DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-016, January 28, 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 1217: Sat 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ [followed by CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-06 at 0430; this week only instead of Tue; see below] Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu SIUE WEB RADIO. COM 03-06 was missing from scheduled time 0430 UT Tue Jan 27, and presumably also WOR 1217 just before it at 0400 (gh) The problem is the weather this week --- we had an ice storm on Sunday, and are getting hit with snow right now. It`ll be on the air Friday. First, the King Holiday, now the winter weather. It should be back to Mondays next week (if we don`t have any more ice and snow!) (E. B. Stevenson, SIUE Web Radio, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1218: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1218 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1218.html [from Thu?] WORLD OF RADIO 1218 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218.rm WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ: add Sat 2130 on 17495-CUSB (Allan Weiner) CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-01 is now available: (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0401.html [not yet] (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401.rm From DXing.com: (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0401.ram (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0401.rm DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS has been expanded and updated by John Norfolk: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** ALASKA. 1020, KAXX, Eagle River, applies for an increase in day and night power to become U1 50000/50000 (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Jan 27 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Mr. Glenn Hauser: I have a little website with information about am-fm stations from Argentina. It has almost 3600 station included (of course, is not completed). Please, if you have time, take a look at this address: http://www.geocities.com/emisorasargentinas which replaces the old www.geocities.com/radioestaciones - due to trouble with the server and my password :-( Regards (Luciano Gentile, Argentina, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Has R. Australia made some changes in its frequency schedule? Last few days, no sign of 21740 in the 2100-2400 period, no 15515 later in the evening. They are still on the East Pacific schedule at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/hear/epac.htm (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. MAOIST GROUP ADMITS BBC MAN`S MURDER | Text of report in English by press release by Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) on 27 January An underground Maoist organisation has admitted responsibility for the murder of a BBC stringer and in a letter, apparently from its leader, threatened to kill nine more named journalists in the region. Manik Saha died instantly when a bomb was thrown at his head in a street in Khulna in the country`s south-west on 15 January. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres) called on the authorities, in particular the interior minister, to continue to explore every avenue to track down and punish Saha`s killers. The international press freedom organisation added that it believed that the death threats against nine other journalists should ``unfortunately`` be taken very seriously. ``Khulna police should do everything possible to protect the nine journalists who are under death threat``, it added. Reporters Without Borders has for several years denounced the activities of Bangladesh`s underground Maoist groups. Gaffar Tushar, leader of the Maoist group, ``The People`s War`` admitted responsibility for murdering Manik Saha, correspondent for the daily New Age and stringer for the Bengali service of the BBC World Service, in a letter sent to the Khulna regional press club on 22 January. This dissident faction of the Proletarian Party of East Bengal threatened to kill nine journalists in Satkhira, a town a few kilometres west of Khulna). Those named as under threat were : Mizamur Rahman, Kallayan Banerjee, Subash Chowdhury, Ram Krishna, Shahin Goldar, Kazi Dulal, Abul Kalam, Abdul Bari and M. Raju, all local correspondents for Dhaka-based dailies, who have written about the armed group`s illegal activities, in particular extortion. The journalists have all asked for police protection. A few days earlier the Daily Star revealed that anonymous telephone calls had been made to several journalists in Khulna in which Saha was described as an ``enemy of the revolution``. The journalist`s murder prompted a two-day general strike in Khulna on 16 and 17 January. Information minister Tariqul Islam, who went to the town, promised to leave no stone unturned to find and punish those responsible. Source: Reporters Sans Frontières press release, Paris, in English 27 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. Glenn, Don`t know if this is shortwave related but it might be? http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20040127&i=Residents_call_upon_Broadcasting_Services_to_improve_radio_reception RESIDENTS CALL UPON BROADCASTING SERVICES TO IMPROVE RADIO RECEPTION 27 January, 2004 MOLEPOLOLE - Lephephe residents in the Kweneng District say they are in the dark about some national programmes and policies because of poor Radio Botswana (RB) reception in their village. In a kgotla meeting addressed by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Bahiti Temane last week, they said they were disadvantaged because they were missing out on important information and issues broadcast over the national radio station. Residents called on the Department of Broadcasting Services to construct transmitters that would enable them to easily access the station. They also called for the re-introduction of the programme ``Dikgang tsa Palamente``. The programme, they said, was lively and interesting and kept them in touch with their representatives. However, they criticised some MPs accusing them of sleeping on the job and never taking part in parliamentary debates. Villagers hailed Temane`s visit and said the tour was a positive step towards disseminating information to the masses. Temane, who is on a tour to apprise (correct) Batswana on the duties and functions of the National Assembly, said despite its shortcomings, the Department of Broadcasting Services was doing the best it could to improve the reception of the national radio station in many parts of the country. He said due to financial constraints, the department was unable to meet some of its obligations (BOPA via Ulis Fleming, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Desde 18 de dezembro, a estação de ondas tropicais da Rádio Municipal, de São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), que emite em 3375 kHz, está fora do ar. É fruto de uma pane que atingiu a usina termelétrica da cidade e que gerou uma sobrecarga de corrente e, conseqüentemente, queimou componentes do transmissor. Há a promessa do Prefeito de conseguir as peças para a reposição até o final do mês. Com isto, a Rádio Educadora, de Guajará-Mirim (RO), está com a freqüência livre para ela e em Tefé (AM) seu sinal tem chegado com uma excelente qualidade, principalmente pela manhã, diferente de quando a Municipal estava no ar e superava o sinal da Educadora. Em 21 de janeiro, Paulo Roberto e Souza sintonizou a Rádio Educadora, entre 0940 e 1006. Transmitia o programa Brasil Caboclo, com muita música sertaneja, avisos e agradecimentos para os ouvintes. Para os que sintonizarem a Educadora e quiserem informar, o endereço eletrônico é o seguinte: educadora@osite.com.br. Valeu Paulo pelas preciosas informações que só você consegue na região Norte do Brasil! [via WORLD OF RADIO 1218] BRASIL --- Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, de Barbacena (MG), lembra: o maior acervo de informações técnicas sobre radioescuta, atualizado periodicamente e fácil de acessar é auspiciado pelo engenheiro Sarmento Campos, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Portanto, acesse: http://planeta.terra.com.br/arte/sarmentocampos/OndasCurtas.htm BRASIL --- Em Itatiaiuçu (MG), Ivan Dias Júnior ouviu a Rádio Ternura FM, de Ibitinga (SP), pela freqüência de 4845 kHz. Foi em 17 de janeiro, às 0732. A estação apresentava o comercial da Loja Paulista, com excelente sinal. Outra emissora captada por ele foi a Rádio Pioneira, de Teresina (PI), pela freqüência de 5015 kHz, no mesmo dia, às 0828. Ele ouviu o slogan ``Rádio Pioneira, a favor da verdade e da paz``. BRASIL --- A Rádio Brasil, de Campinas (SP), que emite pela freqüência de 4785 kHz, faz parte da Rede Jovem Pan. A constatação é de Paulo Roberto Peres Michelom, de Porto Alegre (RS). Em 25 de janeiro, ele ouviu a emissora, a partir de 0730. A identificação era da Rede Jovem Pan, com o programa Jovem Pan e a Nossa Música. Quando o locutor fez o anúncio das emissoras que integram a rede, apareceu o nome da Rádio Brasil (Célio Romais, Panorama, @ividade DX Jan 26 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Tuned in the 0200 RCI transmission Sunday night to listen to Maple Leaf Mailbag, but heard nothing thru 0230 on the three scheduled frequencies 6040, 9755, 11725. Tuned in again at 0200 Tuesday night and again nothing. The RCI webpage still shows 0200 in the schedule to the US. An email to them has not been responded to. Are they on strike or is this another sudden SW to NAm cutback? Regards (Ben Loveless, WB90FJO, Michigan, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A few nights ago --- it may have been the same night --- I noticed that Vietnam via Canada was inaudible on 6175, and attributed it to propagation, auroral conditions. It`s not been too unusual here for RCI not to be making it at night on 9, 11 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CFAV Radio Nostalgie, 1570 AM in Laval is on the air testing again this afternoon, first reported today at 3:15 PM Eastern. Again, it is a mix of French and English nostalgia music. I have only been listening for a few minutes so far and haven`t heard any announcements so far. [Later:] Just heard an announcement at 4 PM asking listeners to report interference or noise. It is a different number than given during the last test. The number is 450-680-1570, extension 110. They are also mentioning that this is a test from their transmitter site in Ste-Dorothée (Sheldon Harvey, QC, Jan 27, NRC-AM via DXLD) CFAV 1570 kHz is currently on the air. You may want to try and DX it. Conditions seem favourable. Cheers, (Ricky Leong, QC, 0518 UT Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CRI TO EXPAND ENGLISH BROADCASTS, START 24 HOUR LIVE WEBCAST China Radio International has announced in its English-language Listener`s Garden programme on 13 December and expansion of English broadcasting by the station, according to DX Listening Digest. The programme said that ``listeners in South Asia and other regions around the world will be able to hear us in the whole morning and evening, local time`` due to an increase in the number of English transmissions. Additionally, the programme also announced that the CRI web site will soon start 24-hour English broadcasting via the internet. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 14 Dec 03 (via DXLD) Here for archive ** CHINA [non]. Re. ``9755, China Radio International from Xi`an per Passport.`` [at 1300-1500] Obviously basing on the HFCC registration. But this one is for 255 degrees, aiming at CIRAF 43S. Probably Olle will know if this is an existing transmission or just a placeholder, probably even for what is obviously a Sackville outlet? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 2020.18 kHz, HJZD Radio Panzenú, Montería 27/Ene/2004 1020 UT. Amigos DXistas, aquí viene SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 27/Ene/2004 10:27 hora local Radio Panzenú is new for me and it´s the first time I´m hearing something on this frequency. IDs with prefix quite often and some ads. Harmonic from MW 1010 kHz. 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 5019.64 kHz, Radio Net, Quibdó 27/Ene/2004 0330 UT SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 26/Ene/2004 23:18 hora local This is a very rare station but has been active all this Monday evening with as always news program. Remember that they all the time have news from different ``Radio Caracols`` around the country. Stable but not very good signal here in Quito. 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was Ecos del Atrato (gh, DXLD) Re 5019.64 kHz Radio Net, Quibdó --- Sí Señor! Trata de la emisora Usted está mencionando en su email a la lista de Conexión Digital. Algo pasó en Ecos del Atrato hace algunos años cuando cambió formato. Ahora es muy difícil obtener una identificación local pero viene si se escucha la emisora muchas horas. Saludos muy Cordiales desde (Quito y Björn Malm to Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1218DXLD) Esta emisora es la ``reina`` de la retransmisiones, claro todas ellas de emisoras de la cadena Caracol; como comenta Björn es muy difícil obtener una identifica local y más aún programación idem. Retransmite Caracol Básica, Radio Reloj, Tropicana estéreo, La Vallenata, etc. Es muy irregular en la onda corta; no recuerdo haberla escuchado en los meses. Además es una de las peores verificadoras que hay y esto lo sustento ya que muchos colegas de diferentes partes del mundo me han enviado reportes para ver si yo podía hacer algo pero es una tarea inútil (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1218) ** CUBA. If you have time, do check our new transmitter on 12000 kiloHertz, now on the air from 11 to 15 hours UT with our Spanish language morning show Despertar con Cuba... Waking up with Cuba! one of the most popular Radio Havana Cuba`s programs! (Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Jan 28 via WORLD OF RADIO 1218 DXLD) So not a harmonic of 6000 this time; ex-11800?? (gh) ** CUBA [and non]. I`m not convinced that Cuban commie jammers leave R. Martí free during the hour or semi-hour at 0100 when VOA has its own Spanish service, the first 30 minutes of which is Ventana a Cuba, as has been reported from Venezuela. It may be a matter of skip distances and/or directionality from the jamming sites. The closer Cuban jammers (on the higher frequencies) could still be on but skipping over Venezuela, yet still audible here. At least that was the case UT Jan 26 at 0130 when I could still hear jamming on Martí frequencies 6030, 7365 and 11775, in addition to jamming on VOA frequencies 9480, 9560, 9885, 11700 and 11990. Of course there could still be some redeployment of multiple jammers on each frequency. BTW, I was astounded to hear the VOA Spanish frequency announcement at 0130 which claimed it was on 9560, 9735, 9885, 11815 and 13760. I quickly confirmed that it is not on 9735, 11815 or 13760, but instead on 9480, 11700 and 11980, just as it has been since the start of B-03! Was this an old tape? Unseems, as the announcer proceeded to mention the date of 25 de enero de 2004. Could they be trying to fool the Commie Cubans into jamming unused frequencies? Doesn`t funxion, as they could just as easily confirm the real frequencies as I did. How can one be an announcer for a major international SW broadcaster and not even know (or care) which frequencies are in use? Heaven forbid, one could even turn on a SW radio in the studio (with headphones or when mike is off) and check them out for oneself, or if it`s all pre-recorded, at home at one`s convenience (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. RADIO 6 CHANGES BROADCAST TIMES, FREQUENCIES | Text of BBC Monitoring research on 27 January Following a report in DX Listening Digest, it appears that Cesky Rozhlas 6 [Czech Radio sixth channel] has cut its broadcast hours to 1800-2400 local time [1700-2300 gmt] and has changed its frequency usage. According to Czech Radio`s web site [http://www.rozhlas.cz/cro6/zmeny] Radio 6 can now be heard on 639 kHz, 954 kHz and 1332 kHz. Programming consists of news, political and financial analysis. Source: BBC Monitoring research 27 Jan 04 (via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. HCJB DX Partyline audio for Jan 24 still not available as of Jan 28 at http://www.hcjb.org/dxplaudio.php --- I suppose has something to do with Allen Graham being away on home ministry. However, if he can get the audio to Quito, Melbourne and Nashville, it`s not clear why he can`t get it just as quickly to Colorado Springs, or wherever the HCJB website resides (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. GUINÉ EQUATORIAL – É o único país africano que fala o idioma espanhol. A capital do país é Malabo, que está situada na ilha de Bioko, que os portugueses chegaram a ocupar, numa época, chamando-a de Fernando Pó. Há poucos relatos da recepção da emissora ultimamente. Mas o Ivan Dias Júnior, em Itatiaiuçu (MG), ouviu a Rádio Nacional da Guiné Equatorial, que emite desde Malabo, pela freqüência de 6249 kHz, em 17 de janeiro, às 0628. Naquela oportunidade, a emissora apresentou a hora certa e notícias com correspondentes no interior do país (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** FRANCE. RADIO FRANCE JOURNALISTS` STRIKE TO CONTINUE | Report of press release from Paris-based Radio Actu web site on 27 January Paris-based media news organisation has said that the journalists` strike at Radio France which started this Tuesday 27 January could spread further. The strike has been renewed for a further 24 hours from midnight [local time]. The unions involved in the action have written to the Prime Minister with their concerns, Radio Actu said. [Journalists at Radio France are striking over differences in pay between themselves and staff working for France Television. The strike has effected programming on Radio France, France Inter, France Info, France Culture, France Music, the local radios of France Blue, Radio Mouv` and Radio FIP]. Source: Radio Actu web site, Paris, in French 27 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) So not affecting RFI RADIO FRANCE STAFF STRIKE IN ROW OVER PAY According to trade unions at French public broadcaster Radio France, staff at 35 of the 42 regional stations in the France Bleu network supported today`s strike which also affected the output of the national networks. The unions are seeking wage parity with employees of of France Télévisions. According to the national trade union of journalists, SNJ, the difference between wages at France 3 and Radio France averages between 17.5 % and 20 %. Management at Radio France say the responsibility for the difference lies in government policy, not with them. On Saturday, the Ministry of Culture and Communication stated that the principle of wage parity between France 3 and France Télévisions is unfounded. The unions claim that the State is acting illegally. Today`s strike involved technical and documentation staff, but from tomorrow production staff will go on indefinite strike. # posted by Andy @ 16:06 UT Jan 27 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** GUIANA FRENCH [and non]. 9755, 0410-0420 Jan 27, China Radio International. English. World news followed by a program on an Arts Festival of Chinese Arts presented by foreigners. Some pretty music. Big signal with Radio Monte Carlo/Sackville (presumed) in the background 73 from (the ``Beaconeers Lair``. Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, Central California, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Ha! They still haven`t resolved this conflict I pointed out at the very beginning of the B-03 season. RMC stands to be the greater loser, up there in the subauroral zone (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. 870, KAIM, Honolulu, requests to move to 880 kHz, and reduce day and night power levels from a new site (shared with co- owned KHNR 650 and KHCM 940, as well as a new station on 1600). Would be U1 10000/10000. 940, KHCM, Waipahu, wants to move to 960 kHz with U1 10000/10000 1170, KENT, Honolulu, reported to be silent, is licensed for U1 5000/5000, has a CP to raise day power and lower night power to become U1 6000/4490, CH 6000. Am engineering amendment requests a move to 1180 kHz with U1 6000/4490. If this move takes place, KCBQ San Diego will be allowed to apply for a nighttime power increase. 1210, KZOO, Honolulu, seeks to move to 1230 kHz with U1 1000/1000. If granted, sttion would become the first and only Graveyard station in Hawaii! (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Jan 27 via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. v9552.2, RRI Makassar, music relay from local FM 90.75 MHz, /0300-0400* UT. Excellent Sulawesi culture program, phone no. given as 321853 (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, Jan 3, 13, 14, 15, BC-DX Jan 26 via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRIB`s additional Swahili service: 17660 0830-0927 39S,47,48,52,53 KAM 500 203 SAWAHILI IRN IRB 21530 0830-0927 47,48,52,53 SIR 500 223 SAWAHILI IRN IRB (wb Jan 25) Yes, both frequencies very clear here. The audio on 21530 is of noticeably lower quality (Chris Greenway, Kenya, Jan 26, BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAN. ANALYSIS: IRAN`S STATE BROADCASTER IN ``CENSORSHIP`` ROW | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 28 January 2004 Iranian President Mohammad Khatami`s office has criticized the state broadcaster for ``censoring and curtailing`` statements by the president. The head of the office, Ali Khatami, has written a letter to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) chief Ali Larijani in which ``he criticized the state TV and radio for often censoring the president,`` the Iranian news agency IRNA reported on 26 January. The last straw which prompted the presidential office to protest came when IRIB allegedly ``omitted and censored the key points`` of a joint statement issued recently by President Khatami and Majlis (parliament) Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, the agency said. The statement concerned the decision by the Guardian Council, an unelected 12-member body of conservative clerics and jurists with extensive powers, to bar large numbers of pro-reform candidates from standing in the 20 February parliamentary elections ``We recall that this is not the first time that the spirit of His Excellency Mr Khatami`s speech has been either censored or expunged by the radio and television,`` the agency quoted the letter as saying. On 25 January, 150 Iranian MPs expressed their own condemnation of the state broadcaster`s blackout of news about a sit-in protest by pro- reform MPs, who oppose what they regard as the illegal action of the Guardian Council in barring the reformist candidates. ``They regretted that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) did not broadcast the joint statement of the president and the Majlis Speaker, and said it indicated that the conservatives in the national television have fabricated a new definition for national interest and national security,`` IRNA said in an English-language dispatch. ``It is unacceptable that certain extremist elements behind the scenes have made tools of the government organs for their illegal ambitions, causing loss to national sovereignty of the people and the aspirations of the Islamic Republic,`` IRNA quoted the pro-reformist MPs as saying. Elsewhere in the statement, as quoted on the Iranian newspaper Aftab-e Yazd web site, the MPs said: ``We... voice our regrets over the overt censorship by the Voice and Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran [IRIB] of the essence of the statement by the heads of the two powers [executive and legislature], and we point out that the Voice and Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran`s factional attitude on the important issue of elections is seriously contrary to the interests and national security of the nation.