DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-077, May 8, 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 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-03 [low version only], available from May 5: (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0403.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0403.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0403.html NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1229: Sun 0314 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [started late] Sun 0630 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1000 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 1900 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 2000 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [Extra 47] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Wed 0930 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 1229 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1229h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1229h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1229.html WORLD OF RADIO 1229 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1229.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1229.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1229 IN MP3, WITH THAT TRUE SHORTWAVE SOUND OF 5070: (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-08-04.mp3 (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-08-04.m3u ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. US-BASED TV CHANNEL TO START BROADCASTING TO AFGHANISTAN | Text of report entitled: "IPN TV will soon start broadcasting to all Afghanistan", published by Afghan newspaper Arman- e Melli on 4 May The International Programme Network (IPN) will soon start broadcasting to all parts of Afghanistan. Based in Los Angeles, USA, the TV broadcast intends to cover all Afghanistan. Mr Amir Khuyi, the executive director of the TV, answering the questions of our reporter, said: IPN TV is a 24-hour channel, broadcasting from Los Angeles to the entire world. It will start broadcasting in Afghanistan. Certainly, a permit must be obtained for the TV to broadcast. The first steps in this regard have been taken and we shall soon obtain the permit, signed by Mr Rahin, the minister of information and culture. The TV will broadcast from Kabul. We are trying our best to be on air 24 hours from the very beginning [of the operation]. There are some problems, however. We can say for sure that our broadcast will normally be for six hours. The TV was first supposed to be relayed as the second TV on the same channel on which Afghan TV is aired but, later we came to the conclusion that a centre should be established for IPN where we can independently launch free broadcasts. It should be mentioned that the TV personnel will be both Afghan and Iranian. Responding to questions on whether they would broadcast female singers, according to the Afghan criteria or not, and on where they get songs that are compatible with the norms of Afghan society, Mr Khuyi said: There have been talks with the minister of information and culture about the female singers. They said that there are some problems in this regard. Some 60 per cent of our programmes involve women. We hope the problems are solved in the near future. IPN broadcasts will be launched according to Afghanistan's laws. Answering a question on what other artistic programmes they have to offer the Afghan nation, Amir Khuyi said: We are going to hold a joint concert of Iranian and Afghan artists on 21 Jowza of the current year, 10 June 2004, at Kabul Stadium, in which two Iranian and two Afghan signers will participate. A part of the proceeds of this programme will be donated to one of the hospitals in the city. It should be mentioned that this programme will start at 7.30 p.m. [1500 gmt] and will end at 11.30 p.m. [1900 gmt]. Transportation and food canteens inside the stadium have been planned for the audience. Source: Arman-e Melli, Kabul, in Dari 4 May 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ALASKA. Weird Tone Sequence Over North Korean Radio http://www.home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/anomalies.htm#HAARP (Steve Waldee, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 5050, ARDS, Humpty Doo. English/Vernacular 1005, gave phone number, aboriginal music, 30/4 (Wayne Bastow. Cataract Dam, near Wollongong NSW, May Australian DX News via DXLD) Best in the mornings 2000, fair to good level mixing with Tanzania. Poor in the evenings after 0830. Aboriginal dialects. 30/4 (Johno Wright, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. US-FINANCED ANTI-NARCOTICS STATION FOR BOLIVIA April 8, 2004 Article originally posted at: http://www.narconews.com/Issue32/article939.html [basis for previous brief Media Network item] A Military Base Shakes the Yungas --- The Bolivian Government Gives Into Demands of Both Highway-Blocking Coca Growers and the US Embassy By Alex Contreras Baspineiro, Narco News South American Bureau Chief COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA, April 8, 2004: The ``Coca War`` continues in Bolivia. The setting has changed from the Chapare region near the city of Cochabamba, to the Yungas, near the capital of La Paz. But the protagonists have not changed: the resistance of the coca growers, the cowardice of the Bolivian government, and the pressure from the United States continue unabated. The coca growers --- known in Spanish as cocaleros --- of the Yungas region mobilized from April 5 to 7, blocking the highway that connects La Paz to the east. Starting today, they have declared a state of emergency in response to the construction of new military infrastructure and the attempts to forcibly eradicate their crops. In June of 2003, confidential reports leaked from the Ministry of Defense demonstrated that the government had agreed to demands from the US for the construction of two new military bases inside Bolivian territory. One would be in the Yungas region, the other in the Chapare – the country’s two major coca cultivation zones. The documents also revealed that the US Embassy was to finance the establishment of the ``Tricolor`` radio station (a reference to the three colors of the Bolivian flag) in the town of Chimoré, to be run by the Bolivian armed forces. Broadcasting at up to 15 kilowatts the station will reach all across the country, disseminating discouraging messages to the coca growers about the supposed war on drugs and terrorism. It was former president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada`s government that made these commitments to the US, but these commitments are now being fulfilled under the new administration. In the Rinconada region, construction has begun on new police/military barracks. There are also rumors circulating about the installation of the ``Tricolor`` radio station in the Chapare. According to the government, the Police, Transportation, Immigration, Forestry, and Coca Management departments, as well as the Mobile Rural Patrol Unit and the Search and Rescue Group will fund the barracks’ construction – but ``it is not a military base.`` But according to the coca growers of the Rinconada, it represents the repression and militarization of their home, human rights abuse and forced eradication of their crops. Yesterday, after three days of conflict, the government and the coca growers signed an accord, which indefinitely suspends the construction of the Rinconada base. It also requires that the existing installations not be used as barracks, and that no forced eradication take place in the three provinces of the Yungas region. The farmers and the government will establish a joint committee to evaluate the alternative development programs, the creation of competing coca markets, and the maintenance of local roads left nearly impassable by years of government neglect. Having achieved their goal of shutting down the military base construction indefinitely and preventing the eradication of their crops, the coca growers lifted the highway blockades and returned to their communities. The Yungas in the Crosshairs The latest satellite data from the US government, produced this February, show 28,100 hectares (69,500 acres) of coca fields in Bolivia. Of these, 23,550 hectares are located in the Yungas region, and 4,600 hectares in the Chapare. Bolivia`s ``Law 1008,`` which regulates controlled substances, limits the entire area of coca cultivation in the country to 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres). In other words, 16,200 hectares must be eliminated. On Tuesday, April 6, US Ambassador David Greenlee reminded President Carlos Mesa of the existence of 11,000 hectares of surplus coca in the Yungas. ``According to the satellite readings,`` said Greenlee, ``there are surplus coca plantations in the Yungas that must be eradicated through integrated alternative development.`` In a conversation with Narco News, congressman and cocalero Roberto Calle rejected US interference in internal affairs, and called Greenlee’s words manipulative. ``It is an embarrassment that the Mesa government accepts so much interference from the United States,`` said Calle. ``We will not permit them to touch even one coca leaf in the Yungas, and we emphatically reject the ambassador`s words when he proposes an integrated alternative development. That is a new lie, and nothing but a distraction in this low-intensity war.`` Calle added that the coca growers` demands include the immediate withdrawal of Joint Task Force troops (the Bolivian forces charged with coca eradication) from the area; the abandonment of a plan to separate the coca marketing association in the Yungas into two or more organization, thus dividing the coca growers along provincial lines; better maintenance of the roads in their communities; and treatment for three cocaleros injured in Monday`s confrontations. José Galindo, chief of staff to President Mesa, admitted on April 7 that the government has bowed to pressure from the US on issues of drug control. He warned that the historic transition the country is going through could be violent if the precarious balance reached last October is upset. ``Obviously, we do have pressure on that side,`` said Galindo, ``as [the US government] tells us they can`t control drug trafficking if they don`t have a base from which they can control the amount of coca and processed drugs produced.`` Galindo recognized that the current government cannot change the model because of its international commitments, but that the establishment of a popular ``Constituents` Assembly`` could be a starting point. Arms Dealing Attempts at violent intervention are not new in the Yungas --- they began to come from the government months ago. On February 26, congressman Antonio Peredo accused then-Vice Minister of Alternative Development Marco Antonio Oviedo of primary involvement in the creation of paramilitary groups in the Yungas and destabilizing the democratic process. Hours earlier, Agustín Mamani Quispe and Fidel Arce, activists from Oviedo`s ``Revolutionary Left`` party, were caught on their way towards the Yungas with FAL rifles and dozens of boxes of ammunition. One of the detained men said that ``those armaments were for protection from extremist groups.`` A few days ago, with the Yungas conflict stalled, the administration removed Oviedo from office and replaced him with Jorge Azad Ayala. But the Bolivian commercial media have launched their own campaign to label the social movements as violent. In early February, the senior Bolivian daily El Diario published an article with the headline ``Introduction of AK-47 rifles denounced.`` The paper interviewed a ``foreign citizen`` --- unidentified for obvious reasons --- who claimed that ``a group composed of Nicaraguans, Peruvians, and Colombians supposedly belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia (FARC), transported 285 AK-47 rifles on the commercial ship MSC Bahía from the Republic of Bulgaria to the port of Ilo (Perú).