DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-002, January 4, 2004 edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.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 For restrixions and searchable 2004 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 1214: Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast [last week`s 1213] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast, 5105 Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1214 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1214h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1214h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1214.html WORLD OF RADIO 1214 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1214.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1214.rm ** AFGHANISTAN. RADIO IN AFGHANISTAN TERRY PEDWELL, The Canadian Press KABUL -- A Canadian organization is reaching out to women in Afghanistan, teaching them to work as journalists and opening radio stations, hoping to change the view of women in a society that has traditionally held them in low esteem. The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society, or IMPACS, financed by Canada's International Development Agency, has opened two radio stations in the war-ravaged country and is working on a third. "I think that people see it as a way of contributing to the education of women," said project director Jane McElhone. "They see us as part of the peace-building process and that's what we want to be," added McElhone, who for years lived in Montreal before moving overseas. "We hope the radio stations will mean that women are less isolated." Women's rights is one of the dominant issues being debated at a critical meeting in Kabul, where more than 500 delegates from across Afghanistan are trying to hammer out a new constitution. Female delegates attending the loya jirga, or grand council, were successful in winning an agreement to replace the words "citizens of Afghanistan" with the expression "women and men" in one article of the document pertaining to education. However, strong arguments have been made against including the same terminology in other parts of the draft. As well, there are fears among women that vague references to Islam in the constitution could be used to trample on their right to freedom of expression. Sharifa Zermati Wardak remembers travelling to Kabul one day during the Taliban's rule and being beaten by a stranger for adjusting her burka in public so she could see where she was stepping. Just two years later, Wardak, a student of journalism in the IMPACS program, proudly walks the streets of the Afghani capital without the head-to-toe garment, but she continues to cover her flowing hair with a scarf. It is a small freedom in a society that largely continues to treat women as though they have less value than men. A female delegate from Afghanistan's western Farah province, for instance, remains under UN protection after she accused some participants at the loya jirga of being "criminals" for their part in the civil war of the 1990s. Malalai Joya's comments set off a shouting match with dozens of hardliners at the gathering, who demanded she be removed from the session. Wardak spoke recently to a reporter from the BBC about the difficulties faced by women in Afghanistan. When elders in Wardak's community complained about her comments, she was admonished by her family and told not to return. "My cousins, sisters, my mother, they said, 'Stop working and sit at home. You have brought shame and you are having a very bad effect on our family,'" said Wardak. "It was a very bad thing in the history of my village." There are some who have complained empowering women to speak freely hurts traditional Afghani society. "One person told us, 'What are you doing to traditional family values,' " said McElhone. "But what we know is that we're here to work with women, and the women are welcoming us with open arms." McElhone has high hopes for her students, even if they don't continue in journalism. "Some of them may become politicians. We hope some of them will become great leaders," she said (Via Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) Yes, and how about the radio stations? (gh) ** ANGOLA. 7216.8, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, 1758, Dec 30. Different program from 4950 (Jarmo Patala, Hyvinkaa, Finland, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Estimados colegas: Hoy 31 de diciembre del casi viejo año 2003, estoy escuchando (1637 UT) a una nueva emisora no oficial en amplitud modulada, en los 1580 kHz identificándose a las 1630 y cada media hora: "Estás escuchando Planeta Radio AM 1580, en la ciudad de Rosario, Provincia de Santa Fe, República Argentina" con música latinoamericana y el slogan "Estas escuchando las voces y los sonidos de nuestro Planeta". Al parecer se trata de una emisión de prueba porque la intensidad de señal ocasionalmente varía abruptamente predominando un SINFO=45454. No se ha emitido todavía ninguna información acerca del domicilio, dirección postal, e-mail, teléfono, nombre del dueño, etc, etc. Saludos y Feliz 2004! (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Dec 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Estimados colegas: A la información del 31/12/03 referente a la nueva emisora argentina en 1580 Khz, ahora puedo agregar la siguiente: Volví a sintonizar a Planeta Radio AM 1580, que emite desde algún lugar de Rosario, Provincia de Santa Fe, hoy 2 de enero a las 1815 UT. Afortunadamente escuché "...Comunícate con Planeta 3417457 y viví lo mejor". Desde el interior del país debe anteponerse el prefijo 0341 y desde el exterior el prefijo 54 341. Inmediatamente me puse en contacto telefónico; la voz que me atendió --- creo yo --- coincide con la utilizada en la señal ID y slogan de la emisora. Solamente se identificó como "Marcelo", con quien estuve hablando unos 10 minutos. Me comentó que Planeta Radio AM 1580 comenzó con emisiones de prueba en agosto de 2003 pero luego estuvo inactiva durante un par de meses por problemas técnicos hasta que se reactivó recientemente con otro transmisor de 250 vatios. Pero según Marcelo, están operando actualmente sólo con 50/100 vatios en forma irregular con la idea de mantener transmisiones diarias de lunes a sábados. Por obvias razones, la información suministrada ha sido muy escueta pero el trato recibido fue muy satisfactorio. Quienes deséen reportear a esta nueva emisora "No oficial" argentina pueden hacerlo al E-mail: marcel3 @ tutopia.com Saludos! (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 5050, ARDS R, Humpty Doo (presumed), fade in 0930-1000, Dec 11 and 12, religious hymns in English and Vernaculars, native music like that from Papua New Guinea, ID in the statics: ``...Development Service``. Max S 2 (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Dear Friends, AWR Wavescan is noted back to 0200 on 7230 on Sundays via Moosbrunn, Austria to S. Asia. For some weeks Urdu was broadcast at this time. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Urdu reduced as part of 2004y cutbacks? Or do they just run English when a certain program is missing for the week? See also USA WRMI for news about Wavescan (gh, DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 7185, Bangladesh Betar, GOS, *1227-1246, Jan. 3, English, IS, YL with ID in Vernacular, music (NA?) followed by YL with ID and frequency schedule in English. OM with news items regarding India, Pakistan and Libya. Presumed news commentary 1236-1241, to weak to detail, followed by sub-continental ballads, fading out to unusable by 1246. Weak but clear with no ham operators on frequency for once (Scott Barbour, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4924.94, R Educação Rural de Tefé, 0958-1030, Dec 27, popping on in mid-ID, giving frequencies as 1240 MW and 4925 ondas tropicais, and then into ``Jornal Brasil`` news program. UT -4 TCs one minute fast. Full ID with calls and frequencies at 1029. One of the best morning Brazilians, heard well daily (Jerry Berg, MA, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA. 11940 was active again on Dec 07 but has been off the air again the past couple of days! (Roland Schulze, Dec 13, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. TV FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T SEE Vancouver Sun, Friday, January 02, 2004, By Michael Mccullough 'The female officer and the officer in charge stand over Boon with weapons pointed. Chase kneels down by him, unblinking, as Boon twitches, still holding his bleeding neck. Then his hand slips away from his throat. His head goes up. His eyes close. Chase looks up at the others," announcer Terry Reid purrs into a microphone, as if describing this scene from an upcoming episode of Cold Squad to a sightless companion. Which he is. To thousands of them. Until now the 1.5 million Canadians with a visual disability have been pretty much left out of the 500-channel universe. While the deaf have enjoyed closed-captioned television programming for a decade, the blind have had to make do with having family or friends interpret TV for them, or go without. Just try closing your eyes sometime and guess what's going on in a program from the dialogue and sound effects. It isn't easy. So when Diane Johnson and Vicki Dalziel heard that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission planned to mandate "described video" as it's called on to the airwaves, they saw a business opportunity. Both are veterans of the broadcast industry. Johnson had worked in marketing and promotions for the Walt Disney Company and local broadcasters, and continues to serve as chairwoman of Canadian Women in Communications. Dalziel is a former vice-president and general manager of Country Music Television. A year ago they formed Descriptive Video Works in West Vancouver to help television producers and broadcasters make blind-friendly versions of their shows. It was a tough slog convincing them they needed to do it at first, Johnson says. But the industry has all of a sudden come around. "When we first started, we were really scared. We kept wondering, 'Is this really going to happen?' " she recalls. As of Dec. 1, 2002, the CRTC made it a requirement of new licences issued to major conventional stations that they broadcast a minimum of two hours a week of described Canadian television, rising to four hours by the end of the licence period. But when Johnson and Dalziel attended the Banff Television Festival last spring, most independent producers were still in denial. Since then, however, broadcasters facing licence renewals have begun to work a requirement for a described video version into the fine print of their contracts with producers, and flummoxed producers have begun knocking on Descriptive Video Works' door. In November, the firm's first month of operation, it narrated upwards of 25 one-hour shows. First the producer gives the company a tape of the program. The company then turns it over to a writer -- it has trained several locally in writing for the blind -- who listens to the show with eyes closed, then writes narrated description to fit in between lines of dialogue. Next the company records the narration with professional announcers (Reid, QM/FM's morning man, happens to be Johnson's husband) in a small studio leased from Airwaves Sound Design Ltd. in Vancouver and digitally mixes it in with the show's soundtrack. The blind audience can listen to the descriptive version simply by switching their TV to the SAP (second audio program) setting. So far only a handful of Canadian shows, including Cold Squad and The Eleventh Hour, are described but Johnson is confident that will change. "When closed captioning first started about 10 years ago about 10 per cent of the programming was closed-captioned for the deaf, and now it's about 90 per cent. We think the same thing will happen for the visually impaired and the blind as well, that within a certain time they should be able to have the same access to television as other people do," she says. There's more