DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-040, March 3, 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 1222: Thu 2130 on WWCR 15825 (ex-9475!) Sat 0000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy, 1584 Sat 0900 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia, webcast Sat 0955 on WNQM, Nashville, 1300 Sat 1130 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1930 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast http://www.wpkn.org Sat 2130 on WWCR 12160 Sat 2130 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Sun 0030 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [ex-0130!] Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1100 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 2000 on Studio X, Momigno, 1584 Sun 2100 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Mon 0430 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [last week`s 1221] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1222 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1222h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1222h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1222.html [from Thursday] WORLD OF RADIO 1222 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1222.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1222.rm ** ALASKA. Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) is a nonprofit, Alaska Native governed and operated media center located in Anchorage. "Koahnic" is an Athabascan word in the Ahtna dialect meaning "live air." The mission of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation is to be the leader in bringing Native voices to the region and nation. KBC pursues its mission through operation of three projects: National Programming, a selection of radio programming that is broadcast by public and tribal radio stations across the country. KBC's national programming includes National Native News, Native America Calling, Earthsongs, Stories of Our People, and Native Word of the Day. KBC Training Center, a media training facility dedicated to increasing the number of Native people employed in media fields. KNBA 90.3 FM, the first Native radio station located in an urban market. http://www.knba.org/knba_main.php KBC welcomes your comments and suggestions. E-mail us at feedback@k.... [truncated] Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. 818 East 9th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501. Phone (907) 258-8880. Listen to KNBA live online http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kbc/ppr/index.shtml (Creative Radio List, via Claudio Morales, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Radio Australia --- Having an ale in the local ... A little birdie told me that the Brandon units will go till about the end of the year, then be replaced by 50 kW transmitters. These will be operated around the 10 kW mark. And replace the old and ancient STC transmitters that are totally in need of replacement. The parts are worth nothing, so don`t ask (Johno Wright, March 1, ARDXC via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Österreich 1, the domestic service in German on SW to Europe heard moderate to strong here in India on 5945 // 6155 (feeble) between 1800 to 2000 UT before the Chinese station overruns the channel again. Plenty of western classical music at this time. Here is the full SW schedule for the Austrian Radio in German with SW service to Europe in their website http://oe1.orf.at/service/frequenzen Europaweit - Kurzwelle 0500-2308 UT 6155 kHz horiz. Quad 0600-1300 UT 13730 kHz horiz. period 1300-1900 UT 13730 kHz vert 1900-0008 UT 5945 kHz vert (3rd March 2004, Supratik Sanatani, 161/4 Rash Behari Avenue, Kolkata 700019, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Does anyone know what the impact of RCI's new schedule is going to be on the 0200 broadcast to the US. Are they planning to drop this broadcast or replace it with material from the domestic CBC service? (Sandy Finlayson, March 2, swprograms via DXLD) I've asked, but received no response. I'll ask again. (Hint: With the way things have been done at RCI --- and CBC --- of late, they probably don't know.) (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. Tonight's China Radio International relay on 9690 is absolutely booming in here at 0300Z; 50db over S9. Site is supposedly Spain with 350 kW; too bad it`s severely overmodulated and bad hum. Even comes in on the old TransOceanic in the basement with the whip retracted! Regards again (Ben Loveless, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 1100, HJCN, SF de Bogotá; Spanish announcements, talk, ID at 0800 "Radio Mil Cien AM ... desde Bogotá, Colombia" and "Ésta es la RRM, Red Radiodifusion Música ... ahora desde Bogotá, Colombia" (seemed slightly off-channel); I believe last reported in the UK in 1980; W/F, 07533/3 mah LA's rapidly diminishing in strength after 0900, but Cubans, Florida and Canadian maritime stations lingering on until disappeared around 0945. An interesting morning, with some mysteries to investigate! 73s (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. NRD-545, beverages: 513m at 240 degrees, unterminated; 506m at 290 degrees, terminated; 588m at 315 degrees, terminated; 362 m at 360 degrees, unterminated, MWC via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Definitivamente la mención Melodía o Cadena Melodía ha sido limitada sólo a unas pocas identificaciones como ésta: "La 730, otra emisora de la Cadena Melodía, Colombia". Por lo demás, sólo se habla de La Nueva 730. Captada el 29/02, las 0257 UTC, en los 6139.80 kHz. SINPO 3/2. 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. RADIO OKAPI PREPARES TO LAUNCH NEW WEBSITE Radio Okapi, a joint project by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and the Hirondelle Foundation, is preparing to launch a new Website. An announcement at http://www.radiookapi.net says the new site will launch on Monday 8 March. # posted by Andy @ 16:45 UT Mar 3 (Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. New Radio Prague goodie --- I received an envelope from Radio Prague in the mail yesterday. This year's QSL series focuses on the "Year of Music" that Radio Prague is celebrating, with the first QSL being the farmhouse in Jablonice where Bedrich Smetana spent the last years of his life. I also received one of their driver's license sized calendar cards. But the most interesting thing was something I hadn't received from any station before: a Radio Prague *coaster*. At least it's something I can use. What am I going to do with that Voice of Free China inflatable globe I received a number of years back? :-) If any of you want your own Radio Prague coaster, I suppose supplies are limited and you probably ought to send in a reception report soon. As for their signal, I get a good signal on the weekends at 1400 UT on 21745 (too bad this will change come the end of March), and can also listen on 7345 at 2230 and 2330 UT (I haven't tried listening to the 0100, 0200, or 0400 UT broadcasts since I'm usually listening to other programs at those times.) – (Ted Schuerzinger, swprograms via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. HCJB, 9745, heard a nice (and strong) program Sunday nite at 0430 2/29/04 UT with a half-hour of Ecuadorean music. YL mentioned "la música interpretada". This is as nice as "Música del Ecuador" was, so why don't they mention it to the listeners of the short English transmission in the morning? -- where they invite only Spanish speaking listeners to re-tune to 15140 (KA2HPU, Wells Perkins, NJ, west of Staten Island, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Emisora ecuatoriana sin identificar en los 4869.95 kHz, a las 0243 UT, con SINPO 3/3. Boleros estilo Los Panchos, locutora con mención de música ecuatoriana. Música rumbera "Tú eres mi medicina". Programación religiosa desde las 0300 UT, en paralelo con 3280 kHz. No aparece en la lista de Mark Morhmann. (29/02). 73's y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) La Voz del Upano as recently reported here; probably in Mark`s archive rather than current list, soon to be moved to current (gh, DXLD) Glenn: What's the very strong signal around 4870 (perhaps about 4869.9) that is Spanish with a religious format? I heard this tonight (03-03-04) from 0815 to 0834; wasn't near the set exactly at the BOH so may have missed an ID. Carrier very strong and fairly steady, but the audio is so severely clipped -- and the bass frequencies so boosted -- that when the announcer speaks in his full, resonant voice it's almost like hearing a buzzsaw jammer! Good-by, RRI Wamena if *this* horrible thing stays on during the wee hours of the morning... What I am hearing at 4869.9~ is very strong -- about S9+10 on my 53m wire -- and due to the heavy clipping, is incredibly loud. In fact, I've been listening fot the last 45 minutes to try to glean *something* (without success) and the distortion is unbearable. It's probably the most distorted thing I've heard on SW aside from one or two really bad RHC transmissions (and of course, CB'ers.) The other item on the same webpage that could be this is 4870.0 ECUADOR LV del Upano, Macas But I can't get then at their frequencies listed in the Mohrmann list to check. At those freqs. (5040, 5965) they have 10k; still, I rarely get anything this loud from Latin America that's only 10 kW. Puzzler. Well, at the TOH at 0900 there was an announce break and a female gave an ID of some sort, but the combination of the TERRIBLE distortion, and my lack of Spanish, didn't help me. [Later:] Yes, that's it, Upano as in 4-038. But GADZOOKS, what bad audio! And I'm sorry that they are on RRI Wamena's frequency: bah! I must be more sensitive to distortion than most listeners (probably because I know how to fix it or to avoid it.) (Steve Waldee, San José CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. Misinformation from Observer, Bulgaria --- Dear Glenn, The Radio France International transmissions from Meyerton (refer dxld 4-039 - info provided by Observer, Bulgaria) have nothing whatsoever to do with VT Merlin Communications (Kathy Otto, Sentech, South Africa, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kathy, Thanks for the clarification. What about the other sites on the list -- DHA, DB, SNG, ASC, TAC, KIG -- do you know if all of those are now with Merlin, and if not which ones are not? Regards, (Glenn to Kathy, DXLD) ** GUYANA. Voice of Guyana, 0656 Mar 3, Good signal strength. BBC WS relay with Top of the Pops at 0656 tune in. WS ID at 0700, then into the news (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Glenn, this is my first DX contribution after a decade. Back to active DX with a brand new ICOM R75 - thanks to the Government of India's policies and the internet which has made buying receivers from Indian homes as easy as a couple of mouse clicks. Hooked to a 24 m long wire strung across my friendly neighbour`s house in the middle of this crowded city, I am trying to warm up my listening habits. An unexpected addition to the DX team is my 11 year old son who has taken a fancy to my reactivation and even helped me setting up the memories etc on the receiver, helped string the antenna and would even do some band scan for me. Since DXing.com and Glenn Hauser`s DXLD page kept up my DX interest all through my lean DXing years, my first contribution goes to these pages. [Thanks, Supratik, welcome back! Great to hear from you again] India --- Radio Sedayee Kashmir run by Indian authorites on 9890 kHz in Urdu with recitation and devotional songs fair signals but with poor modulation logged on 24th February from 0730 till sign off at 0830 hrs. ID in Urdu clearly mentions "Sedayee Kashmir" (3rd March 2004, Supratik Sanatani, 161/4 Rash Behari Avenue, Kolkata 700019, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also AUSTRIA; PHILIPPINES ** INDIA. Friends, AIR Mumbai noted on 7194 for the test transmission from today. They were using 7220 till yesterday and once 7240 by error. The schedule is: 0025-0430 0700-1330 1430-1740. This is in parallel to 7270 Chennai, 7360 Delhi & 7420 Guwahati. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, March 2, dx_india via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) AIR Mumbai has changed their test frequency to 7195 replacing 7220 from today.(It was noted on 7194 for the first transmission but was corrected to 7195 from the second transmission) The schedule is: 0025- 0430 0700-1330 1430-1740 UT. This is in parallel to 7270 Chennai, 7360 Delhi & 7420 Guwahati. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS March 3, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WORLDSPACE SATELLITE RADIO LAUNCHES GLOBAL SUBSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN --- PRNewswire (press release) - USA WASHINGTON, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldSpace Corporation announced the first multinational satellite radio subscription plan http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/03-03-2004/0002121557&EDATE=WED+Mar+03+2004,+12:20+PM They are adding FoxNews and Talksport to their channels according to this release (PRS Newswire via Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. Glenn, RTÉ have announced that Radio One will commence broadcasting on 252 kHz Long Wave on the 17th March 2004 (St Patrick's Day) aiming at listeners in Great Britain. They have also announced that they were to begin research into the introduction of digital radio services. Kind regards, (Paul Guckian, Ireland, March 3, WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. A US university claimed 250 million dollars in damages March 1, alleging that a television channel owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hijacked its mascot. Spokesmen for Western Kentucky University and its licensing company, Crossland Enterprises, told a news conference in Rome there was no substantial difference between its Big Red mascot, and Gabbibo, a dancing doll that appears during commercial breaks on TV5, the flagship channel of the Berlusconi family's Mediaset media empire. Both mascots are large red blobs with big eyes and no distinguishing characteristics, other than a large WKU stitched across the chest of the US version. Steve Crossland, the president of the licensing company, said a hearing on the accusation was scheduled March 3 at Lugo di Romagna in northeastern Italy, where the company licensed to distribute Gabibbo images is based. The Berlusconi version is a centerpiece of "Striscia la Notizia", a news parody featuring plenty of bare female flesh that is one of Italy's most popular programs (AFP via SCDX/MediaScan Mar 3 via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. See INDIA ** KOREA NORTH. Query about bad sounding DPRK stations Glenn: Why is it that so many of the "clandestine" or "political underground" N. Korean counter-S. Korean tropical band stations have a similar sounding grinding/humming noise that varies in amplitude, and is probably around 40 Hz (I haven't measured it)? Do they really sound that way, closer to Korea? Could it be some kind of strange intermodulation effect coming from an antenna farm? Or terrible transmitters? Sometimes the buzz/hum is louder than the actual program material. I am trying to listen to 4450 (KNDF), and it's painful to endure. Their other frequency, 3480, has a strange rolling howl covering up the modulation. VOK, on the other hand, doesn't sound bad at all. And I've caught them playing music in the early morning hours, in the 31M band, with very good audio, enabling me to listen to the saccharine and jingoistic pieces (ignorant of the no doubt dreadful texts!) with a certain perverse enjoyment. But the anti-South stations in the tropical bands are just dreadful. Are other listeners concurring with this, or am I picking up something anomalous? (Steve Waldee, CA, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. On 1 Mar at 1627 on 3215 AWR via RN Talata Volonondry ended its Malagasy program and I stayed on the frequency. And as scheduled, at 1630 there was signature tune and ID "...Radio Feon'ny Filazantsara... Madagascar". I have contacted the Lutheran World Federation for the studio address of this program, but no reply yet (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/DMD/Capacity_Building/DMD-Communication_Consultancy.html Click at the picture "Studio staff in Madagascar" and you should then be able to read the address on the board in front of them (Jens Soendergaard, Randers, DENMARK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Glenn, It's currently coming up on 0400 UT 3-03-04; I am picking up KOMA 1520 with Okla. women's hoops, no ID at all; did go to a website that confirmed this, AM 1520, are they on day pattern tonight? They are booming in here in Northeast Tenn. Just curious, have not logged them in quite some time. Take care, (ED, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s hard to tell from this angle, but they may be a bit weaker than usual. Certainly would not be the first time KOMA has stayed on day pattern at night. Normally has (had?) Jim Bohannon at this time. At 0415 UT someone talking in a hall with a lot of echo. I guess some post-game comments? 73, (Glenn to ED, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Radio Pilipinas, PBS, Manila, heard daily in English sign-on at 0200 till sign-off at 0330 on 15120 kHz with good signal and audio. // 15270 kHz similar signal strength but bugged by a Chinese language cochannel. Also announced is 11885 kHz but not heard from here. On some days it announces in a flourish with "From the presidential palace in Manila Philippines, this is Radyo Pilipinas" . Mention of the presidential palace in the announcement was not found on all days. Exotic programme contents including Tagalog language; lessons, music and features with a local flavour, e.g. business talk on how to set up a franchisee business in the Philippines. Once in a while strange English words like in this one "The president will not back out from a public debate with 6 other presidentibles (sic)". (3rd March 2004, Supratik Sanatani, 161/4 Rash Behari Avenue, Kolkata 700019, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. RRI - RADIO RUMANIA INTERNACIONAL CIERRA VARIOS SERVICIOS HACIA EL EXTERIOR POR ONDA CORTA, ENTRE ELLOS: EL PORTUGUÉS Por Rubén Guillermo Margenet El pasado 14 de febrero a través de BCLNEWS de Italia http://www.bclnews.it Roberto Scaglione publicó vía correo electrónico una noticia cuya fuente original corresponde a Público Online - Media Network Blog. Bajo el título RADIO RUMANIA INTERNACIONAL CIERRA ALGUNOS SERVICIOS DE IDIOMAS, Marian Stoican, Editor en Jefe de RRI anunció que el Servicio en Portugués --- que fue establecido en 1958 --- finalizará el próximo mes de abril debido a problemas técnicos y financieros. Stoican dijo también que servicios en otras lenguas serán igualmente cerrados pero declinó decir cuáles son. Una reciente respuesta que -al respecto- recibí de Eugenio Hac y Martin, uno de los miembros más antiguos del Servicio Español de RRI, dice textualmente: "Los departamentos que van a cerrar sus servicios son los siguientes: húngaro, búlgaro, griego, turco y portugués. Además, van a cerrar lo que se llama Cuarto de Noticias, es decir un sexto departamento, que tiene papel vital en la elaboración de noticias, notas y comentarios. En cualquier emisora de radio nacional, en el mismo se forman los especialistas y analistas que dan lo específico de la escuela política llamada a defender el interés nacional de la respectiva nación. El simple hecho de que el personal va a ser reorientado hacia otros servicios y departamentos dentro de la institución, para no hablar de la intención de cerrar el Cuarto de Noticias (¿Problemas técnicos?), son indicios de que no son los problemas financieros o técnicos los que realmente han pesado cuando se tomó la decisión de efectuar estas reestructuraciones. Emilios y cartas con opiniones de los oyentes al respecto pueden influir en la reversibilidad de esta decisión, si llegan masivamente aquí y a otros medios de información en masa rumanos e internacionales". Quienes quieran manifestar su descontento por la medida adoptada en RRI, seguidamente algunos medios de comunicación con la emisora rumana: RRI - Radio Rumania Internacional, 60-62 General Berthelot (P. O. Box 111), Bucarest, Rumania. Tel.: 40-1-2222556 Fax: 40-1-2232613 E-mail: rri @ rri.ro y span @ rri.ro (Servicio Español) Web: http://www.rri.ro (Ruben Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, Feb 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RÁDIO ROMÊNIA DESTACA SOLIDARIEDADE DOS OUVINTES O programa Correio dos Ouvintes, da Seção de Língua Portuguesa da Rádio Romênia Internacional tem pouco mais de cinco minutos de duração. Entretanto, a edição de 26 de fevereiro ficou no ar cerca de 30 minutos. Motivo: o grande volume de mensagens eletrônicas que a estação romena recebeu, nos últimos dias, pedindo a manutenção da programação em português. A direção da emissora anunciou que a RRI vai deixar de emitir, no nosso idioma, em abril. Lucian Popescu, que geralmente apresenta o espaço sozinho, dividiu os microfones com outra colega. Os apresentadores informaram, inicialmente, que estariam dando prioridade para os votos de protestos, solidariedade e amizade dos ouvintes. Em seguida, apresentaram o manifesto do DX Clube do Brasil e a lista de pessoas que assinaram o documento. Foram cerca de 50 mensagens, do Brasil, Portugal, Japão, Colômbia e México. Os apresentadores informaram que a lista do DXCB foi assinada, ainda, pelo Dr. Carlos Augusto de Oliveira, da Embaixada do Brasil na Romênia. Alguns colegas dexistas e radioescutas escreveram textos emocionantes que foram lidos na íntegra. O fundador do DXCB, Samuel Cássio Martins, de São Carlos (SP), afirmou que os programas da Rádio Romênia são importante fonte de cultura e informação daquela nação. Por sua vez, o jornalista e radialista Guilherme Korte, que trabalhou na Seção de Língua Portuguesa da Rádio Internacional da China, escreveu que a emissora é um elo de ligação entre o Brasil e a Romênia, numa época em que as duas nações aprofundam intercâmbios. De Portugal, Fernando de Souza Ribeiro destacou a importância da Rádio Romênia para seus compatriotas. Segundo ele, muitos romenos vivem em Portugal. Assim, os portugueses têm interesse em saber como é a Romênia, seus costumes e tradições. Uma nova rodada de respostas está prevista para o sábado, dia 28 de fevereiro, dentro do espaço Estúdio dos Ouvintes. As emissões da Rádio Romênia, em português, ocorrem no seguinte esquema: das 21h às 21h56min, no horário oficial de Brasília (das 0000 às 0056 UT), pelas freqüências de 9665, 11830, 11875 e 15250 kHz. Também 18h30min e 18h56min, no horário oficial de Brasília (das 2130 às 2156 UT), em 9655, 11725, 11940 e 15285 kHz. Na Internet: http://www.rri.ro Você que ainda não participou pode buscar o manifesto do DX Clube do Brasil no sítio do colega português António Silva, em http://aminharadio.com assiná-lo, e remeter para os endereços eletrônicos port@r... e rri@r.... [truncated]. Não esqueça também de passar para seus amigos! (Jorn. Célio Romais, da equipe de Coordenação do DX Clube do Brasil, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. A comment about the Spring/Summer VOR sked --- It's come to my attention that a document purported to be the new Spring/Summer VOR sked has been published on the internet. The official program schedule has NOT been released yet as things are being adjusted and tweaked. The new sked goes into effect 3/26 aprox. and as in past years will be put on the VOR web site at around that time. Listeners