DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-053, March 23, 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 1224: 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 1224 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1224h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1224h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1224.html WORLD OF RADIO 1224 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1224.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1224.rm FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1225: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 15825 ON DEMAND: from early UT Thursday, change 1224 above to 1225 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-02 will be available shortly; see audiomid and anomaly pages INFORME DX DESDE NORTEAMÉRICA POR GLENN HAUSER, MARZO-ABRIL 2004: Grabado el 4 y 17 de marzo de 2004; en segmentos por Radio Enlace de Radio Nederland, viernes y domingos 5 a 21 de marzo; en WWCR 9475, a partir del 19 de marzo, viernes 2215, martes 2230, miércoles 2200; y a partir del 6 de abril una hora temprana en 15825. Escuchar a pedido: (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0403.ram (bajable) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0403.rm (texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0403.html ** ARGENTINA. 1940Z 22 March, 2004, 20276 LSB, feeder in Spanish. Possible recurrence of Argentine rebroadcast feeder last heard in 1996 here -- http://www2.hard-core-dx.com/archive/1996/msg00227.html Also heard by Javoradio in Rommele Sweden (Could not access Venezuela receiver) (Tom Norris, Manchester, TN, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. THE AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE SHOW MISSING I logged onto Radio Australia just before 1405 UT on 21 March expecting to hear the Science Show. Unfortunately, it was replaced by The National Interest. I logged out, returning just before 1505, just in case the programmes got swapped over. Sure enough, after the 15:00 news, The National Interest was repeated at its scheduled time. I checked with Mr Figliozi's schedule, and sure enough it showed The Science Show at 14:05, so obviously an error of some kind at RA, which is becoming an increasing problem in these days of automated programming (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, swprograms via DXLD) I too ran into this on Sunday morning here. There is something very strange going on here. I tuned in at about 1347 UT or so, and heard the tail end of "The Science Show". I left RA tuned-in until "The National Interest" began. Now, in the past, RA *did* air "The Science Show" at 1305, but they switched over to 1405 around the November '03 timeframe. But this is where it gets weird: Because I was so confused by them having it on during the 1300 UT hour, I was wondering if I was mis-remembering it. But I did have written notes in my listening- schedule scribbles that showed it as having moved 1305 to 1405 UT. But then I checked the past two issues of Monitoring Times' SW program schedule and *they* *do* list it as being on at 1305!!!!!!!!! What? Who? How? Where? Huh? Now, I definitely know that it has been on the air at 1405 UT. I listen to the NPR "Puzzle" segment at 0740 Central Time on FM, then re-tune to RA on SW for "The Science Show" during the local 8 AM Central Time hour, then go back to FM for "On the Media" at 9 AM. I've been doing this for months. But I never looked at the sked printed in MT until Sunday when this happened. So why has MT been printing it as 1305 when it's been aired at 1405 UT? Is it really "officially" scheduled as 1305 and RA been erroneously airing it one hour too late? Or has MT just been sloppy and printing an uncorrected sked? Or what? Confusion reigns! 73, Will Martin (St. Louis, MO, swprograms via DXLD) Looks like its either a computer error or an unannounced change in schedule. TNI would normally air one hour later UT (John Figliozzi, ibid.) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar, 7185, f/d verification letter and A- 04 schedule in 79 days for 2 IRC's. V/S, Ahmed Quamruzzaman, Station Engineer. Nice stamps on envelope too (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From Ashik Eqbal Tokon via "Bangladx Group" . [bangladx] Bangladesh Betar : Special Programme Dear Dxer's, Bangladesh Betar (former Radio Bangladesh) going to broadcast a Special program on the occasion of The Independence day of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh on March 26, 2004. The External Service of Bangladesh Betar (Bangla and English) will Broadcast this Special Program. Here are the details : Date : 26th March 2004 UTC : 1630~1730, 1915~2000 (Bangla) Freq: 9550, 7185 kHz & 15520 kHz (UT 1915) UTC : 1230~1300 & 1815~1900 [English] Freq.: 9550, 7185 kHz, & 15520 kHz (UT 1815) Details Program: Special Program planning on the occasion of Independence and National Day 26th March, 2004 ``SADHINATA TUMI SADHINATA`` (in Bangla Program). 26th March : A Valor of the Valiant in English service. This program carries some interviews and few songs starting with the introducing song ``Mora Ekti Ful ke Bachabo Bole`` by Apel Mahmud. Here all regional stations of Bangladesh will broadcast non-stop program on that day. (UT 0030~1710). Enjoy Listening ........................................... Mailing Address Ashik Eqbal Tokon Luxmipur Greater Road GPO Box 56, Rajshahi 6000, Bangladesh "This egroup specialises in broadcasts in Bengali language." To subscribe to this group, send an email to: bangladx-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To see previous messages go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangladx To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangladx/ (via Alokesh Gupta, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4009.80, unID Bolivia, 122 kb, 03/2004. Does anyone know the correct name of this Bolivian station? Listed name is "Radio Eco". Always very weak signal, this time enough for a recording. You are very welcome to listen to my recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com Saludos Cordiales desde "La Mitad del Mundo"! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBZ 970 in Fredericton NB is now simulcasting on 99.5 FM as the first part of its switchover to the FM band in a few months. On the afternoon of March 24, CBZ will be broadcasting live from a downtown Fredericton office/shopping complex to commemorate the 40th anniversary of CBC Radio in Fredericton, and also to ``officially`` switch from AM to FM (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News March 22 via DXLD) ** CANADA. CFPS-1490 APPLYING FOR FM --- Wed. Mar. 17, 2004 http://www.radioowensound.com/new/newscentre/comment/comment.htm Hoping for the luck of the Irish, I have chosen today to explain to you, our valued listeners on CFOS, an application we have made to the CRTC. It is to convert CFPS from an AM repeater to a stand alone FM station to serve the Lake Huron Shoreline. First, let me specify the market. We're talking about the new regional municipalities of Saugeen Shores and Kincardine. The area has been recognized as a tourism market since 1982. The total population is 35,000.more than double that in the summer months. The market is growing with $50-million in new assessment in 2003 alone. We are pioneers in this market. We launched CFPS in June, 1978. Our news and public affairs programming has closely followed important developments in nuclear power generation, tourism and agriculture along with business news of the local retail and housing markets. We have done numerous "community development" broadcasts from venues like the Information Centre at BNPD and our own offices there. We have sponsored events like the CFPS Chantry Chinook Classic Fishing Derby, the Cinerella Antique Car Show as part of Pumpkinfest, and the Saugeen First Nation Pow Wow. We have applied to convert CFPS to the FM band at 97.9 MHZ. The new station will provide a high quality FM signal to both Kincardine and Saugeen Shores 24-hours a day, which CFPS has been unable to do. We believe that this area has outgrown the level of service we can provide with a repeater of CFOS and needs its own FM radio station. If our application is approved we will develop studios at our office in Saugeen Shores and add facilities we can broadcast from in Kincardine. We already have staff members working in this market. If approved we will have 6 full-time, 4 part-time and 1 seasonal position in our first year of operation. The resource base we have in Owen Sound will enable us to put more emphasis on programming and news than would otherwise be possible. Our application includes plans for a local daily open line and play-by-play sports. As well, we have pledged over $30,000. in direct contributions to the development of Canadian talent over a seven-year licence term. The main beneficiaries will be the Kincardine summer school of music and the Canadian Big Band Festival in Saugeen Shores. We're excited about this plan and hope that in due time we can go forward. If we do get the nod, we have given a commitment to have the new station up and running within nine months of approval. The above appeared on a blog by a CFOS news person. I couldn't find anything about CFPS moving to FM on the CRTC's web site, other than having their license renewed until 2010, presumably for 1490. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/db2003-373.htm 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, March 23, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CHILE. An additional ``CHINA RADIO``, whatever that mean, relay from Voz Cristiana site, as in INTERNATIONAL info below: 11720 2200-2300 smtwtfs MNO Santiago 100 45 SAM HR 2/4/1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. Hi Glenn, enclosed the complete publicized schedule for VT Merlin Communications with technical parameters. Not included here are any Sackville transmissions; otherwise it could be indeed complete. Radio Taiwan International is shown there as CBS, using the UK sites also for English (1800-1900 on 3955) and Russian (1700-1800 on 13700). So "China Radio" must be something else, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is really China Radio International. Would be a charming constellation if RTI and CRI will indeed share the WYFR bed. By the way, you can consult the RTI website for a picture of the head of CRI's German service: http://www.cbs.org.tw/german/ht%20merchweiler.htm (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) and KWHR too ** COSTA RICA. Please find attached a Tico Times article dated 03/12/2004. Sorry about the JPG - Tico Times archive search does not work well enough for me to come up with a URL. Also sorry that details are sketchy - The extent of UPaz involvement is not spelled out. Paz (Franklin Seiberling, Iowa City, to Pauline) Whoa, when is someone in Costa Rica gonna do a story about this? It could be a big one on community radio here... Pauline Re: Latin America Police "terrorist" training in CR - UPaz involvement Here's Upaz's side of the story ... http://www.upeace.org/news/index.cfm?id_activity=234&actual=2004 "approximately 32" officers study illicit firearm trafficking this month. Am I wrong that enrollment at UPaz went up drastically this year? Tico Times puts the number of officers at 800 - where are these being "taught"? (Franklin Seiberling, IA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Franklin, Our contention regarding UPeace and why they wanted the Radio station gone is proving to be true -- sadly. As Robert Mueller says, with so many military installations and academies around the world, why pick a peace university for this kind of training. It makes no sense unless what they are