`` ``I got involved with the FARC for personal reasons, even getting to know many of the details of their activities,`` said the ``foreigner.`` At the same time, the article said that ``the rifles have been in the Peruvian port of Ilo for weeks, and it is expected that they will enter Bolivian territory on February 13, via Desaguadero.`` According to the anonymous source, 50 AK-47 rifles, similar to those used by the FARC, entered the Chapare early last August. He claims they have been distributed among the popular leaders of the Chapare. At the same time, El Diario had received information about civilians making contacts to receive firearms, including both handguns and rifles, as well as ammunition (the newspaper claimed 7.65 and 7.69 caliber bullets were favored). The paper said that these weapons were for use in unspecified provinces around La Paz --- a thinly veiled reference to the Yungas. No government representative has had any comment on these claims. What is clear, dear readers, is that the United States feels that the Chapare region has now left the coca-cocaine circuit, and that the violent intervention should now be realized in the Yungas. The administration of Carlos Mesa now finds itself at a crossroads: it can continue to passively obey the impositions of the US government, or it can begin to hear the demands of the Bolivian people. The lessons from October are still fresh in most Bolivians` memories. On the other hand, it seems that the authorities are not with that majority, and have taken the wrong lessons away from those historic events (narconews.com via A. Sennitt Apr 9, 2004 for CRW via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. Addendum To previous item: My PERSONAL opinion is that SW will not be a priority for them as the country seems to be well covered by MW transmitters, and the chances of R Botswana returning to SW is probably not better than 50/50 (Vaclav Korinek, RSA in Dxplorer, Apr 22 via DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) Re 4-076: ``They would like to remain on SW and are currently contemplating whether to order the valve or to get a new (solid state) transmitter.`` --- Solid state transmitters for shortwave? As far as I know even the latest shortwave transmitters use a tube in the final PA stage, or do I miss something? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030, Rdif. Nationale du Burkina, Ouagadougou, 2151, Apr 18, radioplay in French, 7230, Rdif. Nationale du Burkina, Ouagadougou, 0825, Apr 16, local music, French ann, 24332, 7230, Rdif. Nationale du Burkina, Ouagadougou, 1750, Apr 22, Vernacular news on Burundi 33433 (Max Van Arnhem, Tenerife, Canary Islands, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** CANADA. This week, instead of our normal feature article we have a video presentation for you: Ian McFarland - the movie One of the most well-known and distinctive voices on the international radio dial belongs to Ian McFarland. The long-time host of the weekend English broadcasts on Radio Canada International left RCI in 1991, and went to work for a couple of years at NHK in Tokyo, which he admits was something of a culture shock. After his return to Canada, Ian spent a few years working as a voluntary ambassador for international broadcasting, before finally settling down for a well-earned rest. Ian and his wife Mary currently have a home on the shores of Vancouver Island, and it was there that Thorsten Koch caught up with him and persuaded him to talk to his video camera. He may no longer be on the air, but Ian still has some very strong opinions about the current state of international broadcasting. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/ian040506.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter May 7 via DXLD) Nothing but a continuous shot of Ian; a still or two would have saved loads of bandwidth; the continuous rushing sound is I suppose waves from the Strait of Georgia lapping at his doorstep (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. EXPANSIÓN DE RADIO CROATA Entrevista al Sr. Director de Radio Croata Se. Gorzic, realizada por el locutor Milton Arandia del programa en idioma castellano luego del Panorama Informativo a las 2235 TU del 28 de abril 2004 con motivo del primer aniversario de la fundación de la emisora. Arandia: ``¿Cuál es el motivo de la fundación de La Voz de Croacia, la razón de la existencia de nuestro programa y cuál es nuestra finalidad? Gorzic: La Voz de Croacia ha sido fundada porque quisimos finalmente informar a los muchos croatas en todo el mundo sobre los acontecimientos en nuestro país y presentarles el programa que ellos estaban esperando y deseando, con mucha música popular croata, con el relato de los eventos deportivos y con todos los acontecimientos interesantes en la patria lejana. Esto quisimos hacer con este programa de 24 horas y me complace mucho el hecho de que hoy celebramos el primer año de nuestro inicio, en primera instancia de manera experimental en la medianoche del 28 de Abril del año pasado cuando empezó la emisión en inglés y en español, luego las otras emisiones que habíamos planeado en la lengua croata y en las demás lenguas. Estamos satisfechos de haber logrado en este año de trabajo emitir un programa que ya ha conseguido su lugar notable en el programa que ofrece la Radio Croata pero también por haber logrado una determinada identidad en el éter internacional, por la cual nos reconocen. Ya se puede tener un conocimiento mediante nuestro programa de muchos acontecimientos de nuestro país sobre todo gracias a las emisiones en inglés y en español. En un principio fue muy difícil organizar estas redacciones porque tuvimos que encontrar gente que conoce una y otra lengua, que éstas sean sus lenguas maternas y que al mismo tiempo tengan un muy buen conocimiento de la lengua croata para poder transmitir de la mejor manera posible todo lo que se quería informar al mundo sobre Croacia. Arandia: ¿Ustedes están satisfechos por los resultados de nuestra labor? Gorzic: De todas maneras estoy feliz por el nivel que hemos logrado en la calidad el programa, debemos procurar lograr la perfección diariamente pero ya podemos afirmar que mucha gente de habla española ya sabe de la presencia de La Voz de Croacia en el éter, saben que mediante nuestro programa pueden enterarse de muchos aspectos interesantes de Croacia, podemos afirmar que todos los croatas que llegaron de Croacia a otros países como en Sudamérica o a lo ancho del mundo a los que ya no conocen su lengua materna ancestral pueden lograr información sobre los acontecimientos en Croacia. Arandia: ¿Puede decirnos algo más sobre los planes para el futuro? Gorzic: El futuro es prometedor en la medida que este programa tiene muy buenas perspectivas puesto que tenemos la intención de mejorar la calidad de la emisión de manera que muy pronto empezaremos a emitir en tecnología digitalizada. Quiero decir que si nuestros oyentes pueden disponer de receptores de tecnología digital, van a poder escuchar nuestro programa en una calidad excelente. Como un segundo paso queremos aumentar el tiempo de duración de nuestras emisiones en determinadas lenguas. Pensamos también ampliar nuestro programa con nuevas redacciones en francés y en alemán. Lógicamente también queremos enriquecer nuestro programa con mucha buena música croata. Arandia: Bien, muchas gracias.`` (via Emilio Pedro Povrzenic, Villa Diego, provincia de Santa Fe, República Argentina, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. Re 4-076: ``Tim, sure - 5040 SPURIOUS signal from Deanovec is known in the DX press since days when Switzerland left their 49 mb channel 6165 kHz forever, and Deanovec took over/occupied this channel for their central European service.`` --- And the saga of mixing products from Deanovec on 60 metres started even before they stepped into 6165 the day after Lenk signed off for good: Earlier Deanovec used 5920; consequently a mix appeared on 4795 --- and was reported as if it would be a fundamental even by BBC Monitoring (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Glenn: This is a message I sent to Mark Mohrmann earlier tonight. I have been following a problem with the "new and improved" RHC transmitters: junk from the 9600 and 9820 transmitters occurring at 9445. Subject: Fun with RHC Mark: It's been hilarious, listening to all the screw-ups tonight. Check my anomalies article; I just added MORE about junk -- now the 9820 transmission is occurring on 9445: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/anomalies.htm#CUBA and also at the end of my article at http://home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/RHC/index.html I put a sound clip of the distorted garbage at 9820: unbelievable!!!! (See the section "HOW CAN IT GET WORSE" at the end.) (Steve Waldee, San José CA, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. U.S. Radio Propaganda to Cuba --- An interesting report was presented to the U.S. president on May 6 detailing "Assistance to a Free Cuba". The first chapter of the report contains a review on the media situation and information warfare proposals on pp. 26-28, which I have included here. The whole Report to the President: Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba can be found on the web at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/ IV. BREAK THE INFORMATION BLOCKADE The Castro regime controls all formal means of mass media and communication on the island. Strict editorial control over newspapers, television, and radio by the regime’s repressive apparatus prevents the Cuban people from obtaining accurate information on such issues as the Cuban economy and wide-scale and systematic violations of human rights and abridgement of fundamental freedoms. It also limits the ability of prodemocracy groups and civil society to effectively communicate their message to the Cuban people. According to a December 2003 poll of Cuban public opinion, more than 75 percent of the Cuban public watch state-run television or listen to state radio on a weekly basis [footnote 1 below]. The regime uses these media programs to advance its propaganda war against Cuban civil society and other forces for change. The Cuban public, however, is increasingly seeking external and non-state sources of information. According to the same poll, increasing numbers of Cubans are turning to international television and radio broadcasting for news and information. Foreign TV broadcasters such as CNN, TV Española, and TV Martí, as well as radio programs such as Radio Martí, BBC, and Voice of America (VOA) enjoyed high levels of recognition. Access to the equipment necessary to receive foreign media, however, remains a critical obstacle to empowering civil society. The Castro regime blocks many external radio signals and limits the ability of Cubans to obtain the necessary equipment to receive international broadcasts. According to the poll, only 15 percent of Cubans had access to satellite channels. Forty percent claimed to have a VCR at home. While Cubans recognized and had highly favorable views of foreign radio stations, a far lower percentage had regular access to such stations. Radio and Television Martí have consistently sought imaginative and effective solutions to increase the audience on the island. The primary, almost exclusive, means of transmitting radio and television signals to Cuba has been by the use of an aerostat. An important step in expanding the transmission of accurate and timely information to the Cuban people is through the maintenance and continued deployment of the existing aerostat capability and adding a second transmission capability. Immediately and for the short-term, existing C-130 COMMANDO SOLO aircraft have the ability to augment regular Radio and TV Martí broadcasts, as demonstrated in May 2003 (ed. note: see DXing.info News in June 2003 at http://www.dxing.info/news/2003_06.dx#solo ). These aircraft and their experienced crews fly in weather