should take this "leaked" sked with a grain of salt until VOR puts the real stuff up on their web site and of course, I will pass it along via the lists (Maryanne Kehoe, GA, Mar 2, swprograms via DXLD) So where is this naughty version? Surely you aren`t referring to DXLD 4-039, which is the schedule planned earlier by VOR itself from the beginning of March, B-03, not the end of March, A-04 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is there any reason to believe the schedule won't be similar to that of previous years, when best reception was usually on 9655 kHz at 0100-0500 UT? (Ted Schuerzinger, swprograms via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA, Duba, 1521 kHz, Kor`an at 0255 UT, talking at 0313 2/29/04. Passband tuning helps me avoid some of the "KB" (WKBW) QRM. My antenna is about 360' long and nearly one foot above the ground pointing pretty much towards Saudi Arabia. When the last MW DX cycle gave us a TA peak a few years ago, I could hear this 2000 kW powerhouse nearly every night for at least 18 months. It's interesting to note that they were silent from 23z to 03z but kept the carrier on the air on at full strength for the silent hours. In the ME one could use any radio as a clock radio by just leaving it turned on to the dead air; then at 03 UT you get your Koran wake-up call. They usually were about 2 Hertz below 1521. On the good nights the other BSKSA splits were also heard (KA2HPU, Wells Perkins, NJ, west of Staten Island, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 9545 is off air; needs some better air conditioning as overheats but working on that might be a while to fix this problem --- but the news is that the transmitter and dipole are fine. So will advise more when the next little birdie tells me more....... (Johno Wright, March 1, ARDXC via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Just received an e-mail verification from 6961 R Shabele, Mogadishu, Somalia for my reception of 28 Feb 2004. I sent my report to Chairman of Shabele Media Network (maalik @ shabele.com). 73 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, March 3, WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, Radio Apintie, 0635 Mar 3, Unusually good reception of this station today, with fairly good carrier strength, but did not sound like 100% modulation. The format consisted of their usual 10 to 15 minute blocks of light popular music punctuated by canned announcements. I heard "Love you just the way you are" at 0640 and station ID at 0650. Signal strength was considerably lower at 0704 recheck (David Hodgson, TN, WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: In "Nordic Lights" international development assistance, Finnish Nordic Prize, investment bank goes Baltic, and Norway's Crown Prince Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Network Europe" focuses on Slovenia, enlargement threats, and Sweden's liquor taxes Sunday: Repeat of "Sono" with Twiggy and AbOvo (SCDX/MediaScan Mar 3 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. Radio Taiwan International's new program schedule http://www.cbs.org.tw/English/programs/programs.asp RTI can still be heard here in NY at 0200 UT on 5950 kHz and at 2200 on 9355 (Ted Schuerzinger, March 3, swprograms via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. "JAMMED" UKRAINIAN RADIO STATION DEFIANT ON RADIO LIBERTY DEAL | Excerpt from report by Interfax-Ukraine news agency Kiev, 3 March: The management of the Kontynent radio station has announced that the 100.9 FM frequency on which Kontynent broadcasts has been jammed ever since its announcement that it has agreed to rebroadcast Radio Liberty programmes. The Kontynent news release to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Wednesday [3 March] said that on 1 March "so-called jamming devices that disrupt Radio Kontynent's signal to certain parts of Kiev were switched on". The radio station management protested at these actions and called them a "blatant violation of citizens' constitutional rights to receive information". [passage omitted: background information reported earlier in Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 2 Mar 04] The radio station told Interfax-Ukraine that the agreement with Radio Liberty to rebroadcast the "Morning Liberty" programme on 100.9 FM remains in force. The programme has not yet been rebroadcast on Kontynent, however. "The problems began as soon as [Kontynent Director-General Serhiy] Sholokh announced the decision to rebroadcast the Liberty programmes," a Kontynent staff member told Interfax- Ukraine. A number of media outlets have reported that a jamming device broadcasting on the 100.9 MHz frequency was switched on at the Kiev Radio and Television Broadcasting Centre tower on Monday. A source at the RRT concern (of which the Kiev Radio and Television Broadcasting Centre is a section) said that they have had no equipment for jamming broadcasts since 1993, when they were taken out of commission. "If there is any interference, it could be from another source such as taxi radios," the source told Interfax-Ukraine. In this instance they should call in the special laboratory of Ukrchastnahlyad [Ukrainian Frequency Inspectorate] to track down the source of the interference. [passage omitted: Liberty's previous problems in Ukraine] [Radio Liberty's previous Ukrainian partner, Radio Dovira, stopped rebroadcasting Radio Liberty's programmes on 17 February after Dovira's head was replaced with a supporter of President Kuchma. Dovira said that Radio Liberty programming clashed with its new entertainment format. The Ukrainian opposition, Western critics and Radio Liberty itself said the move was political and aimed at stifling freedom of speech in Ukraine in the run-up to the October presidential election.] Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 0924 gmt 3 Mar 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) BBC REBROADCASTER CHIEF FLEES UKRAINE AFTER THREATS The director of the Ukrainian rebroadcaster of the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Serhiy Sholokh, has reported threats after his decision to begin broadcasting Radio Liberty programmes. He fled Ukraine and would agree to come back only if President Leonid Kuchma guaranteed his personal security. The radio stopped broadcasting today after its transmitted was seized by the police. The following is an excerpt from the report by the Interfax- Ukraine news agency on 3 March 2004: Kiev, 3 March: The Kontynent FM radio stopped broadcasting on the 100.9 MHz frequency on Wednesday [3 March]. The radio management said that their transmitter and equipment were seized. [Passage omitted: details of the seizure, see item "Police seize transmitter of Ukrainian rebroadcaster of BBC, Radio Liberty", Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1249 gmt 3 Mar 04.] Commenting on the situation by phone, [Kontynent director] Serhiy Sholokh said: "I am accusing the USDPU [the United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, which is headed by presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk] of these actions." However, he could not comment on the essence of the state bodies' claims. He said he had received threats and had to go into hiding for several days. Sholokh said he had met representatives from the USDPU. "I was told that if I began broadcasting Radio Liberty [Radio Free Europe], this would be the end of me and my radio station. If I agreed to work with them without revealing this, everything would be settled," Sholokh said. Sholokh said he had decided to leave Ukraine after that meeting. Answering the question if he is going to come back to Ukraine, Sholokh said: "This depends on the situation, if [President Leonid] Kuchma guarantees immunity and personal security." [Passage omitted: Kontynent management said their radio was jammed in Kiev after its decision to rebroadcast Radio Liberty.] [Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk] Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1547 gmt 3 Mar 04 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) ** U K. BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents: New series Not shortwave, but one of Radio 4's best series. Archives are usually available for on-demand listening, and "Crossing Continents" is also availalbe in the live Radio 4 webcast. Visit the Crossing Continents website for more details, or to subscribe to these e-mail alerts yourself, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/crossingcontinents BBC Radio 4's award-winning series returns on Thursday, 4 March, 2004, at 1100 GMT. At the height of the Cold War a civilian plane crashed in Northern Norway, killing all on board. Accident investigators concluded a strange coincidence of air turbulence and pilot error was the probable cause. But many Norwegians believe the accident involved British military planes on a secret Cold War mission. . . (via Richard Cuff, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. AFTER 58 YEARS, COOKE SIGNS OFF HIS LETTER FROM AMERICA By Hugh Davies Daily Telegraph (Filed: 03/03/2004) Alistair Cooke, the Radio 4 broadcaster, who always wished listeners a courtly "Good Evening" before reflecting on life in the United States, has delivered his final Letter From America. At 95 he has reluctantly called it a day in his adopted country. Now more raconteur than reporter, he said: "I can no longer continue my Letter from America." The end has been coming for some time. Indeed, there exists an internal BBC memo dating back to 1936, two years after he joined the BBC as a film critic, branding him "difficult" and suggesting that he be sacked forthwith. People have been trying to halt his monologues, without a sliver of success, since the late Sixties. Even his liberal newspaper employer, The Guardian, called him in an editorial "a nuisance . . . But we think he's worth it, and we love him just the same". Cooke, according to a BBC rival, "got into a great rage if anyone suggested he stopped working". An executive sent from London to persuade him to retire or share the job, so lost his nerve on confronting Cooke that he ended up treating him to lunch. In 1969 the then incoming Radio 4 controller Tony Whitby told colleagues he was determined to boot Cooke off the air. Cooke, noted for friends in high places, simply rang the chairman and, as the broadcaster Cliff Michelmore recalled, "that was that". Tony Grant, who has led the Cooke broadcasting team for the past decade, insisted last night that he only became argumentative when a taxi driver in London "didn't know the way from Mayfair to Bush House". Until recently, Cooke came to Britain for Wimbledon and the Open. Grant said: "His retirement came as a great shock. We had no idea that he was even thinking of it." Cooke recorded his final "talk", as he called it, a fortnight ago, imparting his trenchant views on the Democratic presidential primaries. Friends say that, while originally a Democratic voter and an admirer of Adlai Stevenson - he reported on the founding of the United Nations for the then Manchester Guardian - his liberalism evaporated with age, moving inexorably to the Right. As usual, Cooke bashed out the script on his ancient Royal typewriter. But he had been saying recently that what was once a two-hour job was now hard work all week. With the aid of a BBC technician, he put it over on the line to Bush House, with his usual aplomb. Grant said: "He is the most consummate of broadcasters. Sometimes we have to do 30 retakes for some correspondents. Alistair is the total professional. In a 15-minute broadcast, which is a long old haul, he makes maybe one or two errors, which we have to retake. He would just rocket through his talk." Cooke bowed out after a regular hospital check-up. A smoker until his late 80s, he said his doctors had advised him to sign