DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-006, January 10, 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 1215: Sun 0130 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 0845 on Ozone Radio, Ireland, 6201v, time variable Sun 1100 on WRN1 to North America, webcast [ex-1500!]; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, webcast and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY Sun 1600 on IBC Radio, webcast Sun 2000 on Studio X, Momigno, 1584 Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast [last week`s 1214] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast, 5105 Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio 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 1215 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1215h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1215h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1215.html [soon] WORLD OF RADIO 1215 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1215.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1215.rm ** AFGHANISTAN [non?]. Signals from Afghanistan???? Hi DXers, I live in Enying city, Hungary. It's a little town near Lake Balaton. I received a Farsí(?) station on 9000 kHz. (Sunday Jan 4, ~14:45 UT). The signal is very weak and jammed. This is from Kabul??? Please, listen to this: http://edx.freeweb.hu/SW/9000KHZ.mp3 Receiver: Grundig Ocean Boy 500; ant: the receiver's telescopic aerial (Laszlo Tringer, Jan 5, dxing.info via DXLD) Hi Laszlo. I haven't heard Peace Radio for several weeks on 9000. Well, it might still be there, but during random checks, nothing heard here. I listened to your soundfile; the program style doesn't quite sound the same that used to be on Information Radio/Peace Radio. There is a possibility that what you heard was an IF image of your receiver and the program came from 9910. The formula is 9000 plus 2x455 = 9910. All India Radio is scheduled on 9910 in Pashtu to Afghanistan at the time of your logging. You can easily check this by listening both 9000 and 9910 and see if the programs are in parallel. I'll keep on checking 9000 randomly in hope that Peace Radio is again there. Best 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. Correction to HCJB B'03 rev sked posted on 29th Dec 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 0300-0330 - 15560 Urdu (Mon-Sat), Eng (Sun) 1330-1400 - 15405 Urdu (Mon-Sat), Eng (Sun) All other are daily transmissions (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS [and non]. MW Bandscan from Grand Bahama Island Let's start with a rundown of all the RADIO RELOJ [CUBA] signals heard while there: 570 Strong and in the clear -- audible both night and day 760 under WJR(!) and WQTM Orlando, but still clearly heard 790 under/over WAXY, S. Miami 830 under a Sp Religious station, WACC Hialeah (presumed) 860 mostly on top 870 mostly on top 930 mostly on top 960 in the clear Why did I do a RR bandscan? Why not! Hey, I'm a DXer, right? And here's a daytime bandscan of what's on MW in Freeport: 540 WFLA Pine Hills FL 560 WQAM Miami FL 570 R Reloj Cuba 610 WIOD Miami FL 620 R Rebelde Cuba 640 WJNA Boynton Beach FL 'unforgettable' mx (ex 1040?)* 670 WWFE Miami FL 690 R Progreso Cuba 710 WAQI Miami FL, with Cuba (Rebelde) underneath 740 WQTM(p) Orlando FL 790 WAXY(p) S Miami FL 810 ZNS3 Freeport, Bahamas 820 R Progreso Cuba 830 WACC(p) Hileah FL Spanish 850 WFTL W Palm Beach FL 940 WRFX Miami FL 980 WHSR Pompano Beach FL (Indian Programming) 1040 WLVJ Royal Palm Beach FL -- religious (ex 640?)* 1080 WVCG Coral Gables ethnic -- many mentions of Jamaica! 1140 WQBA(p) Miami with Spanish programming 1170 WAVS(p) Davie FL Latin Programming in English 1180 R Martí Marathon FL mostly over jamming 1210 WNMA(p) Miami Springs FL with Única programming 1240 WMMB Melbourne FL and 1240 ZNS2 Nassau, Bahamas -- pretty equal in strength 1320 WLQY(p) Hollywood FL French [Kriyol] 1360 WKAT(p) North Miami FL Opera/Classical 1420 ???? WBRD from Palmetto? but // 1360 1450 WOCN(p) Miami FL Spanish 1470 WWNN Pompano Beach FL English talk 1490 WMBM(p) Miami Beach FL Black Programming 1540 ZNS1 Nassau, Bahamas 1550 WAMA(p) Tampa FL Spanish 1620 WDHP St Croix USVI "The Reef" *the references I have show these two stations 'reversed' but I did get real IDs (but not LEGAL IDs....) out of both -- did they do a format/call swap, are they still in their respective communities -- I dunno! Anyone with current info on these guys? 96.1 "Cool 96" (none of the FM stations used call letters - just slogans) "Grand Bahamas' very own, Cool 96" with Island Music, smooth jazz, R&B and similar soft 'hip' music as well as news and financial talk interspersed thru the broadcast day. -- geared to the 35-55 demographic. I'd presume. 100.3 "100 Jams" with lots of local ads, Rap, hip-hop, and 'younger' stuff than on either other FM channels from Freeport. Geared for the 16-25 demo I'd assume. 102.1 "The Mix" with Steel Band, R&B, and similar stuff also from Freeport. Geared to the 25-40 demographic, I imagine These three stations must share a transmitting tower because there were mixing products EVERYWHERE -- made it hard to hear ANY FM DX stations with all the extraneous 'stuff' out there! The only other station I heard from Freeport was 104.5 ZNS "The Heart and Soul of the Bahamas" with Soul music, Xmas tunes with an Island flavour, and News and talk. This one is meant for us older types, as are the MW outlets in Nassau and Freeport, which simulcast this station after Midnight. The Air band -- VERY active, more so than at home even with lots of control traffic and beacons as noted: A scan at the hotel room 29/Dec 2130-2145 revealed the following active channels (except for I-ZFP which was heard only at the AP): 109.7 I-ZFP VOR-DME (NOT the listed 113.2 which showed nothing) heard at the AP 31/Dec 1905 119.275 Freeport AWOS with automated weather announcements 121.7 Freeport ZFP Ground Control 122.3 ATC - Freeport Radio FSS (and some ground control at ZFP) 126.5 Freeport ZFP Approach control 126.9 ATC - Miami FSS remote (VFR) 134.2 ATC - Miami Center Remote (IFR) Other scanner surfs revealed lots of two way traffic from buses and cabs in the range of 150-170 MHz -- especially busy frequencies noted were 151.995, 167.530, 162.630, and 162.595 all in NBFM. Housekeeping at the Island Seas Resort used WIDE BAND FM TV channel 8 for its communications. Very weird. 411.500 STL for ZNS3 (apparently) // to 810 heard throughout my stay, including 1340 on 20/Dec and 1936 [UT?] on 31/Dec The only other really active area above 30 Megs was the wireless phone band which apparently extends from 950 to 1100 MHz, with LOTS of discrete *WBFM* signals heard for the duration of a phone conversation popping up like targets in a 'whack a mole' game. NOBODY apparently uses landline phones, and the signals were in the clear, but using Wide band FM rather than NBFM. TV DX: TV: There is NO local TV in Freeport. Zip, nada, zilch. The cable system, however, has BBC, DW, two Canadian and all US networks, as well as things like Nick and Disney (my youngest was pleased). If you were into putting up a tall tower, you could probably do OK with Miami TV. (It's about 100 miles as the crow files) With the R-3 and it's little whip however, I 'saw' only the following (and only VERY intermittently): ch 4 WFOR, CBS from Miami VFA 1+53 at 0400 28/Dec (ex WCIX ch 6—which I've seen in MI) ch 6 WTVJ, NBC from Miami VFA 1+54 at 1645 28/Dec (ex channel 4 – there must have been a channel swap at some point in the last 13 years -- I saw WCIX CBS ch 6 in May of 1990 here in Williamston) ch 7 WSVN, Fox from Miami VFA 032+ at 2200 28/Dec ch 13 ZNS, from Nassau VFA 032 at 1650 28/Dec -- OTA audio was 1 second ahead of the cable feed to the hotel room. ZNS programmes LOTs more than is indicated in the 2000 WRTH I have -- I'll have to check a more recent issue the next DXpedition to see what they think the current situation is! Surprisingly enough, ZNS 13 was the LEAST reliable signal, and WPBT ch 2 (PBS from Miami) which I've seen in MI was not present (Ken Zichi, MARE via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6585.37 (presumed) Radio Nueva Esperanza, Jan 5, 0950- 1036, preacher, choral hymns, announcements, fair to good signal, not usually heard here (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9615, R. Cultura, 2200 with musical program. Man describing the titles of the songs prior to play. ID 2211 S5 33333, progressively lowering Jan 6th. On Jan 7th signal at 2200 was very low. On 8th the signal was available at 2045Z with SINPO 14231/S?. Deutsche Welle was on 2100-2200 QRMIng them till? But R Cultura seems after some time to sign off and be again on after 2203 with S9! level or 34333 with first Voz do Brasil till about 2210, then with their oldies musical program (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. MYANMAR/CLANDESTINE --- Another clandestine station heard this afternoon is the Democratic Voice of Burma with sign on 1429 UT noted on two frequencies: 17495 kHz from Talata Volonondry, Madagascar and 5905 kHz from Almaty, Kazakstan. Signal was a lot stronger from Kazakstan. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. More new CBC Radio programs http://www3.cbc.ca/sections/newsitem_redux.asp?ID=3246 RADIO NOMAD, WORDBEAT & THE IRRELEVANT SHOW DEBUT ON CBC RADIO ONE CBC Radio One is pleased to announce the addition of three new programs to its schedule. Starting Monday, Jan. 19 at 8:05 p.m. (8:35 p.m. NT), join CBC Radio One for RADIO NOMAD, a 25-minute thematic journey through music, short stories, anecdotes and drama-written and performed by award-winning author and playwright André Alexis. During its 13 week run, the program will highlight Alexis' superb writing, agile mind and engaging radio presence. In the first program, he explores the idea of restlessness, in a radio journey that includes Don Quixote, a ghost in Tuscany, and a cocktail party in the middle of the jungle. The music roams around too-from Mali to Australia, classical to country. At 8:30 p.m. (9 p.m. NT), Jan. 19, following RADIO NOMAD, join poet and host Lillian Allen for WORDBEAT, a program that showcases Canada's dynamic spoken word scene. Allen explores the ever evolving, and often surprising, realm of poetry that's written to be performed. How the poets present their work varies greatly; you'll hear slam, dub, hip- hop, sound, beat, electronic and improv poems. For the inaugural show, poet George Elliott Clarke provides a shorthand version of what he thinks the spoken word is all about. Listeners will also be introduced to Dr. Poetry (Robert Priest), WORDBEAT's resident practitioner, who intends to cure us all of our poetic ailments. The show will also feature performances by Canada's poetry icon Leonard Cohen, Calgary's Sheri-D Wilson and the host herself, Lillian Allen. For more information, go to http://www.cbc.ca/wordbeat Having already made its debut, Saturday, Jan. 3, THE IRRELEVANT SHOW holds court for the next eight Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. (12 p.m. NT). The comedy troupe that stormed out of Edmonton, and became a national hit on Definitely Not The Opera, returns to CBC Radio One with half- hours of sketch comedy taped in front of a live audience. You'll hear Darth Vader's job interview, the Matrix computer helpline and Salvation Army: Special Forces. THE IRRELEVANT SHOW is written and performed by veterans of Atomic Improv, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. The cast includes Paul Mather, Donovan Workun, Wes Borg, Jana O'Connor and Mark Meer. [CBC insists on rounding off the time for shows in this slot! Confirmed Jan 10 as REALLY starting at 11:35 am [1635 UT for EST zone feeds] with preceding program, GROOVESHINNY, lasting right up to 1635 --- gh] "These new shows are part of CBC Radio's commitment to continue to develop new programming and expand the range of perspectives we present to Canadians," said Jennifer McGuire, executive director