art to described video than to closed-captioning, too. The narration must never overpower the dialogue. Consulting with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Canadian Council of the Blind and more experienced descriptive video producers in the United States -- though the Federal Communications Commission retreated from requiring described video, many American broadcasters do it anyway out of enlightened self-interest -- Johnson and Dalziel learned that the narration had to be a subtle thing, spoken almost in a whisper. Scenes where a lot of action and dialogue happen at once pose a challenge for writers. They have to pick out the most important visual element in the scene and describe it in as few words as possible. To Johnson, though, it's more rewarding than simply working in broadcasting. "We wanted to do something that made a difference," she says. "To me it's only fair. If the deaf have these services, why not the blind?" © Copyright 2004 Vancouver Sun (via Blind News mailing list via Paul David, DXLD) Is there any regular, or any at all use of DVS on the US commercial TV networks? If so, a well-kept secret. Lacking any promotion, I am unable to check here since none of the OKC TV stations are running SAP (tho KWTV-9 experimented with it very briefly several years ago, to communicate with storm trackers; isn`t there another subcarrier frequency available to TV stations for internal use, not pickupable by consumer sets?) and Cox Cable refuses to clear stereo, let alone SAP if available from any analog cable channel! OETA does run DVS when available from PBS, the rest of the time duplicating main channel on the SAP. I find it convenient when I am not paying undivided attention to the program (usually the case, unfortunately, as I multitask to get DXLD and other things done). It`s most useful, and available, with documentaries and dramas. Trouble is, if you switch to SAP you lose stereo, unless you are running two sets, one for each; and if taping you must also choose which in advance. Fortunately, closed captioning is always there, if provided in the first place, without affecting the rest of the audio or video signals (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. FALUN GONG HACKER 'DIED IN JAIL' BBC, December 30, 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3356699.stm A Chinese man jailed for hacking into cable television and broadcasting footage of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement has died in prison, according to the group's website. The group said that Liu Chengjun had suffered "cruel torture" and that eyewitnesses described blood stains all over his body. Liu was serving 19 years in prison in the northern province of Jilin for his part in the 2002 protest. He was one of 15 Falun Gong members who illegally broadcast around 40 minutes of pro-Falun Gong material on a cable TV station in Changchun, capital of Jilin. The Falun Gong website said that he died on 26 December in a civilian hospital. It said that his body had been cremated on the same day without an autopsy. The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement that Liu had been severely beaten after his detention in March 2002, and had also been ill. Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in 1999, after thousands of the group's followers demonstrated in Beijing demanding recognition for their faith. Their beliefs blend the ideas of the founder, Li Hongzhi, with traditional Chinese exercises and the Taoist and Buddhist faiths. Li Hongzhi is wanted by the Chinese authorities, but is currently living in the United States. Falun Gong has said that more than 840 followers have been tortured to death in China. The Chinese government has blamed the movement for 1,900 deaths, including people committing suicide and refusing medical treatment (BBC Dec 30, 2003 via N. Grace, USA, CRW via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re BBCM report quoting Xinhua Dec 24 of changes in Taiwan services: This seems to be the former Voice of the Strait which on SW used 4900, 5050, 7280 and 11590 for two different programs in Chinese and 4940 and 6115 for Amoy (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** CHINA. I finally caught the new name of CNR-2 at the Sunday morning sign on (Saturday at 2100 UT). They announced Jingji zhi Sheng, China Business Radio. The opening procedure at 2058-2100 was unchanged from what it has been for ages. The new CNR, on the other hand, had a new opening procedure at 1958-2000 with IS from 1958 and the opening music already at 1959. China is back on 6950, which now runs CNR (former CNR-1) at 2000-2400. Listed as Shijiazhuang, and that seems to be correct as the delay is identical to the other recently reactivated transmitters at this site. Re Noel`s enquiry: CBS in Taiwan is Chung Yang Kuang Po Tien Tai (in Pinyin that is Zhongyang Guangbo Diantai), while CPBS is Zhongyang Renmin Guangbo Diantai, so the difference is in the the Renmin (=People). The R is pronounced (approximately) like French J, which is also the letter used in the traditional Romanization of Chinese (Wade- Giles system). 73s (Olle Alm, Sweden, 3 Jan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. Glenn, Saturday morning: I checked 5960 and 6280 at 1100 UT. CRI came on 5960 exactly on schedule in English as you mentioned they would. Nothing was heard on 6280 kHz however. I guess someone saw our correspondence and fixed the problem if it's a spur from Sackville? However, I still want to check it out on a weekday. Saturdays, sometimes, are change of schedule days (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Please do, tho I don`t think Sat is any different in this case. Did you also check 6120 or recheck a few minutes later? 6120 could have been late coming on with NHK, so the 6280 mix would not happen yet; and it would be over by 1200, if later than that you checked on Fri (gh, DXLD) China Radio International, 6280, 1100-1106 Jan 4. Noted a spur(?) type signal here from 5960 kHz transmission of their English transmission. This signal is at a fair level under QRM. Not sure if spur is the correct terminology, but the signal on 6280 is caused by a malfunction of some kind from the 5960 relay out of Sackville, Canada (Chuck Bolland, January 4, 2004, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Finally confirmed it is just as I suggested, and have tried to explain repeatedly. A mixing product with the neighboring Sackville transmitter during this hour with NHK on 6120. The formula is 2B minus A, i.e. 2 x 6120 = 12240, minus 5960 = 6280. Another way to look at it is: take two frequencies from the same site at a certain separation, in this case 160 kHz, and look at the same separation above and below each for the mixing product, which is one kind of spurious emission. Unfortunately, this happens time and again from certain sites, notably Sackville. There are many other relays, as well as RCI transmissions from Sackville at many hours of the night on 6 MHz, and combinations of any two frequencies are good candidates for such transmitted mixing products. People keep running across them and wondering what in the world they are. When you hear something odd above 6200, or maybe below 6 MHz, all you have to do is scan the band for matching audio and do the math. Usually the audio on the mix is more dominant from the further frequency than the closer one, which I call `leapfrog` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. A huge file of press (in Spanish) about the Parmenio Medina / Radio María de Guadalupe case: http://www.portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/ant/parmenio_medina.htm (via Catholic Radio Update Jan 5 via DXLD) There is also a great deal more coverage of this in the latest CRU 261 (in English). For a copy of the MS Word format publication by attachment, contact editor Mike Dorner mikeD509 @ aol.com Briefly from the Editor`s Desk of Mike: The Costa Rican Tragedies: No doubt in my mind that some people are wondering why I have devoted so much time and energy, not to speak of an extra issue, to the Parmenio Medina Pérez case. Why not? If the murder were incidental, it might earn a mention. But there is more here than a brutal murder, as terrible as it is, made even worse by implication of a priest. Behind it stands gross mismanagement of the contributions of the faithful, many of whom are Costa Rican poor. As one article I read in preparation of these reports said, how is it that having taken so much money in during its first year, the station was still deep in debt? Padre Mínor, however guilty or innocent he stands in regard to the assassination of Don Parmenio, still has a lot of answering to do. There are many lessons for everyone in Catholic radio here. I do not imply that what happened at Radio María de Guadalupe is typical; it is not. But they seemed to do a lot that was wrong. The little people, the faithful, as usual are the ones hurt in all this (via gh, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 6105.01, TIUCR, 1630-1730+ Jan 3, presumed the one with continuous classical/chamber music, rather low modulation, weak signal but in clear. No voice announcements noted at random checks. No sign of Mérida or the FEMA ALE net (David E. Crawford, Titusville, Florida, 28.51N 80.83W, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6105, Radio Universidad de Costa Rica; 0035-0105 Jan. 4. Definitely on today (David Crawford logged this with classical/chamber music and no ID 1630-1730+ Jan. 3). Tune-in to great archival 1930's/1940's US blues, Spanish man with ID 0056 (simply as "Radio Universidad"), then steel guitar blues filler until 0059 SP man and woman with another Radio Universidad ID and brief patter, into chamber/opera vocals from 0102. Fair, but squeezed pretty badly on both adjacents (Terry Krueger, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. 11655, Radio Rebelde; 1708-1735 1 Jan. with "Cuba Deportiva" roundup of Cuban and Caribbean sports scores. Recheck at 1731 with warbling transcript on the history and culture of the city of Santiago de Cuba. Parallel MW 1180, etc. Great signal, but producing an FMing blob from 11640 to 11670. The results of a shoddy ChiCom transmitter coupled with bad Cuban engineers, no doubt (Terry Krueger, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) ** CYPRUS. A description of the project and the installations of the IBB relay transmitter in Cyprus for 990 kHz (Radio Sawa) can be downloaded from the Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers website (pdf-files): http://www.hatdaw.com/paperlist.html The IBB transmitter is installed on the territory of the Radio Monte Carlo Moyen-Orient MW relay station which belongs to the Radio France Internationale group (somewhat incorrectly called "Radio France" in parts of the document). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuahia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. R Prague QSLs 2004 --- In 2004 R Prague will issue QSL cards on Czech music. You can have a look on total 8 QSL cards at http://www.radio.cz/en/html/qsl2004.html (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. SILVER JUBILEE OF THE RADIO OF THE VOICE OF THE ERITREAN BROAD MASSES: 25 YEARS OF TELLING THE TRUTH Shaebia Staff, Dec 19, 2003 The first day of January, apart from being New Year's Day, has also another important significance in the history of the Eritrean armed struggle. Exactly 25 years ago this day, on January 01, 1979, the radio of the Voice of the Eritrean Masses or 'Dimtsi Hafash' was established in the wilderness of Fah, a place in the Northeastern part of the Sahel region. It was a time when the Dergue regime, helped by the Soviet Union, had temporary supremacy over the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. As a result, the EPLF was compelled to withdraw from most of the liberated areas at that time. Following the strategic withdrawal, the Dergue regime, in an attempt to discourage the Eritrean people and cut off its relationship with the revolution, boasted to the people that the EPLF was destroyed and that "your children have vanished". But this lie didn't last long. This being the case, the establishment of an autonomous Eritrean radio station in the field was a joyous announcement to the Eritrean people. In its early stage, Dimtsi Hafash had only one transmitter and a low power of only 200 Watts, yet it continued its transmissions in Tigrinya and Arabic. Later, however, with the addition of new transmitters and full studio equipments, the content of programs improved through the addition of Afar, Tigre, Kunama and Amharic broadcasts. Continuous advances of the enemy toward the surroundings of Fah however, made the station to move to Amberbeb, where it stayed from February 1, 1979 to February 18, 1982 (except for some months in Arag). Later, when the Dergue's Sixth Offensive erupted, it was taken to Ararb but five months later it was permanently installed in Hager- Neush in Shabait. Despite all the hardships faced in moving the radio station from place to place, it never went off air except for three days. As its popularity soared, particularly during the Sixth Offensive, the Dergue regime tried every means to jam Dimtsi Hafash. However, except for the first day, all attempts failed and the radio was able to continue. Shabait, which became the home of Dimtsi Hafash until after the independence of the country, is the present name of the website of the Ministry of Information. The main reason why, amid all the hardships in the field and total unavailability of experience and external help, the radio station succeeded is because it had a tremendous credibility among the masses, said Mr. Yemane Gebreab, the Head of PFDJ Political Affairs, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment. Mr. Yemane also said that its other main font of energy was its publicity. Eritreans inside and outside liberated areas continuously contributed articles to the radio; this flow strengthened the popularity of the radio. Until the day of independence the radio has played an important role in maximizing the people's participation in the revolution. Conveying the current situation of the struggle to the people and the world, exposing the cruelty of the Dergue regime to the world, strengthening the revolution ties and relations between the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia were also among the most important contributions made by Dimtsi Hafash. After independence, the station was completely moved to Asmara. On the first day of July 1991, Dimtsi Hafash started its Medium and Short Wave transmissions with a 50 Kilo Watt transmitter. Following the transfer of the station to Asmara, the Ministry of Information embarked upon establishing a long lasting and fully equipped studio as well as decent building complex for the television, radio and newspaper services. The modern building where the present offices of the Ministry of Information are located is a live example of that effort. At present, Dimtsi Hafash is broadcasting its programs in all nine ethnic languages and two foreign languages (Amharic and Oromo) through two channels with Short and Medium Wave transmitters, each with 100 Kilo Watts. Besides, the hours of transmission has stepped up from 14 hours a week to more than 150 hours a week, with a general audience covering the whole of Eritrea and the neighboring countries. And just recently, the Ministry of Information made Dimtsi Hafash available worldwide via satellite, whose audience reach as far as the whole Middle East, Africa and Europe with projections to cover the Americas. The station is also available online through the Ministry of Information's website, Shabait.com. Earlier, during the Ethiopian border conflict, Dimtsi Hafash could be accessed through Visafric and Dehai websites. Dimtsi Hafash is now on the eve of its 25th anniversary. Preparations marking the event are already underway. According to the information from the coordinating committee various sporting activities to win the 'Cup of the Voice of Eritrean Masses' have already begun on a national level since December 7. The sports activities include soccer, volley ball, basket ball cycling, athletics and boxing matches as well as the already conducted motor and bike races. Camel and horse races will also be part of the sports activities for the occasion. A general knowledge competition for youth and members of the Defense Forces is also scheduled to be held on December 27. Research papers highlighting the history and development of Dimtsi Hafash during the war of liberation; the role of media in war and nation building; the development of a free and conscientious press during the era of globalization; and the current situation of Eritrean Mass Media will also be presented during a national symposium which will mark the occasion. Moreover, a statue commemorating the establishment of Dimtsi Hafash is nearing completion at the compounds of the Ministry of Information, where a photo exhibition reflecting the early radio broadcast services will also be displayed. Two magazines and other music and cultural shows have also been prepared, the coordinating committee further disclosed. The Silver Jubilee preparations are being held under the theme 'A Voice to Trust for a Quarter of a Century' and reflect the role played by Dimtsi Hafash in the Armed Struggle and during this time of nation building. http://www.shaebia.org/ (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9561.4, Radio ETHIOPIA, 1600-1630, Jan 4, English, 1600 - Sign on with interval signal, ID. Brief news update; Male talk about beautiful city, then into song dedications with pop songs. News update again at 1630. Fair (John Beattie, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 7520, Voice of Ethiopian Medhin, via Armavir, *1830-1930*, Sun Dec 21, New schedule ex *1800-1900*, long test tones from *1820, 1830 Flute I/S, ID in Amharic, announced frequency and metreband, songs from Horn of Africa, talks, radioplay, 45444 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 6170, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, 0750-0810, Dec 25, special Christmas program in Finnish and English, Finnish pops // 11690, 24333. 11690, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, 0800-0810, Dec 25, special Christmas program in Finnish, Finnish pops // 6170, 25333. QRM R. Afrique International via Juelich 11690 until-0800*. No other SWR broadcasts audible (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) Was there a Jan 3 broadcast? Did not see the usual notification (gh) ** GEORGIA. 4875, R. Hara via Dusheti (100 kW). It is 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. 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, via Alexey Osipov, Russia, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Summary of non-AM radio news from Germany: Today two radio programs of ARD member institutions were renamed: XXL of Hessischer Rundfunk becamed You FM, at present only a transition program is broadcast. See http://www.youfm.de also for an impression how media outlets aiming at young audiences behave (this in regard of the recent discussion about noo much English-language music -- often produced in Germany! -- on German stations). Also today Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk renamed the former MDR Kultur into MDR Figaro. When this became known immediately the jokes about the "hairdresser radio" started, the head of MDR radio said they are aware of the circumstance that this name could cause such jokes --- it the first time that a rebranding was done in full awareness of its absurdity? And speaking about rebrandings: Probably Deutschlandradio Berlin will be renamed, too, at least word is that the station is thinking about it. And at Berlin on New Year's Eve the paralleling of Kulturradio on 92.4 and 96.3 MHz ceased. Kulturradio is on air since December 1st, replacing Radio Kultur (ex SFB) and Radio 3 (ex ORB). At present 96.3 is on air with open carrier, burning 10 kW of HF power to broadcast silence. The frequency will be put on tender; Rundfunk Berlin- Brandenburg intends to use it for Radio Multikulti currently placed on the weaker 106.8 frequency. The media authority MABB also favours this intention but a reallocation is not possible without the official procedure, i.e. an invitation of tenders. Of course it remains to be seen who will be the new user of 106.8, provided that Radio Multikulti will get the vacant high power outlet. Probably also some notes about 97.2 are useful after this frequency keeps appearing in press releases of international broadcasters: Transmitter site is the postal office building in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin http://www.dxradio-ffm.de/Kreuzberg1_X.jpg This site was established in the eighties for the 100.6 and 103.4 outlets meanwhile moved to the TV tower (Alexanderplatz). This was necessary because only this antenna height was coordinated and no de- facto usage could be claimed for these new frequencies. Prior to the inauguration of 97.2 and its sister outlet 104.1 the Kreuzberg site was silent for some years. The ERP on 97.2 is listed as 500 watts but due to coordination problems probably lower; at least the signal appears to be weaker than on 104.1 which is certainly running 500 watts. The coverage is not very good, when I checked the last time while travelling through the city by train (on the line via the [in]famous Friedrichstraße station) the signal often faded into the mixing products the TV tower 100 kW flame-throwers produced in my ATS 909, and it disappeared completely already between Karlshorst and Schönefeld. Amongst the World Radio Network bouquet the following stations share 97.2: - Offener Kanal, see http://www.okb.de/wir-engl.htm (English) and http://www.okb.de/frame-radio.htm (radio subsite) - Radio Russkij Berlin, sells itself as first Russian-language FM station outside the former USSR: http://www.radio-russkij-berlin.de - Blu Radio, gay station, see http://www.blu-club.de/radio/index.html The mentioned 104.1 sister channel carries a mixture of various DAB programs as promo under the label "100 % DAB", but until January 10 at times a temporary station Radioriff, see http://www.radioriff.de This frequency is reserved for such temporary stations. I cannot do without this remark: Nice that China Radio International is now on FM in Berlin. But when will Chinese programmes of Deutsche Welle be carried on FM in Beijing?! Finally another interesting detail: No licences were issued to VOA and Voice of Russia but instead to trustees. In the case of VOA the trustee acting on behalf of IBB is Helmut Drück, the last director of RIAS Berlin. I remember his appearance on a large meeting of DXers back in 1993. See http://www.mabb.de/start.cfm?content=Radio-Die_Programme&template=programmanzeige&id=155 http://www.mabb.de/start.cfm?content=Radio-Die_Programme&template=programmanzeige&id=197 http://www.mabb.de/start.cfm?content=Radio-Die_Programme&template=programmanzeige&id=202 Kind regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. On Dec 06 and 07 I could hear the following stations in the morning broadcasts from 2100 onwards: 3266.4, 3345, 3905, 3960.8, 3976 (sometimes inactive), 4000.1, 4604.96, 4790, 4869.98, 4874.60 and 4920. And in the evening from 1015 onwards: 2899 (back from 3517!), 2960, 3266.4, 3325, 3344.83, 3905, 3960.8, 3976, 4000.1, 4606.4, 4790, 4869.98, 4920 and 4925. 