DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-012, January 19, 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 1216: Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu 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 1216 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1216h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1216h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1216.html WORLD OF RADIO 1216 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1216.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1216.rm ** ALASKA. We have a report that the FCC authorized 7160 for KNLS by mistake and withdrew it following ham complaints. So where are they now at 1000 and 1200 in Mandarin? 7160 still shows on the KNLS website January 19. Why in the world would KNLS request a hamband frequency in the first place? To see if it would get by the FCC, or if any hams would object? It`s hard to believe that as a station which has operated 7.3 MHz plus for ages, KNLS would not know any better. I asked KNLS for an explanation; no reply yet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 15820.0-LSB, Mega, Buenos Aires/Mar del Plata; 0327- 0540, fair on 01/01. Spanish rock music program. Sometimes heard "Mega 98.3" and "Mega 94.9" (Hideki WATANABE, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. La última: Radiodifusión Argentina Libre ahora es audible desde los primeros días de enero en los 6252.8 kcs y fue audible sólo dos días abriendo transmisión a las 1000 TU. Emite desde Avellaneda, provincia de Buenos Aires. Chau, Glenn (Emilio Pedro Povrzenic, Villa Diego, Provincia de Santa Fe, Rep. Argentina, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Dreams and goals at HCJB: by the end of May 2004 to start broadcasting to East Asia --- China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. Waiting for an antenna to be developed, then begin morning broadcasts to there. Later in year with second transmitter on line, will begin extensive evening broadcasting to EAs as well. Target area now population of 1.7 billion; adding East Asia increases population base to over 3 billion. In 2005, towards end of that year, hope to have first digital transmitter available, and doing some digital broadcasting into SEAs, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, where all the young technocrats are, first in world to buy digital receivers. Plans a dedicated youth service, for the teeming millions of young people in that part of world. Still has great need for reception reports, frequency advice, whether programming is effective (Dennis Adams, HCJB Australia, on DX Partyline Jan 17, notes by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. PROBLEM OF DIGITAL RADIO: IS THERE MONEY IN IT? http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/18/1074360631184.html Radios that act like 3G mobile phones might not be worth it, writes Wendy Frew. The radio has come a long way from its launch in the 1920s, when families gathered round the wireless in the evenings to listen to radio dramas and live jazz bands. The introduction of FM transmission in the 1970s dramatically improved broadcast quality and increased the number of stations on offer. Now the industry is hailing digital technology as the "third generation" that will deliver "the ultimate listening experience". And it is willing to spend an estimated $350 million on the technology. Sydney's commercial radio networks and the ABC and SBS began an 18- month digital broadcast trial on December 18. Everyone agrees radio can't afford to be left behind in the world-wide trend to digital but there are big question marks over the commercial benefits. Digital technology provides compact-disc quality sound and stronger transmission signals. It also allows listeners to "interact" with the medium: via a liquid crystal display on your set you will be able to access share prices, weather and traffic reports; replay songs you've just heard; even download album covers or song lyrics. At a time when commercial radio operators are facing increased competition for listeners and advertising dollars from new licence holders and other media such as television, the industry body, Commercial Radio Australia, hopes digital technology will increase radio's appeal to advertisers. The problem is, like the first wave of the internet, no one has quite worked out how to make a quid out of it. AM and FM radio receivers can't pick up digital signals so the industry must also convince listeners to fork out hundreds of dollars for a digital radio set. Regulation is another hurdle because the Federal Government has yet to formulate a policy. The chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner, believes listeners and advertisers will be attracted to the technology but she concedes conversion won't be easy. "Over the next 12 months we will gather a lot of information that will determine what the final product will be because there is no point offering bells and whistles if people don't want them and advertisers don't see them as an enhancement," Warner says. Digital technology was adopted some years ago in the UK and US but the commercial applications have been limited so far. In the UK, for example, the BBC and some of the commercial broadcasters are committed to digital broadcasting but the commercial broadcasters have yet to make a profit out of it. As of September last year, digital set sales had only reached 250,000, according to the BBC. It could be just as difficult convincing Australians to ditch their 40 million radio sets for expensive digital models, says PricewaterhouseCoopers' Australian media lead partner Steven Bosiljevac. "Some of the applications are pretty exciting . . . but we don't think there will be killer applications." Issues yet to be resolved include whether listeners, especially those driving cars, want to be distracted by text and still pictures. What will companies think if listeners miss their advertisements because they have hit the replay button to hear their favourite song a second or third time? And how will radio stations keep track of song repeats to calculate royalty payments? Austereo executive chairman Peter Harvie concedes there are a lot of issues to be worked through but he's attracted to the extra functions digital can provide. "If it can bring in other components that is fantastic and an advantage for advertisers . . . we should explore them," Harvie says. DMG chief executive Paul Thompson also supports digitisation but is sceptical about how quickly consumers will buy new sets and how long it will take to reap a commercial reward from the new technology. "The industry . . . has to be prepared to lose money for an appreciable period of time and that is why it is absolutely crucial for the practical future of digital radio that existing operators have automatic and no-cost conversion," Thompson says. Commercial Radio Australia has presented the Government with a set of policy principles, underpinned by a demand that incumbent broadcasters not be penalised by a switch to digital transmission. Joan Warner says broadcasters have invested billions of dollars in the industry over the years in the form of licences and technology upgrades. "Our bottom line is the Government must put the needs of incumbent radio broadcasters first before seeking to accommodate the needs of any aspirant digital broadcasters," she says. Melbourne media buyer Harold Mitchell says advertisers have yet to get excited about digital technology. "Radio is hard pressed at the moment because its share [of the advertising market] has been relatively static and it has to be divided by more and more stations. "This is a major problem so they will naturally be thinking of ways to improve things. This won't do it." (via Paul David, DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. RE: "RADIO FREE AZERBAIJAN" As a regular reader of the BBC Monitoring's reports, I actually appreciate BBCM's using English transcriptions instead of some strangely looking words. Unlike RL/RFE, BBCM seems to care about both its subscribers and the English language. Let's face it, how many of us would be able to pronounce the word "Azärbaycan" correctly?! (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Still, it`s nice to learn more about languages, so I hope Bernd will keep up his comments in this vein (gh, DXLD) ** BELGIUM. This the kind of domestic, non-SW news I would rather link to than publish in toto, but AFAIK Radio World does not archive, and this would be gone in a week, so --- (gh, DXLD) RADIO WORLD - Sunday 18 January 2004 The Flemish government recently issued licenses for local radios in Flanders and Brussels. It had become a matter of real urgency to reshape the scene in the FM spectrum. Belgium has hundreds of stations in that band and the territory is small. The country is roughly 30,000 sq km, some 11,700 sq ml. Flanders is less than half of that, but it`s flat - not unimportant in FM - and has 6 m inhabitants, out of a total of 10 m. Until fairly recently, broadcasting was a state monopoly, in the hands of Public Broadcasting Companies: RTBF for French-speaking Belgium, VRT for Flanders and BRF for the small German-speaking Community in East Belgium. This monopoly doesn`t exist anymore, and all regions now also have commercial radio. In Flanders there are two large nation- wide commercial stations, but there also were the more than 400 local radio stations. After the wild days of FM pirates in the 1970s, the legislator said that local radios should be truly local. That means, the power of the transmitters should permit reception in a radius of 8 km, but not more. Only in urban areas could the transmitter be a bit more powerful, in a move to let all residents of a city to enjoy the programmes. In view of a number of developments, and in particular the frequencies for the nationwide commercial stations, the FM frequencies had to be reviewed, and at the same time the issue of local radios. The Flemish government now decided to give a licence to 302 radios. They can carry on for the next 9 years. But for more than 100 others it`s the end of the line. According to some experts, the Flemish government should have been much less generous with its licences. Jean-Luc Bostyn of ``Radiovisie`` has been monitoring the radio scene in Flanders for 30 years. He thinks 300 radios for a region so small as Flanders is far too high. He says we cannot expect good radio from all these stations, because there are not enough talented people to produce this massive amount of transmission hours. It`s a fact most local radios do little else than play popular music non-stop. New in the Flemish government`s plan is the new notion of ``stadsradio`` - city radio. While radios in the rural areas can not exceed 100 watt of power, the city radios can use more, but it`s strictly regulated. There are 44 city radios, spread over 22 cities, from small ones like Koksijde with 1 station, to the big ones like Antwerp (4) and Ghent (6). The power these stations are licensed to use can vary widely. Let`s take the example of Ghent: there are six stations: two of them can use 1995 W, one is even given a generous signal of 3162 W, while the three others go from 1000 W to only 100 W for the smallest, radio URGENT, the station of Ghent University. They are apparently only licensed to reach an audience of staff and students living in the vicinity of the main university buildings. Many stations welcome the new arrangement, although most agree that there still are too many of them. Too many radios hunting for commercials from the same local businesses in the same small region, so they say. Radio Antigoon in Antwerp, for instance, can increase its power from 100 to 1995 W, which might increase the number of listeners but will not cause changes in the schedule or programming. Brussels is not included in that new frequency plan. Broadcasting is a competence of local authorities. And Brussels is not Flanders, nor Wallonia. Brussels is a region of its own, with its own government. But broadcasting is a