DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-049, March 16, 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 1223: Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 Mon 0430 on WSUI 910, http://wsui.uiowa.edu WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1223 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1223.html WORLD OF RADIO 1223 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1223.rm FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1224: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 15825 ON DEMAND: from early UT Thu, change 1223 above to 1224 WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ. Allan Weiner advises that the newest time has already been changed, effective March 22: Instead of Sun 2330 on 9330- CLSB, will be UT Mon 0200 [shifting to 0100 in April if the schedule sticks]. ** ALASKA. KNOM FOUNDER POOLE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE By MARY BETH SMETZER, Staff Writer http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~2020806,00.html Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Father Jim Poole, who founded KNOM [780], an award-winning Catholic radio station in Nome, has been named in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of a female minor between 1978 and 1984. The unnamed complainant is a Native woman who lived in Western Alaska during the first 18 years of her life. She alleges that Poole began sexually abusing her when she was 10 years old and the abuse continued until she was 16. The complaint states, "On more than 100 occasions, Jane Doe was taken by Father Poole (also known as Father Jim) to a private secluded area where he engaged in kissing, touching and heavy petting with Jane Doe. Father Poole committed hundreds of acts of molestation upon Jane Doe including but not limited to: touching and fondling her body; kissing and tongue kissing; and having her lie atop him in a manner simulating sexual acts." Also named in the suit are the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese, the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus and the Alaska Society of Jesus (Alaska Jesuits). Poole first came to Alaska in 1948 as a seminarian. He was ordained a priest in 1952. The complaint also details a 1961 incident in which Francis Gleeson S.J., then bishop of the Fairbanks Diocese, contacted a Jesuit volunteer at St. Marys Mission in the Yukon River village where Poole was the mission superior and asked about any suspicious activity taking place there. The volunteer reported back that there were suspected improprieties because Poole frequently took young girls, ages 12 to 13, to his office and spent hours with them there. The complaint also alleges that Bishop Gleeson failed to investigate the allegation to protect children of the diocese. Shortly afterward, Poole urged the Jesuit volunteer who looked into the allegations to find employment elsewhere, according to the documents. The claims listed against the defendants include sexual abuse of a minor, negligent retention and supervision, fiduciary fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, hindering prosecution and fraud and deceit. Although the Fairbanks Diocese hasn't been officially served with the lawsuit yet, the Rev. Richard Case, Fairbanks Diocese chancellor, forwarded court documents to the News-Miner Monday that he received from the Oregon Province. According to Case, the complainant first contacted the diocese in the summer of 2003 about the alleged abuse. Bishop Donald Kettler traveled to Anchorage to meet with the alleged victim, but the results of that meeting are unknown. During his many years in the state, Poole was assigned to work in Holy Cross, Pilot Station, Marshall, Mountain Village, St. Marys, Barrow and Nome. After 22 years in Nome, Poole left in 1988 when he was reassigned to work in Tacoma, Wash. Poole was 54 at the time the alleged abuse began. Now 80, he is retired and living at a Jesuit retirement residence in Spokane, Wash. Attorney for the complainant, Kenneth Roosa of Anchorage, is asking for damages of $50,000 or better on each of the 10 claims filed against each of the four defendants. (c) 2004 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Hello Glen[n], I heard the show about 2 days ago, it said that Australia's Radio National is going, RA would be in difficulty as they have a lot of programmes from RN. That is NOT true as they contacted me after I asked about this, and they were stunned, not at all pleased about this rumor. --- Kia ora, (Meaning 'Good Health to you' - Maori) (From Robert Wise of Hobart, Australia, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I assume you are referring to my brief item in the latest World of Radio 1223. Here is exactly what I said; went back and listened to it myself: ``Articles in the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald say that there are plans to axe the Radio National network of the ABC in Australia. That`s the one upon which Radio Australia relies for much of its programming. Let`s hope this doesn`t happen. It`s sort of equivalent to National Public Radio. Thanks to Kim Elliott and Mike Terry for those stories.`` So I did not say it ``is going``. But it certainly has been threatened, as reported in major Aussie newspapers, and naturally the threat resulted in a lot of reaction in support of Radio National. The threat is not a rumor. Whoever replied to you, RN or RA, could hardly have been unaware of this. I wish people would pay attention to exactly what I say, including the qualifications (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC STAFF IN MELBOURNE ON STRIKE Staff at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Melbourne went on strike earlier today for 24 hours, in protest against a decision to replace a local TV sports show with a new national sports show produced in Sydney. ABC staff in other states, while condemning the ABC's decision, voted against joining the strike. ABC's head of news and current affairs in Victoria state, Marco Bass said ABC radio stations in Victoria would relay news bulletins produced in Sydney for the duration of the strike. Radio Australia is also affected, and its online news bulletins are not being updated. # posted by Andy @ 13:43 UT March 15 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ABC MELBOURNE STRIKE "REGRETTABLE AND UNLAWFUL" - BOSS | Text of press release by Australian Broadcasting Corporation on 15 March Statement by Managing Director Russell Balding: "The decision by some ABC staff to go out on strike over proposed changes to the 7 p.m. news bulletin was not only regrettable, but unlawful. "The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has ordered ABC staff to return to work, as there was no legitimate basis or justification for their action. "This issue goes to the heart of the ABC's independence. It is utterly untenable for unions and others to attempt to determine what the ABC broadcasts on its 7 p.m. television news. It is equally inappropriate for state premiers to attempt to influence the ABC's editorial content. "The ABC shall and must resist all attempts by outside parties to direct its content, particularly within a news bulletin. "Plans to introduce a sports segment dealing with national issues will not harm or diminish the level of local sports covered by state-based journalists. On the contrary it will enhance the overall coverage. "There has been much misinformation disseminated in this debate, particularly assertions by some staff and other media that local state sports bulletins will be replaced by a national segment coming out of Sydney. This is simply not true. "The ABC apologises for any inconvenience this unlawful action has caused to its audiences." Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation press release, Sydney, in English 15 Mar 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ABC STAFF CONSIDER NEXT MOVE ON SPORT By Nicola Webber and Shaun Phillips March 16, 2004 ABC staff will consider their next move over the axing of state sport bulletins at 10 am today, coinciding with a rally outside the ABC offices in Melbourne's Southbank. Workers in Melbourne walked off the job yesterday over the issue. News bulletins and current affairs programs on Victorian radio and television were hit after staff stopped work at 10 am. But most of their colleagues around the nation failed to follow. Staff in all states except South Australia voted against walking out. The 24-hour strike came as ABC-TV broadcast the first of its national sports wraps, presented out of Sydney by Peter Wilkins. The 7 pm Victorian news bulletin was replaced with the Canberra service, which included the packaged sports report. http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8981245%5E421,00.html (via Mike Terry, UK, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. AUSTRALIAN X-BAND AT A GLANCE MARCH 2004 COMPILED BY DAVID RICQUISH, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND Maximum licensed power: 400 watts, omni-directional antenna 1611 Radio 2 Brocklehurst 2830 (Dubbo) MOR 2RF Rete Italia Griffith 2680 Italian Radio 2 St Mary’s 2760 (West Sydney) MOR NTC Radio Tamworth 2340 News/Talk/County 3XX 16-11 Double X Hoppers Crossing 3050 (Melbourne) // FM Alive Radio/Top of the Dial Mildura 3550 Christian Radio 2 Cluden 4811 (Townsville) MOR 4GT Dalby 4405 6AY Albany 6330 AM 1611 Margaret River Radio Margaret River 6284 MOR 6GS Wagin 6315 // 1422 AM Sports [silent == see note below] Radio 2 Darwin 0800 MOR Radio 2 Cygnet 7112 (Hobart) MOR 1620 2MORO Homebush 2141 (Sydney) Arabic 2MAX Narrabri 2390 // 91.3FM 1RF Rete Italia Queanbeyan 2620 (Canberra) Italian Radio 2 Shoal Bay 2315 (Newcastle) MOR 3GB Hillside Radio Bayswater 3153 (Melbourne) Sports/UK // FM Radio 2 Cairns 4870 MOR Radio 2 Caloundra 4551 (Sunshine Coast) MOR Radio 2 Carrara 4211 (Gold Coast) MOR 4KZ Georgetown 4871 // 531 AM Radio 2 Manly 4179 (Brisbane) MOR Radio 2 Toowoomba 4250 MOR Radio 2 Old Noarlunga 5168 (Adelaide) MOR 1629 NTC Radio Armidale 2350 News/Talk/Country NTC Radio Brocklehurst 2830 (Dubbo) News/Talk/country Radio 2 Murrumbateman 2582 (Canberra) MOR NTC Radio O`Connell 2795 (Bathurst) News/Talk/Country 2HRN Hospital Radio Network Sandgate 2304 (Newcastle) MOR 3RF Rete Italia Shepparton 3631 Italian Radio 2 Williamstown 3016 (Melbourne) MOR 4DB Country Music Network Dalby 4405 Country 4RF Rete Italia Mango Hill 4058 (Brisbane) Italian 5RF Rete Italia Regency Park 5010 (Adelaide) Italian Radio 2 Mundarring 6073 (Perth) MOR 1638 2ME Concord West 2138 (Sydney) Arabic 3ME South Morang 3052 (Melbourne) Arabic 1665 2MM Marrickville 2204 (Sydney) Greek 1683 Club AM Lakemba 2195 (Sydney) Greek 1701 Radio Brisvaani 17 Mile Rocks 4073 (Brisbane) Hindi Notes (1) 6GS 1611 currently silent (2) additional Radio 2 and NTC sites regularly coming on air © Radio Heritage Foundation 2004 David Ricquish, Wellington (March NZ DX Times via DXLD) 4-digit numbers must be postal codes; sufficient address lacking street or box? (gh, DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. On RVi Radio World for March 14, Frans Vossen says the A-04 frequency at 0400 to WNAm will be 9590 via Bonaire, rather than 11635 as in the version forwarded by Alokesh Gupta. This week`s show features an old recording of R. Anguilla. The March 21 edition will bring Frans`s report on the SWL Winter Fest, and we`ll probably be hearing bits of interviews for months to come in his 6-minute show http://www.rvi.be/rvi_master/uk/radio_world/index.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Here's the word from our Programme Distribution Department: The version of the RVI summer schedule being distributed in Kulpsville is an earlier draft that has now been changed. RVI simply changed the time of the Bonaire relay from 0500 to 0400 UT, without checking if the frequency was going to be the same. 9590 is of course already scheduled for our own RNW English broadcast at 0400. So RVI will be on 11635 kHz instead. RVI's other broadcast via Bonaire at 2200 will also be on 11635. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So here`s the correct version. Haven`t checked to see if there be any further contradixions (gh) ** BELGIUM [and non]. RVI A'04 Radio Vlaanderen Intl A'04 StartStop Lang Freq Target Site Direction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0400-0430 English 11635 America (N,C,S) Bonaire 320 0430-0500 Dutch 11635 America (N,C,S) Bonaire 320 0500-0530 Dutch 15195 Europe Krasnodar 284 0500-0530 Dutch 9590 Europe (SE) Jülich 115 0500-0530 Dutch 9925 Africa (C) Meyerton 355 0530-0600 Dutch 15195 Europe Krasnodar 284 0530-0600 Dutch 9590 Europe (SE) Jülich 115 0600-0700 Dutch 1512**, 15195 Europe Krasnodar 284 0600-0700 Dutch 9590 Europe (SE) Jülich 115 0700-0730 English 1512**, 5985 Europe Jülich ND 0700-0800 Dutch 15195 Europe Krasnodar 284 0700-0800 Dutch 9590 Europe (SW) Skelton 180 1000-1100 Dutch 1512**, 21630 Africa (C) Meyerton 355 1100-1130 Dutch 1512**, 15195 Europe (SW) Rampisham 168 1100-1130 Dutch 15450 Europe Moscow 248 1100-1130 Dutch 21630 Africa (C) Meyerton 355 1130-1200 English 1512**, 9940 Asia + Australia Irkutsk 155 1200-1230 Dutch 1512, 9940 Asia + Australia Irkutsk 155 1200-1230 Dutch 17695 Asia + Australia Tashkent 131 1300-1600 Dutch 15195 Europe Moscow 248 1300-1600 Dutch 15160 Europe (SW) Rampisham 168 1700-1800 Dutch 1512**, 13690 Europe (SW) Skelton 180 1700-1715 French 1512**, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 1715-1730 German 1512**, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 1730-1800 English 1512**, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 1730-1800 English 11640 Europe (SE & M/East) Jülich 130 1800-1900 Dutch 1512**, 9925 Europe [1 = Sunday??] Moscow 248 1800-1900 Dutch 13690 Europe (SW) Skelton 180 1800-1900 Dutch 11640 Europe (SE & M/East) Jülich 130 1800-1900 Dutch 15325 Africa (C,S) Dhabayya 230 1800-2000 Dutch 5910 Europe Jülich ND 1900-1915 German 1512*, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 1915-1930 French 1512*, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 1930-2000 English 1512*, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 2000-2100 Dutch 1512*, 9925 Europe Moscow 248 2000-2100 Dutch 1512*, 9840 Europe (SW) Skelton 180 2200-2230 English 11635 America (N,C,S) Bonaire 350 2230-2300 Dutch 11635 America (N,C,S) Bonaire 350 1512 ** 25 kw -- 1512 * 300 kw (Source : VRT) Regds, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. The TDP website now shows what seems to be the "official" A04 relay schedule: http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html (even though one header says "A04" and another "B03"). Voice of Komala, Mezopotamian Radio & TV and Fang Guang Ming Radio are no longer listed (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz. Voice of Liberty - Eritrea 0400-0500 15675 ......s Tigrigna Denge Mezopotamya 0400-1600 11530 mtwtfss Kurdish TDPradio - in DRM 1000-1100 9815 .....s. English Radio Free Vietnam 1230-1300 9930 mtwtf.. Vietnamese Que Huong Radio 1330-1400 9930 mtwtfs. Vietnamese Voice of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom 1400-1500 15660 .t..... Khmer TDPradio - in DRM 1400-1500 6015 .....s. English Radio Voice of Oromo Liberation 1700-1730 12120 m..t... Oromo Raadiyoo Sagalee Oromiyaa 1730-1800 12120 m...... Oromo Dejen Radio 1700-1800 12120 .....s. Tigrigna Voice of Ethiopian Medhin 1830-1930 12120 ......s Amharic TDPradio - in DRM 2000-2100 7380 .....s. English TDPradio 2000-2100 7590 .....s. English Seems that there are a lot fewer clients than before (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [non]. RADIO FENIX, JAPO-BRASILIAN WEBCASTER WORLDWIDE RADIO FENIX: http://www.radiofenix.net UTSUNOMIYA, Japan, March 6 (Kyodo) – A radio broadcast via the Internet for Brazilian nationals residing in Japan has also been attracting an audience globally, with the man behind the initiative saying it has so far gained listeners in more than 50 countries. Carlos Zaha started Radio Fenix in March last year in Moka, Tochigi Prefecture, where about 1,500 Brazilians live. He says the service's audience has gone beyond its originally intended target of Brazilians in Japan, and many Brazilians outside Japan and non-Brazilian nationals now access the site. The site's Internet access log and feedback received through e-mail messages show Radio Fenix has attracted listeners in Japan and more than 50 other countries in just a year, said Zaha, a 40-year-old Japanese-Brazilian involved in car sales business. He said that many non-Brazilians access the service for the music it plays. Due to the success of the site, Zaha said the studio has been transferred to Brazil, with a professional disk jockey in charge there. Zaha said he hopes the radio station's broadcasts in Portuguese and the Brazilian music it plays will provide emotional support to Brazilians who are away from home. In Japan, broadcast services in Portuguese were previously limited to cable television. Radio Fenix also offers news about Japan and features a section where photos taken in Japan can be viewed by relatives in Brazil. Zaha said he hopes that in the future, Radio Fenix will be able to open a studio in Tokyo and begin broadcasts intended for Japanese people (Kyodo via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. TV program about radio next month, Rise and Fall of the Big Eight: Documentary on CKLW 800 kHz Windsor, leading rock station of mid-west way back when: History Television [Canadian cable satellite network] on April 7, 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. presumably ET [April 8, 0000 and 0500 UT] A few notes from Radio Canada International: Ukrainian broadcast will retain current schedule until at least fall, pending negotiations with Ukraine's national radio company. So plans to cut Ukrainian to half an hour a week have been postponed. French service's Anne-Marie Yvon, with exceedingly pleasant voice and on-air personality, has been on maternity leave, daughter born on Thursday (Bill Westenhaver, CKUT International Radio Report March 14, notes by Ricky Leong, and gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CRI questionnaire --- The message below is a reply to a posting about a questionnaire sent out to listeners by the "Listeners Liaison Department" of China Radio International. ROTFL! Subject: Re: [A-DX] Fragebogen CRI Moin Moin, || Im Fragebogen soll man CRI mit der BBC und der VoA vergleichen || und jeweils Vor-und Nachteile aufzählen. "In order to improve our programmes and better meet your needs, we would appreciate if you can fill-out the following form about German broadcasting of CRI, BBC and VOA, while pointing out notable disadvantages of CRI's programmes" Hmm. Tja, was fällt einem da so ein, wenn man die deutschen Sendungen aus China mit denen der BBC und der VoA vergleichen soll? -- Tschüß, (Martin Elbe, Germany, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** CROATIA. Re 4-048, TCI 611 antenna for sale: According an article published then by the meanwhile extinct German ´´Radiohören´´ magazine mentioned that this antenna was purchased to serve North America but not installed yet. So obviously it never was. If I recall the article properly, they then used for transmissions to North America a rhombic, usually on 73something. Otherwise Deanovec was described as being equipped with two non-directional antennas (double cones I think), one capable for 100 kW, the other one for 10 kW only, and these should be the antennas still in use at Deanovec, with the corresponding power levels; all frequencies are coördinated for 100 kW but in practice the second one can be run at 10 kW only (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. To steal a quote from Monty Python ``And now for something completely different``. The March edition of Signals Unlimited will take a bit of a different turn and in some ways it could be entitled ``Confessions of a Traveling Radio Junkie`` as it will relate to my radio and television experiences in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is a small land-locked country located in Central Europe --- for a basic overview go to http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html The capital, Prague, is split into 2 sections by the Vltava River, is built on 9 hills and has a population of approximately 1.3 million people. It is a very rich historical and cultural city and a few of the buildings go back as far as the 11-12th centuries. The weather was quite pleasant during my stay in February and there were plenty of other tourists to be seen and heard. However, I suspect that most of the other tourists took tours of Radio Prague and TVNova. Unfortunately, Radio Free Europe wasn`t in any ways accommodating to visiting DXers. I had written to David Vaughan, Editor-in-Chief of the English section of Radio Prague, a week prior to my departure to the Czech Republic to see if it would be possible to get a tour of the facilities. David was quite happy with my request and we agreed upon a day and time. Radio Prague is quite easy to find as it is close to both the National Museum (Wenceslas Square) and Radio Free Europe. On the Thursday after my arrival in Prague, I was greeted by David Vaughan and after a bit of bureaucratic red tape I was allowed to enter the main part of the building. My ``baptism of fire`` as David put it involved the ``harrowing`` elevator experience. These elevators are non-stop which means you have to jump in and jump out of them at the right moment. I managed to survive the experience and David and I chatted for a bit about a number of things both about myself and Radio Prague. Of interest to David was how well I was able to receive Radio Prague in Edmonton. I mentioned that the only easy way for me to receive them was via the WRMI relay. At this point David mentioned that they had not gotten much feedback concerning this relay and this lack of response coupled with the expense of the relay had just recently led to the cancellation of the WRMI relay. This all brings me to an important point. With the availability of email please take a few minutes every now and again to write to various stations to let them know how well they are being heard in your area. Much has been made of writing to stations after cuts are announced so how about writing to stations before they announce service cuts? After talking for a bit, David made mention of going to the studios to see the day`s English language show being recorded. On the way to the studio we came across Dita Asiedu (also of the English section) and she mentioned that the day`s programme had just been recorded. What a shame! However, David came to the rescue and suggested that I could be interviewed and the interview would be part of the ``Mailbox`` programme. I enthusiastically agreed and we went to the studios and control room where I met Zuzana Durcakova. There are six language sections to Radio Prague and they have to share the 2 studios and control rooms. Both are state-of-the-art set-ups and the control rooms can be set for automatic replays of the day`s programmes. David conducted a 6-7 minute interview and it was off to see the rest of the building. This building has an interesting history and has managed to survive World War II (and a bombing by the Luftwaffe towards the end of WWII) and the Czech uprising of 1968. On the front of the building there are a number of plaques dedicated to staff killed during WWII and the 1968 uprising. The back part of the building is actually quite modern and stands in stark contrast to the front part of the building. After the tour of the facilities, it was back to David`s office to sit down and chat a bit more. David does have a Canadian connection as he has relatives in the big three Canadian cities (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver). The English section of Radio