2899.0, RSPK Ngada, Bajawa, 1110-1240 fade out, Nov 29, Dec 05 and 06, back on this listed frequency from 3517, ID heard at 1145 and at 1232 after the RRI Jakarta news relay. Weak signal with transmitter problems (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) 7289, RRI Serui, 0800-0900*, Dec 21. Monitoring suggests that this outlet is on the air only on weekends. This would be a hard nut to crack outside the Asian area, as power is relatively low! Melbourne is a bit closer and it`s E layer propagation to here at that time (Bob Padula in WBM, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) Also heard from fade in 0715-0800* (transmitter break down ?), Dec 10, 11 and 12 in Bahasa Indonesia, popular music, ID`s, romantic songs, 0759 Song of Coconut Islands and RRI Jakarta news // 11860. Weak. Ex 7173.3 with 0.5 kW (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. "Non-official" broadcasts via relays - Latest update 31/12/2003 DXA375-Silvain Domen, Belgium. Free to copy and distribute. Compiled from monitoring and info distibuted via BC-DX, CRW, DXLD, HFCC Thanks for adding this list to their website: Martin Schoech, http://www.schoechi.de/crw.html The Italian DX website, http://www.bclnews.it ALG: Algeria AFS: Meyerton CIS: Russian or other ex-USSR site CIS relays on Nagoya DXC http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/~ndxc/ DTK: Deutsche Telekom G: Skelton HWA: KWHR MNO: Merlin NOR: Kvitsöy (still after Dec. 31 2003 ?) RNW: Radio Netherlands - Madagascar site TDP: http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html TWN: Taipei WRN: World Radio Network 0000-0100 7460 IBC-Tamil Tamil-WRN-CIS- 0100-0200 15260 Hmong Lao R. Lao(Wed/Fri)-MNO-TWN- 0200-0300 17510 World Falun Dafa R. - Fang Guang Ming Chinese-HWI- 0226-0315 7460 R. Payem E Doost Farsi(Tue-Fri/Sun)-MNO-CIS- 0230-0330 6100 R. Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri-CIS- 0430-0500 7510 Arabic R. Arabic-CIS- 0500-1700 11530 V. Of Mesopotamia Kurdish-TDP-CIS- 0600-0900 7460 R. Of The Saharan Arab Dem. Rep. Arabic-ALG?- 0700-0800 17655 V. Of Dem. Path To Ethiopian Unity Amharic(Sun)-DTK- 0730-0830 9890 R. Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri-CIS- 1215-1300 v-15615 21545 21560 Tashkent V. Of Tibet-WRN-CIS 1215-1300 v-11640 15400 15645 15660 15680 Dushanbe V. Of Tibet-WRN- CIS- 1230-1300 9930 R. Free Vietnam (California)Vietnamese(Mon-Sat)-TDP- HWA 1300-1330 7180 Degar V.- R. Montagnard V. dial.(Tue/Thu/Sat)-MNO- CIS- 1330-1400 9930 Que Huong R. Vietnamese(Mon-Sat)-TDP-HWI- 1330-1430 9585 New Horizon R. - Chan Troi Moi Vietnamese-DTK- 1400-1500 11550 V. Of Khmer Kampuchea Krom Khmer(Tue)-TDP-CIS- 1430-1515 v-11975 12025 12145 Tashkent V. Of Tibet-WRN-CIS- 1429-1526 17495 Democratic V. Of Burma Burmese-RNW- 1430-1530 5905 Democratic V. Of Burma Burmese-WRN-CIS- 1430-1530 6100 R. Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri-CIS- 1500-1530 17870 R. Rhino Int. English(Tue-Fri)(Sat/Sun -1600)-DTK- 1500-1600 9930 World Falun Dafa R. - Fang Guang Ming Chinese-HWA 1500-1600 5925 V. Of Democratic Eritrea Tigrigna(Sat)-DTK- 1600-1630 7470 // 12085 Arabic R. Arabic-WRN-CIS- 1600-1659 9820 V. Of Ethiopian Salvation Amharic(Sun/Thu)-DTK- 1600-1900 6145 SW R. Africa English/local African-AFS- 1630-1655 9375 V. Of Southern Azerbaijan Azeri (Wed/Thu)-CIS- 1630-1659 9820 R. Huriyo - V. Of The Ogadeni People Somali(Tue/Fri)- DTK- 1630-1730 7350 R. Amani - Afghanistan Peace Pashto/Dari (Fri)-CIS- 1630-1830 7580 R. Sedaye Iran - Los Angeles Farsi-CIS- 1657-1755 7120 V. Of The People English/local African languages-RNW- 1700-1730 7560 R. V. Of Oromo Liberation Oromo(Mon/Thu)-TDP-CIS- 1700-1740 5960 R. Pridnestrovye E/F/G(Mon-Fri)-CIS- 1700-1800 7560 Mesopotamian RTV Kurdish(Tue/Wed/Fri)-TDP-CIS- 1700-1800 7560 Dejen R. Tigrigna(Sat)-TDP-CIS- 1700-1800 9820 V. Of Democratic Eritrea Tigrigna(Mon/Thu)-DTK- 1700-1800 9820 V. Of Oromo Liberation Oromo(Sun/Tue/Wed/Fri)-DTK- 1700-1800 7560 V. Of Komala Farsi(Sun)-TDP-NOR- 1700-2300 7460 R. Of The Saharan Arab Dem. Rep. Arabic-ALG?- 1730-1800 7490 R. International Farsi(Tue/Thu/Sat -1815)-MNO-CIS- 1730-1800 13690 V. Of The Eritrean People Tigrigna(Sun)-MNO-G- 1800-1830 7130 V. Of The Eritrean People Tigrigna(Sun)-MNO-G- 1800-1845 7480 R. Payem E Doost Farsi(Tue-Fri/Sun)-MNO-CIS- 1830-1930 7520 V. Of Ethiopian Salvation Amharic(Sun)-TDP-CIS- 1830-1930 7220 V. Of Dem. Path To Ethiopian Unity Amharic(Wed)-DTK- 2100-2200 7380 V. Of Biafra Int. English(Sat)-MNO-AFS- 2100-2200 6035 World Falun Dafa R. - Fang Guang Ming Chinese-TDP- CIS- 2300-2400 7460 R. Of The Saharan Arab Dem. Rep. Spanish-ALG?- 2330-0030 5945 Democratic V. Of Burma Burmese-DTK- 2330-0030 12055 Democratic V. Of Burma Burmese-RNW- (Silvain Domen, Belgium, Dec 31, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ. An anonymous correspondent has found the URL for AFN-Iraq: http://www.vcorps.army.mil/www/CJTF7/afniraq/ Note the aquiline logo of ``Freedom Radio``, surrounded by flags of 50+ countries --- are all of these supposedly involved in Iraq? Not much else there yet, no programming info, but under FAQs we find: Where can I pick up AFN radio frequencies in Iraq? We currently are broadcasting in Baghdad 1Kw on 92.3 and 107.7 FM Kirkuk, 200w on 100.1 and 107.3 FM LSA Anaconda (Balad, Iraq) 250w on 107.3 FM Mosul, 1Kw on 105.1 FM Q-West, 250w on 93.3 FM Sinjar, 250w on 107.9 FM Tallil, 200w on 100.1 and 107.3 FM Tikrit, 1Kw on 93.3 FM How do you get your music? We get our music from gold disks from an independent distributor. We do not have the original CDs but yet [get] industrial compilations. Why do you not have the song I requested? As our station grows, so does our library. Hopefully in time we will have the song that you request. How do you select the music you play? The music is Adult Contemporary based on the area of operation and the generalization of the audience. We use the top40 AC for the most commonly played songs along with individual discretion from the broadcasters. What do I do if I lose the signal? Contact afntech @ baghdadforum.com on any discrepancies in the signal, or call 1-914-360-5068 (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ! sic. 914 is Westchester County NY, while Baghdad is 964-1 (gh, DXLD) ** IRELAND. Glenn, It is with great sadness and anger I learn of the termination of RTE's shortwave transmissions as and from Jan. 1 2004. I must admit I smelt a rat when the "consultation exercise" occurred shortly before Christmas when many exiles were returning to Ireland to spend Christmas with their families and the responce announced within a couple of days including free World Space Radios for African listeners --- how could that have been decided in such a short period? When was Merlin informed? For a country of 4 million with 70 million people of Irish heritage around the world short wave radio was ideal. For those like me that have returned to Ireland but travel regularly it is easier to bring a shortwave radio with me rather than a satellite system to keep in touch with home! I did not come across any reports of these developments in the Irish written media. Those of you who wish to register your protest please send them to Lennie.Kaye @ rte.ie or Lennie Kaye, RTE Radio, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland. As RTE is 100% [state] owned perhaps letters of protest to you local Irish Embassy or Consulate would also be helpful! Glenn, it is a very sad day for the many Irish and friends of Ireland that listened to RTE on shortwave! Yours truly (Paul Guckian, Ireland, Dec 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Thinking over the RTE decision regarding the discontinuation of shortwave broadcasts two further points come to my mind. Firstly, how many listeners in remote parts of the world would have access to the internet to respond to the so called survey? Secondly, up to just over a year ago RTE had 3-4 hours on WRN in North America until it was reduced to just 30 minutes. They also had the 30 minutes shortwave service along with this 3-4 hour WRN service. So this 2 hour programme on WRN in North America sounds like an actual cutback in services in the broadest sense. Anyway was this 1 1/2 hour extension to WRN's services arranged before or after the so-called survey?? I do hope all RTE shortwave listeners write in protest to RTE and/or their local Irish Embassy! Regards, (Paul Guckian, Ireland, Jan 3, ibid.) ** ISRAEL. 6973, Galei Zahal, Tel Aviv. In October I sent a reception report to this station and asked: ``I hope you also can tell me where in Israel your shortwave transmitter is located (Tel Aviv or Jerusalem or Yavne ?).`` After 84 days arrived a full data QSL-card including this handwritten note: ``Our transmitter is located 20 KM south east of Tel Aviv.`` It therefore seems that the SW transmitter is located very near the town of Lod (G.C.: 31N57 034E54) and not in Tel Aviv- Yafo or at the Kol Israel transmitter facility at Yavne which is 25 south of Tel Aviv (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. KOL ISRAEL DOMESTIC/SHORTWAVE Currently, the domestic Reshet Alef situation is as follows: 576 kHz AM (MW) is off the air 531 kHz AM (MW) is still Reshet Gimel - it has not been changed to Reshet Alef. This means that the coverage area of Reshet Alef has been reduced by quite a bit. Hopefully, this will get resolved shortly. I have received an updated Kol Israel shortwave schedule, from a Kol Israel source (as opposed to Bezeq). The schedule is good for Jan 1 through March 28, 2004. The changes aren't major - and the foreign languages seem to be there. I'm sure this will be updated on http://www.israelradio.org soon. As I'm sending this as plain text - the formatting will probably get messed up. Sorry. I'm only posting the English and Hebrew schedules - I can forward the entire schedule, in Excel format, if you'd like. Again, the schedule should be posted on the web soon anyhow. For some reason, the schedule is given in local Israel time. Please subtract two hours from the listed time to get UTC. Subtract 7 hours from the listed time to get Eastern Time. [gh has already converted this to UT!] English 0500-0515 N.America/W.Europe 7,545 39 N.America/W.Europe 6,280 47 Central America/Australia 17,600 17 1110-1120 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 19 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 17 1800-1815 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 19 N.America/W.Europe 11,585 25 2000-2025 N.America/W.Europe 6,280 47 N.America/W.Europe 11,585 25 South Africa 15,640 19 Hebrew 0500-1900 N.America/W.Europe 15,760 19 1900-0500 N.America/W.Europe 9,345 32 0000-0500 N.America/W.Europe 7,545 39 0530-0600 N.America/W.Europe 7,545 39 0600-1100 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 17 1130-1500 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 17 2100-2400 N.America/W.Europe 11,585 25 Moshe Oren, from Bezeq, said that the updated Bezeq schedule should be posted any day now. Here is the URL for the schedule through the end of 2003-- hopefully the new one will be in the same place. Please copy and paste the URL together into a web browser. http//www.bezeq.co.il/cultures/en-us/bezeq/about+us/short/shortwave.htm?linktype=posting (Doni Rosenzweig, Jan 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Full schedule target NAm/WEu u.o.s. or obviously for elsewhere [gh changed all times from local to UT!] Hebrew 0500-1900 15,760 19 1900-0500 9,345 32 0000-0500 7,545 39 0530-0600 7,545 39 0600-1100 17,535 17 1130-1500 17,535 17 2100-2400 11,585 25 Arabic 0400-2215 5,915 50 English 0500-0515 7,545 39 6,280 47 17,600=Central America/Australia 17 1110-1120 15,640 19 17,535 17 1800-1815 15,640 19 11,585 25 2000-2025 6,280 47 11,585 25 15,640=South Africa 19 French 0515-0530 7,545 39 6,280 47 1100-1110 15,640 19 17,535 17 1630-1645 11,605 25 17,535 17 2030-2045 9,435 32 11,585=Central America/S.Europe 25 11,605=S.America/S. Africa 25 Spanish & Ladino (Saturday only) 1600-1625 11,605=Spain/S. Europe 25 17,535=N.America / S. Europe 17 Ladino 1645-1655 11,605 25 17,535 17 Russian 1830-2000 9,435 31 17,535 17 Persian (Sun-Thurs) 1500-1625 9,985 30 11,605 25 17,535 17 (Fri & Sat) 1500-1600 9,985 30 11,605 25 17,535 17 9985 13,850 kHz @@ 11605 15,640 kHz @@ Yiddish 1700-1725 11,605 25 17,535=C.America/S. Europe 17 Spanish 1120-1130 15,640 19 17,535 17 2045-2100 9,435 32 11,585=Central America/S.Europe 25 11,605=S.America/S.Africa 25 Romanian 1725-1745 11,605 25 17,535 17 Hungarian 1745-1800 11,605 25 17,535 17 When Conditions Meet Requirement @@ (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) Interestingly, on the IBA's website, the shortwave schedule is dated Jan 1 through March 28, 2004 http//bet.iba.org.il/shortwavws.html#hebrew Looking at the Hebrew and English schedules, I see two