`` Satire or bias? In a separate statement, also reported by IRNA on 25 January, Majlis deputies involved in the sit-in said that although the significance of their protest as a news story was ``apparent to the professional media``, Iranian state radio and TV had barred coverage of it. This statement said, among other things: ``We have witnessed the methods adopted by the Voice and Vision [IRIB] in the past... There is now a repeat of certain guided and factional programmes and biased and satirical interviews, aimed against the Majlis deputies... The Voice and Vision has banned news of the sit-in and is trying to taint this move through such programmes... We are concerned about a situation where the correct path of information dissemination is through the foreign media and international news agencies, which will lead to a gap between the people and the state.`` The French news agency AFP cited this example of IRIB`s recent political satire: ``In an episode of a popular IRIB sitcom, a reporter asked a prospective candidate for a fictitious election why he had been barred from standing and why he was holding a sit-in. `Well,` replies the would-be candidate, `I`ve overcharged customers, not to mention that corruption runs through my character.``` IRIB stands firm However, IRIB has dismissed the reformists` allegations that it is guilty of political bias. Accusing those who complained about its satirical programmes of ``narrow-mindedness``, IRIB expressed its surprise that ``such educated people cannot distinguish between satire and reality``. Media analysts say the row is the latest in a series of skirmishes between reformers trying to get their views heard by a national audience and IRIB editors who have their own, different news agenda. During the 10 years that IRIB head Dr Ali Larijani has been in the post, he has been a controversial figure, coming under fire from both reformists and his conservative supporters. Larijani, a staunch follower of Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene`i, has rejected previous criticisms by the Majlis of IRIB`s performance, saying that it was ``politically motivated``. During his tenure as IRIB head, Larijani has tried to reduce foreign cultural influence over Iran`s youth by eliminating foreign-produced programmes. This in turn has led to IRIB being criticized for causing Iranians to turn to external media sources for news. Source: BBC Monitoring research 28 Jan 04 (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. UNABLE TO CUT BACK, IBA DROPS IDEA OF LOWERING TV LICENSE FEE --- Haaretz - Israel News - By Hadar Horesh http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/387332.html Despite the Israel Broadcasting Authority`s commitment to lower television and radio licensing fees and reduce its budget, the IBA now wants the government to approve raising the TV and radio licensing fees, which make up the IBA`s budget. As part of an emergency economic program, the IBA was to cut its annual budget from NIS 700 million to NIS 630 million. The savings were expected to lead to a reduction in licensing fees - 10 percent for television and 5 percent for radios. The TV licensing fee for 2004 was therefore to drop from NIS 515 to NIS 455, and the radio licensing fee was to decrease from NIS 130 to about NIS 120. The budget proposal submitted for the government`s approval, however, demands NIS 750 million - 7 percent more than last year and 20 percent above the sum set in the economic plan. The IBA wants to finance the increase by maintaining TV licensing fees and raising radio licensing fees by 23 percent. The government will have to make a special decision and a legislative change in order to approve the IBA`s demands. The plan to streamline the IBA is considered one of the government`s achievements in its stabilization plan and was meant to lead to continually lower TV licensing fees, at a rate of 10 percent per year. This plan is relatively mild, compared to the treasury`s original proposal, which called for the total cancellation of the licensing fee and the financing of the IBA via advertising. An IBA source told Haaretz that the budget appendix includes streamlining costs, and somehow these must be covered. Raising radio licensing fees is one of three possible options. The IBA`s spokesman Oren Helman claims that the IBA has cut 190 jobs via layoffs and the non-replacement of workers who retired of their own accord. He would not disclose the authority`s total severance pay and retirement costs, but did note that in 2003 the IBA recorded NIS 27 million in such expenses. (c) Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** JAMAICA. JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT TO SELL STAKE IN LOCAL RADIO NETWORK | Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) news agency on 28 January Kingston, Jamaica: The Jamaica government says it will be selling its shares in Radio Jamaica Limited (RJR) to members of the public. The government is expected to sell an estimated 120m Jamaican dollars (2m US dollars) worth of shares through the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Information Minister Burchell Whiteman told reporters that cabinet had agreed to the sale of the shares, which were being issued following the settlement of the outstanding matters in connection with the sale of the defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) and subsequent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the minister of finance and planning in November last year. In October 1997 the JBC (both radio and television) was purchased by Radio Jamaica Limited and the television arm was renamed Television Jamaica (TVJ). Whiteman said the government`s decision to sell the shares on the stock exchange was in keeping with its policy of not acquiring ownership of media entities. ``In pursuant of its policy not to be involved in the media landscape, not to own any media house or to be part owner of any media house, government has decided to sell its shares through the Jamaica Stock Exchange and to therefore receive cash for those shares,`` he said. The Jamaica government currently owns 10 per cent of the company. Source: Caribbean Media Corporation news agency, Bridgetown, in English 1410 gmt 28 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Today January 28, 2004, I heard a new transmission on 5990 from tune in around 0230 to past 0330 in what sounds Urdu etc. Although I could not get clear ID, it sounds like the Hurriyat station from Pakistan which operates around 5101 kHz at 1330-1430 UT. Recent political developments: The Govt. of India had held talks with the Hurriyat leaders from Jammu & Kashmir a couple of days back (for the first time?) and the Indian elections are just round the corner. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, hard-core-dx via DXLD) INDIA, 6100, Radio Voice of Kashmir, 1421 Jan 28 with steady tone, 1430 end of tone and dead air. Then woman with Islamic greeting and music. Presumed site and program, never sounds like she gives an ID at sign on to my ears. Mixing with presumed Malaysia co-channel (Hans Johnson, Javoradio Australia, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 4162.6v, 0320-0430(fade out), Clandestine, 24-01, Voice of the Conservative Party of Kurdistan, Kurdish Qur`an recitations, 0330 ID and news in Kurdish, Kurdish songs, 0400 talk about Iraq in what to me sounded more like Farsi than Kurdish! During the listening the frequency drifted slowly down to 4159.7. 34343 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Dinamarca, AOR AR7030PLUS, longwire 25 metros, @tividade DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. STAR RADIO IN MONROVIA TO BE RELAUNCHED The Swiss-based Hirondelle Foundation is planning to re-launch Star Radio, a unique independent media outlet located in Monrovia and broadcasting throughout Liberia until its forced closure by former president Charles Taylor in 2000. The Foundation says Star Radio`s mission is to be an essential information tool to help the Liberian peace process, and it should also rapidly become a tool for the humanitarian agencies, in order to enhance better understanding among Liberian audiences of relief and protection operations. (Sources: Relief Web, Clandestine Radio Watch) # posted by Andy @ 09:29 UT Jan 27 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 6135.1, Radio Nat. Malagasy heard at 1435-1445 Jan 19 in Malagasy with a talk program with phone-ins and some local music, fair on Jan 17; \\ to 7105.0 which was good (Vashek Korinek, RSA, DX- plorer via BCDX Jan 26 via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. Re reports that domestic SW has been closed down: 4845, RTM-Tamil nothing at 1422 Jan 28. Spot check did reveal Indo service on 6175 and // 9750 (Hans Johnson, FL, Javoradio Australia, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) Usually strong here, but haven`t heard them at all for, let`s say, about two weeks now (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Jan 28, Cumbredx mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** MALI. 5995, 0607-0614 Jan 26, Radio Mali, African music with some GREAT jazz guitar playing (wish I played as well). VOA Morocco faintly audible in the background. VOA is running 5 times the power (250 kW) of Mali, yet Mali is walking all over them! Transmitter antenna directions probably come into play here |grin|. 4835, 0634-0636, Radio Mali, Music. Much weaker than // 5995. 73 from the ``Beaconeers Lair``. (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, Central California 37.18N 120.29W CM97sh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEROK 800 back to 150 kW in February! [re: Hotseat] I just got a communication from the CE at XEROK, who is also the CCU CE in El Paso. He says XEROK had a bad ATU, and never replaced it. They are doing that right now, and will be back at 150 kW by the end of February using three Harris Destiny 50`s in parallel --- 51 amps of antenna current! ``en especial trabajo con una AM Mexicana (XEROK) que está autorizada a 150 kW y está en 50 kW por problemas en la antena (ATU). Para finales de febrero la tendré full power con sobre 51 Amperes de corriente en la base de la antena. Está en el 800 kHz. Pregúntale a tu ingeniero a ver si alguna vez ha visto tanta corriente en una torre AM y tres transmisores Harris DX Destiny de 50 kW trabajando en paralelo. `` The above is the note from the CE of XEROK (David Eduardo, Jan 25, http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board.php?Post=119175&Board=texas via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEKTT (or XEPE?) 560 is off the air tonight. Wonder where they`ll turn up next? The last time I checked a few days ago, the old XEKTT-1600 was still on the air. (I have yet to hear XEPE calls used on 560. They`re not using call letters much now that they`re on RS [regular schedule, as opposed to testing]). 