off. He added: "Throughout 58 years I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty, and goodbye." The last broadcast came from his study overlooking Central Park, New York. Grant said: "He had talked from the apartment for the last three years. The Letter was his abiding passion. "He is a quite superb writer, as well as a unique direct living link to a past that includes the Depression, the 1926 General Strike and so many presidents. His was not the dullness of history books. Alistair would walk listeners through a scene." Cooke has presented 2,869 shows covering about 717 hours of broadcasting time for the world's longest running speech radio programme. He and his Letter were meant to last for 13 weeks. But the pairing developed into a most extraordinary life for the Salford-born journalist. He was at the epic boxing match in New York between Sugar Ray Robinson and Randolph Turpin, saw Senator Joseph McCarthy's last stand, and witnessed the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) 'A NUISANCE - BUT WE THINK HE'S WORTH IT' Nick Clarke Tuesday March 02 2004 The Guardian "Cooke is a nuisance," said a celebrated Guardian editorial of 1968. "He telephones his copy at the last moment. He says that he will be in Chicago and turns up in Los Angeles. If all of his colleagues were like him, production of this paper would cease. But we think he's worth it." That frustration and admiration says a great deal about Alistair Cooke. He was always his own man, and quite frequently a pain in the neck of employers. He certainly has not been easy for the BBC to deal with. His personnel files, dating back before the war, show him battering away at the corporation to allow him to write a weekly dispatch from America. A prototype, Mainly about Manhattan, appeared in 1938, but was killed off by the war. And for the next few years Cooke was battling against a measure of official disapproval: he was not helped by the fact that his naturalisation as a US citizen was delayed until 1941, when Britain was near its lowest ebb. Eventually, he found a friend in high places to support the enterprise, and the first of 13 programmes, called American Letter, was broadcast in March 1946. So what did Cooke do to celebrate? He promptly left on honeymoon for California without bothering to ask his bosses. They were left to make do with the letters he had kindly left behind. Now he seems to have taken everyone by surprise again. Not that surprise is really the appropriate emotion for the news that a 95- year-old journalist has decided to pack away his typewriter. But it still seems slightly shocking that Cooke's letter No 2,869, which went out 10 days ago, was the last. Broadcasting legend has it that he hardly missed a week in 58 years, but in the early days there were holidays. But as time went on he became more protective and possessive. He saw off a plan to allow outsiders to take over for a week or two: one victim was distinguished ex-war correspondent Frank Gillard. In his later years his determination to keep going became obsessive, so much so that several programmes were recorded by hospital beds. Why did he keep going so long, and after so many other careers (Guardian correspondent, television star on two continents, best-selling author) - any one of which would have satisfied most journalists? The only answer I can offer is that this agnostic son of a Wesleyan preacher was on a mission to explain America to the British, a job for which he felt himself to be uniquely qualified. Nick Clarke presents The World at One on Radio 4, and is Cooke's official biographer Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U K. NEW WEST COUNTRY BEACON ON 4 METRES GB3WSX, the Wessex Repeater Group`s http://www.twxrg.info/ 4-metre beacon on 70.007 MHz, went `live` on Monday the 1st of March. The beacon is located in Yeovil, Somerset, at locator IO80QW. It is keying its callsign and locator in F1A mode. Although the licence allows for 22dBW ERP, GB3WSX is currently operating with only 2.25 watts into a 5-element beam antenna 90 feet above ground level. A suitable PA stage is currently being completed. The antenna is beaming at 70 degrees East of North, towards Eastern Europe. Reception reports will be gratefully received via gb3wsx@twxrg.info (Radio Society of Great Britain Main News Script for March 7 posted March 3 on uk.radio.amateur by G4RGA via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. Dear Glenn, here's a report about AlHurra TV in one of the English language magazines here in Cairo; it's called Cairo times : FREEDOM TV --- TWO WEEKS AFTER ITS LAUNCH, THE US-FUNDED CHANNEL STRUGGLES TO OVERCOME ITS ORIGINS Images of Arabian stallions galloping, windows opening and American President George W. Bush hailing Iraqi efforts towards democracy greeted Arab viewers who tuned in to the first broadcasts on Al Hurra‹a new US sponsored Arabic language satellite network aimed at bolstering America¹s sagging image in the region. The Virginia-based Al Hurra, meaning `The Free One,` was launched on 14 February amid speculation that it was merely an extension of a vast US propaganda machine, akin to American efforts during the Cold War when it launched the anti-Castro station TV Martí in [sic] Cuba. Backed by a $62 million US congressional grant, the station claims to offer Arab viewers an alternative to the Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya television networks, both of which are highly critical of US foreign policy. Over the past year, Bush has attacked the ``hateful propaganda that fills airwaves in the Muslim world,`` and US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has classified the aforementioned stations as ``violently anti-coalition.`` Initial reaction has been guarded, with many Egyptians suspicious about the possible propaganda potential of the channel. ``It is quite clear now that the media is a very important weapon. It doesn`t kill bodies but it changes minds,`` comments 21-year-old Cairo University student Somayya Ahmad. ``The United States wants to have a way to deliver its point of view to the Arab people. We all know that the Arabic point of view is completely different from America`s but at least this point of view will now reach us. This is not the first time for the Americans to do something like this.`` Most of Al Hurra`s 200 employees are Arab-Americans who hail from Lebanon and Egypt and are supervised by the Broadcasting Board of Governors` Middle East Committee --- an organization that is listed on the station¹s website as an ``independent and autonomous federal entity.`` Nabil Shawkat, former Cairo-based correspondent for Al Arabiya, has been tuning in to the new station for the past few weeks and thus far has not been overly impressed by what he has seen. ``The news is very poor compared to Arabic satellite stations, not as varied as its competitors. The approach is neo-conservative and basically focused on Iraq and a little bit on Israel. Today I was watching and they had a hard news review about how Israelis were unhappy that the International Criminal Court was looking into the wall issue. Then it went on to suicide attacks. The angle is pro- American, pro-Israeli. This is clearly the editorial policy.`` Besides the content, Shawkat suggested that the `freedom` imagery sprinkled throughout was a bit grating. ``The name is absolutely galling and patronizing, as are the advertising spots speaking for freedom as if it is something the station invented.`` His comments touch on what many say is the reality --- the introduction of glossy new American magazines and TV stations in the region will do little for the country`s image if pressing issues remain unsolved. ``No amount of sweet words and pretty pictures will change the reality of an Israeli occupation, soon in its 37th year, or the chaos in Iraq, both of which can be directly attributed to American policy,`` wrote the Jordan Times. ``No one here is going to be convinced of America`s benign intentions as long as these issues remain unresolved.`` However, Abdullah Schleifer, the current director of the Adham School for Television Journalism at the American University in Cairo and former NBC correspondent, while citing a `desperate` need in the region for an international standard of reporting, recognizes the fact that because of its US ties, Al Hurra will never be given a proper chance to succeed. ``No one will take it seriously. It`s a paradox. On one hand hopefully they will try to be an example of detached objective reporting, and will try to provide a balance from the normal, Arab-nationalist Islamist bias. But they won`t be given any credibility due to the knee jerk anti-Americanism that defines the current nature of the region.`` Salimah Ebrahim; Additional reporting by Mohammad Abdel Hamid Issue 49 vol 7 All the best (via Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, DXLD) ** U S A. The last bastion of live radio? Checked WWRB 12172 at 1559 UT March 3. Dave Frantz was talking about his new transmitter #5 which he said had started operating Sunday, 6-12 pm Eastern [2300-0500 UT], on new frequency 5050, also with a new antenna. Well, the transmitter and antenna may be new, but 5050 certainly is not. Vamping to fill time as he fiddled with the buttons, looking for satellite feed of next show, which finally began at almost 1607, Dave pointed out that if we`re in hell 100 years from now, current issues such as RF ID tags will hardly matter (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWRB Off today as I check at 1739 on both 12172 and 9320. They had been *1600, yesterday it was *2000 with big band music for a few minutes prior to sign on. Station has also been signing off between 2130 and 2230 and resuming on 5050/5085/6890 at *2300 (Hans Johnson, FL, Feb/Mar, Cumbre DX March 3 via DXLD) ** U S A. 7490, WJIE listed as now carrying Christian Media Network 24/7, weak signal when checking at 1746 March 3 (Hans Johnson, Naples FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. 9465, WMLK decent signal into Florida these days, but modulation remains very shallow (Hans Johnson, Naples, Feb/Mar, Cumbre DX March 3 via DXLD) ** U S A. TIS --- You recently mentioned the nice TIS/HAR list by Bill Harms. Thanks. He's got a nice list. From my QTH I can hear TIS/HARs on 530 550 590 680 1340 1610 1620 1640 and 1700 (KA2HPU, Wells Perkins, NJ, west of Staten Island, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Happenings in the DC area --- Today I was able to confirm a report on DCRTV that Gaithersburg's WMET has moved from its old frequency of 1150 to 1160. Eventually the station will increase daytime power to 50 KW and night time power to 1.5 KW, but at present the station is obviously not pumping out that level of power as the signal is only so-so here 30 miles downstream of its main lobe. According to FCC records they added one tower to their four-tower array. This has opened 1150 up to Wilmington's WDEL during the daytime in this area. I also see by FCC data that WYCB-1340 has a permit to move from its present transmitter location at WPGC-AM's old tower site to a site not far from the Potomac River just Southeast of the Naval Research Lab along I-295 at the MD/DC line. In the process it will reduce power from the present 1 KW to 270 watts. I am almost equidistant from the two locations, about 4 miles from each, but maybe the lower power will give me a better shot at adjacent channels. In the same process WOL-1450 is slated to move from its downtown Washington transmitter location to the same place as WYCB, and reduce power from 1 KW to 389 watts. That will move it three miles closer to me. At the present time even though WOL is only 7 miles from me it receives severe CCI at night here. WOL's current transmitter site is not far from Washington's Capitol Hill and I wouldn't be surprised if the