differences. The website has an extra Hebrew frequency 2100-2400 11,585 The website is missing English frequency 1110-1120 17535 (Doni Rosenzweig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. The JSWC 5th Anniversary card --- Recently Mr. Kenro Wada, one of the two founders of JSWC (Japan Shortwave Club) cleared his old house in Sendai which I helped with and found a couple of hundreds of unused cards. This card was printed for use to verify reports from worldwide listeners of 8 radio stations who aired special programs for JSWC in early 1952. I will use this card for verification of reception reports for JSWC DX News from AWR and HCJB on request. Far Eastern DX Report is aired every first Sunday from AWR Wavescan and Asian DX News is every 4th Saturday from HCJB DX Partyline. Please tune in and send your reception report to JSWC HQ, Box 29, Sendai 980-8691, Japan. $1.00 US bill or 1 IRC will be appreciated for return postage. There are two kinds of verification; one is this 5th anniversary card, and the other one is JSWC 50th anniversary card. You can select either one or send two reports and get both of them (Toshimichi Ohtake, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 3025.6, Frontline Soldiers R, 2000-2100*, Dec 03 and 08, relay of KCBS // 2350, 2850, 3220, 3350, 3957.7, 6100 and MW 819 and 1080. They used to broadcast own programs and sign off at 1955*, so this seems to be a new schedule (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) Does any of our Japanese members have additional information on this ? (DSWCI Ed) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Voice of Komala I was very surprised to hear Voice of Komala yesterday. It`s unusual to hear any of the programs on their lower winter frequencies in the middle of the day here in the center of North America (1700 UT is 11:00 AM here). : 7560, Voice of Komala opened at 1700½ with brief instrumental music; a man said, ``Seda-ye Komala. Seda-ye Komala...``; and music continued. Talk and music (Iranian pop?). Poor at opening and faded out about 1720. Sunday, 28 December (Wendel Craighead, KS, for CRW via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. ...However, Libya has also recently signalled its disinterest in the Mediterranean by abandoning the radio station "Voice of the Mediterranean" (VOM) of which Libya was 50% owner together with Malta, where the station is based. The station is owed significant amounts of money by Libya which has not responded to Malta's demands to pay its bills. Consequently the VOM radio station went off the air this week and may have to lay off its entire work force. VOM is rated as one of the best shortwave stations by listeners and is the 5th most popular shortwave radio station in Japan (from EU President Prodi Talks With Libya's Gaddafi by Phone, http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=30954 via Larry Nebron, Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** MALI. 4784.4, R. Mali, Kati, 1935, Dec 24, talks in Vernacular; the audio level was extremely low, to a point that readability was consequently very poor, so 54433 reflects the RF signal quality only; their parallel 4835 outlet was off the air, and I`d bet 5995 was also off at that time, only that I couldn`t ascertain that due to the severe adjacent QRM, but was noted on well after 1935. At nearly 2300, just 4784.4 and 5995 are on the air and, again, both with extremely weak audio. 4835 noted silent again 1930, Dec 25 while 4784.4 was putting an even weaker audio, to a point the broadcast must be useless even locally (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** MALTA [non]. See LIBYA [non] above ** MAURITANIA. Re 4845 at 0725-0805 in Japan: given that Japan and NZ are in the same Greyline at that time of the day at this time of the year, this reception is not so unusual as Mauritania is also heard here around that time, and on 7245 even later. The Greyline path lines up nicely for Japanese hams between ~0600 and 0800 UT. Also around this time, Japanese hams on 20m have an opening into West Africa, beaming shortpath, approx 300 - 330 deg at 13 - 14000 km. We hear the Japanese hams very well when they work this path as we're off the back of their beams. Sadly, the Africans don't propagate that well into the South Pacific at this time (Paul Ormandy, ZL4PW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t have a geoclock or grayline indicator handy, so I dusted off the old NGS globe with geometer. I see that indeed short-path from Tokyo to Nouakchott goes over northern Siberia, down thru Europe via Stockholm and Madrid, while the long-path crosses New Zealand, down near Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. Seems to me it could be either short or long-path just now (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Dear Glenn, Thank you for comment of my logging on DXLD 4001. Yes, in recent winter in Japan, R. Mauritanie on 4845 can be audible, but it`s very short time (about 0710-0800 UT in Kawasaki-shi near Tokyo.) The sunset time in Kawasaki-shi Japan on Dec 28 was 0736 UT. I am wondering about its grey line path. Regards, (TOKUSA Hiroshi , Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, JAPAN, Jan 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XERTA transmitiendo nuevamente --- Ayer, 1 de enero del 2003, como a las 1500 UT, sintonicé una fuerte señal en 4812, con sólo la portadora. Pero después de las 1600 noté música de tipo religiosa. Como a las 0200 (2 de enero del 2004) UT, volvi a escuchar a la emisora, escuchando su nueva identificación con una voz femenina "...transmitiendo Radio Transcontinental". Hoy entre las 1300 a 1400 UT sólo he captado la portadora. Espero lo puedan sintonizar, y veremos cuanto tiempo duran estas transmisiones, que han sido esporádicas el año pasado (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, 2 de enero del 2003, Conexión Digital via DXLD) 4810, XERTA, 1104 Jan 2, On the air again with usual programming. Good strength but much much weaker modulation than heard in September. Incidentally, I got a nice e-mail Christmas/New Year greeting from them just prior to Christmas. Now if they would QSL!! (Dave Valko, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Dave, I got a carrier there in LSB mode at 2154 but no audio yet. Should fade in after sunset here in Clewiston Florida (Chuck Bolland, ibid.) 4810, XERTA, Mexico City, 0000 to 0130 Jan 3, non stop music with no announcements, 0130 "la nueva experiencia? ....Mexico... la voz XERTA" a bit garbled, by OM, then into "Joy to the World" in English Good Signal, best in LSB. Dave, missed this [morning] log of XERTA, was using presets for Latins. Strong signal at 0158 (Bob Wilkner, FL, UT Jan 3, ibid.) Saturday morning at 1115 UT. XERTA booming in on 4810 in LSB mode. Steady music. Check it out (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, Jan 3, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I did, UT Sun Jan 4 around 0200, and heard nothing but heavy noise transmission around the frequency (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just in case you're interested, they are warming up their transmitter on 4810 right now = 1125 UT Jan 4. At least there's a strong carrier there (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Radio Valladolid, XEME, 570, heard well after 0005. Loud ID as "Simplemente La Mejor, Radio Valladolid, quinientos setentA ah-eme" heard at 0010, then into hiphop style music. (I'd almost call it techno, but for the "vocalizing" on the track.) ID at 0105 "La Mejor, Radio Valladolid X-E-M-E quinientos setenta A M." New log here, and rather surprised to hear a station from Mexico using a call sign (Gerry Bishop, FL, January 2, 2004, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yucatán ** NEW ZEALAND. SUPER TROPO NEW ZEALAND HRD IN AUSTRALIA SYDNEY !!!!! Ciao! La stagione di Super Tropo in Oceania è al suo massimo, sensazionale la ricezione della Nuova Zelanda a Sydney -- Dario Monferini Don't forget to check out the ICDX web site for TV/Radio sites, ICDX TV/FM DX news, DX Articles, TV DX from holiday locations, 'Out and About' and 'Bytes & Bits' archive articles, computer tips, The TV/FM DX FAQ, TV/Radio History (Australia/NZ) and historical sites. go to http://www.geocities.com/icdx_australia/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/icdx/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Todd Emslie" toddemslie @ iprimus.com.au Subject: New Zealand tropospheric DX logs for Dec 31 - Jan 3, 2003 Hi all, The NZ tropo opening is still in progress, though VK2 hams are currently not working ZL. Signals of course are usually weaker during the day. Only signal in at present is 62.2396 bfo Te Aroha (1,400 miles). I now realise that my NZ horizon (Te Aroha and Auckland) is well clear of the two double-story houses. However, there are considerable numbers of high trees in the distance, including a slight rise in that direction. This could explain why the lower UHF channels are usually stronger. Lower frequencies are less attenuated by natural and man- made obstructions. The lower powered (45 dBW) UHF TX's could not be detected, despite several clear channels. The higher powered (59.0 dBW) Auckland UHF transmitters were only seen when 89.4 and 91.0 MHz FM were peaking with stereo. Even so, the Auckland UHF carriers were typically only 2- 5 dB above the noise on a spectrum analyzer with 1.5 Hz bandwidth. Palmerston North (Wharite) FM also appeared early this morning. The signal strengths were greater than Auckland FM, hence Wharite UHF TV carriers would also likely been received if a vertical UHF aerial was available. Since the Pro-75 UHF yagi antenna was aimed directly into local (5 km) high-powered TV TX's, it was important that spurious carriers were not confused with real DX carriers. I looked for frequency stability, and signal strength variation, which indicates real tropo signals. Also, the beam was turned +/- 30 degrees to make sure the carriers were attenuated off-direction. NZ tropospheric DX log: [UT +11] Dec 31, 2003: 2200-2400+ (EST) 144.1 ZL3TY (Greymouth) heard by Sydney hams. Jan 1, 2004: 0110-0250+ 559.249939 MHz SKY NETWORK TELEVISION LTD 59.0 TE AROHA. 0238-0250+ 719.25 NZ. 0238-0250+ 783.25 NZ. 1345-1400+ 144.1 ZL3TY (Greymouth). Jan 2: 0200 55.2396 bfo NZch2 Auckland. 0200 91.0 MHz FM Auckland (very weak). 2000+ tropo still open to NZ. 2000+ 62.239620 bfo Te Aroha. 2000+ 55.239600 bfo Auckland. Jan 3: 0100+ 783.249850 Prime Te Aroha (30dB above noise). 0100+ 719.249870 Sky Te Aroha - 1,400 miles. 0130+ 655.250154 Sky Te Aroha. 0130+ 559.249933 Sky Te Aroha (30dB above noise). 0130+ 519.250285 Sky Auckland (2-5dB above noise) 0200+ 743.250110 TAB Auckland - 1,347 miles. 0200+ 775.250100 Prime, Auckland. 0200+ 791.250160 Prime (New Plymoth)? 0230+ 90.6 2QQ FM Palmerston North "ZM FM" - 1,430 miles. 0230+ 92.2 2XXS FM Palmerston North. 0230+ 89.4 1ZZB FM Auckland - 1,347 miles. 0230+ 91.0 1MJK FM Auckland. 0200+ 799.250009 Prime (Horokaki)? 73, Todd Emslie, Sydney, Australia (via Dario Monferini, bclnews.it Jan 3 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. I have noticed that NZ's ZLXA has disappeared off air; for some time now, 3935 has gone dead. Any reports from others knowing why? --- Kia ora, (Meaning 'Good Health to you' - Maori) From (Robert Wise of Hobart, Australia, Jan 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Here's the link to a piece from the New Zealand Listener, a Christmas-related reminiscence from the host of RNZI's Mailbag 50 years ago. http://www.listener.co.nz/default,1228.sm 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 15070, R. Pakistan, 1218 Dec 31, with pop songs (Pakistani and Chinese type. Man with talks in Chinese at 1223, with clear ID and possibly news. Signal level S2 but relatively clear by using noise limiter and heard via the computer speakers! (23232). At 1229 with national anthem (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. On Dec 11, I was able to hear the following stations from 0930 onwards: 3205, 3220, 3235, 3245 (!), 3260, 3275, 3290 (not regular), 3315 (not regular), 3325, 3355, 3365, 3375 and 4890. 