conditions that could ground the aerostat transmission platform now regularly used for broadcasts into Cuba. Lofting both the C-130 COMMANDO SOLO airborne platform and the existing aerostat platform simultaneously, while operating on two separate frequencies, would advance the objective of reaching a larger Cuban audience. Over the longer-term, an airborne platform dedicated to full-time broadcast transmissions into Cuba, in combination with the aerostat platform, would expand the listening and viewing audience. Similar patterns of obstruction, control, and lack of equipment apply to the Internet and computers. While 95.7 percent of Cubans polled had heard of the Internet, only 4.5 percent had used the Internet in the past year. The Cuban regime controls all access to the Internet, and all electronic mail messages are subject to strict government review and censorship. There are estimated to be only 270,000 computers in Cuba, with a paltry 58,000 connected to the national Internet network, which blocks access to most sites on the worldwide web. Thus, access to computers and peripheral equipment remains limited, and the Internet can be accessed only through government-approved institutions. Dial-up access to government-approved servers is prohibitively expensive for most citizens, and hence very few have access. The regime also blocks instant messaging programs and has increased efforts to identify unauthorized Internet and e-mail users. In 2002, the government opened a national intranet gateway to some journalists, artists, and municipal-level youth community centers, but continued to restrict the types and numbers of international sites that could be accessed. Catholic Church representatives have been denied access to the Internet, or even the establishment of an intranet among dioceses. This blockade on information must be broken in order to increase the availability to the Cuban people of reliable information on events in Cuba and around the world and to assist in the effort to present a democratic alternative to the failed policies of the Castro regime. RECOMMENDATIONS: Direct the immediate deployment of the C-130 COMMANDO SOLO airborne platform, coordinated with the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), for weekly airborne radio and television transmissions into Cuba, consistent with the United States international telecommunication obligations. Make available funds to acquire and refit a dedicated airborne platform for full-time transmission of Radio and TV Martí into Cuba, consistent with the United States international telecommunications obligations. Direct OCB to provide audiotapes, videotapes, CDs and DVDs of its programs to NGOs for distribution in Cuba. Provide funds to NGOs to purchase broadcast time on TV and radio stations in the Caribbean basin that can be received in Cuba for programs on democracy, human rights, and market economies. Increase the provision of short-wave radios, satellite dishes, decoders, and other similar types of equipment to the Cuban people. 1 ``Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) Review: Media Audience Telephone Survey, Nov.-Dec. 2003,`` presented by Casals & Associates, to the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, by Sergio Diaz-Briquets, February 24, 2004. ----------- The report resulted in several news stories; here are some links: http://www.freep.com/news/nw/cuba7_20040507.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/07/politics/07cuba.html http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0507cuba-us07.html http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9493761%255E1702,00.html (via Mika Mäkeläinen, Palo Alto CA, May 8, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Radio Prague, 3 bits of radio related news, May 4 Copyright (c) 2004 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha) News MAY 4th, 2004 By: Daniela Lazarova ============================================= PARLIAMENT WILL NOT ENFORCE "LANGUAGE PURITY" --------------------------------------------- The Lower House likewise rejected an amendment to the law according to which TV and radio announcers would have to speak grammatically correct Czech. The bill's advocates, predominantly members of the Communist party, argued that the purity of the Czech language was under threat and the Czech Republic should follow the example of France in passing legislation which would help to preserve it. 127 out of 176 mps present voted against the proposal. Deputies for the Christian Democratic Party argued that nurturing and preserving the Czech language was not a matter for law-makers but for schools and parents who have the most influence on how the future generation of Czechs will speak their mother tongue. One on One: GAIL WHITMORE - MEZZO SOPRANO, RADIO PRESENTER, AND KARAOKE CHAMP -------------------------------------------------------------------- In today's One on One Jan's guest is Gail Whitmore, a mezzo soprano from New York, whose career that has taken her around Europe and eventually brought her to the Czech Republic. Here she's moved on to other things, like co-hosting her own English language radio show and recently clinching the title of national karaoke champion. For full version, please go to: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/53530 To subscribe to the news, please visit one of the following links: Czech version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/cesky.html English version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/english.html German version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/deutsch.html French version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/francais.html Spanish version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/espanol.html Russian version: http://www.radio.cz/subscribe/rusky.html Radio Prague, Vinohradska 12, 120 99 Prague, the Czech Republic tel (+4202) 2155 2971 , fax (+4202) 2155 2971 http://www.radio.cz/ (via Chris Brand, UK(?), DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. STATE LIKELY TO EXTEND RFE/RL'S RENT CONTRACT | Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 4 May: The Czech state is almost certain to prolong the rent contract with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for the former Federal Assembly building in Prague, which is to expire this year, a high-ranking Czech diplomat told CTK today. RFE/RL has already asked the state for an extension of the lease, spokeswoman Sonia Winterova said in an interview with CTK today, since so far the station has been unable to find a suitable building to move into. Plans to move the radio headquarters grew more urgent after the terrorist attacks in the USA in September 2001, since the Czech government was afraid that the building, in a highly frequented location close to Wenceslas Square, could be the target of terrorism. For this reason, the Foreign Ministry began work with station management to find a suitable location for new headquarters. However, the attempts have met with little success, even though it was originally hoped that a new location could be found in the Citibank building in Prague 6. The station will not be able to move this year, Winterova said. According to previous information from the station, there is not enough money to do so. For the RFE/RL budget, which is financed by the American government, a move would mean a strain of nearly 20 million dollars, according to some estimates, and the situation is also complicated by the necessity of having to broadcast, for a time, from both the original and the new location to avoid disrupting its coverage. RFE/RL, which was founded by the US government in 1949 to broadcast to the Communist bloc, moved from Munich to Prague in 1995, and has been broadcasting from the former Czechoslovak Federal Assembly building since September of that year. According to previous information, the USA pays a symbolic one dollar a month in rent, but annually invests two million dollars in building maintenance. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1443 gmt 4 May 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DENMARK. 5815, World Music R, Ilskov near Karup, Central Jutland. The 10 kW transmitter has finally arrived from Canada and is now being installed. After some initial problems, the power supply has been fixed and a new lowpass filter constructed, test transmissions are expected within the next few days --- with a bit of luck Friday May 07 or soon thereafter (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Por más reportes que digan lo contrario, no pude volver a sintonizar La Voz del Upano en 4870 kHz. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4869.28, Voz del Upano, April 21, 1025-1058, Spanish, religious programming, ID’s, Ecuadorian music and songs, religious songs, fair. On April 20, noted an open carrier on 4870.0, at 1047 which I think may have been them but did not hang around to hear if they signed on. With their own programming on, was not // 3279.53, which was somewhat stronger (Ron Howard, Monterey CA, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [and non]. 4960, R. Federacion Shuar, *1036-1230, Apr 22, Ecuadorian national anthem, prayer in Spanish or in Vernacular. Talk interspersed with some 1980's US pop music. The audio was a bit distorted and the signal was evidently not spot-on 4960. I could not note an ID at the top-of-hour, but the programming continued the same. At 1132 the signal began to drop rapidly and then disappeared before 1145 (just past sunrise in Ecuador). My DBS reference from the DSWCI indicates a 1000 sign-on for R Federacion Shuar... perhaps the announcer slept in late this morning! (Guy Atkins, WA in Dxplorer, Apr 22 via DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) The Ecuadorian National Anthem is sung in the Vernacular language SHUAR, which is mainly used in the programming. About 80% of their broadcasts are in Shuar and occasionally in Achuar, another native language for the rural audience and 20% in Spanish for the audience living in the urban area. The station generally identifies as Shuar Tuntuiri or sometimes Shuar Achuar Tuntuiri, which means Radio Station Shuar or Radio Station Shuar Achuar. Radio Federacion is the name in Spanish. When I visited the station in 1994, I learned some vocabulary in Shuar to identify the station. For your information, the station in the Peruvian Highland identifies in Quechua as "Huayra Wasi" which means "Radio" ("Huayra" is Air and "Wasi" is House). In case of R Paucartambo, the station usually identifies as "Paucartambo Huayra Wasi". (Takayuki Inoue Nozaki, Japan, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. HCJB will make two frequency changes May 17 due to interference in South America: 2300-0100 Spanish from 11880 to 12000; 2330-2400 High & Low German, 11980 to 12040 (Doug Weaver, HCJB frequency manager via Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 8, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 12120, R Voice of Oromia, via Samara, Russia, *1730-1800*, Mon May 03, opening music, Oromo ID: ``Radio Sagalee Oromiyaa``, announcement and news with many mentions of Oromiyaa, political talks, QRM VOA on 12115. NB: Not heard on Thursdays for a long time, e.g. on Apr 29, so it seems to be on the air on Mondays only! 43443 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Nuntii Latini from Radiophonia Finnica Generalis: Sun 1555 NAm 15400 Sun 1745 EEu 5980 Sun 1855 Eu 11755 6120 9630 963 Sun 1945 NEu 558 Mon 0245 NEu 558 5955 Mon 0855 As/Au 17660, NEu 558 Also some broadcasts are on satellite. Inquiries to Nuntii Latini, YLE Radio 1, Box 60, 00024 Yleisradio, Finland or nuntii.latini @ yle.fi At the same time on other days (5 or 6?) Special Finnish, simplified and at a slow speed (YLE Radio Finland A-04 program booklet via John S. Carson, OK, May 6, DXLD) ** FINLAND. Roy Sandgren of "Radio Scandinavia 603 AM" announced to commence first test transmissions in Mariehamn (Aland