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, UT Jan 28, amfmtvdx at qth.net via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** MEXICO. RECTIFICACIÓN... El sábado reporté a Radio Mil, de Ciudad de México, operando fuera de su frecuencia habitual, en 6016 kc. El mismo día, por la tarde, había retornado a 6010. Todo normal... (JESÚS MARTÍNEZ MIRANDA, Uruapan, Michoacán, MEXICO, Jan 27, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Remember that BBCWS DRM via Sackville at 0000-0100 had shifted from 6010 to 6015? This may have been in response to Arnie Coro`s complaint of QRM to RHC 6000. May not have anything to do with R. Mil moving around, something it`s never been known to do before; both 6010 and 6015 would be impossible for it when DRM is on (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NAMIBIA. After my message on not hearing Namibia on 3270 anymore, I DID hear it on 6060, AND I wasn`t even looking for it there! I was just tuning across the band and I thought, Hmm, that one sounds African. So I dug deeper and sure enough, there it was. Not very strong and with QRM, but it was in there. Just goes to show that you never know what might pop its little head up out of the QRM and QRM. 6060, 0322-0330 Jan 27, Namibian Broadcasting Company Windhoek 2. African Music followed by OM in some African Dialect. Best on LSB. Rough copy. First time heard on this frequency 73 from (the ``Beaconeers Lair``. Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, Central California, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Four days later, the Enid Eagle brings you the `news` first seen here about KXOK-LPTV 32, never identified in the story: AUCTION LEAVES FAULKNER SOLE OWNER OF TV STATION 1/27/04 By Robert Barron Staff Writer http://www.enidnews.com/story.php?story_id=55733&c=29 An auction to resolve ownership of Enid`s low power television station has left Enid attorney Rex Faulkner as the sole owner. According to papers filed in the Garfield County Court Clerk`s office, Faulkner purchased the license for $61,000 at a public auction Jan. 22. However, the sale was a legal maneuver to resolve a dispute between Faulkner and Chuck Pearson, who claimed to be the license owner, according to his attorney, Tom Leonard of Ponca City. Faulkner also claimed interest in the title. Faulkner is waiting for the license transfer and clarification of issues and will drop his lawsuit against Pearson, he said. The transfer must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. A new general manager, Anandi Singh, is expected to take over operation of the station next month, he said. ``She has ideas on how to turn the ship around and give Enid what they deserve and need for a television station. She is a very bright, highly educated individual who has the skills necessary to do what it takes,`` Faulkner said. New equipment is reportedly also on the way and should be installed within 14-21 days, he said. ``Hopefully, within 45 days we will be up to full power,`` Faulkner said. The station`s broadcasting tower is located on the top of the Broadway Tower. The studio is located in a building next door. No further programming or broadcasting decisions will be made until Singh comes aboard, he said (Enid Eagle Jan 27 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1640, KMMZ, OK, Enid -- 26 Jan 2004 2225 MST -- ``All Comedy Network`` with gag involving someone with fake Indian accent calling a Bank`s service center to ``complain`` about the ATM machine demanding ``Withdraw money now or die, you scum sucking pig!`` displayed on screen. Ha-ha. Funny. I guess... [MDW-NM] (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DM65uv), My online logbooks are at http://www.gentoo.net/dxlogbook/main.mv?account=mikew NRC-AM via DXLD) They have a lot of routines requiring bleeping every few seconds; why bother? I finally have an ID tape of this one on the new COM 04-01 (gh) ** PANAMA. It is understood that the Ecuadorian shortwave station, HCJB, has assisted in the launching of a new station in Panama with an old callsign, HOXO. This new station is not shown in the mediumwave section of the new 2004 edition of the World Radio TV Handbook, so maybe the new HOXO is an FM operation. Back half a century ago, the old HOXO was noted as a shortwave operation (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Feb 1 via John Norfolk, DXLD) Another case of not consulting DXLD. We had this story some weeks ago and pointed out that the 760 station is shown in WRTH 2004 as HOX, apparently by mistake, as it was originally HOXO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. Re Voix de l`Orthodoxie: ``Is hostile? to the `quasi` government-appreciated Russian Orthodox church at Moscow. Negotiations between two factions after USSR collapse in 1993-1995[?], to re-unite, failed so far. That`s why the outlet is coming via a Kazakh radio facility. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Actually, Russia is not a clerical state that would ban a ``competing`` religious station ;) Since the beginning, Golos Pravoslaviya has been carried also in St. Petersburg on 1323 kHz (relayed by Radio Grad Petrov), and the production studio in St. Petersburg is registered with the Russian authorities. The air time on the Kazakh SW facilities is booked through the Russian Radioagency-M, as the station mentioned in a QSL note in 2000. Radioagency-M is is the exclusive first-hand agency for marketing air time on the HP transmitters for international coverage in Russia and also in some other memberstates of the CIS like Kazakhstan. In the HFCC schedule, the relays of Golos Pravoslaviya via KAZ have appeared under ``RRS`` (Radio Rossii) or ``VOR`` (Voice of Russia) over the years; this is an indication that Golos Pravoslaviya is booking these relays as a Russian-based media outlet (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. [Not SUDAN target] Somali program on 17565. The transmission at 1200-1230 on 17565 is an educational programme in Somali called ``Mustaqbal``. Like Sudan Radio Service, it is run by the Education Development Centre, EDC, a large US NGO that specializes in using the media to educate and inform disadvantaged communities. Good reception here in Nairobi. So, the entry below should say Somalia rather than Sudan (Chris Greenway, Kenya, Jan 26, BC-DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) [0630-0700 17565 DHA Sudan, 1200-1230 17565 AFS Sudan. wb.] ** TAIWAN. 7129.93v, Radio Taiwan International, 1125-1135 January 28, 2004. This station is drifting slightly. Noted a woman in Japanese comments. Signal was fair but drifting. This station is listed on 7130 kHz. I checked the parallel frequency as per the WRTH 04 of 11605, and although I couldn`t hear any audio, the carrier turned up on 11604.97, also off slightly which might be my receiver? (Sound bites:) http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/IMAGE2.HTML (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. On Jan 3 I was tuned to the French Service of Radio Taiwan International on 3955. As I am in the aurora belt, reception suddenly became fluttery and so I switched to their streaming audio on the web. From their website I then filed a comment on an item mentioned on their program. No QSL was ever requested, and yet I received one, a colorful nice-looking card designed by a Brazilian listener for the 75th anniversary of CBS. On the reverse side there is a postage stamp, which says Jan 2, 2004 (sic), my address and a greeting written in French. The date of reception is given as ``19h`` (1900 UTC) and the freq in kHz is indicated as ``internet``. (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DXplorer Jan 23 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. USA: RADIO FREE ASIA IN TIBETAN STREAMING ON WEB | Text of press release by Radio Free Asia on 27 January Radio Free Asia (RFA) has begun broadcasting live streaming audio of its Tibetan-language radio programmes on the Internet. Listeners can now log on to RFA`s Tibetan service web site through http://www.rfa.org - then click on the upper right-hand button for live streaming audio of RFA Tibetan broadcasts. Listeners should then click on the link at the top that indicates the live streaming audio. Source: Radio Free Asia press release, Washington, in English 27 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U A E. VOA EDITORIAL RE AL ARABIYA http://www.voanews.com/Editorials/article.cfm 1/28/04 - BOMBERS NO LONGER CALLED MARTYRS Editorial # 0-11128 Arab satellite broadcaster Al Arabiya has announced that it is no longer referring to Palestinian suicide bombers as ``martyrs.`` Instead of that emotionally charged -- and highly misleading -- term, the Dubai-based satellite television network will use the phrase ``the dead.`` This move toward more objective news reporting has been welcomed by those who value accurate journalism. But the change is being criticized by some who have preferred the inflammatory coverage of the Middle East by most Arab satellite television channels. Yussef al-Qazzaz is a senior official with the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. ``Most of the correspondents of the Arab TV and radio stations need to be educated politically and culturally about the internal [Palestinian] situation,`` said Mr. al-Qazzaz. ``We don`t understand why some Arab satellite stations are no longer using the term `martyrs.``` Mr. al-Qazzaz even called on the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to join with the Palestinian Ministry of Information in telling journalists ``which phrases are used in our political life.`` Even worse, journalists who are trying to report honestly are facing physical threats. In Gaza, a group of men pulled al-Arabiya correspondent Seif al-Din Shahin from his car and beat him with rifle butts. The attack came after Mr. Shahin reported that a celebration by the Palestinian faction Fatah cost some three-million dollars and resulted in several injuries to bystanders from guns being fired into the air. In the wake of the attack on Mr. Shahin, scores of journalists and other Palestinians demonstrated in support of the right of journalists to do their jobs without fear. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights called the attack an assault on ``freedom of the press, of opinion, [and] of expression.`` The group called on the Palestinian Authority ``to conduct a full and fair investigation. . .and bring those found responsible to justice.`` That, clearly, is essential. But it is only part of what needs to be done in Palestinian areas and throughout the Middle East. Leaders in this troubled region should give honest, truthful news reporting their full support. These values could contribute greatly to the achievement of peace and democracy (via Kim Elliott, VOA, DXLD) ** U K. BBC Monitoring job advert: Media Services Operator/Sub-Editor Caversham Park, Reading, £19,700 BBC Monitoring monitors open-source foreign media in more than 100 languages ... ...from over 150 countries throughout the world. We provide news and information to the BBC, government and commercial customers. You`ll ensure the best possible reception of the broadcasts that we monitor ... ... and provide accurate technical and background information. This is an adaptable and developing role in a changing environment. This role also involves shift work including nights. With experience of operating satellite and radio receivers... ... as well as recording equipment, you`ll be computer and Internet literate. Customer aware, you will have good interpersonal skills and a flexible team-based approach. You`ll also have an awareness of international news and current affairs and developments in the Internet and the world`s radio, TV and press. Linguistic ability is an advantage. Ref. 72543 --- Applications to be received by 29 January 2004 To apply, please contact: BBC World Service Recruitment, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH. E-mail: wsrecruit@b... [truncated] Tel: 020 7836 7804 or go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/jobs/e72543.shtml (Chris McWhinnie, BBC Monitoring, Jan 26, [ellipses as published] BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. BBCWS previews continued: Beginning January 26th, Age of Empire is a new documentary series on the USA`s new diplomatic strategies. US dominance is today so great that many American analysts have spoken of a new American empire. With this has come a new assertiveness; an unwillingness