cultural matter, and this means that also in bilingual Brussels the Flemish authorities are involved in the media scene. The Flemish government has licensed two Flemish city radios in Brussels: Radio Ring, which can use 501 W and FM Brussel which can go up to 3162 W. For the moment, FM Brussel is still with its much lower power output on 106.5 MHz. This is the signal as it arrives at home on my Sangean 909: SOUND FM Brussel FM Brussels on 106.5 MHz. The Flemish government has ambitious plans for the station. It should become a truly city radio for the Flemish minority in Brussels, a species to which I belong myself. The station would be installed in the Flagey building, where other subsidized Flemish media are also based: that`s ``TV Brussel`` and the weekly ``Brussels Deze Week`` newspaper. It`s also the old radio and TV building, now restored and reopened. We, the international service of VRT and RTBF were one of the last to abandon the old building before moving to our present address in 1979. At the end of last year FM Brussel was given a 1.57 million euro Christmas present from the Flemish government and another 520,000 euros was earmarked for the installation of the radio in the Flagey building. Together with TV Brussel and Brussel Deze Week, the radio is working on a new project: Brussel-Nieuws.be; a common portal and news site for Brussels. This project receives 200,000 euros from the Flemish government. More about that when these projects materialize. Radio World will keep you informed (FRANS VOSSEN, RVi Radio World Jan 18 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5927.07, Rdif. Minería, Oruro; 0549-0627, poor on 01/01. Almost non-stop takirari mx. ID was given at 0627 as "¿Qué tal amigos de Bolivia? Estamos llevando con nuestra música nacional desde Radiodifusora Minería." (Shoji YAMADA, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.5, R. Pio Doce, Siglo XX; 0827-, poor on 12/31. Test music to 0831, then opening ID with "River Kwai March" as "... con esperanza que ... un mensaje de ... cristiana. .... desarollo, sean de su agrado y participación. Radio Pio Doce inicia sus transmisiones desde el histórico distrito minero de Siglo XX, Municipio Llallagua, Provincia de Bustillos, Departamento de Potosí, República de Bolivia. Con ...., integrante de Red de Comunicación Pio Doce, Afiliada a Educación Radiofónica de Bolivia ERBOL y Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica ALER. Ud. ... en la frecuencia de 710 kHz onda media y 5955 kHz banda internacional de 49 metros onda corta. Los teléfonos de Radio Pio Doce, Siglo XX, Potosí son 58-20(250?) y 58- 20245, teléfono fax 58-20254. Con el propio diaria ... Radio Pio Doce ... El Director de la Red de Comunicación Pio Doce es el reverendo Padre Roberto Durette ... Bienvenidos a la oyente regional, nacional e internacional." Nice folklore music program followed. I also noted R. Pio Doce *1013- on 1/1 with fair condition (Takeshi SEJIMO, Nagano, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. O ano de 2004 é histórico para a Rádio Globo, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ). A estação comemora 60 anos no ar. Para brindar a data, a direção promove atividades entre os meses de março e dezembro. Um estúdio será adaptado em unidade móvel e percorrerá os bairros da Cidade Maravilhosa. A emissora pretende desenvolver serviços de utilidade pública para a população hipossuficiente, tais como a confecção de cédulas de identidade e certidões de nascimento. Um dos programas que deixará os estúdios será o Manhã da Globo, do experiente radialista Loureiro Neto, sempre nos sábados, de acordo com informações da jornalista Magaly Prado, publicadas no Canal Pensata do Jornal Folha Online. Em ondas curtas, a programação da Rádio Globo, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), pode ser ouvida em 6030 e 11805 kHz. BRASIL – A Rádio Educadora, de Limeira (SP), permanece emitindo na faixa de 120 metros. Em Maricá, no litoral do estado do Rio de Janeiro, Sarmento Campos captou a estação, em primeiro de janeiro, às 2351, pela freqüência de 2380 kHz. Estava no ar o programa Sala de Trabalho. BRASIL – A Rádio Ternura FM, de Ibitinga (SP), foi sintonizada, em Porto Alegre (RS), pelo colunista, em 17 de janeiro, às 0725, em 4845 kHz. A estação apresentava música do cantor Daniel e levou ao ar a identificação por vinheta: ``Ternura FM``. BRASIL – Ocorre fato inusitado na freqüência de 4885 kHz: duas emissoras alternam a recepção, num mesmo momento, conforme constatação de Sarmento Campos. São elas as rádios Difusora Acreana, de Rio Branco (AC), e Clube do Pará, de Belém (PA). Em primeiro de janeiro, em Maricá, no litoral do Rio de Janeiro, Sarmento fez a constatação às 2325. Enquanto a primeira emissora levava ao ar programa religioso, a segunda apresentava música em estilo pagode (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Panorama, @tividade DX Jan 18 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4885 kHz, Rádio Clube do Pará, 0250 UT Jan 6, tuned into two male announcers talking. Jingle heard, also canned telephone ringing. Pará mentioned many times. Then a time check and station ID at 0318. Talk continued. Good signal with light QRM. Signed off at 0400 leaving Acreana in the clear. 4885 kHz, Rádio Difusora Acreana, 0415 Jan 6. Music program featuring both male and female announcers. Occasional jingle heard. Also a number of "Rádio Difusora Buena Noche" or something similar [like ``Boa Noite``?] throughout the listening period. The name of the program? Played Portuguese version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" at 2342. Full ID included Onda Média and Onda Tropical frequencies. Last two words before presumed NA were "Acre, Brazil". Off at 0502. Not audible until Pará sign off, then in with good signal (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, USA, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. BULGARIAN DARIK RADIO CELEBRATES 11TH ANNIVERSARY http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=30018 First Bulgarian private radio station DARIK celebrated Sunday its 11th anniversary on air. The news and musical programs of DARIK are broadcasted in 17 towns in Bulgaria. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (novinite.com) 18 January 2004 The first private Bulgarian radio station Darik is celebrating 11- anniversary on Sunday. Darik Radio went out on air in Sofia on January 21, 1993. Its broadcasts cover mainly news and information, which has made it a reputable and entrusted source of information. The news format of Darik has given it many advantages to the abundance of musical commercial radio stations in Bulgaria. Adapting the News&Talk style, known mainly from US standards, Darik made its brand match with the exact, objective and pre-running information. Darik's 24-hour program scheme includes daily broadcasts, such as The Day, The Week, the business-style Portfolio, Darik Caf and Gong. At nights it entertains with rich and versatile music in the Hot AC format. Since 1994 Darik has opened regional radio stations in 17 Bulgarians towns. Its correspondents cover more than 20 countries in Europe and North America. With a national broadcasting license since October 2000 Darik Radio is the first private Bulgarian radio station, which has so far invested over USD 1 B in broadcasting facilities. You can listen to Darik in Internet and also from a satellite connection. (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Radio 1 and 2 in English plus the French equivalents and many commercial radio stations in Canada are available unencrypted on the Nimiq 1 satellite to anyone with an 18 inch DBS dish and a "Free To Air" satellite receiver. The satellite antenna pattern covers the original 48 states. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, Jan 19, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ ** CANADA. Hi Glenn, As far as I am aware, this will make the Toronto afternoon drive show the only one on CBC Radio One, anaywhere in Canada, to start before 4 PM. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: NEWS from The ROUNDUP- CBC This week on The Roundup Hello Sadgoaters! This is an unusual newsletter but you'll find some important information about Roundup programming changes. As of Monday January 19th, 2003 Toronto listeners (99.1 FM frequency) will no longer hear The Roundup between 3:30 and 4 pm [EST = 2030-2100 UT]. Instead they'll hear an extra half-hour of their local afternoon show 'Here and Now'. All other parts of the country will still be able to hear the Roundup until 4pm (4:30pm in the Newfoundland time zone.) But we've made some modifications to our regular schedule to accommodate the Toronto changes. They are: Monday: MONDAY PLAYBILL (currently featuring the Elliot Graves series) - moving to a 2:30 start. Wednesday: THE MOVEABLE MOSH (stories and music requests from young listeners) will now start earlier each Wednesday, at 3 pm, and will continue to 3:40. That way Toronto listeners can still hear most of it, up to 3:30 pm. Thursday: MADLY OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS - moving to a 2:30 start. Friday: THE MYSTERY PROJECT - moving to a 2:30 start. Every day: BETWEEN THE COVERS READINGS - moving to a 3:30 start each day. Please note that Between the Covers will still be available to Toronto listeners in the evening, at 10:40pm on CBC Radio One just after The Arts Today. If you have questions or comments about these changes please e-mail cbcinput @ toronto.cbc.ca or call toll-free 1-866-306-4636. TWO THINGS NOT TO MISS THIS WEEK ON THE ROUNDUP* Wednesday January 21st - VIRTUAL TOURS OF ATHENS --- You've been sharing your stories about Athens and we will take you on a special virtual tour of the great Greek city on Wednesday January 21st, 2003. Friday January 23rd - RON HYNES --- Newfoundland Singer Songwriter Ron Hynes will visit The Roundup to perform some of his tunes and chat with guest host Kevin Sylvester. Visit our website at http://www.sadgoat.ca. Our e-mail address is roundup @ vancouver.cbc.ca or call 1-888-SAD-GOAT ____________________________________________________________ Listen to Richardson's Roundup on CBC Radio One Monday through Friday at 2:06 pm (2:36 in Newfoundland) or listen live to CBC Radio on your computer by visiting http://cbc.ca/audio.html (via Westenhaver, DXLD) On the other hand, most of the local morning drive shows have gone to a 5:30 a.m. start, while Toronto's Metro Morning and Ontario Morning still wait until after the 6:00 a.m. news (Kevin A. Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, http://www.publicradiofan.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. A NOMAD AT PLAY IN RADIO LAND Given carte blanche by the CBC to try his hand at writing for radio, author ANDRÉ ALEXIS discovered it's all about voice... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040119.walexis0119/BNStory/Entertainment/ Novelist André Alexis is the writer and host of Radio Nomad, which launches tonight at 8:05 (8:35 in Newfoundland) on CBC Radio One (via Eric Flodén, BC, ODXA via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. CRI`s Spanish broadcast at 2200 UT on 13700 is definitely coming via Sackville, since on Jan 19 I caught fragments of the RCI IS before the carrier was cut at 2259, unlike some other occasions when there was no such clue. No sign of this, or any broadcast to LAm on the R. Internacional de China website at http://espanol.chinabroadcast.cn/1/2003/11/28/1@301.htm which by its very URL is no more recent than Nov. 28, but the schedule there is actually dated April 1, 2003. What good is their much-vaunted every-language website if it isn`t up to date? I started listening at 2257 just as the Spanish transmission schedule was given. Wish I had been taping, since it just might be more current. But then I would have to get out the calculator, as tho the times were in UTC rather than GMT, only wavelengths in metres (to two decimal places, not just bands) were given, not frequencies in kHz! Do they really think any significant fraction of their Spanish-speaking audience now has radios calibrated in meters? 