seeking is the almighty DOLLAR. It`s pretty lucrative to train 300 military, I'm sure. That would pay the salaries for their top heavy professors and practically no student body. Additionally I guess at this point it is not convenient for them to have a large student body seeking peace courses in the midst of this mess since they might speak out!! Best (Emily Morales, RFPI, via DXLD) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. DANISH NAZI RADIO STATION CONSIDERS CHARGES AGAINST MINISTRY | Text of report in English by Radio Netherlands web site on 19 March Danish Nazi radio station Radio Oasen is considering pressing charges against the Ministry of Culture after the ministry removed it from a list of radio stations eligible for a government subsidy. Minister for Culture Brian Mikkelsen issued an executive order in November 2003 outlining a number of criteria which local radio and television stations would have to satisfy in order to qualify for a subsidy. According to Nazi leader Jonni Hansen, however, the sole purpose of the executive order was to censor organizations which hold views that are even more right-wing than the minister's own. Jonni Hansen is adamant that the Nazi radio station will continue broadcasting. Source: Radio Netherlands web site, Hilversum, in English 1402 gmt 19 Mar 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. ARMÓNICO DOMINICANO EN 1819.87 kHz --- Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Captado este 22/03, a las 2248 UT, fortísimo con SINPO 35333, un armónico dominicano en 1819.87 kHz. Se trata de "La Grande, Radio 91", la cual transmite desde la Ciudad de Bonao, en la República Dominicana. Música bachata, comerciales, sección "La Prensa de Ahora", mensajes del Ayuntamiento Municipal de Bonao. La estación transmite en los 910 kHz de la onda media quisqueyana. Escuchada hasta pasadas las 0015 UT. 73's y buen DX... (Adán GonzálezM Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. ERITREAN OPPOSITION SPLINTER GROUP LAUNCHES INTERNET WEB SITE | Excerpt from report by Eritrean opposition radio on 21 March The [opposition] Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council [ELF- RC] has announced that it has launched a new internet web site called Adal 1961 [reference to the place where the first bullet was fired to announce the start of the Eritrean armed struggle for independence in 1961]. In a congratulatory message during the launching ceremony, the chairman of the ELF-RC [a splinter group of the ELF-RC led by Mr Seyoum Ogbamichael], Dr Beyene Kidane, said: Our organization, the ELF-RC, has launched a new internet web site. The web site will be known as Adal 1961. [Passage omitted: on background of the Eritrean struggle for independence] Finally, Dr Beyene said: I would like to express my conviction that, like other web sites of Eritrean organizations and associations, Adal 1961 will make its utmost contribution in educating the Eritrean people. [The URL address of the site is http://adal61.com ]. Source: Radio Voice of the Eritrean People in Tigrinya 1730 gmt 21 Mar 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Udbudsmateng Radio on AM in DENMARK --- Hi folks, here is the best of frequency in Scandiavia http://www.amradio.se http://www.mediesekretariatet.dk/bilag/mbauktion/udbudsmateng.pdf (Roy Sandgren, March 22, DX LISTNEING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. Received today (March 22) AeroMail from Radio Verdad, Guatemala, a wonderful QSL package. A nice large pennant/banner, a QSL card, a long personal letter from DR MADRID explaining Radio Verdad, and technical aspects as well as history. Even got a receipt for the US $ I sent (donation for postage). What was cool, they had a list of reception reports from all the continents and countries in the world and a tally of how many from each. United States has reports from 28 states, Canada 4 Provinces!! Even some guy in Greenland sent them a reception report. The reply came to me in just over 3 weeks time. And beautiful stamps on the envelope. Dr Madrid states he is a fellow long time DXer as well. Hats off to Radio Verdad. I highly recommend them for those who wants to see how much QSLing can be a fun thing! (Tom Messer, River Falls WI, March 22, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re 4-052: Merlin relays with details, A-04 CHANNEL ONE ME: 17735 1730-1830 .mtwtf. MNO Rampisham 500 95 ME HR 4/4/1 CHINA RADIO: 5965 0400-0600 smtwtfs MNO Meyerton 100 0 SAF ND 5990 2000-2200 smtwtfs MNO Singapore 100 140 OC HR 2/2/0.75 6100 1500-1900 smtwtfs MNO Meyerton 100 0 SAF ND 11565 0900-1000 smtwtfs MNO Naalehu KWHR 100 225 OC LP 11565 1100-1300 smtwtfs MNO Naalehu KWHR 100 225 OC LP 11720 2200-2300 smtwtfs MNO Santiago 100 45 SAM HR 2/4/1 11750 1100-1300 smtwtfs MNO Singapore 100 135 OC 13640 1300-1500 smtwtfs MNO Okeechobee 50 285 CAM LP 13645 0000-0100 smtwtfs MNO Okeechobee 50 285 CAM LP 13700 1700-1900 smtwtfs MNO Okeechobee 50 285 CAM LP 17625 1200-1500 smtwtf. MNO Santiago 100 45 SAM HR 2/4/1 LDS CHURCH: 17675 1000-1200 s...... MNO Ascension 250 27 WAF HR 2/2/.6/.7 21520 1000-1200 s...... MNO Ascension 250 65 WC AF HR 2/2/.6/.7 LEADING THE WAY: 15495 1700-1730 s.....s MNO Rampisham 500 76 RUSS HR 4/4/0.5 15495 1700-1730 ..t..f. MNO Rampisham 500 95 WAS HR 4/4/0.5 NASB VARIOUS: 9565 1230-1300 s...... MNO Rampisham 500 95 EUR HR 4/2/0.5 PROJECT AIRWAVES: 13730 0100-1300 smtwtfs MNO Singapore 100 13 CHN HR 4/2/0.75 RADIO FOR PEACE: 6125 0200-0400 smtwtfs NEW Dhabbaya 250 315 ME HR 2/2/0.5 9575 0100-0200 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 105 ME HR 4/4/1 9815 1700-1830 smtwtfs NEW Dhabbaya 250 45 CAS HR 2/2/0.5 9845 0030-0200 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 15170 0800-1100 smtwtfs NEW Dhabbaya 250 45 CAS HR 2/2/0.5 15360 1100-1200 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 15500 1400-1700 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 105 ME HR 4/4/1 17720 1400-1500 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 17780 0600-0800 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 17855 1600-1700 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 17895 1500-1600 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 85 CAS HR 4/4/1 (via Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Bible Voice Broadcasting... probably not via TJK ? re: SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR BIBLE VOICE BROADCASTING INDIA # 3 9.605 mhz 250 KW from DB Hindi WAS 6.175 0030-0100 Daily # 4 7.210 mhz 250 KW from DB Bengali/English WAS 7.105 0030-0100 UT Daily 0015-0100 Monday-Friday English 0030-0100 Saturday/Sunday Bengali Merlin gives these as being via Dhabbaya [officially abbr`d DHA while DB is the abbr for Dushanbe --- gh] (Silvain Domen, Belgium) Viz: These are all MNO 250 kW: ------------------ 7210 0030-0100 s...... Dhabbaya 85 BIBLE VOICE SAS HR 4/2/0.5 7210 0030-0100 .mtwtfs Dhabbaya 75 BIBLE VOICE SAS HR 2/2/0.5 9605 0030-0100 smtwtfs Dhabbaya 85 BIBLE VOICE SAS HR 2/2/0.5 (via Domen, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. CHRISTIAN VISION - SHORTWAVE RADIO SCHEDULES Valid from 28th March 2004, A-04 Asia (Voice International) [from Darwin, Australia; and? Tashkent?] Freq UTC Language Target 6115 1800 - 2100 English India / Indonesia 7180 1300 - 1700 Indonesian Indonesia 9855 1400 - 1700 Hindi India 11850 0100 - 0400 Hindi India 11955 0900 - 1100 English Indonesia 13630 0500 - 1100 Hindi India 13635 1100 - 1800 English India / Indonesia 13660 1400 - 1800 Chinese China 13685 0900 - 1300 English China 13770 0900 - 1400 Chinese China 13785 1100 - 1400 Hindi India 15165 2200 - 0100 Chinese China 15250 2300 - 0200 Indonesian Indonesia 15365 1000 - 1300 Indonesian Indonesia 17820 0600 - 1000 Indonesian Indonesia 17830 0700 - 0900 Chinese China Africa (Radio Christian Voice, Zambia) 4965 1600 - 0500 English Central / Southern Africa 9865 0500 - 1600 English Central / Southern Africa Latin America (Voz Cristiana/Voz Cristã) [from Chile] 5995 0800 - 1100 Spanish Northern South America 6070 2200 - 1200 Spanish Southern South America 6110 0800 - 1100 Portuguese Brazil 9635 1200 - 2200 Spanish Southern South America 11745 2300 - 0800 Portuguese Brazil 11935 1100 - 1300 Spanish Mexico, Central America 15365 2000 - 2300 Portuguese Southern Africa 15375 0000 - 0800 Spanish Northern South America 15475 2100 - 0100 Portuguese Brazil 17680 1100 - 2400 Spanish Northern South America 21500 1100 - 2300 Portuguese Brazil 21550 1300 - 1400 Spanish Mexico, Central America Andrew Flynn, Head of Engineering, Christian Vision Tel +44 (0)121 522 6087 Fax +44 (0)121 522 6083 website http://www.christianvision.com ---------------------------------------------------------- Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Radio Pedar - it's a TV programme! Re DXLD 4-050 Radio Pedar, broadcasting in Persian Mon-Fri 1830-1930 on 9740 kHz (re DXLD 4-050), is actually a simulcast from California-based Iranian exile TV Channel One. "Pedar" [father] is presumably Channel One founder Shahram Homayoun - if you check out their live video stream at http://cotic.persianblog.com/ you'll see him sitting behind his desk delivering a lecture, flanked by the Iranian flag, interrupted around 1900 by about 15 minutes of commercials! The webcast is at least a minute behind the shortwave broadcast. I didn't hear an ID or even a mention of Radio Pedar, though shortwave reception here (southern UK) and audio quality on the live stream are both poor (Dave Kernick, UK, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9740, Radio Pedar heard March 23rd 1915-1930. Male with talk in Farsi over local instrumental music to 1920 when male vocalist, more talk 1923 with speaker getting quite animated, another piece of music 1926, talk 1929 then abrupt off mid sentence 1930. The previous night the station had technical problems with breaks in transmission, difference in levels between speech and music and hum, improved tonight but still some hum apparent. Good signal on clear channel (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, March 23rd, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. In A-04 VT Merlin sked: Another interesting regular BBC usage: Grigoriopol for Bahai 0230-0315 on 7460 and 1800-1845 on 7480 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non?]. A NEW IRAQI TV ON THE HOT BIRD SATELLITE ! Hi Glenn, checking the Hot Bird satellite today I noticed a new Iraqi TV station Called Alsharqiya (the eastern) with some shots of Iraqi people talking and criticizing the current situation in Iraq and the old days of Saddam, as well some shots of the Iraqi Olympic football team with a promise of 1 A coverage of all the sports activities. Then on the screen some slogans like ( AL SHARQIYA - THE TRUTH TV ) and ( AL SHARQIYA - WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF TELLING THE TRUTH THOUGH WE MIGHT BE BLAMED ). I noticed as well some shots of the old Iraqi presidents, Saddam included as well. The station IDed itself as an Independent TV for the Iraqi people. The frequency is 11747, Horizontal, 27500, 3/4. All the best mate, yours, (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. GERMANY, 6025, Bible Voice Broadcasting via Jülich noted off the air prior to Radio Canada International sign on at 0330 from Wertachtal. A few days after Walter Brodowsky at T-Systems verified my e-mail report using the past tense that Bible Voice "was broadcasting" from Jülich, I received an e-mail schedule from Mrs. Marty McLaughlin at Bible Voice Broadcasting. The schedule did not have the 0030-0330 transmission using 6025 kHz English transmission to Iraq on it. I sent an e-mail asking if this means the 0030-0330 transmission to Iraq was terminated. Her simple one word reply was "Yes." (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet Mar 21 via DXLD) P.S. on the Bible Voice Broadcasting: English preaching to Iraq that was being heard and that was confirmed as BVB via Juelich by DTK: "Yes the broadcast was arranged through us. It was only for a course of 10 days and involved intercessory prayer for Iraq." Interesting. They are also planning a test to ECNA from Wertachtel, 125 kw, during April, frequencies not yet known. From Mrs. Marty McLaughlin, BVB (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. KOL ISRAEL A'04 Short-Wave Programme Schedule From 28 March 2004 To 30 October 2004 (ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL TIMES, LOCAL TIME = UT + 2) [soon to be UT +3] Local Time Primary Target kHz Hebrew 0700-2100 N.America/W.Europe 15,760 2100-0700 N.America/W.Europe 11,585 2100-0700 N.America/W.Europe 15,760 (1.5.04-31.8.04) [so does 15760 then replace 11585? why not say so?] 0630-0800 N.America/W.Europe 11,590 0800-1300 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 1330-1700 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2300-0300 N.America/W.Europe 13,635 0300-0630 N.America/W.Europe 11,585 Arabic 0545-2415 Middle East 5,915 English 0700-0715 N.America/W.Europe 11,590 0700-0715 N.America/W.Europe 9,435 0700-0715 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 (1.5.04-31.8.04) [so does 15640 then replace 9435 or 11590???] 