to be bound by some of the constraints and agreements America recommends for others and a military doctrine of pre-emptive war. BBC Defense correspondent Jonathan Marcus examines America`s place in the modern world in a new six-part series. [Some of the times from Feb BBC On Air: Americas: Mon 1406, 2006, Tue 0106, 0606, Mon 0006 --- also webcast; Europe: Mon 0906, 1306, 1906, Tue 0106, Sun 2206, Mon 0006 --- also webcast. East Asia: Mon 0206, 0706, 1306, 1906, Sun 1506; West Africa: Mon 0906, 1406, Tue 0006, Sun 2206. This is also known as Documentary 1 at http://www.publicradiofan.com and at http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html so may be heard on demand each week at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/docu1.ram --- gh] Thursday, January 29th, 1532 and 2232, repeated Friday, 0232 [Americas stream times only]: January`s World Book Club features American/ Chinese author Amy Tan, discussing her first book, The Joy Luck Club. Famous authors from around the world discuss one of their best-known books with a global audience in World Book Club. In monthly sessions chaired by Harriett Gilbert, Book Club authors talk about the chosen work, give a reading from it, then throw themselves open to questions and feedback from a studio audience and letters, phone calls and e- mails from readers worldwide. More details on these can be had by subscribing to the BBC`s monthly e-mail newsletters, called the ``BBC On Air Network``: at the World Service website, click on ``Radio Schedules`` and then ``Email schedules highlights`` near the bottom of the subsequent page. Fill out the resulting form, selecting one or all five of the subject areas (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Jan NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U K. THE MEDIA COLUMN: `THE BBC`S EXTRAORDINARY PLANS TO HIDE THE HUTTON REPORT FROM ITS REPORTERS` By Vincent Graff 27 January 2004 The BBC is not in the mood today for scoops, leaks or insider gossip. If you are reading this and you have been given advance sight of Lord Hutton`s report, please do not be tempted to pick up the phone and call your favourite BBC reporter. For any reporter presenting a story about an exclusive Hutton revelation to his or her news editor is likely to be greeted with the unfriendliest of responses. That is not because the corporation has lost its nerve - though you might understand why the Today programme is devoting so much time at the moment to asking us to count the blue tits in our back gardens - but because any early news of Lord Hutton`s findings that makes its way on to an unauthorised BBC notepad or Palm Pilot is likely to set off a witch-hunt for the source... http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=485016&host=3&dir=61 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC CHAIRMAN RESIGNS IN WAKE OF HUTTON REPORT BBC Chairman Gavyn Davies has resigned following publication of a judicial inquiry that sharply criticised the BBC`s role in events that led to the death of British weapons scientist David Kelly. Davies told his fellow governors at a hastily convened meeting, that ``I have been brought up to believe that you cannot choose your own referee, and that the referee`s decision is final. There is an honourable tradition in British public life that those charged with authority at the top of an organisation should accept responsibility for what happens in that organisation. I am therefore writing to the Prime Minister today to tender my resignation as Chairman of the BBC, with immediate effect.`` The long-awaited report by Lord Hutton concludes that BBC management was ``defective`` and its governors should have made ``more detailed investigations`` into its May 29 report by journalist Andrew Gilligan alleging that intelligence on Iraq was ``sexed up.`` ``I consider that the editorial system which the BBC permitted was defective in that Mr. Gilligan was allowed to broadcast his report ... without editors having seen a script of what he`s going to say and having considered whether it should be approved,`` Hutton said. The judge also found that the BBC radio report was ``unfounded.`` The BBC`s board of governors, chaired by Gavyn Davies, should have conducted more detailed investigations into Gilligan`s report, Hutton said. ``If they had done this, they probably would have discovered that the notes did not support the allegation...and the governors should then have questioned whether it was right for the BBC to maintain that it was in the public interest to broadcast the allegation in Mr Gilligan`s report.`` he said.. The National Union of Journalists, representing Gilligan, said the BBC could face a strike if he was disciplined or fired. The NUJ said the Hutton report was ``selective, grossly one-sided and a serious threat to the future of investigative journalism``. Andy Sennitt comments: The resignation of Davies comes as no surprise. The governors, who are supposed to call BBC management to account when the occasion demands, rushed to defend Gilligan when they had clearly not had time to consider the matter fully. There has always been a suspicion that the relationship between the governors and senior management within the BBC is too cosy. Discussions are due to start soon on renewing the BBC`s charter, and there are already calls for the UK`s new super-regulator, Ofcom, to take over the governors` role. At the very least, the choice of governors and the way they`re appointed needs to be looked at. Furthermore, the Chairman`s resignation will not be sufficient for many of the BBC`s critics. The leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, said in his response to the Prime Minister`s statement to the House of Commons that if the findings had been about politicians, a number of people would have had to resign. Clearly he was hinting at senior figures who are implicated in Lord Hutton`s findings. If the editorial system is defective, as Lord Hutton says it is, the resignation of the BBC Chairman does not directly address the issue. Even the BBC`s own journalists are openly calling this the biggest crisis for the BBC in 50 years. I must admit, I can`t recall a time when the Corporation`s public standing was so low. These views do not necessarily reflect those of Radio Netherlands! Radio Netherlands Current Affairs report: Blair off the Hook [link] # posted by Andy @ 13:56 UT Jan 28 (Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** U S A. Finally managed to catch Secular Bible Study on WBCQ, 7415 only, UT Tue Jan 27 0200-0300. You have to seek it out, because you wouldn`t normally be listening to the despicable programs before and after it, Hal Turner, and William Cooper. A low-key and methodical analysis of the Bible, KJV, referring to other versions, and commentaries upon it. First half Old Testament, second half New Testament. Contact info as announced at end of each segment, and I am not at all positive of the spellings: Dr. Elliott Lesser, Bible Review S.S., P O Box 31009, Phoenix AZ 85046-1009; brelradio @ aol.com He does not ask for contributions, but sells his 591-page, 8.5 x 11 inch hardbound book, ``The Gospels and Acts --- Questions and Problems``, (list $38.95) for $29 ppd. in US only. Transcript of any program available for $5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The Gospel station WMLK in Bethel Pennsylvania recently dedicated their new 250 kW shortwave transmitter that was previously on the air with Swiss Radio International at Schwarzenburg. This unit was obtained via Italy and it is now on the air at half power 125 kW (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Feb 1 via John Norfolk, DXLD) I can`t believe that this is so, yet. 125 kW on 9465 ought to be booming in, but instead it is barely audible here if at all, just as it has always been. And no sign of their new registered frequency 15265 which would presumably be more likely to be the new transmitter. BTW, looking at the entire script, it appears that Wavescan has stepped up the amount of religious material to the detriment of DX news and features (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, Just a quick note. Tonite at about 0700z and later (1/27/2004) I heard Radio Martí --- so loud that it almost wiped out my 40m reception. I finally found the frequency of the station (7365) and it was so loud that my S meter was pinned at +60dB with 18dB of attenuation cranked in!!!!! I have an Icom receiver with a 3 element 40-m yagi at 90`. It has about 25 dB front to back and it seemed to peak at about 300 degrees from Phoenix Arizona. Any idea what the antenna, power or location is??? Dunno if any of this helps locate the transmitter site, but I`ve got to say, I`ve NEVER heard a station so loud here. Ever! Now, what I`d really like to know is why they think playing old ``Air Supply`` songs will win any friends in Cuba!! 73, (Pat K7KR Thurman, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pat, All Martí SW broadcasts come from either Greenville NC or Delano CA. This was Delano, 100 degree beam, also very strong here always. I suppose propagation was unusually favorable for you. You are also very close to the boresight. If you haven`t noticed it before, I suppose it may normally be skipping over you somewhat, unlike last night. RM and all IBB info is here: http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_w/schedules/cur_freqsked.txt 73, (Glenn to Pat, via DXLD) Thanks Glenn!! Yes, I`m not sure where Delano, CA is, but if they are NW of here, and are beaming SE at 100 deg, then we`d surely be in the boresight. And yes, they were so loud that 40m was completely unusable for me. I`ve never heard anything so loud as when I pointed at them. Max attenuation and the S meter remained pegged! Unbelievable! Since that`s the direction to Japan for me, I sure hope they don`t use that site on any radio contest weekends or I`m doomed! Thanks for the info, sure appreciate it!! -- 73, Pat K7KR, ibid.) Delano is near Bakersfield; all seems to fit; well, they use it every day except UT Monday during the silent period 0400-1000. I wonder if in addition to the strength, the transmitter was haywire putting out spurs all over the place. Let us know if this keep happening (gh, ibid.) ** U S A. This Wednesday Jan 28 I was ready for the strange net I had been hearing on 7420 closing abruptly at 1530. Started monitoring at 1455, but nothing showed until some tones/carriers around 1516, and then it opened at 1521, with AAT7WE as NCS. It`s actually on 7419.5 USB, and IDed as ``US Department of Transportation Coördination Net`` and ``all federal agencies are invited to participate``. This time they had a hard time hearing each other, with a lot of talk-overs and relays required for check-ins. Among the calls heard mentioned, usually phonetically but no guarantees on accuracy here, and not all of the stations actually audible here: AAT7DQ, WWJ98, AAR7AL, WGY908, WGY908 mobile, Iowa Cap 43 (as in Civil Air Patrol), WWJ85O, AT0HD, AA4LL, AAR4LL. The last one said he would need to close after the next frequency, and at 1530 they all QSYed to Foxtrot-4. This time I started fox-hunting and found it by 1534: 9197.0-USB, where AA4LL (or was it AAR4LL) was the NCS, along with: AAT4HM in TN, AT7YS. Since this NCS didn`t have a roster, he called for checkins by alphabetical prefix group, rather than individual calls. NNN0STE, WWJ40AAC, WWJ98 Dick, WGY908 +mobile, WWJ85O, WWJ85Q, DLA303 Allen, NNN0HEU, AAR3MC, AAT7HD; 1541 QSY to Frequency No. 5. AAR3MC just mentioned ``the first three frequencies``, so now it is becoming clearer: the net starts at 1500 on an unknown lower channel, moves up to another at 1510, to 7419.5 at 1520, to 9197 at 1530! And by 1545 I found No. 5: 10891.0-USB, with Iowa Cap 43, WWJ85Q, WWJ40AAC (NCS?), WGY908 mobile. Evidently the designated NCS for this frequency could not be heard