Islands) on 603 next week. The initial power will be 2.5 kW (with a long wire attached to a 70m mast). The new station will soon have its own website: http://www.603am.com (Bernd Trutenau, May 8, MW DX via DXLD) ** GUYANA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. The Voice of Guiana parece estar fuera del aire por estos días, en su habitual 3291v kHz (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. I have some sad news to report. Long time friend, Chuck Boehnke of Keaau Hawaii passed away today of cancer. He was 75. Chuck was an active long time DXer and a member of many radio clubs through the years including both the IRCA and NRC. Cards can be sent to his wife, Ginny Boehnke at PO Box 488, Keaau HI 96749-0488. He will be missed (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, May 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) {+4-078} ** INDIA . A VISIT TO ALL INDIA RADIO - BANGALORE SW TRANSMITTER SITE by Jose Jacob, VU2JOS Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka state in South India. It is known as the Garden City of India. Recently when I returned from my native place in Kerala to my work place in Hyderabad, I took detour via Bangalore so that I could visit the AIR Superpower SW station there by prior appointment. I reported at their City office at Yelahanka New Town which itself is 17 km away from the city. Their staff quarters and guest rooms are also located there. I accompanied the Suptg. Engineer and Station Engineer to the actual transmitter site which is near Aralu Mallige Village, Doddaballapur about 45 km away in a remote area. On the way we can see several vineyards and the transmitting towers are visible from a long distance. The Super Power Transmitter (SPT) site is in a 632 acre (255 hectare) site and it houses 6 numbers of 500 kW transmitters made by Brown Boveri in Switzerland. It is the most powerful SW transmitter site in South Asia. All the transmitters are in a large hall with 4 transmitters on one side and 2 on the opposite side. Each transmitter is named after a major Indian river as follows: BL1 Ganga BL2 Cavery BL3 Yamuna BL4 Krishna BL5 Narmada BL6 Godavari In the first phase, 2 transmitters of BBC SK 55 C3 2 type were installed. Test transmissions were conducted from November 1989 to February 1990 and it was inaugurated on 9th March 1990. In the second phase, 4 more transmitters of BBC SK 55 C3 2-P were inaugurated on 28 Sept 1994 which uses Pulse Step Modulation (PSM) technology. They operate on latest power saving Dynamic Carrier Control (DCC) technique. It has facility to operate even in SSB mode. These transmitters can operate between 5.9 to 26.1 MHz but nowadays they use frequencies between 9 to 17 MHz. The transmitters have automatic tuning facility and can change frequencies in about 30 seconds. Currently BL2 & BL 4 are off air due to shortage of the final valve problems. Each valve costs about 1 crore Rupees. A siren is sounded just before any transmitter is switched on. There are no transmissions from here between 0530 to 0900 UT (11.00 am to 2.30 pm local time) and they do the maintenance work etc. at that time. Occasionally 2 transmitters use the same frequency with the same programs of course. AIR is having a 66 KV, 20 MVA electrical substation exclusively for this station. For the cooling purposes, there are 9 numbers of 30 ton chilled water type air conditioning plants. There are 36 multi band curtain aerials hung between 21 towers of heights varying between 60 to 115 Meters. They have slewing facilities with remote operation of Antenna Change Over and Slew switches. The antennas are in 3 zones with 8+8+5 towers. It can beam in 8 directions and is broadcasting to all areas of the world except the Americas. Any aerial can be selected on any transmitter. The antenna feeder line is 19 km long. The strength of the staff is about 100. The transmitter building is in the shape of a hammer and is well shielded. The transmitters were initially used exclusively for External Services of All India Radio. However nowadays it also used for the national programs, viz. Vividh Bharath on 10330 kHz and the National Channel on 9425 kHz. Currently External Services in the following languages are broadcast from here, viz. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Gujarathi, Hindi, Kannada, Russian, Tamil and Telegu. The programs are received by satellite from New Delhi studios (except for the Kannada programs which is received from the AIR Bangalore studios via the STL UHF link on 1440 MHz). There are 2 standby studios here and I could see tapes in various languages of AIR External Services to be used during any failure of program links but it has been hardly used. At the entrance there is a large world map showing the beam headings. The station has won several awards for its excellence which are displayed. The compound wall is 9 km long. We have to pass through two security gates to enter the building. Photography / Video recording is strictly forbidden. I was told that Reception Reports received here are replied directly in the same mode (by email or post). However most publications list their old address and letters reach here only after a lot of wandering. The exact address of the concerned office is: Mr. R. Narasimha Swamy, Superintending Engineer Super Power Transmitters, All India Radio Yelahanka New Town, Bangalore 560064 Karnataka, India Email: sptairynk @ vsnl.com Most of the QSLs for this station are issued from the AIR HQ in Delhi (dx_india mailing list, 5 May 2004 via Bernd Trutenau, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 17735, R. Pedar via Rampisham, no data QSL letters mentioning ex 9740. ``Though this new frequency is not very well received in Iran, we are still on this frequency and working with the broadcasting company provided us this frequency to change to a more suitable one." R. Pedar is an affiliate of Channel One Television. Channel One TV is a 24 hour, seven days a week satellite television organization, broadcasting in Persian (Farsi) to her audience in USA, Canada, Middle East, Iran, Persian Gulf, the continent of Europe and Australia. One hour of this TV political talk show is broadcast simultaneously on shortwave, R. Pedar. They hope to extend their broadcast time to about three hours, as soon as they can solve the technical difficulties. The QSLs were received from this address: Channel One TV, 6203 B Variel Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 USA (Jerry Berg, Apr 24 and Björn Fransson, Apr 27, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD). (Cf. DX-Window no 243, DSWCI Ed) ** ISRAEL. La suppression des ondes courtes qui était "promise" dans un futur proche a été reportée à la fin de l'année. L'idée directrice est de regrouper la chaîne Reka - où vont se retrouver anglais, français et espagnol - aux alentours de la mi-mai au plus tôt, le 1er juin au plus tard, et la chaîne Hé réservée aux ondes courtes. Dans ce nouveau cadre, toutes les émissions en français retrouveront leur format de 15 minutes. Le matin, une diffusion aura lieu à 6h45 heure israélienne (NDR : 0345 TU) et une édition sera transmise à 20h, heure israélienne (NDR : 1700 TU) (Mati ben Avraham, Kol Israel - 23 avril 2004, informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) Closing down SW has been reported planned for the end of the year. The Reka network including English would be reorganized by mid-May or first of June at latest, with the He network reserved for SW. French would then be at 0345 and 1700 [gh`s summary translation for DXLD] ** ITALY. Italy's Senate relaxed media ownership limits on April 29 by passing a controversial law which critics say is a gift to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's business empire. After a drawn-out battle, Berlusconi's center-right allies approved the law with a 51- vote majority following months of fierce opposition from centre-left lawmakers, newspaper and television editors and free-speech groups across Europe. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi must sign the bill into law within one month before it comes into force. Ciampi refused to sign the first version of the bill, saying it did not allow for enough competition in the sector. Government supporters say the law breathes life into a rigid media market, allowing the largely protected Italian industry to face foreign competition and setting a timetable for the roll-out of digital television. But opponents say it favors private broadcaster Mediaset, top publisher Mondadori and Italy's leading film producer-distributor Medusa -- all controlled by the Berlusconi family's holding company Fininvest (Reuters via SCDX/MediaScan May 5 via DXLD) The head of Italy's public television and radio broadcaster, RAI, said May 4 she was stepping down and accused Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right government of meddling in the company's operations. Lucia Annunziata said in a press conference she was resigning to protest the stranglehold Berlusconi's government will have on the state television station through upcoming appointments to RAI's governing board. She called her departure "the last act of a campaign orchestrated by the majority to take total control of the public service". Annunziata, a journalist of national stature who built her career at top newspapers such as "Correiere della Sera", has for months been locked in conflict with Berlusconi and has publicly denounced his tightening grip on Italy's only public broadcaster. Berlusconi is Italy's richest man and directly controls about 90 percent of Italian television either through his family's ownership of three commercial channels or through his supporters on RAI's board. In a move that is likely to further his control of Italian media, parliament on April 29 gave final approval to a controversial media bill which would lift current laws that restrict a private company from owning more than two national television stations (AFP via SCDX/MediaScan May 5 via DXLD) ** KIRIBATI. Radio Kiribati. The message below is from Kautabuki Rubeiariki at Radio Kiribati. Would seem that a close watch on 9825 over coming weeks may be a good idea. Regards from NZ (Ian Cattermole, May 7, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Dear Ian, We will resume our transmission soon. The frequency is 9825 kHz and is to target the islands in the Line islands. Kautabuki Rubeiariki (Ricky) (via Cattermole, ibid.) ** LAOS. Lao National Radio has shifted its high-power mediumwave transmitter in Vientiane to 567 kHz, ex-576 kHz. I first noted the new frequency 4 May 2004 around 1215, parallel 6130. This move clears up conflicts on 576 with Myanmar, Yunnan China, Bangkok and Vietnam (Regards from Jakarta, Alan Davies, May 7, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Re 4-076: ``I did have Mark Fine's list with me (in NASWA Journal) and did see that 9590 is listed for Europe.`` --- But that's the same azimuth, and probably they even use the very same antennas for both target areas, like Radio Bulgaria at Plovdiv- Padarsko does. ``I will tell you this -- that 9590 signal that day was as clear as a bell and it sounded as good as a satellite feed, intelligibility modulation-wise -- much better than almost any RRI broadcast I ever heard.