9675, NBC, Port Moresby, 0308 (fade in)-0410, Dec 11, English, ``NBC News``, weather forecast, ID: ``.. on Karai National Radio ... of the Voice of Papua new Guinea... at 20 o`clock the news in brief``. At best 34543 (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** PERU. R. Ilucán, Cutervo. Jan 1, 1050-1059 on 4260.42 kHz. Finally, I confirmed this Peruvian harmonic here in Japan. Simple ID "Transmite Radio Ilucán." was often heard. R. Frecuencia VH, Celendín. Jan 1, 0951-1010 on 4485.94 kHz. I first noted that the station made an irregular morning transmission here in Japan. Program title was "Despertar Campesino", playing much Peruvian folklore music (huaynito criollo, carnavalito cajamarquino, etc). IDs were given, "Música, entretenimiento, cultura, información, Radio Frecuencia VH, La Voz de Celendín. Son las 5 de la mañana con 00 minutos", "...onda corta en los 4485 de Radio Frecuencia VH, La Voz de Celendín", etc. (Shoji YAMADA, Tokyo, Japan, RNM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4746.8, Radio Huanta, 1038-1043, Dec 24, Spanish, 1038 Tune in to Andean music, animated announcer with ID, more music with interspersed announcements. Fair (John Beattie, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5930.0, GTRK Mormansk [sic], Monchegorsk (tentative), 1450- 1520, Dec 22, Two ID`s of R. Rossii program, 1500 news in Russian, 1510 probably local program with talk, but no local ID heard; much noise QRM 5930-5935, 23333 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** SUDAN [and non]. Negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya, finally seem to have resulted in an end of 20 years of civil war in southern Sudan between the Muslim Government in Omdurman and the mostly Christian population in southern Sudan. Two million Sudanese are said to have been killed and four million refugees. This DX-Window therefore covers the SW stations broadcasting in and towards Sudan which all were audible in Denmark during the past month. Special feature: 6985, Voice of Freedom and Renewal (Clandestine), Kassala, Eastern Sudan (claimed site), 0440-0520v*, Dec 23 and 24, announcements and talks in Sudanese Arabic and Vernaculars, local music, QRM Number station, 22232. Scheduled 0400-0500 and 1400-1700. Operated by the Information and Culture Secretariat of SNA/SAF, Asmara, Eritrea. Arabic ID: ``Sawt al-hurriyah wa al-tajdid, sawt Sudan al-jadid``. 7200, Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation, Omdurman, 1405-1800, Dec 23, Arabic talk, orchestral music and songs, news 1500 and 1600, transmitter break 1637-1640, Sudanese folkmusic; QRM 7205, 22232. Government station scheduled with Domestic service 0200-0730 and 0950- 1900. Arabic ID: ``Huna Omdurman, idha`atu-I-gümhuriyah as-Sudan ad-dimuqratiya. 7999.4, Voice of Sudan (Clandestine), Eritrea, 1535-1600*, Dec 22, Sudanese Arab talks, local songs, 23332. Scheduled 1530-1600. Operated by the Sudanese opposition grouping ``National Democratic Alliance`` (NDA). Arabic ID: ``Sawt al-sudan, sawt al-dimuqratiyah wa al-salam, idha`at al-tajamu al-dimuqrati``. 12060, R Voice of Hope (Clandestine), via Talata Volonondry, Madagascar, *0427-0500*, Dec 01, Religious broadcasts in English and Sudanese Arabic, 35333 heard // 15320 from same site. Operated by the New Sudan Council of Churches. English ID: ``This is Radio Voice of Hope, the voice for the voiceless in southern Sudan.`` 15170, Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation, Omdurman, reported at 1500, Dec 19, but nothing heard in Denmark 1430-1630, Dec 23, except R Sawa 15170 *1500-1630 in Arabic 45444. 15530, Sudan R. Service (Clandestine), via Woofferton, 1550-1605, Dec 25, English hymn, Vernacular talk about Christmas, hymn ``Merry Christmas``, symphonic music, 1600 multilingual ID`s, mentioned P.O.Box (4932 ?), Nairobi, Kenya, 35444. Scheduled 1500-1700 in English, Arabic, Sudanese Arabic and Vernaculars (Shona, Nuer and Dinka). Operated by the Education Development Center, Inc., Washington D.C.. English ID: ``You are listening to the Sudan Radio Service on 15530 kHz.`` (all: Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** SURINAME. 4990.0, R. Apintie, Paramaribo, 0235-0320, Dec 18, fast speaking DJ in Dutch with western pop music, 25333. My nostalgic QSL- letter on R. Apintie on 5005 dated Oct 20, 1981 was signed by Director E. Vervuurt who may be the father of the present v/s. He stated: ``The transmitter you heard is a Philips 50 watts transmitter coupled to a 5 element monoband Doublet Log Periodic antenne with a gain of 10 db. The transmitter is meant to serve the people of our interior, but it is still nice to receive reports from people abroad``. He also wrote that they ``started transmitting on the short-wave band in Sep 1979.`` A convincing touristic phamplet on Suriname in English, German and Dutch was enclosed (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 7220, Truth For The World, 1402-1430*, Dec 20, Chinese announcer mentioned website as http://www.tftw.org --- usual preaching till 1430 carrier off. My inquiry to e-mail address resulted in a reply from John Grubb who is one of the speakers on this program. He states that is broadcast by CBS Taiwan and has been on the air since August 2003. Suppose this solves our little mystery! (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD). Cf. UNID in DX-Windows no. 233 and 234 (DSWCI Ed) ** UKRAINE. Glenn, Terrible ringing QRM during RUI broadcast of January 3, 2003 5905 kHz 0000 UT. Here is a link to a 2 minute recording. Any idea on the ringing? Utility? Digital transmission? http://www.erols.com\kkrist\SWL\RUI_January_3_2004_5905kHz_0000-0002UTC.mp3 I've also included a link from http://www.erols.com/kkrist/SWL/ I don't recall hearing such terrible QRM on 5905 before. 73, (Kraig Krist, Annandale, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A quick check of 5905 after 0000 UT Jan 4 found it without this noise. I have no idea what it be (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. 15385, AWR relay at 1340 Jan 3 with a Mandarin/English language lesson in progress. Station ID by woman at 1400 followed by IS then ID by man. Fair (David Ross, Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA, Icom IC-R70/Eskab & Edvis PLAM, Alpha Delta 60' slopers, Partridge Electronics Joystick antenna & Joymatch IIIb tuner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Odd programming for AWR ** U K. ...BBC Monitoring, the government/BBC-funded body that listens to and summarises foreign broadcasts, is attempting to shake off a reputation for spookery and consolidate a post-cold war role. Its dynamic new director, Chris Westcott, sees projects such as the monitoring of hate speech as fundamental to its new remit. . . http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1101964,00.html (brief mention of BBCM in much longer story on hate radio, Rwanda, etc., via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U K. BBC ON AIR WORLD AFFAIRS NETWORK - January 2004 You can hear the programmes live online (at European schedule times) and most are also available on demand for seven days after their first broadcast, via the Radio Player link on our home page http://www.bbcworldservice.com PICK OF THE MONTH: PASSPORT PLEASE. 5 x 25 mins | from 5th In a world where millions of people cross continents every day, a passport is only one clue to a person's identity. They may live in one place but have their roots in another. In a new BBC World Service series, Ruth Evans follows five people as they return to their lands of origin to find out who they really are. Each day millions of people cross continents and borders. But wherever they go they take along a sense of national identity, one of the principal forces shaping the course of modern history. In a landmark five-part series, we explore how people in different parts of the world feel about their identity in a fast changing globe. Part 1 (5th): The Polish Family; Part 2 (12th): The Tanzanian Rapper; Part 3 (19th): The Quechua Fiesta; Part 4 (26th): Living Iranian style; Part 5 (2nd Feb): The Pull of the Dragon. PASSPORT PLEASE (Documentary 2) Australia and NZ | Tue 2106 rpt Wed 0306, 0706, 1606, Sat 2006; East Asia | Wed 0206 rpt 0706, 1306, 1906, Sun 0106; South Asia | Tue 2206 rpt Wed 0506, 0906, 1406, Sat 2306, Sun 0506; East and South Africa | Wed 0706 rpt 1406, Thu 0006, Sat 2106, Sun 0706; West Africa | Wed 0906 rpt 1406, Thu 0006, Sun 0906; Middle East | Wed 0806 rpt 1306, 1706, Thu 0106, Sun 0706; Europe | Wed 0906 rpt 1306, 1906, Thu 0106, Sun 1006; Americas | Wed 1406 rpt 2006, Thu 0106, 0606, Sun 1306, 2206 THE SWORD AND THE OCEAN: The new face of Hinduism 3 x 25 | from 5th Two years ago, religious riots in Gujarat, one of India's wealthiest states, led to almost 2,000 deaths, the majority of them Muslim, and seared deeply into the hopes that sectarian violence of this kind had been consigned to history. Nearly 60 Hindu pilgrims returning from the northern Indian temple town of Ayodhya died after a train was set alight by unidentified men. Most accounts at the time said it was the work of Muslim fanatics, but precisely what happened remains a mystery. In retaliation, Hindus ran riot for three days attacking Muslims at random. At least 1,000 people were killed, though a number of human rights organisations have put the figure at double this. Muslim businesses and homes were razed and tens of thousands of people were left homeless. It has been widely alleged that the revenge attacks were orchestrated by Hindu extremists, with claims that some of those engaged in the killings had lists of Muslim properties to target. Who were the zealots who rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods killing hundreds of innocent people? What is the relationship between the India's ruling BJP government and Hindu nationalist groups? And how much of the support for such groups comes from the Hindu émigré communities across the world? To answer these questions Mike Wooldridge talks to Hindu militants throughout India and follows the 'money trail' to discover how cash from the global Indian diaspora supports extremist Hindu groups in the subcontinent. The series also looks at the whole future direction of Hinduism. Militant Hindus have called on their co-religionists to take up the sword and 'cleanse' India of what they see as foreign and polluting elements - like Islam and Christianity. Yet historically, many Hindus have also seen their religion as the ocean into which all other faiths flow. And many of its great teachers have promoted peace and tolerance. So why is it now producing zealots who seem ever more determined to radicalise their religion - and India itself? And which form of Hinduism will prevail in the long term? The Sword And The Ocean will be exploring the legacy of the Gujarat riots as India enters an general election year. THE SWORD AND THE OCEAN (Documentary 1) Australia and NZ | Sun 2106, Mon 0306 rpt 0706, 1606, Sat 0406; East Asia | Mon 0206 rpt 0706, 1306, 1906, Sun 1506; South Asia | Sun 2206, Mon 0506 rpt 0906, 1406 Fri 2306, Sun 0606; East and South Africa | Mon 0706 rpt 1406, Tue 0006, Sun 1906, 2306; West Africa | Mon 0906 rpt 1406, Tue 0006, Sun 2206; Middle East | Mon 0006 rpt 0806, 1306, 1706, Tue 0106, Sat 2006, Sun 1306, Mon 0006; Europe | Mon 0006 rpt 0906, 1306, 1906, Tue 0106, Sun 2206; Americas | Mon 0006 rpt 1406, 2006, Tue 0106, 0606, Mon 0006 OUTLOOK - Xanana Gusmao 40 mins | 5th January He started his political life living in hiding in the mountains surviving on dog meat and plants but he rose to the ranks of President of the world's newest country - East Timor. His image now adorns t- shirts and the watch faces. Posters from his presidential campaign two years ago are are still kept as talismans in people's homes. Xanana Gusmao is a legend among his people. Gusmao joined the resistance movement in the 1970s when President Suharto of Indonesia invaded East Timor. He was a guerilla fighter, living high in the thickly forested mountains, travelling by night from village to village, living off scraps. Almost all the leaders, apart from Gusmao, were killed during this time and he began to take on mythological status. People believed that he had the power to turn himself into an animal to avoid capture. He fought an armed rebellion against Indonesian rule for two decades but he was finally captured in 1992. During his trial, he took the opportunity to denounce the genocidal brutality of the Indonesian invasion, in front of the world's media. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but even behind bars he continued to mastermind the resistance from his prison cell. When President Suharto resigned in 1998 and the possibility of autonomy of East Timor began to be openly discussed, Gusmao was the man called upon, in his prison cell, to discuss the future of his country. He was always going to be front runner to become president and in April 2002 he won 83% of the vote, in spite of the fact that he repeatedly said he did not want the job, insisting that he would rather be a pumpkin farmer or a photographer. Gusmao will be in conversation with Frederick Dove. OUTLOOK Australia and NZ | Mon-Fri 1106 rpt 1506, 2006, Tue-Fri 0106; East Asia | Mon-Fri 1106 rpt 1806, Tue-Fri 0106, rpt 0606; South Asia | Mon-Fri 1306 rpt Mon-Thu 2106, Tue-Fri 0406, 0806; East and South Africa | Mon-Fri 1106 rpt 2306, Tue-Fri 0606; West Africa | Mon-Fri 1306 rpt 2106, Tue-Fri 0806; Middle East | Mon-Fri 1106 rpt 1606, Tue- Sat 0006, Tue-Fri 0706; Europe | Mon-Fri 1206 rpt Tue-Sat 0006, Tue- Fri 0406, 0806; Americas | Mon-Fri 1306 rpt 1906, Tue-Sat 0006, Tue- Fri 0406, 0806 SUBSCRIBE TO OTHER BBC ON AIR NETWORKS Go to the Update Form enter your email address, press Submit and then add one or more Networks to your profile. Choose from World Affairs, Science, Sport, Learning English. If you have friends of colleagues who would like to receive the Networks, they can subscribe via the link at http://www.bbconair.com (via Paul David, swprograms via DXLD) gh excerpted only a few items; Paul`s full post is at http://www.topica.com/lists/swprograms/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=1715643087&start=18637 along with another one on science programmmes at http://www.topica.com/lists/swprograms/read/message.html?mid=1715643085&sort=d&start=18636 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Regarding the listener who mentioned us airing Wavescan 459 last weekend, that was a program which had originally arrived too late for broadcast at the normal time, so we had never aired it previously. There are times when those programs get lost in the postal service for several days or more, and a few have never appeared at all. And Dave Barasoain is no longer the Wavescan host. He has left AWR due to budget cuts (Jeff White, WRMI, Jan 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tsk; he lent it some class even if a bit weak on pronunciation; he`s still billed as host at http://english.awr.org/wavescan --- hurry to get one last look at him (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WRIB, 1220, Providence, RI, is apparently going to be doing a DX test every morning for the next few months. Here's the item I found on AM-DX.com today. "* We are trying a new sort of DX Test. Rather than the longish one-shot test historically run, we've arranged for WRIB-1220 in Providence, RI (tough state to hear!) to raise power to 1 kW non-d every night at 2:55 to 3:05 am Eastern time [0755-0805 UT]. This will run through at least March, and will have a recorded ID at 3 am. Hopefully a special ID with morse code can be added in the near future. There ought to be good propagation for a fair number of these nights, and it's late enough for the west coast folks to have a shot. Fire up those recorders and let us know if you hear them! Clubs and other DX-oriented organizations are free to mention this test, as long as AM-DX.COM is credited. 01 Jan 2004" (via Gerry Bishop, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 93.5 pirate in DC: I live on the east side of Washington D.C. (the Capitol Hill neighborhood), and I've checked on the station a couple times over the last several days. Sometimes it didn't seem to be on, but today I've been listening to it for more than an hour. The signal is pretty weak. I've don't have a rotor on any of my antennas, so I can't try to figure out what direction it's coming from. Like Fred reported, it's continuous Caribbean music. No announcer and no station ID as such, only a woman's voice from time to time that mentions "DJ Dale." --Bill (William Black, Washington, D.C., Jan 1, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. JAZZ FANS UPSET OVER CHANGES AT WFPK Station is urged not to alter mix of music By ANDREW WOLFSON, The Courier-Journal [Louisville KY] Jazz enthusiasts are angry that public radio station WFPK-FM is pulling its local weekday jazz programming effective Jan.5, and they want to get that decision reversed. "The jazz community is in an uproar," said Patty Bailey, president of the Louisville Jazz Society and host of a jazz show on Sundays on WFPK, one of three stations in the local Public Radio Partnership. . . http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/12/28ky/met-front-jazz1228-7746.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO BEGINS TO CATCH THE EYES AS WELL AS THE EARS OF LISTENERS [RDS] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/01/technology/circuits/01radi.html?pagewanted=print&position= (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. HISPANIC RADIO STATION TURNS UP THE VOLUME WITH $3.4 BILLION MERGER http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/12/29/story7.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. 1610, FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) "R-C-H/Haitian Community Radio" Homestead; received two unsolicited e-mails on Dec. 30th from "Maurice" who states that he installed the transmitting equipment for this station: "1610 RCH Homestead is a legal Part 15.219 station. I put the transmitters for that station, it runs Rangermaster-1000 from Hamilton, 100 mW at 80 ft. One more thing: 1610 RCH is over modulating cause they were told to get a limit/processor. They are in downtown Homestead where you saw the banner [actually it was Hans Johnson, reporting this to me -- TLK], the tower there has the transmitter on the top. The FCC has inspected it and found it legal but told them about their audio. Yeah those Rangemaster-1000 transmitters are FCC certified for Part 15.219 operation and the work great (when properly modulated), lol. I will be installing my station in Miami soon using 7 transmitters 100 mW Part 15.219 with OTR [? -- TLK] format. I currently have 10 transmitters in CA. Part 15 also and inspected by the FCC and legal also and it covers 15 miles. Regards, Maurice." I discovered this station last June, while passing through on my way the Florida Keys. Searching the Internet, I found this site for the Hamilton Rangemaster-1000 transmitter: http://www.hampcb.com/home.html 1620.25+/-, FLORIDA vs. HAITI (UNLICENSED) Also via "Maurice" (see 1610): "[This] actually comes from Haiti, not Miami." However, several of us in Florida are still monitoring and attempting to DF this Haitian Kreyol station (frequency varies down to just above 1610, and it is not the same as the Orlando Haitian pirate on 1620, or the 1610 "RCH" Homestead station). We still believe it is in the Miami-Dade area. 1620.26, or maybe even a little higher, 2326-0002 Jan. 3, threshold signal and presume this one (if so, first log for me, finally). Unable to discern content (English or Kreyol) except for pieces of vocal music and male announcer. Peaked around 2345, but pretty much tostada by tune out and later checks. 1660, FLORIDA (UNLICENSED) "Nostalgia Radio" Miami; Upon receiving the e-mails from "Maurice" regarding the Haitian Kreyol format unlicensed stations on 1610 and 1620.25, I did a quick Internet search for "Vibe Radio" (as referenced on his e-mail properties). This URL: http://www.viberadio.us indicates a Nostalgia format Pt. 15-compliant station in the Miami area. Note also the 1700 kHz California reference. And just in (Jan. 2nd): a follow-up e-mail from "Maurice" confirms that he is the owner of Nostalgia Radio. He states that in Miami, it is down now due to transmitter changes, and that the transmitters "are spread among different locations, but for example one transmitter is giving me five-miles solid with a signal of 192 uV at that distance. The transmitters that [are] on the air now is the one in Woodside, CA and Redwood City, CA... [the] transmitters are linked via 2.4 GHz Part 15 spread spectrum and with Optimod-9200 processor from the studio, and the transmitters in CA are fed by an audio Internet link." (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) 100.5 MHz, FLORIDA (PIRATE) "100.5 FM" Ft. Myers; listened to [this] again today (Jan. 1), simply IDed as "100.5 FM" during a Club Neptunes ad. Good along I-75 to Pine Ridge exit. Fine through town, but started getting real spotty at the Wiggins Beach Park. So I would say south of Pine Ridge Road and pretty close to I-75 (Hans Johnson, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) Reportedly hip hop format (TLK, Tocobaga ed., ibid.) ** VANUATU. 90.0, Laef-FM. Heard at 0100-0130 UT (12:00-12:30 pm AEDST) 1/1/04 mixed with RFO Noumea 90.0. Accented polynesian English and a Christian program. First time I've heard Vanuatu on FM (Geoff Wolfe Cooma, NSW, Australia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Distances are also always of interest in VHF loggings (gh) ** VIETNAM. RADIO VOICE OF VIETNAM Dear listener, the English Program, Overseas Service, Voice of Vietnam receives feedback from listeners around the world. We sincerely thank you for listening and for your interest in our station. To help us further improve our programming, we hope you will find time to answer the following questions. If you agree with one of the answers, tick in the [U] box, if not leave it blank. How often have you listened to our English program in the previous month? Everyday U1 2 to 3 times/month U3 2 to 3 times/week U2 1 a month U4 Not listen U5 (Please give your reason for not listening and answer question 8 to complete the questionnaire) Reason for not listening to Voice of Vietnam: The program is not interesting U1 The reception is not good U2 Have no time U3 Other reasons (please write in detail) If you listen to Voice of Vietnam, do you discuss what you heard with others? Regularly U1 Rarely U3 Sometimes U2 No U4 Which frequency do you usually tune into? 9730 kHz U1 9840 kHz U5 7145 kHz U9 7280 kHz U2 12020 kHz U6 1242 kHz U10 5955 kHz U3 6175 kHz U7 7285 kHz U11 9725 kHz U4 11630 kHz U8 13740 kHz U12 How is the reception at your area? Good U1 Bad U3 Average U2 Very bad U4 Which of the following features do you often listen to? News U1 Culture & Society U7 Current Affairs U2 Economy U8 Vietnam Land & People U3 Rural Vietnam U9 Letter Box U4 Talk of the Week U10 Arts and Literature U5 Musical program U11 Press Review U6 Sunday Show U12 Your opinion about the presentation skills of Voice of Vietnam staff? Perfect U1 Average U3 Good U2 Not good U4 You listen to our program because: Interesting programs U1 Good reception quality U2 Want to know more about Vietnam U3 Want to know Vietnam's viewpoints on domestic and international issues U4 Your suggestions on Voice of Vietnam programs? Please give your personal information. We understand if you prefer not to give your address. Name: Sex: Male U1 Female U2 Age: Occupation: Tel: Fax: E-mail: Address: When completing the questionnaire, please send it to: English Program, Overseas Service Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu str, Hanoi, Vietnam. Tel: 84 4 9342456 – 84 4 8254482 Fax: 84 4 8266707 http://www.vov.org.vn E-mail: btdn.vov @ hn.vnn.vn Thank you very much for your participation in our survey. (via Swopan Chakroborty, India, DXLD) [excessive spaces removed here] ** ZAMBIA 4910 kHz, Radio Zambia, Lusaka, 0259-0325 UT, in African Language, time pips, news