by a lot of stations, so a substitute NCS took over. After that, I had other things to do, but I suppose there were further higher frequencies at least at 1550, and perhaps on and on (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Mid-Atlantic Emergency Net meeting on 60 meters: The Mid- Atlantic Emergency Net (MAEN) meets Wednesdays at 2200 Eastern Time [UT Thursday at 0300] on 5330.5 MHz (USB). The net control station now rotates each month by call district, starting with the first call district in January. The net seeks additional net control volunteers. Contact Acting Net Manager Charles E. Harris, KE4SKY if you wish to be an NCS or would like additional information. MAEN sessions are limited to about 30 minutes (ARRL January 28 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. TOXIC TRESPASS ON KZYX, PLUS WEBCAST My name is Greg Krouse and I am a County Councilmember in the Mendocino Green party in Northern California above San Francisco near the coast. I have been active for 7 years as a Green but 17 in general activism. I am also a radio person and my show is now available over the net at http://KZYX.org The show is Toxic Trespass and it airs once a month on the first Tuesday at 7-8 PM PST [UT Wed Feb 4 0300- 0300]. This month`s show Feb. 3 is vacillating from a show with Lois Gibbs of Love Canal fame and a local activist working on a Chrome plating plant toxic disaster, Maria Brooks, also a Green and soon to be a CC member. We are currently involved in an important county measure to ban GMO crops and animals from production in our county. It is a fierce fight but we may win. If you are interested check http://www.gmofreemendo.com (Greg Krouse, Jan 27, virtual_greens yahoogroup via Clara Listensprechen, DXLD) ** U S A. We`ve been looking for WHRB`s January program guide for almost a month, and now that January is almost over, they`ve finally posted it, along with Feb, at http://www.whrb.org/pg/JanFeb2004.html Sob, we`ve missed lots of orgies, including Dvorak, but a few more are left in January before `normal` programming resumes. Thanks a lot, Harvard! And KUNM has finally posted the pdf version of the January issue of their program guide, Zounds, http://www.kunm.org/pdf/Zounds_040101.pdf along with the Feb issue, http://www.kunm.org/pdf/Zounds_040201.pdf (Glenn Hauser, Jan 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 980, KICA, Clovis NM, has a CP to raise day and night power to become U1 4000/172 from a new site. An engineering amendment asks for a further increase in day power to become U5 50000/172 after building an additional two towers at that new site (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Jan 27 via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ** U S A. Egregious Off-Frequency Operation!!! 879.8 kHz, KJJR, Whitefish MT, Jan 7 at 1758 EST; legal ID at 1759:53 ``It`s the new NewsTalk 880 KJJR Whitefish-Kalispell-Columbia Falls`` and into CBS news. Easily separable on LSB. Umpteenth year in a row on this frequency. ``WE DON`T NEED NO STINKIN` RULES!`` (John Wilkins, CO, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Jan 27 via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) This sort of stuff wouldn`t be happening if Michael Powell were alive (Ed. Harry Helms, NV, ibid.) ** U S A. WHAT WAS THAT SONG, AND WHO SANG IT? By DAVID RANII, Staff Writer Wednesday, January 21, 2004 12:00AM EST There`s more than one way for radio broadcasters to generate text messages, such as song title and artist information, that listeners can read on a display embedded in their radio. Although the introduction of high-definition radios is hogging the spotlight recently, a second technology with text-message capabilities -- but without the enhanced sound quality of HD radio -- has quietly entered the scene. It`s called radio data system, or RDS, and it made its Triangle debut in October when San Antonio-based Clear Channel`s four FM stations began broadcasting text messages about song titles and artists. (Before that, some local stations had experimented with displaying just their call letters via RDS.) Capitol Broadcasting`s WRAL-FM (Mix 101.5) followed suit with RDS song-and-title information in December, and more stations are waiting in the wings. . . http://newsobserver.com/business/v-print/story/3257703p-2912632c.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. AMERICANS DISCOVER THE JOYS OF RDS Radio stations in the United States have started to send out RDS signals with their broadcasts and are discovering that their listeners are capable of receiving them. The RDS system has been used in Europe for decades to display station names and other information on special receivers equipped with the RDS circuitry. But Americans have not used the system - until now. Seattle-based station Kiss FM, who broadcast on 106.1 MHz, recently ran a unique promotion in which they gave away a DVD player to the tenth caller to the station. Nothing strange about that you might think. After all, formatted radio stations around the world use exactly the same gimmick to give away prizes. In this case though, Kiss FM made the offer by sending out the information via RDS only. They received a much better than expected response. Delighted that listeners could receive the signal, Kiss FM now display the station`s call-letters or the name of the current song using RDS. And the idea is fast catching on across the country. Owner of over 1,000 [sic] radio stations, Clear Channel Communications are upgrading their top stations with RDS capabilities. Many cars are now coming equipped with radios that can display RDS information. Being America though, the technology is already being used to sell advertisements. http://www.radiowaves.fm/news/index.shtml (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. STRONG WINDS TAKE DOWN RADIO TOWER 1/27/04 - Mt. Pleasant [Texas] http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1619041 The cold weather we experienced Tuesday blew in Monday afternoon, and blew out most of an East Texas town`s radio stations. Now thousands of listeners want to know why their favorite stations are suddenly silent. It broadcasts to Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Vernon, Sulphur Springs and Pittsburg. But Tuesday there`s nothing to hear. ``We lost four of our radio stations on air,`` says president, Bud Kitchens. It happened Monday when wind sent the station`s tower crashing down. ``Terrible crash sound, it shook the floor and the building and the windows actually shook. At first I thought a vehicle crashed into the building from the parking lot. I ran out back and immediately noticed that there was not a 250 foot tower standing in the air anymore,`` says traffic director Justice Thornburg. ``My operations director gave me a call and said I have bad news. I said, `what would that be?` He said the tower has fallen behind the building. At first I thought he was kidding but he wasn`t,` recalls. While the radio waves are silent the phone lines certainly aren`t. Disappointed listeners wanting to know where they`re at. ``Yes we are experiencing some technical difficulty. Our tower has fallen,`` says Thornburg to one caller. Luckily the wind blew the tower down away from the transmitter and the station itself. But they`re working on getting it all fixed as soon as possible. ``We are hoping that if everything goes as planned we will have KSCN 96.9 and KALK 97.7 on the air late Wednesday afternoon or early evening,`` says Kitchens. Until then, there`s no need for radio personalties, there`s only silence. One of the stations has switched to broadcasting in Sulphur Springs for now. They are actually up and running right now. The remaining two FM and one AM stations should all be operating again no later than next week. Amy Tatum reporting (via Mike Terry, UK, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC HEARINGS PROMPT PROTESTORS AT MEDIA GIANT HQ 1/27/2004 3:17 PM By: News 9 San Antonio Staff Protesters accuse Clear Channel of `dumbing` down news and music. A group of protesters were out in front of Clear Channel Communications Tuesday morning — a day before FCC hearings in the Alamo City. The hearings will see how well local broadcasters serve the public. The protesters say deregulation has allowed the corporation to buy more than 1,200 radio stations, which hurts public interest. Protesters dressed up like pirates and played music outside Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel spokesmen say the company has helped more than 500 local musicians gain national prominence. The company also is running public service announcements that tell other ways it has helped the community. Watch complete coverage of the FCC Hearings Wednesday on News 9 San Antonio [cable, not KLRN!] (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. `BUBBA THE LOVE SPONGE,` PUPPETEERS PROMPT HUGE INDECENCY FINES --- JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/27/national1910EST0834.DTL http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040127/D80BCQB00.html http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040127/ap_on_en_ot/fcc_obscenity_fine_5 http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0842_BC_FCC-IndecencyFine&&news&newsflash-washington ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, January 27, 2004 (AP) (01-27) 16:35 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government cracked down on indecent programming Tuesday, proposing a record fine against the nation`s largest radio chain for a show titled ``Bubba the Love Sponge`` and only the second fine ever for a TV broadcast. The FCC proposed a $755,000 fine against Clear Channel Communications for sexually explicit segments of the radio show aired on four Florida radio stations between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. It was the single largest fine ever proposed for indecency. The commission also proposed a $27,500 fine against Young Broadcasting of San Francisco Inc. for airing a man exposing himself on its ``KRON 4 Morning News`` show. The fines were announced a day before a congressional subcommittee planned to examine the FCC`s enforcement of indecency rules. Critics say the FCC moves too slowly to address complaints and that its penalties are not severe enough to dissuade broadcasters from airing objectionable material. FCC Chairman Michael Powell last week called for Congress to increase the maximum fine for indecency from $27,500 per incident to $275,000. He said the latest fines show the FCC is serious about pursuing penalties but needs the threat of larger fines to get broadcasters to toe the line. ``As the commission continues the challenging task of balancing the protections of the First Amendment with the need to protect our young, these increased enforcement actions will allow the commission to turn what is now a `cost of doing business` into a significant `cost for doing indecent business,``` he said. Clear Channel was fined for objectionable segments of ``Bubba the Love Sponge`` aired on its stations in four Florida cities: Callahan, Clearwater, Port Charlotte and West Palm Beach. The segments included graphic discussions about sex and drugs that were ``designed to pander to, titillate and shock listeners,`` the FCC said. One segment featured the cartoon characters Alvin the chipmunk, George Jetson and Scooby Doo discussing sexual activities. The segments ran 26 times and the commission proposed fining Clear Channel $27,500 for each airing, or $715,000. Clear Channel faces an additional $40,000 fine because of record-keeping violations at the stations. The company has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal. In response, Clear Channel called for an industry task force to develop indecency standards for radio, television, cable and satellite networks. President Mark Mays agreed there are limits to what programmers may air but said the government`s enforcement is haphazard so broadcasters don`t have a clear idea of where the line is drawn. ``Indecency is not just a radio problem, a television problem or even a cable problem,`` Mays said. ``It is an industrywide challenge, and we all must take responsibility to make sure it is addressed on a fair and consistent basis.