of network programming for CBC Radio. "Program development is an important initiative to keep CBC Radio vibrant." For more information on CBC Radio programs, please visit http://www.cbc.ca/radioguide (via Ricky Leong, QC, DXLD) ** CANADA. Tune in to the Big Secret Theatre tonight through Saturday to watch an actual radio play performed. The unusual theatre event, a co-creation of One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre and CBC Radio, will be recorded live tonight in front of audiences at the opening of OYR's 18th annual High Performance Rodeo. It is scheduled for broadcast nationally on CBC's Sunday Showcase and Monday Night Playhouse drama slots, Feb. 1 and 2, respectively. . . http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=b23be0ca-bd47-4dcf-9e12-23a1a093d75f For information on High Performance Rodeo, go to http://www.oyr.org (Calgary Herald via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. Environment Canada News Release --- "ENVIRONMENT CANADA IMPROVING WEATHERADIO NETWORK TO ENHANCE DELIVERY OF WARNINGS TO THE PUBLIC" OTTAWA, January 7, 2004 - Environment Canada today announced the first step in the modernization of Environment Canada's Weatheradio Network. The major improvement to the Weatheradio network is the addition of the capability to broadcast Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and Specific Area Messaging Encoding (SAME) codes. This addition will permit future expansion to include a suite of non weather related public emergency warning messages such as child abduction emergency (Amber Alert), Boil Water alert or Civil emergency messages. * The goal is to work with federal, provincial and municipal agencies responsible for non weather emergency warnings to develop an all hazard warning system for Canadians. New Weatheradio receivers are capable of receiving both the audio signal and text warning messages. "In the future, Canadians will have access to one of the world`s most advanced responsive public weather warning systems," said the Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment. "We are building the foundation now to expand the suite of warning messages, and improve access to weather warnings to Canadians in all regions. This initiative will permit Environment Canada's Meteorological Service to expand the reach and functionality of the Weatheradio network, providing Canadians, who have purchased a Weatheradio, with an enhanced public warning system. In addition, this will allow compatibility with new public warning receiving devices such as the RCA Alert Guard* television which receives weather and other emergency warnings directly on their TV sets. "All of these improvements, as with all of the changes that have taken place at the Meteorological Service of Canada since 1871, are directed toward one goal: providing the best and most useful weather information possible to ensure the health, safety, economic security and quality of life of Canadians" said Minister Anderson. It is anticipated that the Weatheradio network conversion will begin in spring, 2004, and be completed prior to the end of the year. A special radio receiver is required in order to receive the Weatheradio signal. These radios are available in electronic stores across Canada. For further information, please contact: English: Mr. A. J. Chir Manager, Dissemination Networks Meteorological Service of Canada (416) 739-4369 French: Mr. Denis Paquette Client Services Meteorological Service of Canada (613) 990-7416 or visit: http://www.ec.gc.ca/media_e.htm (via Bill Westenhaver, QC, DXLD) French version suprimed by gh in our new austerity mode (gh) I hope this doesn't change anything for people who already own WeatherRadios or scanners with WeatherRadio reception (Ricky Leong, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CEUTA. 1584 Ceuta running amok --- You guys using Argo and other fine-detail frequency measurement software are going to have a ball on this one, at least if you're within range of it. Ceuta on nominal 1584 has been FM'ing like crazy the last couple of evenings. I'd love to see what this "wobbulation" looks like on a frequency-versus-time (waterfall) display (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, Jan 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CHINA. In addition to several shortwave channels, Jose has also heard these same broadcasts on mediumwave on the channels 1197 kHz, 1422 kHz & 1539 kHz. The fade in and fade out pattern would suggest a location somewhere in western China (AWR Wavescan Jan 11 via DXLD) Really?? I thought only heard on 1422, and it was pointed out the other two were registered and might be used (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. New 2004 schedule of China Huayi Broadcasting Company 2230-0000 and 1300-1700 4830 KHz 0000-1300 6185 KHz 2130-1900 FM 107.1 MHz, AM 783 KHz Except 0400-0830 cease broadcasting for transmitter checking every Wednesday. Anyone who sent out correct reception report will receive a QSL card of CHBC. Record accept, return postage required. My address is: Qiao Xiaoli Feng Jing Xin Cun 3-4-304 Changshu, Jiangsu 215500 P. R. China The Review of CHBC QSL verifications in the year of 2003 Total 36 reception report of CHBC received from over 9 countries in 2003. All these RRs had been replyed by standard QSL card/folder via airmail. The name list is as follows: Finland total 9 Jim Solatie, Jussi Suokas, Jari Korhonen, Mika Makelainen, Tor-Henrik Ekblom, Hakan Sundman, Reijo Alapiha, Jyrki Hytonen, Markus Salonen Sweden total 5 Gert Nilsson, Bjorn Fransson, Stefan Bjorn, Lars Skoglund, Roland Nogell Swiss total 1 Steffan Netherlands total 2 Max van Arnhem, Ge Huijbens USA total 2 Jerry Berg, Marlin Field Australia total 2 David Martin, Peter Goldfinch New Zealand total 1 Paul Ormandy Japan total 13 Juichi Yamada, Shin-ichi Shiraishi, Tanaka Akiyoshi, Tetsuya Toriumi, Koji Toyota, Hirokazu Mitsumoto, Masato Ishii, Masaru Sekimoto, Kazumasa Hasegawa, Satoshi Wakisaka, Mizuno Mitsuaki, Shigeki Morooka, Ogino from Kyoto India total 1 Jawahar Almeida If anyone on the list have not yet received your card, tell me through email 2883752@163.com and I'm very glad send out another card (via Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 2200.08, (tentative) HJMK Emisora Ideal (2 x 1100), Jan 5, 1011-1108, LA ballads and talk, mention of "... Planeta Rica..", consistent fair signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V- Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. AUMENTA EL CONTROL ESTATAL DE INTERNET El Nuevo Herald | 01/10/2004 | Associated Press, LA HABANA Cuba ha aumentado su control sobre la internet al prohibir el acceso a la red global a través del sistema telefónico estatal de bajo costo que la mayoría de los ciudadanos ordinarios tienen en sus casas, según una nueva ley anunciada ayer. La medida podría afectar a centenares o quizá incluso a millares de cubanos que acceden a la internet sin autorización desde sus casas, utilizando computadoras y cuentas de la red informática prestadas o adquiridas en el mercado negro por sumas que llegan a los $50 mensuales. La mayoría de los cubanos carecen de acceso autorizado a la red mundial. El decreto aprobado a fines del año pasado dispone que el servicio de internet, ya fuertemente controlado por el gobierno, sólo puede utilizarse con un servicio telefónico más caro, que se paga en dólares. El servicio telefónico en dólares está vedado a la mayoría de los cubanos. La resolución dice que se usarán medios técnicos para detectar e impedir el acceso a la internet desde las líneas telefónicas comunes. 73's (via Oscar de Céspedes, Conexión Digital vai DXLD) ** CUBA. 2380.00, (tentative), CMHT Radio Sancti Spíritus (2 x 1190), Jan 7, 0947-1130, music and talk all morning, 1130 mention of "...imperialista..." during vibraphone accompanied possible ID, weak signal with occasional fair peaks. QRM from a CW beacon "AE69" (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT- DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC English at 2030 coming in well on 9505 UT Jan 10, including DXers Unlimited at 2110 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Usually also on 11760, but not today (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Does anybody hear Martí on 1020 kHz again tonight? Thanks (Bill Whitacre, DC, IBB, Jan 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) Another test via Turks & Caicos? (gh, DXLD) Not hearing it here. Not yet, anyway (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) see also USA for SW spur ** CYPRUS [non]. Sonnet Radio SW tests end of month December`s SW test transmissions we're unfortunately cancelled during December due to our Telecoms Service Provider delaying the provisioning of our digital link circuits which are rewired [required?] to distribute our studio signal to the transmitter site. However, we have recently commissioned our new circuits and are currently testing both our fixed link and our web broadcast streams. You can listen to our test streams at http://www.shoutcast.com and type sonnet radio in the search box. Today's stream is running until 23:00 Hrs CET. We appreciate all feedback, especially regarding the reliability of our web stream which is currently running at 48kb/s mono. Our Shortwave tests are now being scheduled for the end of the month; our web site will be updated soon regarding the SW Tests. Many Thanks to all who send us feed back. Sonnet Radio Europe http://www.rtidigital.com (via Mike Terry, Jan 8, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** DENMARK. EARLY RADIO BROADCASTING IN DENMARK Just a little over a week ago, the shortwave service from Radio Denmark signed off for the last time. Their era of international broadcasting began with experimental transmitters at two different locations in Denmark, it spanned three quarters of a century, and then ended with the use of transmitters at two different locations in a neighbouring Scandinavian country. Our opening feature in Wavescan this week, and next week also, will honor the memory of Radio Denmark, and on this occasion, we look at the very early story of local radio broadcasting in Denmark. Actually, the first wireless stations in Denmark, fixed and mobile, were installed in several regional areas throughout their country in the era just before the commencement of World War 1. The fixed spark wireless stations were installed in Copenhagen and in half a dozen country locations and were on the air for maritime and national communication. The mobile stations were installed on ships and were established for maritime communication and to act as navigational beacons for nearby shipping. The original callsigns for these early wireless station were single or double letters, usually an easy to understand abbreviation for the location of the station. When callsigns were regularized, these were allocated in a three letter sequence beginning with OXA. The first experimental radio broadcast in Denmark took place on October 29, 1922, more than 80 years ago. On this special occasion, the program was broadcast from a communication transmitter on board a ship in the harbor at Copenhagen and the receiver was installed in a lecture hall in downtown Copenhagen. From this single and simple event has grown the entire broadcasting industry in Denmark which is on the air now from more than 100 local transmitters. These government and commercial stations are on the air almost entirely in the FM band. However, there are still two units on the air in the standard mediumwave and longwave bands and these can be heard on 243 kHz with 300 kW and on 1062 kHz with 250 kW for nationwide coverage and spill-over coverage into neighbouring countries. During the following year after the inaugural single event transmission, two radio transmitters took to the air with radio programming. One was a radio station operated by a local radio club and the other was a military transmitter that was diverted part time for broadcast usage. As was stated at the time, these two stations provided listeners with public information and music concerts. Two years later again, the Danish government took over all radio broadcasting throughout their country and this was organised as the Danish state broadcasting service. The inaugural date was April 1, 1925. When callsigns were regularized, the identification for the main station in Copenhagen was OXQ, with a similar range of callsigns for the network relay stations in country areas. In the early era, these stations were on the air in the lower end of the mediumwave band and also in what has become the European longwave band. During the war, radio programming was under the Ministry of Education and the technical facilities were under the control of the Department of Public Works. As far as QSL cards are concerned in the early years, the radio station in Denmark was quite reliable in responding to reception reports from listeners. Even though the power output of their stations was quite low, they were heard at times at great distances throughout Europe and even in North America. These days, these old QSL cards are valued collector`s items. That was Part 1 in our two part series honoring the long history of radio broadcasting in Denmark and in our program next week you will hear the story of shortwave broadcasting in Denmark (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Jan 11 via DXLD) Not that early, but see our 1958 map QSL from DENMARK at http://www.worldofradio.com/QSL.html ** ECUADOR. 