Prague gets about 1 visitor per month (most visitors are American). David was kind enough to present me with a number of souvenirs from Radio Prague including 2 music CDs, a small radio, a booklet of the history of Radio Prague and a puzzle of black storks. David provided an explanation concerning the puzzle. Radio Prague and its parent organization, Cesky Rozhlas, have been involved with following the migration pattern of black storks over a number of years. Most unusual for a broadcasting corporation! In return, I gave David and the English language section a book about Alberta and a box of maple sugar candies. My thanks go to David Vaughan and the English section of Radio Prague for the terrific tour! Please visit the Radio Prague website at http://www.radio.cz/en/ --- this site is really quite well set out. The TVNova tour was an unexpected surprise. I have a friend in Prague who is an English-language teacher in Prague and a few staff members of TV Nova http://www.tvnova.hr/index1.htm are amongst her students. She asked one of the sound engineers to give me a tour provided that I would give the sound engineer an impromptu English language lesson. I was most happy to agree to this and so the tour began. TVNova is best described as ``tabloid`` television. These studios contain some very state-of-the-art studio equipment (much of it made by Studer). Everything is not digital at these studios and some analogue equipment is required. The biggest complaint that the sound engineer had concerning the digital equipment is that some of it is controlled by Windows software (not very user-friendly, apparently)! In the event that a digital control board or mixer crashes the studio switches to analogue control boards. However, the modernization continues to an all-digital format with fibre optic connections being placed between the studios and the processing rooms. All-in-all, TVNova is a sophisticated operation which employs approximately 500 people. I was quite surprised to see that Radio Free Europe http://www.rferl.org/ was under heavy guard. I commented on this to David Vaughan of Radio Prague and he commented that security was tight at Radio Free Europe due ``concrete threats having been made``. Suffice it to say that I didn`t get a look inside the imposing RFE building (not even a glimpse through the windows)! That`s it for this month. My trip to Prague was a terrific vacation and not just for the courtesies shown to me by Radio Prague and TVNova. Prague is a very beautiful, historically and culturally rich city and there is lots of good food and beer to be had in the Czech Republic. The two photographs below are of a) the Radio Free Europe building in Prague and, b) the Radio Prague control room. Pictures on page 35 are of a) another angle of the RFE building and, b) David Vaughn, Editor in Chief of the English department at Radio Prague (Dr. John Barnard, Edmonton, AB, Signals Unlimited, March CIDX Messenger via Sheldon Harvey, DXLD) Perhaps the photos will be availablized later at the CIDX website ** HAWAII. Checked KWHR 9930 again Mon March 15, and contrary to my previous remark, it was in Mandarin, not Vietnamese, before and after an English ID break at 1428. Online sked shows two LeSEA produxions in Mandarin, 7 days a week, Grow by the Grace of God at 1400, and Heavenly Life at 1430. No mention of R. Free Asia anywhere on the schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. New Radio Pedar to Iran --- Radio Pedar (Father Radio) in Persian (Farsi) Language to Iran on 9740 kHz. Monday-Friday 1830- 1930 UT. Uses Merlin Transmitters from UK. Radio Pedar transmitted from Studio of CHANNEL ONE TV, in California. Phone 818-226-6200. (P. Mohazzabi, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Evidently a new clandestine on SW; remember, Persian is Indo-European ** ISRAEL. KNESSET FINANCE COMMITTEE PREPARING NATIONAL RADIO BILL 09:15 Mar 16, '04 (IsraelNN.com) The Knesset Finance Committee today will continue efforts to prepare a bill for a second a third reading, a bill intended to clear the way for three new national radio stations. The bill authored by Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addresses the need for stations catering to the different segments of the population, including religious Jews and Arabs. Proponents are excited over the prospect of introducing an alternative to the left wing dominated state run Kol Yisrael (Israel Radio), explaining for many audiences, including the two mentioned, Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) does not provide the content sought by listeners. Opponents of the bill insist it is nothing more than a smokescreen to legitimize Arutz-7, which was silenced by a court ruling about six months ago. Since that time, there has been no national radio station that provides a patriotic Jewish agenda. http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=59515 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** KWAJALEIN. AFN Kwajalein is the new name for the former Central Pacific Network, which in turn replaced the last remaining active WWII Jungle Network callsign WXLG some years ago. As 1220, WXLG was frequently heard in NZ during the 1950`s and even conducted a special DX program for their Kiwi listeners and were swamped with reports. These days, AFN Kwajalein operates on 1224 with 1 kW, a channel covered in both Australia and NZ, but a long shot possibility for those able to null the locals involved. The program format is easy to recognize, being a 24 hour relay of National Public Radio sent via satellite from Huntsville, AL. Local IDs are inserted during program breaks, but the only local programs on the atoll now come over the 101.1 FM outlet during mornings and afternoon. Rest of the time, the 3 FM relays all carry AFRTS music channels from Huntsville. Well worth having a crack at this one around 1100-1500 UTC, even earlier in winter (David Ricquish, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) Huntsville AL! Strange home for AFRTS now; was LA (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. XERMX still on the air, UT March 16 check: good carrier on 9705 but very weak modulation at 0600 mentioning Ciudad de México; also after the QRM cleared at 1500, Spanish audible with usual het, Ethiopia? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. XEKTT AND XESS UPDATES The new 560 and 780 kHz stations near Tijuana have become a major bone of contention between the U.S. and Mexico. As a result of the meetings held in Crawford, Texas, by President Bush and Mexican President Fox and their staffs, the Mexican communications ministry has sent an informal proposal to the FCC, and the FCC is said to be studying it now. No details are available as of this writing. A careful observer who has been monitoring the Mexican signals estimates the 560 kHz transmitter output power ("TPO") to be 5 kW day and night, while the 780 kHz TPO is about 1 kW day and night. This is far less than the 20 kW/day and 10 kW/night SCT-authorized values for each station, but still large enough to raise bright red flags. Incidentally, these power levels have only been maintained for the past three weeks or so, and began with the SCT/FCC/State Dept. meetings in Mexico City prior to the Crawford, TX meeting. The powers have not always been so low. Rest assured that there are a battery of attorneys involved in this case along with U.S. Congressional members, two Ambassadors and high- level U.S. State Department officials. Making life more complicated, the Mexican stations have filed suit in Mexican court to preclude the SCT from revoking or revising their licenses. As one U.S. government official put it, this case "will take time to resolve." Those of you who speak government-speak will immediately decipher that one (From the CGC Communicator via Dennis Gibson, CA, March 15, IRCA via DXLD) Hard to imagine Bush & Fox actually discussing this issue (gh, DXLD) BORDER PATROL: The storm rages on about cross-border, co-channel interference matters. Papers are being filed willy-nilly with the FCC, by various domestic broadcasters --- and by their Mexican counterparts, with the Director General de Telecomunicaciones. The much-feared "Rosarito" outlet, XESS/780, is not one whit stronger signal-wise than at its debut, a little over one month ago. If this guy really IS in Rosarito, he's running about 500 watts! Otherwise, he's still in Ensenada, and putting out a max of 5,000 watts, with an inefficient transmitter. Evidence lies in the fact XESS is noticeably stronger at night in Orange County, than in the San Fernando Valley. (Not helping research is KABC/790's habit of splattering over- modulation everywhere from 770 to 810, in the L.A. area.) The planned companion outlet on 920 still airs in its original form, as a 500-to- 1000 watt station in Ensenada proper, which is lost in the mess of U.S.-Southwestern 920-dwellers, anywhere North of Tijuana. Meanwhile, not a word is heard about one of the worst XE-offenders, XEP/1300 in Ciudad Juárez (right across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas). These folks are authorized for 50,000 watts non-directional daytimes; they often leave the full-power rig on all night long. This renders reception of KAZN/1300 useless, once one is out of sight of their Pasadena towers --- and doubtlessly caused egregious interference to local U.S.-1300 outlets near El Centro, as well as in Fresno, Carson City, Colorado Springs, Austin and Tulsa; strong XEP interference is also likely to affect co-channel stations in Bâton Rouge, Seattle and Chicago. Funny, how no one's complained about this particular deal. WHILE WE'RE THERE: I've got an excellent listening suggestion for fellow SoCal dial-twisters: XEUT/1630 AM, from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, in Tijuana. Always airing in well- engineered stereo, with very clean audio; music-wise I've personally heard fine Classical, Jazz, Big Band, Blues, obscure Acid Rock (from the late '60s), Cumbia, Tropical and many other forms of Latin music styles presented with obvious respect by XEUT's student broadcasters, with no commercials --- or pledge drives either, for that matter! XEUT is usually on-air daily, from roughly 6:30 AM to 9 or 10 PM, West Coast time [1430-0500 or 0600 UT; with DST, 1330-0400 or 0500]. Give it a shot; I can truthfully say there's NO telling what you will hear --- but odds are, you'll hear something thoroughly different the second time you sample this fine station (Broadcast Band Update --- by Greg Hardison, Mar 15, the rest under USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XHCSO-6 Sonora ID --- Every so often, a gentleman in Sonora named Jorge Pinto sends me information about Televisa independent XHI- 2 Cd Obregón. Last week he sent me a photograph of a supered ID on Azteca-13 relayer XHCSO-6 Cd Obregón. The text ID is supered upper right, and it has *three* lines of text to the right side of the TV Azteca logo. I've never seen a local TV Azteca supered ID with more than two lines of text. It reads: XHCSO TV CANAL 6 AZTECA TRECE CD OBREGON SON I'm determined to continue with my Mexico TV DX project during the upcoming Es season. If anyone on this list receives new TV IDs from Mexico, I would like to add the information to my web pages. Thanks. (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, Mexico TV ID tips and TV DX photographs: http://members.tripod.com/~nladxer/TMTVDXPindex.html WTFDA via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Radio Netherlands --- I have today received the summer edition of "On Target" through the post and it`s a good read. It`s interesting to note that they have broadcasts from the following transmitter sites: Bonaire, Flevoland, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Madagascar, Petropavlovsk, Sackville, Tashkent, Wolvertem In addition 8 satellites around the world are utilised, and also the internet. The full programme and frequency schedule