0700-0715 Central America/Aus 17,600 1310-1320 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 1310-1320 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2000-2015 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 2000-2015 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2000-2015 N.America/W.Europe 11,605 2200-2225 South Africa 15,615 2200-2225 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2200-2225 N.America/W.Europe 11,605 2200-2225 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 (1.5.04-31.8.04) [so does 15640 then replace 11605 or 17535??] French 0715-0730 N.America/W.Europe 11,590 0715-0730 N.America/W.Europe 11,605 0715-0730 N.America/W.Europe 9,435 0715-0730 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 (1.5.04-31.8.04) [so does 15640 then replace 9435, or 11605?] 1300-1310 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 1300-1310 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 1830-1845 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 1830-1845 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2230-2245 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2230-2245 Central America/S.Europe 15,615 2230-2245 N.America/W.Europe 11,605 Spanish & Ladino 1800-1825 Spain/S. Europe 15,640 1800-1825 N.America / S. Europe 17,535 (Saturday only) Ladino 1845-1855 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 1845-1855 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 Russian 2030-2200 Russia 9,435 2030-2200 Russia 15,640 (1.5.04-31.8.04) [so does 15640 then replace 9435, 11605 or 17535??] 2030-2200 Russia 17,535 2030-2200 Russia 11,605 Persian 1700-1825 Iran 11,605 @@, 15,640 1700-1825 Iran 13,850 @@, 17,525 (Sun-Thurs) 1700-1825 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 1700-1800 Iran 15,640 1700-1800 Iran 17,525 (Fri & Sat) 1700-1800 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 Yiddish 1900-1925 Europe 11,605 1900-1925 C.America/S. Europe 17,535 Spanish 1320-1330 N.America/W.Europe 15,640 1320-1330 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2245-2300 N.America/W.Europe 17,535 2245-2300 Central America/S.Europe 15,615 2245-2300 S.America/S.Africa 11,605 Romanian 1925-1945 Romania 11,605 1925-1945 Romania 17,535 Hungarian 1945-1955 Central Europe 11,605 1945-1955 Central Europe 17,535 When Conditions Meets Requirement ( @@ ) "4 - West - ""AMOS-2"" Satellite (Israel Beam)" TV-3 PAL "10,990.5" Downlink Frequency (MHz) Horizontal Polarisation Radio Networks on Subcarrier Frequencies (MHz) "10,968.0" Downlink Frequency (MHz) 7.56 Hebrew (Bet) 7.74 Arabic(Dalet) 7.81 Gimel Middle East Middle East Target Area "For correspondence regarding reception problems," please write to: Raphael Kochanowski Director of Liaison & Coordination IBA - Kol Israel Radio "P.O.Box 1082, Jerusalem 91010" Israel E-mail: raphaelk @ iba.org.il ---------------------------------------- Regds (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [and non]. Radio Japan "NHK World" in A-04 season To SoEaAS Burmese 1030-1100 11740SNG 1230-1300 9695* 2320-2340 13650* Chinese 0630-0700 17860* 1200-1230 11740SNG 2240-2300 13650* 2340-0000 13630* 17810 English 0100-0200 17810* 11860SNG 0500-0600 17810* 0600-0700 11740SNG 1000-1200 9695* 1400-1600 7200 0000-0030 13650* 17810 Indonesian 0930-1000 9695* 1130-1200 & 1230-1300 13660 2300-2320 17810 2340-0000 13650* Japanese 0200-0300 11860SNG 0200-0500 17810* 0700-0900 17860* 0700-1000 11740SNG 0900-1600 11815* 1600-1900 7200 2000-0000 13680* 2000-2200 11665* Malay 1200-1230 9695* 13660 1300-1330 9695* 2240-2300 17810 Thai 1130-1200 11740SNG 1330-1400 7200 2300-2320 13650* Vietnamese 1100-1130 13660 1230-1300 11740SNG 2320-2340 17810 To Asian Continent Chinese 0400-0430 & 0500-0530 17845* 1200-1230, 1300-1330 6190* 1430-1500 6190 2230-2250 9560* English 0100-0200 17845* 0500-0700 15195* 1000-1200 11730* 1500-1600 6190* Japanese 0200-0300 17845* 0200-0500 & 0700-0800 15195* 0800-1700 9750* 1600-1900 6035* 2000-0000 11910* 2000-2100 6165* 2100-2210 9560* Korean 0430-0500 & 0530-0600 17845* 1115-1145 6090 1230-1300, 1330-1400 6190* 1400-1430 6190 2210-2230 9560* Russian 0330-0400 17845* To FE Russia English 0600-0700 11715* 11760* Japanese 0700-0800 6145* 6165* Russian 0530-0600 11715* 11760* 0800-0830 6145* 6165* 1900-1920 5955* To SoWeAS Bengali 0630-0700 15590* 11890SRI 1230-1300 11890SRI English 0100-0200 15325* 1400-1600 11730* Hindi 0700-0730 15590* 11890SRI 1300-1330 11890SRI Japanese 0200-0500 15325* 0300-0400 11890SRI 0800-1000 15590* 1500-1700 12045SNG 1700-1800 11865SNG Urdu 0730-0800 15590* 11890SRI 1330-1400 11890SRI To Oceania English 0100-0200 17685* 0300-0400 21610 0500-0700 & 1000-1100 21755 1400-1500 11840SRI 2100-2200 6035SNG Japanese 0300-0500 17685* 0700-1000 21755 11920SNG 1700-1900 7140 1900-2100 6035SNG 2200-2300 11770SRI To NoAM English 0000-0100 6145CAN 0100-0200 17825* 0500-0600 6110CAN(West) 0600-0700 13630* 1000-1200 6120CAN(East) 1500-1600 9505* 1700-1800 9535* 2100-2200 17825* Japanese 0200-0500 5960CAN(East) 0300-0500 17875* 0800-1000 9540* 1300-1500 11705CAN(East) 1500-1700 9535* 2200-2300 17825* To Hawaii English 0600-0700 17870 2100-2200 21670 Japanese 0700-0800 17870 0800-1000 9825 1700-1900 9835* To CeAM English 0100-0200 17825* 0600-0700 13630* 1500-1600 9505* 1700-1800 9535* Japanese 0300-0500 17825* 0800-1000 9540* 1500-1700 9535* 2200-2300 11895GUF 17825* Spanish 0500-0530 11895GUF 1000-1030 9540* To SoAM English 0100-0200 17835 Japanese 0200-0300 17835 0300-0400 9660GUF 0800-1000 9825 9530GUF 1700-1800 21600GUF 1700-1900 9835* 2200-2300 15220ASC 2300-2400 17605ATN Portug 0230-0300 15565GUF 1030-1100 15590GUF(East) Spanish 0400-0430 9660GUF 1000-1030 9710 15590GUF(East) To Europe English 0500-0600 5975UKr 0500-0700 7230UKw 1000-1200 17585UAE 1700-1800 11970* 2100-2200 6055UKs 6180UKs French 0630-0700 11970GAB 1800-1820 11970* German 0600-0630 11970GAB 1100-1130 9660UKs 11710UKs Italian 0530-0545 11970GAB 1030-1045 21820GAB Japanese 0800-1000 11710UKs 1700-1800 9750UKr 1700-1900 6175UKs 2000-2100 11830* 2200-2300 6115UKs Russian 0430-0500 11970GAB 1130-1200 11710UKs 1840-1900 11970* Spanish 0500-0530 11970GAB 1820-1840 11970* Swedish 0545-0600 11970GAB 1045-1100 21820GAB To ME & NoAF Arabic 0400-0430 17780SRI 0700-0730 15220ASC English 0100-0200 6025UKr 17560* 1000-1100 17720UAE French 0500-0530 17820SRI 1630-1650 11785* Japanese 0300-0500 17560* 0800-1000 17720UAE 1700-1900 13670UAE 2200-2300 9650UAE Persian 0230-0300 17880SRI 0830-0900 17675SRI To Africa Arabic 0400-0430 17780SRI 0700-0730 15220ASC English 1700-1800 15355GAB(South) 2100-2200 11855ASC(Central) French 1230-1300 15400ASC(West) 17870ASC(Central) 1800-1820 9685* 11785* Japanese 0800-1000 17650ASC(West) 1500-1700 21630ASC(Central) 1800-1900 15355GAB(South) Swahili 0330-0400 6135ASC(Central) 1300-1330 17870ASC(Central) Relays: ASC = Ascension 250 kW ATN = Bonaire 250 kW CAN = Sackville 250 kW GAB = Gabon 500 kW GUF = Fr.Guiana 300 kW SNG = Singapore 100/250 kW SRI = Sri Lanka 300 kW UAE = Al Dhabbaya 500 kW UK = United Kingdom, RMP 500 kW, SKN 250/300 kW, WOF 250/300 kW * via Yamata-JPN 300 kW - others 100 kW. Please be advised that the schedule is subject to change. Radio Japan info@intl.nhk.or.jp (NHK A-04 booklet, Mar 21 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** JAPAN. 666, 1959:45 UT, A great time for local IDs. Local ID for JOBK NHK 1, Osaka. Excellent 13 March. 1512, 2030 13 March, local ID for JOZB Matsuyama. Fair to good (5 kw). (Walt Salmaniw, Kyoto, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 1080, AFN Korea weakly heard 12 March at 1102 with English news. Again at 1846 following day with baseball game. Parallel to 1530 which is stronger with deep fades. At 1859, I heard an ID as Sportsline. Then, "This is Westworld [Westwood??] 1, your home for NCAA basketball". At 1905, "You are listening to Armed Forces Network One". As close as a local ID as I could get (Walt Salmaniw, Kyoto, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LUXEMBOURG [non]. See NORWAY ** MEXICO. OFFICIAL MEXICAN CALL SIGNS Word from an authoritative Mexico City source is that the SCT- authorized call signs for the three new AM stations in the vicinity of Tijuana are as follows: 560 kHz: XEKTT-AM (or XEPE, also said to be official) 780 kHz: XESS-AM 920 kHz: XESDD-AM Word from Tijuana is that the 920 kHz transmitter has been moved into position and hooked up. Once the missing diplexer materializes or other arrangements are made, 920 kHz RF will be coming our way. MANY MEXICOS With all the Tijuana radio news, don't forget that XEMO(AM), 860 kHz, has reportedly moved its site and increased its power, and that there is some controversy about those changes as well (CGC Communicator via Fred Vobbe, March 23, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Hi Glenn, You're correct, 17660 to Western North America at 1900-2100 Sat/Sun is Sackville, not Bonaire. I put in a deliberate mistake to see how carefully you study the schedule :-) Unfortunately due to recent budget cuts the free trip to the Netherlands, that we were going to award to the first person to spot it, had to be withdrawn. The schedule has now been amended. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I believe you`re right. In the meantime, received hard copy of On Target, via Steven Cline, which identifies 17660 as Sackville. Hey Andy, how about identifying the people on page one? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Re: DXLD #4-039 March 2 "82 year old" [sic] MW transmitter at Kaduna PERFORMS WONDERS IN KSMC --- Weekly Trust (Kaduna) - February 21, 2004 - Shu'aibu Gimi I think the journalist who wrote the article has misunderstood about everything that could be misunderstood regarding the transmitter. WRTHs from the early 1950s show only a tiny service from Lagos. The regional services were first mentioned as future plans and then materialised during the second half of the 1950s. The first transmitter at Kaduna (still going by the WRTHs) was a 7.5 kW SW transmitter, most likely a UK made Marconi unit. This was complemented with a 1 kW MW transmitter at Kaduna (on 1416 kHz) and 250 W transmitters (on 1397 kHz) at Zaria and Katsina a couple of years later. According to an NBC booklet published in 1967 ("Ten Years of Service") the low-power transmitter systems had been completely installed in twelve auxiliary centres known as Provincial Broadcasting Houses by the end of May 1960. An accompanying map shows eleven of these to be on 1397 at 250 W power, while the last one at Kano was using 1 kW on 1376. A 1974 QSL from NBC Sokoto for their shortwave service on 6195 (10 kW NEC) mentions that they are also using MW 1397 kHz at 250 W. The transmitter is specified as a Gates BC-250 GY. Since quite a number of transmitters had to be procured and installed in a short time, the NBC may have resorted to used equipment, so that the unit placed at Zaria could have been originally installed somewhere else (e.g. in the USA) in 1946. The 1397 kHz listings disappeared from the WRTH in the late 1970s when high power transmitters came on the air all over the country. The current 25 kW unit at Zaria (as listed by WRTH 2004) may have been transferred from Kaduna. Theoretically the old Gates unit could still exist at Zaria as a back-up or something, but the rough operating conditions in Nigeria speak against that. WRTH 2004 lists KSMC Zaria on 1359 khz (not 1397) with 25 Kw (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. RADIO LUXEMBOURG COMMEMORATION ON MARCH 25TH Kjell Dhal in Norway has sent us a link to Norwegian national station, NRK, which he tells us will be presenting jingles, commercials and DJs from Radio Luxembourg on March 25th. http://radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/current/hapcurr.html The NRK website is at: http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_more_og_romsdal/program_nrk_more_og_romsdal/3153908.html (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Applications from Existing Facilities: KCLE, 1140, Cleburne TX, applies to move to 1110 kHz with D4 18000/0 CH 2500. If you`ll remember, it wasn`t too long ago that KCLE swapped frequencies with KJSA in order to gain night authorization. Now it seems, after all that trouble, they`ll relinquish nighttime service. But KJSA, on 1120 and only 20 miles up the road, must be planing something as being only 10 kHz from 1110, they would be right in the middle of KCLE`s interference study. And what about the 1110 in Atoka, OK? (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News March 22 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. VOICE OF RUSSIA RADIO TO BROADCAST TO CIS FROM 29 MARCH | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Moscow, 22 March: The Russian State Radio Broadcasting Company's Voice of Russia is to begin broadcasting to the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries at the end of March. "From 29 March the Sodruzhestvo [Commonwealth] broadcasting service of the Russian State Radio Broadcasting Company's Voice of Russia is starting 11 hours of live broadcasts to the CIS," the assistant to the chairman of the radio company, Yekaterina Yagunova, told the Russian Information Agency [RIA] on Monday [22 March]. The Commonwealth broadcasting service was set up in January 2001 within the framework of the directorate for Russian language broadcasts, and some pre-recorded programmes were broadcast to the former Soviet republics, she explained. Yagunova said the programmes on the on-line Commonwealth channel will be broadcast from 1200 to 2300 Moscow time [0900 gmt until 2000 gmt] on the territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, the countries of Central Asia, the Baltic states and the Caucasus region. The radio programmes will be broadcast on medium and short wave in these areas. Commonwealth programmes in Tajikistan can be received on ultra-short wave , and in Crimea on FM wavelength. From 0100 until 0200 Moscow time [1000 gmt until 1100 gmt] and from 0600 until 0700 Moscow time [0300 gmt and 0400 gmt] news bulletins will be broadcast on the Commonwealth channel. The rest of the time will be taken up with high quality pre-recorded broadcasts, Yagunova said. At the beginning of each hour listeners will hear a news bulletin and a current affairs programme "Country and the World", and regional news will be broadcast every 30 minutes. The programmes to be broadcast by the Voice of Russia within the framework of the new project include "Today's Events", "View from Moscow", "The Union State of Russia and Belarus: Problems and Solutions", "Experts on Politics" and also the special current affairs programme "Asia in Focus". Apart from this, the Commonwealth channel is expecting to broadcast live the speeches of representatives of political and economic circles, of international law, culture and sports personalities. Listeners will be able to listen to music programmes featuring stars from the CIS countries. Yagunova said that a special "Commonwealth Panorama" programme is to be broadcast by the channel from 1700 to 1900 Moscow time [1400 gmt until 1600 gmt]. This programme will feature reports on the highly topical subjects by Voice of Russia correspondents from the CIS countries In an interview with the RIA, the chairman of the Russian State Radio Broadcasting Company's Voice of Russia, Armen Oganesyan, reported that an entire system of transmitters located both in the CIS countries and on the territory of Russia provide for the broadcasts to the CIS countries and the Baltic states. Oganesyan explained that the reason why they were starting to broadcast on the Commonwealth channel was the need to bring the latest news to people in these countries in a timely manner. He also expressed the hope that "opening up broadcasting" would help to get radio listeners communicating with one another to a great extent. Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1334 gmt 22 Mar 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 549, Mayak, from presumed Tavrichanka with good signals with Russian music, followed by an American tune, parallel to 576. Heard at 1108 on 12 March. 738, Radio Evropa Plyus, Vladivostok fair at 1135 cochannel with local stations. Same with modern dance music at 2058 12 March). 783, Radio Lemma, Vladivostok heard with local ID "Vi shlushayte Lemma", 11 March at 2042 with birthday greetings and a call in from a YL. Good reception. Heard again at 1147 on 12 March with "Dobryij Vechir, mi shlushayem odin radio, radio Lemma" (Good evening, we listen to one radio station, Radio Lemma). 810, Razdol`noe, cochannel AFN Tokyo, but overpowering it, with local ID for Primorske Radio at 2047. Good reception when tuned in again at 1059 following day, but this time with a Radio Rossii ID. At 2110 there was a Primorske Radio ID with good reception, but faded rapidly. Tried again on the 13th with cochannel N. Korea. No AFN audible that day. News until 2009, then R. Rossii ID, followed by a local Primorske ID, then "Dobroho Utro" and into local weather; 11-13 March (Walt Salmaniw, Kyoto, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. As of March 28, Spanish Radio will be using their summer frequency of 15385 kHz for their 0000-0100 UT broadcast in English for North America. This usually does not seem to propagate too well to our area during the early part of the season, but by mid May or so it is usually more reliable (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ex-6055 ** SUDAN. 4750, R. Peace, 0243 Mar 19, ID in English, "Broadcasting on 4750 kHz in the 60 mb . . ," then brief HoA music and talk in local language, alternating music and talk. Strength so-so this night, varies a lot from day to day, some nights not there at all it seems, or starts post-0230; but still better than I would expect from 1 kW. Another English ID at 0258, but weaker by then (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [and non]. Re R. SWEDEN SCHEDULE: 28 MARCH TO 31 OCTOBER Arabic 1600-1615 EU/AF (sa) 13580 Romani 1700-1730 EU (sa) 1179 6065 1930-2000 eEU (sa) 5840 [Spreadsheet via Wolfgang Bueschel, retyped into text format by Alan Roe, DX LISTENING DIGST] Romani I guess means Roma = Gypsy; new? That's right, the printed Radio Sweden schedule spells it "Romany". Please note that Radio Sweden does not broadcast in "Arabic" on SW. This is a misunderstanding that is circulating in the DX press since a couple of seasons. Radio Sweden's original spreadsheet and the printed Radio Sweden schedule give the correct language designation: these transmissions are in ASSYRIAN; in the printed Radio Sweden schedule they appear as "Aramaic/Assyrian"; the website of this service is http://www.srp6.net/red/page_ass_start.html Sweden has a considerable number of Assyrian immigrants (50.000). The weekly SW programs in Assyrian ("Qolo"), Kurdish ("Zayele") and Romany ("Radio Romano") are produced by the staff of Radio Sweden's domestic service for immigrants. First programs in Assyrian started on Swedish Radio's local station Radio Stockholm in 1985; the program "Qolo" is produced for FM distribution by the immigrant service since 1993. This department also produces other programs for immigrants in Sweden available only on FM: Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, Croatian, Farsi, Greek, Polish, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish; plus Finnish and Sami which are considered "domestic" minority languages (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What a wonderful opportunity to hear Aramaic, in keeping with the craze instigated by Mel`s movie. Which, BTW, I have no plans to see, but judging from the clips, the Aramaic spoken there is rather wooden, almost as if the actors were pronouncing it phonetically rather than really understanding what they were saying! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Sweden, A04 schedule: 28 March to 31 Oct 2004 [REVISED] Aramaic/Assyrian [spoken mainly in Iraq, Syria, Turkey] Not Arabic!!! 1600-1615 ME (sa) 13580 English 0130-0200 NAM 6010rci 9435FE/AS/PAC 0230-0300 NAM 6010rci 1230-1300 13580FE/AS/PAC 15240NAM 15735EUR/AF/ME/AS/PAC 1330-1400 15240NAM 15735EUR/AF/ME/AS/PAC 1730-1800 EU 1179 6065(mo-sa) 1930-2000 EU 1179 6065 2130-2200 EU/AS 1179 6065 9925[9880 on printed leaflet] FE/AS/PAC ??? Estonian 1430-1445 eEU (mo-fr) 6065 1630-1645 eEU (mo-fr) 5840 1700-1715 eEU 1179 6065 German 1645-1700 EU 1179 1830-1930 EU (mo-sa:-1900) 1179 6065 Kurdish 1630-1700 ME (su+mo) 13580(su:-1645) Latvian 1615-1630 eEU 1179 6065(mo-fr) 1645-1700 eEU (mo-fr) 5840 1715-1730 eEU 1179 6065 Romani 1700-1730 ME/soEaEU (sa) 1179 6065 1930-2000 ME/SoEaEU (sa) 5840 Russian 1200-1230 AS/FE/eEU 15225 1300-1330 eEU 12075 1400-1430 eEU 12065 1700-1730 eEU 5840 1830-1900 eEU 5840 1900-1930 EU 1179 1930-2000 eEU (su-fr) 5840 Swedish 0000-0030 SAM 9490(Sackville-CAN relay) 0100-0130 NAM/AS/AU 6010rci 9435ma 0200-0230 NAM 6010rci 0300-0330 SAM 9490(Sackville-CAN relay) 1030-1100 SAM 18960 FE 15735 Sat/Sun 1200-1230 AS/AU/NAM 15240 15735 1300-1330 FE/AU/AS 15240 15735 1400-1430 ME/AU/NAM 15240 15735 1500-1530 eEU 9410 1630-1700 EU 6065 1800-1830 EU/AF/ME 1179 6065 11600 13800 1900-1930 EU/AF 6065(mo-sa) 11595 2100-2130 EU/AS 1179 6065 9925 2200-2230 EU 1179 Swedish P1 0330-0600 EU 1179 (0355-0605 Sat/Sun) 0330-0500 ME 9435 0400-0605 EU (mo-fr) 6065 9435(-0500) 9490(0500-) 0600-0700 EU (mo-sa) 9490 17505(sa) 0700-0800 EU 9490 17505 0800-0900 EU (su) 9490 17505 1445-1600 EU/ME 1179 6065 13580(1545-) NoAM15240(-1500) 15735(1545-) 1600-1615 EU/ME 1179 6065(sa-su) 13580(su-fr) 15735(mo-fr) 1615-1630 EU/ME 6065(sa-su) 13580(su+mo) 2000-2100 EU/SAM 1179 6065 9390 Swedish P4 1000-1030 EU/AF/AS (mo-fr:-1010) 9490 15735 21810 1030-1040 AS/SAM Mon-Fri 15735 18960 1100-1130 NAM (mo-fr:-1110) 15240 1700-1800 EU (Sun sport) 1179 ma = Madagascar rci = Sackville (Spreadsheet via Wolfgang Bueschel, retyped into text format by Alan Roe-UK, WDXC-UK, Mar 21, updated by wb according printed RS leaflet Mar 23 via DXLD) BANDY final Reception Report 13590 kHz. Today March 21, 2004, from 1300-1558 UT I heard the final of the Swedish championship of Bandy covered on Radio Sweden's 13590 kHz outlet. 