13700 could easily be the same RCI transmitter which then comes up in English at 2300 on 13680 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Regarding your Cuba news item in DXLD 4-011, RHC started running "Making Contact" at least a year ago if not more. It's not a regular feature, though, just something that is run when enough people are on vacation or are covering an event. Even then, it's not a given: When Isabel García is hosting, she's much more likely than her substitute hosts to throw on a UN Report to fill the time than to throw on "Making Contact." And really, are you surprised? "Making Contact" is some of the most openly pro-Communist programming that airs on RHC, but it's too bad that it comes off like a leftist version of "American Dissident Voices." Keep in mind that I'm going by past experience and did not hear that particular transmission. My main frequency of 6000 kHz stopped having terrible distortion only a couple of days ago, so I haven't gotten back into the rhythm of listening to RHC (Michael L. Semon, Lakeland, FL, USA, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. AUMENTAN INTERFERENCIA CONTRA RADIO MARTI EXTRAIDO DE LA PRENSA INDEPENDIENTE "CUBANET" ENERO 19, 2004. SOCIEDAD / Aumentan interferencia contra Radio Martí - Prensa Independiente de Cuba / CubaNet News - Noticias de Cuba / Cuba LA HABANA, 16 de enero http://www.cubanet.org --- Mientras el gobierno cubano protestaba por la decisión de las autoridades norteamericanas de no continuar las conversaciones sobre el tratado migratorio que se realizaban cada seis meses, nuevas y más potentes interferencias se sumaban a las ya existentes para bloquear las transmisiones de Radio Martí en las bandas de onda corta. ¿Coincidencia? Quizás, pero ante el intento del gobierno de los Estados Unidos de hacer posible que el pueblo cubano tenga acceso a la información libre y veraz por medio de la radio y la nunca vista TV Martí, las autoridades de la isla se aprestan a recrudecer su "guerra electrónica informativa". "Con los ruidos que han metido, ya no puedo escucharla", se quejaba Esther, una ama de casa que en su viejo radio soviético VEF sintonizaba Radio Martí en medio de las señales distorsionantes que el gobierno comunista les ubica encima. A esta experiencia, tomada de sus similares soviéticos para silenciar durante la Guerra Fría a Radio Europa Libre y Radio Libertad, el gobierno ha asignado más recursos. Las transmisiones de la emisora insurgente en la banda de onda media son bloqueadas al situarle transmisiones de emisoras nacionales del país, más potentes y con una ubicación que no ofrece posibilidades de recepción. Cuando esas emisoras (Radio Rebelde, Radio Progreso y Radio Reloj Nacional) salen del aire por desperfectos técnicos, la señal de Miami entra alta y clara en los receptores del país. Los opositores y sus familiares y amistades que han recibido radiorreceptores portátiles marca TECSU, de tecnología asiática, corremos mejor suerte pese a las interferencias novedosas, ya que en algunas bandas y en algunos horarios podemos escucharla en medio de innegables dificultades técnicas. El gobierno cubano ha reconocido implícitamente la recepción de Radio Martí por parte del pueblo y su carácter movilizador, al culparla de cuanta protesta se manifiesta en Cuba. La posesión de radios de onda corta fue una de las principales evidencias presentadas en los juicios sumarios contra 75 opositores pacíficos y periodistas independientes, que fueron condenados a largas condenas por ejercer su derecho a la libre expresión. cnet/27 Esta información ha sido transmitida por teléfono, ya que el gobierno de Cuba controla el acceso a Internet. CubaNet no reclama exclusividad de sus colaboradores, y autoriza la reproducción de este material, siempre que se le reconozca como fuente. (via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, DXLD) Would not be surprised if this is the case, but where is the evidence that jamming has been stepped up, as the headline asserts??? It seems that in Cuba, DXers are Limited, and risk prison for merely owning a SW radio! It`s a well-known principle that higher frequencies (as long as they are propagating) are harder to jam than lower ones, due to skip distances. Without embargo, R. Martí abandoned the 21 MHz band this season, its highest now being 17670. Despite its super-signal here from Delano, jamming is usually audible underneath, but within Cuba itself, it would be difficult to get far enough away to jam it via skywave. So short-range ground-wave jammers would have to be operating in Habana and perhaps other population centers. I`ve often wondered if there is a large SW jamming site in eastern Cuba to `serve` Habana and the west, and perhaps vice versa. We may never know until the post-revolutionary era finally arrives. It would certainly be helpful if some friendly countries such as Venezuela, Brasil, would do some skywave jamming for Cuba. Also noted heavy jamming on 15330 at 2022 UT Jan 19, which is during the two-hour pause when R. Martí is NOT using the frequency; an annoyance on the side of RCI 15325. Hay más: (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DECOMISAN ANTENA DE TELEVISIÓN POR SATÉLITE TOMADO DE LA EDICION ELECTRONICA "LA NUEVA CUBA" 16 DE ENERO, 2004 REPRESION / Prensa Independiente de Cuba / CubaNet News - Noticias de Cuba / REPRESION LA HABANA, 15 de enero (Juan Carlos Linares / http://www.cubanet.org) - El pasado lunes 12 de enero fue decomisado un equipo para captar señales televisivas vía satélite y la familia propietaria multada con mil pesos. El hecho ocurrió en Justicia y Velázquez, en el capitalino municipio de 10 de Octubre. Según los testimonios de algunos vecinos, en el despojo participaron dos agentes de la policía vestidos de civil, en compañía de un dirigente de los Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR), quienes advirtieron a los afectados que "esto se hace por primera vez, porque si incurren el mismo delito la sanción será más severa". Hechos similares se están reportando en varios puntos del país. El gobierno cubano está tratando de impedir que los ciudadanos capten otras señales televisivas y radiales que no sean las oficiales. Se rumora que se prepara un fuerte operativo policial contra las personas que no respeten esa ley (via Oscar de Céspedes, DXLD) ** DENMARK. DANISH BROADCAST QSL GALLERY Dear Glenn, Referring to the AWR history of Radio Denmark (DXLD 4-010) and the closure of its short wave service, I have now moved my Danish QSL Gallery to one of my own sites. It can now be found at: http://www.qsl.net/oz3yi/QSL.html Kind Regards, (Erik Køie, DK-2840 Holte, Denmark, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [and non]. On this week`s DX Partyline Jan 17, Allen Graham says he`s heading off to the USA for three and a half months of home ministry (read: fund-raising), but will continue to produce DXPL on his laptop. Also plans to attend the 17th Winter SWL Fest in March in PA. Reading the EDXP Report, Jeff Ingram could not pronounce three WYFR relay sites: Tananarive, Ascension and Meyerton, but he nailed Okeechobee (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3291.2, VoG-GBC; 0912 1/19 VERY STRONG! Man in English with Happy Birthday announcements, 0916 "Good Morning to all.....", 0917 E. Indian (Hindi) song sung by male & female vocalists about exchanging marriage vows. 0934 "You are tuned to the VOICE of GUYANA, from the GUYANA BROADCAST CORPORATION" (Steven Wiseblood, Brownsville, TEXAS, Radio Shack DX-399, 300' mini BEV, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. RADIO LISTENERSHIP INCREASES IN NEW DELHI Bhupesh Bhandari in New Delhi Published : January 19, 2004 The humble radio is back in reckoning. A recent study by IMRB International for Radio Mirchi has not only reported a sharp rise in radio audience in New Delhi during the last six months, it has also said that radio listenership is fast catching up with television viewership in the capital city. . . http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=2&story=32386 (via Ulis Fleming, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re: Religion for Adults, DXLD thread --- If you want an areligious-oriented show try EQUAL TIME FOR FREETHOUGHT http://www.wbai.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=398&Itemid=42 http://foody.org/freethoughtradio.html Sundays at 1830-1900 Eastern Local Time [2330-2400 UT], followed by the Golden Age of Radio (old time radio) 1900-2100 ELT. Live RealAudio feed of WBAI available. (Joel Rubin, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. AMERISTAR FOR WORLDSPACE? Having examined the scheduled launches of satellites for 2004 / 05 / 06, WorldSpace Ameristar is absent for the comprehensive launch list: http://www.lyngsat.com/launches It thus seems that rumours about WorldSpace starting broadcasting to South America are ill-founded, at least in the short term (Mike Terry, UK, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. A short while ago there was confusion on the DXLD about Horkheimer's theme. I don't remember who claimed what, but the piece is *not* Snowflakes are Dancing (a movement from the Children's Corner Suite); it's the First Arabesque, which has no literary subtitle. Here is the confirmation from the page on Amazon that lists the album with sound samples: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003F2F/qid=1074560742/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827077-2894245?v=glance&s=classical Best, (Sr. Stephano Waldee, Generalissimo in Charge of Hum, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. PRESIDENT EAMON DE VALERA'S RADIO DREAM SHOULD BE REVIVED http://www.munster-express.ie/opinion1.htm This guy doesn't seem to be aware that they *were* on shortwave but have just cancelled it! (Andy Sennitt, Holland, standard disclaimer, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: TALES OF THE TELLURIANS, Opinion, by John O`Connor, Jan 16 Reading a magazine article at the weekend, I discovered that there has been quite a demand for world-band radios in recent years, so much so that some companies have now produced some wonderful, palm-sized, super-duper models. Such radios pick up short-wave signals and, I suppose, the best known channels are provided by the BBC's News and World Service and from various US stations. I can't help but think what a wonderful service it would be if RTE Radio 1 was also broadcast on shortwave. These days, more Irish people than ever travel the world and it would be great to pick up news from home via a small radio set. I know that satellite signals are available and RTE and WLRfm are available on the internet but you can't listen to those while sitting on a beach in Spain or tramping the streets of New York or wherever. Of course, this is not something new because the late President Eamon De Valera's had a long-held ambition for RTE to broadcast a shortwave service to the world from Athlone. In fact, in 1939, RTE broadcast its entire daily service from Athlone to the world on shortwave, with the exception of sponsored programmes. A low-powered transmitter was used but it still reached listeners in the United States and Australia. The advent of World War II meant that the service was curtailed and it later limped on and off for years before being scrapped by the government of the day in 1948. After that, the transmitter was switched on once a week to keep it serviceable until about 1960 when the aerials and masts were sold off as scrap. It seems a shame so, perhaps, President De Valera's dream should be revived. I have no idea what the cost would be to broadcast the RTE Radio 1 output on short-wave but I am convinced there is a huge, world-wide audience out there that would love to tune in. The mysterious Kerry bins with no waste... [change of subject] (via gh, DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non?]