DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-055, March 26, 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 1225: Sat 0000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sat 0900 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Sat 0955 on WNQM Nashville 1300 Sat 1130 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1930 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast http://www.wpkn.org Sat 2130 on WWCR 12160 Sat 2130 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Sat 2200 on DKOS usually, http://www.live365.com/stations/steve_cole Sun 0030 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1100 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts [or 1000 UT already? If not next week] Sun 1900 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 2100 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Mon 0200 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [NEW] Mon 0430 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [last week`s 1224] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: 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 1225 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1225h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1225h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1225.html WORLD OF RADIO 1225 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1225.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1225.rm CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-02 (low version only): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0402.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0402.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0402.html ** ALASKA. KNLS was in the clear tho echoey on their March frequency, 9655, for English at 1310 check March 25, the usual mix of brief features about Alaska and evangelism. The next day, not so good, as high-latitude paths are so variable. From March 28 for another month they go to 11870 at 1300-1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Amigos DXistas! I do not remember who it was (please forgive me) but someone on the mailinglists, probably "Conexión Digital", had information about Radio Guarujá changing frequency to(or in // with old frequency?) 5930 kHz. Last night I had an unID Brazilian station with soccer/futebol on 5930.44 kHz. 73s from (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, March 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {time? 4-057} ** CANADA. Radio Canada International - RCI A04 short wave broadcast schedule, effective April 4th to October 30th, 2004, published by RCI- Engineering. [gh excerpted English programs only] UTC Tx kHz kW AZ TARGET 0000-0057 KIM 9640 100 225 Asia / China XIA 15205 120 188 MON: The Maple Leaf Mailbag / Spotlight TUE-SAT: The World at Six / As It Happens SUN: Business Sense / Sci-tech File 0100-0159 SAC 9755 250 277 United States / Caribbean SAC 11990 250 240 SAC 13710 250 272 MON: The Maple Leaf Mailbag / Spotlight TUE: The World at Six / Media Zone WED: The World at Six / The Mailbag THU: The World at Six / Spotlight FRI: The World at Six / Business Sense SAT: The World at Six / Sci-tech File SUN: Business Sense / Sci-tech File 0200-0257 XIA 15510 120 258 India XIA 17860 120 258 MON: Quirks & Quarks TUE: Writers & Company WED-FRI: The Nighttime Review SAT: Talking Books / C'est la vie SUN: Global Village 1200-1259 YAM 9660 100 270 Asia / China YAM 15190 300 235 MON: Quirks & Quarks TUE: Writers & Company WED-FRI: The Nighttime Review SAT: Talking Books / C'est la Vie SUN: Global Village 1200-1459 SAC 9515 250 277 United States / Caribbean SAC 13655 250 240 SAC 17800 250 189 MON-THU: The Current / Sounds like Canada / Outfront FRI: The Current / Sounds like Canada / C'est la vie 1300-1559: SAC 9515 250 277 United States / Caribbean Sat & Sun SAC 13655 250 240 SAC 17800 250 189 SAT: The House / The Vinyl Café / Quirks & Quarks SUN: The Sunday Edition 1500-1557 XIA 15455 120 258 India XIA 17720 120 258 MON: Canada Today / Media Zone TUE: Canada Today / The Mailbag WED: Canada Today / Spolight THU: Canada Today / Business Sense FRI: Canada Today / Sci-tech File SAT: Business Sense / Sci-tech File SUN: The Maple Leaf Mailbag / Spotlight 1800-1859 WER 9530 250 140 Sub-Saharan Africa DHA 11770 250 230 WER 13730 250 170 SKN 15255 300 180 MON: Canada Today / Media Zone TUE: Canada Today / The Mailbag WED: Canada Today / Spolight THU: Canada Today / Business Sense FRI: Canada Today / Sci-tech File SAT: Business Sense / Sci-tech File SUN: The Maple Leaf Mailbag / Spotlight 2000-2059 HBY 5850 350 245 Europe SKN 7235 300 110 SKN 11690 300 110 SAC 13700 250 60 SAC 17870 250 60 MON: Canada Today / Media Zone TUE: Canada Today / The Mailbag WED: Canada Today / Spolight THU: Canada Today / Business Sense FRI: Canada Today / Sci-tech File SAT: Business Sense / Sci-tech File SUN: The Maple Leaf Mailbag / Spotlight 2200-2229 SAC 5960 250 240 USA / Caribbean / Latin America SAC 13785 250 240 SAC 15170 250 176 MON-FRI: The World at Six SAT-SUN: The World This Weekend 2229:30-2359 SAC 5960 250 240 United States / Caribbean SAC 13785 250 240 MON-FRI: As It Happens THU: Dispatches (23:30) [used to be Wed; mistake?] SAT: Media Zone / Global Village SUN: Madly Off in All Directions / Writers & Company 2230-2259 KIM 9525 100 225 China KIM 11810 100 305 YAM 12035 300 235 MON: Media Zone TUE: The Maple Leaf Mailbag WED: Spotlight THU: Business Sense FRI: Sci-tech File SAT: Media Zone SUN: Madly Off in All Directions A04 Broadcast Schedule for Radio (Digital Radio Mondial - DRM), effective April 4th (07:00 UTC) to October 30th, 2004 (07:00 UTC): 2100-2159 SAC 9800 70 268 Northeast United States MON-FRI: The World at Six / As It Happens SAT: The Vinyl Café SUN: Writers & Company Transmitter Sites: MSK: MOSCOW, RUSSIA VIE: VIENNA, AUSTRIA RMC: RADIO MONTE CARLO VOL: VOICE OF LEBANON RMP: RAMPISHAM, UNITED KINGDOM WOF: WOFFERTON, UNITED KINGDOM SAC: SACKVILLE, CANADA WER: WERTACHTAL, GERMANY SKN: SKELTON, UNITED KINGDOM XIA: XIAN, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA SNG: SINGAPORE YAM: YAMATA, JAPAN (Schedule Issued on March 1st, 2004; via Andreas Volk - ADDX via WB; 2004 March 11, WWDXC via DXLD) ** CANADA. COMEDY DAY IN CANADA ON CBC RADIO ONE HOT SHEET FOR FRIDAY MARCH 26, 2004 What do you need especially badly around the end of March? A laugh. And today, CBC Radio One plans to deliver. From the start of the broadcast day until 9 p.m., just about every local and network show on CBC Radio One is guaranteed to deliver a laugh, chuckle or side- splitting guffaw. Comedy Day in Canada is a way to highlight the incredible variety of homegrown comics working in Canada. You'll hear some of the best on The Current, Sounds Like Canada, Richardson's Roundup, C'est la vie and As It Happens. And at 8 p.m., CBC Radio takes a look at what it really means to be Canadian in the one-hour comedy special Myths, Lies and Maple Leafs. Comedy Day in Canada, today on CBC Radio One. Prepare to die - laughing. For details, and even more funny stuff, go to http://cbc.ca/radiocomedy 1. THE CURRENT: The Current does its bit for Comedy Day on CBC with a look at the history of Canadian Comedy, an examination of political satire, and a look at the growing role of satire as a source of news. That's on The Current, with Anna Maria Tremonti [not], this morning at 8:30 (9:00 NT) on CBC Radio One. 2. SOUNDS LIKE CANADA: Comedy Day on CBC continues this morning as Shelagh Rogers hosts Sounds Like Canada live from the Gas Station Theatre in Winnipeg. Tune in for stand-up comedy, improv, and music. The lineup also includes discussions about life in Winnipeg, the differences between Canadian and U-S audiences, and whether multicultural comics are telling racist jokes. That's Sounds Like Canada, this morning at 10 (10:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 3. C'EST LA VIE: ***evening edition pre-empted by Myths, Lies & Maple Leafs*** C'est la vie is celebrating Comedy Day in Canada on CBC Radio One with a look at improv in French Canada. The LNI is an improv competition that's been popular in Quebec for more than 25 years. Actors play in team colours, on a stage that looks remarkably like a hockey rink. And the competition is serious. Find out more about the LNI on C'est la vie, with Bernard St-Laurent, this morning at 11:30 (noon NT) on CBC Radio One. 4. RICHARDSON'S ROUNDUP: Comedy Day on CBC continues this afternoon, as Richardson's Roundup features Silly Improv Games. Hear highlights from a jam-packed comedy event in Vancouver, with Bill Richardson submitting to the wily comic ways of improv experts Diana Frances, Drew McCreadie and Randy Schooley. Also, stand-up comedy from Roman Danylo, taped before a sold-out audience at Vancouver's Urban Well comedy club. That's this afternoon on Richardson's Roundup at 2 (2:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 5. AS IT HAPPENS: As It Happens is doing its bit for Comedy Day on CBC. They'll present a For The Record from the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and preview the Myths, Lies and Maple Leafs special airing right after the show. That's As It Happens, with Mary Lou Finlay and Russ Germain, tonight at 6:30 (7 NT) on CBC Radio One. 6. MYTHS, LIES AND MAPLE LEAFS: CBC's Comedy Day in Canada reaches its apex tonight with Myths, Lies and Maple Leafs. Hosted by Colin Mochrie, and starring John Wing, Derek Edwards, Kenny Robinson, Ray Landry, Glen Foster and Mark Critch, it's a comedic look at what it really means to be Canadian. Myths, Lies and Maple Leafs, tonight at 8 (8:30 NT) 0n CBC Radio One (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** CANADA. Here is a link trumpeting CBC Fredericton's departure from AM and move to FM. It features pictures of the new sign being erected at the CBC studio building http://nb.cbc.ca/features/AMtoFMconversion/ (Brent Taylor, NRC-AM via DXLD) I was unable to get a CBZ webcast connexion for the big event Wednesday afternoon before I had to concentrate on WOR 1225 (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. PRIVATE RADIO DIALS UP A REVENUE REVIVAL --- Consolidation credited for steady growth of the once-struggling broadcast sector By PAUL WALDIE Thursday, March 18, 2004 - Page B1 (from Globe & Mail) Private radio is enjoying something of a resurgence in Canada with FM stations racking up record profits last year and the long-struggling AM format finally on the cusp of profitability. Total revenue for all private radio stations jumped nearly 8 per cent last year to a record $1.19-billion, according to figures released yesterday by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Broadcasters' total operating profit increased 31 per cent last year to $210.4-million, which was also a record, the CRTC figures showed. "The last time we were in this kind of range was in 1975," said Glenn O'Farrell, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Broadcasters Association. "If you look at the formats and genres that are available to Canadians in most markets across the county, it's a richer menu than we have ever had in terms of musical variety." In fact, the CRTC figures showed that so-called "ethnic and native" stations are experiencing significant growth. These