian and is expected to lead to minor geomagnetic storm conditions from Sunday, 21-XII-2003 onwards. Between now and then, it is expected that the 10.7-cm flux will climb a bit, perhaps as high as 130, while the planetary A index (Ap) should remain at or below 10. From 21-XII-2003 onward, the flux will gradually fall to about 100, with some elevation of the Ap index as the geomagnetic field becomes active again due to that coronal hole. After 31-XII-2003, we`ll see conditions become a bit rougher, again. However, this is due to the coronal hole that we`re seeing, not because of any major flare. Between today and the first of the New Year, there is only a slim chance of any moderate flare, while there will be a good number of minor small flares (B- and C-class flares). There is also a small chance for a proton event from mid to late December. This might make over-the-pole propagation a bit tough. At the time of writing this bulletin, the solar wind speed is at about 400 km per second, which is a normal speed, with only a slight southerly orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. As of 17-XII-2003, the sunspot count is 92, and the 10.7-cm flux is 118. The Ap is 10, and the Kp (planetary K index) is 3. This translates to some very good conditions for the High Frequencies (HF). Expected MUFs are normal, rather than depressed as we`ve seen for the last couple of weeks. The season is great for worldwide DX on HF, and this period between now and the New Year will offer great conditions for most of the time. The highest frequencies will have some long-range F-layer openings (since the flux will be above 100), but they will be short. Lower frequencies will propagate much better over most paths. Come by and check out the online Propagation and Radio (SWL and Amateur) discussion forum, where a group of us are discussing the science and current events of space weather and propagation: http://hfradio.org/forums/ In addition, you can always get the latest live space weather and propagation information at http://prop.hfradio.org -- or with a WAP phone, at http://wap.hfradio.org/ Happy Dxing! 73 de Tomas, NW7US (AAR0JA/AAM0EWA) -- : Propagation Editor for CQ, CQ VHF, and Popular Communications : : Quarterly Propagation Columnist for Monitoring Times Magazine : : Creator of live propagation center - http://prop.hfradio.org/ : (via swl at qth.net via DXLD ###