`` --- A while ago Olle Alm already noted RRI transmissions with much improved audio quality, indicating experiments with new STL equipment (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIERRA LEONE. ``Radio UNAMSIL, Sierra Leone 27th of March, 2004 Dear Mr. Tor-Henrik Ekblom, Thank you for your reception report on Radio UNAMSIL shortwave 6140 kHz, more so for listening and expressing such enthusiams about our programmes. Radio UNAMSIL is the voice of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone. Known as the Voice of Peace it broadcasts from the capital Freetown, on FM-103 and SW 6140kHz on the 49mb. We have six transmitter sites throughout the country, including the aforementioned. The United Nations usually, when necessary, establishes its own radio station, which helps to educate the population about its mandate, the peace agreement, DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) and other facets of the peace process. We broadcast in English and in four major national languages; Mende spoken in the Eastern Region of the country. Themne spoken in the Northern Region and Limba spoken in Northern and Southern Regions of the country. Frequency 6140 kHz - transmitter Harris make – 1 kW. Programme: 2300-0600 local time (= UT, Ed) Mo, Th and Su is Contingent`s Night. Each of our military contingents is given a chance to run their own programmes on these nights. They talk about their various countries and the similarities and differences. They introduce their music and stories which make the nights interesting. On other nights, Mo-Fr and Fr-Sa, from 2200-0700 it`s indeed the Night Line music and sensitisation programme on pertinent issues with Sierra Leone Nr. 1 DJ. Other programmes are UN News repeat broadcast from UN HQ, NY, broadcast live via satellite at 1730. What you heard during those times mentioned seems most accurate according to our log. Radio UNAMSIL(U) covers an estimated 85% of the country, considering the difficult terrain, this is a first for the country. The population is more than four million. Our FM signal reaches neighboring Guinea, Liberia and the Gambia. The SW signal is stronger on the continent than it is in Europe and elsewhere. But your reception report and that of the more than 100 persons like you from all around the world is helping us tremendously to adjust our output. We hope that in the next few months you will be able to get us much clearer. Radio UNAMSIL is a Unit of the Public Information Section. Please find attached a copy of our programme guide which is subject to change, as the situation changes we refocus our programmes accordingly. Enclosed is a copy of Programme Guide and Book, UNAMSIL Review and a Radio UNAMSIL T-shirt. Regards, Shiela Dallas, Station Manager and Executive Producer Radio UNAMSIL. UNAMSIL Headquarters, Mammy Yoko, P. O. Box 5, Freetown, Sierra Leone`` (Exactly 1 year went till I received this nice reply -- station logged in February 2003 at 0300 on approximately 6138) (Torre Ekblom, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) Much to my surprise, today I received a nice QSL package from UN broadcaster R UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (6140 , 1 kW Harris transmitter): Radio UNAMSIL T-shirt, program guide, magazine UNAMSIL Review (January 2004 edition), and a two page partly detailed QSL letter, signed by Sheila Dallas (Station Manager and Executive Producer Radio UNAMSIL). Address and other details as above. This was the second reply by letter for a report I sent them may be two years ago. The date on the letter says 27th March, 2004. So it took around four weeks for arriving here through the UN mail system (UN Geneva stamps on the envelope). (Harald Kuhl, Germany, via Dxplorer, Apr 30, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. Mediacorp Radio Singapore has moved its National and External services out of the 31 mb on to new channels in the 49 mb. The current complete operational schedule is: MC = MediaCorp National RSI = Radio Singapore International 6000 MC 2300-1100 Mandarin 6000 RSI 1100-1400 Mandarin 6000 MC 1400-1600 Mandarin 6080 RSI 1100-1200 English 6120 MC 2300-1100 Malay 6120 RSI 1100-1200 Malay 6120 RSI 1200-1400 Indonesian 6120 MC 1400-1600 Malay 6150 RSI 1100-1200 English 6185 RSI 1100-1400 Mandarin 7170 MC 2300-1600 Tamil 7235 MC 2300-0900 Malay 7235 RSI 0900-1200 Malay 7235 RSI 1200-1400 Indonesian 7235 MC 1400-1600 Malay (Bob Padula in EDXP, Apr 23 via DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. RADIO VERITAS ENDS TEMPORARY LICENSE PERIOD WITH BIG GROWTH IN LISTENER INTEREST, SUPPORT Troyeville, Apr 24 (CRU) --- Radio Veritas of South Africa has just successfully ended another six weeks of temporary license in South Africa with its greatest success yet in coverage and listener interest and support. Radio Veritas broadcast on 92.7 FM in Johannesburg, 106.6 FM in Durban, and 729 AM in Cape Town, as well as nationally over 6100 kHz shortwave [sic: database below says 6140], the station, a project of Radio Veritas Productions, from March 21st to April 18th..``This was our most successful broadcast thus far. Gratitude has been expressed especially by the housebound for the spiritually uplifting programmes during Holy Week,`` wrote Father Emil Blaser, the Dominican priest who is director of the project and who has striven for six years to get a Catholic radio station on the air in South Africa. ``We were overwhelmed by the response of Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town. There is no doubt that Catholics around the country are excited about their own radio station,`` he continued. ``On the last Friday of the broadcast period, a telethon realized over R163 000 with an additional 210 monthly donors. Notable were the great number of young people and children who contributed. Contributions were even forthcoming from non Catholics and Muslims. Apart from the financial success, several people have informed us of their decision to become Catholics, or that they have decided to come back to the practice of their faith.`` Radio Veritas originally began as a project of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC). But for various reasons, the SACBC gave the project to the Dominican Order`s Veritas Productions. (Veritas --- Truth --- is on the order`s logo.) Father Emil has worked for six years, traveling around South Africa to ignite interest in the project, and visiting overseas to seek financial help and technical advice. He has visited EWTN. ``While many value good Catholic entertainment, our underlying purpose is always evangelisation and being of service to the local Church,`` he wrote supporters at the station website, http://www.radioveritas.co.za ``The encouragement we have received from Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, chairman of the SACBC, is much appreciated.`` Radio Veritas has 3,500 donor-supporters and a database of 10,000 families. ``God bless you,`` Father Emil wrote; ``We are eternally grateful. Without you there would be no Radio Veritas.`` According to the priest, over 18,000 people have signed a petition that Radio Veritas receive a national license. These ``give a strong indication of the support RadioVeritas has around the country. We need many more signatures and ask you please to visit The Southern Cross website http://www.thesoutherncross.co.za where you will find a form you can download for signatures. Please get all your friends to append their name, address and signatures.`` In the meantime, Radio Veritas has resumed daily broadcasts over shortwave on 6100 kHz over a Sentech transmitter. (Sentech operates the technical facilities.) For the time being, until the end of May, the daily broadcasts have been reduced from four to only one hour, at high noon South African time. The nightly program from 6 to 9 on 3280 kHz has been ended. But on May 30th, Radio Veritas will drop shortwave and begin daily broadcasts in digital radio over Sentech`s Vivid decoder, on channel 25. At that time, Radio Veritas hopes to expand to 24-hour operation. ``Our aim is to broadcast on Vivid for 24 hours a day — if finances permit!`` Father Emil concluded. The dream remains to obtain a nationwide license to cover South Africa. ``We hope to be broadcasting on the frequencies 92.7 FM in Johannesburg, 106.6 FM in Durban and 729 AM in Cape Town every second month. This is possible through the use of Sentech's Vivid decoder.`` Database Johannesburg: Radio Veritas. On Vivid Decoder, digital channel 25. On 6140 kHz daily noon to 1 p.m., local time. Radio Veritas Productions, 36 Beelaerts St., 2139 Troyeville, South Africa. Tel.: +27 (11) 624- 2516 or 624-2517; fax 614-7711. E-mail: info@radioveritas.co.za Director Fr. Emil Blaser, O.P., Website: http://www.radioveritas.co.za (Catholic Radio Update May 3 via DXLD) {6140 or 6100??} ** SURINAME. Radio Apintie en 4989.99 kHz lleva algunas semanas sin dar señales de vida o al menos yo no la capto acá, en Venezuela. ¿Habrán apagado su transmisor de nuevo? (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Alistair Cooke --- This legendary broadcaster and host of the BBC Radio 4 (and World Service) programme 'Letter from America' aired from 1946-2004 died midnight March 30, 2004 at his home in New York at age 95. Mr Cooke had just 'retired' after advice from his doctor because of heart problems, in early March 2004, and the BBC WS has been running 'retrospective' broadcasts of some of his better LfA broadcasts since then. Frankly, I think they should continue to run them -- he was one of the most literate and thoughtful essayists on radio of late, and his body of work deserves to be aired for a good long time. I for one will certainly miss hearing new material from him, but I hope I won t have to miss hearing his dulcet tones on the Beeb. It just won`t be the same without him and his commentaries on life, America, and the general human condition. //kv zichi (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MARE Tipsheet May 8 via DXLD) Letter to Alistair The BBC World Service pays tribute to the late Alistair Cooke in Letter to Alistair on 15 and 22 May. The veteran broadcaster died at his New York home in March this year, aged 95. For 58 years he presented Letter from America, the world's longest running speech radio programme. First broadcast in 1946 it continued until Cooke's retirement in February 2004 with his 2,869th programme. Cooke described it as "a weekly personal letter to a Briton by a fireside, about American life, people and places in the American news". In 1973 Cooke received an honorary knighthood for his contribution to Anglo-American understanding, and a year later addressed the United States Congress on its 200th anniversary. He also received a Bafta and Sony Radio Award for his services to broadcasting. Producer Tony Grant compiles some of his best moments from the series. Working mainly in London he met Cooke only a few times. He recalls: "I used to joke with him 'okay Alistair let's have the script then!' and he would laugh, and tell me not to talk nonsense. "Then he would disappear into the studio and read through the 2,000 words of his script with hardly a fluff." Broadcast Times --- Letter to Alistair: 2 x 15 minute programmes Saturday 15 May: 4:30 and 11:30am Saturday 22 May: 4:30 and 11:30am [Times as given in press release. I assume these are local UK times and refer to the European stream. For other regions consult the BBC World Service Web site.] Listen online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/index.shtml # posted by Andy @ 09:14 UTC (Media Network blog via Paul David) (Note from PDB: I can find no reference to this programme in the May Edition of "Braille BBC On Air", which specifically gives information for the European Stream of BBC WS. Nor do I know whether this in fact will be simply a repeat of the original programme broadcast on 30 March, which was 25 minutes on BBC Ws, just split into 2 13-minute chunks. Perhaps someone out there, particularly if they are reading this via the swprograms list, may have the answer). (PAUL DAVID B., Wembley Park, United Kingdom, May 7, swprograms via DXLD) THE LAST OF LETTER FROM AMERICA It seems, according to this week's Write on programme, that BBC WS at least has now aired its last edition of "Letter from America, a Celebration". As most of us know, 2 special programmes are being broadcast on BBC WS over the next 2 weeks, and the Write On programme revealed a new letters-type programme coming in from the end of May, featuring presenters from different parts of the "non-western" world, including one from Ghana. Meanwhile, it seems that BBC Radio 4 will continue to air the Letters for several weeks (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, May 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. AL-HURRA 'US PROPAGANDA TOOL' --- 06 May 2004 THE US-funded Arabic language news channel Al-Hurra, which aired an interview with US President George W Bush today, is considered by most of its target audience to be a propaganda tool of the US administration. The full story is available at: http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9483665%255E1702,00.html (via John Figliozzi, DXLD) A More Objective Analysis... Here's a link to a recent (April 28) statement to Congress by Ambassador William Rugh which assesses the relative impact of the various new U.S. BBG-initiated Middle East broadcasters, the VOA, the BBC and Middle East-based satellite broadcasters. Ambassador Rugh says early on that this assessment is based on observations and conversations with people in the Middle East. Nonetheless, it appears to be far more sober, balanced and objective than those of Norm Pattiz, who is hardly a disinterested or impartial observer given that he is the chief architect of these new services. http://newmedia.