stations reported a total operating profit of $2-million in 2003, more than double the previous year's profit. Mr. O'Farrell credits industry consolidation and new niches for AM radio for much of the turnaround. Radio fell into disarray in the 1980s and 1990s, he said, in part because of strict ownership rules that prevented large players from developing networks. In 1997, the CRTC changed the rules and allowed broadcasters to own up to four stations in any one market. Since then, CRTC figures show the industry has seen a steady increase in both revenue and profitability. Most of the financial gains last year came from the FM side. According to the CRTC figures, FM stations posted a profit of $214-million last year, up 17 per cent from 2002. By contrast, AM stations lost $3.6- million in 2003. However, that was well below the $22-million loss in 2002 and the $50-million loss in 2001. One main reason for the difference in financial performance is that FM stations are generally far less expensive to operate. AM stations require expensive transmission towers whereas FM transmitters are much smaller. One executive said it cost his company about $1-million to set up an AM station in a major city. Setting up the same station on an FM format would have cost as little as $250,000. AM radio also cannot compete with FM in terms of sound quality. As a result, most AM stations have moved to all-talk formats or found other niches in news or sports. The switch has met with some success and it is the main reason AM radio losses shrunk last year, industry players say. "AM is really about keeping costs down or finding a niche that you totally dominate," said a radio executive. About a decade ago, Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc. switched the formats of its main AM stations in Toronto and Vancouver from music to all-news. Today both stations are faring much better and the company's 680 News in Toronto brings in more revenue from billings than any other AM station in the city. "Those are the kinds of formats where AM does fairly well," said Rogers Media president Tony Viner. But there are significant challenges ahead. Pat Bohn, a Vancouver- based broadcast consultant, said one major problem facing radio is its aging audience. "We are weak with our younger consumers because we don't have a program that is targeted to teenage and younger consumers," Mr. Bohn said. "Young consumers are just not coming to the radio." Another challenge is the advent of subscription-based satellite services, such as U.S. giants XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Both companies provide about 100 radio channels to subscribers who pay up to $13 (U.S.) a month. XM has about 1.5 million customers and Sirius close to 300,000 and they have both formed partnerships with big auto makers, such as General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, to make the service available in new cars. The companies have applied to bring the service to Canada with Canadian partners. Toronto-based CHUM Ltd. has also applied for a licence to run a similar subscription service in Canada. Mr. Bohn says he is worried that subscription services will harm local radio by poaching major talents and limiting access to some performers. However, others say subscription services could help push radio toward an all-digital format, offering clearer signals for AM and FM (via Eric Flodén, BC, March 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** EGYPT. CAMBIO DE FRECUENCIA EN RADIO EL CAIRO EN ESPAÑOL --- Período A-04 desde el 28 de marzo al 31 de octubre de 2004. La emisión diaria de 0045 a 0200 UTC mantiene las frecuencias de 9415 Khz y 11755 Khz hacia Sudamérica pero, según me informa Verónica Balderas --- integrante de la Sección Española de Radio El Cairo --- la frecuencia de 11780 que va dirigida a México cambiará a la de 11855, a partir del 28 de marzo de 2004 (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As we have already pointed out, 11855 will clash with WYFR. You have to coördinate! (gh, DXLD) ** EUROPE. RESTRUCTURING: SAN MARINO AND NORWAY EXPAND 40 METERS Two more nations have gained spectrum at 7 MHz. Both are in Europe. Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham in the UK has more: Two more European countries have gained access to the 7100 to 7200 kHz segment of the 40-metre band. San Marino, T7, has authorised amateur radio operation in the 7100-7200 kHz band on a Secondary non- interference basis, with effect from the 25th of February. The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority has also announced that Norwegian radio amateurs can use frequencies in the segment 7100- 7200 kHz with secondary status starting from the 1st of April. This is in addition to the existing segment 7000-7100 kHz where radio amateurs have primary status. The maximum transmitter output power in the 7100-7200 segment will be 100 watts in Norway, and the maximum bandwidth 6 kHz. Jeramy Boot, G4NJH. Croatia was the first European country to expand its 40 meter band. That happened last December. (GB2RS via ARNewline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3340.00, HRMI, Mar 24, 0104, English ad for a radio automation software system followed by partially heard ID in Spanish, ID again at 0109 "Radio Misiones Internacional 1480 A-M...90 onda corta." good signal with fairly heavy fades (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. USS Hornet ARC [amateur radio club] Disbanded {NOT SO -- see next issue} I received this from a friend, the USS Hornet Amateur Radio Club has been disbanded... (JJ, am-sw-dxing yahoogroup Mar 22 via DXLD) WOW!!! ============================ The USS Hornet ARC has been disbanded. After two years of hard work the USS Hornet ARC has formed the opinion that the civilian management of the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation is comprised [sic] of anti- Americans and Scofflaws who do not support the very Rights, Freedoms and Traditional American Values that the USS Hornet fought so hard to preserve. We cannot in good conscious [sic] support such a group. To maintain our honor and distance ourselves from the actions of the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation we have pulled our funding and disbanded the USS Hornet ARC. For any outstanding QSL requests please see the information for the QSL Manager below. Our QSL Manager is Tom, KO6HA, in Prunedale, Ca. Please direct any inquiries concerning the USS Hornet ARC QSL Program directly to him, via email, at: ko6ha@e... [truncated by yahoogroups] (via JJ, ibid.) ** ISRAEL. The English Kol Israel schedule mentioned on the radio does match the schedule I sent out a few days ago. At the moment, it's also listed at: http://bet.iba.org.il/?lang=23 Overseas frequency summer schedule The summer Israel radio shortwave frequency schedule goes into effect Sunday, March 28th. Beginning that day, Israel radio shortwave broadcasts will be heard at the following times and frequencies... At 5 hours UTC on 9435, 11590 and 17600 kiloHertz. At 1110 hours UTC on 15640 and 17535 kiloHertz. At 18 hours UTC on 11605, 15640 and 17535 kiloHertz. At 20 hours UTC on 11605, 15615 and 17535 kiloHertz. AM and FM frequencies for local listeners are unaffected. 25.03.2004 14:52 (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. UNKNOWNICO: 9870, Rebroadcast of KXTA Los Angeles, 3/20, 13:30, Contents of e-mail sent to the station: This morning, March 20th, at 8:30 (5:30 Pacific time), I heard your station on shortwave radio on 9870 kHz. The details of the program was Fox Sports Net and there numerous mentions of LA, Southern CA, Orange County, Radio 11-50, etc. The Fox Sports was taking listener telephone calls from all over the county, and there was talk of Tiger Woods going through army training for four days, effects of dieting on golf, workouts specifically for the golfer, scores of NCAA games and so on until just after 6:00 when the signal abruptly stopped during the news. While I have heard Fox Sports on radio many times, I have never heard them on shortwave radio. Is this a new service that you are carrying? Is it possible to get some kind of verification from your station that I heard your programs? I was in S. California last year, and listened to your station quite a lot, and I was quite surprised to hear you again, all the way in Michigan (Dave Tomasko, Downers Grove IL, MARE via DXLD) WJIE Upton KY has relayed CA AM/FM stations, but dunno who this one is (Harold Frodge, MARE ed, ibid.) ?? The first question to ask is: could this be anything other than R. New Zealand International, which is normally on the frequency at this time (but only for a few more days). Then I will point out that there have been previous reports of US sports networks being relayed by NZ networks, although I did not think it was National Radio. There may have been an egregious mixup in the network feed into the NZ SW transmitter. I`ll bet KXTA knows nothing about it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6819.43, La Voz de las Huarinjas, Mar 24, 1030, Andean song with vocals and flutes followed by canned ID with heavy reverb "...onda corta...Radio La Voz de las Huarinjas...", weak but audible signal (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. RADIO ''THE VOICE OF RUSSIA'' - RUSSIAN WORLD SERVICE (OVERSEAS BROADCASTING) TIME/FREQUENCY SCHEDULE FOR SUMMER PERIOD '2004 --------------------------------------------------- (Times - UTC /GMT/; Frequencies - kHz) To EUROPE: 01.00-02.00 = 1170, 936; 02.00-03.00 = 936; 12.00-13.00 = 1548, 1431, 1170, 999, 972, 936; 17.00-18.00 = 11630*, 9480**, 603; 19.00-20.00 = 12020**, 11745*, 11630*, 9480**, 5950, 612; 20.00-21.00 = 999. NOTES: 603 kHz - for Germany (Berlin) via local transmitter; 612 kHz - for Moscow Region. To BALTIC countries: 01.00-02.00 = 1170; 12.00-13.00 = 1170; 17.00-18.00 = 11630*; 9480**; 19.00-20.00 = 11630*; 9480**. To UKRAINE AND MOLDAVIA: See: "EUROPE". To BYELORUSSIA: 01.00-02.00 = 1170; 12.00-13.00 = 1170. To CAUCASIAN AREA: 01.00-02.00 = 1314; 19.00-21.00 = 12055; To CENTRAL ASIA: 01.00-02.00 = 1503, 972, 648; 12.00-13.00 = 9920, 9875, 1143; 13.00-14.00 = 17645, 1251; 15.00-16.00 = 1251. To AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and PACIFIC AREA: 12.00-14.00 = 11640. To ASIA: 12.00-13.00 = 15470, 11640, 9920, 9745, 9480; 13.00-14.00 = 15470, 11640, 9745, 1251; 15.00-16.00 = 12055, 5945, 1251. TO SOUTH-EAST ASIA: 12.00-13.00 = 11640, 7390; 12.00-14.00 = 17645, 11640, 7390. To NEAR and MIDDLE EAST: 01.00-02.00 = 1503, 972, 648; 12.00-13.00 = 9875, 1143; 15.00-16.00 = 15440*, 12055, 7130**, 5945, 1314, 1251; 19.00-20.00 = 12055, 5950, 234; 20.00-21.00 = 12055, 234. To The WESTERN HEMISPHERE: 01.00-02.00 = 15455, 15425, 12070*, 9880*, 9470* 9725, 7300**, 7260**; 02.00-03.00 = 15455, 15425, 12070*, 9880*, 9725, 9470, 7330, 7300**, 7260**. NOTES: *) - Till September, 4th; **) - From September, 5th. -------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT: 1. HIGH QUALITY RECEPTION IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF YOU LISTEN TO US AT TIMES AND ON FREQUENCIES AIMED AT YOUR REGION! 