`` Commissioner Michael Copps was the only member of the five-person FCC to oppose the fine against Clear Channel. He said the penalty was not severe enough, suggesting instead that the FCC consider revoking the stations` licenses. ``The message to licensees is clear,`` Copps said. ``Even egregious repeated violations will not result in revocation of license.`` The fine against Young Broadcasting of San Francisco was for the KRON morning program on Oct. 4, 2002. During it, one of the performers from a theatrical show titled ``Puppetry of the Penis`` briefly exposed himself. The performers appeared on the TV show wearing only capes. The FCC said the station should have expected that such a display could occur and should have taken steps to prevent it. The only other fine for indecent programming on television was the $21,000 leveled against Telemundo of Puerto Rico License Corp. for three programs on San Juan`s WKAQ-TV in 2001. The programs contained sexual innuendoes, including one scene of a man and woman in a bubble- filled bathtub. The largest cumulative fine for indecency was $1.7 million paid by Infinity Broadcasting in 1995 for various violations by radio host Howard Stern. The fines came in advance of a House subcommittee hearing prompted by the FCC enforcement bureau`s decision not to fine NBC for an expletive uttered by rock star Bono during the Golden Globe Awards show last year. The lead singer of the Irish rock group U2 said, ``This is really, really, f------ brilliant.`` The bureau said Bono`s comments were not indecent or obscene because the word was used as an adjective rather than to describe sex. Powell has asked his fellow commissioners to overturn the decision. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., has introduced legislation for a tenfold increase in the maximum fine. FCC Commissioners Kevin Martin and Jonathan Adelstein have called for the FCC to fine stations for every indecent ``utterance`` rather than for every show or segment. That would produce much larger fines. The FCC defines obscene material as describing sexual conduct ``in a patently offensive way`` and lacking ``serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.`` Indecent material is not as offensive but still contains references to sex or excretions. Radio stations and over-the-air television channels cannot air obscene material at any time and cannot air indecent material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. On the Net: Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov Copyright 2004 AP (via Roger Chambers, NY; Don Thornton, NJ; Artie Bigley, OH; Mike Cooper, GA, resp., and via John Norfolk, WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) BUBBA`S BRAZEN SHOWS DRAW HEFTY FCC FINE By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer Published January 28, 2004 Radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, who was once tried for animal cruelty for broadcasting the castration of a pig, returned to controversy Tuesday when his program triggered the highest fine ever for indecent broadcasts. . . [illustrated] http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/28/Tampabay/Bubba_s_brazen_shows_.shtml (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. TV NEWS ANCHOR TOOK OFF HER CLOTHES, THEN THE INTERNET UNDRESSED HER --- Scott Tady, Times Staff 01/22/2004 A married newscaster, a wet T-shirt contest and a secret photographer are stirring up debates about privacy, morality and journalistic ethics. And suddenly, Catherine Bosley [WKBN-TV] is the hottest ex- news anchor in America... http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10849715&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6 (Beaver County Times, that is, via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** VATICAN [non non]. On 26 Jan at 1534 I was scanning the bands and stopped on 4005 where nice blues music was heard. This frequency is usually occupied by Vatican Radio, so I checked their other common frequency 5890 and indeed same music there. With brief Italian announcements they played ``I ain`t got nothing but the blues`` ``Night time is a right time`` etc, even one Janis Joplin blues song. This was really nice programming instead of ``Ave Marias`` or Mass. At 1559 interval signal, bells, brief Radio Vaticana ID and then vespers. Blues was over and I continued scanning :) Both 4005 (AM with suppressed LSB) and 5890 are listed in WRTH 2004 as Vatican City with powers of 10 and 80 kW. So, according to WRTH, there are still two SW and two MW transmitters inside the tiny Vatican City area (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also the powerful MW/SW site Santa Maria di Galeria belongs to the Vatican City state, but it is an ``exclave`` located some few kms NW of Rome, see map on pg.75 in WRTH. Photos of that site can be found at http://www.geocities.com/fedstel/smariadigaleria/1.htm 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Anoche, efectivamente, pude escuchar por vez primera en tantos años de diexista, a la Radio de la República Árabe Saharaui en idioma español. A las 2330 UT+, reporté un boletín de noticias leído por dos YL´s, con informaciones atinentes a la región seguido de una serie de temas románticos en nuestro idioma de intérpretes varios. Esto me sorprendió mucho, sobre todo cuando entre los cantantes estaban Luis Miguel, José Luis Perales, etc. La recepción ya no era tan buena como un par de horas antes. La QSA era de 2 y hasta 3 pero el desvanecimiento era muy fuerte. Lo bueno es que no había QRM. Siempre estamos hablando de la frecuencia de 7460 khz, en la banda de 41 metros. A las 2359 cierra transmisiones mas la frecuencia pasa a estar ocupada por IBC-Tamil (Arnaldo Slaen, Salvador BA, Jan 27, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** YEMEN. 9780.37, YRTVC Sana`a heard playing Arabic music, after 2145 UT Jan 19 [all handbooks show 2130 UT as YRTVC close-down time]. (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Jan 26 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4960.57 kHz, LA, 28/Ene/2004 1020 UT. Amigos DXistas, aquí viene SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 28/Ene/2004 9:30 hora local This is the first time I can present a recording of this unID LA station. At the end of the recording you can find the close down- ceremony (last 40 seconds) with flutes and OM first talking with bad quality (recorded ID??) and then YL with fair quality. During the last 2 years I have noted the station just 6-7 times always with bad signal and always between 10-1100 UT in the morning; this morning close down 1034 UT. I have heard the station between 4960.40 - 4960.60 kHz. I think it is ``Quichua`` but I´m not sure. Could anyone of you listen to the recording and tell me if it is Quichua? Listen to the recording [``14960.57``] at SWB: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) To me it sounds more like Aymara. In addition, there are mentions of ``dirigentes cocaleros`` and ``productores cocaleros``, so Bolivia is a real possibility. Needs more work (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ IBM AND PHILIPS TEAM UP IN RADIO TAGS AMSTERDAM, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. computer giant International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Dutch electronics maker Philips (PHG.AS) said on Monday they would work together to sell radio tags that would displace barcodes. Philips` semiconductor unit will make the tiny radio chips that can be stuck on items from clothes to bottles of milk, while IBM will provide the computer services and systems. No financial details were disclosed. By using so-called radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, manufacturing companies and retailers will be able to track closely their inventories. At a later stage it could also help consumers, for instance when a washing machine will be able to recognise that a bright colour piece of clothing has been put in the white wash. RFID chips, which in a few years time are likely to cost a few cents or even less, are thin and small and send essential bits of information about a product to a receiver that can read the signals. The data could include a product description, packaging and expiry dates, colour and price. It is a more advanced way to track and describe goods than barcodes, which are now used for most products and inventory systems. The market opportunity of RFID tags is estimated at $3.1 billion by 2008, according to research group Applied Business Intelligence. Another research group, IDC, estimates that retail demand alone will be $1.3 billion within four years. Philips said it would be its own customer when later this year it tags wafer cases and carton packages at its semiconductors Kao Hsiung manufacturing site in Taiwan and the division`s distribution centre in Hong Kong. Research groups estimate that some $40 billion of excess inventory of consumer goods and retail items are in the supply chain at any given time. The tags could help reduce theft and inventory levels by 25 percent, they said (RTw 01/26 0000 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) PPL ASKS TO EXPAND DELIVERY OF INTERNET VIA RADIO SIGNALS Wednesday, January 28, 2004 By NICK FALSONE The Express-Times http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1075286044269090.xml HANOVER TWP. [Pennsylvania] -- PPL Corp. wants a new technology designed to bring high-speed Internet to homes through radio signals to be made available to all township residents. Representatives from the Allentown-based corporation told township supervisors Tuesday night that a 90-day trial run of the service in select portions of the township went ``exceptionally well.`` They asked for approval to permanently offer the service in the township. Supervisors granted that approval with a stipulation that the township would leave open the possibility of charging a franchise fee to the corporation if it became a viable option down the line. Township solicitor Jim Broughal proposed the idea of the stipulation. Broughal said the circumstances involving the service PPL is bringing to the township is ``extremely similar`` to those involving cable television. With cable television, municipalities charge franchise fees. PPL representatives showed some concern about the possibility of having to pay a franchise fee. They said no other municipalities have made such a request. A franchise fee, they said, could prompt them to move their services out of the township and into one that doesn`t carry the fee. ``This is a very important decision not only for residents of the township, not only for PPL, but for the future of this technology,`` said Pete Thomas, an advisor with PPL. The technology is relatively new, and it aims to bring high-speed Internet services to residents who can`t get the services because their homes aren`t properly equipped. The signals for the service are sent to the homes using a high radio frequency. [i.e., shortwave?? WTFK??????] Amateur shortwave radio operators had complained before the trial run that the frequency would interfere with their hobby. Supervisor Steve Salvesen said Tuesday night he had been in touch with one of the operators after the trial run started. The operator experienced no problems, Salvesen said (via Mike Terry, UK; Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno @ yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary December 2 2003 through January 27 2004 Tabulated from daily email status Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Aurora