by OM, 0304 into various styles of Afro-pop, brief male talk between numbers, several IDs "Radio Zambia" at 0321 and 0325. SINPO peaked about 0305 at 43322 to 33113 by 0320. January 2. Nice music. Drake SW 8 with 50 foot sloper (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is one that might be worth tying for as I am reading various reports in the last few days, maybe they have increased power? (Mike Terry, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Recently there have been some reports of some low power CW beacons on HF, presumably operating out of the Southwestern USA. I've written up what little is known about them at the URL below, I'll be updating it as I get more information. I'd greatly appreciate receiving any reports of these stations, or any background information, especially from any of the operators if they'd like to share it! I'll keep as confidential anything so requested. Here's the URL: http://www.spynumbers.com/USSWbeacon.html (Chris Smolinski, Black Cat Systems, ACE Pirate Radio topical list via DXLD) Chris, following the frequencies listed on your site on Jan 2, 2004 at 1725 to 1735 UT (That is 9:30 AM by local time PST) I found a continuous beacon that was fairly strong (It does not budge an s- meter, but it gets through the filter very solidly) at 4095.5 KHz. This signal looks like it might be doubled when viewed on the screen and there is for a while a one continuous line with a series of blips to the side of it and later it becomes one wide line that might be doubled. At 4095.7 KHz there is a beacon that is a series of long dashes. This signal is not strong enough to be seen on my screen, but it, too gets through the filters quite solid. There were no other signals in this range that I could detect. My radio is quite old (ICOM IC-735) and you know the capacitors do degrade with time along with sensitivity, but the audio filter (Autek Research QF-1A) is a big help. Around 6925.5 I almost thought that there was the ghost of a signal, and my vertical antenna really does work well at this range, but I would have to say that there was no signal at this time. It is early in the day yet. There was nothing at 6700 or at 8000.5 (William E. Isakson, Berkeley, CA, Jan 2, ibid.) I guess my question is what purpose do the pirate beacons serve? It's one thing to put a pirate program on for entertainment, but are these beacons being used for propagation purposes or what? Or are they being put on the air just because they can be? (Tom Sevart N2UHC http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 6120, tuned in Jan 4 at 0257 just in time to hear a few words of English as station signed off and cut carrier; had heavy crackle in the audio, bad STL? I suspect Tirana, nom. 6115 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6285.07 kHz --- SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 2/Ene/2004 22:09 hora local --- For the last hour I have been listening to a station on 6285.07 kHz. AM mode with "workingsounds" and some Spanish speaking(?) voices. Anyone else is hearing this somewhat "strange" station? Pictures from Quito: http://vode.iki.fi/photos/Ecuador2002/Quito/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ COMPARATIVE BANDSCAN ANALYSIS OF TWO RADIO HANDBOOKS FOR 2004 by Anker Petersen, Denmark, Dec 29, 2003. © DSWCI. This article may be fully quoted, if the source is mentioned. Mid December, I received the 2004 editions of the World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH) (688 pages about Broadcasting, £22 or about 31 Euro), and the Shortwave Frequency Guide (SWFG) from Klingenfuss (298 pages about Broadcasting and 234 pages about Utility, 35 Euro). Since then I have analyzed and compared their value to the Shortwave Broadcast Dxer. These results can be compared to my analysis a year ago. Method I did not choose the traditional way of reviewing each section in the Handbooks, but instead analyzing what information they were able to provide me when I listened to 100 randomly selected broadcast stations throughout the shortwavebands. Half of the stations carried domestic broadcasts, and half of them international broadcasts. All stations were 100% identified no matter what language. Every DX-er, in Europe at least, have the possibility to listen to the same stations and check my loggings. The log list with my detailed analysis is published on our home page http://www.dswci.org --- Latest News. Analysis I consider the following details to be essential for the DX-er during his listening and identification of the transmitter and broadcast: Station name, Exact language, Scheduled broadcast time, Exact frequency and Transmitter site. Thus it was checked for each logging, if the Handbooks contained these details and they were correct. In addition I took note, if the Handbooks could provide the DX-er with additional, useful information, for his propagation calculations and reception report writing. However, the correctness of this information has not been evaluated. For each logging I gave a score, depending on the information in each of the Handbooks. The essential details counted double. The scores are shown on the log list only. Comparison I then compared how many of the 100 stations heard which had the following details correct: WRTH SWFG Internation. Domestic Internation. Domestic Essential: Exact language 100 80 90 96 Time schedule 90 90 86 94 Frequency 94 96 86 96 Transmitter site 88 90 82 94 Useful: Geograf. coord. 96 52 Missing ID in lang. heard 68 40 Missing QSL policy 86 38 Missing Postal address 100 100 Missing E-mail address 98 62 Missing Web address 100 48 Missing For identification purposes, it is necessary that all the essential details are readily available in the Handbook. This was found to be the case in 78% (68%) of the checks in the WRTH, and 80% (74%) in SWFG. (In brackets are the 2003 results). Conclusions It is evident that the editors of both Handbooks have done tremendous work to gather up-to-date schedules and other information and to improve the quality compared to the 2003 Editions and both have succeeded in this! Each of the Handbooks is useful for the DX-er. I need both for my broadcast DX-ing on shortwave, because they supplement each other. The details published in both Handbooks are at the same, very high accuracy level. It can hardly be better! But various kinds of information are still missing as indicated by my figures above. An important feature when searching for and identifying broadcast stations, is their complete frequency schedules, so that all parallel frequencies can be checked. The schedules are handily available and very complete in both handbooks. I also noted that both Handbooks still are weak on updated details on domestic SW broadcasting compared to international broadcasting. It will probably always be so, because the domestic broadcasting organisations are less coöperative in providing details than the international broadcasters. The SWFG is a Frequency List with SW schedules, but without any other details about the stations. The German editor, Joerg Klingenfuss, and his staff has put a lot of effort to make it as up-to-date as possible. It is in English. Its big advantage is that for each shortwave frequency you can read at what time it is used by various broadcasters and in which language. This is also possible in ``The Shortwave Guide`` published each summer by the WRTH, but is missing in its traditional Main edition at winter. Klingenfuss also sells the same broadcast and utility database on a CD-Rom called ``2004 Super Frequency List`` where you easily can search on a PC using Windows, for specific frequencies, countries, stations, languages or times. This very useful tool costs 25 Euro. I am afraid that the ordinary Broadcast DX-er does not have any use of the Utility pages, so I suggest again the book split up into two cheaper publications in the future. In contrary to the SWFG, the WRTH also contains LW, MW, FM and TV information. Besides the above mentioned improvement in information about shortwave stations, I also noted that all clandestine stations have been moved to a separate section called ``Clandestine and other Target Broadcasts`` placed after the International Broadcasts. Both Handbooks cover Clandestine stations well, but the list in the WRTH is the most complete. Another improvement in the WRTH is a highly needed cross reference system for broadcasters using foreign sites. It shall not be forgotten that the WRTH also contains tests of receivers and other useful articles in addition to the station information. Both books have articles about Digital Radio. Again this year, I can recommend serious DX-ers to buy this ``DX-ers Bible``! I have all Editions of the WRTH since 1961 in my collection and I am pleased to say that the 2004 Edition is the best! My congratulations to Publisher Nicholas Hardyman and his team. These were my conclusions and comments based upon the analysis of the details published on the 100 stations logged. Please also note that this was a comparison and not an ordinary review of each of the two publications (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 31 via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ITS RECEIVER, Part II (See TocobagaDX #70): This is the Dec. 29th reply from Brian Bradley, regarding my inquiry as to how the system 'knows' how to shut off when it has completed a cycle, and where/when they will expand to next Florida region: "Hi Terry, We greatly appreciate your feedback and we value you as an ITR customer. The ITR receives analog control signals and processes them via an algorithm, thereby enabling us to control each unit (i.e. shut them off and send alerts). We'll be expanding into Orlando first, hopefully in the first quarter of '04 and the remaining cities shortly afterwards. Again, thank you for your feedback. Please keep us posted on how we're doing by completing the short questionnaire on our website (see Contact Us page). Happy holidays. Best regards, Brian Bradley - President FDT - http://www.itrnow.com (Terry Krueger, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) ETON E1 XM/AM/FM/SHORTWAVE RADIO (a/k/a Grundig Satellit 900) Tony Simon points out this upcoming portable, which looks very interesting to say the least! See the link http://grundigradio.com/asp/3CESAwards.asp and click on the third photo to the right (Terry Krueger, FL, Tocobaga DX via DXLD) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hello Glenn. On behalf of the Ontario DX Association, I want to thank you for your work in providing the best DX information all year long. It is always beneficial to receive your reports and I hope you continue this great service. Have a safe and happy 2004 (Brian Smith - am740 @ rogers.com ODXA Chair - http://www.odxa.on.ca/ ) Hi Glenn, Happy New Year. Keep up the good work... and do please take that break Rich recommends... Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, ZL4PW, Host of The South Pacific DX Report) Dear Glenn: Within the last year I have gotten back into the hobby. Well now that DXPL is on WWCR, I listen to that Saturday nights and WOR right after. I am flattered that you have been quoting items from the Flash Sheet. Yes, my Icom is the R-8500 and the Drake is the R8. The Icom is more sensitive but the Drake is quieter for the tropical bands. I appreciate your attention to accuracy and detail. Also because of the decreasing number of DX targets on SW, I am also DXing MW so I like the MW tips as well. I'm glad you told us about Radio Maryja going off because I have been trying for them. Keep up the good work/service to the DX community. 73 (Sheryl Paszkiewicz, WI) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ KN4LF DAILY MF RADIO PROPAGATION OUTLOOK #2004-001 Published Friday 01/02/2004 At 2300 UTC, Valid 01/03-05/2004 http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf5.htm or http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Propagation If there is enough interest I can distribute the outlook via an eGroup or eList. 73 & Happy New Year, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###