2. FREQUENCIES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. --------------------------------------------------------------- OUR ADDRESS: Russian World Service, ''The Voice of Russia'', Moscow-Radio, 115326 Russia. VOICE: [+7 095] 950-6868. FAX: [+7 095] 950-6116. E-MAIL: letters @ vor.ru ACTUAL INFORMATION, WEB and REAL AUDIO (on live): http://www.vor.ru/Russian.htm 73! Pavel Mikhaylov (Moscow, RUS) ---- (via Michael Bethge, WWDXC TopNews, March 24 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. FAR-EASTERN RADIO PICS --- Some nice photos from Soviet and Russian radio history can be found on the website of Khabarovsk's "Far Eastern Broadcasting Company" (GTRK Dalnevostochnaya) at http://www.dvtrk.ru/FotoDVTRK/foto.html It is in Russian, so here are the descriptions of the photos from top to bottom: 1) The broadcasting house in Khabarovsk. 2) The broadcasting house in (the suburb of) Khabarovsk-2. 3) Audio engineer and composer Dmitri Golland. 4) Veterans of Khabarovsk radio: journalists Naum Ajzman and Ivan Nikitin; announcer Leniana Malova. 5) The staff of Khabarovsk radio in 1976. 6) Khabarovsk radio's sport reporter Vitali Likhovolov. 7) Journalist Leonid Stroykov prepares material for a broadcast about indigenous peoples on River Amur. 8) Interview with the President. On the mike - Khabarovsk radio's commentator Yekaterina Serikova. 9) Working in the studios: director Ludmila Ustinova, commentators Linel Krendel and Oleg Kopytov, sound engineer Larissa Dolgopolova. 10) Konstantin Simonov and editor Nikolaj Kolodin in 1967. 11) Senior speakers (anchormen) Valeri Eryomin and Bella Popovich. 12) The first speaker of Khabarovsk radio, Mikhail Filippovich Tebnev. 13) Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, among journalists in 1967. The tallest in the middle is Khabarovsk radio's correspondent Yuri Golubtsov. 14) Live broadcast from the First-of-May marches in 1958. On the mike actress Maria Protassova, from left to right stand announcers Mikhail Tebnev and Dmitri Sugrobkin. 15) Sound engineer Ella Stepanova on the controls; she still works today... 16) and 17) Director of Khabarovsk radio, Vladimir Vitalevich Shvedchenko. The link in the bottom leads to a photogallery about a recent summit of far-eastern GTRKs in Khabarovsk. Best 73, EiBi -- (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO {non}. Hello Glenn, First I would thank you for the great job you do for shortwave listeners. I'm trying to find new A-04 schedules as soon as I can to complete the topic. Even if it's not easy to find information before you and your regular contributors. Since this morning, the schedule of International Radio of Serbia and Montenegro is available for the first week of the A-04 season, on their website. I took the days/times of start and end of this week's broadcasts into account to rewrite the schedule (column 'days'). Something new about it : broadcasts to Australia. Good luck, Stephane Veron, France --------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL RADIO OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO Schedule, valid March 28th (1330 UTC) to April 4th (1430 UTC) START-END DAYS LANGUAGE TARGET FREQ. KW AZIMUT ------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, March 29th to Sunday, April 4th 0000-0030 MTWTFSS SPANISH 1 sAM 9680 250 265 0030-0100 MTWTFS- SERBIAN 1 nAM EU 9580 250 310 0030-0130 ------S SERBIAN SPEC. nAM EU 9580 250 310 0100-0130 MTWTFS- ENGLISH 1 nAM EU 9580 250 310 0130-0200 MTWTFSS SERBIAN RTS nAM eu 9580 250 310 0530-0600 MTWTFSS ENGLISH 2 nAM EU 9580 250 325 ------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, March 28th to Saturday, April 3rd 1430-1500 SMTWTFS ARABIC 1 ARABIA 11800 250 130 1500-1530 SMTWTFS RUSSIAN 1 RUSSIA 11870 250 040 1530-1545 SMTWTFS HUNGARIAN 1 HUNGARY 6100 250 000 1545-1600 SMTWTFS GREEK 1 GREECE 6100 250 130 1600-1630 SMTWTFS FRENCH 1 wEU 9620 250 310 1630-1700 SMTWTFS GERMAN wEU 9620 250 310 1700-1715 SMTWTFS ALBANIAN 1 ALBANIA 6100 250 180 1715-1730 SMTWTFS BULGARIAN 1 BULGARIA 6100 250 130 1730-1800 SMTWTFS ITALIAN 1 wEU 9620 250 310 1800-1830 SMTWTFS RUSSIAN 2 RUSSIA 6100 250 040 1830-1900 SMTWTFS ENGLISH 3 wEU 6100 250 310 1900-1930 SMTWTFS SPANISH 2 SPAIN 7200 250 250 1930-2000 SMTWTF- SERBIAN 2 wEU 6100 250 310 2000-2030 SMTWTF- GERMAN 2 wEU 6100 250 310 1930-2030 ------S SERBIAN SPEC. wEU 6100 250 310 2030-2100 SMTWTFS FRENCH 2 wEU 6100 250 310 2100-2130 SMTWTFS ENGLISH 4 EU 6100 250 310 2130-2200 SMTWTF- SERBIAN 3 AUSTRALIA 7230 250 100 2130-2230 ------S SERBIAN SPEC. AUSTRALIA 7230 250 100 2200-2230 SMTWTF- ENGLISH 5 AUSTRALIA 7230 250 100 2230-2300 SMTWTFS CHINESE 1 CHINA 9580 250 055 Source : http://www.radioyu.org (via Stephane Veron, France, DXLD) Some of the services, at least to NAm make a one-hour-earlier shift on April 4 to match our own DST switch, something few other overseas broadcasters bother to do (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN -- Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "S-Files" tastes Swedish crisp bread Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: "Studio 49" Sunday: "SoNo" presents Sweden's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest (repeat) The MediaScan blog is now also located at http://mediascan.org (SCDX/MediaScan March 24 via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND [and non]. SCHEDULE A04 OF SWISS RADIO INTERNATIONAL Targets only Africa and South America, for other regions of the world listen to live-streams at the internet or satellite streams. Address: Swiss Radio International, Giacomettistrasse 1, CH-3000 Bern 15. Fax: +41-31-3509544, E-mail: technical@swissinfo.org, Web: http://www.swissinfo.org all 1234567 = daily LANGUAGE UTC FREQ STATION kW Azi Target Arabic 1700-1730 13750 JUELICH 100 115 EU/AF/M Arabic 1700-1730 15515 JUELICH 100 115 neAF/ME Arabic 1700-1730 17870 SOTTENS 500 140 neAF/ME Arabic 1900-1930 11815 JUELICH 100 160 AF Arabic 1900-1930 13645 JUELICH 100 200 wAF Arabic 1900-1930 13795 SOTTENS 500 140 AF Arabic 1900-1930 15220 MONTSINERY 500 115 sAF ============================================================== English 0730-0800 13650 JUELICH 100 200 wAF English 0730-0800 15445 JUELICH 100 160 nAF English 0730-0800 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF English 0830-0900 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF English 1730-1800 13750 JUELICH 100 115 EU/AF/M English 1730-1800 15515 JUELICH 100 115 neAF/ME English 1730-1800 17870 SOTTENS 500 140 neAF/ME English 1930-2030 11815 JUELICH 100 160 AF English 1930-2030 13645 JUELICH 100 200 wAF English 1930-2030 13795 SOTTENS 500 140 AF English 1930-2030 15220 MONTSINERY 500 115 sAF English 2330-2400 9885 SOTTENS 500 230 SA English 2330-2400 11905 MONTSINERY 500 175 SA ============================================================== French 0600-0630 13650 JUELICH 100 200 wAF French 0600-0630 15445 JUELICH 100 160 nAF French 0600-0630 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF French 1000-1030 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF French 1800-1815 13750 JUELICH 100 115 EU/AF/M French 1800-1815 15515 JUELICH 100 115 neAF/ME French 1800-1815 17870 SOTTENS 500 140 neAF/ME French 2100-2130 11815 JUELICH 100 160 AF French 2100-2130 13645 JUELICH 100 200 wAF French 2100-2130 13795 SOTTENS 500 140 AF French 2100-2130 15220 MONTSINERY 500 115 sAF French 2200-2230 9885 SOTTENS 500 230 SA French 2200-2230 11905 MONTSINERY 500 175 SA German 0630-0700 13650 JUELICH 100 200 wAF German 0630-0700 15445 JUELICH 100 160 nAF German 0630-0700 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF German 0930-1000 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF German 2030-2100 11815 JUELICH 100 160 AF German 2030-2100 13645 JUELICH 100 200 wAF German 2030-2100 13795 SOTTENS 500 140 AF German 2030-2100 15220 MONTSINERY 500 115 sAF German 2230-2300 9885 SOTTENS 500 230 SA German 2230-2300 11905 MONTSINERY 500 175 SA Italian 0700-0730 13650 JUELICH 100 200 wAF Italian 0700-0730 15445 JUELICH 100 160 nAF Italian 0700-0730 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF Italian 0900-0930 21770 SOTTENS 500 165 AF Italian 1630-1700 13750 JUELICH 100 115 EU/AF/M Italian 1630-1700 15515 JUELICH 100 115 neAF/ME Italian 1630-1700 17870 SOTTENS 500 140 neAF/ME Italian 1830-1900 11815 JUELICH 100 160 AF Italian 1830-1900 13645 JUELICH 100 200 wAF Italian 1830-1900 13795 SOTTENS 500 140 AF Italian 1830-1900 15220 MONTSINERY 500 115 sAF Italian 2300-2330 9885 SOTTENS 500 230 SA Italian 2300-2330 11905 MONTSINERY 500 175 SA (Andreas Volk - ADDX, via WB, 2004 March 11) SRI will close down all shortwave transmissions at end of period A04 (Ulrich Wegmüller - SRI, via HJB in ntt-0403-2; March 13, 2004 via WWDXC via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. RADIO TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL A04 SCHEDULE March 28th, 2004 - October 31st, 2004 All times in UTC Mandarin Days Area kHz Site kW 0000-0200 daily CHN 11640 TWN 100 0100-0200 daily SAm 15215, 17845 WYFR 100 0100-0500 daily CHN 11940 TWN 100 0200-0500 daily SeA 15290 TWN 250 0300-0500 daily CHN 1008 TWN 600 0300-0500 daily CHN 15215 TWN 100 0300-0800 daily CHN 1557 TWN 300 0400-0500 daily SeA 15320 TWN 100 0400-0500 daily cNAm 9680 WYFR 100 0400-0500 daily wNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0400-0600 Mo-Fr CHN 11985 TWN 100 0400-0600 daily CHN 15430 TWN 100 0400-0600 daily SeA 15270 TWN 100 0400-0600 daily CHN 11640 TWN 100 0400-1000 Sa, Su CHN 603 TWN 1000 0500-0600 daily CAm 11740 WYFR 100 0500-0800 Sa, Su CHN 15215 TWN 100 0600-0900 Sa, Su CHN 11730, 15430 TWN 100 0600-1000 daily CHN 11795 TWN 100 0600-1000 Sa, Su CHN 11640 TWN 100 0700-0900 Sa, Su CHN 1008 TWN 600 0900-1000 Sa, Su CHN 6085 TWN 300 0900-1000 daily SeA 11635, 15525 TWN 100 0900-1000 Sa, Su CHN 7415 TWN 100 0900-1000 Sa, Su CHN 11665 TWN 300 0900-1000 daily SeA 11520 TWN 100 0900-1000 daily SeA 11605 TWN 250 0900-1000 daily Australasia 11715 TWN 250 0900-1100 daily CHN 9280 TWN 100 0900-1300 daily CHN 15395 TWN 100 0900-1400 daily CHN 7365 TWN 300 0900-1500 daily CHN 1422 TWN 50 0900-1700 daily CHN 1008 TWN 600 0900-1700 daily CHN 9780 TWN 100 1000-1100 daily CHN 927 TWN 400 1000-1200 Fr-We CHN 747 TWN 250 1000-1400 Daily CHN 11640 TWN 100 1000-1500 Daily CHN 6085 TWN 300 1000-1600 Daily CHN 603 TWN 1000 1000-1700 Daily CHN 7415 TWN 100 1100-1200 Daily Australasia 11715 TWN 250 1100-1400 Daily CHN 11875 TWN 100 1100-1700 Daily CHN 11780 TWN 300 1200-1300 Daily SeA 15465 TWN 100 1200-1300 Daily NeA 11605 TWN 250 1300-1400 Daily SeA 15265 TWN 250 1300-1500 Daily SeA 7445 TWN 100 1300-1500 Daily CHN 927 TWN 400 1300-1700 Daily CHN 1098 TWN 250 1400-1700 Daily CHN 9680 TWN 100 1400-1800 Daily CHN 6145, 7515 TWN 100 1900-2000 Daily Eu 9955 TWN 250 1900-2000 Daily Eu 15600 WYFR 100 2200-2300 Daily Eu 3965 Issoudun 250 2200-2400 Daily CHN 603 TWN 1000 2200-2400 Daily CHN 1008 TWN 600 2200-2400 Daily SeA 11635 TWN 100 2200-2400 Daily wNAm 15440 WYFR 100 2200-2400 Daily eNAm 5950 WYFR 100 2200-0300 Daily CHN 11710 TWN 300 2300-2400 Daily SeA 9790 TWN 250 2300-2400 Daily CHN 747 TWN 250 2300-2400 Daily CHN 1206, 6150 TWN 100 2300-0200 Daily CHN 11885, 15245 TWN 100 2300-0300 Daily CHN 9660 TWN 100 2300-0500 Daily CHN 1422 TWN 50 Hokkien Days Area kHz Site kW 0000-0100 Daily wNAm 15440 WYFR 100 0000-0200 Daily SeA 11875 TWN 250 0500-0700 Daily CHN 