1300 UT Signal strength S=3 with some deep fadings, not very strong, four of ten diodes signal strength shining on Sony ICF 2010. 1330 UT Signal strength S=3 with some deep fadings, I=2 from 13595 kHz, suffered sideband QRM of Voice of IRIB Tehran, Ahwaz, broadcast in Urdu language 1330-1427 UT. Live coverage by two male voice reporter. I guess the special championship final coverage was not in my direction, or a "small lobe" log-periodic antenna was in use (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Sweden: Yes, Romani is the politically correct term for Gypsy. Indeed a new service, and Radio Sweden should be only the second international broadcaster offering it, alongside Deutsche Welle that relays a Gypsy programme produced by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. I also stumbled over Kurdish: It is not entirely new but at least will be considerably expanded, at present this is only a weekly 15 minutes programme. And are there any other international broadcasters with services in Kurdish so far? Hmmmm, I know that various non-commercial stations here in Germany broadcast stuff in Kurdish, but in doubt FM is all they know to exist. Best regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Spelt Romany in English (gh) ** U K [non]. In A-04 VT Merlin sked: BBC is shown via Sackville, 2300-2400 on 9800 and 0300-0400 on 11955, target described as North America --- and beam headings into the USA and Canada but not Mexico I think (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Really DRM, I think, in which it`s OK to broadcast to NAm (gh) ** U K. JACKIE CELEBRATES 35TH BIRTHDAY --- Saturday, 20 March 2004 South West London's Radio Jackie, celebrated its 35th birthday on Friday, after first taking to the airwaves on March 19th 1969 broadcasting from a studio in Sutton. The transmission lasted for just 30 minutes. Within a short while Radio Jackie was on air every Sunday giving a growing band of listeners their first taste of truly local radio. In 1983 Radio Jackie launched a full 24 hour a day service. A Radio Jackie shop was opened, the studios were in Worcester Park, and the transmitter was in North Cheam. The only problem was that the station didn't have a licence to broadcast because there wasn't one to be had! In 1984 a petition, calling for the station to be given a licence, was signed by over 55,000 people and supported by many local councillors and the MP for Mitcham and Morden. Kingston and Sutton Councils passed motions supporting Radio Jackie's bid to be licensed to serve South West London. Sadly Radio Jackie was forced by the authorities to close in February 1985 and wasn't to be heard on the airwaves of South West London again until October 19th 2003. Now the station is back and broadcasting legally on the FM band from its new base in the old Post Office in Tolworth Broadway right opposite the landmark Tolworth Tower. The station recently received the best possible birthday present when it was notified by Ofcom (the Office of Communications that is responsible for licensing all radio stations in the UK) that 107.8 Radio Jackie's licence to broadcast to South West London and North Surrey had been extended by a further four years. Commenting on the news MD, Peter Stremes, who lives in South Croydon said: "Now we have the chance to prove that an independently owned local radio station producing all of its own programmes and broadcasting live around the clock can be popular and financially successful." http://ukradio.com/news/articles/DAD666FF74A547B6B2CAE15395F951FC.asp (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. Ray Freeman, VOA to Retire --- Glenn, I heard Ray Freeman on his "Border Crossing" Music program on VOA 11970, 15410 at 1917 utc on 3/23/04 saying he has been working since he was 13. He said he will retire and notified his boss. Said he was hanging up the microphone and thanked all for being a good audience. Said Larry London (sp?) will be taking over the show. Said his last day would be before end of the month. Take care, (Bruce MacGibbon, Gresham, OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A good time to bail out before it sinks ** U S A. In A-04 VT Merlin sked: there is also Furman, or in other words, WSHB. Was the frequency management of WSHB outsourced to Merlin? If so these entries would be of course not that exciting (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOICE OF PANCHO VILLA/PONCHO VIA: 6925/U, Mar 14, 0502-0518. Faint signal & noisy conditions. Able to hear Pancho & Pancho Villa repeatedly & Pancho himself. Vpoor (John Sedlacek, Omaha NE, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) 6925/U, *0500-0517*, Date?; Traditional Winterfest show after the banquet. ID'd as coming from the pink & purple room of the Fiesta Motel. The show was the Mexican Idol with judges (Al Wiener Captain Ganja, Janet Jackson) Glenn Hauser attempted to sing "Want to be love by you". He failed. However, Poncho Via was successful & resulted in Janet Jackson having multiple wardrobe failures. One time gave an ID as Bozo USA Worldwide. SIO 545 (Greg Majewski, Kulpsville, PA, ibid.) So is it the real Pancho Villa or sound-alike Poncho Via? (FRW editor Harold Frodge, ibid.) ** U S A. For anyone interested, here's a reminder of upcoming DX tests; if anyone has any additions or corrections, please contact me. (BE SURE TO NOTE THE TIME OF THE TEST; THEY ARE IN THE LOCAL TIME OF THE STATION) Daily, from 2:55 to 3:05 am EST - WRIB-1220, Providence, RI - This test is scheduled to run "through at least April (2004) and possibly into May". [0755-0805 UT until April 4, then 0655-0705 UT] Monday, March 29, 2004 - WXHL-1550, Elkton, MD, 12:01-1:00 am EST. [0501-0600 UT] E-mail: d_oetting @ hotmail.com Phone: 410-398-3883 Thursday, April 1, 2004 - WTBQ-1110, Warwick, NY, 5:15-6:00 am EST. [1015-1100 UT] WWW: http://www.wtbq.com Sunday, April 11, 2004 - WNNR-970, Jacksonville, FL, 12:00-1:00 am EST. [0400-0500 UT] E-mail: wgsr1570 @ nrcdxas.org (Lynn Hollerman, LA, March 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) Questions about coming DX tests --- I'm going to shoot for April 11th 0000 Hours Eastern, (Midnight way early Sunday Morning) for the WNNR 970 1 KW Transmitter Test. The program material I canned was somehow pared down from one hour to .1 second, discovered just before the production/scheduling guru left on a Friday before the test. Now, She's quit - no longer works at the station. I went to WNNR after (Navy) work and have a half hour without the tones cut already in the Enco automation. I have the Morse code CD there now and will likely finish the product tomorrow. If I was able to get off early on Friday, there could of been a chance to do it this Sunday. My organization (Military) does a mission that closely coincides with civilian craftsmen (two different commands working in the same shops side-by-side) and lately as Murphy has it, my organization developed a philosophy of hanging around work until the quitting time whistle blows, even if you finished all your work hours and hours ago. And you spouse had better be going through both a liver and kidney transplant to get time off, even a few hours in the slack time in the afternoon. This is to appease the image to our counterparts. They're hourly, we're salaried. That's my dilemma. By the time I fight traffic and get to WNNR many folks have left for the day. So I'll go and get the program loop finished and then shoot for April 11th. I will be out of town with my family on vacation at the end of this coming week for almost two weeks. I always look very forward to getting the program done and holding the test. I live for Transmitter tests, and hearing from our brethren on how propagation turned out. I have the GM's blessing on this, so I'll just need some time to work all I need to work out. Now, If I manage to get on-staff with the new WVOJ 1570 folks, there's no telling what could happen. The GM is interested in me in some capacity at the station. But I'm sure a test won't able to coincide with the WNNR 970 test. I'll keep the list posted on the progress. Sorry for the postponement and 1570 Cancellation. It'll all work out in the end. 73 (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, March 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. This was sent to me and a group of other DXers from WQMA's Program Director, Paul Walker this morning. I inquired about his apparent morse code transmissions at 0630 the other morning on behalf of some club members. I don't know Paul personally, but we've chatted a number of times from my home on the telephone over the past few months. Text follows from Paul (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, Jacksonville, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) WQMA received 27 requests for QSL Verification. As I am the only person to handle these and I have other duties besides this, this will take some time but be patient, fear not as I will eventually get to everyone. Just a word of note to all y'all DX'ers, WQMA will be running several minutes of morse code a couple times a week for a few minutes before/ after sign on and a few minutes and leading up to sign off when operator schedule permits. We will happily verify ANY reports heard on our 1520 kHz signal. Just keep an eye [sic] out for us! WQMA operates from a single 150 foot guyed (12 wires) Rohn25 tower. We operate sunrise to sunset only with 250 watts ERP, with co located studios, transmitter and broadcast tower 1/4 mile west outside the Marks city limits, on Highway 6. There has been discussion about our format, and the answer is YES! We are the only full time, standalone CHR/Top 40 type station left in the country. Yes, others do simulcast, but we do not, no FM sister station here. Some of you may know about KMHS-1420, but that is owned by a school, and furthermore, an educational/governmental system, and does not qualify as a standalone station. Plus, I heard they were adding FM service SOMETIME in the future. If you have ANY questions pertaining to WQMA, please feel free to email me directly: RadioColchester @ aol.com however, DX Reports WILL NOT be accepted via EMAIL; please snail mail them to the address below (This makes my secretarial paperwork easier). Please pass this along to every club list, email server, etc that you can. Let every interested DX'er know about this! Sincerely, Paul Walker, Jr. Assistant Program & Music Director WQMA-AM 1520 1820 West Marks Road Marks, MS 39646 (via Ron Gitschier, March 23, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. WAAM SEEKS SHIFT IN LICENSE --- NO PLANS TO MOVE OUT OF ANN ARBOR, SAYS COMPANY OFFICIAL Tuesday, March 23, 2004 BY SCOTT ANDERSON News Business Reporter The owners of WAAM (1600-AM) have applied to shift the local radio station's license to Oakland County and construct a large broadcast tower there. Yet a representative for the channel says WAAM is only trying to expand its broadcast area and has no plans to move out of Ann Arbor. In a January application to the Federal Communications Commission, WAAM's Dallas-based owners Big D LLC asked for permission to change the channel's main facility license to Oak Park. The application also requests building a new antenna, raising WAAM's signal from 5,000 watts to 15,000 watts. Building that signal capacity would similarly triple the station's coverage area well into the metro Detroit market - something its current antenna in Ann Arbor cannot do. WAAM is one of only a few local radio channels that continue to focus on area news, sports, weather and driving conditions. It is the main AM station used by Washtenaw County officials for local emergency broadcasts. . . . http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1080060174320360.xml (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. NEIGHBORHOOD RADIO