2299.84, (presumed), La Voz de Riobamba (2 x 1150), Jan 9, 1012-1032, Andean vocals, announcer between songs, weak signal. 3449.76, (presumed), La Voz de Riobamba (3 x 1150), Jan 7, 0957, Andean vocals and instrumentals, weak signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 11790, 03/01 2215, R. Cairo, sinal S9+30 (+-10db local), heterodino, "iniciaremos com música oriental, depois noticiario, depois musica arabe, conversa com ouvintes ...", ótima modulaçao, locutor com voz abafada (!), "programa habitual Egito na Internet todos os sábados", interferência de -5 Khz" 54444 (Sarmento F. Campos, Maricá, aproximadamente 70 km Rio de Janeiro, próximo a praia, Receptor: Icom R75, Antena: fio longwire de 30 metros, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** EUROPE. A message from Dario Monferini regarding the next Radio Cupid Europirate broadcast: Sunday January 18th at 1400 GMT on 21890 kHz with 50 watts. The address: PO Box 9, 8096 ZG, Oldebroek, The Netherlands. E Mail: cupidradio @ hotmail.com (Joe Talbot, VA6JWT, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 21895v khz, Cupido Radio, 1346-1520, 4 Enero, transmisión con antenas dirigidas a Sudamérica y luego hacia Norteamérica de acuerdo a un e- mail de la emisora. SINPO: 24433. (George Maroti, NY, USA, en SW- Pirates via Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** FRANCE. FRANCE INFO EN ANTARCTIQUE PARIS (AP) -- France Info, en partenariat avec l'Institut Polaire Français, part la découverte de l'Antarctique, ce continent de 14 millions de kilometres carrés recouvert de glace au climat le plus rude du globe (entre 30 et 50 degris-C l'iti et jusqu'au moins 90 dégrès-C l'hiver). Durant six semaines, du lundi 29 décembre au mardi 10 février, Sebastien Paour décrira son expedition vers Concordia, la station scientifique permanente franco-italienne sur le site du Dome- C, isolée au milieu du continent antarctique. Tous les jours, l'envoyé special de la radio racontera dans la chronique "Lettres de ConcordiaFrance Info en Antarctique" la vie en Antarctique (12h08, 17h49, 00h42). (AP Jan 5 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) So 1108, 1649, 2342 UT ** GERMANY. Frequency change of Bible Voice Broadcasting Network via JUL 100 kW / 090 deg: 1530-1600 Mon/Wed-Sat English SoAs NF 12005, ex 9705 1530-1615 Tue Urdu SoAs NF 12005# ex 9705 1530-1600 Sun Hindi SoAs NF 12005, ex 9705 # from 1600 totally blocked by RTTunisia in Arabic!! (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) XERMX lucks out ** GERMANY. Bernd sent me this interesting to read website tip. See the website of US General Consulate in Munich, see the picture of the contract signing procedure about IBB Holzkirchen closure, and click on the right, the down-most item about IBB Holzkirchen description, and radiating map / transmitter table. In past months the location used only one 250 kW unit with full power, most likely the RFA outlets in Tibetan language at 23-00 UT on 9875, 1-3 UT on 9670, and 12-14 UT on 15185 kHz. The remaining bc hours the transmitters were used with reduced power of 150 kW ONLY. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: IBB Deutschland --- übrigens, das US Konsulat in München hat ein PDF zu Holzkirchen ins Netz gestellt: http://www.usembassy.de/consular/munchen/right.htm (Bernd Trutenau, Jan 9 via Büschel, DXLD) ** GREECE. Frequency changes for ERT effective from Dec. 21: ERA-5 INTERPROGRAMM 1900-2000 Polish/English NF 5865, ex 12105 VOICE OF GREECE 2000-2100 Greek NF 5865, ex 12105 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** GUINEA. 7125.0, RTV Guinéenne, 0559-0630, Jan 10, French/Dialects, 0559 Tune in to interval signal; 0600 Sign on with ID; 0601-0607 Male announcer chanting and singing in dialect; 0607-0630 good selections of West African music. Signal was booming in fairly well! Fair (John Beattie, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. RELIGION FOR ADULTS. RE: |Can you think of one program on domestic North American radio that offers intelligent, dispassionate discussion about religion and spirituality? I can`t. from DXLD 4-004, January 6, 2004| It's more a musical than a discussion program, but I would also recommend "Sound and Spirit", produced by WGBH and broadcast in eastern Iowa by KSUI Iowa City at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The weekly hour long program takes a particular theme and looks at it as it relates to myths and spirituality around the world, including a lot of short musical snips. They have a website at http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/pri/spirit/ (Don Moore, Davenport, Iowa, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was going to mention this one, myself. Public Radio Fan page with all the webcasters, ooops, excuse me, Dave; http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=47 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A program called "The Secular Bible Study" airs weekly on WBCQ. The host presents a balanced and insightful discussion of the interpretation of biblical works from a scholarly viewpoint. He examines biblical stories from the historical and cultural perspective and cites many sources. The show is consistently well produced and always very interesting. The host makes it a point to state that it's not a "religious" show and that no requests for donations will be made. "The Secular Bible Study" runs on WBCQ 7415 from 9 to 10 ET (Tuesday 0200-0300 UT). Regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. Waking up! Hi Glen[n]: I see in your Jan 8, 2004 DX Digest about the NAB freaking out concerning XM and Sirius satellite now moving to become a local broadcasting outlet DIRECTLY competing with AM and FM radio stations. I wondered how long it would take before the idiots that own AM and FM stations realized that they they're hanging (Idiots) themselves by allowing the promotion of XM and Sirius over their radio stations (Idiots)! ONLY A FOOL WOULD ALLOW A COMPETING MEDIA TO BE PROMOTED OVER THEIR FACILITIES! WWRB does NOT allow the PROMOTION of webcasting over our facilities!!! I WONDER how long the IMBECILES / IDIOTS that manage the other shortwave stations here in the USA wake up and follow suit! We REGULARLY get client's request for airtime wanting to get on our station in a veiled attempt to promote their webcasting outlet! They call WWRB wanting to stay only three months to PUSH their web casting outlets, then leave! We cheerfully turn them away! Who needs that type of client! A FOOL WOULD ALLOW THE PROMOTION OF A COMPETING MEDIA OUTLET OVER THEIR FACILITIES! Thanks for letting me rant!!!! (Dave Frantz, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Andy Sennitt comments: Local stations in the US are just that: local. An individual driving several hundred miles to an important business meeting just might welcome the chance to receive updates on traffic conditions at his/her destination long before the signals of the local broadcasters fade in - and he/she will not necessarily know what frequency to tune to. The national radio networks in Europe carry traffic news just as the local stations do, and nobody complains. Who, apart from the NAB, believes that national broadcasters do not have the right to carry information that their customers - after all, XM is a subscription service - want and need? # posted by Andy @ 11:31 UT Jan (Media Network blog via DXLD) More on XM/Sirius plans to offer local weather and traffic: http://www.mediareform.net/news.php?id=2203 NAB reacts to XM/Sirius plans (gotta defend those local oligopolies!): http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/statements/S0104.htm (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. XM now has 1.3 subscribers (guess that "niche" market is growing!) and: XM and Sirius to offer regional traffic/weather: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=4389 Sirius tops 260,000 subscribers: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=4385 XM and Sirius demo satellite TV for auto/mobile applications: http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7655517.htm (via Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. AVAST YE SCURVY RADIO LISTENERS AN HISTORICAL pirate radio ship has made a homecoming to Lowestoft, and the owners say her future is looking bright. The MV Communicator has had a long past as a radio ship. Between 1984 and 1987, Laser 558 and Laser Hot Hits broadcast to the UK and Europe, peaking with an audience of 10 million. Since 1987 the ship has changed hands many times, with 'ethical' radio group The Super Station acquiring her in 2002. The ship returned to Lowestoft on December 20 and the Super Station say the ship is to play a crucial part in their plans to create a new genre of radio station in 2004. The ship was docked in Ijmuiden in Holland where the necessary repairs were carried out for her to make the journey back over the North Sea to Lowestoft. The owners say they aim to complete the restoration work back in the UK to ensure high quality is maintained. The Super Station's managing director Dave Miller said: "I am passionate about the Communicator and about my vision for radio in the 21st century. I can't reveal any more details about the project at this stage, but can say that what we want to do with the ship is going to be innovative, exciting and fresh." (Advertiser Online [UK] Jan 10 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAN. Frequency change for VOIROI/IRIB in Malay: 1230-1327 NF 15275 (former in Italian), ex 15585 to avoid REE in Spanish \\ 15200 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** IRAN. The Voice of Justice from Tehran, an English-language broadcast "for people around the world, especially Americans" is heard online 1:30-2:30 UT at pnm://62.220.119.84/live/live.rm and 11:30- 12.30 UT at http://www.irib.ir/live/wsl.ram The weekly archive is availabLe at http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/englishRADIO/default.htm (The second part of the 10:30 audio clip). (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. FOR MANY IRAQIS, U.S.