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vp01.cfm?outfit=pmt&requesttimeout=500&folder=141&paper=1576 (John Figliozzi, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA/BELARUS Effective April 29, Family R (WYFR) is scheduled for relays over these additional relay sites: MINSK (Belarus), KALATCH (Russia), MOSCOW (Russia), and ARMAVIR (Russia). I believe this to be the first use of relays in Russia and Belarus for this broadcaster. All for Europe. 7350 1900-2000 Minsk 7350 2000-2200 Kalatch 7360 1900-2000 Armavir 9490 1900-2000 Moscow (Bob Padula in EDXP, Apr 30 via DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) ** U S A. This week`s Voice of the NASB features WRMI itself, a Viva Miami interview with Nick Grace C. of Clandestineradio.com heard at 0230 UT Sunday May 9 on 7385; check for the repeats at 0930 on 9955, 2130 on 15725 and perhaps eventually on the WRMI website (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. AIR AMERICA RADIO CHAIRMAN RESIGNS http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=503&u=/ap/20040507/ap_en_bu/liberal_radio_shakeup_3&printer=1 (via Don Thornton, DXLD) Portland Air America not Clear Channel --- Hi Glenn: The FCC website says Air America affiliate KPOJ in Portland is owned by CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P., not Clear Channel. I don't think Clear Channel stations would affiliate with AA, as they seem to have a corporate no-tolerance policy for criticizing Bush over the air and from their concert stages (Leigh Robartes, Moscow, ID, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nevertheless, see http://www.620knews.com/about/index.php which starts: ``PROGRESSIVE TALK RADIO COMES TO PORTLAND! Clear Channel Radio Portland has announced the birth of Portland’s Progressive Talk Station as of Wednesday, March 31 at 9 AM. The majority of the content for AM 620 will come from Air America, a new network promising to be an alternative to conservative talk radio....`` The FCC info could easily be out of date, or CC may not own the station outright, but merely operate it (LMA) (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) AIR AMERICA --- THE END IS NEAR Add to the wave of people streaming from the exits at AIR AMERICA RADIO EVP/Sales and Marketing JACQUI ROSSINSKY. The veteran sales rep told INSIDE RADIO on the way out that she "did not want my name associated with that company anymore." The network's website hasn't been updated as of FRIDAY afternoon at 5:30p ET to reflect the departures of ROSSINSKY, Chairman EVAN COHEN, and Vice Chairman REX SORENSEN (or the sign-on of affiliate KSQR-A/SACRAMENTO), and there's some dispute over whether WEDNESDAY's missed payroll may still be unpaid, as INSIDE RADIO says, or paid on THURSDAY, as claimed by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE (allaccess.com May 7 via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Putting politics aside, it's amazing that so many intelligent, well-connected people seem to have made such a mess of things: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=503&u=/ap/20040507/ap_en_bu/liberal_radio_shakeup_3&printer=1 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) Call it a hunch but from the moment I saw the first news clip on their show, I had that sinking feeling. One reason in the story you reference, Harry. All the times I listened it was as if they were trying to mock/imitate guys like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Hannity. It was kind of like listening to some first year DJ trying to sound like Shotgun Tom, Don Imus, or Dick Purtan. I really wish they would have been more original and not gone down the road of even mentioning anyone on the conservative side of radio. The fact that they tried parody in a startup, against their competitor of sorts, perhaps backfired and blew their credibility. Even some of the hardest-core libs that I know thought it was boring. So how long do you think they have? 2 weeks? I really wished it would have worked out (Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Rushville IN, W279AM *103.7 to have WYGS 91.1 Columbus IN (from WJCF 88.1 Morristown IN); W285DN *104.9 with WIRE 91.1 Lebanon IN (from WJCF), thus ending the previously-noted redundancy in Rushville. ``Bruce, in the original applications we did use WJCF as the primary. We made the changes in the long form applications. Our DC engineer told us that the FCC would not grant multiple translators with the same primary that has the same identical coverage, regardless of frequency. There is a question on the form that even asks this. We were told that unless there was a different pattern, ERP or height that made the coverage different, multiple applications would NOT be granted. This seems to be a deviation from what we and others were told earlier. All of our applications were modified based on this info. Honestly, most of the groups only want a single frequency in a single town unless it is a big town like Indianapolis. This is the city we have the most translators. With the translators we have been looking for FM relay receivers. There is a station in Indianapolis (Catholic Radio 89.1) that wants to filter out 89.3 Indianapolis. The tighter filters would allow a GE Super Radio to work (Marty Hensley, FMedia! May via DXLD) ** U S A. Our LPFM station, WCEE 93.1 in Melbourne FL, has been on air about 14 months. Since then we are harassed on a regular basis by the Big Media stations in town. In their `Mafia Mentality` they have gone as far as filing petitions with the FCC against us. Well, they have sunk to a new ``all-time low``. Almost a month ago, a pirate station went on air locally on 92.9 FM --- right next to us on the dial! After repeated calls from listeners, and with the assistance of a company called Signal Finders, we traced the pirate right up to his apartment door. Guess what? The pirate people are `employees` of the local Clear Channel station group. We have since been informed by others that it is a deliberate attack. They are eight times our power and are squashing our signal hard. We are losing listeners and most importantly sponsorships because of their actions. Our attorney has filed a formal complaint with the FCC. In addition, I fax the Tampa FCC office daily, hoping for a response or action. The pirate is still on and the FCC has done nothing. As you can see we are very frustrated (Randy Bennett, May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. WEXT 104.7 Sturtevant WI is interfering with WTKM-FM 104.9 Hartford reception in Milwaukee, now that is has moved its transmitter closer to Milwaukee. WKTM-FM is ``mad about it. They have announcements by the GM all day long asking everybody to write and complain to the FCC about it. The whole thing is the FCC`s fault. They are too `easy going` with squeezing in new stations that there really isn`t room for. Why did WEXT do it and why did the FCC allow it when they *both* knew it would happen? WTKM-FM is a very popular station in Milwaukee area [and[ it has all been ruined for them. Shame on the FCC!`` writes R.R., Milwaukee. R.R. also notes a pirate on 92.9, with a signal estimated to be over 100 watts but under 1000 watts, playing `very good music, mostly Mexican``. No announcers and on air ``very sporadically, whenever the person feels like it.`` (May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. Common Ground Radio is a program that ceased production as of April 30, 2004. It was operated by the Stanley Foundation, which is considering the use of occasional documentaries and special series. It began in 1980 as a half-hour weekly discussion program, mostly about foreign affairs and the U.S. role in the world. It evolved into a one- hour magazine program featuring leading policy experts, on the scene reports and cultural features, using a network of correspondents and freelancers around the world. Its most recent hosts were Keith Porter and Kristin McHugh (May FMedia! via DXLD) Transcripts and audio of many CG shows are still at http://www.commongroundradio.org/shows.shtml (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PLAN FOR EMERGENCY RADIO NET IS SAID TO SPARE PROTECTED LANDS --- May 7, 2004 -- By MARC SANTORA and AL BAKER ALBANY, May 6 - New York's ambitious effort to create a statewide wireless emergency communications system will not include any construction in the protected wilderness areas of the Adirondacks and Catskills, officials in the Pataki administration said on Thursday. In detailing the project for the first time since awarding the $1 billion contract, the administration said that rather than building hundreds of towers in the mountains, as environmentalists had feared, the plan is for only a handful of towers to be erected in populated areas, and for repeaters, mounted on emergency vehicles, to be used to improve radio signals to give police, fire and other agencies across New York greater coordination in responding to disasters. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/07/nyregion/07network.html?ex=1084956838&ei=1&en=8fe86230d61155be (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Sintonia DX --- Saludos colegas diexistas. Espero que se encuentren muy bien. Hoy se transmite a través de Unión Radio Porteñas 640, Sintonía Dx el único programa dedicado al diexismo en la radiodifusión venezolana. La dirección para escucharlo a través de internet a partir de las 00:00 hasta las 02:00 UT es la siguiente: http://intranet.unionradio.com.ve/intranet/audio/p_cruz/noticia/am640.asp Hoy tendremos el siguiente material: 1......Calendario Radiofónico con Rubén Guillermo Margenet. 2......Identificación del recuerdo de Ondas Porteñas (cortesía de H. Klemetz) 3......Curiosidades Koreanas : Inicios de la radio en Korea del Sur 4......Hermes House Band : Suzzana (DX Musical) 5......RKI anunciando nuevas frecuencias. 6......Sintonía DX con la radio de Venezuela y un recuerdo musical 7......RKI : Museo viviente de la radio José Gervasio Artigas de Uruguay 8......Robert Santiago y Orq Tipica : El Camaleón 9......Nuevo concurso trimestral de RKI. 10......La Radiocicleta : informe de Enrique R. Cortéz via RKI 11......Aventura DX, emisión N º 7 12......Resultado del concurso de la AER. 13......Grabaciones de Emisoras Panameñas : tomado de la AER 14......Glenn Hauser y Gabriel I. Barrera via Radio Enlace. 15......Lista Nº 1 de ganadores del primer concurso trimestral del 2004 de RKI 16......Lista Nº 2 de ganadores del primer concurso trimestal del 2004 de RKI 17......Los Rayos y los Aviones: colaboración de Radio Canadá Int. 18......Lectura de material escrito, enviado por colegas diexistas. Esto es parte de lo que tenemos para hoy, pero claro está, esto puede variar para dar cabida a otras informaciones enviadas por los colegas diexistas a las diferentes listas dx. Debo aclarar que el programa Sintonía DX tiene dos sábados que no está en el aire motivado a transmisiones especiales de Unión Radio Caracas, nuestra emisora matriz. Hoy espero que no se presente nada especial. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I`ve had trouble connecting to this webcast before, but the above link worked immediately and perfectly from tune-in around 0030 right through to 0200, altho there was some scratchy background noise, as if the feed is a pickup off the air from the non-local AM signal. (It`s too late by the time you read this to hear this week`s show, Saturday night, UT Sunday.) The items were not actually in the exact order given above. As for item 9, I was surprised to hear JEDG actually giving some of the answers to the RKI contest. It seems to me this is unfair to those who enter the contest actually doing their own research. Further, I am reluctant even to publicize the existence of SW radio stations` contests, since this may encourage people who do not even listen to the station, to enter and possibly to win. Those who know about the contest by actually listening to the station ought to have some advantage. At 0108 UT JEDG read a few items from my DX report from Radio Enlace and/or DXLD concerning Colombian clandestine on 10000, and Venezuela. Lots and lots of airchecks, e.g. Panamanians around 0130 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV has a colorful coverage map of its new SW service; trouble is, you can`t figure out from looking at it that all the frequencies come from Cuba; and as in 4-076, many incorrect local times are given! http://www.rnv.gov.ve/noticias/uploads/ondacorta1.jpg Nor is there any hint in the April 22 press release that Cuba is involved. Why are they hiding this? And do they think we are stupid? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. The reported new 100 kW transmitters in Vietnam were delivered by RIZ Zagreb; see http://www.riz.hr/first.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. A Vietnamese cyber-dissident whose seven-year jail sentence for espionage was upheld May 5 as part of the communist regime's campaign to silence online dissent said he would go on hunger strike in protest. After a three-hour appeal hearing, the Hanoi People's Supreme Court ruled that Nguyen Vu Binh's original sentence, which also included three years under house arrest following his release, should stand, a court official said. Binh was found guilty on December 31, 2003 of communicating with overseas "reactionary" organizations as well as writing articles and sharing information that "distorted the party and state policies". He denied all charges. The upholding of his sentence, which came two days after World Press Freedom Day, prompted swift condemnation from the United States. US embassy spokesman Tom Carmichael said the US government feared Binh had been deliberately targeted by the authorities because in 2002 he submitted written testimony to the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam. He was the latest in a series of journalists and intellectuals to have been arrested and tried over the past two years for using the Internet to voice dissenting opinions. Binh, a former reporter with the state- run Tap Chi Cong San ("Journal of Communism"), was detained on September 25, 2002, after posting an article on the Internet criticising a controversial Vietnam-China land border accord (AFP via SCDX/MediaScan May 5 via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. TAIWAN. What I'm *almost* sure is Radio Chan Troi Moi in Vietnamese has recently appeared at 1330-1430 on 1503 kHz via Fangliao, Taiwan (first noted 4 April). Their shortwave frequency 17595, scheduled to operate at the same hours, was not audible here. 1503 carries BBC WS Vietnamese 1430-1500. I also heard the end of a Radio France Internationale transmission just before 1200 7 April on the same frequency, language not known (possibly Lao or just a test with music?). (Regards from Jakarta, Alan Davies, May 7, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. CLANDESTINE (Vietnamese), 7180, Degar Voice - Montagnard Foundation Inc via Atamonovka (Chita), Russia. Full data Prepared Card, signed by V/s in 20 days time for a collection of tape recordings over a two month period. Tape report was sent to Montagnard Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 171114, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29301- 0101 USA. V/S: Kok Ksor. Mint stamps sent and were used as well (Edward Kusalik, ALBERTA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 1550 MW, Nacional R. of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, Rabouni, Algeria, 0701, Apr 13, Arabic announcement, ID, 34433. Also heard on Tenerife 2223, Apr 22, Arabic // 7460, 33333. The 700 kHz transmitter was not heard during my listening periods on Tenerife. 7460, Nacional R. of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, Rabouni, Algeria, 0658-0701, Apr 13, Arabic announcement, ID 55544. Also heard same day with Spanish news until 1800, followed by Arabic till 2223, 55544 (Max Van Arnhem, Tenerife, Canary Islands, DSWCI DX Window May 5 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 18915 kHz. Program in English heard at 0545 UT about the layout and construction styles utilized in the City of Beijing. Station was weak with fading while mixing with another station. Heard a brief snippet of the DW IS at 0559 which could have come from either station. WRTH shows no use of 18915 by international broadcasters as of its printing. The CRI 2004 schedule http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/~ndxc does not show this frequency being utilized nor does DW. Unable to determine if this is a new frequency or harmonic. -- Nice to see propagation on these higher frequencies at this late night hour with longer daylight now prevailing. RA in English was 45554 on 17750 during this same period. Regards, Gary Halstead, K8KFJ, West Virginia, May 7, SWBC mail list at Topica via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ Excerpt from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/07/arts/music/07POP.html HOLGER CZUKAY, the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006. The minimalist, cerebral funk jams that Can devised in the 1970's have become touchstones for all sorts of latter-day post- punk and art-rock bands. Mr. Czukay was the band's bassist and has gone on to a career of elaborate sonic experiments (often incorporating shortwave radio samples) and collaborations with rockers, electronica producers and improvisers. Tomorrow night at 8, with Gang Gang Dance opening; admission is $25 (Pareles). 73 (via Kim Elliott, May 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TRACY WOOD ON BPL NPRM You may know Tracy Wood from his long association with the Winter SW Fest. He filed comments with the FCC on the BPL NPRM. I thought you all might benefit from his eloquent assessment of the problem from the perspective of an SWL. Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) Amendment of Part 15 ) regarding new requirements ) and measurement guidelines ) for Access Broadband over ) ET Docket No. 04-37 Power Line Systems ) COMMENTS OF NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING (NPRM) To the Commission: Below are my comments regarding the current FCC proposal to permit sharing of critical spectrum by Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) services. Most BPL implementations will likely use a large portion of the High Frequency (HF) radio spectrum. The HF spectrum is a unique, irreplaceable resource. No other medium offers communications hundreds or even thousands of miles without the use of terrestrial- or satellite-based repeaters. As a regular listener of international shortwave radio I receive news, political views, religious opinions, and entertainment programs from diverse nations around the world. The foreign nations broadcasting to the US have an expectation that the American government (or its infrastructure) will permit the direct flow of information into Americans' homes. BPL interference represents a threat to this free flow of information. The Commission must recognize that shortwave broadcast radio remains a viable means for the public to follow world events. It is a highly portable, low-cost alternative that does not require an Internet connection (ISP), monthly charges, or expensive computers and software. In fact, most public libraries do not permit listening to comparable streaming media sources on their free access terminals, thus limiting the Internet as a truly free, replacement audio alternative. Many BPL field trials have attempted to relieve amateur radio users of direct interference in their spectrum, (i.e. filter placement between 14.0-14.4 MHz). Unfortunately no such similar relief has been offered to the shortwave listener community and our WRC-allocated frequencies, e.g. 49 meters (5.9-6.2 MHz). If BPL interference is permitted in the international broadcast bands, my ability will be threatened to hear ITU-allocated broadcasters such as Radio Nederland (6.02 MHz) and Radio Canada International (9.755 MHz). The US government is a signatory to ITU/WRC treaties and its expectation of jamming-free and/or interference-free listening. If BPL is to be deployed, data providers must provide equal "quiet zone protection" to the international broadcast frequencies (listed in Part 73, FR. Sec 73.702) as they do to amateur radio frequencies. Military, government, and civilian aid agencies still use HF as critical backup during natural disasters and crisis situations. Implementing a relaxed BPL environment indeed will threaten our disaster recovery capabilities. Gateway radio sites could suffer from heightened levels of Part 15 HF interference, degrading their ability to receive voice and data transmissions. Today's powerlines are designed for carrying power, not transmitting wideband data. There are already plenty of other technologies that could be employed to provide rural and urban consumers with equal-or- better broadband service without endangering this critical HF spectrum resource. Among these technologies are MMDS, satellite, data-channel- over HDTV, remote-fiber-MUX DSL, broadband cable. Today's consumers are overwhelmed with new technological services. In the past the Commission has permitted "corrective measures" to make these services more user friendly. Signals to auto-set VCR/TV clocks, V-Chips, telephony number transparency, RDS are just a few features that aid the consumer. Industry and the Commission have yet to offer a consumer-friendly method the identify and mitigate potential BPL interference. If power transmission companies potentially generate interference, there must be a simple, standardized technique for the consumer to differentiate BPL interference from other common sources: DSL harmonics, arc'ing power transformers, motors, automobile ignition noise, etc. Cable TV providers have long used "RF beacons" to identify and mitigate potential interference to aircraft and public safety frequencies. Consumers must have tools at their disposition to similarly track BPL interference sources. BPL cries out for "decodable" marker frequencies on at least five published frequencies across the spectrum (for example 4.3, 8.1, 10.5, 17.1, 23.8 Megahertz - at the Commissions' discretion). The Commission must mandate all BPL providers implement consumer-readable standardized telemetry streams on marker frequencies. These telemetry streams would assuage many current spectrum users when battling Part 15 BPL interference sources. If BPL is to go beyond the field trial stage, these data providers must also augment the reporting capabilities of their interference hotlines, similar to the "call-before-you-dig" service desks. It will be critical to insure multilingual staffing on these "hotlines" as many shortwave broadcasters "target" their diaspora in the US. Finally BPL proponents must disclose the full impact of their technology. BPL must be evaluated with government