1008 TWN 600 0500-0700 Daily SeA 15580 TWN 100 0500-0900 Daily CHN 1422 TWN 50 1000-1100 Daily SeA 15465 TWN 100 1000-1100 Daily NeA 11605 TWN 250 1200-1300 Daily SeA 11715 TWN 250 1300-1400 Daily SeA 11635, 15465 TWN 100 2100-2200 Daily eNAm 5950 WYFR 100 Cantonese Days Area kHz Site kW 0100-0200 Daily wNAm 15440 WYFR 100 0100-0200 Daily SeA 15290 TWN 250 0100-0200 Daily eNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0200-0300 Daily SeA 15610 TWN 100 0500-0600 Daily SeA 15320 TWN 100 0500-0600 Daily wNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0500-0600 Daily cNAm 9680 WYFR 100 1000-1100 Daily SeA 11635, 15525 TWN 100 1000-1100 Daily Australasia 11715 TWN 250 1000-1200 Daily SeA 15270 TWN 100 1100-1300 Daily CHN 1206 TWN 100 1200-1400 Daily CHN 6105 TWN 100 1200-1400 Daily SeA 11915 TWN 250 2200-2300 Daily Eu 11565 WYFR 100 Hakka Days Area kHz Site kW 0000-0100 Daily eNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0200-0300 Daily wNAm 15440 WYFR 100 0300-0400 Daily SeA 15610 TWN 100 0900-1000 Daily SeA 15465 TWN 100 1000-1200 Daily CHN 6105 TWN 100 1100-1200 Daily SeA 15465 TWN 100 1100-1200 Daily SeA 11635 TWN 100 1300-1400 Daily SeA 15175 TWN 100 1400-1500 Daily SeA 11915 TWN 250 1700-1800 Daily SeA 11875 TWN 250 Mongolian Days Area kHz Site kW 1000-1100 Daily CHN, MNG 11985 TWN 100 Tibetan Days Area kHz Site kW 1300-1400 Daily CHN 9415 TWN 100 English Days Area kHz Site kW 0200-0300 Daily NeA 15465 TWN 100 0200-0300 Daily SeA 11875 TWN 250 0200-0300 Daily cNAm 9680 WYFR 100 0200-0300 Daily eNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0200-0400 Daily SeA 15320 TWN 100 0300-0400 Daily SAm 15215 WYFR 100 0300-0400 Daily wNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0700-0800 Daily wNAm 5950 WYFR 100 0800-0900 Daily SeA 9610 TWN 250 1100-1200 Daily SeA 7445 TWN 100 1200-1300 Daily NeA 7130 TWN 50 1400-1500 Daily SeA 15265 TWN 250 1600-1800 Daily CHN, SAs 11550 TWN 100 1800-1900 Daily Eu 3965 Issoudun 250 2200-2300 Daily Eu 15600 WYFR 100 French Days Area kHz Site kW 0700-0800 Daily Eu 7520 WYFR 100 1900-2000 Daily Eu 6045 Skelton 250 2000-2100 Daily Eu 9955 TWN 250 2000-2100 Daily Eu 18930 WYFR 100 2000-2100 Daily eNAm 15310 WYFR 100 2200-2300 Daily Af 9365 Issoudun 500 Spanish Days Area kHz Site kW 0200-0300 Daily SAm 15215, 17845 WYFR 100 0400-0500 Daily cNAm 11740 WYFR 100 0400-0500 Daily wNAm 5950 WYFR 100 2000-2100 Daily Eu 5960 Juelich 100 2300-2400 Daily SAm 15130, 17805 WYFR 100 German Days Area kHz Site kW 0600-0700 Daily Eu 7520 WYFR 100 1800-1900 Daily Eu 9955 TWN 250 1900-2000 Daily Eu 6185 Skelton 300 2100-2200 Daily Eu 11565 WYFR 100 Russian Days Area kHz Site kW 1100-1200 Daily eRUS 11985 TWN 100 1300-1400 Daily wRUS 11935 TWN 250 1700-1800 Daily wRUS 11635 Issoudun 500 Japanese Days Area kHz Site kW 0800-0900 Daily NeA 11605 TWN 250 1100-1200 Daily NeA 11605 TWN 250 1100-1200 Daily NeA 7130 TWN 50 1300-1400 Daily NeA 11605 TWN 250 1300-1400 Daily NeA 7130 TWN 50 Korean Days Area kHz Site kW 0300-0330 Daily NeA 15465 TWN 100 1200-1230 Daily NeA 9415 TWN 100 1400-1430 Daily NeA 9415 TWN 100 Vietnamese Days Area kHz Site kW 0900-1000 Daily SeA 15270 TWN 100 1500-1600 Daily SeA 11915 TWN 250 2200-2300 Daily SeA 9790 TWN 250 Thai Days Area kHz Site kW 0600-0700 Daily SeA 15270 TWN 100 1400-1500 Daily SeA 11635, 15465 TWN 100 1500-1600 Daily SeA 7445 TWN 100 2200-2300 Daily SeA 7445 TWN 100 Indonesian Days Area kHz Site kW 1000-1200 Daily SeA 11520 TWN 100 1200-1300 Daily SeA 11635 TWN 100 1400-1500 Daily SeA 11875 TWN 250 Myanmar Days Area kHz Site kW 1200-1300 Daily SeA 15580 TWN 100 1500-1600 Daily SeA 9465 TWN 100 Arabic Days Area kHz Site kW 1600-1700 Daily ME 11890 TWN 250 1800-1900 Daily ME 11890 TWN 250 Codes for Areas and Countries Af-Africa CAm-Central America CHN-China Eu-Europe NAm-North America NeA-North East Asia ME-Middle East SAm-South America SAs-South Asia SeA-South East Asia MGN-Mongolia RUS-Russia TWN-Taiwan RELAYED VIA: WYFR, USA; Skelton, UK; Issoudin, France; Juelich, Germany. AM --- KEBR AM 1210 kHz, Sacramento CA, USA Mandarin: 2000-2300, Cantonese: 2300-2400, local time Broadcast in Taiwan Mandarin Days Area kHz Site kW 2300-0500 daily cTWN 1422 TWN 50 0900-1500 daily cTWN 1422 TWN 50 1300-1700 daily cTWN 1098 TWN 250 1100-1200 Fr-We sTWN 927 TWN 400 Hokkien Days Area kHz Site kW 0500-0700 daily cTWN 1008 TWN 600 0500-0900 daily sTWN 1422 TWN 50 English Days Area kHz Site kW 1100-1200 Th sTWN 747 TWN 250 1100-1200 Th sTWN 927 TWN 400 Thai Days Area kHz Site kW 1500-1600 daily cTWN 747 TWN 250 1500-1600 daily sTWN 927 TWN 400 2200-2400 daily sTWN 927 TWN 400 Indonesia Days Area kHz Site kW 0400-0600 daily sTWN 927 TWN 400 1200-1300 daily sTWN 927 TWN 400 1500-1600 daily sTWN 1422 TWN 50 (Tnx Joy)(via GRDXC via BCLNews.it via Ron Trotto, swbasics via DXLD) ** TURKS & CAICOS [non?]. DX Country to be deleted? Now for some crazy news. The City of Oshawa, Ontario has made a deal with the British colony of Turks & Caicos (just SE of Bahamas) which would see the Turks & Caicos officially become part of the city of Oshawa!! Now that would be municipal amalgamation on a large scale, hi. Oshawa is asking the federal government for approval. Twice in the past, the Turks & Caicos voted to become a province of Canada but were refused entry. If this goes through (very doubtful since the province of Ontario would have a say; it can create and dissolve cities at will), DX stations in Turks & Caicos would technically be located in Ontario. Weird (VEM3-ONT22, William Hepburn, Grimsby, Niagara, ON, CANADA, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U K. A British television station has angered deaf groups by banning sign language which it considers potentially offensive, such as a limp wrist to indicate "homosexual", according to a report. Other signs deemed un-PC were a hand miming a hooked nose to mean "Jewish" and an index finger pulling an eye into a slant for "Chinese", the "Sunday Telegraph" newspaper said. A spokeswoman for "Vee-TV", a program for the deaf broadcast by British broadcaster Channel Four, told the paper that checks had been introduced to make sure all the sign language used was "culturally appropriate". Caroline O'Neill said that a number of the offensive signs now had more modern alternatives, such as Jewishness being indicated by a hand gesture mimicking the shape of a menorah, the ceremonial candlestick which is one of the oldest symbols of the faith. However the British Council for Disabled People slammed the changes as patronising and intrusive (AFP via SCDX/MediaScan March 24 via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn -- 0240Z 26 March 04, WBCQ 7415 kHz harmonic on 14830. Rabbi Yakov Spivak with talk about a boy being thrown off a plane for singing. Signal strength around S3 (Tom Norris, Manchester, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA News Now schedules --- Hi Glenn, At Kim's request, I replaced the 4 Word files with PDF files of the same name (just the extension changes from .doc to .pdf) You may wish to mention the change in the next edition of DXLD. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So the direct linx are now: Broadcasts to Africa http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/VOA%20Eng%20Afr%20A04.pdf Broadcasts to East Asia http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/VOA%20Eng%20Asia%20A04.pdf Broadcasts to South Asia http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/VOA%20Eng%20South%20Asia%20A04.pdf Broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/VOA%20Eng%20MENAE%20A04.pdf (via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC DISMISSES 30 CALVARY LPFM APPLICATIONS QUESTIONING THEIR "LOCAL PURPOSE" On March 16th and March 19th, 2004, the FCC Audio Division has dismissed over 30 LPFM applications filed that have the name "Calvary Chapel" in them. In a letter to the Calvary applicants by FCC Audio Bureau Chief Peter Doyle stated that even though the applications have satisifed the requirement that the local chapters of the national Calvary Chapel organization are incorporated in their own local area separately from the national organization with which it is affiliated, Doyle points out that "there is nothing in their statements of educational purpose to distinguish these applicants from other Calvary Chapel applicants who filed identical applications for LPFM stations, or national Calvary Chapel radio companies such as CSN International and Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls that own numerous full-service and FM translator stations throughout the country." Doyle continues, "Indeed, nothing in the educational purpose of the application references the community of license in any way or demonstrates 'a local purpose that can be distinguished from the purpose of the national organization with which it is affiliated'", citing an application for another Calvary Chapel in South Dakota that "clearly established it's local presence and that it was a local entity separately incorporated and with a distinct local purpose readily distinguishable from that of any national organization". In REC's Area of Interest (So. Cal, AZ, NV), Calvary applications were dismissed March 16 in Prescott AZ (reducing an MX group to 2 equally qualified), Tucson AZ (creating a singleton) and Kingman AZ. On March 19, applications were dismissed in Vista CA (creating a singleton), Cathedral City CA (leaving a single most-qualified applicant), Rancho Santa Margarita & Foothill Ranch CA (shaving the big 101.5 group down to 6), Banning CA, San Bernardino CA (reducing the 105.5 MX group to 6) and Corona CA (creating a singleton on 103.9 in Irvine). Sources close to these Calvary Chapel applications have told REC that these as well as the other recent dismissals will be challenged. From REC Networks http://www.recnet.com (via DXLD) It sure took a long time for the FCC to catch on. If these applications are void, so should be the licenses of all existing Calvary Chapel translators on the same grounds (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. IBC RADIO NETWORK NOW ON-THE-AIR 24/7 IN PHILADELPHIA ON AM 1610; NETWORK OF TRANSMITTERS TO BE LAUNCHED IN METROPOLITAN AREAS http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040325005502&newsLang=en SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) March 25, 2004 -- In a follow up to earlier press releases, International Broadcasting Corporation (OTCBB:IBCS) announced today that IBC Radio Network (IBCRN) is now on- the-air on AM Radio in Philadelphia, 1610 on the dial. The prototype transmitter is now on 24/7 in the Philadelphia Radio Market. IBCRN, a division of IBCS, has been testing the technology in a top 5 radio market. This technology is 100% Legal and part of the FCC NON-Licensed part of the Communications Act. Network to Be Launched in Metropolitan Areas The first Philadelphia node is only the first step of a larger IBCS project utilizing the technology. The Company plans to link multiple transmitters together, building a network of transmitters that, if successful, would have the same effect as a single radio station yielding a wide coverage area in Philadelphia. If successful in Philadelphia the Company will place the transmitters in other metropolitan