STATION SERVES KENT'S EAST HILL AREA 2004-03-22 by Bruce Rommel Journal Reporter KENT [WA]-- The area's newest radio station is at the top of your AM dial. Tune your radio to 1700 AM for classic rock, along with samplings of new music you won't hear on other stations. But you can't hear this station unless you happen to be within a half- mile of Frank Hansche's home on Southeast 255th Place. A small den off the living room is the home of East Hill Radio, a low- power AM station that can be received at about 4,000 or so homes, or by somebody driving through the area with their car radio tuned to 1700 kHz AM. East Hill Radio has been broadcasting prerecorded programs and public service announcements around the clock since early January. ``Honestly, I don't know if anyone is listening or not,'' said Hansche, 53, an information technology manager for AT&T. ``I've just come up onto the air and I may have a few listeners who have managed to find me,'' he said. Hansche (pronounced like ``HAN shee'') said East Hill Radio is one of the low-power AM stations permitted under FCC regulations to provide the public more access to the public's airwaves and to provide communities with more localized programming not available elsewhere. Such stations don't even require a license or application, provided that they meet FCC Part 15 regulations. That means transmission is limited to 100 milliwatts, broadcast from an antenna no taller than 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches). The reception area is small because the FCC's ``low power'' standard really means low power. ``I'm operating with less power than that light bulb,'' Hansche said, gesturing toward the light fixture above the table where his broadcast station sits. Besides his computer system, he's invested about $1,500 for a digital mixing and editing board, a CD player, a cassette recorder and a transmitter. Besides music, Hansche plans to broadcast recorded public service announcements and information ``specific to East Hill residents,'' such as announcements about city or school district meetings, local PTAs and other community organizations and events. Hansche said he knows of only two other low-power AM stations in the state. FCC staff reached Friday couldn't say how many such stations there are in Washington state or nationwide. ``We don't have any idea. We don't license them,'' said a specialist at an FCC consumer center, who declined to give his name. Anyone who wishes can operate a low-power AM station if they comply with the agency's Part 15 standards. Hansche said he launched his station both because of his interest in broadcasting and because he firmly believes the public has a right to use the public airwaves. He's a member of the Amherst Alliance, a national organization that promotes public access to broadcasting. Hansche, who is married and has a teenage son and a teenage daughter, has no plans to broadcast live as a disc jockey. Instead, he'll offer prerecorded music he records himself, along with public service programming. He's also offering some programs produced by other independent station operators. ``VC and Ned,'' featuring two North Carolina disc jockeys, airs at 8 a.m. Saturdays. ``Daddy G's Oldies,'' with a retired disc jockey talking about and playing oldies, starts at 7 p.m. Saturdays. Hansche has a long-standing interest in broadcasting. He graduated from Central Washington University in 1972 with a degree in broadcasting and worked in engineering and production at several stations before switching careers to computer technology in the early 1980s. EAST HILL RADIO * East Hill Radio is a low-power radio station with limited reception in the East Hill area of Kent. * The noncommercial station broadcasts at 1700 AM. For information or comments, e-mail Frank Hansche at frankh @ habu.dns.net Source: http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/159337 (via Sergei Sosedkin, DXLD) ** U S A. BOB EDWARDS WILL BE REPLACED AS "MORNING EDITION" HOST The Associated Press 3/23/04 11:54 AM NEW YORK (AP) -- Bob Edwards, host of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" since its inception in 1979, has been forced out of that job. At the end of April, the 56-year-old Edwards will become senior correspondent of NPR News, with his reports being heard on various network broadcasts. NPR's Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne will serve as interim co-hosts starting in May until a permanent successor to Edwards is named. Spokeswoman Laura Gross said NPR's programming and news management made the change because they're trying to refresh all of the network's broadcasts. "It's part of a natural evolution," she said. "A new host will bring new ideas and perspectives to the show. Bob's voice will still be heard; he'll still be a tremendous influence on the show. We just felt it was time for a change." Edwards said he was "proud to have served with my `Morning Edition' colleagues, who perform a daily miracle at ridiculous hours when resources are not abundant." NPR estimated Edwards has conducted 20,000 interviews during his years on the show. The network also announced that two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner William K. Marimow, former editor of The (Baltimore) Sun, will join NPR in a newly created position of managing editor for NPR News (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) NPR NEWS IS REPLACING MORNING HOST [illustrated] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/24/arts/24EDWA.html?ex=1081101146&ei=1&en=96fb6354effa5eea (via Ray T. Mahorney, DXLD) ** U S A. TESH OFFERS FAMILY-FRIENDLY RADIO By Marc Schiffman, Reuters NEW YORK (Billboard) --- Against the backdrop of all the indecency controversy surrounding radio, John Tesh hosts an Adult Contemporary- targeted syndicated radio show that is the antithesis of the Howard Stern generation. Chuck Taylor, top 40/AC managing editor of Billboard sister publication Airplay Monitor, spoke with Tesh about the show. It is a mix of music from the likes of Celine Dion, Paul Davis and Brian McKnight --- up to 12 songs per hour --- with what the producers tag ``intelligence for your life.`` That can mean rules of thumb --- like wearing red gets you better service in a restaurant --- or that women miss kissing most in a mature relationship. Since its April 2003 launch, the five-hour weekday program has picked up 76 affiliates. Most, but not all, of Tesh`s affiliates air his show in the evening. One hundred fifty outlets already air the weekend edition of the program, which began in 2000. One of the show`s slogans is ``If a 9-year-old can`t listen to it, you won`t hear it on this radio station.`` Tesh is considerably passionate about the show`s mandate: ``You can scream all you want about First Amendment rights, but someone had to pull in the reins,`` he says of recent actions Clear Channel took to squelch Bubba the Love Sponge and Stern. Tesh thanks Clear Channel, adding, ``I don`t think there`s any place for this stuff. I believe in free speech until it goes against what the airwaves were intended for. We`ve turned our backs on decency. You can be funny without being disgusting and provocative.`` It looks like Tesh has tapped into a widely shared ideal. In a number of markets, his show has posted dramatic worst-to-first ratings. At KKDJ (K-Lite) Bakersfield, Calif., the first signed affiliate of the daily version of his show ranked No. 1 in the summer and fall 2003 Arbitron books with women 25-54. That walloped longtime AC syndicated evening-show staple Delilah, according to program director Kenn McCloud. ``It`s one of few destination shows,`` McCloud says. ``John`s commitment to radio for the family is perfect for us.`` Las Vegas affiliate KMZQ became the first station to air Tesh during afternoon drive. WBHH Norfolk, Va., put Tesh in morning drive earlier this month. ``The show has turned into a real gold mine of information,`` Tesh says. ``I really believe that people start tuning in and just get hooked. I`m a friendly voice, but this isn`t about me. The concept is so strong: We like to say we offer `all the information you need to live your life a whole lot better --- or just impress your friends at the water cooler.``` It was a major goal from the beginning to distinguish the show from relationship-focused competitors. Tesh explains, ``We don`t want to listen to the crying and whining, where you do nothing about it. We want to help people solve their problems, to give a purpose in their lives and then to live that out.`` Reuters/Billboard 03/19/04 22:47 ET Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited (via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** VIETNAM [and non]. In complete VT Merlin sked: Also full Voice of Vietnam usage is shown, complete with Sackville transmissions. I think what will now be 11755 from Skelton was in the VoV schedule listed as 9725 like the established transmissions to Europe via Moosbrunn and Skelton (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Radio Nacional de La RASD, 7460 0646 GMT March 15, Arabic, SIO 333. Music vocals with an OM announcer (Stewart H. MacKenzie, WDX6AA, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5000, BPM [CHINA] Heard with loud voice ID and morse at 2000 11 Mar. There`s another station that is heard on each minute in English, saying something like "From 7,....this frequency....", at least that is what it sounds like to me. Not on 10 megs. Who might they be??? I can share an audio clip upon my return to Canada (Walt Salmaniw, Kyoto, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5098 to 5102: Codar is heard well here, identical to the one centered on 4800 on the WCNA (Walt Salmaniw, Kyoto, Japan, circa March 11-12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SWPROGRAMS This list, frequently quoted here, has moved from topica to hard-core- dx, even tho it is about anything but hard core DXing! Subscription info: http://dallas.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ POWER LINE TELECOMS: THREAT TO SHORTWAVE RADIO By Barry Fox 18 March 2004 http://www.vnunet.com/Features/1153611 When telecoms operator Mercury won the first licence to compete head- on with BT, the company had to look for a new way to get its signals round the country without digging up roads and pavements. Plans to lay optical fibres through the sewers were abandoned when trials showed that rats will gnaw through anything, even metal armour plating, hoping there is food inside. So Mercury bought space alongside the UK's railway lines. Other telecoms operators have slung cables from mains distribution pylons and bought the right to dig up the tow paths alongside Britain's canal network. Microwave links can send data hopping round the country. Mercury set up local dish links for large offices. But the 'last mile' into the home or small office is always the big problem. That's the copper wire connection from the local exchange to the living room. Most homes in the UK already have twisted pair copper wires laid many years ago by the Post Office or BT when they had their cosy monopoly. These wires can now carry several Mbps using ADSL technology, but BT still controls them. Either you buy your broadband connection from BT, or you pay a telecoms company that is paying BT for the right to use BT's last mile. So are there any other options? In this feature we'll look at the pros and cons of one controversial way of bringing broadband to the masses - by transmitting data over mains electricity cables. Previous attempts to use alternative ways of getting data into people's homes haven't been too successful. Ionica tried piping microwave signals direct into homes, for instance, but that failed because it cost too much. Two-way satellite links were too expensive as