. Dear Glenn Hauser, With reference to several reports that Radio Sadayee Kashmir operating on 6100 and 9890 is using transmitter from CIS, I would like to clarify that my monitoring observations show that it is from All India Radio only. Even yesterday I could hear AIR program on 6100 for a couple of minutes when their transmitter was warming up at around 1415 in parallel to regular AIR frequencies of 9835 & 9575. On several other occasions also, I have come across similar observations (Jose JAcob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad 500082, India, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So do you have an idea which transmitter site this is? ** KUWAIT. RADIO KUWAIT BEGINS DRM TRANSMISSIONS --- Radio Kuwait has started broadcasting its Arabic programming in digital mode towards Europe. The DRM broadcasts are scheduled at 0930-1305 on 13620 kHz, and 1315-1730 on 9880 kHz. Further details are available on the DRM schedule page, http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_schedule.html which is maintained independently of Radio Netherlands by Klaus Schneider. # posted by Andy @ 10:28 UT Jan 19 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 860.0 (XEMO) "La Poderosa", Tijuana; 0717-, very poor on 12/30. Heard ranchera music with very poor conditions. Slogan "La Poderosa" was given (Shoji YAMADA, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) 1300.0, XEP "R. 13", Ciudad Juárez; 0700-1100, poor-fair on 12/30 & 31. 0700 NA, ID (Hideki WATANABE, ibid.) Really gets out; 50 kW 1630.0, XEUT, Tijuana; 0649-0800*, fair on 12/30 (Hideki WATANABE, Japan, Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) Haven`t seen XEUT reported for a long time in North American DX bulletins; wonder why? Signs off at local midnight, it seems. If you just hear Spanish on 1630, it could also be KNAX in Texas; that`s religious/commercial, while XEUT is cultural, jazz or classical (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 4810, Jan 18 1930-1940: XERTA. Spanish conversation between a Man and a Woman, talk of Tourism in MEXICO. Heard here in South TEXAS ALL DAY! (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach TX, HCDX Online Log via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN [and non]. Re: ``PBC Quetta on 5027.2 kHz NOW. Right now (0221 UT Jan 16) I'm listening to what I am CERTAIN is PBC Quetta Pakistan on 5027, SINPO 23332, Lower sideband ONLY audible (QRM on UPPER). Grab it now as they will be in full daylight pretty quickly! KO6BB`` I was glad to read this. On 12.22.03 at 0158Z I logged a tentative reception of R. Pakistan, Quetta, on 7155 with a faint woman's voice and music; I had spent two years trying to nab it. When I first picked up PBC Quetta, as confirmed by ILG database, I immediately checked the other two "on air" frequencies at that hour, and heard them (tentatively) and logged them. I picked up a tentative identification of reception of PBC Islamabad in what I presumed was Urdu at 0200 at a frequency of 11565: an unexpected bonus. Also at 0203, Islamabad in Urdu? on 7105. Had also heard AIR Aligarh at 0150, good on 9470. I did not hear 5027. Usually there is next to nothing but noise there; occasionally some sidebands from the good Doctor S. if his transmitter is at full power; so my chance of hearing Pakistan at that frequency is nil. I merely commented because if it was propagating at 5027, this tended to indicate that it would be propagating at 7155 or higher. This is the very first time I have been close to confirming Pakistan though of course the various AIR transmissions are often heard. Recently on a number of evenings, around the 20th to end of December, I had noticed also a plethora of signals from India and Sri Lanka, one after another as I tuned the bands. An amazing opening, day after day! Strong signals that surpassed anything from that region heard here in San José, CA. in the past years (Steve Waldee - R75; 350-ft dipole; retired broadcast station engineer, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY [non]. RADIO PRIMERO DE MARZO, ASUNCIÓN, PARAGUAY , EN LOS 6105.0 KCS. Ayer, 18 de enero de 2004, estuve escuchando por los 6105.0 kcs. Desde Alrededor de las 2200 y hasta más o menos las 0100 TU de hoy, a Radio Primero de Marzo en la transmisión del partido de fútbol entre las selecciones de Paraguay y Ecuador, programa "Fútbol a lo Grande". SINPO 54343 a 32342 hacia el final de la transmisión, en castellano. Para la estadística le digo que la última emisora paraguaya que escuché en la banda de 49 metros fue Radio Nacional del Paraguay en 6025.0 kcs, audible hasta el 5 de abril de 1991 (Emilio Pedro Povrzenic, Villa Diego, Provincia de Santa Fe, Rep. Argentina, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola Emilio, Hubo varios informes que la señal en 6105 es en realidad R. Cultura Filadélfia, Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil, retransmitiendo varias emisoras paraguayas, por ejemplo en DXLD 3-176, Oct 6, 2003 (gh) ** PERU. 3172.7 kHz, Radio Municipal Panao (tentative), 0938 Jan 6. Station signed on as I was sitting on freq. Carrier was promising, but signal modulation low. Male announcer already speaking as transmitter cut on. Echo-effect announcements, but ID not heard. Music definitely Andean. Just above threshold level. Sign on variable, as during the week heard this sign on and another at 0939 on another day, but on a third day, was already on at 0927 tune in. Threshold to poor on Jan 6 and 8. Barely audible or inaudible rest of week up to Jan 11. QSLs: After virtually no SW QSLs for ages, a banner week this week with the help of a package as a result of Takayuki Inoue Nozaki's trip to Perú. 5020 kHz, Radio Horizonte (Chachapoyas) with f/d Maroti card and n/d personal letter for two April 2001 receptions. 5000 watts. V/s Percy Chuquizuta Alvarado, Administrador. Addr: Jr. Amazonas No, 1177, Apartado 6, Chachapoyas. 6797.7 kHz, Radio Difusora Comercial "Ondas del Rio Mayo" with f/d Maroti card and n/d personal letter for a February 2000 reception. 1000 watts. V/s Edilderto (Edilberto on return addr) Peralta Lozada, Gerente General. Addr: Jr. Huallaga No. 348, Distrito Nueva Cajamarca, Provincia de Rioja, Región San Martín. 6324 kHz, Radio Difusora Comercial La Voz del Destino with f/d Maroti card, f/d personal letter, business card and ad sheet calling himself "The Messenger of Destiny" (fortune teller) for an October 2002 reception. 400 watts. V/s Pablo Caro Dávila, Gerente. Addr: Jr. Santa Rosa No. 199, Nueva Cajamarca, San Martín. 5486 kHz, Radio Reina de la Selva with f/d Maroti card and 2 Christmas picture cards for a November 2002 reception. 250 watts. V/s Jose David Reina, Gerente General. No add[ress] listed. 6115 kHz, Radio Unión with f/d Maroti card, f/d station QSL and p/d personal letter for a January 2000 reception. 10 kW. Also enclosed bumper sticker. V/s Augusto Ruiz Tello, Gerente General. New Address: Av. José Pardo No. 138, Piso 15-1501, Lima 18. Old address (Av. Central 717) on the QSL-Card. Both still list Apartado Postal 833. (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, USA, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) full/data, partial/data, no/data ** SLOVAKIA. Re: Who listens to Eastern European broadcasters these days? I like Radio Slovakia International. I think their programming has a hand-made quality to it. They do a lot of reports where they take their microphones out on the street and capture sounds and voices live, as in their "Regional News" segments. They seem to have a sense of humor about what they do "in the upside down pyramid" (the RSI building in Bratislava), and the presence of a British announcer (Pete Miller) on the staff gives their descriptions of Slovak life a touch of ironic detachment. They have a cooking show on Saturdays, "Cooking with Andrea". How many of the other Eastern Europe broadcasters do that? I haven't done enough listening to the others to compare and contrast, but I'm a big fan of RSI. I have listened to them pretty regularly since 1993, and I think they are getting more professional without losing a personal touch. And the "QSL Gallery" on their website is a nice touch too (Scott Walker, New Cumberland PA, Jan 19, swprograms via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. I should have looked a bit closer at the item under this heading in 4-011. If Brother Scare is really on WWCR 5070 every day at 1100-1200, that knocks out the Saturday 1130 airing of WORLD OF RADIO, as well as another specialty program: A View From Europe, Sunday at 1110. And he`s also on 15825 daily at the same hour? That had been Worldwide Country Radio M-F. None of this shows yet on the WWCR website or on the January 1 printed schedule. Per Overcomer site, WWCR usage is not only transmitter 4, 24 hours: 0400-1300 5770, 1400[sic, really 1300]-2100 9475, 2100-0400 7465, but also on transmitters 1 and 3: 0700-0900 5070, 1100-1400 5070, 1100-1200 15825. But the 1200-1400 listing on 5070 everyday can`t possibly be right, since 12160/9985 are on the air after 1300, and as we monitored on Sunday, with Ragam. Perhaps it`s M-F only on transmitter 3, whatever frequency that lands on, previously occupied by Newswatch Magazine and Point of View. But then, there can never ever be enough Brother Scare, can there?! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. Around 0330 UT I checked some of the Sudan frequencies on MW published in WRTH 2004 and noticed that 765 is fair to good with a morning program; a phone conversation with Khartoum airport with a weather report, followed by local news. Checked 7200 kHz but it was not on; also 1296 was not on. Around 0410, 7200 signed on // 1296 with the news about the visit of the Sudanese president to Egypt and his talks with the Egyptian president. All the best, guys (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. YAWI RADIO HITS THE AIRWAVES Drive to win hearts, minds of villagers http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/19Jan2004_news09.html The army has begun broadcasting radio programmes in the Yawi dialect as part of its campaign to win hearts and minds in the South. Twenty teams from special warfare units are visiting villages in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces. The teams, with 10 members each, will distribute Tanin radios, a Thai brand, in border villages. Villagers will be encouraged to listen to programmes in Yawi on FM 107.3 MHz, a military frequency. Lt-Col Sombat Sriyodying, commander of the psychological operations unit, said the teams would focus on creating better understanding between the military and local residents. People would be told about border incidents and martial law and military operations in Yawi. He said the psychological teams would listen to complaints from residents and offer help. Each team includes Muslim soldiers and a Muslim interpreter (via Kim Elliott, Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. Re WWCR test on 9985, mixing products? Hi Glenn, I monitored WWCR on 9985, 19 January, 2004 between 1300 and 1400 UT, using the Drake R7 receiver. The signal on 9985 had a consistent S7 to S8 signal strength here. During the same time frame I had the Drake R8 monitoring 8965 and the R8B monitoring 10495. I noted no mixing products here on 8965. I did note however a het on 10495 toward the latter end of the broadcast (But could get no audio). The het left the air at exactly the same time WWCR left 9985 at 1357. So perhaps there was something to that. I also checked 9475 occasionally with the R8, which was giving an S9+ signal. I was using antennas of 70' and 200' in length, switching between the two (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good morning: During the WWCR tests this morning, some mixing was clearly heard on 10.495 MHz at the end of the test 1350 UT. The strength reached S3 at times. Nothing heard on 8.965 MHz. I am located in Ottawa, Canada. The receiver is an AR 7030+ and the antenna is a Large Aperture loop (ALA100) from Wellbrook Communications. The circumference of the loop is 65 ft. Hope this help, (Jacques D`Avignon, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Just checked the transmissions noted at 1300 GMT. Both main frequencies received "armchair copy" here in Ottawa. No signal noted on 8965, but solid mixing product noted on 10495. Signal was S4 with the audio of both main frequencies heard in the mixing product. Equipment here is Radio Shack DX392 with 15 ft external random wire. (Mike Ligeza - VE3UIL, Ottawa, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Attention WWCR. This morning I monitored 8965 and 10495 from 1330 to 1400 UT Jan 19-04. Nothing was heard on 8965 except for splatter from two outband New England accented fishermen on 8963 who talked about the "weatha". On 10495 nothing was heard until 1343 when a steady carrier was detected and audio was heard. I thought the voice sounded familiar. Possibly a religious program I have listened to some time in the past on shortwave. At 1345 the audio changed momentarily to maybe an advertisement from a commercial station. The words "affordable vinyl siding" were heard. Garbled audio along with a steady carrier was heard until 1357 when both vanished. I hope this report is of use to you (Jerry Coatsworth, R.R. #3, Merlin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Glenn, Even if I might not be the prime target for the test I have at least tried it. I tried twice, first just after 1300 UT and again half an hour later. I have been listening to Radio Polonia for the rest of the time. Booming in good on 9525 at present. Well, the old 12160 didn't give any reception of anything. 