station's audio has been heard from time to time on poorly shielded PA systems in that complex of buildings. Driving on Capitol Hill while tuning a car radio finds a few places on the dial where WOL mixes with other stations, no doubt the result of re-radiation from electrically discontinuous metal surfaces in the area. Another note on DCRTV reports Potomac's WCTN-950 has gone to Korean programming, and I confirmed this by listening to the station today. WCTN joins stations on 1310 and 1520 to become the third Korean- language outlet in this area. Spanish-language names of DC-area stations I was interested in an earlier post of this reflector about identifying a Spanish-language station on 1420. As readers will know, most Spanish-language broadcasters give legal ID's once or twice an hour, but repeat the station's Spanish-language "name" much more frequently. So FYI, here are what Spanish-language stations in Washington, DC, and nearby areas, call themselves: WKDL-730: "Radio Capital" WYRE-810: "El Latino Ocho-Diez, La Super-Estación" WILC-900: "Viva Novecientos" WZHF-1390: "Continental Trece-Noventa" WKCW-1420: "La Campeona Catorce-Veinte" WKDV-1460: "Radio Universal" WPWC-1480: "Radio Fiesta" WACA-1540: "Radio América" WLXE-1600: "Radio Mil-Seis-Cientos" WWGB-1030 and WUST-1120 also broadcast in Spanish, but their programming is mostly religious or public affairs pre-recorded material by off-site entities in hour or half-hour segments, which does not lend itself to the use of slogans identifying the station itself (Fred Laun, K3ZO, Temple Hills, MD, March 3, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. ASSESSMENT --- HOWARD STERN, THE SHOCK JOCK IN WINTER By Bryan Curtis Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at 3:30 PM PT Howard Stern, who needs every media tempest he can muster these days, waded into a big one last Tuesday. Stern was interviewing Rick Salomon, the auteur behind Paris Hilton's sex video. At some point during the interview --- accounts vary --- Stern took a phone call from a listener. The listener proceeded to spew invective, asking Salomon if he had slept with black celebrities and liberally using the n-word. Within hours, anti-Stern forces had mobilized. John Hogan, president of Clear Channel networks, banished the show from six markets. "It was vulgar, offensive, and insulting," he said, "not just to women and African-Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency." It was a classic Stern brouhaha --- sex! racism! censorship! --- except for one thing: It had almost nothing to do with Howard Stern. Clear Channel's Hogan was really responding to the furor created by Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl --- he wanted to show congressional regulators, before whom he testified, that his network wouldn't follow the path of CBS. Stern told his listeners, "Janet Jackson's breast got me in a lot of trouble. I hope the irony isn't lost that I look like Jesus being persecuted." The moment was truly heartbreaking. America's premier shock jock, its true arbiter of bad taste, had become less vulgar than the Super Bowl halftime show. These days, Stern is a shock jock in winter. The Clear Channel dis won't hurt him: The axed markets are mostly small (Louisville, Fort Lauderdale, Rochester); the financial loss, according to the New York Post, only about $1 million. But Stern's trademark brand of public lechery --- alternately focusing on strippers, porn stars, and dwarves --- has been swallowed up by a wider culture of public lechery. Stern's problem is too much success: He helped create a shock culture that makes him seem harmless by comparison. He's a provocateur whose time has passed, a shock jock who shocks no one. Stern rose to fame with shtick that was brilliantly lurid. Fifteen years ago, when television would venture no further than The Newlywed Game, he played "Lesbian Dial-a-Date." He dispatched his minion, "Stuttering John" Meléndez, to pose horrifying questions to celebrities at public events. (Meléndez to Dan Rather: "Do you check after you're done wiping?") Stern moaned about the size of his penis and the state of his sex life. As he put it, "I decided to cut down the barriers and just go into being myself on the air. Strip down all the ego. I mean, what prevents an announcer from talking about the fact that he has hemorrhoids?" As Stern's audience grew, he dragged the art of shock-jocking into the mainstream. Even talkers that scoff at his raunch have appropriated his vitriol, his swagger: Dr. Laura (domestic shock jock), Jim Rome (sports shock jock), Art Bell (paranormal shock jock), Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Michael Savage (GOP shock jocks), and, coming soon, Al Franken (liberal shock jock). Stern's show still packs a filthy wallop. But he's no longer the sleaziest man on the dial. He wasn't even the sleaziest shock jock last week --- that would be Bubba the Love Sponge, a Florida-based crank whom Clear Channel's Hogan fired. (The Love Sponge's crime, apparently, was having his characters talk dirty.) Two years ago, Infinity canned a duo named Opie and Anthony after a sex stunt in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Stern should recognize this trick. Before he rose to prominence, Don Imus and Bob Grant ruled the New York airwaves. Stern outwanked them. His competition now does the same to him --- working bluer and chipping away at his cachet. Stern loves to roast his enemies --- rival disk jockeys, fire- breathing ministers, the Federal Communications Commission. As Paul Colford notes in his book Howard Stern: King of All Media, Stern spends hours on-air bemoaning the forces arrayed against him. When New York's WNBC fired him for lewdness, Stern railed that network brass had conspired against him. When the FCC pelted him with fines --- a record $1.7 million in 1995 --- he staged giant protest rallies around New York City. In 1987, he appeared in a prisoner's outfit and shrieked, "Is it spelled FCC or KGB?" Last week, Stern whined: "They are so afraid of me and what this show represents." The problem is, Stern is no one's idea of a First Amendment casualty. Three years ago, he signed a new radio contract that reportedly paid him $18 million per year. He wrote two best- selling memoirs, and his biopic grossed more than $41 million. When David Remnick wrote an admiring profile in The New Yorker, dubbing him "Sophie Portnoy's other son," Stern forever lost the right to claim victim status. Indeed, the mainstream media have embraced Stern --- perhaps too much so. Stern's favorite target these days is Jay Leno. His beef is not that Leno has marginalized him but that Leno has stolen his best material. Stern says Leno's "Jaywalking" bit --- where he quizzes hapless pedestrians --- was lifted directly from his radio show. "Stuttering John" Meléndez, the Stern player, was just hired as the new announcer of The Tonight Show. The great provocateurs all had second acts. Imus climbed out of Hazleton and became a switchboard for the political and media elite. Larry Flynt became a presidential candidate, and Al Franken morphed into a left-wing apparatchik. Stern remains stuck in the same gear: filth. He rarely ventures far from his beloved strippers and porn stars. He ran for governor of New York in 1994, on the Libertarian ticket, but dropped out of the race rather than disclose his income. He has offered endorsements to politicos like Christine Todd Whitman and George Pataki but never used his audience to become a national powerbroker. He seems hesitant to stray from his raunch act, or at least refine it, to make himself stand out. The shock jock's act is premised on greater honesty: I say the things everyone else is thinking, he says, and by daring to say them I am the more honest man. How long, then, can Stern affect the pose of a bedraggled victim? How long can he pretend that his act shocks anyone but the most timid souls? Stern has threatened to leave radio forever when his contract expires in two years. He should leave. There's nothing more pathetic than a provocateur waving his arms and saying, "See --- everybody still hates me!" (Slate, via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. CRONKITE DISCUSSES WAYS TV NEWS HAS CHANGED http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/125556-9798-047.html ``All that screaming and hollering is absolute anathema for me. I tune out as soon as I can`t understand what they`re saying.`` -- Walter Cronkite -- Associated Press file photo [caption] By Chuck Barney, Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 2, 2004 In the new book "Anchoring America: The Changing Face of Network News," authors Jeff Alan and James L. Lane write that legendary television journalist Walter Cronkite was the first person to be called an "anchor." Decades later, they say, Cronkite still is considered the "one true king." Although Cronkite retired from his lead position on the "CBS Evening News" in 1981 at age 65, he remains active professionally, occasionally appearing as a special correspondent for CBS and roaming the country as a public speaker. Last year, he launched a weekly syndicated newspaper column. He also is in the "embryonic" stages of writing a follow-up to his 1996 best-selling autobiography, "A Reporter's Life." Cronkite, 87, took a few moments for a phone interview from his Manhattan home. Question: Obviously, the television news business has changed dramatically since you gave up your anchor seat. What are your opinions regarding the proliferation of 24-hour cable news outlets? Answer: I see good things and bad things. The 24-hour channels are extremely valuable to the news junkies and for individuals who don't have the time to meet the rigid schedules of the broadcast networks. On the other hand, they're forced to continually fill airtime, so they often wind up devoting too much attention to stories that aren't truly important in the overall scheme of things. And, oh, those streamers at the bottom of the screen. Q: I take it you're not a fan? A: The problem is that I'm too old to have a compartmentalized brain. I find that I'll be watching the anchor person and then, suddenly, the streamer will grab my attention and I'll wind up losing the thread of what the person was saying. Q: You were known for a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is style of reporting. Nowadays, television sometimes feels like it is being overrun with high-decibel experts and pundits battling one another to have their opinions heard. What's your opinion of the opinion-mongers? A: I think most of that stuff is meant to be entertainment, not journalism. All that screaming and hollering is absolute anathema for me. I tune out as soon as I can't understand what they're saying, and that's too bad because some of these people are pretty well-informed. No doubt, management has mandated that they keep things lively, so they make it a constant battle royal. But in the process, they destroy the value of the piece. Q: A lot of industry observers believe that with the gains made by cable news and the Internet, the network news anchors essentially are dinosaurs. Are they? A: I hope not. I think that, for the most part, the nightly newscasts on the networks are well-produced when it comes to the top stories and still offer thorough coverage in most cases. Also, all three anchors typically do exceptional work. There is some reason for concern, though. I think, in large part, their survival depends on economics and whether the networks can keep themselves from making too many cutbacks as they try to hold on to their audiences. Q: Do you still keep up with the network newscasts? A: I continue to watch them faithfully. Then I switch over to the "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" (on PBS). I think that's an excellent program, and I'd love to see