well. One-way satellite links still need a phone line for the return path. Mobile and third- generation (3G) connections cost far more than a fixed phone line and run at slower data rates - despite what the adverts may claim. Only the cable TV companies, which spent a fortune on digging up roads and pavements, have private lines running direct from the street into homes. So the only affordable way to get broadband into the home is currently through a cable TV company or - one way or another - via BT lines. There is, however, one other future option. Almost every home has a mains supply cable running in from the street. Theoretically it is possible to piggyback high-speed data on top of the 50 Hz mains supply. Anyone who can offer a safe and reliable service for delivering two-way broadband data down mains cables into the house and then around the house, is onto a cash cow winner. It is in the interests of the power companies to push power line broadband systems into homes as fast as possible, because satellite operators such as Astra are now offering cheaper broadband satellite services into the home. It isn't easy though. The mains is a very hostile environment, with spiky interference caused by electrical switches and radio pick-up because the cables act as an efficient receiver aerial. A WARNING FROM HISTORY In 1998 Canadian electronics company Nortel and British electricity provider United Utilities announced a joint venture called Nor.Web, to sell their Digital Power Line system around the world. Nor.Web claimed to have received more than 1,000 enquiries, which whittled down to 40 serious approaches. Ten companies signed agreements to use the technology. "The technology is available today - and will revolutionise mass communications on the internet," said Nor.Web chairman John Beckitt. "It's the most elegant solution; the most significant communication tool since the mobile phone." Steve Pusey, CEO of Nor.Web, was even better with the soundbite hyperbole: "We have a mission to lead the world. There is a light bulb everywhere. We see a massive opportunity in speeding access to the world wide wait. We are working on the principle that if you build a motorway, people will come." Nor.Web's Digital Power Line system provided a 1 Mbps signal into and out of the street. Transformer substations were connected to the internet, with combiners to add a spread spectrum carrier to the mains. Interference on the mains at one frequency left most of the other carriers untouched. The first tests were at a school in Manchester and Nor.Web promised to have trials in 2,000 homes in the UK by the end of 1998, with "mass connection at low cost". At the London press launch we asked about interference from Nor.Web's high-frequency carriers leaking out of the mains. Our concern was glibly brushed aside. But within a few months Nor.Web had found that streetlamps near the Manchester test site were just the right vertical length to act as transmitter aerials for radio signals in the 2-10 MHz band. The BBC's World Service, the Civil Aviation Authority and even GCHQ, the government's electronic snoop centre, were affected. So were amateur radio buffs. The project was killed off and Nor.Web shut down at the end of 1999. THREAT TO SHORTWAVE RADIO But all this is already a distant memory. New companies round the world are pretending it never happened or promising new magic fixes to stop it happening again. They assure us that the newer Power Line Telecoms (PLT) systems work at lower powers than Nor.Web's Digital Power Line, so should cause less trouble. It would be wonderful if this were all true because if the new ventures follow Nor.Web down the drain, the IT industry will lose a golden opportunity to deliver broadband in real competition with encumbents like BT. But broadcast engineers are warning that because of interference from PLT the world may soon have to choose between short wave radio and mains-borne internet access. Does it matter, though? Who needs short wave radio, except for a few radio hams behaving like Tony Hancock? Short wave broadcasts travel remarkably long distances, by hugging the Earth's curvature [sic] or reflecting off the upper atmosphere. They provide news from home and bypass local broadcast censors. World broadcasters have recently agreed the standard for a completely new short wave radio system called Digital Radio Mondiale. DRM uses compression to squeeze clear digital sound into the narrow radio channels that currently carry crackly analogue signals. So short wave radio could now sound far better than ever before, but interference can destroy DRM reception. THE LONGEST AERIAL IN THE UK Both ADSL and PLT work by putting high-speed data pulses on high- frequency analogue carriers. The modem is a radio transmitter. A transmitter is no use without an aerial, but phone lines and power lines behave as aerials. This is because they were never designed for high-frequency use. They are not shielded to prevent them radiating radio frequencies. In fact they work like the 'leaky feeders' used to extend mobile phone cover and radio reception down through tunnels by 'leaking' the radio signals which they carry. ADSL works (like digital television and radio in Europe) by splitting the data signal into many small channels so that each is carrying only a relatively low bit rate. Each channel has its frequency carrier, of slightly different frequency to the others and there are around 256 carriers ranging up to 1 MHz. The broadcasters and telcos have co-operated over the past 10 years to set carrier power standards for ADSL in order to limit interference. This is possible because the ADSL signals are running alongside weak telephone signals, so the ADSL carriers can be at low power. Unfortunately PLT signals must fight to stay above the interference hash which pollutes the mains supply. (Hi-fi buffs pay a fortune for mains cleaning equipment.) So the carriers must be more powerful. The trick is to stop them radiating interference that spoils radio reception in the vicinity. The power industry is mainly privatised and fragmented. Different operators are free to use different proprietary power line technologies. The proprietary PLT systems now being tested in the US and Europe vary widely, with details kept secret. But all the competing systems have one thing in common: they radiate radio waves in the band below 30 MHz. And this is just where Long, Medium and Short Wave broadcasts sit. A NEED FOR STANDARDS The BBC's warning that this will change the face of broadcasting is particularly potent because the BBC website is one of the most successful in the world, and the BBC has every reason to want better broadband services. What is clearly needed is an agreed standard for measuring interference field strength and drawing a line between acceptable and unacceptable levels. Field strength is expressed as a dB comparison with a reference level of one microvolt per metre (a measure of the signal which radio waves induce in an aerial). This varies with the frequency but at 6 MHz the German standard, called NB30, is 33dB greater than one microvolt/ metre. Broadcasters want a standard that is nearly 20 dB or a hundred times tighter, at around 15 dB. Powerline companies want a standard which is over 20 dB or a hundred times slacker than the Germans' NB30, at around 55 dB. The PLT companies' limit would allow their interference to be stronger than the broadcasters' signals! There is also dispute over the distance at which the measurements should be made. The German standard says three metres from the power line; broadcasters say it should be at one metre, because every radio in a home will be around one metre from at least one mains power cable. Measuring at three metres instead of one reduces the apparent interference level by 10 dB or 10 times. The BBC warns that some of the spectrum analysers used by power company engineers have a worse noise floor than a transistor radio - so they do not accurately reveal the real interference field strength. "At the German acceptable level of 30 dB you are talking about a noise-to-signal ratio rather than signal-to-noise', said Andrew Oliphant, head of the BBC's Transmission Systems Group at the research labs near Kingswood Warren in Surrey. "OFDM notching with a smart system that does not use frequencies that cause interference might be an answer," said the BBC's principal R&D engineer Jonathan Stott. "We need to get together outside the standard committees and work together." But so far there is no sign of this happening. THE BIGGER PICTURE In Singapore, trials of home networking systems run by the government were slated to use power line technology from electricity company Singapore Power (which had previously signed up to use the ill-fated Nor.Web system). But when we visited one of the test rigs a few months ago, the power line connections had been abandoned and ADSL by phone line used instead. We never did get a straight answer when we asked why this had happened. Elsewhere, though, PLT is on a roll, with 100 sites now working across Europe. In Germany there are 5,000 homes online in Mannheim, with commercial rollouts in Hameln, Dresden and Linz (which straddles the German border). Three experimental sites are up and running in Spain, in Madrid, Zaragoza and Seville, with several thousand subscribers. In Switzerland an installation in Fribourg is working and, according to early tests, producing high interference levels. There are also trials in France and Finland. In the US there are trials in Potomac, St. Louis, Pennsylvania and Manassas City, Virginia. BROADCAST INTERFERENCE Scottish and Southern Energy is making all the running in the UK. The power company has been testing various PLT systems in Crieff, Campbeltown and Stonehaven in Scotland before starting trials south of the border in Winchester. Around 500 homes in each town get a 1Mbps service for £30 a month. The company's publicity material says a lot about data speed, convenience and cost, but nothing about interference risks. However, Scottish and Southern let the BBC run tests in Crieff. The corporation found high levels of interference inside homes with modems, and next door to them. This interference was mainly caused by internal wiring, especially the 'stubs' which rise vertically up the walls to switches and sockets and behave like mast antennae. Even when the modem is idle, the radio makes irritating clicks; when someone is using a PC to stream internet data, short wave radio reception is completely destroyed by continuous clicking. "Interference from different homes can add up and perhaps interfere with aircraft which are using the short wave band," said the BBC's Stott. When we asked about interference, we were unsure whether the Scottish and Southern spokesman was genuinely ignorant of the issue or just hoping we were. He assured us he knew of the Nortel and Nor.Web problems but felt confident in the new system because "we are able to exclude frequencies used by the emergency services". EFFECTS ON AMATEUR RADIO Colin Wooff of the UK government's Radio Communications Agency (which became part of Ofcom in December) published a paper on PLT, which warns that "leakage emissions are inherent and unavoidable under normal operating conditions". The new technology is "likely to be incompatible with 1.6 to 30 MHz reception within the domestic environment" and, "although short wave reception is generally considered a minority interest enjoyed by the technically aware, this may change with the introduction of [DRM?] broadcasts". The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) complains that the British government is out of touch in thinking that "few people listen to high-frequency broadcasts" and "there have not been any interference complaints