9985 was empty at 1305 but half an hour later there might have been something. But it was impossible to identify. But I think it was in English and might have been WWCR. 8965 and 10495 was empty both occasions. By the way, 9475 is covered by a station broadcasting in an Asian language. I would guess on Radio Australia in Mandarin. The receiver was a Sony 2001D (2010 for you....) I have been spending the whole weekend working on my column for the Swedish Eter-Aktuellt mag, published by the Swedish DX-Federation. Finishing it today Monday. I have taken a day off from work to finish it. Unfortunately I will soon have to go and get my both youngest kids home from school and daycare. 73 From the deep south of Sweden (Sven Ohlsson, SE-265 31 ÅSTORP, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My monitoring observations on 9985 kHz (WWCR-new freq.). Date Jan. 19, 2004. Receiver "Sangean ATS-909" with external "Wire" antenna 10 m. At 1300 - ~1345 on 9985 kHz is WWCR with SINPO 34333. Frequencies 8965 and 10495 are clear. At 1400-1500 on 9985 kHz is clear. Not any stations... At 1500-1600 on this freq is strong bubble jamming, not heard of WWCR. 8965 and 10495 clear. 73, (Vasily Gulyaev, Astrakhan, Russia, Location 46 22'N, 48 05'E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Continuous RTTY QRM on WTJC 9370 noted at 1430 UT Jan 19 from the higher side around 9372, and again at recheck 2015. Had not noticed such a problem previously, but this far outside the broadcast band, the RTTY probably has priority (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ARRL TO PROPOSE NEW ENTRY-LEVEL LICENSE, CODE-FREE HF ACCESS NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 19, 2004 --- The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a Morse code test. The League also will propose consolidating all current licensees into three classes, retaining the Element 1 Morse requirement --- now 5 WPM --- only for the highest class. The ARRL Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals --- developed by the ARRL Executive Committee following a Board instruction last July --- are in response to changes made in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03). They would continue a process of streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began more than five years ago but left unfinished in the Amateur Service license restructuring Report and Order (WT 98-143) that went into effect April 15, 2000. http://www2.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt98-143ro.pdf ``Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always been emotional,`` said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in presenting the Executive Committee`s recommendations. ``In fact, without a doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio`s `religious debate.``` The plan adopted by the Board departs only slightly from the Executive Committee`s recommendations. The ``New`` Novice The entry-level license class --- being called ``Novice`` for now --- would require a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as well as VHF and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and 430-450 MHz. Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40, and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10 meters and up, thus avoiding the need for the more complex RF safety questions in the Novice question pool. ``The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees the opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity than is available to current Technicians while retaining a motivation to upgrade,`` said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. ``It was also seen as important to limit the scope of privileges so the exam would not have to include material that is inappropriate at the entry level.`` As an introduction to Amateur Radio, the Novice license served successfully for most of its 50-year history. The FCC has not issued new Novice licenses since the 2000 license restructuring, however. Under the ARRL plan, current Novice licensees --- now the smallest and least active group of radio amateurs --- would be grandfathered to the new entry-level class without further testing. Anticipating assertions that the new plan would ``dumb down`` Amateur Radio licensing, Harrison said those currently holding a ticket often perceive the level of complexity to have been greater when they were first licensed than it actually was. ``Quite frankly,`` he said, ``if you review the questions presented in our license manuals throughout the years, you will be surprised how they compare to those of today.`` Technicians and Generals The middle group of licensees --- Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit) and General --- would be consolidated into a new General license that no longer would require a Morse examination. Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders automatically would gain current General class privileges without additional testing. The current Element 3 General examination would remain in place for new applicants. ARRL already has proposed additional phone privileges for Generals in its ``Novice refarming`` petition, RM-10413, but the FCC has not yet acted on that petition. Morse Code Testing Retained for Extra At the top rung, the Board indicated that it saw no compelling reason to change the Amateur Extra class license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on the FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the exams passed by these licensees is very similar. New applicants for Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the written exam would stay the same. The League`s plan calls for current Novice, Tech Plus and General class licensees to receive lifetime Element 1 (5 WPM Morse) credit. ``This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF privileges to promote growth in the Amateur Service,`` Harrison said. ``It also simplifies the FCC database by conforming to the current Universal Licensing System (ULS) structure and does not mandate any modifications to it.`` Sumner concurred. ``The Board started out by recognizing that three license classes was the right number when looking down the road 10 or 15 years,`` he said. ``We need a new entry-level license.`` ``On the other hand, there`s nothing particularly wrong with the existing Extra class license,`` he continued. ``The change in the international regulations notwithstanding, the Board felt that the highest level of accomplishment in the FCC`s amateur licensing structure should include basic Morse capability.`` Sumner and Harrison say the current Technician entry-level ticket provides little opportunity to experience facets of ham radio beyond repeater operation. ``The quality of that experience,`` Sumner said, ``often depends on the operator`s location.`` Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices to participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well as on the top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license also could get another name, Sumner said. ``We`re trying to recapture the magic of the old Novice license, but in a manner that`s appropriate for the 21st century.`` Proposal Includes ``Novice Refarming`` Band Plan The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more smoothly integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license classes and would incorporate the ``Novice refarming`` plan the League put forth nearly two years ago in a Petition for Rule Making (RM- 10413). The FCC has not yet acted on the ARRL plan, which would alter the current HF subbands. The Novice refarming proposal would eliminate the 80, 40 and 15-meter Novice/Technician Plus CW subbands as such and reuse that spectrum in part to expand phone/image subbands on 80 and 40 meters. The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in privileges for Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20, 17 or 12 meters. Novice licensees would have no access to those bands. Proposed Phone/Image HF Subbands (Includes Novice Refarming Proposal) 80 Meters Extra: 3.725-4.000 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) General: 3.800-4.000 MHz (gain of 50 kHz) Novice: 3.900-4.000 MHz (new) 40 meters Extra: 7.125-7.300 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) General: 7.175-7.300 MHz (gain of 50 kHz) Novice: 7.200-7.300 MHz (new) 15 meters Extra: 21.200-21.450 MHz (no change) General: 21.275-21.450 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) Novice: 21.350-21.450 MHz (new) 10 meters Extra and General: 28.300-29.700 MHz (no change) Novice: 28.300-28.500 MHz (no change) Proposed CW/Data-Exclusive HF Subbands (Includes Novice Refarming Proposal) 80 meters Extra: 3.500-3.725 MHz General: 3.525-3.725 MHz Novice: 3.550-3.700 MHz 40 meters Extra: 7.000-7.125 MHz General: 7.025-7.125 MHz Novice: 7.050-7.125 MHz 15 meters Extra: 21.000-21.200 MHz General: 21.025-21.200 MHz Novice: 21.050-21.200 MHz 10 meters Extra/General: 28.000-28.300 MHz Novice: 28.050-28.300 MHz Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. While tuning MW shortly after local sunset to see if the Chicago class A's were again unreadable here, as was the case during much of last week, was surprised to hear WWFE Miami. Heard SM singing with guitar at 0055 UT 18 January, to Spanish announcements at 0056, followed by news in Spanish starting at 0059:30, with "WWFE Miami" ID in English by male at 0101:30. Also heard "La Voz de Salvador" underneath WWFE on this 670 kHz frequency. A check of the WWFE directional pattern plots at the fccinfo.com website shows the primary lobes off to the southwest and east with essentially little directed north. Signal was strong enough to suggest a possible late change from 50 kW to 1 kW night power; propagation was still evidently quite good to the north from Miami. Receiver is RadioShack DX-440 using 200' longwire feeding a RFSystems MLB to shielded coax to receiver (Richard Howard, Burnsville, North Carolina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. An interesting trend in US radio (Mike Terry, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Monday 19th January 2004 A station which has been playing country music on medium wave for over 40 years to audiences in Northern Virginia has folded, only to be replaced by a Spanish-language station called La Campeona (The Champion). Classic Country WKCW found that the costs of staying on air were prohibitive and opted to cease broadcasting. However, media sources in the United States suggest that newer stations serving growing immigrant populations are thriving. A number of stations have changed their formats