the traditional networks do something like that -- a newscast that gives you the headlines and then takes a thorough look behind the headlines. Q: You surrendered your anchor seat at the age of 65. What goes through your mind when you see your successor, Dan Rather, still hanging in there past 70? A: I had been fighting deadlines since the age of 16, and I thought it was time to ease up. However, there were many times during the ensuing years that I wished I was still there. I felt I had more to give. I didn't know I was going to still be a healthy old man. Q: NBC has been grooming Brian Williams, who is supposedly going to take over for Tom Brokaw sometime after the presidential election. Do you think CBS is making a mistake by not having an obvious successor for Rather waiting in the wings? A: I would imagine the network has to be somewhat concerned about that. But it's pretty hard to convince an aging anchor that he should be tutoring a young up-and-comer to take his place. There's a little more ego involved in these jobs than people might realize. Q: I want to get your thoughts on the remarkable outcry over Janet Jackson's peep show during the Super Bowl. Was it a national crisis, as some made it out to be? A: (Laughing) No, not at all. I can understand the feelings of parents and others who are protective of our culture, but I never thought the baring of a breast for a second and a half could be so titillating, pardon the expression. It was a case of much made out of nothing. . . Q: What would you have liked to have done with your life had you not gotten into reporting? A: I've always said that in another life, I would like to be a song- and-dance man. I can't think of anything more satisfying than experiencing those old days of vaudeville, entertaining a house full of customers and making them laugh and forget their cares for a while. Q: Many years from now, what do you want people to say about you after you're gone? A: I want them to say, "He was someone who lived up to the principles of good journalism through the fairness and honesty of his coverage and upheld those principles throughout his career." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. DESINFORMACIÓN "A LA VENEZOLANA": MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN TERRORISTAS Durante los últimos días en Venezuela, se ha puesto en práctica la última etapa (últimos cartuchos) de desestabilización de la coodinadora opositora, los medios mercatiles de comunicación y el gobierno de George W. Bush, como el titiritero tras bastidores. El pasado viernes 27 de febrero, la Coordinadora Democrática convocó a una marcha para sabotear la Cumbre del G15 y dar la impresión de "ingobernabilidad" en el país. Un día antes, los organizadores de la marcha se habían comprometido con los organismos de seguridad del Estado a no pasar el límite de Plaza Venezuela, uno de los sitios más concurridos de Caracas, y así evitar llegar al hotel Hilton Caracas, lugar donde se desarrollaría la Cumbre del G15. Pero, ¡sorpresa!, los organizadores luego violaron el pacto y pretendieron rebasar el cordón de la Guardia Nacional en Plaza Venezuela. En este caso, los medios de comunicación privados (que ya han demostrado en otras oportunidades sus intenciones subversivas), afirmaron que la Guardia Nacional reprimía salvajemente una marcha "pacífica y democrática". Pues bien, mientras el canal del Estado, VTV, transmitía las agresiones de la vanguardia violenta de la marcha "pacífica", la cual colocaba barricadas, destrozaba la vía pública, tiraba piedras y disparaba a la Guardia Nacional, en Globovisión (Globoinvención) y otras cadenas privadas de televisión se ignoraba al máximo esas imágenes de la oposición violenta. Ese mismo grupúsculo del viernes quemó la casa del partido MVR en la urbanización El Rosal (el cual apoya el proceso bolivariano) y agredió las instalaciones del PPT (otra organización bolivariana). Frente a este panorama, los reporteros "tarifados" de los canales privados se dieron a la tarea de desinformar con el cuento de que la Guardia Nacional disparaba y reprimía "salvajemente" a los pobrecitos opositores. ¡Vaya ironía! Los medios mercantilistas también se han dedicado, en días recientes, a magnificar las acciones vandálicas de grupos "opositores" en ciertas urbanizaciones acomodadas del este capitalino. Estos grupos se han consagrado a obstruir las vías de comunicación con barricadas y han impedido a muchos ciudadanos de esos lugares de ir a sus respectivos puestos de trabajo o de llevar a sus hijos al colegio o la universidad. A esta irracionalidad mayúscula, los medios mercantilistas la han bautizado como "desobediencia civil legítima" (¿?). ¿Qué pasaría en Estados Unidos si CNN o ABC se dedicaran a instigar la violencia entre la población? ¿Podría ser calificado eso de desobediencia legítima? Una vez más y obedeciendo a los intereses económicos de las agencias de publicidad, el capitalismo y el imperialismo yanqui, los medios de comunicación privados hacen gala de sus verdaderas intenciones de instalar un régimen de corte fascista en Venezuela. Denuncio ante la opinión pública mundial la actitud terrorista de estos medios y su "guerra psicológica" en contra de la salud mental de los venezolanos. (Adán González, Certificado de Locución 26950, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6025: Heard at 0040 March 2 with American-accented English by a man and at least two women. Some of it was preaching, some of it was prayers. Also had some short segments in Arabic by a woman. 0055 with Christian music, new song at 0058. No real indications as to what ministry this was. Also hard to tell who it is targeting, Americans in Iraq, or Iraqis, perhaps both? Doesn't make much sense as this is the very early morning hours in Iraq. I gave up at 0101. Excellent signal via Javoradio Europe. Also heard in India and the USA so could this be via a European site? (Hans Johnson, FL, Cumbre DX, via WORLD OF RADIO 1222, DXLD) {Answer: 4-041} UNIDENTIFIED. 9765: An unidentified station was heard on 9765 after close of / and reopening of D. Welle on 9770 between c0915 and c0955 on March 2 & 3. The signal was weak to very weak and heard to be suffering rapid QSB characteristics. Brief announcements heard but language not yet identifiable. The interesting part is that the music being played resembled American marching band style on both days. There are also some songs, and what was heard March 3 very much resembled what was heard March 2. I don't hear KNLS at 0900-1000 on new listed frequency 9795 for Russian [from Feb. 29]. They are known to play non-religious style music. Does anyone else hear it? 73s from (Noel R. Green [Blackpool, NW-UK], Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH B03 Final Update Available later today at the WRTH website http://www.wrth.com/wrth.htm (check for "March 2004 Updates") 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, March 3, Cumbre DX via DXLD) EKKO ALBUM VALUABLE Bill Matthews sends word of an interesting item on ebay - an EKKO radio stamp album: Ekko album on Ebay with approximately 400 stamps - per the seller. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2989540673&category=703 (Dan Ferguson, Feb 29, SWBC via DXLD) Just sold for $875! Man, who says DX parphanalia ain't worth $$?! bw (Bill Whitacre, March 3, ibid.) BLACK PROPAGANDA George Saunders provides some more suggested reading on this topic: Charles Cruickshank: ``The Fourth Arm --- Psychological Warfare 1938- 1945``, published by Oxford University Press in 1981, ISBN 0 19 285103 9 paperback with a hardback version published in 1977 by David-Poynter Limited. This is an excellently researched and detailed book including details of audience research. Several copies available in the used books section of Amazon.co.uk from £1.99 plus postage. Charles Roetter: ``Psychological Warfare`` published by B.T. Batsford, London, 1974, ISBN 0 7134 2796 3. This covers both black and white propaganda and covers World War One black and grey propaganda and that of World War Two from Germany, Japan, the USA and Great Britain. it covers all modes of delivery, not just broadcasting, and is well illustrated. Several copies available at Amazon.co.uk from £3.45 plus postage. C.J. Rolo: ``Radio Goes To War``, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York in 1942. This is a good contemporary account of World War Two broadcasting, including black, from all sides. It is written from a US perspective and includes coverage of the start of US external broadcasting and their radio monitoring service, FBIS. In the text he regards the UK black propaganda station Gustav Siegfried Eins as a real opposition station in Germany and gives examples of its programming. No copies available on book searches at Amazon.co.uk or abebooks.com though copies of some of his other books published in the 1940's were available on the latter site. E Tangye Lean: ``Voices in the Darkness, the Story of the European Radio War`` published by Secker and Warburg, London in 1943. The author became a senior BBC man. This is a very good contemporary account with good photos and diagrams. It covers the war in Germany and France giving examples of various enemy broadcasts "softening up" the French before their capitulation in 1940. It gives examples of German black broadcasting and covers technicalities such as jamming and monitoring, with pictures of BBC Monitoring at Evesham. There is also a lot of information about the day to day workings of BBC External Broadcasting in wartime. Several copies available at abebooks.com from £8 plus postage. I have now obtained a copy of ``Truth Betrayed``, mentioned in January Contact, and the German black propaganda scripts printed are from the Workers Challenge and Christian Peace Movement stations and taken from BBC daily monitoring reports. The Workers Challenge station on medium wave started its broadcast on the 11th July 1940 thus: ``Here is the Workers Challenge calling, the movement for revolutionary action against the bosses and war-mongers. They're talking about invasion now, and so far as we can see the Nazis will soon be on top of us if we don¹t make peace. Well, as we said yesterday, we don't want capitalism or imperialism in any shape or form. We're sick of both. Lots of the people we meet say "Yes it's either peace or invasion now" and I suppose they're not far wrong in saying that. But the point we want to make clear is that a capitalist peace is no damn good to the workers. We all know what a Nazi invasion would mean. It looks at first as if we're between the devil and the deep blue sea. But it isn't so bad as all that. We don't know how much longer it will be before the Nazis come, but we've got some time, even if it is only a few days, and in that time we've got to do all we can to overthrow the capitalist government and to set up a state for the working masses. Then if we have to defend it from the German attacker we know we've got something worth fighting for. But are you going to believe that if we do kick the Nazis out, Churchill and his gang are going to give us a real socialist state, a real government for the people, real economics for the proletariat? ``My friends, if you believe anything like that, go and see a few doctors. Get them to sign a nice little certificate for you and go into a pretty private residential hotel for the rest of your natural life. You¹ll find plenty of people of your way of thinking there, even if their manners do seem a bit queer.`` The station was supposedly run by a determined band of socialist revolutionaries somewhere in industrial Britain and the scripts read in a rough Cockney accent. They were also spiced with obscenities which attracted an audience wider than the working men for whom they were intended. It has been said that the British never jammed enemy broadcasts during the war and that was true of "white" propaganda broadcasts. However Workers Challenge, as well as the German black New British Broadcasting Station were frequently jammed and sometimes so extensively that the monitors were unable to transcribe anything for days at a time. The Christian Peace Movement broadcasts signed on with "Oh God Our Help in Ages Past". On the 21st August 1940 it opened its broadcast with: ``This is the Christian Peace Movement, calling all Britons to the true Christian life and to work for peace. You will hear our services daily at 7.45 p.m. and at 8.45 p.m. on a wavelength of 31.76 metres. Judge not that ye be not judged and with what judgement ye judge and with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. From this warning it is clear that Christ does not expect us to judge others. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Beware of judging, and of judging too hardly. The severity with which you deal with others will recoil upon your own head. For when it is time for you to be judged, you shall be judged. Severely. For with what judgement ye judge, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ``This command we should bear in mind when we blame Germany for the war. Are we not to blame as much as she is? (Inaudible passage) Why did we refuse Germany's peace offer last October? Why did we again ignore her peace proposals last month? Do we really want to carry on the war? Are we as enthusiastic as all that about it? Is it necessary? Those of us who have lost relations or friends in the forces know all too well the sorrow of being parted, that suspense of hearing nothing for weeks, perhaps months, and of not knowing whether they are alive or dead.`` Seven pages of full pages of transcripts of these two and one other Workers Challenge broadcasts are contained in W. T. West's excellent book (all via Mike Barraclough, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ DR. SCIENCE SEZ SANTA USES SHORTWAVE From http://www.drscience.com / Dr. Science Yahoogroups newsletter Dear Dr. Science, How does Santa Claus know if you've been bad or good? Does he use surveillance equipment? If so, can it be jammed? from Flannery McAlber & Molly Allison-Baker of on behalf of all the kids in the USA As far as I've been able to tell, kids, Santa uses the standard maritime band of 15 to 40 meters. The signals are usually single sideband in nature, and if reception is bad on either band, due to sunspots or an arctic storm, he may drop all the way to 160 meters. But there he's competing with the Navy's submarines in their VLF range. Most of Santa's transmissions have to do with specific instructions to his reindeer and messages back to his elves at home base at the North Pole. Santa respects our rights as citizens and would never illegally eavesdrop on a child - no matter how good or bad the child may be, unless he got permission from the Attorney General, and I doubt that many kids behave badly enough to elicit such a response from the Judiciary Branch. If you receive a lump of coal, demand an independent counsel. Coming Soon from Dr. Science Car Salespersons Four Seasons Mom's Microwave Unleaded Costs More? Hermit Recombination (via Joel Rubin, swprograms via DXLD) DX CLUSTER FOR SHORTWAVE? As a Ham, I sometimes rely on Eham's DX Cluster to locate rare DX stations. Wondering if there's a DX Cluster for Shortwave or if anybody's ever considered this. Seems like a good idea and somewhat reduces the randomness of SWLing. Your thoughts? (Ed NI6S, swl at qth.net via DXLD) DX Cluster Software A DX Cluster for SWLs, Utility, and other Dxers. iDXCluster is an easy to use DX Cluster program geared towards SW listeners, DXers, utility monitors, and others. It doesn't require a packet radio link, telnet, or any complicated software or setup, only an internet connection is required. A DX Cluster is a way for DXers to share tips on what stations they are currently hearing. Stale DX news is useless, so a DX Cluster allows people to share their loggings within seconds. Just download the program, enter in your Name and location, and that's it. Loggings from other listeners will be displayed on the cluster screen in real-time. You can submit your own loggings as well of course. You can also filter the types of loggings you want to see, so you don't have to see stations that you have no interest in. Clicking on a logging line will bring up a window with some more detailed logging information, and eliminates the need to horizontally scroll to see the comments/etc on the right side. iDXCluster is available for Windows 98-XP, Mac OS and OSX, and a Linux version will be available soon. Best of all, iDXCluster is FREE! iDXCluster 1.1.0 for Windows - Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, Xp iDXCluster 1.1.0 for Mac OS - Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2 iDXCluster 1.1.0 for Mac OS X - Mac OS X 10.1 and later iDXCluster Linux - Coming Soon! http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/iDxCluster.html (via David Ross, ibid.) Ed, I too have thought about this as a valuable SWL DX tool. Egroups like this which have a real time message posting works also. Post what you hear --- no doubt that would make Duane happy. The problem is that you can't sit on a webpage and watch the DX catches roll by as you can with a radio amateur DX Cluster. There are a few online log books that I check once in a while as well to see what's on. Here's the problem. SWL DX is quite different that radio amateur DX. SWL DX is relative to where the BC station and listener is located. While R. Nepal might be a great catch for us in the USA, it's not such a hot catch in India. What is DX in the amateur radio world depends how rare the station on the air is located or if they are using an certain mode. Example: Nicaragua is a dime a dozen on phone but on CW it is quite a catch. I guess where the DX Cluster for radio amateurs and SWLs (if there was such a thing) could have in common would be if there was a certain band opening. A guy reporting on the west coast USA he is hearing Europeans on 160 meters is worth knowing if you are looking for band openings. The same would apply in the SWL world as well for band openings. Letting SWLs know that a pirate is on the air would also serve well with a SWL DX Cluster. Until someone decides to give it a try with a SWL DX Cluster we will never know how well it would work. One thing is for sure: the internet is a great tool for everyone to use to enhance their SWL listening experience, be it a DXer or a person who likes to just turn around and see what they can hear to pass the time. Let me know if you start one. I will be the first one to check it out! (Ulis Fleming, ibid.) I often check some fixed benchmarks to see how well I am receiving them. Being as I am using the same RX and same antenna, and this holds true for all receivers and antennas, they are constants in this equation, I can compare the signal strength against the 'norm'. This is done on a number of different bands to give me an overall idea of how well conditions are. I check both VHF and HF and specific stations in specific bands for the comparison. Hence, in a matter of two minutes or so, I know what overall condition the bands are in at any given hour. You can also set the squelch to minimum for a known six meter beacon. When the signal breaks through you know that six meters is active. Which also tells you about other propagation that is also likely to be affected. There are DX Nets on the Ham bands, monitor one, knowing where the location of the Net Control station is, and note what countries are being heard. If you can hear Australia at a given time on twenty meters that tells you about the path and so forth. The problem with short-wave listeners, on the whole, is that most of them are not trained in radio, propagation and the like. They just like to listen. Nothing wrong with this. I am not criticizing anyone here. But being untrained they lack the skills to utilize a DX cluster and to understand the propagation forecasts provided by spaceweather.com or ARRL and others. (Which reminds me, how come Tomas Hood never bothers to post any propagation material here anymore? he seems to post it other places.) Guess we need to buy the magazine, heh! [he has been in poor health, as he has explained in some of his postings on his own site ---gh] Most short-wave listeners are not DX chasers and are not serious, just hobbyists who listen when they want and hear whatever is on when they are able to listen. Hence, a DX cluster to them is useless. While it serves a handful, the overwhelming majority are not interested. Those who are DX hounds, find the information from othe rsources and off they go on a DX quest. DBF (Duane B. Fischer, ibid.) Being a "ute" listener also, I sometimes use the volmet (aviation weather) stations to check for propagation to their areas. There are many stations located all over the world and on different aviation bands. Usually you can find one close enough to a particular HF broadcast band to at least give a hint whether or not it's open. Not a sure fire method, but what is? (Gordon WB6JVP Levine, Anaheim, CA, ibid.) DX Cluster for Shortwave? The problem is 'real time'. Not all ISP, (Internet service Providers) run in 'real time' all of the time. In fact, as the level of spam increases exponentially on a daily basis and the frequency of virus attacks rises, many providers end up having to shut down for a while, or be overloaded and crash. The T1 lines can carry fifty thousand messages per minute, that is a lot of traffic for servers to handle! For what it is worth, the majority of the spam and virus material originates in China; Russia is high on the list also. When a provider is under attack, and this seems to occur on a random basis, they can not process the volume of mail coming in in 'real time'. Many now use filtering systems in addition to their own, the so called national spam filters. Some strip out attachments and others scan them for possible problems. QTH.NET strips all attachments, always has. Other systems only strip out what they think is suspicious and then forward the rest of that e-mail to you. The more traffic a provider must handle, the longer it takes them. I often insert the actual time I write a message in the body of the post. Then when it comes back to me I can check the actual elapsed time. The time stamp does not indicate the time your message was really sent and/or received! Often times there is a delay in there. While a DX cluster might be helpful for short-wave DX, I truly wonder about the benefit/cost ratio? How many SW listeners would actually use such a service? Put another way, how many would be willing to pay for it? Would you? Glenn Hauser? How about asking your readership about their thoughts on whether a DX cluster, call it what you wish, would be useful and how many would actually utilize and support it? I have an idea on how to do this, but before I give it any serious thoughts, I want to know the interest and 'need' level. Yes, a handful would enjoy it, but it is not practical to do for a handful. Frankly, the serious DX hounds already have their ways of sensing propagation shifts and therefore might not find such a cluster beneficial. Let's hear from the 'serious' DX'ers among us - (Duane W8DBF, ibid.) Duane et al, I seriously doubt that I'd use it much if any. When I "play radio" my computer (600 MHz P3) is already busy running various databases and a logging program. I don't like tying up the phone line too just to get "spots" (my wife might want to call her sister ;-). My Ham Logging program has the DX Cluster capability and I've never even used that feature for the same reason. 73 from the "Beaconeers Lair". (Phil, KO6BB, ibid.) DRM +++ DRM ONTVANGERBOUWPAKKET Hallo allemaal, In de Elektuur van deze maand http://www.elektuur.nl staat een bouwpakket beschreven van een DRM ontvanger. Groeten (Han, March 3, BDXC via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/03/02/biz_biz1acin.html CINERGY PLUGS IN AS WEB PROVIDER POWER LINES SET TO CARRY INTERNET TO OUTLET NEAR YOU By Mike Boyer The Cincinnati Enquirer A unit of Cinergy Corp. today will become the nation's first electric utility to offer high-speed Internet service to customers via its power lines, turning every electrical outlet in homes or offices into a Web connection. The technology, which will be offered first in Hyde Park and Mount Lookout, holds the promise of adding competition and cutting prices for broadband services while making such service available (particularly in remote and rural areas) without costly investments in cables. The Federal Communications Commission has been pushing the technology to bolster competition - and thus spur more Americans, who are less likely than Japanese or South Korean consumers, to have broadband access. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has said the technology like the kind Cinergy will use "could simply blow the doors off the provision of broadband." Cinergy Broadband teamed with Current Communications Group, a Germantown, Md., technology company to test the service - known as broadband over power lines or BPL - in about 100 homes in Hyde Park in the last year. "Our pilot has been very successful, with more than 75 percent saying they would be willing to subscribe to the service" said William Grealis, Cinergy executive vice president and president of Cinergy Broadband. Cinergy and Current have formed a 50-50 joint venture to roll out the service here under the Current Communications name. Current joins Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown digital subscriber service and Time Warner Cable's Road Runner service in marketing high-speed Internet in Cincinnati. Cinergy thinks that BPL has a couple of advantages over competitors. It doesn't require a cable or phone line, and can be operated from anyplace where there's an electric wall outlet. Upload and download speeds are the same, unlike DSL and cable modem service - whose upload speeds are slower than download speeds. "We believe we have better speeds at competitive prices," Grealis said. Cinergy and Current plan to offer several levels of service starting at 1 megabit a second at $29.95 a month. Road Runner locally costs $44.95 a month for download speeds of up to 3 megabits; Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown costs $41.95 a month for the same speed. They both offer signup discounts. Cinergy's service will be marketed initially to about 16,000 homes in the Hyde Park-Mount Lookout area. In what he described as a "measured rollout," Grealis said the partners plan to make the service available to about 55,000 homes in a dozen communities in Hamilton County this year, including Wyoming, Delhi Township, Terrace Park and Norwood. Early next year, it will expand into Northern Kentucky. The joint venture also plans to begin offering voice over the Internet telephone service to customers next fall. Prices for that service haven't been set. Cinergy and privately held Current are forming another joint venture to market the technology to municipally owned power companies nationally. Grealis said that's a potential market of 24 million homes. Cinergy is also investing $10 million in Current Communications, as part of a new round of venture funding of more than $70 million, along with Current's other investors Liberty Associated Partners and EnerTech Capital LP. Cinergy Broadband is part of the utility's nonregulated business and isn't funded by electric or gas rates. "I think there will be a stampede toward (broadband over power lines) in 2005," said Alan Shark, president of the Power Line Communications Association, an industry trade group in Arlington, Va. Growing popularity of high-speed Internet service for game playing and downloading music, coupled with refinements in the technology itself, are building momentum for commercial deployment, he said. One of the problems with broadband over power lines in the past has been a lack of industry standards and competing technologies, he said. About a dozen utilities and technology companies have been experimenting with broadband for several years. Shark said the only commercial deployment of BPL now is in Manassas, Va., where the municipality has teamed with a New York investment firm to market the capability to about 15,000 homes. Although broadband over power lines has been discussed for years, technical limitations have slowed its development, but that might be about to change. The FCC recently announced it plans to begin developing rules for the technology and has signaled that its views BPL as a third "pipeline" to deliver high-speed Internet service, along with cable modems and digital telephone lines. After evaluating various BPL technologies for several years, Grealis said Current's system "is one that works, and we think it's the only one that works," Tim Barhorst, an information technology consultant in Hyde Park who has been using the technology for a year, said he's been impressed. "I find it's very convenient," he said, noting that he can set up his computer anywhere there's an electric outlet. He said the speeds are better than his Zoomtown service and comparable to Road Runner. Alex Pardo of Cinergy said the Internet traffic travels on a separate band wave from the electric current, so there's no interference. He said the utility has found no problem with radio wave interference, a concern raised by many amateur radio operators. (via Blaine Thompson, NRC-AM via DXLD) ARRL RESPONDS TO WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE ON BPL NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 3, 2004 --- The ARRL has responded to a March 2 Wall Street Journal article, ``The Web`s New Outlet,`` that presented a one-sided, rosy picture of Broadband over Power Line while avoiding any mention of its interference potential. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, has faxed a letter to the editor of the New York-based business and financial publication to point out some of BPL`s shortcomings, which were largely missing from the WSJ report. ``Any listing of the pros and cons of using power lines to deliver broadband services must mention its major disadvantage: it pollutes the radio spectrum, interfering with nearby radio receivers,`` Sumner said. ``The only known exception is a microwave system being developed by Corridor Systems of Santa Rosa, California.`` Sumner pointed out that BPL involves sending wideband RF ``over unshielded wires that were not designed for the purpose.`` Owing to the laws of physics, Sumner continued, these power lines function much like antennas, and BPL signals passing through wires in the vicinity can interfere with radio reception. ``The frequencies in question are used by public safety agencies, the military, aeronautical and maritime services, broadcasters, radio astronomers, radio amateurs, and others,`` Sumner noted. He said BPL system designers have had only limited success in resolving the interference issue by notching certain frequencies. ``Yet BPL implementation cannot go forward without solving it, because for very good and obvious reasons it is a violation of FCC regulations for a BPL system to cause radio interference,`` he went on. ``If BPL causes interference --- and it does --- the BPL system must be shut down.`` Sumner included references to the ARRL`s BPL Web page, which documents HF interference the League monitored at four BPL field test sites last fall. The WSJ article, in the paper`s ``Marketplace`` section, focuses on the announcement this week of what`s said to be the largest rollout to date of BPL by Cincinnati-based utility Cinergy Corp and its BPL partner Current Communications. Cinergy and Current Communications hope to be offering the service to between 60,000 and 1.5 million Cincinnati-area customers by year`s end and eventually to some 24 million potential customers elsewhere who are served by smaller utilities. While the article concedes that BPL ``is unproven in wide use,`` it also cites FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Ed Thomas, who called the technology ``ready for prime time.`` Thomas stopped short of saying that the same was true for the BPL industry, however. It also quotes Cinergy Executive Vice President Bill Grealis, who called BPL ``the last-mile solution`` and said the service --- at between $30 and $40 a month --- would be ``cheaper and faster than DSL or cable.`` In his letter, Sumner suggested that there are better choices than BPL, even from the standpoint of business and economics. ``Potential investors in broadband delivery alternatives to DSL and cable would be far better off considering the various methods of delivering fiber-to- the-home in densely populated areas,`` he concluded. ``For rural areas, adaptations of wireless LAN technology are generally recognized as offering far more promise than BPL.`` Read the entire letter, 246,644 bytes, PDF file http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/03/03/104/letter.pdf Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION NEWS FROM RSGB Solar data for the period from the 23rd to the 29th of February, Compiled by Neil Clarke, G0CAS http://www.g0cas.demon.co.uk/main.htm Solar activity started at very low levels but on the 26th activity increased to high due to an X1/2N solar flare. However, no coronal mass ejection was observed with this event. The solar flux increased from 104 on the 23rd to 122 by the 27th. The average was 114. The 90- day solar flux average on the 29th was 112, that`s four units down on last week. X-ray flux levels averaged B1.9 units and varied little day to day. Geomagnetic activity started at quiet levels, but due to a recurring coronal hole increased from the 28th. The most disturbed day was the 29th, with an Ap index of 21 units. The average was Ap 12 units. The ACE spacecraft saw solar wind speeds increase from 290 kilometres per second on the 26th to 770 by the 29th. Particle densities were low, except on the 27th when they increased to 16 particles per cubic centimetre. Bz varied between minus and plus 5 nanoTeslas on the quieter days and between minus and plus 15 nanoTeslas on the 27th and the 28th. Lower geomagnetic levels resulted in generally good HF propagation for much of the week. Trans-Atlantic propagation on the low bands improved, while 28 MHz --- although well down on the same period last year --- showed it can still provide good openings. Good signals were heard from the US during last weekend`s ARRL CW contest, while VK6LC and XU7ADI in Cambodia were among UK contacts on the 27th. However, propagation on the higher bands deteriorated slightly on the 28th, due to increased geomagnetic activity. And finally the solar forecast. This week the quiet side of the sun is expected to be looking our way. Solar activity is expected to very low to low. The solar flux should be around the 100 mark for most of the week. Geomagnetic activity should start at quiet levels but by mid week it is expected to increase due to a well-positioned recurring coronal hole. MUFs during daylight hours at equal latitudes should be around 28 MHz for the south and 25 MHz for the north. The darkness hour lows are expected to be about 9 MHz. Paths this week to Japan should have a maximum usable frequency, with a 50 per cent success rate, of about 21 MHz. The optimum working frequency, with a 90 per cent success rate, should be around 15 MHz. The best time to try this path should be between 0800 and 1100 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 (Radio Society of Great Britain Main News Script for March 7 posted March 3 on uk.radio.amateur by G4RGA via John Norfolk, DXLD) ###