for A04 is listed in the magazine. If you want a copy than send name and address to letters @ rnw.nl There are also details of "changes afoot at the RN Website" http://www.rnw.nl plus other articles (Mike Terry, UK, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Notice the advance look at A-04 English in 4-046 showed 11675 at 1100- 1200 to NAm! They finally got the message that 5965 via Sackville doesn`t cut it. I expect the new frequency is Bonaire, and should have much broader coverage of ENAm, maybe even CNAm and WNAm for those awake (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI, 9870, Mon March 15 at 1432 tune-in had a ``this day in (pop) music history`` feature, presented by an announcer with a decided American accent, who outroed himself as Marty Doo-dah (Duda?) until 1444. Then TC of 16:4 reminded us NZ is still on DST of UT + 13 for another week, unlike some other DU entities (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO MONITORING --- Our Patron and Life Member JACK FOX advises that his experiences with the Prisoner of War Monitoring Service will be aired in a Radio New Zealand `Spectrum` documentary to be aired on National Radio (and possibly on shortwave via Radio NZ International) on Anzac Day 2004, that is Sunday 25 April at 12.33 pm (0033 UT). A repeat broadcast should be aired on Thursday 29 April at 8.06 pm (0806 UT). Mark your diaries now to tune in! Jack’s reminiscences and those of fellow member FRANK GLEN that have previously featured in the NZ DX Times are now also being published in ``The Informer``, newsletter of a group made up of former members of the New Zealand Intelligence Corps (March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. MAORI TELEVISION LAUNCHES 28 MARCH 2004 Maori Television will officially launch on Sunday 28 March 2004. The day will be marked with a karakia and powhiri, both of which will be broadcast live. We`ll also feature a range of programmes made exclusively for Maori Television including a documentary on the history of Maori Television and an introduction to its present staff. Our regular schedule of programmes begins on Monday 29 March 2004. Viewers can tune-in to Maori Television in four ways: Via the UHF frequency - In many cases if you receive Prime TV now you should be able to tune-in to Maori Television. To receive Maori Television via the UHF frequency viewers need to have a UHF aerial and be within the coverage area. Viewers can tune-in to Maori Television via the UHF frequency from 1 March 2004. Our coverage maps are published on our website and our tune-in helpline, 0800 MA TATOU (0800 62 82868) is also active. Via Satellite - If viewers are not within our UHF coverage area, they can access Maori Television via Satellite by purchasing a Satellite Dish and Receiver from their local Television Aerial Installation service. As a SKY Digital subscriber - SKY Digital subscribers will find Maori Television on Channel 33 of their SKY remotes. They can tune-in to Channel 33 now to catch highlights of programmes soon to be shown on Maori Television. As a SKY UHF subscriber - SKY UHF subscribers will find Maori Television on button 6 of their SKY remotes. For More Information check our website http://www.maoritelevision.com or for guidance on how to tune-in call 0800 MA TATOU (0800 62 82868) (Maori Television e-newsletter) Maori TV have started showing promos on Ch#46 in Christchurch in preparation for the on air date at the end of the month (Chris Wright, all March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. GRAPHIC GAFFE: Not in our coverage area, so why should we know where it is? KWTV News 9 OKC has a bank of extremely unimaginative graphics to illustrate otherwise audio-only stories --- except for this one: March 15 at 2207 UT, something about Bartlesville OK produced a county map zooming out from the state map clearly putting Bartlesville in Osage County! Actually it`s in adjacent Washington County, altho Washington is so slim that a long name like B-ville is likely to overflow into overweight Osage, but not when singled out!! We`ll bet Gary England in the weather department knows where it really is (Glenn Hauser, Garfield County, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Wantok Radio Light is the name of the new tropical band SW station scheduled to start in about May 2004. The broadcasts will mainly be a relay of the existing FM station of the same name in Port Moresby. During January, HCJB engineering staff helped relocate the studios of the station to a high rise office tower in downtown Port Moresby and brought the new FM transmitter site on air. Life Radio Ministries (PO Box 2020, Griffin, GA 30224) operate Wantok Radio Light in partnership with others including HCJB and have licences to operate 30 FM repeaters across Papua New Guinea. The new SW facilities are supposed to be built during April/May 2004 and discussions are still ongoing with the bureaucracy about the SW frequency and technical facilities (David Ricquish, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. 9737A, noted with live soccer match, weak at tune-in 2215 to fair/good signal during full hour; to tune-out. Not a single ID heard, not even at top of hour; occasional ads and other announcements. No DW on March 12. (My past observations lead me to believe this frequency is mostly used for soccer matches and political rallies --- usually of the ruling Colorado Party. Should be a regular catch during coming months.) (Victor C. Jaar - QUEBEC, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Re 4-048, VOR: ``There are various domestic radio services also located in the Pyatnitskaya Street building, and Voice of Russia staff have complained about having less and less space, as other services (such as one owned by the Russian Orthodox Church) buy airtime and are given some of the VOR's office and studio space to work in.`` The Russian Orthodox Church station would be Radio Radonezh, once also on shortwave but at present only using Noginsk-846 if I do not miss something. Indeed many commercial stations broadcast from the ul. Pyatnitskaya 25 radiohouse since the early nineties. Another one was Radio Nadezhda that at times ran an extensive schedule with many transmitter hours on shortwave and Bolshakovo-1215. There was also Radio 101 via the now silent Chkalovskaya-1233, frequently audible here when the co-channel Czech network was off, too. Today FM 101.2 at Moscow is used by a certain Dinamit FM, probably the same station and just renamed, anyway still from ul. Pyatnitskaya 25. Just to mention the few that come in mind right now. And even earlier there was Radio Ala, a station I in fact know almost nothing at all. It was on air when I still did not own a shortwave radio, so the only fact I remember is that they broadcast throughout the night via Bolshakovo-1386, starting at 2100 when the German program of Radio Moscow was over. "Poslednyie novosty i pyesny bardov" (transliteration could be terribly wrong), the first one (the latest news) read out in a studio with some reverb (which would point to ul. Pyatnitskaya 25!) by an announcer sitting on a creaking chair, the other one (the songs from the -- hmmm, I think one would say sing-a- song-writer?) played from vinyl records. No problem to make out such details with a perfect reception (still 2500 kW at the 245 degrees beam now in use on 1215 instead) of a mediumwave station with superb modulation, fed through a high quality STL (no noisy cable circuit with the sharp gating Radio Moscow was famous for). Only trouble: I never made a recording :-( Good night, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. March 16th marks the 145th anniversary of Alexandr Stepanovich Popov (1859-1906) who is widely credited in Russia with inventing radio. According to the Russian news reports, the Ural city of Yekaterinburg will host several special events, to celebrate this occasion. The celebrations will start on March 16 at 10:00 am local time with a festive rally. The participants will proceed to Popov's monument and pay their respects with laying of the flowers. At 11:30 a scientific conference for radio communication students from all over Russia will begin. The theme of the conference "From the first radio receiver to the modern means of communications." A new biographical book on Popov and his life in the Ural region will be officially presented at 5 pm. Later in the evening, the Popov Museum of Radio will host a special evening program for the radio communication veterans of the WWII. March 16 will also mark the first day of a special radio contest for the teenage hams from all over the world. Popov was born into the family of a Russian Orthodox priest in a small mining settlement in the Ural region in 1859. Being a deeply religious person, "the boy Popov, it's reported, was "blessed by the Lord" with the strong desire to be able to communicate silently and invisibly through air by means of some as yet undiscovered and incomprehensible process." In 1882 he graduated from St. Petersburg University and devoted the rest on his life to the scientific research. On 7 May 1895, in a lecture before the Russian Physicist Society of St. Petersburg, he stated that he had transmitted and received signals at a distance of 600 yards. More on Popov's role in inventing radio at http://www.webstationone.com/fecha/popov.htm (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [and non]. Thanks to Swopan Chakroborty for an unwieldly spreadsheet of the A-04 R. Sweden schedule. The Sackville relays on 9490 at 0230 and 0330 are replaced by 6010 at 0130 beamed 240 degrees, and at 0230 at 268 degrees. Presumably not DRM. As for the broadcasts in our mornings, direct from Sweden, we find 1230 and 1330 UT on 15240, both 305 degrees; for other easterly targets at 1230: 13580, 15735; 1330 15735 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. UKRAINE Radio Ukraine International Tentative Summer A04 Broadcasting Schedule (28 March 2004 – 31 October 2004) Frequency (kHz); Time UTC; Transmitter Site; Azimuth; Target Area 7420; 2100-0000; Kharkiv; 290; W. Europe 7420; 1300-1700; Kharkiv; 055; Russia 7545; 2300-0400; Mykolaiv; 314; N.-E. America 9380; 0000-0400; Kharkiv; 055; Russia 9945; 0400-0700; Kharkiv; 277; W. Europe 11550; 1700-2100; Kharkiv; 290; W. Europe 15415; 0700-1300; Kharkiv; 277; W. Europe Reserve frequencies for N.-E. America: 9810 in summer, 5910 kHz in autumn. Transmission schedules in various languages are as follows: GERMAN (one hour long): 1700 & 2000 on 11550 kHz, at 2300 on 7420 kHz. ENGLISH (one hour long): 2100 on 7420, at 0000 & 0300 on 7545, at 1100 on 15415 kHz. UKRAINIAN programmes are transmitted on all frequencies and at all times except for the time reserved for German and English programmes, as shown above. Romanian (half an hour long): at 1700, 1930 & 2100 on 657 kHz (via Chernivtsi). (via Swopan Chakroborty, India, DXLD) (also Alexander Yegorov, RUI, via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi, re VOA Main Street: I was told that the show of March 6 included a competition in which listeners were asked when and on which frequency they tune in. Following remark made by the host was quoted verbatim: ``Just to find out, how important we are to you. So there have never been a more important time to contact us.`` Of course we basically know why (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WTJC missing again from 9370, no trace of signal around 1450 March 16 and still missing at 2118 recheck. Transmitter or financial problems? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re question of the week: So many transmitter sites, so little time. The first one that came to mind was the 1500 station in Detroit. 