areas. Smaller towns could also be covered. About IBC Radio Network IBC Radio Network is broadcasting 24/7 via satellite with a unique, all-talk format distributed coast-to-coast and worldwide. IBCRN currently carries business, news, science, and paranormal content. IBCS is currently under discussions with commercial radio stations to carry our shows. We will update our progress in future press releases. The schedule for all shows is located on the web at http://www.ibcradio.com/radioschedule.htm [+standard disclaimer] (via Art Blair, Kim Elliott, DXLD) Our WTFK? Is finally answered; it`s going to take an awful lot of 100- milliwatt transmitters to cover Philadelphia or any other city (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn, someone forwarded this to me. My reaction, not sadness; I am damned pissed off! I shall not renew my membership. (Tim Hendel, AL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Don`t blame local station WLRH BOB EDWARDS FORCED OUT AT "MORNING EDITION" NPR Yanks Top-Rated Show Host 'Morning Edition' Ousts Bob Edwards By Bob Thompson Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 24, 2004; Page A01 Bob Edwards, who for 25 years has been the signature voice of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," is being removed from the show by NPR managers, effective April 30. "Morning Edition" is the No. 1 morning show on radio, with almost 13 million listeners. "I would have loved to have stayed with 'Morning Edition,' " said Edwards, 56. "But it's not my candy store." An NPR announcement that he would become a senior correspondent for NPR News was premature, he said yesterday. NPR executive vice president Ken Stern called the change part of a "natural evolution" that "had to do with the changing needs of our listeners." It was "a programming decision about the right sound," said Stern, who expressed confidence that Edwards would remain with the network. The sound of "Morning Edition" has been inseparable from Edwards's rich baritone since the show was launched in 1979. And "Morning Edition," in turn, has played a huge role in NPR's success and that of its member stations. "The audience doubled for NPR overall in the last 10 years," Edwards said. "Who else can say that?" Noting "Morning Edition's" top ranking in the morning, he added: "Stern, Imus, all those people are in our wake." "Bob Edwards and 'Morning Edition' really made WBUR what it is," said Jane Christo, general manager of the Boston public radio flagship. "He has a huge fan base in Boston." But Christo wasn't worried about her audience's reaction to the change, especially if Edwards remains on the air. "I think they would welcome having Bob in a different capacity," she said. "Bob was the iconic figure of 'Morning Edition,' " said Ruth Seymour, general manager of KCRW in Santa Mónica, Calif., who, like Christo, credited the show as "central" to her station's success. But she, too, was unconcerned about repercussions from Edwards's departure. "Am I worried about fundraising? No," she said. "KCRW is what it is because it embodies change." At 7:30 a.m. yesterday, after the show's first live run was over, staffers gathered in a third-floor conference room for a planned staff meeting and Edwards gave them the news. He had learned it himself two weeks earlier, he said, but had been asked to keep it to himself, which wasn't easy. "I talked for about 25 minutes," he said, "and when I got to memories and thanking them and all that, I kind of lost it." Alcohol was produced and consumed, though not by the host, who said he had to drive home and get to a doctor's appointment. "They drank and I watched," he said. From his Arlington home yesterday, before his regular 6 p.m. bedtime, Edwards reminisced about how he got his "Morning Edition" job. An NPR employee for five years by 1979 -- he'd worked as a newscaster and a co-host of "All Things Considered" -- he had watched as the new show spent "many months in development," then produced an "atrocious" pilot for member stations "about 10 days before its scheduled debut." The stations hated it, so much so that NPR replaced the show's hosts and the main producers responsible. Then "they asked me to do 'Morning Edition' for 30 days while they looked for a host," he said. NPR spokeswoman Laura Gross said yesterday that no new host had been chosen. She said that NPR's Renee Montagne and Steve Inskeep would serve as interim co-hosts beginning in May. Edwards said he thought that Jay Kernis, NPR senior vice president for programming, had been "primarily" responsible for his ouster. Asked if he'd had any warning about the change, he said: "That's hard to say. Did [Kernis] express his feelings that he would prefer somebody else or that he didn't like my style? Yes." But Edwards said he never thought he would actually lose his job. "I think it's a style thing," Edwards said. "I think he's tired of listening to me." Calls to Kernis's office were routed to Gross, who said Kernis was not talking to reporters yesterday. But Stern, the NPR vice president, said that Kernis, news division vice president Bruce Drake and "Morning Edition" executive producer Ellen McDonnell were "the key people who decided to do this." The idea behind it, Stern said, was "to make sure we were in the best position to serve the changing needs of our listeners." In today's news environment, he said, people demand both immediacy and depth, which is a hard thing to achieve. "It's not about Bob, who did wonderful things," Stern said. It's about "who are the right people to meet these needs." Stern is often asked if NPR is looking to attract a younger audience these days. It's not, he said. "The fastest-growing demographic in the country is 55-plus. It really is not about demographics. It's about listener needs." "My reaction is one of sadness for listeners," said WAMU's Diane Rehm, the longtime interview show host. "They have loved Bob's voice. . . . He's someone they've come to know." But Kernis, she added, is "someone people at NPR trust" and has "a wonderful sense of who makes good radio." Edwards had nothing but praise for NPR's journalism yesterday. "The great thing about NPR is that everyone else is closing [foreign] bureaux," he said. TV news and newspapers are hurting while "commercial radio stations have stopped doing news -- and we've been growing." He recalled being on the air on Sept. 11, 2001, when it was difficult to find time for a bathroom break, and during the Iraq war, when NPR's Anne Garrels, a non-embedded reporter, was reporting from Baghdad. "What a hero," he said. "Thank God there are people in our business that are willing to do that, so I don't have to." NPR is so much more sophisticated than it was in 1979, he said. "If we listened to those tapes now, we'd wince." But he's proud of what "Morning Edition" has accomplished in his quarter-century tour as its "temporary" host. Now "they've told me my 30 days are up," he said (via Tim Hendel, AL, DXLD) ** U S A. An update on the KEVA-1240 test. Due to a miscommunication, the KEVA-1240 [Evanston WY] test did NOT run as planned on 3/21/04; it will instead run on [Sunday] 3/28/04 at the time it was originally scheduled for, 1-2 am MST [0800-0900 UT]. The station regularly plays classic country music, and the DX test will have some voice and Morse code IDs mixed in (Lynn Holleman, LA, March 23, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re: WWVA Radio May Leave Wheeling This would put WWVA in the Cleveland market. Goodbye Jamboree. Goodbye local programming. Who cares about West Virginia when we can have Cleveland. When Clear Channel's stock plummets because we are all listening to satellite I will be very happy. The empire-building now allowed by the FCC is obscene and insulting. Want local radio? Tune into your local ham repeater. You won't hear anything but commercials and computers on the broadcast allocations. I see no reason to help these expletive deleted idiots. Write to their advertisers. It might work. Truly disgusted, (Karl Zuk, N2KZ, NY, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. VECs PROPOSE NEW ENTRY LEVEL COMMUNICATOR HAM LICENSE The National Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators has filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the FCC proposing their version of a new entry-level Amateur Service license. The March 1st filing also calls for redistribution of some High Frequency spectrum to General and Extra class licensees. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Bruce Tennant, K6PZW is here with the rest of the story: The National Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators or NCVEC is the group that oversees the question pools used in preparing Amateur Radio exams. While this is the groups primary mission, on a growing number of occasions it has weighed in on regulatory issues as well. And as we head toward yet another round of restructuring, it has done so once again. The NCVEC petition is somewhat similar to the one filed by the American [Radio] Radio League. It requires no required demonstrated Morse code proficiency for any license class and the NCVEC says that this should include the Extra. The ARRL view is that Morse at 5 Words Per Minute should be retained for the Extra. The NCVEC proposes the same spectrum allocation for the entry level class as the ARRL and both petitions grant more privileges to all classes, here is also where the two depart. The NCVEC proposal calls for wider voice subbands and less exclusive CW and digital frequencies. The petition also places more emphasis on the use of 15 and 10 meters for entry-level voice operation than does the ARRL. The NCVEC proposes an additional 50 kHz of 80-meter voice spectrum over the ARRL proposal and 25 kHz more 40 meter voice spectrum for both the General and Extra Class. At 15 Meters, the General Class would get an additional 75 kHz of voice spectrum over ARRL proposal. The Extra Class, an additional 50 kHz. The frequency privileges proposed for the new entry level class which the NCVEC want to call the ``Communicator`` Class are far greater than those suggested by the ARRL as well. The NCVEC envisions that all Novice Class operators would automatically become Communicator Class licensees as of the effective date. At the same time, Technician and Tech Plus amateurs would be upgraded to the General Class and Advanced Class licensees would become Extra. The NCVEC believes that there is no other effective way to redistribute the current Novice and Tech Plus spectrum to the General and Extra Class without this automatic upgrade feature. This means that some 350,000 Tech and Tech Plus and 85,000 Advanced Class would not be testing for an upgrade to the next class. This amounts to about 60 percent or all current licensees and those in the two year grace period. On the other hand, the VECs anticipate a greatly expanded demand for entry-level testing and license preparation material. Some 40,000 Novices would be automatically upgraded to the new entry level which would not only contain their current frequency bands, but additional High Frequency, VHF and UHF bands as well. This is perhaps one of the most far reaching restructuring proposals to date. Its also one that`s certain to draw