about the recent [Scottish] trials". This is hardly surprising, said the RSGB, as only one amateur radio enthusiast lives in the area where the trials took place, and he does not work on the frequencies used in the trial. The RSGB's magazine recently reported tests run by the Open University and University of Duisburg-Essen. These showed that living next door to someone who uses a power line modem would be worse for radio reception than living next door to someone who has a network of 200 PCs running continuously, but not quite as bad as having electric trams running close to the house 24 hours a day. FIX IT OR FORGET IT The BBC's Research Labs have now responded with clinical precision, writing: "To the best of our knowledge there are no relevant 'British Regulatory Standards'. We have published the (Crieff) recordings along with the White Paper. These recordings should be required listening for the accountants in any power company that is planning to launch a commercial PLT service. They can then ask two simple questions. Does our system cause similar levels of interference? And, if it does, are we willing to gamble shareholders' money on building a telecoms system which the government may shut down because it interferes with radio reception and emergency service communication? This is one IT problem that will not be solved by the IT industry's usual PR hype and flannel. If PLT is flawed the only solution is to fix it or junk it. As the BBC's Oliphant reminded us: "The radio spectrum is already packed and unfortunately they've stopped making any more of it." (via Mike Terry, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ REPORT FROM TOKYO Greetings to my DX colleagues around the world from a cold and rainy Tokyo. I`ve spent the last 2 weeks touring Japan, with my trusty Sony 2010 in tow. Though time was very limited, I was able to spend a little time scanning the bands, especially MW. Tokyo, where I`ve been for the last week is generally poor with too much local QRM, but I did find Kyoto, more on the western part of the country rather good. I was in a Ryokan (a Japanese style hotel), on the ground floor, so no possibility to use an external antenna, but nonetheless, reception overnight was excellent, with very little interference. I was particularly interested in the Russian local far east stations on MW, which were heard on several frequencies, as well as the AFN Korean MWers, which are very difficult to hear, although this time I was able to copy a couple of frequencies. Unfortunately overnight they have no local programming. Eagle 810, with 50 kw is very well heard throughout the day and night, here in Tokyo. 1670, the frequency for the very low (50w) lighthouse weather stations yielded very little again on this trip (I was also here 2 years ago). The Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo isn`t much different than my last trip, except possibly a bit seedier. It`s a great place for parts. There was a very good selection of Sony portables, but not a single 2010 in site. Prices are pretty high compared to Canada/US so I didn`t buy anything in this category. I did invest in a very interesting piece of equipment called an iRiver --- this is a 20 GB portable hard drive, MP3, WAV encoder, and FM tuner. This little baby will store 300 hours of audio!!! Runs on a rechargeable Li battery for 16+ hours. Has USB connection to your PC. I do download a lot of media programs, previously on MD manually, which is time consuming. I`m going to give this a whirl when I get home! 300 hours --- blows me away! Unfortunately, there is no date/time stamp which would have been great, at least so far as I can see. This brand is very popular in Japan, and seems to have many more features than the similarly priced iBox. I paid about 39k yen (1USD = 105 yen), getting a further 10% discount by asking, and duty free as well. There are still a few ham outlets in the district, which seemed to attract a reasonable crowd on the Saturday I was there. Lots of nice scanners too, FRS radios, and ham transceivers. I did not see any SW tabletop receivers this time (Walt Salmaniw, March 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SONY 2010 FIXED Some months back, I had posted a query about sources for working on a bad-condition Sony 2010 I had that had had an FM Atlas-installed SCA adaptor built in it. I had some responses including a pointer to Kiwa Electronics. I knew about their modification work but not that they did repairs. Various personal stuff interfered and I didn't follow it up at the time. More recently, I asked the same question on Allan Weiner's call-in show on WBCQ, and another person called in to recommend Kiwa. I couldn't find Kiwa ads in recent magazines or PWBR, and calls to the number in older magazines' ads got "disconnected" responses. So I checked on the Web and discovered that they had moved from Washington state to Minnesota. (Check their website by Googling the firm name.) Anyway, I did get in touch, spoke with Chris on the phone, sent him the 2010, and he evaluated it. Later phone calls disclosed that the FM SCA adaptor was really poorly made and the installation job was botched, damaging the radio's performance. I decided to let the adaptor be removed and Chris re-built the radio to original specs (he happened to have parts from another junked 2010) and then he added a filter and audio-circuit mods as listed in his website. I got it back a week ago. It works GREAT! Before, it was deaf on the AM BCB -- when I tried it after opening the package and installing batteries, the first station that came in was a TIS over in Illinois on 530 kHz (in the middle of the afternoon)! SW is now loud and clear, better and less noisy than any of my other portables, using only the whip. Functioning with the external-power adaptor gets it even better, but the important thing is how well a portable functions when truly portable with batteries and whip only. I am most pleased, and wanted to spread the word and recommend Kiwa to all. I like the way it sounds with the new wide filter and audio mods; can't really compare that with before, because it had been years since I listened to it while it was in poor shape. Fixing the radio was basically $100; adding the mods was another $130 or so. With shipping it was $242. Expensive? I guess so, but otherwise the thing was a paperweight. What did I learn? Should have bought a new 2010 to begin with a decade or so ago, whenever I got this one. But now you can't get new 2010's anyway, so if you get one it will be used, and it looks like Kiwa can help if it has problems. (Hope he can get more parts for others who need them! Don't pitch any 2010's, even if the dog eats one! Chris can use the parts! :-) (By the way, they don't advertise in the magazines or PWBR right now because they have a full load of work just from their web presence and reputation.) Regards and 73, (Will Martin, St Louis MO, March 22, swprograms via DXLD) RADIOPLUS+ Being A scientist by profession and an experimenter by nature, I started tinkering with radio circuits with the result being that I started Radio Plus+ Electronics in the mid-80s. I manufacture and sell the Quantum Loops, Phaser, Q-Stick, etc., and have a website http://www.dxtools.com if you are interested in checking out what`s available. Some of the components of the loops in particular are getting increasingly difficult to find, so I`ll be changing the circuit of the Quantum Loops before next season and will, unfortunately, have to raise the price by, I`m guessing, 5 to 10%. The prices have been the same for several years now, but my costs are increasing, sometimes dramatically, and I just have to pass them along --- sorry. Club members , however, will continue to receive a 10% discount off the list price. The big news around here is that as of March 1, I am officially retired from my job as a government scientist --- hooray. Working for 25 years in an underground laboratory is enough to drive anyone insane. The good news is that I`ll now have more time to devote to the radio hobby and Radio Plus+ in particular. I`ve had a couple of SW products in the prototype stage now for many years and hope to introduce them by next season now that I`ll be working only one job instead of two (Gerry Thomas, 3635 Chastain Way, Pensacola FL 32504, radioplus @ bellsouth.net Musings of the Members, NRC DX News march 22 via DXLD) ALLAN LEAVES HARRIS BROADCAST --- Last Updated: 2004-03-23 The head of Harris' Broadcast Communications division is leaving the company. Bruce Allan, who held the job six and a half years, has resigned. In a statement, Harris CEO Howard Lance said Allan has resigned as president of the division effective immediately to pursue other opportunities. In January the Harris broadcast segment, which includes both radio and TV products, reported revenue of $66.4 million and operating income of $2.6 million in the second fiscal quarter, down from $94.2 million and $6 million, respectively, in the same period a year earlier. At that time, Harris said sales had increased for studio products and systems, an area heavily affected by the economic downturn. The company also said it was encouraged by the release of HD Radio receivers at the Consumer Electronics show and a $96 million contract to modernize the Iraqi Media Network. Lance will serve as the Broadcast Communications Division chief executive while the company seeks a replacement. An external search is underway, according to the company. (RadioWorld NewsByte via Benjamin F. Dawson III, DXLD) Sic transit gloria. bfd3 PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from mostly quiet to unsettled levels with isolated active periods observed early on 15 March and again midday, at high latitudes, on 21 March. The early active period was due to waning effects of the previous week’s large coronal hole. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 24 MARCH - 19 APRIL 2004 Solar activity is expected to range from low to moderate levels throughout the forecast period. Isolated moderate activity is possible from Region 574 until its departure on 29 March and from Region 578 until its departure on 31 March. From 31 March through 11 April, activity should be at mostly very low to low levels. Solar activity is expected to increase to low to moderate levels after old regions 574 (11 April) and 578 (13 April) return. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on from 27 to 29 March, 06 to 11 April and again on 19 April due to recurrent coronal holes. Geomagnetic activity is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. A weak coronal hole high-speed stream is due to return on 26 – 27 March and is expected to produce unsettled to active conditions. A large, recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream is due to return on 05 – 09 April and is expected to produce active to minor storm conditions. Unsettled to active conditions are expected on 17 to 18 April due to weak coronal hole high-speed stream. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2004 Mar 23 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2004 Mar 23 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2004 Mar 24 115 8 3 2004 Mar 25 120 10 3 2004 Mar 26 115 20 4 2004 Mar 27 110 12 3 2004 Mar 28 105 15 3 2004 Mar 29 100 12 3 2004 Mar 30 100 10 3 2004 Mar 31 95 8 3 2004 Apr 01 100 5 2 2004 Apr 02 100 5 2 2004 Apr 03 100 5 2 2004 Apr 04 100 5 2 2004 Apr 05 95 15 3 2004 Apr 06 95 25 5 2004 Apr 07 90 25 5 2004 Apr 08 90 20 4 2004 Apr 09 90 20 4 2004 Apr 10 90 12 3 2004 Apr 11 95 10 3 2004 Apr 12 100 8 3 2004 Apr 13 105 8 3 2004 Apr 14 110 5 2 2004 Apr 15 115 5 2 2004 Apr 16 115 5 2 2004 Apr 17 115 12 3 2004 Apr 18 120 10 3 2004 Apr 19 120 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1225, DXLD) ###