12 tower array, 50000/5000 with a critical pattern and parameters. The transmitter site was state of art at the time, employing all copper hard line, and everything was by the book. It was obvious that when Storer Broadcasting had the station that engineering was by the book down to the lacing of cables and wire markings in the rack. I was shocked to find that this station had roots to 1490 at one time. And in memos discovered in boxes at the transmitter building, Storer's drive to make this station 50,000 day, 5,000 night was born from the notion that to be competitive in the market, he had to have the right to boast 50,000 watts. To get 50,000 watts a very complex array was made that was in STA mode for decades due to an inability to keep the pattern within tolerances. This station had an RCA Ampliphase transmitter, which was really fun to work on. The 5,000 watt was run from a Harris MW-5A, and the backup was a Gates BC-1T that was always on in the standby mode at pattern changes in case something happened. Management wanted NO off air time. Another station that I remember fondly was then WTTO in Toledo. This station had a 6-tower inline from the south pointing north during the night, and a 6-tower rectangle from the north pointing south. In early years it had a Gates Vanguard 1 transmitter, which I don't think I've seen since my employment in 1968. But I remember the problems the station had with this transmitter. Later they upgraded(?) to a Gates BC-1G. What I remember the most about this station was having to work on the antenna array with Carl Smith, who was a real wealth of knowledge on DA construction. I think this experience was perhaps the most educational for me, and got me interested into high power transmission and antenna systems (Fred Vobbe, Lima, OH, NRC-AM via DXLD) Fred, did WJBK/WDEE or whatever 1500 was when you worked there still have to have an engineer on site 24/7 because of the STA on the DA? If I recall, there was a station in Los Angeles that is in the same boat (Paul Smith, ibid.) Yes. It was manned 24/7 as the antenna system would have a tendency to "walk" on us depending on local weather conditions and the sewage crane. Crane? Well, when I was there the city of Lincoln Park was building a sewage treatment plant between the property and I-75. This caused a lot of headaches. First, you can imagine what happens when a 120 foot crane is within Ľ mile of a 50,000 watt array on 1500. First problem was all the workers getting nailed by the RF. On our side of the fence, every movement of the crane would cause a patter and parameter shift. We could see the towers on the west side of the array change readings as the crane moved. The station was under critical parameters, so instead of the usual 3-degrees and 5%-ratio variance, we were locked in to 1-degree at 3%. I can't recall a 48 hour period where those readings would stay within tolerances. Also, you have to understand that there were 37 towers, usually metal power utility poles (four leg variety) that all had detuning skirts on them in Lincoln Park. Those were to keep the array from being detuned and lessen the effect of RF getting into the lines. We needed to check and tune them on occasion. Some trivia for you. If you click on http://www.fccinfo.com and then type in WLQV, and select the second entry down (licensed night), you can see the layout of the towers at the bottom. Towers 9, 1, & 5 were affected the most, but in this kind of an array any small change affected the whole system. And that would take a monitor point from a value of .22 mv/m to 1 mv or more due to the sharp nulls. BTW, in looking at how the towers are numbered, you can see where the old 10k/1k array was, and where the four towers were added when they put on 50k/5k. And, if you click on the CP for the night, you'll notice that the array is now renumbered and that what was 12, 4, and 8 is now gone. Several years after I left, the owner was approached to let go of some land so a developer could build a K-Mart on Fort Street. The owner agreed, and the east three towers were taken down --- without FCC permission. It's been in years of court actions, and they still have not only the legal issues, but the damn pattern is still as flaky as ever. |grin| Lots of great memories out of that place. Sadly, I should have taken more paperwork that was tossed in the dumpsters. As it is, I have a few old logs, and a 6 foot by 4 foot schematic drawing of the phaser. Now you know where I honed my skills on DA work. |grin| (Fred Vobbe, WLIO-TV, Lima OH, ibid.) ** U S A. TOP RADIO HOST ALLEGES CLEAR CHANNEL REFUSES PAYMENT March 15, 2004 http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/news/0403/15b.html The war between Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed "King of All Media," and Clear Channel, the undisputed corporate powerhouse of radio broadcasting, continues to escalate. Last month, the media conglomerate yanked Stern off six radio stations after a caller used the "N" word while Stern was talking sex with Paris Hilton`s ex. Now Stern claims Clear Channel refuses to pay him as per his contract. "The reason we have a contract with them is so they wouldn't pull BS like this," Stern said. On his official Web site, http://www.HowardStern.com there is a portrait entitled "The Passion of the Stern" -- a takeoff on Mel Gibson’s controversial new film about the crucifixion of Christ. The tag line is, "Radio Pioneer Persecuted by the U.S. Government." Entertainment reporter Sam Rubin from KTLA television in Los Angeles spoke to "CJ" about Stern's case. "You aired the show knowing what it is," Rubin said of Clear Channel’s actions. "Now you've decided you don't want to air the show, but you still have to pay out the contract… Clear Channel on the other hand is going to say, ‘Well, the climate has changed.’" While the country`s social climate may indeed have changed, there’s no question that Stern’s fans are heating up in response to Clear Channel’s perceived censorship. FreeStern.com is a Web site where frenzied fans are pushing a petition to get Stern back onto Clear Channel owned stations. Meanwhile, Stern's Los Angeles radio station is planning a West Coast rally in support of Howard. But could Stern really be getting Sirius? Reports are that Stern has met with Sirius satellite radio in what some predict could be the shock jock's end run around decency rules. So what happens if a personality of Stern’s popularity joins "The Sopranos’" Steve Van Zandt, who's also signed to do shows on Sirius? "I'm sure the people who run the satellite radio stations are salivating at the prospect," said Rubin. "At the same time, you're never going to reach as many people as you reach now for free over the air broadcasting." (via Art Blair, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. BROADCAST BAND UPDATE --- BY GREG HARDISON, Mar 15 BLUE CLUES: So, have you had enough news about obscenity on the airwaves? In SoCal, Sandra Tsing-Loh has lost her commentary spot on KCRW/89.9, after a dropped "F-bomb" made it through the editing process, airing twice on Sunday morning, February 29. No doubt you've heard that seven Clear Channel-owned stations have bounced Howard Stern off their schedules, including San Diego's KIOZ/105.3. Howard himself is saying the demise of his National show is imminent; AllAccess reports Howard's contract runs through 2006, but that he's having "perfunctory" chats with XM and Sirius. Florida shocker-counterpart Bubba The Love Sponge casts no blame toward Clear Channel for ousting his morning show; he says CC's hand was forced by no less that President George W. Bush. The Bubster says he's also talking to both XM and Sirius, and expects it all to gel him back on-air by Summer. Varied wags have speculated that XM & Sirius would not want to draw FCC scrutiny with such moves --- but folks, there's a precedent here: think HBO, Showtime, Starz, and other sat- delivered Subscription services, just like XM & Sirius! Congress ("the Fools on the Hill") continues to molest the matter, in its collective desperate search for the Almighty Vote. The Senate Commerce Committee gave unanimous approval to its related measure this week, which places FCC fines in the $275K-$500K range, and also creates a "three-strikes" clause: three violations in one license-term, and kiss that license good-bye! The full House approved proposed increases in FCC fines, by a vote of 391-22. Texas Republican Rep. Dr. Ron Paul, has expressed concerns about waning free-speech --- as has FCC Chairman Michael Powell, believe it or not! Dr. Paul's fellow Texasublican, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, says continued flaunting of the "boundaries of reasonable tolerance" by broadcasters "forced" the hand of Congress. Now, let's forget the notion that such material indeed reflects a lack of creativity; that should be a given. Many opinion polls have reflected views of many folks, that the Government's burgeoning anti- filth crusade is a waste of taxpayers' dollars --- given growing budget deficits, the whittling-away of the middle class, and the inevitable tab for rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, along with Halliburton's executive pension plan. Of course, children are the focus here, for many well-meaning parties. What we as Americans have moved away from, is the notion of actually bothering to raise our own children. Many may feel that "it takes a village", to do such; what many have done is to move toward being "buddies", rather than parents, to their kids --- along with the accompanying lack of guidance and scrutiny, over what they may be hearing or watching. Nope --- much easier to have the Government do it all for us. And from the Update Dept. of Redundancy Dept., we repeat the news from last month that the FCC is looking into ways to levy fines against individual performers, in response to future consumer complaints, thus chilling freedom of expression. AFTRA has finally awakened, as of this week, protesting that obvious attack against freedom of expression. Sure 'nough, numerous complaints have already been filed --- mostly against what started the whole flap, the exposure of Janet Jackson's aging mammary during the NFL Championship telecast on CBS. Advice to Americans: forget about relying on "the village" to raise your offspring. How about making that a do-it-yourself task, as it was meant to be? [MEXICO items: XESS, XEP, XEUT: see MEXICO] JAUNDICED EYE: The EchoStar/Dish Network spent most of this past week kibboshing delivery of several CBS/Viacom products to subscribers in 16 markets, in response to apparent Viacom demands that additional services (such as Nick-Toons) be carried in order to assure access to more popular CBS-related offerings. L.A. and fifteen other markets were denied their CBS-owned TV stations (such as KCBS-TV/2 and KCAL- TV/9), as well as MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and other sister-services. Then it got ugly: the V-people were urging Dish subscribers to try their local Cable systems, or switch altogether to DirecTV. Cable systems, such as Time-Warner, offered incentives of up to $400 along with quick installations, for Dish subscribers to make the switch. EchoStar/Dish head honcho Charles Ergen spent Tuesday (March 9) night doing his own live call-in show, aired over the moribund CBS/Viacom Dish feeds, conducting a sort of national Customer Service line. A Los Angeles correspondent says calls ranged from complaints about refund/rebate shortages, to direct attacks on Ergen for yanking Viacom. Ergen even posted a crawl featuring V-CEO Mel Karmazin's home phone number, as well as the Viacom "customer service" line, which promptly crashed for several hours. Reps from both firms were summoned to the House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, to explain their positions. All now appears well: Dish has agreed to carry NickToons, while extending terms for carriage of several other Viacom services. Meanwhile, it appears our latest Celeb-felon, Martha Stewart, has been dropped from all CBS radio and TV stations --- the pearls in the oyster of King World's MS-syndication efforts. And, we can report that Dr. James Dobson's