agencies in charge of protecting our regional and local power distribution infrastructures. As "Homeland Defense" has become a major issue, a "Day Zero" evaluation should be mandated with each new BPL rollout. Has there been full disclosure regarding any potential risks to the power grid when modified for BPL with its HF and VHF signals? The Commission must allow a residential "opt-out" policy that blocks BPL signals from passing beyond the pole-mounted "customer-entry" transformer. I believe BPL can eventually be a positive technological force, but only if there is a level playing field. This equal playing field includes aggressive protection for licensed users and shortwave broadcast listeners, consumerfriendly interference identification, and powergrid-under-BPL resiliency testing. Our spectrum is too unique of a resource to be lost to a partially- developed technology. Respectfully Submitted, /s/ (Mr.) Tracy K. Wood 4561 Strutfield Lane #3416 Alexandria, VA 22311-4982 3 May 2004 (via Joe Buch sw programs via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ NRC IBOC THREAD RESUMES Night time Interference Letter: . . .engineer, who probably doesn`t know better... hell, they don`t even need an FCC license anymore. Write a letter to the Public File of the offending station stating the facts as you see them and ask them to respond to you how they intend to rectify the problem (Paul Smith, NRC-AM via DXLD) A nice, but firm letter regarding what the problem is, and how it affects you. The letter should give dates, times, and durations. It should also ask what the stations intends to do, and the time it will take to rectify the situation. It should also give a justification for your need to have the problem resolved, and a statement on how it impacts you. Make six copies. Send one letter to the station receiving the interference, and send one letter to the station causing the interference. Send your third and fourth letters to the FCC "attn: Station ___ File" for each, and one copy to your Congressman with a sticky-note on it advising him/her that you desire their contacting the FCC to resolve this. Keep the sixth copy for your own records if you need to. Make sure it is professional, polite, yet firm in the request that the interference stop or that the station(s) find a way for you to receive the signal interference free within several business days receipt of letter. This is the way myself, and others, have handled IBOC interference, cheaters (when they can be proved), pirates causing interference, and power/cable companies that refuse to resolve problems. What really triggers the stations and the FCC is when several people all write for the same reason (Fred Vobbe, OH, Apr 13, ibid.) How Much of the thread would you guys like to read....??? I found most of it. I`ll post some. In this particular E-mail, he brings up the point that It`s not his transmitter that`s causing the problem but it`s receiver front end overload... Here is the posting in its entire length Un-Edited. He also states that an IBOC receiver won`t cost more than $100 initially. You will read it yourself. I have not seen an IBOC receiver for less than $400 to date for the few that are now coming out (Neal Newman?, ibid.) The HD radio we have is a piece of test equipment, much like a modulation monitor. If anyone can produce an insurance rider for the $15,000 price tag, I'd be happy to consider loaning it to you. You will be completely responsible for its repair or replacement should it become damaged. - You don't believe that WOR's transmitted spectrum is not exceeding the NRSC requirements and the FCC rules. Prove it. I can prove we are operating legally. I have the measurement data to prove it. WOR's transmitter is not producing any emissions beyond ± 15 kHz of the carrier. And these emissions are under the NRSC mask. For the person who says we are operating 7dBc above the NRSC mask --- prove it. I have the data showing full compliance. Maybe you should read the regulations and the white papers on IBOC and see where the sidebands actually live. They are legal. - You want to write the FCC and Industry Canada. Have a great time! The IBOC nighttime tests were requested and sanctioned by the FCC. And maybe members posting here should become familiar with FCC regulations. We are under no obligation to protect skywave. We are under an obligation to protect groundwave contours. Stations producing skywave are required to protect us, not the other way around. We are a US Class A radio station, and the majority of protections are stations protecting us. - I will put my Optimod 9200 up against a BL-40, Level Devil or any other antiquated piece of processing equipment. My transmitter will be considerably louder and cleaner than yours. And it will be operating legally. And we recently found two Symetrapeaks and put them in the dumpster where they rightfully belong. - If you have studied receiver circuits, you would know about imaging and overload. Overload will produce unintended byproducts which appear as splatter, as will poor front end and tuning design. I can drive up to the WOR transmitter site and hear us at 1420. This is not coming from our transmitter (and again, I can prove it). This is being generated in my car radio. The same thing happens when I drive by WABC's transmitter site --- they appear on 1540 on my radio. - We are under an obligation by the FCC to transmit a clean spectrum. We are not under an obligation by the FCC to make sure your radio can properly acquire, process, or reproduce our clean spectrum. As long as our transmitted signal meets FCC regulations, we have met our obligation. This is clearly stated in the regulations. - Pay radio. Who the hell came up with that? IBOC will not require a listener to pay a fee to listen. - Receiver prices. Can anyone show me the information you have obtained on IBOC receiver prices? The price of an IBOC receiver will not exceed $100 (initially) of its equivalent analog model. Over the next couple of years, the radios will be the same price as the current analog models. This isn't HDTV, and it sure isn't L band, where you can expect to pay many hundreds of dollars for a radio, far outside the budget of the average listener. - The average WOR listener, i.e., the housewife and business professionals listening on their way to and from work, do not have the time to go out and buy, or research, the few decent quality AM radios that are on the market. They schlep into work listening to their stock AM radio. And on a stock AM radio, WOR sounds just fine. iBiquity has done their testing by obtaining one of each model radio that is currently available on the market. And their data is based on these models. What is your data based on? - My statement that WOR sounds just fine at 5 kHz. This is selective editing. My statement was that, on the average car radio, i.e., what is in my Ford Explorer, my wife's Ford Focus, and Kerry's Cadillac, there was no audible difference switching between NRSC audio and 5 kHz audio. I guess this means that the audio bandwidth of the radio is below 5 kHz, which is entirely the point of reducing the audio bandwidth. If the average radio cannot reproduce the transmitted spectrum, why am I transmitting it? If I could transmit to 20 kHz I would. Since the radio can't hear it, it makes no sense to raise the station's electric bill transmitting information that the majority of people can't hear. - WOR's audio bandwidth. It has been claimed that it is 5 kHz. We are actually (and this was correctly posted) transmitting at 6.2 kHz. Yes, we are cheating on the IBOC --- and the IBOC is working just fine with this extra audio bandwidth. Since we started transmitting IBOC, the bandwidth is 6.2 kHz. The IBOC standard is 5kHz, and this is what we tell people, as it IS the standard. I fail to see the significance of this. - As with any new service, there are bugs to be worked out. And this requires real world testing. WOR is proud to be part of one of the biggest changes in radio transmission in decades, and have devoted our facility to help the cause. - Will Rogers once said that, even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you simply stand still. As an engineer in the business, I would think you have an obligation to your employer to thoroughly research new developments, weigh the pros and cons, and ask questions and become informed before condemning said development. When you are unemployed in the next several years because of your refusal to acknowledge that change is in the wind, please do not come to me looking for employment. - My qualifications have been questioned. I have 25 years in this business, and have worked a various stations, at least two legendary giants. I had an FCC First Class License (which I obtained at 19 years old) that became and FCC General Class License. I am certified by the Society of Broadcast Engineers. I have Presidential recognition for my work on the Connecticut SECC/EAS committee for the development of a behind the scenes system to link state officials, EAS stations, and public utilities before a message goes out, I did the design work on a public prison escape alerting system for the state of Connecticut, I am on the New Jersey Anti-Terrorism Infrastructure Advisory Committee, I am on the Board of Directors for the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and am working on a project in association with the National Association of Broadcasters. I have wide industry respect by owners, managers, and engineers alike. I consult on the side. And I am piloting WOR into the 21st century. I know what I am talking about and know how to implement what I am talking about. And yes, I was a big proponent of AM stereo in its heyday, converting at least three stations, and piloting the legendary WTIC through its AM stereo phase. I have nothing against AM stereo. But it`s time facts were faced, and AM stereo is not and will not be making a comeback. - The qualifications of the most vocal of the bunch here on this board seem to consist of: we can identify a radio : we can turn the radio on : and we can tune the radio to make it produce noise of some type. I probably should be impressed. Before you make some of the statements you are making, you should research the subject and become informed rather than shooting from the hip. If you think that your comments to the FCC will be taken seriously, I would hope that you look at some of the statements that are on this site. The FCC will dismiss them as asinine. They have work to do and no time to fool around. - AM as high fidelity. I define high fidelity as a system that can faithfully reproduce the full range of audio, both dynamic and frequency response, and does not contain noise and distortion. AM radio is limited to 9.5 kHz audio bandwidth, most older transmitters have a noise floor of maybe -50 dB, and there is inherent distortion in AM detectors, though the newer ones are almost immeasurable. AM is also susceptible to atmospheric and electrical noise. Maybe someone can help me understand how AM radio is high fidelity. - Anyone who wishes to educate him or herself, and can communicate without making libelous, slanderous, false, demeaning, and uninformed statements may feel free to contact me for a constructive discussion about IBOC. If you're going to be abusive and illogical, your message won't be answered. Oh. And we log all caller ID into our PBX here, so harassing phone calls will simply be turned over to the authorities. Kerry has received several "breathing" calls today. I will be pulling this information from the PBX shortly and forwarding it to NYPD. I am sick and tired of the crap that is being perpetrated by certain persons on various message boards. I would think that we're all adults and can discuss these topics. Looking at most of these posts, I guess my assumption on the adult part is incorrect. Thomas R. Ray, III, CSRE Corporate Director of Engineering Buckley Broadcasting/WOR Radio NYC (via Neal Newman?, ibid.) ###