recently - 80% of those that changed are now serving ethnic populations. http://www.radiowaves.fm/news/index.shtml (via Mike Terry, DXLD) FROM HONKY-TONK TO A LATINO BEAT RADIO CHANGE REFLECTS POPULATION SHIFT [WKCW 1420] By Ian Shapira, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, January 18, 2004; Page C03 Classic Country WKCW, one of the nation's oldest country music stations, had been a fixture in Fauquier County since it began broadcasting in 1960. George Jones and Charley Pride stopped by the Warrenton studio to play their hits live, and disc jockey Tom "Cat" Reeder occasionally invited the station's neighbor, television weatherman Willard Scott, into the booth to chat about the honky-tonk they both loved. Three months ago, the Hank Williams Jr. records stopped spinning, silencing the Washington region's last AM country station, known throughout Fauquier as the Big K. Now, those who tune in to WKCW (1420 AM) hear the accordions and trumpets of Mexican norteña and Dominican bachata music. Very few listeners live in Fauquier, the Northern Virginia county with the fewest Hispanics. "We'd report on cattle and hog prices at the livestock exchange, and people called up to talk about their aches and pains. They don't need us now," said Reeder, 69, whose sign-off became legendary among country broadcasters: "I hope you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live. Bye bye, darlin'." Gradually, Classic Country lost advertising as local businesses sought to reach Fauquier's newest residents -- commuters more inclined toward FM music and news or AM talk radio. The new owner, Vienna-based Metro Radio Inc., now leases the station for $20,000 a month to Manassas entrepreneur Felix Vargas, 48. The tower and license are still in Fauquier, but Vargas moved the studio to Manassas. Now, the same CDs he sells at his general store downstairs are played by the station upstairs. "I knew the moment that I would get on air, we'd have a lot of followers, with all the Hispanics in the Prince William area," said Vargas, who also advertises special deals at his nearby Mexican restaurant and travel agency. To earn revenue, he sells airtime to 50 other businesses of interest to his Latino listeners, including a Falls Church immigration law firm and a car dealership next door. His signal is clearest in Prince William, where about 27,300 Hispanics make up almost 10 percent of the population, and in Fauquier, where about 1,100 Hispanics make up about 2 percent of the residents. La Campeona -- "The Champion," as the station is now called -- is the Washington area's fifth Spanish AM radio station, operating under this relatively inexpensive rental arrangement. "Brokered programming," as it is called, has been around for 20 years but has become hot in the last two years in large metropolitan areas with growing minority populations, according to Bill Parris, president of Rockville-based Radio Broadcast Communications and operator of WKCW from 1997 until its demise. "Lots of minorities don't have the financing to own, so renting becomes a way of serving their communities," Parris said, noting that five other AM stations in the area have switched to brokered programming since 2002, four of them ethnic stations. Vargas moved to this country 30 years ago, first picking tomatoes in California and later working for a beef company in Washington state before joining cousins in Woodbridge in the late 1980s. Soon he opened his Manassas restaurant, México Lindo ("Pretty Mexico"), featuring karaoke on Friday nights, followed by the general store in 1999 and the travel agency in 2000. Eventually, Vargas said, he tired of spending too much money for radio commercials and learned about the availability of WKCW through a friend who works at a Spanish radio station in Arlington. The deal's best part, he said, "is when I have a new CD that arrives at the market, I can play and advertise it on the air as much as I want, and I couldn't do that before." But for Fauquier residents devoted to WKCW's country format, the transition from Big Al Downing drinking songs to Los Tigres del Norte ballads was hard. They lobbied the Board of Supervisors to stop the switch and circulated a petition. But the money wasn't there. Classic Country had an operating budget of $25,000 a month but was earning about $8,000 a month in advertising revenue, surviving only because Parris owned other profitable stations in the Washington area. "A lot of people who work in Fauquier are federal government workers, or work for IBM or AOL. Do they really care about the pony races on Friday night?" asked Rob Clater, a sales manager at Warrenton's Joe Jacoby Chrysler Jeep dealership, which pulled its commercials off Country Classic about three years ago. Clater used to listen as a kid building derby cars in his garage, but he complained that, as he got older, the music seemed fusty and the diet of Washington area news too meager. La Campeona went on the air Oct. 1 and is breaking even, attracting mainly Hispanics in Prince William who listen while they work construction jobs, Vargas said. Rather than offering much news, disc jockeys mainly tell jokes, talk about celebrities and play music, which announcer Dayan Aldana said helps "soften their lives." The music is the most popular feature because it reminds listeners of their homelands, she said. Regulars such as Ubaldo Pérez, 30, a Mexican, who cleans a Giant grocery store from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., visit the general store downstairs from the studio and buy CDs played on the air. "I can dance and drive in my truck," said Pérez, who was at the general store recently buying some cumbia music, a tropical upbeat style of trumpets, synthesizers, bongos and saxophones. The studio itself is tucked obscurely into a nondescript strip mall overshadowed by a huge shopping center across the street. But inside, it is all adrenaline. "Hola! Hola! Dime amor, dime!" (Tell me, honey, tell me!), disc jockey Karla Mélgar, 23, yells at a caller taking his time to request a song during her afternoon show. "¿Qué Pasa con la Raza?" (What's Happening with the People?) Her right foot is tap, tap, tapping, her left hand sliding the volume control wildly up and down the console. The caller asks for "Las Botas de Charro" (Boots of a Cowboy), by Mexican artist Vincente Fernández, and then pleads to the disc jockey, "Yo quiero conocerte!" (I want to meet you)! Mélgar blushes and shoots back, "Besito!" -- her way of blowing a kiss over the airwaves. © 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Matt Francis, DC, DXLD) ** U S A. KUOA: WORLD'S OLDEST RADIO STATION? Does the following mean we can forget everything we have ever learned about KDKA Pittsburgh? Incidentally, while writing, what on earth is a station doing east of the Mississippi with a call-sign starting with K? (Paul David, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mississippi as K/W boundary went into effect long after the beginning of radio broadcasting in the US. There were many more K`s east of the river, and still are some others, and vice versa (gh, DXLD) I always thought it was 2LO now the BBC (Mike Terry, ibid.) http://www.nwanews.com/leader/story_news.php?storyid=4944 Sunday, January 18, 2004 By Lucas Roebuck, Staff Writer Few dispute the fact that KUOA is the oldest radio station in Arkansas, but a relatively new claim by radio enthusiasts suggest KUOA is the oldest radio station in the world. Popular Communications, a magazine for radio enthusiasts, first published the theory of KUOA's claim on being the oldest radio station in July 1995. More recently, Adventist World Radio's "WaveScan" program for radio hobbyists picked up the story -- supporting the theory on its Sept. 21, 2003 show. Neither John Brown University -- the station's current owner -- or the University of Arkansas -- the station's founder -- were aware of any claims KUOA had on being the oldest radio station in the world. However, both schools were able to verify the facts originally suggested by the magazine article. "I find myself delighted at the prospect that it's true," said Mike Flynn, president of the KUOA board of directors, former JBU professor and once a student who worked at KUOA. Flynn said the theory is plausible. "The facts seem to indicate it's feasible it could be true," he said. Flynn said the historical significance of KUOA's early roots brings value to JBU. The magazine article doesn't claim the KUOA was the world's first licensed radio station or even the first broadcast station, however the station appears to have been transmitting radio signals for over 100 years. "It is true, the links are at times somewhat tenuous, and several major changes have taken place over the years," reads a transcript of the Sept. 21 "WaveScan" show. "However, we would suggest that this station is likely to be the closest that we will ever get to discovering which station is the oldest in the world; a station whose history stretches for more than a century from its humble and inauspicious beginnings in 1897 right down to the present day." Here's the nuts and bolts of the theory: Radio began when Italian Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first radio signals over one sesquimile in Italy in 1895. Ethel Simpson, head of archive and manuscripts at the University of Arkansas, was able to confirm for the Herald-Leader that two years later in 1897, electrical engineering professor William Gladson did build an experimental wireless transmitter. John Brown University archivist Heather Brewer unearthed a paper written in 1935 by JBU student Lester C. Harlow citing the Federal Radio Commission and Federal Communications Commission tracing KUOA's history as far back as 1901, verifying the documentation from the U of A and claims of both Popular Communication and "WaveScan." From the results of Gladson's work, in 1900 a wireless telegraph station was installed on the U of A Fayetteville campus. Gladson was not known for radio, but for his early work with X-rays (he operated the first X-ray machine in Arkansas) and for designing Arkansas' first electric chair. After radio stations (then called land stations) became regulated in 1912, the University of Arkansas station was granted the call sign 5YM. Special Land Station 5YM, like most amateur and commercial radio stations during World War I, was closed on April 7, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the airwaves silent. In 1919, engineering students powered up land station 5YM and in 1920 the station received a technical and training school license. U of A officials successfully obtained a commercial broadcast license on Dec. 4, 1923 and in January the next year, 5YM became KFMQ broadcasting at a frequency of 1140 kHz. In 1925 the station moved on the dial to 1000 kHz. In 1926, the station changes its call letters to catchy KUOA to better market the University of Arkansas connection. In 1927, KUOA moved to 1030 kHz on the AM dial. In 1933, the station was sold to interests controlled by the Fulbright family who in turn sold it to John Brown University in 1935 for $16,000. In 1936, JBU moved the station to its current location in Siloam Springs, where in November the new radio tower known to JBU alumni as the "Rod of God" was erected. In the 1950s, KUOA transition from being a religious program format to a music format. In 1972, KUOA moved up the dial to 1290 kHz. The "Rod of God" was torn town in 2000 and replaced in 2000 as part of an upgrade for both KUOA and its sister FM station KLRC to an all- digital production. Last year, KUOA changed formats from country music to news talk. Dubbed "American Family Values," the "one station under God" is the latest chapter in what is likely the oldest story in radio (Siloam Springs Herald-Leader Jan 18 via ukradio news via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via Paul David, DXLD) ** U S A. WOOD-105.7 to surrender superpower - or not? One of my MT readers brought something to my attention -- an application from WOOD-FM Grand Rapids, MI to move to a new tower and reduce