Index 12/ 2 143 10 2 no storms no storms 5 3 139 8 2 minor minor 4 4 124 4 1 minor minor 6 5 116 6 3 no storms no storms 6 6 112 35 5 moderate minor 8 7 109 23 4 minor minor 6 8 92 17 3 no storms no storms 7 9 94 35 4 moderate minor 8 10 92 24 6 minor minor 9 11 89 40 5 moderate minor 9 12 86 45 4 moderate minor 9 13 87 23 5 no storms minor 9 14 88 27 3 minor minor 9 15 92 29 5 minor minor 9 16 101 27 3 minor no storms 9 17 106 13 2 no storms no storms 9 18 118 10 1 no storms no storms 5 19 123 6 2 no storms no storms 4 20 123 1 1 no storms minor 3 21 130 16 3 no storms minor 8 22 133 18 3 no storms minor 6 23 138 18 3 no storms no storms 7 24 142 6 2 no storms no storms 6 25 139 5 2 no storms no storms 6 26 139 8 2 no storms no storms 5 27 137 11 3 minor no storms 5 28 127 12 3 no storms no storms 5 29 119 13 3 no storms no storms 6 30 115 5 1 no storms no storms 5 12/31 108 8 3 no storms no storms 9 1/ 1 106 17 3 minor minor 8 2 116 29 4 minor no storms 7 3 117 11 2 no storms no storms 6 4 116 25 4 minor minor 6 5 119 21 2 no storms no storms 7 6 123 19 3 moderate minor 9 7 118 19 5 moderate moderate 10 8 119 38 3 moderate minor 6 9 120 6 3 minor minor 5 10 118 21 2 minor minor 6 11 119 24 2 minor minor 6 12 119 17 2 no storms minor 3 13 118 7 3 no storms minor 7 14 118 22 3 no storms minor 6 15 121 10 2 no storms no storms 6 16 119 14 3 no storms no storms 10 17 120 20 4 minor no storms 9 18 123 15 3 moderate minor 6 19 120 14 3 minor minor 7 20 135 16 3 minor minor 7 21 129 17 3 moderate minor 6 22 130 11 5 minor minor 9 23 122 46 4 strong minor 8 24 115 30 3 minor minor 7 25 108 18 3 no storms no storms 9 26 102 23 3 minor no storms 9 1/27 98 17 4 no storms no storms 7 ********************************************************************** (IRCA Soft DX Monitor Jan 31 via DXLD) MORE LONG-HAUL TRANS-EQUATORIAL FM DX Caros amigos, Escutas realizadas na praia do Campeche em 21/01 [presumably in southern Brazil, not Mexico] 88.90, Rádio Guadeloupe/Guadeloupe, 21/01 2140, px musical 89.30, UNID, 21/01 2143, px musical espanhol 91.10, UNID, 21/01 2145, locutor falando em espanhol 92.90, Voice of Barbados/Barbados, 21/01 21:48, locutor falando em inglês 95.30, Hott FM/Barbados, 21/01 21:51, px musical rap 95.50, Radio Montserrat/Montserrat, 21/01 21:53, locutor falando em inglês 97.30, UNID, 21/01 21:55, locutor falando em inglês 97.50, UNID, 21:01 22:50, locutor falando em inglês 97.90, UNID, 21/01 22:25, homem e mulher conversando em espanhol 98.10, Liberty FM/Barbados, 21/01 22:05, the station number one in Caribe 104.60, UNID, 21/01 21:59, bate papo em francês martinica usa final par 106.60, pode ser em 106.5 a radio Sainte Marie/Martinique ou 106.7 a radio Toco/Trinidad, 21/01 22:14, bate papo em francês Escutas realizadas na praia do Campeche em 24/01. 92.90, Voice of Barbados/Barbados, 24/01 21:37, homem e mulher conversando em ingles, depois px musical 95.30, Hott FM/Barbados, 24/01 21:40, locutor (inglês) falando sobre beisebol 91.30, UNID, 24/01 21:44, música de piano 92.90, Voice of Barbados/Barbados, 24/01 21:54, locutor falando em inglês e músicas caribenhas 95.50, Radio Montserrat/Montserrat, 24/01 22:04, música caribenha 98.10, Liberty FM/Barbados, 24/01 22:10, locutor falando em inglês Todas as escutas foram feitas com 1 sony 7600G, com antena telescópica. Os horários são do brasil/verão. As estações foram identificadas com a ajuda do Cláudio, Anderson, Mateus e internet. Qualquer incorreção por favor me avisem e ajudem. Estamos iniciando neste tipo de escuta. Como a propagação anda boa, o nosso pequeno grupo (PP5FMM Mateus, PP5ABU Cabral, PP5NW Rodrigo e PP5AMP Pacheco), está tentado sistematizar as nossas escutas. Num primeio momento estamos apenas curtindo o prazer de poder ouvir estações de FM de tão longa distância. Estamos passando para uma segunda etapa que é a busca de novos locais de escuta aqui em Florianópolis. Além da consagrada praia de Bom Abrigo, descoberta pelo Mestre Cláudio Rotolo de Moraes, estamos obtendo muito boas escutas na praia do Campeche. No dia 23/01 estivemos na praia Brava, mas não ouvimos nada. Ficou faltando saber se era falta de propagação ou se trata de um local inadequado. Por isso estamos tentando passar para a terceira etapa. Estamos pensando em convidar o Cláudio, o Marcelo e o Anderson, para que, conjuntamente com o nosso grupo, nos espalhemos por diversos pontos da ilha e do continente, incluindo a cidade de Garopaba, para que, num mesmo instante façamos escutas, e ao final obter um relatório conjunto. O objetivo deste relatório é fornecer maiores dados sobre a propagação na região, do tipo: este local é realmente bom?, uma estação copiada em Bom Abrigo é copiada em Garopaba? a abertura da propagação se dá nos mesmos horários, apesar da pequena separação entre os pontos, e por ai afora. É isso pessoal. Perdão pela msg muito longa. Forte 73, (PP5AMP, Marcos Antônio Pacheco, Florianópolis/SC - GG52rj, radioescutas via DXLD) PROPAGATION NEWS FROM RSGB Solar data for the period from the 19th to the 25th of January, compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS. http://www.g0cas.demon.co.uk/main.htm Solar activity started at moderate levels with M-class solar flares taking place on the 19th and 20th. The largest flare of the period was an M6/2N on the 20th. Solar flux declined from 135 on the 19th to 102 by the 25th. The average was 120. The 90-day solar flux average on the 25th was 132, that`s six units down on last week. X-ray flux levels declined also, from B3.9 on the 19th to B1.6 by the end of the period. The average was B2.7 units. Geomagnetic activity increased to `major- storm` levels by the 22nd with an Ap index of 62 units. The probable cause of this disturbance was the M6 solar flare and the associated coronal mass ejection of the 20th. Further smaller coronal mass ejections arrived during the remainder of the period and this kept activity at elevated levels. The average Ap index was 28 units. The ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds increase from 440 kilometres per second to 720 by the 22nd. Particle densities were low but increased to 25 particles per cubic centimetre on the 22nd and 24th. Bz varied between minus 10 and plus 10 nanoTeslas but on the more disturbed days fluctuated between minus 22 and plus 28 nanoTeslas. Bz was predominately southward on the 22nd and the 23rd. Active geomagnetic conditions depressed propagation on the higher HF bands on several days. Nevertheless, even 28 MHz was open almost every afternoon, with openings to the eastern US and Canada on several days. Interestingly enough, although east-west paths were poor during the storm on the 22nd, north-south paths held up well, probably due to enhanced ionisation being displaced southwards. VHF aurora was reported on several days, but the only opening of consequence was again on the 22nd, when auroral working was possible at least as far south as Lancashire around 1430 UT. And finally the solar forecast. This week the quiet side of the sun is expected to be rotating out of view. Solar activity should be mostly low, although a low-strength M-class solar flare could take place at any time. Solar flux should increase and by next weekend be around the 120s. Due to coronal holes, geomagnetic activity should be disturbed for most of the week, although quieter conditions could take place briefly around midweek. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes should be around 28 MHz for the south and 25 MHz for the north. Paths this week to the Middle East should have a maximum usable frequency, with a 50 per cent success rate, of around 30 MHz. The optimum working frequency, with a 90 per cent success rate, should be about 20M Hz. The best time to try this path should be between 0800 and 1300 UT. The RSGB propagation news is also available in a Saturday update, posted every Saturday evening and for more on propagation generally, see http://www.rsgb.org/society/psc.htm (RSGB Main News Script for February via via G4RGA, uk.radio.amateur January 28 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OUR EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST A very quiet SUN, with a minimum sunspot count of 38, indicating that this solar Carrington rotation has reached the bottom of the subcycle. The solar flux registered 98 units on Tuesday, confirming the very low activity. We may see an increase in solar activity starting on Wednesday. Due to the much lower solar activity of the past several days, the daytime maximum useable frequency curve is showing a very slow morning upward swing, and it also is moving down very sharply just after sunset local time. Again, as I said at the start of the program, these are good days for low frequency DXing in general, and for AM medium wave band DXers in particular, as soon as the solar wind gusts come to an end, something I expect to be happening by late Tuesday UT day (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Jan 28 via DXLD) The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to severe storm levels. Quiet to active conditions were observed on 19 – 21 January due to a high speed coronal hole stream. A 33 nT sudden impulse early on the 22nd, signified the onset of a severe geomagnetic storm. This CME was likely associated with the long duration C5 flare observed in Region 540 on 20 January. Severe storm periods were observed at all latitudes until midday on the 22nd. Unsettled to minor storm conditions prevailed late on the 22nd through the 23rd. Mostly quiet to active conditions were observed on the 24th. Unsettled to minor storm conditions were observed on the 25th due to weak transient solar wind flow. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 28 JANUARY - 23 FEBRUARY Solar activity is expected to be at very low to moderate levels. The period will begin with an almost spotless visible disk, so expect very low to low conditions to persist through into the first few days of the period. Old active Region 536 is due to rotate back into view in the next few days and will likely elevate activity levels from very low to low with a chance for an M-class flare. Old active Region 537 will return in early February and further enhance flare probabilities. The late stages of the forecast period will likely see a return to low and even very low conditions as the active longitudes rotate out of view. There is a slight chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 28 January, 01 – 08 February, and again on 12 – 18 February, due to recurrent coronal holes. Geomagnetic activity is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels with a chance of isolated major storm levels. The large transequatorial coronal hole of the last few rotations has broken up into several smaller coronal holes. This series of recurrent coronal holes is due to return on 31 January – 07 February and is expected to produce minor storm level activity with a chance of isolated major storm levels. Another coronal hole is expected to return on 11 – 14 February and produce active to minor storm levels. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2004 Jan 27 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2004 Jan 27 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2004 Jan 28 105 20 4 2004 Jan 29 110 15 3 2004 Jan 30 110 15 3 2004 Jan 31 110 20 4 2004 Feb 01 115 20 4 2004 Feb 02 115 20 4 2004 Feb 03 120 30 5 2004 Feb 04 120 15 3 2004 Feb 05 125 10 3 2004 Feb 06 130 20 4 2004 Feb 07 135 15 3 2004 Feb 08 135 10 3 2004 Feb 09 130 10 3 2004 Feb 10 125 12 3 2004 Feb 11 120 15 3 2004 Feb 12 120 20 4 2004 Feb 13 120 15 3 2004 Feb 14 120 20 4 2004 Feb 15 125 15 3 2004 Feb 16 130 15 3 2004 Feb 17 130 15 3 2004 Feb 18 120 10 3 2004 Feb 19 115 10 3 2004 Feb 20 110 15 3 2004 Feb 21 105 10 3 2004 Feb 22 100 12 3 2004 Feb 23 100 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1218, DXLD) ###