a lot of comments as regulatory changes go forward in what many are already calling the post Morse code days. In Los Angeles, I`m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, for the Amateur Radio Newsline. The FCC acknowledged receipt of the National Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators petition on March 4th. It is not known when it will be distributed for initial Public Comment. The ARRL Petition has not yet been assigned an rulemaking file number either. An interview with the NCVEC`s Fred Maia, W5YI, is on line right now at http://www.rainreport.com. It`s also on the phone at 847-827-7246 (NCVEC via Amateur Radio Newsline March 19 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. RESTRUCTURING: ARRL AND NCVEC PETITIONS ASSIGNED RM`S Here in the US, our FCC has assigned rulemaking numbers to separate petitions for license restructuring and changes in code requirements filed by the ARRL and the National Council of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. The ARRL petition has been designated RM-10867 while the NCVEC petition is now RM-10870. Two other petitions were released for comment at the same time - RM- 10868 was filed by the Radio Amateur Foundation, and RM-10869 by Ronald Lowrance of Georgia. Both also seek changes in amateur licensing requirements, particularly with relation to the code exam. All petitions are available online via the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System website. The comment deadline on all four petitions is April 24, with reply comments due 15 days later (CQ, W2VU via ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. RESCUE RADIO: REACT AND THE AMBER ALERT PROGRAM Ham radio appears to be leaving itself behind in the area of responding to notices of kidnapped children called Amber Alerts. Meantime REACT and other citizens radio organizations are taking the point position in spreading word of these vital searches. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, takes a look at how REACT has gotten involved: Nobody seems to know why hams appear to have no interest in the Amber Alert program, but other civic minded radio services are not standing still. And the April issue of Popular Communications magazine is highlighting REACT as being one of those jumping in to providing communications for these alerts and searches. The magazine`s Info Central column highlights the activities of REACT teams across Ontario Canada and the northern United States. This, as they responded to an Amber Alert issued by the Ontario police after Cecelia Zhang was abducted in Toronto. Ron McCracken who is past President of REACT told Pop Comm that they were given details of the alert and were asked to broadcast it on CB channel 19 to truckers passing along the highways. The alert included details of the kidnap vehicle and the victim along with the suspects. The broadcasts began at about 5:30 in the evening and went on through midnight. McCracken says that CB radio was combined with computers and e-mail to spread the word far and wide in a very short time. This allowed truck drivers all along the border to keep an eye out for both the little Cecilia and her abductor. According to McCracken, this was REACT`s first response to an Amber Alert and in his estimation it went very well. You can read the full story starting on page 5 of the April issue of Popular Communications magazine. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reporting. The Amber Alert was created in 1997 as a tribute to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman. She was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in her hometown of Arlington, Texas. If you want to know more about how you can start an Amber Alert Plan in your area and involve your radio hobby, it can be found by taking your web browser to http://www.missingkids.com Then click on the words Amber Plan (PopComm, ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. ENFORCEMENT: WARNINGS TO TWO TRUCKING FIRMS ABOUT 10 METER OPS The FCC has warned the owners of a Bristol Pennsylvania trucking company to get their personnel off of the 10 meter Amateur band or face some expensive consequences. In a letter to Cassidy`s Express the FCC says that it has information that one of the company`s tractors pulling a ``CAI`` trailer on Interstates 476 N and 76W in Pennsylvania, was the source of unlicensed radio transmissions on the 10 meters. The incident took place last October 9th between 8 AM and 8:30 AM local time. The Commission has informed Cassidy`s Express that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a license is a violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act. That it could and will subject the operator to fine or imprisonment, as well as seizure of any non-certified radio transmitting equipment. For those not aware, unlicensed operation carries a fine of $7,500 to $10,000 for each instance charged. A similar letter was sent to CLR Transport of Saluda, North Carolina warning of unlicensed 10 meter operation from one of their trucks on Interstate 85 between Gastonia and Kings Mountain, North Carolina on July 14, 2003 (FCC via Amateur Radio Newsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. A HAMVENTION 2004 RADIO ROAD INFORMATION SERVICE ...If you plan to drive to this year`s Hamvention, there will be a special service to make your trip a bit more pleasant. This as Information Radio in Dayton, Ohio announces plans to provide Road to Hamvention announcements on Highway Radio 1610 AM. As you might expect, 1610 kHz is the frequency and the person behind the idea is Norm Schrein, KA8PGJ. Schrein: ``For Hamvention, we are planning on putting some information in regard to directions to the Hara and hours of the hamfest itself. People coming into town can obviously get information via the ham repeaters, but we may be hitting people who aren`t hams at all or who do not have Amateur Radio equipment but who will pick this up in the loop and take in the hamfest.`` Information Radio is a service provided by the Emergency Communications Center Incorporated. This is a not for profit organization with which Schrein is associated. He says that stations like this are a lot more common than many people realize: Schrein: ``530 kHz is where to find a lot of the stations like this and then about 1610 through about 1700 kHz you will find a lot of these travelers information stations as well. A lot of them tend to be site specific. That is, if you go through Pennsylvania, you may hear something about one of the state or national parks or involving the roadways if its run by the Dept. of Transportation. Where ours is a little unique is that it is kind of all encompassing. It covers everything happening in the Dayton area from local parks and recreation to people having a parade to events like the Hamvention.`` Schrein says that anytime you are headed to the Dayton area be sure to tune your car radio to 1610 kHz. Whether its trying to find your way into town or heading to the HARA Arena for Hamvention 2004, Information Radio will be there to serve you. More information on information radio stations can be heard on this week`s Rain Report. It`s at http://www.rainreport.com or landline at 847-827-7246 (ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC INVITES COMMENTS ON AMATEUR RADIO RESTRUCTURING PLANS (Mar 24, 2004) --- The FCC is seeking comment on three plans --- including ARRL`s call for a new beginner`s license and code-free HF access --- that would reshape the Amateur Service licensing structure. Each Petition for Rule Making responds to actions taken at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) last summer that made changes to Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations. While differing substantially in some other aspects, the three restructuring petitions call for modifications at Amateur Radio`s entry level and for a three-tiered license system. One petition goes beyond licensing structure to recommend additional changes to amateur testing and HF digital privileges. A fourth petition put on public notice today focuses solely on the Morse requirement. Designated as RM-10867 through RM-10870, all four petitions are available via the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System. Comments are due by April 24. Full story at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/03/24/2/?nc=1 (ARRL via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. League Recommends Closer FCC-NTIA Spectrum Management Cooperation (Mar 24, 2004) --- The ARRL has suggested that the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) spectrum management professionals work more closely and cooperatively. It also called for more open allocation proceedings where federal/non- federal spectrum sharing is involved. The League offered the recommendations in comments filed on an NTIA Notice of Inquiry, ``United States Spectrum Management Policy for the 21st Century.`` While the FCC oversees private and commercial spectrum, the NTIA --- part of the US Department of Commerce --- administers spectrum allocated to federal government users. It also advises the White House on telecommunications issues. ARRL said the current bifurcated spectrum management system has benefits and drawbacks. Full story at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/03/24/4/?nc=1 (ARRL via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. 11735, R. Oriental (presumed); YL in Spanish, romantic song, weak, then clobbered by Family Radio (11740 tuneup). Very difficult country for me, if true, hence (presumed), 3/22 0150 (Dave Tomasko, Downers Grove IL, MARE via DXLD) There's considerably more activity on 11735 than listed in Psssport, so this needs more attention. 11735 Uruguay has been unreported for many years, but an announcement was floating around last Fall that the station had been bought and should be reactivated. Dave's log is a good sign that maybe they're finally back on the air (Harold Frodge, MARE ed., ibid.) ** VIETNAM [non]. Degar Voice --- Today I received a verification letter from Kok Ksor for Degar Voice on 7,125 kHz --- 17 days after I mailed a report to Montagnard Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 171114, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301-0101 (USA). [I was interested in the logo on their letterhead; it includes a woven back-basket and a gourd jug. I was given similar items on one of my recent visits to Vietnam, and I display them in my home.] (Wendel Craighead, KS, Mar 19, 2004 for CRW via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE BPL FIGHT: ART BELL W6OBB VS. BPL. If it did not know before, a large portion of the American public is now keenly aware of the danger that Broadband Over Powerline Internet access poses to the nation`s emergency communications infrastructure. And you can thank radio talk show host Art Bell, W6OBB, and ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, for bringing it to everyone`s attention. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, had an opportunity to speak with the internationally famous radio talker and has the rest of the story: From the high desert in the great American Southwest, a call to arms has been sounded. From his home base in Pahrump, Nevada, W6OBB, better known to millions of commercial radio listeners as Art Bell, has called on America to stand up and fight what he charges is the greatest threat to the nation`s security: Broadband Over Powerline. Bell charges BPL will cripple the nation`s emergency communications Backbone, striking at the heart of homeland security. Bell picked up the charge against BPL during his radio show broadcast Saturday, March 20 in which he introduced ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP to his audience. Haynie and Bell pointed out the BPL interference threat extends far beyond the amateur bands. Both Haynie and Bell warned that many police and fire companies, federal disaster agencies and the FBI and the military would be rendered helpless if BPL is rolled out across the nation. Bell says he`s especially worried about the potential of another major attack against the United States and what BPL would do to our nation`s ability to communicate. ``The emergency communications, my God, aircraft, amateur radio, FEMA, any other emergency agencies that are going to have to rely on HF communications,`` Bell says. ``We certainly can`t depend on satellites. As a matter of fact, if we should get into a conflict, some sort of major conflict the satellites will be the very first thing that will go. And minus satellites for communications, we`re dependent on the good old-fashioned shortwave bands, VHF, UHF, the whole schmear to keep our nation talking. And in a time of national emergency we need to be able to talk to each other.`` Bell says he`s appalled at the behavior of the Federal Communications Commission. He says they`re acting like cheerleaders instead of regulators. He charges corporate greed is driving BPL and ignoring the studies showing the technology, as proposed on the HF bands, won`t work without causing massive interference. ``I`ve always had the deepest respect for the Federal Communications Commission,`` he says. ``However, I think in recent years, there`ve been a lot of changes at the FCC that include the fact that there aren`t so many engineers at the commission any longer, but there are a lot of bureaucrats.`` Bell says he believed after reading the Federal Emergency Management Agency`s assessment of BPL that the findings would have been enough to shut it down. ``The FEMA filing was very strong,`` Bell says. ``They essentially said, `Look, our receivers and transmitters are not going to be able to function with BPL in place.` And, they specified the power levels they would have to go to continue to communicate and suggested the taxpayers can`t, wouldn`t be able to afford such changes. ``So, with that kind of filing, frankly when it came out I thought BPL was dead. Boy was I wrong!`` After doing more research, Bell says he decided to take the case to his listeners. And he says the only way to do it is to point out the risk to their safety. ``I don`t think we`re going to combat it by saying, `Save ham radio.`` The public doesn`t care enough and I`m sorry to have to say that, but that`s what I believe,`` Bell says. ``I love ham radio. It`s been my life. I`ve been a ham since I was 12. But the greater, larger American public just doesn`t care enough about ham radio. ``And if they think they can plug in their computer to the wall and have instant internet, that`s a more attractive idea to them than the guy down the block with a tower in the air.`` Bell says his mission is clear: ``I do a radio program on 500 radio stations nationwide, including the top 50 markets in the U.S., `` Bell says. ``And I`m going to do everything I can to drive this home as hard as I can that communications, and certainly ham radio is part of that emergency communications chain, there`s no question about that. ``But emergency communications across the board are threatened by BPL.`` Bell says all hams need to wake up and heed his call to action. ``We have to get to the larger media in America and, as hams, we have to make the general public, underline the word general public, aware that our emergency communications are threatened,`` Bell says. ``The American public remembers 9-11. The American public knows what the continuing threat is. ``We`ve declared war against terrorism and why would we want to turn around and cripple our effective ability to wage war? And that`s exactly what BPL is going to do.`` Bell says if energized with information about BPL`s risks to national security, millions of Americans can quickly become allies. ``We need to get the word out to the general public and begin to have them write to their congressmen, their senator,`` Bell says. ``And that`s the only approach that I see at this point with the juggernaut that is presently underway from the Federal Communications Commission and the (BPL) industry, the only way we`re going to stop it is to make the general public aware of the threat.`` Bell says there are other issues, including interference to TV channels 2 through 6, residual noise to the AM radio bands and virtual loss of CB bands used by the many truckers who listen to his show. He says there are also privacy issues, especially the potential of the government and large companies to track people and their habits and choices on a BPL system. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Mark Abramowicz, NT3V in Philadelphia. Bell currently hosts the weekend edition of the Coast to Coast AM. He also indicates that his presentation on Saturday, March 20th was only round one. He is lining up other guests to talk about the BPL issues in the near future. To find out when, keep checking the shows website at http://www.coasttocoastam.com (ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) THE BPL FIGHT: HAM RADIO VS. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Meantime, a story in a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal about Amateur Radio`s stand against BPL is raising the eyre off many in the nations ham radio community. The item appears to take the position that radio amateurs are alone in opposing BPL. Also, that their doing do is holding back the flow of progress in technology. You can judge for yourself by taking your web browser to http://tinyurl.com/357ye That is if its still there by the time this newscast goes to air (ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ANOTHER IBOC THREAD, FROM WTFDA Steve Solomon, wrote: ``Has anyone heard of complaints by broadcasters affecting their own coverage area from the wasting of three channels from digital broadcasters.`` The way the rules are set up they can't complain unless there is proven interference to their LOCAL coverage contour in the city of license. As IBOC becomes more widespread, many Class A "rimshots" are going to have their target markets blanked out because they ACCORDING TO THE FCC have no business there. ``And one last question? Why did they need three full channels to do this IBOC thing. Couldn't they have come up with a system that squeezed the analog into say 225 khz, and used maybe 100 khz of space for digital. Then they could have used less spectrum and reduced interference for stations on adjacent channels in adjacent markets. Or am I just stupid to suggest such nonsense!`` No, Steve, they could have adopted DRM, which was supposed to be compatible with IBOC in terms of transmission in the original conception of IBOC before USADR absorbed the Lucent DR operations and became Ibiquity. Now, it appears that idea may not be at the forefront of anyone's thinking, at least not anyone who can influence events. The other idea which was widely heard in the early days and is now silent, is that the so called hybrid phase of IBOC was to be a 10 to 15 year transition period, after which, the analog signals would cease, and the digital signals would fold into their assigned channels with increased digital power. In the present system, some of the subcarriers are transmitted at low level under the analog signal, but the stronger ones appear to be in the adjacent channels. Essentially, both upper and lower adjacencies are needed for a robust digital signal at the low levels transmitted. All FM's, be they plain analog mono up to IBOC are allowed LOW LEVEL radiations in the adjacent channels. Normally these are intermittent and minor. What the FCC did was require IBOC stations to meet THE SAME transmission "mask" although the low level radiations into the adjacents are CONTINUOUS and, to an analog receiver sound like white noise. Some of those of us who have a strong interest in good broadcast engineering are unhappy with the IBAC (not a typo, many call it that because it is, in fact, In Band ADJACENT Channel, not ON Channel) result, however the FCC follows the political lead, and most of the major groups, i.e., Clear Channel, Infinity, etc., have little interest in competition from "rimshots" and they call the shots at the NAB which strongly lobbies congress and, indirectly the FCC. Never forget that we have the best government money can buy. :-( Personally, I see IBOC/IBAC/HD Radio as the only alternative we have to eventually ceasing terrestrial broadcasting. Digital is not attractive to average broadcasters or listeners, but it has substantial advantages for receiver manufacturers as all satellite signals are digital, thus allows the entire receiver to operate in the digital domain. Motorola's Symphony chip notwithstanding, I doubt there is much hope for analog in the long term because far fewer chip designers understand analog than understand digital techniques. In not so many years, some of us may think fondly of the "analog days" just as some of us remember the warm glow of vacuum tubes today. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed above are strictly my own and may have no basis in fact, although it does appear there may be a grain of truth somewhere in them (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology, Indianapolis, WTFDA via DXLD) IBOC FIRST-HAND REPORT FYI Reposted from rec.radio.broadcasting. "I" is some guy called "umar". (who is Rob Landry, CE of Boston's classical FM station WCRB. He knows his stuff. S --- Scott Fybush) "I finally got to hear HD Radio (a.k.a. IBOC) on several Boston FM's Saturday night (but not any AM's since it was night). My observations: 1. HD Radio does not sound appreciably better than FM. 2. On some of the stations there was a "gritty" quality to the sound reminiscent of an MP3 Internet stream. To be fair, this could have been the result of cascading HD Radio with an STL or digital audio storage system employing something like MPEG or apt-X compression, and not something inherent in HD Radio itself. 3. HD Radio does not appear to extend a station's coverage. On the fringe of one station's coverage, where it could be heard in analog FM imperfectly, the HD Radio was generally not audible at all. We estimated that the effective range of the HD Radio signal is 90 to 95 percent of that of the analog FM. 4. The Kenwood receiver seems to mute in digital mode if there is another signal on an adjacent channel. 5. It also mutes in the presence of nearby FM transmitter sites. 