power from their grandfathered 265 kW facilities to the current limit of 50 kW. Further perusal of the FCC website shows this application was dismissed at the applicant's request in March 2003. It would be interesting to know why WOOD considered taking this action in the first place (Doug Smith, Pleasant View TN, WTFDA via DXLD) I'll ask my West Michigan broadcast contacts, to be certain, but I'm pretty sure WOOD-FM (owned by Clear Channel) was having a rent dispute with WOOD-TV (owned by LIN), which owns the tower in question. Public radio WVGR 104.1, which was also on the WOOD-TV tower, moved off about two years ago when their rent would have more than tripled. Given that grandfathered superpower FMs are only protected from interference to the standard class limit, and given how crowded the FM dial is these days, there's really not a huge advantage to be gained by continuing to run such enormous power levels these days, especially at the relatively low HAATs of WOOD-FM and nearby WBCT 93.7 (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. Radio LOG on 540 kHz --- In today's Boston Globe (pp. B1-B2, Dec. 19th), there's an article about a new station on 540 kHz to be called Radio LOG (R-LOG for short). The station will be on the air by the end of the month. It is programmed by 12-18 year old girls, and the audience is the same. It is partially to fight back against the misogyny in hip-hop and rap music. The name of the station comes from an alternative school in Dorchester called the Log School. The studios will be on the fourth floor of St. Mary's and Infants Center in Dorchester. The transmitter will be on the roof of that building. One of the major backers of the project is Mayor Menino of Boston, who thought it was a great idea when it was presented to him (so it can't be THAT illegal). Keeps your DX ears open on 540 kHz, since I'm sure the station will be low power. Have fun, (Paul McDonough, Natick, MA, Jan 19, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U S A. Scott Fybush follows up his previous comments about WBZ Florida: We still have two concerns. First, in a business where accuracy and integrity are everything - and WBZ's concern for Gary LaPierre's integrity can be measured by the station's longstanding refusal to allow him to do "live-read" commercials - it was probably a bad idea to avoid any mention of his whereabouts on the air or in other media. We agree with WBZ program director (and our former boss) Peter Casey that there's no compelling reason to clutter the already crowded formatics by mentioning LaPierre's location in each half-hour's news open, or even on a daily basis. But a well-placed feature story two years ago about how technology made it possible for WBZ to keep their popular morning anchor on the air and serving Boston listeners would have forestalled the inevitable "gotcha" story that was bound to show up in the absence of a more timely disclosure. WBZ had nothing to be ashamed of, and still doesn't. Our second concern goes beyond WBZ itself, to the use of this technology for less constructive purposes. While WBZ's mission of providing local news continues to be maintained by the large staff toiling behind the mikes and behind the scenes in Boston, many other stations are using cheap ISDN and satellite connections to avoid spending the money to generate news and public affairs content locally. Whether it's Sinclair's "News Central" operation, which every night offers the spectacle of a "Rochester" (or "Pittsburgh," or "Flint" or "Las Vegas") newscast that's anchored in large part from Maryland, including a "local" weather segment in which the forecaster has never even seen the market on which she's reporting, or a "local" talk show being done on the cheap by a host hundreds of miles away with no connection to the market in which he's being heard, there are already too many examples of remote broadcasting being done to the detriment, instead of to the advantage, of local audiences. It's a shame to see someone with the experience and, yes, the integrity of Gary LaPierre being tarred with that same brush (Scott Fybush, NY, NE Radio Watch Jan 19 via DXLD) ** U S A. KUNM Albuquerque normally posts its monthly guide Zounds in pdf well before the start of each month, but as of mid-January, still no sign of the current issue. So I enquired, and was told that they had a problem exporting it from Pagemaker to pdf, and offered to send me the highlights for what`s left of January, UT minus 7: Wednesday, January 21 10 p.m. Southwest Stages debuts with "An Evening with Los Lobos." This brand new program showcases Los Lobos at the Rio Grande Zoo during the 2003 Zoo Music Series. Tune-in for interviews and live music performed by Latino Superstars Los Lobos. This show features music from the band's last album "Good Morning Aztlán," as well as some of the songs that made the band famous. So tune in and check out music and interviews with East LA's favorite sons, Los Lobos. Saturday, January 24 6 a.m. New Dimensions, "Beyond Buddha" with Steve Bhaerman, Swami Beyondananda. An hour of the lighter side of enlightenment. As Swami Beyondananda, Steve Bhaerman's unique blend of humor, politics and spirituality will make you laugh out loud while you shake your head at the ironic truth the Swami finds in the simplest of metaphors. Program #2994. Sunday, January 25 10:30 p.m. Radio Theater, "The Painter of Life," Conclusion. A surreal community radio theater production about a very strange art connoisseur, from Rainwalker Studios in California (see program description for January 18). Wednesday, January 28 10 p.m. Southwest Stages presents "An Evening with Ozomatli." This high-energy band from Los Angeles blends Rock, Latin, Funk, Rap, and World Rhythms into their own high-octane dance music. Recorded live at the Paramount in Santa Fe during two nights in November 2003, Ozomatli brought the party to NM. You'll hear their best songs and learn more about the band as I talk with them back-stage. Put on your party hat and dancing shoes and get down with one of the hottest dance/party bands in the world. Friday, January 30 8:30 a.m. Peace Talks: The Artist/Activist. Host Suzanne Kryder talks with actor Kathryn Blume, star of her own one-woman show called "The Accidental Activist." Blume's show dramatizes the development of the Lysistrata Project which she co-founded in 2003. Thanks to Blume's efforts, over 1,000 readings of the Greek play about women withholding sex from their husbands to end war took place around the globe in March of 2003. Blume discusses the artist's role in promoting political and social awareness. The program includes excerpts from her one-woman show as well as a clip from a reading of Lysistrata recorded at KUNM. Saturday, January 31 6 a.m. New Dimensions, "Intentional Community: Creating A Life Together" with Diana Leafe Christian. Ms. Christian has been studying the rise in the number of intentional communities around the globe for more than ten years. She shares insights that will inspire many to consider embracing this lifestyle, and to improve the success rate for new intentional communities. Diana Leafe Christian is the editor of Communities magazine and author of "Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities" (New Society 2003). Program #3010. 9 a.m. The Children's Hour. Aloha Albuquerque! The Children's Hour takes you to Hawaii for a little island sun, fun, music, stories and facts to share (via Mary Bokuniewicz, KUNM, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. US X-BAND AT A GLANCE JANUARY 2004 COMPILED BY TONY KING, GREYTOWN, NEW ZEALAND 1610 CJWI Montreal QUE FF Caribbean music. 1620 WDND South Bend IN ESPN Radio 1620 KOZN Bellevue NE ESPN Sport. ``The Zone`` WTAW College Station TX ``Newstalk 16-20 WTAW`` Takes ``USA Radio News`` & C-to-C AM KBLI Blackfoot ID SS ``Radio Fiesta`` KYIZ Renton WA Urban/R & B; hip hop KSMH West Sacramento, CA Catholic. ``KSMH West Sacramento`` WDHP Frederikstad, US Virgins BBC WS to after 2200 NZDT. Full ID at :59 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA Hot AC /Classic Rock KKWY Fox Farm WY C&W AP nx `` K-W-Y 1630`` KNAX Ft Worth/Dallas TX SS. Radio Vida/ Radio Dos Mil Dos [sic, now 2004?]. EE ID :58 WRDW Augusta GA ``Newstalk 1630`` 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KDZR Lake Oswego OR Disney ``KDZR Radio Disney Portland`` KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/religious/life issues WTNI Biloxi MS ``Talk Radio 1640 WTNI Biloxi, Takes ``Coast to Coast`` ABC nx. KMMZ Enid-Oklahoma City OK All Comedy Radio. P.O. Box 952 Enid OK 73702. KBJA Sandy UT SS/Radio Única EE ID on hour 1650 WHKT Portsmouth VA ``AM1650 WHKT Portsmouth, Radio Disney`` KBIV El Paso TX C & W. ``Country Classics KBIV`` NEW. 850w nites. KDNZ Cedar Falls IA Talk/ Sport ``The Talk Station`` // KCNZ KWHN Fort Smith AR ``Newstalk 1650 KWHN`` KBJD Denver CO Talk. ``KNUS-2`` KFOX Torrance CA Korean/ EE ID on hour 1660 KTIQ Merced CA Sporting News Network ``The Ticket`` WFNA Charlotte NC Sporting News Radio //WFNZ 610. NEW Started 1/12 WWRU Elizabeth NJ PP & SS Radio Única/R. Portugal. WCNZ Marco Is FL ``Newsradio 1660`` AP news. WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN KRZX Waco TX ESPN + local sport //KRZI 1580. News on hr/local ads .05 (Z=Zee) KQWB West Fargo ND Standards ``Star 1660 is KQWB AM`` CNN news KXOL Brigham City UT ``Oldies Radio`` (60``s rock) KXTR Kansas City KS ``Classical 1660`` WGIT Canóvanas Puerto Rico SS oldies ``El Gigante`` 1670 WMWR Warner Robins GA Gospel/Talk x WRNC ``Talk Radio 1670`` WTDY Madison WI Sports/Talk. ``Talk Radio 1670`` KHPY Moreno Valley, CA Radio Católica SS EE on the hour. KNRO Redding CA ``Redding``s ESPN Radio 1670 KNRO`` 1680 WTTM Princeton NJ Ethnic – South Asian WLAA Winter Garden FL SS Regional Mex. WDSS Ada MI Disney KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KTFH Seattle WA Ethnic. ``The Bridge, AM 16-80 KTFH Seattle.`` KRJO Monroe LA Gospel. ``Rejoice 1680`` 1690 KDDZ Arvada CO Disney KFSG Roseville CA SS rel. and Asian. EE ID on hr ``KFSG Sacramento`` WRLL Berwyn/Chicago IL ``Real Oldies 1690`` WSWK Adel, GA Currently carrying ``Wild Adventure Radio`` [sic] WPTX Lexington Park ``Newstalk 1690 WPTX`` CNN headline News 1700 WJCC Miami Springs FL SS/Rel/``Radio Luz`` WEUV Huntsville AL Black Gospel. KTBK Sherman TX Sporting News Radio ``Sports Radio 1310 KTCK- The Ticket`` KBGG Des Moines IA ``All News 1700 KBGG``. CNN. Usually female presenter. [also Spanish, isn`t it? ---gh] KQXX Brownsville TX ``Oldies Radio 1700 AM`` (Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** WALES [non]. UK: 7110, Radio Wales Int'l [sic]; 2150-2159:30*, 16- Jan; English feature on Celts and national symbols of Wales. SIO=433- (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500' NE unterminated bev, 62.5' TTFD & 250' south terminated pennant, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Thought the name is Wales Radio International; Friday only (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 13966, Brazilian SSB net noted at 2210-2220 UT Jan 19; discussion of using only 3 watts, presumably by stations other than the ones I was hearing; also mentioned Bahia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO STAMPS ++++++++++++ RAI FIRST DAY COVER Hi Glenn, I guess it is the original source INCORRECT. The FIRST DAYS COVERS will be ALWAYS available, the matter is till 23 January it will be possible to go to central postal office of each town head regional in Italy (in Milano is Via Cordusio head office) and to ask to obliterate the postcards and first day covers. With the special seal of 03 January first day issue. After 23 January it will be possible to buy only YET existing first day covers, but no more possible to had the special seal put on post cards and First day covers. Hope this explication is clear (Dario Monferini, Italy, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ FCC CHAIRMAN TOUCHES ON BPL INTERFERENCE ISSUE IN PRESS CLUB SPEECH FCC Chairman Michael Powell has cited the Commission's promotion