-BACKED TV ECHOES THE VOICE OF ITS SPONSOR --- Station Staffers Acknowledge Their Reluctance to Criticize By Alan Sipress Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, January 8, 2004; Page A15 BAGHDAD -- . . .Nine months after U.S. forces closed Iraq's state- run television stations and subsequently launched the new channel with promises of a democratic dawn for the country's news media, the Pentagon-sponsored station has not won the trust of many Iraqis. By seeking to cast the U.S. occupation in the most favorable light, al- Iraqiya may actually be losing the war for viewers' hearts and minds. "Al-Iraqiya is failing," said Jaafar Saddiq, assistant dean at Baghdad's College of Media. "It's technically backward. Its message is not convincing. It can't compete with other stations." . . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63166-2004Jan7?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) IRAQ/UNITED STATES: HARRIS WINS CONTRACT TO DEVELOP IRAQI MEDIA NETWORK | Text of press release from Florida-based Harris Corporation on 9 January Harris Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a one- year, 96 million US dollar contract by The Defense Contracting Command-Washington (DCC-W), on behalf of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) currently governing Iraq, for developing an existing but antiquated media network into a modern media organization for the Iraqi people. The Iraqi Media Network (IMN) programme includes equipment, operation, training, and provisioning of programming for national radio and television networks and a national newspaper with operating locations in Baghdad and more than 30 other locations throughout the country. Two additional six-month contract options could increase the total value of the program to nearly 165 million dollars. "We are extremely pleased to be selected to play this role in the rebuilding of Iraq's critical broadcast and media infrastructure," said Howard Lance, chairman, president, and CEO of Harris Corporation. "We created a focused organization to support reconstruction efforts in Iraq and to apply the unique capabilities that Harris has to offer in both commercial and government communications systems. The extensive experience of our Broadcast Communications Division on international projects, combined with the large integration programmes expertise of our Government Communications Systems Division, will ensure the success of this initiative. The free flow of information is crucial to any modern society, and we are committed to making this ambitious goal a reality." The goal of the IMN contract is to create from the existing organization a first class, integrated media network that will include two national radio channels, two national television channels, and a national newspaper, "Al Sabah." Harris will lead this project and provide all of the necessary transmitters, integration and automation broadcast equipment with support from two very important local teammates: The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), a premier Middle Eastern media network, and Al Fawares, a Kuwaiti company with Iraqi ownership. LBCI is responsible for training and content programming for the two radio channels and two television channels one for news and one for entertainment. All four channels will be terrestrial and the all-news television channel will additionally be available by satellite. Al Fawares will assist in expanding the newspaper into national status based on the company's experience with Al Watan in Kuwait, and also will provide security, logistics and construction services. Harris Corporation created an Iraq Initiatives Office in July 2003 headed by Managing Director Youssef (Joe) Sleiman. The initiative leveraged the products, capabilities, and resources of the company's five communications businesses to address opportunities related to the rebuilding of Iraq. "The IMN program is an incredible opportunity to create something of lasting value for the Iraqi people," said Sleiman. "We are so very pleased to be part of this historic effort." Source: Harris Corporation, Melbourne, Florida, in English 9 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) HARRIS IRAQ CONTRACT MAY BE IN TROUBLE ALREADY Less than 24 hours after Harris Corporation announced that it had won a lucrative contract to rebuild the technical infrastructure of the Iraqi media, doubts have emerged about whether it will go ahead. The Iraqi Communications Minister, Haider Abadi, told reporters he might not honour the contract because he was not consulted about the award beforehand. He fears giving too much control to the American government and media. Harris executives remain upbeat. Howard Lance, who serves as the company's Chairman, President and Chief Executive, says that "After the network is set up, it is not expected to be propaganda media outlets for the coalition, but one run by the Iraqi people to deal with local issues and interests." Lebanese broadcaster LBCI will be responsible for training and programme content for the two radio channels and two television channels --- one for news and one for entertainment. All four channels will be terrestrial and the all-news television channel also will be available by satellite (Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog Jan 10 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re 4-003, Hillel transmitter site: ``That location also had two shortwave transmitters: 100 kW Thomson from 1959 (11585 kHz) and 500 kW from Telefunken from 1983. Only the 500 kW transmitter is being retained; everything else in the station is being scrapped.`` Whops, first mention of this Telefunken transmitter. So far only the also mentioned Thomson and some lower powered gear was known to exist there. The 531 mediumwave outlet also involved in this story originates from Yavne, the remaining IBA shortwave site south from Tel Aviv, apparently the "mast 360 (250)" shown on this map: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/gaza_tpc92.jpg (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Re NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1215: Sat 0000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy, 1584, 1566 Hi Glenn, 1566 has never been regularly active, only some days two years ago for some tests (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION ROLLOUT ON HOLD | Text of press release in English by Digital TV Group on 5 January According to reports in the Korea Times, the scheduled expansion of digital terrestrial television broadcasting to the provincial cities of Pusan, Taegu, Kwangju, Taejon and Ulsan has been put on hold indefinitely amid continuing disputes between broadcasters and government over DTT transmission standards. Under the Ministry of Information and Communication's (MIC) initial plans, local broadcasters were supposed to extend digital terrestrial services to the five provincial cities by the end of 2003, but following a plea from the heads of local terrestrial broadcasters KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS to delay the expansion of digital TV services based on the US ATSC standard, a Cabinet meeting called a halt to the provincial deployment. South Korea opted for ATSC in 1997 and pushed for the commercial launch of digital broadcasting in Seoul in 2001, after which services were expanded to the surrounding Kyonggi Province a year later. The Korean government has been keen to maintain the US standard, citing the system's superiority in transmission and compression technologies, as well as the cost of a potential switch to the European DVB-T standard, mainly due to over a million 'legacy' set-top boxes already sold to the Korean public. However, Ryu Pil-gae, Director General of the MIC's radio and broadcasting bureau, said that the ministry would search for the best way to improve the quality of mobile reception, one of the shortcomings of the US system, and allow the broadcasters to carry out field tests to compare the two alternative transmission standards. He also expressed his hope that broadcasters would launch digital services as soon as possible. Source: Digital TV Group in English 5 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEKTT on 580 now??? Still on 560 when I returned from my business trip last night. 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, Jan 9, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. Re 4-005: The Voice of Mongolia was planning to move from the 12 MHz band to a 9 MHz frequency and registered 9615 with the HFCC for the B03 season. But the change was not implemented, apparently to avoid QRM from Chinese stations on 9610. The footnote in WRTH-04 says: "Alternative frequency for the transmissions on 9615 kHz: 12015 or 12085 kHz". (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEPAL. RADIO POLITICS: HAM RADIO IN NEPAL Some bad news about ham radio in Nepal. Charles Harpole, K4VUD, says that his efforts, along with those of 9N1AA, to expand ham radio in that nation and to establish a memorial club station for the late Father Marshall Moran, 9N1MM, are on an indefinite hold. This, due to the disturbed social and political conditions there. Harpole says that all radios and other gear that was donated some years ago have been distributed to the currently licensed native 9 N hams. Harpole says that the gear will come back to a club station someday. Harpole asks that everyone bear with this situation and extend understanding (OPDX via ARNewsline(tm) via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** NIUE. A CALL FOR HELP FROM SOUTH PACIFIC --- OAK HILLS HAM OPERATOR COMMUNICATES WITH ISLAND'S STORM SURVIVORS By EMILY BERG/Staff Writer Wednesday, January 7, 2004 http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1073499379,43275, More than 1,300 miles northeast of New Zealand, the tiny South Pacific island of Niue is about as remote as you can get. On Monday, a storm tore through the island, leaving two people missing, injuring three others and destroying five or six buildings. The storm also knocked out communication links to the outside world, leaving the people of Niue with no way to call for help. Halfway around the world in Oak Hills [California], Steve McCully was talking with friends overseas on his ham radio when he picked up a call for help from Niue on Tuesday morning. In an instant, McCully became the only link to the outside world for the Island of Niue and its 2,000 residents. Even the government of New Zealand was unaware that Niue had been ravaged. "It's a major disaster," McCully said. "They figure they will be without food and water for seven days." The New Zealand government knew the storm was heading toward the South Pacific island but didn't know if it had hit the 160-square-mile island Monday night, McCully said. McCully called New Zealand Consul General Darryl Dunn in Los Angeles and patched him through via telephone and amateur radio to the Niue chief of police. New Zealand, which has a close relationship with the independent Niue government, is sending a plane and a ship to aid the islanders. The only information the New Zealand government had on the disaster came from McCully, Dunn said. There is supposed to be a satellite phone on the island for such emergencies, but it apparently wasn't working, the consul general said. It is currently the hot, cyclone season in the South Pacific, Dunn said. "We're very grateful to Steve for picking up the message, then doing the right thing and getting in touch with us," he said. By early afternoon McCully had lost the connection with Niue, but a Hawaiian station had picked it up, McCully said. McCully appreciated the New Zealand consulate's response. "He took it seriously and got right on the phone," McCully said. Niue is one of the largest coral islands in the world. (via radiointel.com via DXLD) So what are the Niue and McCully`s callsigns, and WTFK??? ** NORWAY [and non]. Below the answer of the last mystery about the NRK ghost transmission on January 1st local time. This reminds me on the closure of Radioropa three years ago. Actually the station was supposed to leave the air at 2300 UT on December 31 2000, but after a talk bed meant to play until the bitter end just the automated music program started again. The longwave transmitter at Burg finally went off at 2310 