excellent "Focus On The Family" commentaries ARE still aired on KNX/1070, weekdays during the 3 PM hour. KNX has vastly increased its repertoire of extended "newsmaker" interview segments, adding depth to their already- excellent coverage of local and world events. UNSOLICITED WORD OF ADVICE: Three things you NEVER want to watch being made: Sausage, Laws and Broadcasting Company Policies. RODENT RAGE: Fully 43% of Disney shareholders have expressed their displeasure at the idea of Michael Eisner continuing in the hot seat. So, true to Disney-form, what does the Board do during the annual confab in Philly on March 4?? Why, they appoint ex-Senator George Mitchell (D/ME, at the time) to the Chairman's post, while leaving Eisner with the Presidency --- after Mitchell himself received no- confidence votes from 24% of shareholders. The problem: Mitchell is known as a sycophantic yes-man, consistently bowing to Eisner's whims --- despite his statement this week that his Board will "continue a formal review of succession" re Mikey. (Mikey's emphatic that he will remain, like a goiter, until his contract expires in '06.) This move has pulled wool over the eyes of many investors; meanwhile DO expect more such subtrafugic moves from the Haus of Maus. Adding to those possibilities is the report in "The Los Angeles Times", that Diane Disney Miller --- Walt's kid --- wants Eisner out. The story says Miller pooh-poohs recent stirrings from Cousin Roy on the matter; she says his public rants have made the company even weaker. Hmmm, perhaps Eisner's last stand will be in an underground bunker beneath Burbank --- TECHNOLOGY OUTPACES CIVILIZATION: --- The best evidence of this is the continued hyping of the IBOC-digital/analog hybrid broadcast system, infamous for spreading adjacent-channel hash around like peanut butter. The intent is to provide high-quality digital means to replace existing AM & FM protocol, with the support of the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC head Michael ("Colin's idiot son") Powell, and other questionable entities. We turn this part of the Update over to radio writer-supreme Richard Wagoner, who penned the following in his March 5 column in the "Daily Breeze" of Torrance, Calif.: "What is the incentive for consumers to switch? Why should people spend money on new radios if they are happy with what they already have? - Certainly programming has little to do with it: If current analog AM and FM stations go digital, they’d still be playing the same thing they play now. And yet sound quality probably has little to do with anything: FM sounds pretty darned good, and AM, while lousy on most radios, also can sound good on a well- designed receiver. Even if digital offered vastly improved fidelity, somehow I don’t see people flocking back to AM to hear the same low- quality syndicated talk programs that are run now. Indeed, the reason XM and Sirius subscription satellite radio services are evolving into major players in the entertainment world has little, if anything, to do with sound quality. People don’t pay for better sound, they pay for the programming (that) you can’t hear elsewhere. So in the case of HD Radio, what incentive is there to shell out big bucks for a new radio when most people are happy with the sound quality of the current one and unhappy with the programming? Especially when the hybrid system — digital on top of and next to analog carriers — causes numerous problems, including analog interference and signal degradation? The answer may lie among the stations that have nothing to lose, those that may as well shut down due to lack of listenership, lack of signal, lack of advertising dollars, and lack of anything resembling success. If they did, indeed, shut down their analog signal completely, go 100 percent digital, and run good programming that is vastly different than the same-old, same-old found on to day’s corporate airwaves, you’d have people clambering to buy the new digital HD radios to tune in. At least that`s the view that has been spreading around radio groupie water coolers. It makes perfect sense to me, and it may, indeed, be the only way that HD Radio, especially on AM, can succeed. Give people great programming, similar to the popular programming on XM and Sirius, and people would gladly pay for new receivers, especially when there is no monthly subscription fee. I liken it to the launch of FM and to a lesser extent, Internet radio. I still cannot see why anyone would want to spend good money on a new radio just to hear talk shows or Ryan Seacrest digitally." Adding a minor point, have you heard an AM IBOC station on an AM Stereo receiver?? Absolutely unlistenable! IBOC technology throws a loud, irritating, warbling tone right in the middle of any AM signal envelope received on such a wideband stereo rig, regardless of whether the station IS in stereo, or not. I have personally noted said tone while receiving IBOCers KMXE/830, KXNT/840 and KTNQ/1020, on my trusty Sony AM-Stereo walkman; the result sounds very similar to radio- teletype transmission interference, as heard on the Shortwave bands. WHAT'S LEFT?: Air America, that's what --- the now-chosen name for the new Liberal talk-net slated for debut on March 31. The New York outlet will be the appropriately-named WLIB/1190, which has for years been the vox populi of the Big Apple's African-American community; no word yet on whether there will be an outright sale of the facility by current owners, Inner City Broadcasting. Related speculation of a potential San Francisco affiliate now revolves around KVTO/1400, also owned by Inner City, currently programming brokered ethnic material. WLIB has been pulling minimal shares in the ratings, albeit much better numbers than a year ago. Memo to WLIB management: if you even consider any changes in call-letters, you're out of your minds! AA's lineup has been announced; among the more well-known Talkhosts will be (of course) Al Franken, holding down middays with a healthy dose of satire under the banner, "The O'Franken Factor". L.A.-based Marty Kaplan leaves Public Radio's "Marketplace", to host a nightly hour examining media and politics. Janeane Garafolo will follow Marty with a 3-hour nightly show co-hosting with Sam Seder. Among the weekend hosts will be environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. One bad move: plans call for all programming to be delayed three hours for West Coast consumption (on KBLA/1580 in Los Angeles, so far); this could easily limit the Net's appeal to those dwelling West of the Pecos. SILENT RUNNING: One way to describe the operation of Clear Channel's KIIS/850 in Thousand Oaks. As the call letters suggest, CC had been airing a simulcast of L.A.'s KIIS-FM/102.7, as its umpteenth 850- format in about three years. (Previous offerings included simulcasts of CC's KXTA/1150 Sports monster, sister station KTDD/1350 --- "The Toad" --- with Classic Country from San Bernardino; 850 also served as the sole over-the-air affiliate of CC's ill-fated WorldClassRock.com webcaster, after they sold off the original air-outlet, KACD/KBCD/103.1, straddling Santa Mónica and Newport Beach.) It seems an obscure clause in the station's purchase contract acknowledged an agreement made with the City of Thousand Oaks, which calls for removal of the station's four towers from their ridgetop site on the East end of the burg. So CC is proceeding thus: KIIS/850 went "dark" in February, and the towers have already been knocked down. And we know one of Thousand Oaks' upcoming housing developments will be right there, at the site off Westlake Blvd. Perhaps having a buried ground radial in one's back yard will become a selling point in SoCal real estate circles? It'd be as if the whole neighborhood was wearing one of those magic-metal healing bracelets, as seen on late-night infomercials. THERE HE GOES: We refer here to George Putnam. The venerable almost-90 year old media man is slated to return to the airwaves, over KSPA/1510 in Ontario/Riverside, as of Noon on Monday, March 29. George was left air-homeless by the sale of his former outlet, now Spanish-talker KMXE/830 in Orange. His daily show will also be heard nationally over the Cable Radio Network, satellite-delivered and stream-ready, at http://www.crni.net --- thus our minions outside inland SoCal can hear this guy, who's truly a Legend in broadcasting. George Putnam's politics can be described as, what, let's say, to the Right, just a tad? Nonetheless, and especially despite his age, George's mind is as sharp as a box of tacks. Give him a listen; odds are you'll be in for a living-history lesson of some stripe or another. POWERING DOWN: The FCC has determined that third-adjacent channel interference considerations are indeed a bogus issue, when concerning proposed Low Power-FM facilities. This should pave an easier road for applicants of such --- in rough English, this means an LPFM applying for 93.5 does NOT have to worry about causing interference to stations on 94.1, or 92.9. A logical move, since many markets house FULL- POWERED third-and even second-adjacent signals. The NAB's upset, of course, since this may take a listener or two away from their preferred-Monopoly-based station "clusters". In the face of this move, I think of the single LPFM I've ever heard, KWVS-LP/101.5, at Pepperdine University in Malibu. One can drive along Pacific Coast Hwy in Santa Mónica, looking around the bend and up the coast at the Malibu shoreline --- and still hear Clear Channel's KGB in San Diego, fully-powered on 101.5, completely covering any semblance of the LPFM signal during tropospheric-duct conditions. (Such a phenomenon occurs when a layer of warm air lies atop a layer of cooler air, usually along Coasts.) This class of stations was created to provide non- profit groups with relatively inexpensive means of reaching their potential community audiences --- BIG threat, here, to Rush, Ryan, Dr. Laura, Howard, Imus and O'Reilly, obviously --- LITTLE BUDDY: AllAccess does its usual excellent job of informing, by telling us of Bob Denver's new venture: his very own Low Power FM station, WGAG-LP/93.1, originating in Gilligan's very own Princeton, WV basement. The Denver Foundation is on the air with this, in order to promote tourism and commerce in West Virginia. Until the next, Peace and Prosperity. – (GREG HARDISON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RADIO HOST ART BELL'S SON SETTLES SUIT http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/8186860.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Posted on Sun, Mar. 14, 2004 Associated Press LAS VEGAS - A Nevada school district has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit filed by the son of radio talk show host Art Bell. Arthur Bell IV was a sophomore at Pahrump Valley High School in May 1997 when he was sexually assaulted by a substitute teacher. The teacher, Brian Lepley, was later convicted and sentenced to prison. "It's been a long case, and I know my client is glad that it's over," Bell's lawyer, John Hawley, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday. Paul Anderson, who represents the Nye County School District, said the same settlement was offered a few years ago but was rejected. The case was scheduled for trial later this month in Las Vegas. "We're pleased with the result," Anderson said. "We don't acknowledge any liability in the case and felt that we had a strong defense." The younger Bell, now 23, identified himself as the plaintiff when he filed an amended lawsuit in May 1999, six months after his parents anonymously filed suit on his behalf. Art Bell founded the "Coast to Coast" radio show in 1993 but resigned in April 2000 after his son was assaulted. He returned to the air in 2001 but retired two years later, citing ongoing back problems. In September, he announced his return as weekend host of the program. (c) 2004 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. WRIB DX Test Update --- Got an e-mail from Craig Healy today regarding the on-going WRIB DX Test [1220, Rhode Island]. He monitored the station last night, and discovered a problem with the automation for the test. While the switch to daytime power occurred as it should, there was no voice or Morse ID. He's investigating the problem now, and may switch to an old cart machine with a timer to fire off both the Morse and Voice ID for the station. His e-mail also brought good news. He plans to continue the nightly DX test into the Spring, at least through April and into May. Also, he's trying to arrange for a similar test to be run on WDDZ 550 kHz. The station is limited to 500 watts, but gets out better to the South than WRIB. I'll try to keep everyone updated whenever I hear more from Craig. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, Central Alabama, March 15 IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. U.S. X-BAND AT A GLANCE MARCH 2004 1610 CJWI Montreal QUE FF/Creole 1620 WDND South Bend IN ``ESPN Radio 1620 South Bend`` KOZN Bellevue NE ESPN Sport .``The Zone in Omaha`` WTAW College Station TX ``Newstalk 16-20 WTAW`` Takes ``USA Radio News`` & C-to-C AM KBLI Blackfoot ID SS ``Radio Fiesta`` KYIZ Renton WA Urban AC/ Black Oldies `` // KRIZ `` Z Twins`` KSMH West Sacramento, CA Rel. ETWN Catholic. ``KSMH West Sacramento`` WDHP Frederikstad, US Virgins BBC WS to after 2200 NZDT. Full ID at :59 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA Talk/Sport KKWY Fox Farm WY C&W AP nx ``The Spirit of Wyoming`` ``K-W-Y 1630`` KNAX Ft Worth/Dallas TX SS. Rel. Radio Vida/ Radio Dos Mil Dos. EE ID :58 WRDW Augusta GA Talk/Sport ``Newstalk 1630`` {this version continues to omit XEUT 1630 Tijuana; see MEXICO in this issue. Yet includes CJWI 1610 Montreal!} 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KDZR Lake Oswego OR Disney ``KDZR Radio Disney Portland`` KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/religious/life issues WTNI Biloxi MS ``Talk Radio 1640 WTNI Biloxi`` Takes Coast to Coast. ABC nx. KMMZ Enid-Oklahoma City OK All Comedy Radio. P.O. Box 952 Enid OK 73702. [calls changed to KFNY as reported here weeks ago --- gh] KBJA Sandy UT SS/Radio Única/Radio Latina. EE ID on hour 1650 WHKT Portsmouth VA Disney. ``AM1650 WHKT Portsmouth, Radio Disney`` KBIV El Paso TX C & W. ``Country Classics KBIV`` KDNZ Cedar Falls IA Talk/ Sport ``The Talk Station`` // KCNZ. Takes ``Coast to Coast`` KWHN Fort Smith AR ``Newstalk 1650 KWHN`` KBJD Denver CO Talk. ``KNUS-2`` KFOX Torrance CA Korean/ EE ID on hour 1660 KTIQ Merced CA Sporting News Network ``The Ticket`` WFNA Charlotte NC Sporting News Radio // WFNZ 610. NEW WWRU Elizabeth NJ Talk SS Radio Única. WCNZ Marco Is FL ``Newsradio 1660`` AP news WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN KRZX Waco TX ESPN + local sport // KRZI 1580. Nx on hr/local ads .05 KQWB West Fargo ND Nostalgia ``Star 1660 is KQWB AM`` CNN news KXOL Brigham City UT ``Oldies Radio`` (60``s rock) KXTR Kansas City KS ``Classical 1660`` WGIT Canóvanas Puerto Rico SS oldies ``El Gigante`` 1670 WMWR Warner Robins/Macon GA News/Talk x WRNC ``Talk Radio WMWR 1670`` WTDY Madison WI Sports/Talk. ``Talk Radio 1670`` (Sporting News Network) KHPY Moreno Valley, CA Radio Católica SS; EE on the hour. KNRO Redding CA ``Redding`s ESPN Radio 1670 KNRO`` 1680 WTTM Princeton NJ Ethnic – Asian ``EBC Radio`` WLAA Winter Garden FL SS WDSS Ada MI Disney ``AM1680 WDSS`` KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KTFH Seattle WA Ethnic./SS Rel/``The Bridge, AM 16-80 KTFH Seattle.`` KRJO Monroe LA Urban Gospel. ``Rejoice 1680`` x KYEA 1690 KDDZ Arvada CO Disney KFSG Roseville CA SS rel. and Asian. EE ID on hr ``KFSG Sacramento`` WRLL Berwyn/Chicago IL ``Real Oldies 1690`` WSWK Adel, GA Tourist Info ``Wild Adventure Radio`` WPTX Lexington Park MD ``Newstalk 1690 WPTX`` CNN headline News 1700 WJCC Miami Springs FL SS/Rel/``Radio Luz`` WEUV Huntsville AL Black Gospel. KTBK Sherman TX Sports News Radio ``Sports Radio 1310 KTCK-The Ticket`` KBGG Des Moines IA ``All News 1700 KBGG``. CNN. Usually female presenter KQXX Brownsville TX ``Oldies Radio 1700 AM`` COMPILED BY TONY KING, GREYTOWN, NEW ZEALAND (March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** U S A. PLAN CONSIDERED TO SPEED DIGITAL-TV SHIFT REGULATORS WANT BROADCASTERS TO CONVERT SIGNALS TO ANALOG By Paul Davidson USA TODAY Federal regulators are considering an aggressive plan that would speed the transition to digital TV but would force consumers who don't have cable or satellite service to buy new gear by December 2006. The plan would require the pay-TV services to convert digital signals to analog so they could be viewed on analog TV sets, the kind most people now have, FCC officials told USA TODAY. That would let the government reclaim broadcasters' analog TV channels in 2006 so they can be auctioned to wireless firms, paving the way for new and improved services and raising billions for the U.S. Treasury. Also, police and fire agencies are expected to use the airwaves to improve spotty radio systems. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell and the agency's media bureau generally support the proposal. But it's unclear if the other four commissioners would back it. Broadcasters have greeted the idea coolly. And lawmakers will be concerned about a plan that imposes costs on over-the-air viewers, Capitol Hill staffers say. Nearly all TV stations also are beaming at least some of their programs in digital as well as analog. Federal law requires them to be all-digital and return their analog channels to the government by December 2006 -- but only if 85% of households in a market can receive all the digital broadcast signals. Nine million consumers have digital monitors, but just 1.2 million have the tuners needed to receive digital broadcast signals. An FCC mandate requires all new TVs to include digital tuners by 2007. But it could be up to 20 years before most consumers replace their sets. Cable and satellite systems offer a short cut because they serve about 85% of U.S. homes. Currently, cable systems must carry all local broadcasters' analog signals for free, unless the parties reach private deals that involve compensation. And satellite services must carry all analog channels if they carry any, as they do in a growing number of markets. Under the plan, the government in 2006 would immediately reclaim broadcasters' analog channels in the dozens of markets where cable and satellite serve 85% of homes. The ''must-carry'' rules would then apply to broadcasters' digital signals. And the pay-TV systems would be required to convert digital signals to analog for consumers with analog sets. The providers would still be able to supply pure digital signals to people with digital sets, FCC officials say. Broadcasters, though, worry that consumers who don't have cable or satellite would have to shell out more than $100 for a digital-to-analog converter box, though FCC officials say a subsidy program could be arranged. (c) Copyright 2004 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Headline: O'REILLY, O'FRANKEN, OH NO! Byline: Dante Chinni Date: 03/16/2004 (WASHINGTON) Tired from a long, hard winter? Looking for a sunny getaway that won't break the family budget? Camp X-ray at Guantánamo Bay in tropical Cuba has fun for everyone. Or at least, that was the word from Fox News last week. "Another young Afghan boy is saying that, contrary to complaints from Human Rights Watch, he had a wonderful time as a detainee at Guantánamo Bay," a Fox anchor reported. Fourteen-year-old Asad Olad returned from a 14-month stay at Gitmo with rave reviews. "[H]e spent his days watching movies, playing football, and going to class, where he says he was fascinated by lessons on the solar system," the anchor said. Yes, better living through incarceration. We should all be so fortunate. Asad's comments are not the issue here. If they are true, they are true and it's great he had such a fulfilling experience. But it seems odd to focus on one or two positive comments from detainees in a sea of negative comments and complaints of abuse. But Fox doesn't concern itself with such trivialities. America, or more specifically the Bush administration, rarely does wrong; Democrats and "liberals" are making a mess of things; and the press is biased and untrustworthy. . . Click here to read this story online: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0316/p09s02-codc.html (via Jim Moats, DXLD) ** U S A. WLIB: AIR AMERICA INCREASES OUR REACH By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, March 15th, 2004 WLIB (1190 AM) is playing music without hosts as it prepares for the March 31 debut of the new progressive talk network "Air America." The most popular Caribbean station in town the last few years, WLIB has also carried talk shows and is widely considered a voice for the black community. So there is expected to be disappointment when it switches over to the new network. But Pierre Sutton, chairman of WLIB's parent Inner City Broadcasting, says Air America will be "consistent with the programs and attitudes of WLIB ... and presents an opportunity to deliver that message to a much larger national community." He does allow that red ink was a factor. "WLIB has always lost money," says Sutton. "It has been supported by [FM sister] WBLS. So at a certain point you have to ask whether you could improve the station enough to make money." Given the obstacles. WLIB has more listeners, Sutton notes, than stations that do make money. But many WLIB listeners are black, and advertisers do not support black media as they support "mainstream" media. "I go to advertising conferences and I don't see a lot of people who look like me," says Sutton. "Until that happens, we won't have the sensitivity we should have toward the black community." Still, he casts the Air America move - which he says will enable WLIB "at least to break even" - as a positive step, not a bailout. For one thing, he says Inner City is working closely with Air America and "will have a real impact" on its content. "They can program a network, but they don't have our experience in radio per se," he says. "We're helping each other." Over the 30-plus years Inner City has owned WLIB, through a variety of talk and music combinations, it has kept a community voice. In recent years it has been one of the few stations that still runs editorial commentaries. Sutton says the Air America affiliation is consistent with that philosophy. "It's about having an impact on the larger community," he says. "This is a way to increase that impact by reaching people who haven't listened to us in the past. We don't just want to talk to ourselves, because there's nothing wrong with us. If we're going to have meaningful change, the larger community has to be involved. "This is a step forward." A few WLIB staffers will stay on, says Sutton, including morning cohosts Dahved Levy and Ann Tripp, both of whom are heard on WBLS (107.5 FM). Program director Cynthia Smith and news director Wayne Gilman will remain, and WLIB talk host Mark Riley will be a cohost of the Air America morning show. WWRL (1600 AM) and and several smaller stations, including "pirates," still play some Caribbean music (via Art Blair, IRCA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7154.8 (again), 0807, Mar 14th, Relay of RAI Radio 3. It seems that this signal coincides with the presence of Vatican Radio Sunday Mass service on 7250 kHz. May be a result of an interaction among RAI-Vatican powerful transmitters in the Rome area? I'll do more tries (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Unidentified station broadcasting in Italian has been heard on air March 15 & 16th around 0730 on about 7154.8 using DSB. The signal peaked to audible level, but generally was heard at poor strength in local noise. Most of the transmission heard is speech, and I thought I heard reference to 'Journal Libre' - sorry if it isn`t spelled like that in Italian. And on the 15th what sounded to be a time signal was heard at 0745. No ID copied, if given, so far. 73's (Noel R. Green, [Blackpool, NW UK], Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WINTER SWL FEST 2004 The seventeenth annual Winter Shortwave Listeners Festival in beautiful, historic Kulpsville, Pennsylvania is now history. Once again, the finest in the radio listening hobby descended upon this tiny enclave for a weekend of renewing friendships, attending forums, browsing displays, socializing, good food and other educational pursuits. This year saw about 220 radio folk gather at the Best Western. Congratulations and thanks are in order for Rich Cuff and John Figliozzi and all the wonderful people that volunteer to support this terrific annual gathering. Without this excellent cast of characters unselfishly volunteering their time, there would be no Winter SWL Festival. Joe Buch won the 2004 Don Jensen Distinguished Service Award issued by ANARC and the 2004 William P. Eddings Award as the NASWA Member of the Year. Joe's outstanding contributions to the hobby over a period of years plus his leadership and technical expertise in battling the broadband over power lines ("BPL") issue made his a natural choice for both organizations. The BPL issue continues to be a hot topic of debate. At one of the forums, Joe provided a comprehensive update on the progress made to date on the issue and where things are likely to go from here. Keep your eyes opened for a comprehensive report about this year's event including a pictorial courtesy of Ralph Brandi and his digital camera that should appear in the April Journal. The 18th Winter SWL Festival is scheduled for March 11-12, 2005 at the usual location, featuring the usual cast of characters. I look forward to seeing everyone there once again (Sheryl Paszkiewicz, NASWA Electronic Flash Sheet No. 111, March 14, 2004 via DXLD) MUSEA +++++ PRINCETON & DISTRICT MUSEUM, ONTARIO I heard about this on CBC Radio this morning. "Radio Days" An exhibit of radios, broadcasts and memorabilia from the height of the radio era June through September at the Princeton & District Museum The Museum is located in the Village of Princeton, along Highway 2 (Oxford Rd 2), between Woodstock and Paris. Turning North on Main Street, the Museum is a 1Z2 km from the intersection on the left. Tuesday through Friday 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Saturday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm [EDT = UT -4]. The museum is seeking loans and donations for the exhibit. For more information or to arrange to visit the museum, please phone 519-458-8392. Please contact Karen Richardson, Curator. See this website: http://www.ocl.net/projects/princetonm/index.shtml (Harold Sellers, March 14, ODXA via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TERRIFYING BPL/PLC DEMO VIDEOS http://www.addx.de/plc/plc-video.php (Al Quaglieri, NY, March 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ TASMAN INTERNATIONAL GEOSPACE ENVIRONMENT RADAR (TIGER) A Pulse HF Radar System is being erected on the historic Awarua radio site and will be operated by the La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia. It is designed to look at the Southern Aurora, the Ionosphere and Sunspot activity using HF Radar pulses in the 8-20 MHz range. The Awarua site is located very near to the Southland Branch Listening Post at Tiwai and whether it causes any interference will be of interest to those who listen from the Tiwai site and possibly also for other SW/MW Listeners around New Zealand. The Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (Radar) is a dual HF radar system with overlapping foot-prints designed to map ionospheric motions by detecting ionospheric scatter. The first radar was set up on Bruny Island, Tasmania at the end of 1999 and development of the second radar to be placed near Invercargill, NZ, has begun. TIGER is part of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) which currently consists of 15 radars deployed in the northern and southern hemispheres. It is hoped the radar could be installed between April and June with the aim to have it operational by spring (March NZ DX Times via DXLD) TIGER RADAR SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Band: 8 - 20 MHz Antenna Arrays: Tx/Rx Array: 16 horizontally polarised log-periodics 2nd Rx Array: 4 horizontally polarised log-periodics Beam Widths: Horizontal: 4 o at 10 MHz, 3 o at 14 MHz, 2 o at 18 MHz Vertical: 50 o [degrees] Lobe Levels: less than -14 dB for both back and side lobes Transmitters: 16 x 600 W (one per antenna in Tx/Rx array) Total Peak Power: 9.6 kW Mean Power: 200 W Radiated Power: 12.5 W in main beam direction Tx signals: Pulse pattern repetition rate: 50 or 100 ms Pulse width: 300 µ s Bandwidth: 10 kHz at -20 dB Duty cycle: 2.1% Carrier frequency stability better that 10 to the -8 per day (March NZ DX Times via gh, DXLD) Interesting to see the Australians/New Zealanders are putting such an effort into an environmental radar. The antennas looks serious! http://www.tiger.latrobe.edu.au/TIGER%20Radar%202003%20Paper.pdf (via Jonathan Marks, Critical Distance blog via Media Network blog via DXLD) Sez typically operates near 14 MHz daytime, 12 MHz night (gh) FM DX HEAVEN After dxing at this location for the better part of 12 years, I still have 0 stations logged on 99.7. I'd be happy to hear even just one distant station on there; here every other frequency is still completely open. But hey, Chilliwack is nothing. A fairly short 2-hour drive from here gets you to what I think could be in all fairness called DX heaven, or FM wasteland, depending on your point of view. Just outside of Princeton, BC, in a little-known plateau lost somewhere between the Cascades and the Rockies, with a clear view of the horizon almost 360, and about say 4000ft above sea level. A quick bandscan (or a glance at the map!) will reveal what you might already have guessed: NO locals... NO semi-locals... No distant signals... This is the only place I know where you can use the Seek function on the car radio (even a crummy one seems to work!) and it'll only stop on meteor scatter. Stop it will though, as meteor scatter there is abundant! But wait, it gets even better. In the town of Princeton itself, there is a tiny translator for CIGV 100.7-Penticton. Apparently they have been using a good FM antenna to pick it up and relay it, since it is quite a distance away. But CIGV seems to have been having problems with their transmitter lately, so for the past few MONTHS, what have they been retransmitting in Princeton? Meteor scatter and assorted DX, everything but CIGV. So everyone in Princeton is DXing (whether they like it or not!). Now I realize that for most reading this post it might not be possible to visit this or other similar unique areas (if there are any), but it truly is something to experience. The next time I drive through there I'll make sure to spend at least a few hours to enjoy the DX (and overall peace and tranquility), and as the Seek function loops endlessly from one end of the band to the other, I'll think of you poor DXers who have so much to choose from, you can`t even find one empty frequency. All how you look at it, isn't it? (Steven Durocher, March 15, WTFDA via DXLD) SOLAR FLARE ACTUALLY WENT TO GREATER EXTREMES Last fall's monster solar flare was even bigger than solar physicists originally thought. The November blast is now being called an ''X-45'' event rather than an ''X-28,'' says a team from New Zealand's University of Otago in Wednesday's Geophysical Research Letters. The previous record: an ''X-20'' in 2001. The first estimate was based on radiation registered by U.S. satellites before they were shut down for safety. X-class, or ''extreme'' solar storms, can trigger radio blackouts and damage or destroy satellites (USATODAY via Mike Cooper, March 16, DXLD) SIDC WEEKLY BULLETIN :Issued: 2004 Mar 15 1225 UTC :Product: documentation at http://sidc.oma.be/products/bul #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # SIDC Weekly bulletin on Solar and Geomagnetic activity # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# WEEK 167 from 2004 Mar 08 SOLAR ACTIVITY: --------------- Background x-radiation was situated in the middle of the B-level beginning of the week. Since March 12, it even has decreased to the lower part. Some peaks could reach the C-part. If a flare happened, sunspot group 75(NOAA 0570) was the source. The group had a complex magnetic structure (gamma-beta-delta). The flare induced enhancement of X-radiation generated by this group, imposed on the low background radiation could not reach the M-level. The solar news was dominated by the large coronal hole. Its signature in the solar wind speed was visible from March 9. Half way March 9, the wind speed increased. The curve reached its first peak of on March 10, a second peak was reached March 11 (800 km/s), a third peak on March 12 (720 km/s). At the moment, March 15, most part of the hole has turned over the west limb resulting in a further declining solarwind speed. GEOMAGNETISM: ------------- The geoeffectiveness of the coronal hole was largest in the morning of March 10 as the k_p index given by NOAA reached the values of 5 and 6. A second minor storm period (k_p of 5) was set during the night between March 11 and 12. It is not unusual that the largest influence of a coronal hole is seen during the first part of the time interval in which the hole is geoeffective: the solar wind speed is at that moment already at an elevated level and the density is still high. The plasma carried by a coronal hole wind stream has typically a low particle density. Checking the graphs of SOHO/CELIAS and ACE, we see that the peaks in the density graph (CELIAS) and a more negative B_z component of the interplanetary magnetic field (ACE) coincide with the 2 periods of geomagnetic disturbances. The second period was less fierce in terms of disturbances of the earth magnetic field as the solar input was less strong: a smaller density peak and a less negative B_z component compared with the first period. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY INDICES DATE RC 10CM Ak BKG M X 2004 Mar 08 054 108 003 B1.8 0 0 2004 Mar 09 091 109 024 B1.9 0 0 2004 Mar 10 064 113 034 B2.2 0 0 2004 Mar 11 /// 113 044 B2.4 0 0 2004 Mar 12 083 108 032 B1.9 0 0 2004 Mar 13 064 104 016 B1.4 0 0 2004 Mar 14 068 103 018 B1.3 0 0 # RC : Sunspot index from Catania Observatory (Italy) # 10cm: 10.7 cm radioflux (DRAO, Canada) # Ak : Ak Index Wingst (Germany) # BKG : Background GOES X-ray level (NOAA, USA) # M,X : Number of X-ray flares in M and X class, see below (NOAA, USA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTICEABLE EVENTS DAY BEGIN MAX END LOC XRAY OP 10CM TYPE Cat NOAA NOTE [none] #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # Solar Influences Data analysis Center - RWC Belgium # # Royal Observatory of Belgium # # Fax : 32 (0) 2 373 0 224 # # Tel.: 32 (0) 2 373 0 491 # # For more info, see http://sidc.oma.be (via Jim Moats, DXLD) SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY OUTLOOK #04- 11 2004 March 15 at 12:07 p.m. MST (2004 March 15 1907 UTC) issued by NOAA Space Environment Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA Summary For March 8-14 Category G2 (major) geomagnetic activity occurred on 10 March due to high-speed solar winds from a coronal hole on the Sun. For a list of adverse system effects related to space weather storms, please refer to the NOAA Space Weather Scales. Outlook For March 17-23 Space weather for the next week is expected to reach minor levels. There is a chance for Category R1 (minor) radio blackouts due to additional flare activity from Region 570 and old Region 564. Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services and other observatories, universities, and institutions (via NRC-AM via DXLD) ###