of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology as an example of a government policy that supports expansion of broadband technology to all Americans. At the same time, Powell said, the FCC needs to ensure BPL doesn't interfere with licensed radio services. In his January 14 speech before the National Press Club, Powell mentioned BPL among "new emerging platforms" for broadband delivery. "With BPL you theoretically reach every American with broadband to every power plug in America," Powell said. "Our goals of universal service will be substantially advanced if that service were fully deployed." Powell also acknowledged interference concerns that have been dogging BPL and raised by the Amateur Radio community and by at least two federal agencies: the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- now a part of the Department of Homeland Security -- and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which manages spectrum allocated to government users. "We will continue to explore ways to support this technology while protecting services from interference," Powell pledged. In the next breath, Powell pointed out that the FCC also is looking to increase the feasibility of broadband delivery via satellite. "Because satellite technology has the ability to reach the entire country," he said, "it holds tremendous potential as an effective Internet solution for many parts of the nation, especially rural and remote areas, at affordable rates." When it issued its BPL Notice of Inquiry (NOI), ET Docket 03-104 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-100A1.doc last April, the FCC suggested that BPL technology would be one way to provide broadband service to rural dwellers. Some technology experts suggest that, because of the equipment needed to deliver BPL broadband to rural customers, BPL would not be cost-effective for such residents. In a bit of unintended irony, Powell's speech, "The Age of Personal Communications," bore the subtitle "Power to the People." Since BPL applies high-frequency RF to parts of the power grid, one aspect of the NOI was to gather information on potential interference to authorized spectrum users. To date, the NOI has attracted nearly 5150 comments, many from the amateur community. The FCC has indicated that providers of BPL equipment "are free to continue to deploy their networks in conformance with existing Part 15 rules." BPL providers already are setting up BPL systems in several communities. NTIA Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Michael D. Gallagher recently told a gathering of the Power Line Communications Association http://www.plca.net/ that the risk of interference to government or other spectrum users provides an incentive to BPL operators to "design and operate their systems to avoid such interference." He said the NTIA has been studying interference risks and the potential "for making risks more tolerable." He said the objective is "to accommodate BPL with acceptable risk." The ARRL anticipates completing an independent BPL engineering evaluation early this year. The study will explore how BPL might affect HF and low-VHF amateur operation as well as how Amateur Radio operation could affect BPL systems. Additional information about BPL and Amateur Radio is on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ To support the League's efforts in this area, visit the ARRL's secure BPL Web site https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/bpl/ CONGRESSMAN-HAM ASKS FCC TO WAIT FOR NTIA STUDY BEFORE ACTING ON BPL US Representative Greg Walden, WB7OCE, has called on the FCC to put off any further action in its Broadband over Power Line (BPL) proceeding until the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) releases the results of its BPL study and the public has had a chance to comment. "I feel that it is important to give the NTIA study thorough consideration before proceeding further with BPL technology, in view of the importance of avoiding interference to federal government HF communications," Walden said in a January 15 letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell. An Oregon Republican, Walden is one of two Amateur Radio licensees in the US House. The FCC released a BPL Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket 03-104 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-100A1.doc last April. In comments http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/2003/bplcomments_08132003.htm filed last August, the NTIA expressed "broad concern" about BPL. The agency -- which administers spectrum allocated to federal government users -- has said the FCC "must ensure that other communications services, especially government operations, are adequately protected from unacceptable interference." The NTIA, which is part of the US Department of Commerce, subsequently undertook evaluations of BPL field test sites, in part to gauge the technology's interference potential. Walden noted that the NTIA's field work was scheduled to wrap up this month, and that its observations and conclusions would be released sometime during the first quarter of this year. Walden told Powell that, given its interference potential to federal and nongovernment radio services in the HF and low-VHF range, the issue of BPL is "of great concern to me." He did not indicate in his letter that he was an Amateur Radio licensee. "It is important that the commission give serious consideration to both the NTIA study and the subsequent round of public comment on the study results," Walden asserted. While agreeing with the goal of increased competition in broadband delivery, Walden encouraged the FCC to "give sufficient attention" to concerns raised regarding BPL's potential to interfere with other radio services. He also asked Powell to respond outlining how the FCC intends to proceed in the matter (ARRL Letter Jan 16 via Bill Smith, W5USM, and John Norfolk, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SEC FUNDING UPDATE --- Ernie Hildner, Director Dear Friends, the current situation is rather brighter than three months ago; Space Environment Center (SEC) will be able to carry on in Fiscal Year 2004 at about the same level of activity as in FY03. We expect that SEC will not suffer major layoffs in FY04. The omnibus appropriations bill for FY04 (already a quarter gone) passed the House on December 8, but the Senate will not take up the bill before January 20. The current version of the bill is unclear about what the funding for SEC will be. The bill no longer contains the Senate language zeroing out space weather in NOAA, and it appears that the intent is to fund SEC n FY04 at about the same level as in FY03. This level is about 60% of what is needed to keep SEC at its current size, but we have identified other, one-time funding to make up the difference. The President`s FY05 budget request fully restores funding for SEC, and we will all campaign to convince Congress that funding SEC at the requested level in FY05 is the right thing to do. Advocacy for SEC by our friends made all the difference in keeping the Nation`s civilian space weather service from being zeroed out. In addition to our customers, the NOAA Science Advisory Board and the Office of Science and Technology Policy weighed in on our behalf. With direct appropriations in FY04 at only 60% of what it costs to provide the current level of our efforts at SEC, the battle for proper funding levels is not yet over. All of us at SEC are deeply grateful for the strong and widespread support that you directed to decision makers about the importance of space weather services and research. Your calls and letters changed minds and helped set up the Congressional hearing in October on ``Space Weather and Who Should Forecast It?`` Thank you for your vigorous and effective support of SEC (SEC User Notes, January 2004, by P-mail postmarked Jan 7, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST since it takes them forever to post these at the http://www.sec.noaa.gov/user_notes/index.html site) ESCUTAS FM CARIBE Escutas em FM do Caribe realizada no último final de semana (17 e 18 de janeiro) em Garopaba. [Santa Carina, southern Brasil] Além das 10 emissoras já ouvidas anteriormente consegui aumentar para 16 a minha lista de emissoras do Caribe. As últimas 6 ouvidas foram: 90.5, Radio Vida, Porto Rico, locutor em espanhol com programas religiosos 92.5, ????- locutor em espanhol- provávelmente Porto Rico 93.3, ???- locutor em espanhol e ouvintes falando ao vivo por telefone sobre uma eleição que iria ter no dia seguinte naquele país. O sinal foi embora rapidamente 95.1, ??? - locutor em espanhol- provávelmente alguma emissora de Porto Rico 95.5, ???- Monte Serrat, muitas musicas caribenhas. durou uns 7 minutos; depois o sinal sumiu 97.3, Radio Santa Lúcia, Santa Lúcia, Várias músicas com o locutor falando em francês no meio das músicas Receptor usado. ICF SW 7600D emprestado assim como as informações fornecidas pelo amigo Cláudio Rotulo de Moraes; antena telescópica do própio receptor (Anderson José Torquato, Garopaba, SC, radioescutas Jan 19 via DXLD) SIDC WEEKLY BULLETIN ON SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY :Issued: 2004 Jan 19 1030 UTC :Product: documentation at http://sidc.oma.be/products/bul WEEK 159 from 2004 Jan 12 SOLAR ACTIVITY: --------------- From January 12 until January 16, flaring activity was really low, with some peaks hardly reaching the C-level, except for the C3.2 flare on January 15. On January 17, the activity increased slowly with more peaks in the C-level mostly coming from sunspot group 35 (NOAA 0540). The group became active and produced an M5.0 flare peaking at 17.50 UT on January 17 and an M1.4 flare peaking at 00.17 on January 18. Both flares were associated with a radio type II outburst. The first CME had a calculated front speed around 700 km/s, the second one between 700 and 1100 km/s. Both are estimated to arrive on January 20. On January 13, a sudden increase in solar wind speed from 500 to 600 km/s was measured by ACE. The cause of this solar disturbance is not clear. A glacing blow of the prominence eruption on January 12 is possible. Further, a half circular coronal hole dominated the solar wind from January 16 on. The solar wind speed started increasing from that date on to reach a peak of 700 km/s during midnight in the night between 16 and 17 Jan. From that moment, the speed decreased the whole day to reach the value of 550 km/s. From January 18 on, we could experience the influence of the second part of the hole leading to an actual value of 600 km/s. GEOMAGNETISM: ------------- 2 main periods of activity were seen this week. On January 13, active geomagnetic conditions were measured (NOAA reported a K_p of 4). The cause of these disturbances was unclear as said previous. The second period started on January 16 with a minor storm period as consequence of the high speed coronal hole wind stream. From January 17 on, quiet periods were alternated with active geomagnetic conditions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY INDICES DATE RC 10CM Ak BKG M X 2004 Jan 12 029 118 014 B4.2 0 0 2004 Jan 13 041 118 024 B4.3 0 0 2004 Jan 14 056 121 014 B3.5 0 0 2004 Jan 15 064 119 014 B3.4 0 0 2004 Jan 16 062 120 029 B2.7 0 0 2004 Jan 17 104 123 024 B3.1 1 0 2004 Jan 18 096 120 025 B2.7 1 0 # RC : Sunspot index from Catania Observatory (Italy) # 10cm: 10.7 cm radioflux (DRAO, Canada) # Ak : Ak Index Wingst (Germany) # BKG : Background GOES X-ray level (NOAA, USA) # M,X : Number of X-ray flares in M and X class, see below (NOAA, USA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTICEABLE EVENTS DAY BEGIN MAX END LOC XRAY OP 10CM TYPE Cat NOAA NOTE 17 1735 1750 1759 S15E19 M5.0 580 II/2,III/2 35 0540 18 0007 0017 0021 S15E18 M1.4 1N 190 II/3,III/3,V/3 35 0540 #--------------------------------------------------------------------- # Solar Influences Data analysis Center - RWC Belgium # # Royal Observatory of Belgium # # Fax : 32 (0) 2 373 0 224 # # Tel.: 32 (0) 2 373 0 276 # # For more information, see http://sidc.oma.be (via Jim Moats, DXLD)