as it was programmed (2310 was the usual sign-off time on 261), but via satellite the ghost program continued until the late morning when the station technician finally stalled the automation after tuning in to make sure that the station had left the air, only to find that it had not. At least Deutsche Telekom was aware of the closure; the longwave transmitter did not come on again at 0500... We know the background of this non-closure in fact from Lars Eichhorn, the very last announcer. He heard the report about it on ROI, indeed got in touch with them and was consequently interviewed by Wolf Harranth in the next Intermedia show (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I've now got the explanation of that mysterious last transmission from NRK at 2300-2330 UT on New Years Eve. It came from the Dalet playout server, just like the Special program at 19, 20,21 and 22 hours. But since NRK regarded 2200 UT as their final broadcast, no show was scheduled for 2300. Therefore the Dalet unit played out a default- valued file, which is normally the last recording made at 1730 local time of Dagsnytt (the halfhour news/current affairs program, which was used for evening and night feed on weekdays). Only the difference was that the last 1730 automatic recording off P1 was from New Years Eve, where the program was not a weekday-schedule. So the recording ending up as a default file in Dalet, was the second half of a travelling-tip program originally aired on P1 that evening at 1703-1800 local time! (Bernt Erfjord, DX News, Norway, via Ludwig, DXLD) Maybe it was time to go, since no one was minding the store, anyway. BTW, I`m uploading some FEATURED QSLs FROM THE WILLIAM GLENN HAUSER COLLEXION, including, in memoriam, R. Denmark and R. Norway from 34 to 45 years ago, at http://www.worldofradio.com/QSL.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. RADIO STATION CLOSED DOWN | Text of report by Papua New Guinea newspaper The National web site on 7 January Radio West New Britain is off-air indefinitely. PNG Power disconnected electricity supply to the studio, office complex and the transmitter on Monday. NBC West New Britain acting director Darius Gilime said electricity was cut because of non-payment of bills. The province has a radio audience of about 184,000 people. The station owes PNG Power K24,000 in electricity bills, calculated from April to Dec 2003. Mr Gilime said the radio station's existence is dependent on the annual provincial budget allocations. Of the K58.3 million budgeted for the province last year, the radio station's operational budget allocation was K100,000. However, only K35,000 was released during the first and second quarters of 2003. The remaining K65,000 has not been released. [1 PNG Kina = 0.30 US dollars] Source: The National web site, Port Moresby, in English 7 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PERU. Hi Glenn, Radio Victoria from Lima, Peru heard this morning 0750 UT with religious program in Portuguese on 6020.25 kHz. Reception was fair. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Most likely Voz de la Liberación, in Portuñol, Spanish program with an extreme Brazilian accent (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. 4746.83, Radio Huanta 2000, Jan 5, 0938, nice Andean group vocal, announcer with quick "...en Huanta..." ID in passing over song. Very good signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Frequency change of FEBC Radio International in Thai/Hmong/Lao/Mien/Khmu, 1030-1400 NF 12060, ex 12095 to avoid BBC WS in English (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Frequency changes for RDP International / Radio Portugal in Portuguese effective Dec. 23: 0800-1055 Sat/Sun NF 17710 LIS 100 kW / 215 deg to SoAm, ex 21655 2000-2355 Daily @ NF 12040 LIS 100 kW / 052 deg to WeEu, ex 11860 @ for special transmission (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. According to a message in the German drm-dx mailing list, the DRM transmissions of the Voice of Russia (from Taldom near Moscow) will move from 15780 to 9490 on 12 January. This was announced by VOR in the DRM text on 15780 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO [non]. About Radio Serbia-Montenegro on 11835: 1330-1358 English Mon-Fri ::::: strong co-ch BBC Burmese 1330-1528 Serbian Sat/Sun ::::: totally blocked by R. Free Iraq Arabic from 1400 1400-1528 Serbian Mon-Fri ::::: totally blocked by R. Free Iraq Arabic 1530-1558 Arabic* Daily ::::: totally blocked by R. Free Iraq Arabic * 11835 is new frequency for Arabic, ex registered 11800! (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) I received a QSL today from Radio Yugoslavia for a reception report sent last January. When I went to update my records, the database showed that I had received the same QSL a couple of months ago. I was wondering how that could be, but when I filed the new QSL, I saw the earlier one. They were both the same, except for the name of the radio station. The first one received was from RSCG - Radio Srbija I Crna Gora. The latest one is from Radio Yugoslavia. They are both for the same report. Neither lists the transmitter site for the 6100 kHz transmitter, which appears to be Bosnia AFAIK. The cards are each labeled "Listener's Club" and feature the world listening to a map of Serbia while wearing a single eared headphone. Ah, the mysteries of QSL collecting (Dan Srebnick - Aberdeen, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. FEBA Radio B'03 schedule changes wef 2nd Jan 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0130-0200 smtwtfs TELUGU 7365 ERV (ex 11890) 0130-0200 smtwtfs TELUGU 9515 DHA (added) 0200-0215 smtwtfs PASHTO 7220 DHA (ex 11995) 0215-0245 smtwtfs DARI 7220 DHA (ex 11995) 0245-0300 smtwtfs HAZARAGI 7220 DHA (ex 11995) (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. U S A (non): New schedule for Brother Stair/TOM via DTK T-Systems effective Jan. 5, 2004, all Jülich 100 kW: 0400-0500 9770 240 deg to New Zealand 1100-1200 6100 140 deg to Italy, Albania 9485 020 deg to Scandinavia 9610 145 deg to Ukranine, Romania, Bulgaria 11950 220 deg to Spain, Portugal, France 13820 030 deg to Russia, Poland 15235 090 deg to Israel, Saudi Arabia 17485 145 deg to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda 17735 100 deg to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afganistan 21720 175 deg to Tunisia, Libya, Congo, Nigeria 1300-1600 6110 non-dir to United Kingdom, Germany 13810 115 deg to Middle East, Russia 1400-1600 21590 260 deg to South America 2000-2100 9755 160 deg to South Africa 2200-2300 5905 200 deg to North West Africa ::::: co-ch VOA Ch 5985 072 deg to Western China ::::: co-ch WYFR Sp 6045 320 deg to North America West ::::: co-ch RCI En 6055 305 deg to North America East 6175 050 deg to China, Mongolia 7105 280 deg to South America North 7145 265 deg to Central America ::::: co-ch BBC En 9435 090 deg to South Asia ::::: co-ch R.Prague Cz/En 9480 230 deg to South America South 9490 080 deg to East Asia 9695 190 deg to West Africa 9730 075 deg to South East Asia (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. EL DOMINGO SE ACTIVA EL CANAL AER --- La AER activará el Canal AER el 11.01.2004 UTC (domingo) a las siguientes horas: 1ª emisión 1900-2000 UT 2ª emisión 2000-2100 UT 3ª emisión 2100-2200 UT El contenido de cada emisión será: - Conjunto 1 de identificaciones de emisoras internacionales desaparecidas de carácter no oficial, gracias a Henrik Klemetz: A Voz da Liberdade (antifascista protuguesa), Radio España Independiente (antifranquista conocida como Estación Pirenáica), Radio Sahara (estación del Gobierno español en el Sahara colonizado) Radio Sahara Libre (primeras emisiones del POLISARIO, origen de lo que luego sería la emisora oficial de la RASD) - Historia de Radio Exterior de España - especial 50 aniversario - (30 minutos). - Reemisión del espacio producido por AER Aventura DX nº 4, en español, (6 minutos) - Conjunto 2 de identificaciones de emisoras de radiopaises de difícil o imposible escucha en la OC: Radia Andorra en catalán Radio Gibraltar en inglés Estonian Radio en inglés Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation en inglés Radio Minsk en inglés Radio Moldova International en español Radio San Marino en italiano RTE Radio 1 en inglés (Irlanda) BBC Radio Guernsey en inglés (Islas del Canal) El formato de emisión será MP3 a 24 Kbps mono y la dirección prevista para la escucha es http://diexismo.no-ip.com:8000/listen.pls además, la dirección prevista de la emisión (historial, escucha, etc.) es http://diexismo.no-ip.com:8000/index.html Recuerda que los programas aconsejados para la escucha de esta emisión son Winamp o RealOne Los informes de recepción correctos, enviados a coordinador@a..., que contengan, al menos, los siguientes datos, serán confirmados con QSL virtual: Nombre y apellidos País Fecha y hora UTC (mínimo 10 minutos) Programa usado (Real, Winamp, etc.) Calidad de la emisión (cortes, sonido, ruido, etc.) Acceso a internet (ADSL, cable, modem) Detalles de la emisión (se puede mandar un fichero de audio comprimido (MP3, RAM, etc.) -------------------------------------------------- (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, COORDINADOR GENERAL, AER http://www.aer-dx.org Noticias DX via DXLD) ** SUDAN. Radio Omdurman in Arabic again noted on SW: 1300-1800 on traditional 7200. No signal on 15170, only R. Sawa Arabic 1500-1700 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Power limit for Beromünster transmitter The Luzern canton rejected an application by SRG for continued operation of the Beromünster transmitter with 600 kW despite measured fieldstrengths in nearby residential buildings exceeding the permitted limit (measured 12.73 V/m, permitted 8.5 V/m). The canton ordered that the transmitter can operate until 2008 with 250 kW. By January 1st 2009 the transmitter has to be "sanitated". Of course there is not much to "sanitate" on a mediumwave transmitter, so this legal term means in practice that a certain power limit will come into force by then. The discussion in the order of the canton indicates that this power limit could be as low as 25 kW. The order can be found at http://www.umwelt-luzern.ch/index/neues/medienmitteilungen/medienmitteilung_19.htm Completely aside from this matter, Beromünster at present runs only 180 kW on 531 due to damage caused by lightning months ago. No other frequencies are on air there anymore; the 1566 operation for the commercial station Radio Eviva ceased years ago. Even earlier the shortwave transmissions from Beromünster were discontinued --- for my knowledge (but others should know better and perhaps may tell) the last thing that went out from Beromünster on shortwave were the Red Cross transmissions on 7210 until they were redirected to 6165 (Lenk) around 1994. As reported the shortwave transmitters were sold to North Korea where at least one of them is now indeed on air (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And doing such good work for the world ** TAIWAN [non]. FRANCE: Freq/time change for Radio Taiwan International in French via ISS 250 kW / 190 deg: 2100-2200 NF 9345 (54544), over Kol Israel in Hebrew, ex 2200-2300 on 7315 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** TIBET. Tibet Peoples Broadcasting Station is heard in India with English programming from 1100 to 1130 UT on three shortwave channels: 4920, 6110 and 9490 kHz (Jose Jacob, AWR Wavescan Jan 11 via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. The QRM to RUI on 5905 kHz is back, 0055 UT January 10. QRM is making RUI useless. 73, (Kraig Krist, Annandale, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. A new season of Just A Minute on BBC Radio 4 started on January 5, 2004. You can hear it at least 48 kbps using on-demand or wait three months and hear on BBCWS at a time they tell you in audio quality only a DX'er would enjoy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/justaminute.shtml You can also listen to on BBC Radio 4 at the following times Just a Minute 1830-1900, Monday 1200-1230, Sunday http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ 73 (Larry Nebron, CA, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC SUSPENDS TALK SHOW AFTER HOST WRITES NEWSPAPER COLUMN CONDEMNED AS ANTI-ARAB --- The Associated Press 1/9/04 5:07 PM LONDON (AP) -- The British Broadcasting Corp. pulled a long-running daytime talk show off the air Friday after its host wrote a newspaper column calling Arabs "suicide bombers, limb amputators, women repressors." . . . http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0734_BC_Britain-TalkShow&&news&newsflash-internationa (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. 15080, R. Martí and The VOA, 1815, Jan 10, Fairly strong as mixing products go, with s8 signal. Audio from both R Martí on 15330 and VOA on 15580 present on 15080. 250 kHz offset. I do not know where the transmitter site is located (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per current IBB sked, both Greenville at that hour, 15330 until 2000. When it resumes at 2200 it`s from Delano (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. AWR OVERALL OUTPUT REDUCED, REMAINING SCHEDULE TO SOUTH ASIA On 1 January 2004, Adventist World Radio sharply reduced its international output, mostly by cancelling morning transmissions and second frequencies. While the overall output of AWR's own short wave station KSDA was cut by some three and a half transmitter hours by reducing transmissions to single frequencies, Merlin Communications and T-Systems lost more than 20 hours of leased airtime daily: Al Dhabbaya eight hours, Meyerton four hours daily, Moosbrunn five hours daily, Julich three hours, Taiwan one hour. Broadcasts in Malagasy via the Radio Netherlands station on Madagascar and in Spanish via Radio Netherlands in Bonaire remained unchanged. The remaining schedule to the Indian subcontinent is as follows: DHA-1 1200-1230 English NE-India, Bangladesh 15135 250 85 DHA-1 1230-1300 Bengali NE-India, Bangladesh 15135 250 85 DHA-2 1500-1530 Nepali Nepal 15225 250 75 DHA-2 1530-1600 English Nepal, Tibet 15225 250 75 DHA-3 1500-1530 Panjabi N-India 15215 250 75 DHA-3 1530-1600 Hindi N-India 15215 250 75 KSDA-1 1500-1530 Tamil S-India 11985 100 270 KSDA-1 1530-1600 Malayalam S-India 11985 100 270 KSDA-1 1600-1630 Urdu N-India 11980 100 300 KSDA-1 1630-1700 English N-India 11980 100 300 KSDA-2 1500-1530 Mizo NE-India 11675 100 285 KSDA-2 1530-1600 Marathi C-India 11675 100 285 KSDA-2 1700-1730 Hindi ME 11675 100 300 KSDA-2 1730-1800 Tamil ME 11675 100 300 KSDA-3 1300-1330 Bengali Bangladesh 15660 100 285 KSDA-3 1330-1400 Assamese Bangladesh 15660 100 285 (Sun Wed) KSDA-3 1330-1400 English Bangladesh 15660 100 285 (exc. Sun Wed) KSDA-3 1500-1530 Telugu S-India 17515 100 285 KSDA-3 1530-1600 Kannada S-India 17515 100 285 KSDA-4 1500-1530 Panjabi N-India, Pakistan 15245 100 300 KSDA-4 1530-1600 Hindi C-India 15245 100 285 KSDA-4 1600-1700 English C-India 15495 100 285 MOS-1 0200-0230 English Pakistan 7230 500 90 MOS-1 0230-0300 Urdu Pakistan 7230 500 90 (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, Nuernberg, Germany, http://www.biener-media.de dx_india via DXLD) Apparently there is not such an appetite for Adventism as had been thought (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Minnesota Public Radio will stop producing The Savvy Traveler March 26, according to the network. The show was unable to sell enough underwriting to support itself due to the travel industry's post-9/11 downturn. Its spotty presence in major markets also weakened its appeal to potential backers. Savvy Traveler airs on 163 stations. Show website: http://www.savvytraveler.org posted at 11:28 AM EST Jan 9 (Current via DXLD) 163 stations and can`t survive!? (gh) ** U S A. JAZZ HOST ON WFPK QUITS AMID CONTROVERSY By ANDREW WOLFSON • January 7, 2004 The Courier-Journal The president of the Louisville Jazz Society says she has resigned from her radio show on WFPK-FM after she was told she couldn't publicly criticize the station's decision to reduce jazz programming. Patty Bailey, the host of a two-hour broadcast on Sundays, said station officials also told her they would monitor her in the studio to ensure that she didn't disparage the station on the air. Bailey said Monday that she had faxed her resignation letter to the president of the Public Radio Partnership, Gerry Weston, and to Dan Reed, who was recently named vice president for marketing and programming. "I want you to know that my free speech and principles cannot be bought or bargained away," she said. "While I love doing the show, being silenced by the station's ... management is not in the best interests of this community. I choose to keep my voice and to fight for what so many ... including my late husband ... believe in." Bailey said in a story published Dec. 28 in The Courier-Journal that recent program changes sharply curtailing jazz were made "behind closed doors without any input from the community." In a letter published last week in LEO, Bailey, the widow of longtime WFPK jazz host Phil Bailey, said the station had made "a sickening display of bad programming decisions." . . . http://www.louisvillescene.com/2004/01/07/jazz.html (illustrated, via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. What is Dead? Steven Dorfman, 48; Veteran Writer on 'Jeopardy!' http://www.latimes.com/la-me-passings8.1jan08,0,3959753,print.story (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. 'RAMBLING WITH GAMBLING' RADIO HOST JOHN A. GAMBLING DIES OF HEART FAILURE AT 73 --- The Associated Press 1/9/04 1:45 PM NEW YORK (AP) -- Broadcaster John A. Gambling, whose morning radio show, "Rambling with Gambling," was founded by his father in 1925 and continued by his son after he retired, has died. He was 73. Gambling died of heart failure Thursday at a hospital in Venice, Fla., said his son, John R. Gambling. Gambling worked at the New York radio station WOR-AM until his retirement in 1991. Bob Bruno, station vice president and general manager, called Gambling "a professional right down to the heels of his shoes." "He had real star power," Bruno said Friday. "When John came into a room, heads turned and you got those whispers. He had that presence." The news and talk show was a New York institution for decades, known for its quiet dignity in a market increasingly dominated by shock jocks. It lasted longer than 75 years, and was listed as the world's longest-running radio show in Guinness World Records 2003. Gambling began hosting it in 1959, taking over from his father, John B. Gambling, who started the program. After he retired, his son John R. Gambling became the primary host. "You could always turn on the radio and find old John, young John, or in-between John," John A. Gambling said. "If people wake up and hear about problems -- a strike, a war, assassination, whatever -- they turn us on and know the world hasn't come to an end," Gambling said. "Their world has some continuity." In 2000, Gambling was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. "John A. had a feel for the people," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday. "People instinctively liked him." His son was with WOR until 2000, when the station decided not to renew his contract, ending "Rambling with Gambling." He then moved to WABC-AM, where he hosts "The John Gambling Show" and the mayor's weekly radio show. ------ On the Net: Radio Hall of Fame: http://www.radiohof.org/ (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Horray for Emmis --- Well what do you know? And on FM to boot! (Brock Whaley, DXLD) EMMIS stopped the "WHEEL OF MUSIC" at WMLL/ST. LOUIS at noon today (PT) [sic] and debuted "RED@104.1 MUSIC WITH CLASS" from the famous CORONADO BALLROOM. EMMIS says "RED@104.1 is positioned not as an Oldies station, or a Standards station, or a Nostalgia station. Core artists such as MICHAEL BUBLE, DIANA KRALL, NORAH JONES, STEVE TYRELL, HARRY CONNICK JR., BRIAN SETZER, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY, and ROD STEWART will be played alongside of ELLA FITZGERALD, TONY BENNETT, BOBBY DARIN, DEAN MARTIN and FRANK SINATRA. PD JEFF ALLEN said: "It is very rare in radio nowadays to get to launch a brand new concept. We are very excited about this format." EMMIS/ST. LOUIS VP/Programming RICK BALIS says the appeal of RED@104.1 is universal. "20-somethings and 40-somethings plus will find it fun to set their radio to RED @ 104.1." EMMIS-ST. LOUIS cluster VP/GM JOHN BECK adds, "There's a hole a mile wide for this remarkable music. Retailers such as THE POTTERY BARN, STARBUCKS, RESTORATION HARDWARE, EDDIE BAUER and others have known it for years. They play the music in their stores and wind up selling it to their customers. We love those stores, their music ... and their demographics." Former EMMIS exec and NEW STANDARD COMMUNICATIONS Pres. CHUCK HILLIER assisted with the launch and will consult the station. Check out the site at http://www.red1041.com (allaccess.com Jan 8 via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. KTNN-660 strong again last night --- KTNN was dominant again around 10:20 pm Central [0420 UT] with New Mexico State University basketball, a spot for an auto-loan company serving the Navajo nation asking listeners to say they heard about it on KTNN, a spot in the Navajo language that mentioned (in English!) "casino and resort," etc. I'm telling ya, folks, if you need Arizona, try for this one. They've been in well here in Missouri nightly now for a couple of weeks at least (Randy Stewart, Battlefield (Springfield) MO, Jan 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Hi Glenn. Your discussion of mixing products on Cumbre this last week was excellent. Ever since I bought my Grundig Satellit 800 receiver almost 2 1/2 years ago, I have been hearing mysterious signals that I can only sometimes make out. On Cumbre this week, Glenn Hauser, talked of mixing products, where two antennas will combine to make a third signal. OK, maybe that might explain some of these signals. Hmmm, let's see what we can hear, all coming in especially well tonight. 1520 = 760 x 2 Harmonic 1710 = 760 + 950 (WWJ Detroit) 1890 = 760 + 1130 (WDFN Detroit) 1960 = 760 + 1200 (WCHB Detroit) 2030 = 760 + 1270 (WXYT Detroit/Southfield) 2070 = 760 + 1310 (WXDX Detroit/Dearborn) 2100 = 760 + 1340 (WEXL Royal Oak) 2160 = 760 + 1400 (WQBH Detroit) 2280 = 760 X 3 Harmonic 2310 = 760 + 1550 (CBE Windsor) 2260 = 760 + 1500 (WLQV Detroit) 6925 = 760 + 6165 (Radio Nederland via Neth. Antilles) If this is true, then these signals are not the fault of the receiver, but of the transmitter. I know that when you are very close to a transmitter, you can pick up a lot of weird signals, but WJR's transmitters are in Trenton - approx. 40 miles from my house. Not heard were the following: 1340 = 760 + 580 (CKWW Windsor) probably because WEXL is so closeby 1390 = 760 + 630 (CFCO Chatham) 1 kw nighttime power, probably too weak to hear under WNIO 1560 = 760 + 800 (CKLW Windsor) WQEW New York (R. Disney) coming in too strong 3040 = 760 X 4 Harmonic 3800 = 760 X 5 Harmonic - must be a limit on far up these harmonics can go I thought that there would be some DX opportunities (Joseph B. Miller, Troy, Michigan, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps I gave the wrong impression. Mixes of strong local MW signals, even 40 miles away, may well be inside the receiver. This is hard to determine. Usually MW transmitter sites are some distance apart, unlike SW stations with multiple transmitters, antennas and frequencies at the same site, and less likely to interact. Exception: some MW stations are diplexed or multiplexed on the very same tower(s), usually but not always co-owned. This can be researched locally and at the FCC. Then there is external mixing, where some metal object in the area of the transmitters, actually re-radiates the mixed signals. Especially if a distant SW station is involved in a mix with a local MW station, this is surely receiver-produced. I sometimes find mixes 960 or 1390 kHz away from SW frequencies (two of my local MW frequencies). (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thank you Glenn for the better understanding of this topic. I had been leaning toward the receiver being the source. But with the signals being of varying strength and the 2X and 3X harmonics, I could see an argument for the transmitters. Best wishes, (Joe Miller, ibid.) ** U S A. NEW NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATION DEDICATED IN ADRIAN, MICHIGAN On January 7, 2003, I attended the dedication of the National Weather Service's (NWS) new NOAA weather radio station based in Adrian, Michigan. The ceremony was held in the old Lenawee county courthouse during a meeting of the Lenawee county commissioners instead of at the new station's transmitter site because of extreme cold weather. The NWS had predicted 80 degrees with sunny skies for the outdoor ceremony. (Just kidding!) The new station, WNG-647, broadcasts 300 watts at 162.450 MHz primarily to Lenawee and Monroe counties, and Fulton county Ohio. Parts of Washtenaw, Jackson, Hillsdale and Wayne counties, and Ohio counties Lucas, Williams, and Henry also receive the signal. The station is "programmed" with weather forecasts made at the NWS office in White Lake, Michigan, a tiny community a few miles northwest of Pontiac. The station's two transmitters (one is used for backup) and antenna are located at WLEN's (103.9 FM, Adrian) transmitter site on Academy Road, a couple of miles east of Adrian. WLEN is donating tower space at 280 ft. for the antenna. The NWS paid for the transmitter. For more information on WLEN's role in helping get the station operational see: http://www.wlen.com/NOAA%20Weather%20Radio%20facts.htm For more information about the station, e.g., coverage map, see: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/ (Tom Schoen, MARE member, Toledo OH, MARE via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Frequency change for V of Tibet in Tibetan/Chinese via Tashkent, TAC 200 kW / 131 degrees: 1430-1517 NF 7525 or 7465, ex 12025 or 11975 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. What is assumed to be WDHP in Frederiksted on 1620 is heard from tune in 0730 past 0800 on Jan. 9 broadcasting BBC WS English [as scheduled] in parallel with 6195 (until 0800) and 9410. No local ID heard on the hour - only lot's of BBC promo's. The signal is reaching fair usable strength and with constant "fading", much like a SW signal. No co-channel audible (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, NW England], Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Hi Glenn, First time in my headphones SW Radio Africa was heard this evening in the 49 meter band on 6145 kHz. They went off the air as scheduled (16-) 19 UT. I must say reception on 4880 kHz was far better. The 49 mb is too crowded in this part of the world. After the close down of SW R Africa the dominant station on 6145 was CRI Beijing broadcasting in Romanian via France // 7305 kHz, also from France. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1819.93, LA Harmonic? (2 x 910), Jan 7/9, 0956-1120, campo vocals, canned ID's, one sounding like "La 'H'", gone by 1120 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 2259.94, Cuba? (2 x 1130), Jan 7, 0923-0940, pop LA vocals with announcer in between, faded then gone by 0940 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT- DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 2960.22, MW Harmonic? (2 x 1480), Jan 5, 1024-1045, short talk preceded and ending with bells, not unlike an old- fashioned interval signal, weak signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT USA, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees, "VT-DX" at http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ X-BAND INFO SOURCES ``There are several sources of info on x-band broadcast stations. Please let me know if I have missed any.`` I have a page in my web site: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/dxing/xband.html 73, (Tim Noonan, Oak Creek WI, Radio/DX Information from Wisconsin: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/dxing/index.html DX LISTENING DIGEST) Including: There are currently 57 stations on this list. Postscript -- I am aware of one station with a construction permit to move into the expanded band located in the ten-state region that we cover in this web site (IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, ND, OH, SD, and WI). It is: 1620 new, Minot ND (KHRT 1320) (via DXLD) I see in 4-005 I again failed to catch a misprint: should say ``Part `15``, not ``Pirate 15`` ! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ FREE SWL DXPEDITION IN THE WONDERFUL ISLANDS OF KERKENNAH, TUNISIA 4 Days of NonStop SWLing! As every vacation, I went to Kerkennah Islands, so I can spend all the time in SW listening. I arrived on Saturday 20/12/03 evening. I installed a 10m dipole antenna with an 'Echelle de grenouille' (which replaces the coax cable) at 4m height. Reception was excellent, and many DX at night! I catched many W8, W1, VQ9, VE, ZS, HK, LU, N7, PY, CE. No noise! Reception was S4 to S9! It was incredible! These excellent reception conditions continued for 4 days! From 20/12 to 24/12, I made 167 nice receptions (15 new DXCCs!). My Log Book contains now 125 DXCC, 7 Confirmed, 27 IOTA! (I started SWLing using my DX398 in June 2003) As every year, I announce a FREE SWL DXpedition in the wonderful islands of Kerkennah -- look at http://www.kerkennah.tk These islands are wonderful for both; radio and tourism! You have only to come to Kerkennah, and I will invite you to our house there. Don't matter for food! In the last years, the DXpedition was failed; maybe, our friends are afraid for security reasons! But, believe me, Tunisia is a very calmful and peaceful country. Look at http://www.ts7n.tk Please, if any one of you is interested, let me know. I'm waiting! (Achraf Chaabane, SWL (3V4-002), Sfax, Tunisia, Jan 7, DX-398 yahoogorup via DXLD) Any particular dates available? Just off Sfax. Run popup stopper Looks like a very pretty place, Achraf! http://tinyurl.com/2r496 Isn't that where they film all the "Tattoine" scenes in the "Star Wars" movies? (C M Stinger, ibid.) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BPL industry says there will be no interference: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/37032 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ARRL VIDEOS DEMONSTRATING INTERFERENCE http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ (via gh, DXLD) THE BPL FIGHT: BPL INTERFERENCE PROVEN TWO-WAY Two organizations have filed comments with the FCC that augment previously expressed worries about potential interference from and to Broadband over Power Line systems. One of them shows that service providers could loose a lot of income if anyone operates even a low power radio near a BPL transmission line. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports: Picking up on the what it terms as grave concerns expressed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency over implementation of BPL on December 4, the nonprofit Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association has called on the FCC to require impartial BPL field testing as well as additional public comment and full and open public hearings. The ARRL Letter says that in comments to the FCC the Disaster Preparedness organization concluded that serious interference to and disruption of critical emergency communications systems in several licensed services throughout North America would almost certainly result from BPL implementation as currently proposed. Endorsing earlier FEMA remarks, the group said that proposed BPL systems don`t just pose a risk of interference. Rather, they have already been shown to actually cause harmful interference to licensed radio services. Meanwhile, the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation has filed additional test data with the FCC. This, to support preliminary findings suggesting that BPL systems are susceptible to interference from even modest Amateur Radio HF signals. AMRAD said its newest data demonstrated that amateur operation in the test neighborhood would cause many homes to lose their Internet connectivity. For its RF susceptibility experiment, AMRAD used the Potomac Electric Power Company system test site. It features a mid-1960s vintage home with unshielded interior electrical wiring and overhead power lines. AMRAD`s tests found that at a distance of just over one-half mile, data transfer ceased in the face of a signal from a mobile 100 watt transmitter on 3 point 980 MHz. When sited adjacent to the test property, AMRAD said data transfer went away in all but one instance at a transmitter power of just 4 watts operating in the proposed Broadband Over Powerline spectrum. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. What AMRAD has now done is to prove that interference with BPL will be a two way problem. More so for data providers who won`t see much profit if something as simple as a 5 watt CB radio can shut down a neighborhoods BPL operations. (ARRL via ARNewsline(tm) via John Norfolk, DXLD) DRM +++ A question about DRM, inspired by the discussion in DXLD 4-004 under UKRAINE discussing digitally-recording a DRM signal: Can one record the DRM audio you receive on a regular analog SW receiver using ordinary analog audio recording, like a traditional tape recorder, and then later play back that audio into a DRM- interpreting software/hardware package and have it output the analog audio that the DRM signal encoded? Or does that audio demodulation and audio recording process degrade the digitalness of the original DRM signal into something not interpretable by DRM systems? Do you need access to the RF/IF stages of a receiver to get the digital signal in an interpretable form? I was wondering if a serious DXer might be able to record in an analog mode the current DRM test transmissions for historical purposes, and then later, when he gets a DRM receiver, play those recordings back through it to hear the original audio. I can see that DIGITAL recording techniques, like MP3, that have sampling and compression aspects, would not record the original digitalized audio correctly; I believe that is what that DXLD item was saying, if I understood it right. But would a good analog recording do it? (Maybe a reason to resurrect one's reel-to-reel machine recording at 15 ips that has been gathering dust in the corner! :-) 73, (Will Martin, MO, Jan 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Another Newspaperman who "gets it" --- Glenn: -- Here's today's piece from Richard Wagoner, writing in"The Daily Breeze", serving the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. Richard was beating the drum for AM Stereo 15-20 years ago.--GREG HARDISON http://www.dailybreeze.com/content/rave/nm19925.html RADIO: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY NOT IMPROVING SOUND BY RICHARD WAGONER Special to Rave! If your AM radio sounds a bit strange lately, it may be due to legal interference: In early December, KTNQ (1020 AM) started broadcasting so-called HD Radio, or `In-band, On-Channel` (IBOC) digital, which places a digital signal alongside the main analog carrier. The idea is to improve the sound of AM broadcasts through the use of digital technology. And it sounds great — on paper. In reality, while some like the new digital sound, others say HD Radio in its current incarnation tends to sound artificial. Tune into 1020 AM with a typical AM radio, and you probably won’t hear much difference between it and other stations. It does sound a little duller on some radios because for IBOC to work, the audio bandwidth — the frequency response of the station — must be limited to either 5 or 6 KHz, compared with 10 KHz or higher under current regulations. Tune into 1010 or 1030 AM, however, and you’ll hear the digital sidebands, a sort of hiss that sounds somewhat like tuning between FM stations. The difference between AM and FM is that if there is a far- away station you like on FM, on a clear day you’d still hear it. With IBOC, the hiss actually covers the weaker signal completely. As far as I know, there are no stations that can be heard on 1010 or 1030 in Los Angeles when IBOC broadcasts are authorized during the daylight hours. Now tune into 1000 or 1040. There are stations there. When IBOC is running on KTNQ, there is a ringing sound that covers the distant signals. You can still hear them, but you wouldn’t want to listen long. It’s not KTNQ’s fault. From what I have learned about the situation, the antenna system was professionally tuned for IBOC, the system was inspected by one of the nation’s best radio engineers, and the studio is state-of-the-art, sending a fully-digital signal to the transmitters. The fault, if you want to call it that, goes to the IBOC system itself, which puts digital energy into the sidebands of the station. If many more stations adopt it, they could theoretically cancel each other out. Of course, many AM radios are so bad, with such limited bandwidth, that many observers think it doesn’t matter. Get digital radios into the hands of consumers, and then it will be different — then AM will be on par with FM. When enough HD tuners are being used, turn off the analog signal for good, similar to what is expected with high- definition television in 2007. But wait, says the other side. Analog on a good radio sounds much better than digital, and good analog AM actually can sound as good as FM, they say. Personally, I don’t know. I know how good AM can sound, but I also know how bad it sounds on most current radios. Yet I don’t know if people will demand better radios if the same lame programming occupies most of the band. I don’t know if people will like the way IBOC radios switch between analog and digital abruptly, and I don’t know if people will pay big money for new receivers when they already are leaving traditional radio completely for other entertainment sources such as MP3 players, satellite subscription radio and compact discs. At least with KTNQ on the air with HD, we can finally evaluate it. Soon, anyway, since Kenwood is beginning the rollout of HD Radio tuners (retail $500) that can be added to a Kenwood HD-ready car stereo. They are currently available in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will be coming to Southern California some time early this year, according to the company. KTNQ has taken a bold step, and will soon be followed by KNX (1070 AM). Between the two, we may be hearing the future of radio. Or we may be witnessing nothing more than an expensive experiment. And then there’s FM IBOC . . . Richard Wagoner is a freelance writer based in San Pedro. Publish Date: January 9, 2004 (via Greg Hardison, DXLD) PORSCHE sounds A portable radio that pulls in local FM and AM plus overseas programs on shortwave band. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8338425%255E11869,00.html (Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia via Larry Nebron, CA, DXLD) R-10 TERRIFIC receiver, eats batteries, limited scanning abilities. Using a long wire invites overload problems. Like many shortwave receivers, the R-10 will overload very easily with too much antenna gain. http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3163 (eHam.net, UK, via Larry Nebron, DXLD) HD/IBOC partners comment on introduction: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=4382 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) Use of RDS expanding: http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7660100.htm (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) WHAT'S LEFT FOR BROADCAST RADIO? Today's issue of Kurt Hanson's "RAIN" newsletter has a somewhat provocative title for this group: "Cell phones, satellite, Internet -- - what's left for broadcast radio?" The intriguing part I see is the role cell phones play in the access of information while mobile --- especially among young people. Link to article shown below. http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/010904/index.asp (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Jan 9, swprograms via DXLD) REVOLTING DEVELOPMENT About 18 months ago I posted on this list the condition of local radio & TV here in Cook County, MN. The town of Grand Marais in particular. When Minnesota Public Radio put in their two 6 kW stations on 88.7 & 89.7 one of them interfered with the translator for KBJR-TV channel 6 from Duluth, MN. Therefore MPR had to operate that station at reduced power until a fix could be made. This past fall [Oct or Nov] they finally started operating at their full power of 6 kW. At about that time I started to notice that the BCB was experiencing problems in this area. White noise nearly as bad as IBOC across the entire band, supression of AM signals along with distortion of these signals. Only the the most powerful signals being able to bust through at times. Lesser signals being nearly unreadable. The LW band is a total disaster. I have been getting a lot of sleep, because DXing has been next to impossible, with a few exceptions. As when a distant station rises up to a strong enough level to bust through the noise. Yesterday [9 JAN 04] I spoke to one of the technicians that works on some of the local stations. He said he would start checking into this problem. If I don't get some help from someone, my DXing days from my home are finished. The problem seems to be quite localized in and close to Grand Marais. I have made sure it is not just my home that is experiencing these problems. I drove the pickup to the Coast Guard station 6 blocks away and it was a total wipeout there, too. The remedy: 1. Hopefully the local technicians will determine what is causing these problems and whether anything can be done to fix it. 2. Go mobile. Since I was going to purchase a new pickup truck anyway, I advanced the purchase date by 6 months and ordered it yesterday. This pickup will be turned into my DX shack upon arrival. The pickup will have 2 batteries. One solely for DXing. I will be able to run this battery down to absolute dead, then start the engine and recharge the DX battery. The cost for this option was $190. The extra battery will be installed at the factory. More later (Paul LaFreniere, Grand Marais, MN, Jan 10, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Looks to me like another classic mixing product case of two transmitters far too close together (geographically and frequencily): 89.7 and 88.7 produce a mix on 87.7 interfering with TV audio channel 6 87.75 or so (and probably on 90.7 too). 89.7 minus 88.7 = 1.0 MHz, blam, in the middle of the MW band (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pirates @ Burger King BURGER KING CUSTOMERS TOLD: 'YOU ARE TOO FAT TO HAVE A WHOPPER' Police believe teenage pranksters are hacking into the wireless frequency of a US Burger King drive-through speaker to tell potential customers they are too fat for fast food. Policeman Gerry Scherlink said the pranksters told one customer who had just placed an order: "You don't need a couple of Whoppers. You are too fat. Pull ahead." The offenders are reportedly tapping into the wireless frequency at the restaurant in Troy, Michigan. Police believe the culprits are watching and broadcasting from close range. Officer Scherlinck said the men are telling customers who order a Coca-Cola that, "We don't have Coke." And when the customer asks what they do have, the hacker would say: "We don't have anything. Pull ahead." But what has managers concerned is the profanity the hackers are using, according to police. A drive-through customer has told police if he had children with him in the car and someone used profanity, he would have been upset. Burger King franchise owner Tony Versace issued the following statement in response to the incidents: "We apologise to our customers who've been insulted by the use of this drive-through speaker." Management at the fast-food restaurant are reportedly trying to change the radio frequency used for the speakers, reports Local 4 http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2750963/detail.html Story filed: 09:37 Friday 9th January 2004 (ananova.com via Brock Whaley, Pete Costello, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ TRANS-EQUATORIAL CARIBBEAN FM DX TO SOUTHERN BRASIL 88.9, Radio Guadeloupe, Guadalupe (Caribe), 30/12 0015 Transmissão em francês com comentários por VF e VM. Identificação. 25532. 89.3, Radio Soudest, Martinica (Caribe), 30/12 0045 Transmissão em francês. Músicas e identificação. 35533. 107.9, Kairi FM, Dominica (Caribe), 29/12 2332 Música de reggae e slogan "This is the sound of the music... this is Kairi FM..." 45554 (repito... 45554 por uma méia hora seguida!!!) (Rudolf W. Grimm, Florianópolis SC, Conexión Digital via DXLD) THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE SEATTLE, WA, Jan 9, 2004 --- Average daily sunspot numbers rose slightly this week, while solar flux was down a bit. Except for January 2, geomagnetic conditions were active. The prediction for the next few days, January 9-11, had been for moderate geomagnetic conditions, but this seems to be changing with the arrival of energy from a couple of coronal mass ejections sent into space January 6 and 7. This means there`s a small possibility of a larger solar flare over the next day or so. As this update was being written January 9 after 1000 UTC, the mid- latitude K index had risen to five for the 0900 UTC reading, as reported on WWV. It is no coincidence that the interplanetary magnetic field points south, leaving earth vulnerable. Earth`s active geomagnetic field could stabilize over the next couple of days, but things are expected to become unsettled to active again around January 12-13. January 14-15 are expected to be quiet, with a stable geomagnetic field. Solar flux is expected to rise slowly over the next few days, reaching 130 by January 13, then possibly peaking around 135 from January 19- 21. On January 4 at around 0900 UTC Earth reached perihelion --- the closest point to the sun in its orbit --- about 91.7 million miles from the sun. Last July 4 was aphelion, when sun and earth are farthest apart --- a little more than 94.8 million miles. Assuming all other factors are equal, this means that radiation from the sun was about seven percent more intense on January 4 than it was on July 4. The hours of darkness remain long but now are getting shorter as we advance toward spring. The low bands --- 160, 80 and 40 meters --- will be good at night with lower noise levels than summer. Long- distance communication on 80 meters is probably best when both ends of the path are in darkness. For instance, from the East Coast to Europe, 80-meter propagation should improve after sundown in the US and fade around sunrise at the other end. Similarly, from the West Coast to Japan, 80 meters should open after dark at the Japan end and fade around sunrise on the West Coast. For more information about propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the Propagation page on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html Sunspot numbers for January 1 through 7 were 47, 51, 65, 80, 80, 78 and 93, with a mean of 70.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 116, 116.5, 116.1, 119.4, 123, 117.3 and 118.8, with a mean of 118.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 27, 13, 26, 24, 22, 20 and 32, with a mean of 23.4. Amateur solar observer Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, provides this weekly report on solar conditions and propagation. This report also is available via W1AW every Friday and an abbreviated version also appears in The ARRL Letter. Readers may contact the author via k7ra@arrl.net Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###