6. In analog mode, the digital sidebands of a station running HD Radio can be heard as white noise. It is not yet possible to guess how much interference they may cause because only a few stations are running HD Radio yet. 7. The scrolling text display some stations were running may be a considerable distraction to drivers. After hearing some glowing reviews, I was prepared to hear something approaching the sound of a CD and to want to push to put it on our stations. Instead, my friends and I were asking ourselves why anyone would want to pay $75,000 for it. However, I am still reserving judgment. One night of listening on one radio isn't enough; I want to hear it on several different radios on a wider variety of stations, under different reception scenarios. I'm particularly interested in the effect of adjacent- channel interference. umar" -- (via Doug Smith W9WI, WTFDA via DXLD) RECALLING VICTROLAS AND 78`S --- FROM THE EDITOR`S DESK At my age, one has to remind oneself frequently that not everyone was around when everything happened. I recall one day telling a bunch of teenagers, ``You remember that, don`t you? That was when President Kennedy was shot.`` ``Mr. Dorner!`` exclaimed one of the girls, ``we weren`t even born yet!`` So it is with my headline two weeks ago calling the Indianapolis group Inter Mirifica ``Hoosier Hot Shots.`` Now, that is an expression that means something to me. It may still mean something in Indiana —I do not know— but it likely means nothing to anyone in the rest of the country. The expression dates back to the 1930`s, 1940`s, and 1950`s, arising from the name of an Indiana jazz group appropriately named the Hoosier Hot Shots. They played a ``rural Midwestern jazz,`` starring on clear-channel giants WOWO Fort Wayne and later WLS 890 AM Chicago, ``the Prairie Farmer station.`` See their website at http://www.hoosierhotshots.com Eventually they got their own weekly program on the newfangled Mutual Broadcasting System, and they had a national following, too, who bought their records issued, that I recall, on RCA Victor label. My parents had one of their records, an old 78 rpm 10-inch disc. RCA Victor labels were as black as the disc themselves, and the printing on them was silver. Atop the label was ``Nipper,`` the trademarked dog listening to ``His Master`s Voice`` on an old-fashioned ``Victrola,`` the kind with the horn. Victrola was the trademarked name of the Victor Talking Machine Company`s phonographs. Back in those days, many of the early sound reproducing machines had ``-ola`` in them. ``Victrola`` is not a word one hears anymore, although a cousin of mine still referred to phonographs as ``Victrolas`` well into the 1960`s. Come to think of it, ``phonograph`` is not a word anyone hears anymore, either. Compact-disc players did not make it obsolete; it was obsolete long before their appearance. ``Record player`` had pretty much replaced ``phonograph,`` particularly among the young. To return to the subject at hand. The early phonographs, or ``Victrolas`` if you will, were acoustic devices. That is, there were no electronics because reliable vacuum tubes were still in the early stage of development. A needle --- shaped like a headless small nail - -- was screwed into the bottom of the tone arm assembly. Then the needle was gently lowered onto the record and one wound up the spring mechanism to playback the record at 78 rpm, more or less. The grooves were thick and visible, and the vibrations of the needle were conveyed by stable wires to a diaphragm inside the tone arm head just above the needle. The diaphragm vibrated with the vibrations of the needle, and if one placed one`s head close to the tone arm assembly, one could hear the sound faintly. These vibrations were conveyed up a hollow, pivoted tone arm down into a beautifully crafted, hollow wooden cabinet that amplified the sound. Other phonographs used a big flower- shaped horn that had the same effect. The whole assembly was wonderfully made in fine wood, not wood veneer, and not plasticized wood that afflicts modern civilization. My great aunt had a console Victrola. One raised the handsomely crafted wooden lid (it was not a slab) and a lock assembly held it up. One inserted the handle into the windup mechanism and started the turntable moving. It was a large, chrome plated, heavy turntable measuring 12 inches in diameter, covered with green felt. The tone arm assembly was also chrome-plated. It pivoted in an arc from its wide base that fed directly into the sound chamber of the cabinetry. The tone arm was of several sections, and the head assembly at rest swiveled vertically up and back and rested on the second section when the machine was not being played. Other phonographs used a small cradle on which to rest the tone arm when it was not in use. On the deck that held the turntable, there was a sunken silver cup for used needles; the more expensive machines had two small cups, one on either side front of the turntable. These needles wore out quickly and were not good for more than seven to ten plays. You bought them in small envelopes at Woolworth`s, Kresge`s, or any record store. The needles were polished steel, not diamond; the latter would come with the appearance of microgroove records in the late 1940`s. Originally the 78 rpm records were made of carnauba wax, which comes from a South American palm tree. The discs had a pleasant smell about them, particularly when they were a little warm from room temperature. The carnauba wax records had a high melting temperature, but nevertheless you learned not to expose them to heaters, radiators, or put them in direct sunlight for very long. I can still see our family collection, the discs spinning at what today seems to be an inordinate speed, the grooves of the record changing sheen and even slight color gradations if the sunlight coming through the window fell across the spinning disc. Let a disc get a little warped, and it did not take much to warp these old carnauba wax records, and the tone arm rose and fell in gentle undulations over a record whose sheen changed second to second. By the mid-1930`s, phonographs became electronic, using the new vacuum tubes that glowed red hot and were the size of small pears; some had handsome shapes and were capped at the top. The acoustic tone arm was replaced with a cast metal one (it was still heavy). At the head end a needle was inserted into a small piezoelectric cartridge made of certain metallic salts. The needle vibrations caused minute electric currents to be produced by the salts; these minute currents were fed by two wires into a system of tubes that gradually amplified the sound until it was strong enough to operate a loudspeaker. In the early days, the speakers had their own DC voltage. All this is gone with the wind. Now even the crop of record players that I knew in my teens, the ones that played microgroove 45`s and 33- 1/3 rpm records, are fast disappearing. My wife still uses one in teaching dance, and she is amused at the bewildered look she gets from kids when she tells them to go over and ``put the needle on the record.`` All they know are CD`s. Those receding 45`s and 33`s were made of vinyl, which had been introduced after World War II for 78`s, advertised then as ``unbreakable.`` While they were not unbreakable, they were a lot tougher than the brittle carnauba wax and shellac discs of the 1920`s and 1930`s. London Records in particular was able to achieve remarkable high fidelity effect with those new vinyl 78 rpm records, but their days were numbered after Columbia Records (CBS) engineers invented the 33-1/3 long-play record and RCA Victor engineers invented the doughnut-hole 45 rpms, for decades the vehicle for single hit records. By the mid-1950s the 78 rpm record had pretty well disappeared. Today, one comes across old 78`s in flea markets and antique shops. Most of these records are in sad shape. Many have cracks or ``bites`` taken out of the edges by a dropped tone arm, or an inadvertent hand pressed down on a stack of records. Many are on labels that have vanished with the relatives and friends who have cherished these recordings (Brunswick, Okeh, Standard, Diamond, Kapp, Majestic). The big bands have a following to this day that continues to grow in size and appreciation, and many of these old 78`s have been remastered digitally and released on compact disc. But many popular singers and other orchestras of those long-gone years have receded into the cobwebbed past and are known only to a few collectors and people like me who are still around. Artists like the Hoosier Hot Shots, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, the Dining Sisters, the Ink Spots, Dinah Shore, Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Vaughn Monroe. By today`s standards, it was a primitive technology. But back then, it was extraordinary, another one of the revolutionary inventions that had forever changed home entertainment. To think that one could hear on one`s hearth the popular singers and orchestras of the day! Coupled with the growth of radio in the 1920`s and 1930`s, the Victrola became an indispensable appliance in every home. Radio and records then and now were made for each other. How sad is the passing of time. Those old 78`s belong to the age of vaudeville, network radio, a superb national network of passenger trains, Model T`s, Packards, Lafayettes, trolley cars, popular books with real hardboard covers, pipe smoking, and clothing styles that reflected a personal sense of dignity. The many new inventions such as refrigerators, washing machines, radios, and Victrolas represented real achievements gained by the hard work of millions of Americans who worked 48-hour weeks. Ahead lay a terrible second world war, an interminable cold war, the sexual revolution, the hippie movement, the accelerating collapse of the values and morals that held this country together, the age of self-absorption, a flood of myopic experts who know only their fields, a cynical media, and several generations of youth who see no real purpose in life other than immersion in hedonism. In attics, in basements, in closets, in the ubiquitous flea markets of America, stacks of old 78`s sit forgotten, forgotten like the people who made them, bought them, played them. We have become digitized (Michael Dorner, Catholic Radio Update March 22 via DXLD) RFI: ELECTRIC BLANKETS - A NEW CHAPTER FOR AN OLD PROBLEM As if BPL was not enough, now there`s another source of RFI to worry about. Its things that keep us warm. According to Roy Trumbull writing in the CGC Communicator, RF interference from electric blankets is another problem that can be added to a history of similar events. The ones caused by heating pad thermostats and the class of transformers used for door bells. Turnbull says that RFI from these devices can affect AM reception for quite a distance from the source. Turnbull also adds this interesting aside concerning electric blanket safety. He says a little noted change in product design took place when there was that firestorm some years ago over magnetic fields from power lines. The electric blanket makers got a jump on things by switching to twisted pair wiring. This says Turnbull solved the problem of the significant magnetic fields that were produced by the earlier blanket design (CGC via ARNewsline March 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ###