DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-081, May 16, 2004 edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2004 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1230: Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1229] 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 1230 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1230h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1230h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1230.html WORLD OF RADIO 1230 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1230.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1230.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1230 in MP3, the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-12-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-12-04.mp3 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-03 from May 12 at DXing.com: (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0403.ram (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0403.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0403.html DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our new yg. Here`s where to sign up. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ (Glenn Hauser, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. 7354.90, 0225-, TWR, May 12. Tentative logging for this station, as they were typically off frequency in the past. Too weak to identify the language with certainty. Talk by male until 0227, then music, then talk by YL. Lots of atmospheric noise tonight. I was wondering about WRNO, when the TWR IS sounded at 0230. Frankly, I was hoping that WRNO was back! (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. Argentina`s SW station is off the air since May 13, when vandals stole the coaxial cables connecting the studio to the transmtitter in General Pacheco. (6060, 9690, 11710, 15345) -- Maybe they will now try using a UHF studio-transmitter link? Glenn RAE fuera del aire --- Hola Amigos de la Lista, RAE, Radiodifusion Argentina al Exterior, desde el dia de ayer, 13 Mayo se encuentra totalmente inactiva debido a que se han robado los cables coaxiles que conectaban los estudios de la emisora con la planta transmisora en General Pacheco. De la triste situacion que actualmente se vive - como pueden apreciar - ni la radio se salva hoy del vandalismo. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, May 14, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Gabriel, Me equivoco o el lugar físico donde está la plata transmisora en General Pacheco se privatizó durante la década infame y el propio Estado Nacional alquila lo que es nuestro? 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) Exactamente, Arnaldo, así fué. Para ingresar a la Planta, hay que pasar por terreno 'privado', pero las estructuras en si, siguen siendo del Estado. Cosa ridícula, no? Un abrazo. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, ibid.) Absolutamente ridícula y totalmente "congruente" con los payasos que hicieron lo que quisieron durante 10 años. Indignante, como encontrar seguridad privada en el Ministerio de Educación o tantas otras barbaridades a las que nos acostumbramos. Gracias por la respuesta, viejo (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) Saludos, Gabriel Iván. Espero que te encuentres bien. Parece que esto es común en nuestros paises. Hasta que no se castigue como debe ser a estos ladrones, esto no se va a acabar nunca; fíjate que hace poco aquí en Barcelona, en el aeropuerto Internacional José Antonio Anzoátegui, se han robado el sistema de radioayudas VOR. Qué te parece (José Elías, Barcelona, Venezuela, ibid.) Gracias por la información Gabriel. No he leído absolutamente nada de este acontecimietno a través de la prensa. Aguardo tus noticias sobre la reanudación de las transmisiones de RAE por onda corta o --- en su defecto --- cualquier derivación que haya tomado el asunto a raíz del condenable robo (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, ibid.) {back soon: 4-082} ** AUSTRALIA. 4910, ABC Tennant Creek with nice signals 4/15 [sic] 0800 to 0829.5* carrying live broadcast of Australian Football League, West Coast Eagles vs. Sydney Swans - two male sportscasters (play-by- play and color, just like NFL games). ID by man at 0815 "...live on ABC local radio". Interesting to go to the Internet for the AFL site and watch the scoring summaries in real time while you're listening to the broadcast. SINPO 45433. 2485, ABC Katherine with fair signals and static (decreasing static after 0915) 0835 to 0935 with same game as 4910 above to 0856, then post-game show w/ interviews, etc. to 0858.5, woman announcer to 0900, then into a second live AFL sportscast, this time St. Kilda Saints vs. Collingwood Magpies to past 0935. SINPO 35333 (Bruce Churchill, CA, Japan Radio 545; Wellbrook ALA-1530P rotating loop antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Posted May 16, I assume he means logs were on May 15, or maybe May 14 like his NZ, SOLOMONS logs (gh) ** BELGIUM [non]. It appears that the postal address for MaevaFM International (Saturdays 1200-1500 on 6015 via Jülich, Germany, 100 kW ND) is little known so far: Postbus 550, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. Email: maevaradio @ hotmail.com On the domestic side, MaevaFM is a 24h commercial program, relayed by a number of local stations throughout the Flemish part of Belgium. Source: Herman Boel's website http://users.pandora.be/hermanb (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Let`s see --- 6015 is currently analog, right? (gh) ** BOLIVIA. 4763.12, "Radio Chicha" 1020-1040 noted with fair signal, musica andina, mentions de Bolivia and La Paz, tentative ID as RC, 13 May, not there 14 May, same time period. 4904.12, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, 1000-1020 blasting in with ID slogans, slow transmitter drift toward 4905 Khz[?], 14 May (Bob Wilkner ~ Pompano Beach, Florida ~ Sony 2010 ~ R 75 ~ NRD 535D ~ R 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. Hi Glenn, just to make sure, I noted that the frequency for RFE via Botswana was missing but had simply no time to follow-up so far (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. WEATHER IS FOR THE BIRDS Mike Boone, The Gazette May 14, 2004 http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=9b61e7d1-0bad-4401-b62a-0acf5b47a501 So little time, so many birds. Even before analyzing the three-day weather forecast, I'm going to have to take a rain check on an invitation from the Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds. The group is staging a tutorial on the "basics of birding" Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at des Rapides Park in LaSalle. Sheldon Harvey will be there. A 50-year-old resident of Greenfield Park, Harvey is a birdwatcher, a ham-radio hobbyist and an aficionado of Internet sites devoted to shortwave, meteorology and national defence. Harvey did not take umbrage when I suggested his passions qualify him as the biggest nerd in the known world. "You wouldn't be the first to say that," he replied with a laugh when I phoned yesterday. "Starting with my wife." His interest in birds was piqued by putting up a few feeders in his back yard. After attending one of David Bird's lectures at The Gazette two years ago, Harvey joined the Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds, which has been around for 90 years and has 600 members. "I figured I had to get out of the house," he understated. "Away from the radios, away from the computer and just get out and get some exercise." Saturday mornings find Harvey and members of the Society on birdwatching outings. Excursions cover between four and eight kilometres of natural terrain and take place within a 100-kilometre radius of Montreal. Harvey has catalogued 160 avian species, including bald eagles. The only "birding" I know is practised weekdays at lunchtime by lecherous downtown office workers, taking advantage of spring weather to limber up their neck muscles with some subtle head-swivels. And while the shoreline of des Rapides Park is a great vantage point from which to see the St. Lawrence River nesting areas of the great blue heron, the species in sight for most Montrealers on Sunday will be the Demergera Suburbanis and the Hockeyus Playoffana. I plan to sign the referendum register at the Pointe Claire borough office before kicking back with a few cold ones and the Flames-Sharks game. Harvey assured me, however, the Society will get a decent turnout for its LaSalle event. "Everybody watches the birds that land on the clothesline," he said. "They're curious. And when they find somebody who knows a little bit more about birds, they ask a lot of questions." I asked Harvey if the Society's membership conformed to my Dorkus Seniora stereotype: 60-somethings wearing Tilley hats, seersucker shorts and thick wool socks with sandals. "We got plenty of those," he admitted. But Harvey said the group is fairly diverse - "You name it: they're all ages, and from all over." Harvey describes birding as "addictive - It drives you, it pushes you. It's amazing to see how much people get into it." More powerfully alluring than shortwave radio? Go figure. © The Gazette (Montreal) 2004 (via Larry Nebron, Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** CHINA. 9785, 1535-, China Radio International, May 16. Excellent reception of English programming to WCNA about events in Beijing, including Riverdance from Ireland, with the Irish cultural official mentioning the similarities between Ireland and China (?!). Then an ad for CRI on line, at http://www.crienglish.com (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is this really for WNAm, and is it really from China direct?? (gh) ** CHINA. China Radio International in English is noted today on new frequencies 11940 and 11670 kHz at 17 - 19 UT (Vasily Gulyaev, Astrakhan, Russia, Cumbre DX May 15 via DXLD) Also between 2000-2100 on 11940 instead of 7140 kHz. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) 1700-1900 UT English is a totally new English slot?? Never seen before (Wolfgang Büschel?, DX LISTENING DIGEST) China Radio International 2030-2057 Hungarian on 9585 and new 11775. 6020 not heard (Silvain Domen, Belgium, May 15, ibid.) 11775 / 6020 ? And what about Czech, Romanian and Spanish? 1900-1927 Czech 9550U2, 6020Z6, #1386MW via Sitkunai-Lithuania from 1902- 1930-1957 Romanian 6020Z6 2030-2057 Hungarian 9585kas, 9365B1 6020Z6 2100-2157 Spanish 9640U5, 6020Z6 2200-2257 Spanish 9640U3, 7120U4, 6020Z6 and Z6 on 9525? 9760? 1830-1857 Bulgarian 9860JI, 9525Z6, 7265U1 2000-2027 Polish 9760Z6, 9550U4, 6145F, #1557MW via Sitkunai- Lithuania, 73 wb {1557 correxion: 4-082} Also heard in Germany with superpower signal from Kashi or Urumchi on 13640 at 1600-1700 UT, in English of course. Seemingly CRI changed some 6 and 7 MHz to 11 and 13 MHz channels in May 15 to Sept 15 season span. Or additional Kashi/Kasghar units on silk road are in use now. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) To all friends broadcast listeners, If possible can you check on frequencies for China Radio International outlets in East European languages. I heard this week : Hungarian 2000-2057 heard on new 11775 instead of 6020... unlisted in the mainly reliable NDXC list.... typical for the month of May that they start using higher frequencies for these type of outlets towards Europe. I don't doubt that other EU lingo programs have moved up from the 6 and 7 into the 9 and 11 MHz. Check it please, I'll be doing it myself. OK I admit, it's hard to differentiate between Czech, Slovak, Polish --- not to mention Serbian and Croatian (somehow I understand Hungarian, don't ask me why, that's my business) Let's use the Nagoya list to start with, and if someone from NDXC can come out to give more info, we appreciate it a lot! thanks :-) -------------------------------------------------------- (DXA375-Silvain Domen, Antwerpen-Belgium (CEST = UTC +2), Sony ICF- SW7600GR + 10 M longwire, May 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) -------------------------------------------------------- ** COLOMBIA [non?]. Jiri Valda from Slovakia reported for Radio Revue (CSDXC) that he heard Radio Ondas del Meta (CLM) on 4885 kHz on 10 APRIL 2004 at 0405 UT with local news and ID. I think this station is inactive for many years now, also have not seen anybody reported it recently. But maybe somebody knows more? Thanks. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hello Karel! Many stations have their old SW frequency in the ID without transmitting. Some weeks ago I heard HJBX Ondas del Meta, Villavicencio on mediumwave announce both MW and their old(?) SW frequency 4885 kHz. I do not remember which one but one of the Brasilian stations on 4885 kHz has Spanish programs every week. I will check the frequency 4885 and I will also try again to make a recording of their ID on MW and place it on my ID-web-site: http://www.malm-ecuador.com/ 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. 9830, Croatian Radio, Deanovec, Croatia, 35423, Croatian. Some very interesting music with OM vocals and a heavy beat. Quite an upbeat tune, guitar bridge reminiscent of the Surf-music days. Followed by a much slower vocal tune. Even though it's in Croatian, I seem to remember this one as often playing interesting music. Rapid deep fading (I need to slow the AGC down on this SX-71). 0405 UT 5/16/2004 (Phil Atchley, CA, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** CROATIA. 7665, HRV, 2019 May 13, Hrvatski R, Deanovac (13830 -6165) weak but clear with fair peaks (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ALA 1530 outdoor loop, harmonics yb via DXLD) ** CUBA. Trapezoidal Modulation: Why Some SW Stations Sound So BAD http://home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/RHC/index.html#TRAPEZOID (Steve Waldee, CA, via DXLD) If you haven`t read Steve`s entire opus on Radio Habana Cuba, don`t delay further; above is the latest addition (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CUBA. I hope some U.S DXers have had the chance to pick the new Canal Educativo 2 from Cuba on UHF. Channels 15 and 44 in Havana and 20 and 25 in Pinar del Río could be the best options for DXing from southern US. Regards (Octavio, Cuba, via Mike Bugaj, WTFDA, May 13 via DXLD) ** DENMARK. Re ``WMR running the first licensed Danish broadcast transmitters on shortwave since the shut-down of Herstedvester (comment by Andy)``: Not so; Stig Hartvig Nielsen ran a special station during an EDXC conference in Denmark in the mid-nineties, although only with low powered transmitters (I was not able to hear any whiff of it). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Licensed?? World Music Radio from Denmark is currently audible here on 15810 kHz with reasonable reception - the best signal I have heard from it yet. Continuous pop music and occasional station IDs. Heard from tune-in at 1925, still going strong at 1940 UT. I am finding consistently best reception from WMR using my Datong AD370 loft aerial rather than the longwire or beverage. 73s (Dave Kenny, May 15, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Last night (15 MAY, around 1800-2000 UT) I heard what could be World Music Radio, Denmark on 15810 kHz. Anglo-american pop and country non stop, no Danish songs, no announcements. Signal strength S9+10dB in peaks, low level of modulation. Deep fade outs when the signal always completely disappeared for one or two minutes, especially around 1800, later (...1900...) the fade outs were not so deep anymore (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030, 30 m LW, hard-core- dx via DXLD) World Music Radio? --- Strong carrier on 5815 noted 2223, short break at 2226, back at 2227. Presumed heard earlier this evening at 1920 on 15810 with weak to fair signals, pop music, no identification heard (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, May 15th, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also here in south Italy (Roberto Scaglione, ibid.) World Music Radio noted on 15810 0810 to past 0830 May 16th, continuous music, fair on clear channel with occasional fades (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, ibid.) 15810, World Music Radio, 2330, May 16, Been chasing this one the last couple of days. Weak signal with continual pop music format at 2130 tune in. By 2325 recheck, signal was up to fair strength, and they finally played a song I recognized, "Ricky don't lose that number" at 2331. "World Music Radio" jingle at 2340. I am not the first one in N America to ID this station. George Maroti in NY caught an ID about an hour before me (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI [non]. A jammer-like sound heard last night around midnight on 1431 kHz and still this morning 16 MAY at 0400 UT. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030, 30 m LW, mwc via DXLD) Heading is gh`s --- obvious possibility that someone has decided to jam the new R. Sawa transmitter (gh, DXLD) More! 4-082 ** EGYPT. 10200, 2009 May 13, R Cairo (mix 9990 +9780) weak (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ALA 1530 outdoor loop, harmonics yb via DXLD) ** FRANCE. 4671 kHz, France Info (3 x 1557), 2046 UT May 14 (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, Icom R75, mwc via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.11, GBC, Georgetown, silent, AWOL 11-14 May (Bob Wilkner ~ Pompano Beach, Florida ~ Sony 2010 ~ R 75 ~ NRD 535D ~ R 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONG KONG. TWO OUTSPOKEN HONG KONG RADIO HOSTS QUIT ABRUPTLY, PROMPTING QUESTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION By HELEN LUK The Associated Press 5/15/04 3:53 AM HONG KONG (AP) -- Two outspoken talk radio hosts critical of the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have gone off the air within 10 days of each other, raising new fears of censorship in the territory. On Raymond Wong's radio program Thursday, a guest host read out a statement attributed to Wong that said he needed to take a rest because he was "physically and mentally tired." It did not say when he would return to air. His departure followed that of another high-profile political commentator, Albert Cheng, who took leave from his phone-in radio show last week. He cited Hong Kong's "suffocating" political climate amid a heated row over quicker democratic reforms in this former British colony. Hong Kong, a peninsula and group of islands on the southeastern edge of mainland China, was a British territory for 156 years before reverting to the Chinese in 1997. Beijing promised it would allow the region to operate under the principle of "one country, two systems" and a "high degree of autonomy." Many Hong Kong people have demanded the right to pick their leader by 2007 and all lawmakers by 2008, but China sparked outrage last month by ruling out any direct elections in the near term. Human Rights Monitor Director Law Yuk-kai said the two commentators are "the index of freedom of speech in Hong Kong," with Wong's frequent criticisms of the mainland's Communist Party and Cheng calling on his audience to rally for greater democracy in Hong Kong. "They are always trying to test the limits," Law said. "Their departures will leave the media and the public worried about their freedoms." Opposition lawmaker Emily Lau said the rights of expression and speech here are "diminishing quite fast" with what she called Beijing's "heavy-handed" interference in Hong Kong affairs. Wong and Cheng were known for their abrasive on-air style in voicing grass-roots gripes and biting criticisms of government officials. Both are staunch supporters of full democracy in Hong Kong. They have been harassed or assaulted in separate incidents over the past two months. Cheng had previously survived a 1998 stabbing. But Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee said Friday that police have so far found no evidence that linked the intimidation against Wong and Cheng to their work. "Hong Kong follows the rule of law. We don't tolerate anyone using violence to force others to do anything," Lee told reporters. The government maintains that press and speech freedoms are protected and guaranteed under Hong Kong's mini-constitution (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INDIA. 7692, 2018 May 13, AIR Delhi, Distorted Spur of 7410 (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ALA 1530 outdoor loop, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. "That Reminds Me" about Peter Jones on BBC7 --- An interview with the late Peter Jones, the voice of the book on Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy and a frequent panelist on Just A Minute, will be heard on BBC 7, Wednesday at 0700-0730 GMT, repeated at 2130 and 0300 Thursday (I've subtracted one hour from the webpage schedule on the assumption that they give British Summer Time.) Also audio on demand at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7 (Joel Rubin, May 14, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** ISRAEL [non]. I have seen more than one logging recently of Israel on 7545 in the NAm evening, in Hebrew. Trouble is, Israel is not currently scheduled on that frequency, per EiBi, and Ukraine`s North American service is, at 2300-0400 in Ukrainian, except English at 0000 and 0300. Can Ukrainian be mistaken for Hebrew??? I can only conclude these are list-loggings based e.g. on PWBR ``2004``, outdated info (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Radio Forti --- My Radio Netherlands colleague Ehard Goddijn reports: From 1140 UT onwards Friday to-day May 14th 2004 I am hearing Radio Forti in Spanish on 15665 kHz with suppressed carrier SIO 2/3-4- 3/4. It is IRRS Nexus, Milan, Italy. English ID and request for reports at 1200. I haven't heard of Radio Forti before. 73, (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not Forlì? {Radio For Peace, clandestine to WESTERN SAHARA: see 4-082} ** ITALY. I just recorded off 846 what should have been the last minutes of RAI Radio Due on mediumwave. At 2200 the transmitter was switched to Notturno Italiano and continued // 1332 for at least four minutes but was finally off at 2213 recheck. However, 1332 continues // 657, 900 and 6060 until now, after 2300, although it was supposed to go dark like 846. By the way, some other reports indicate that the famous 1602 network of RAI Sender Bozen in South Tyrol (transmitters Bozen-Montiggl, Meran-Freiberg, Brixen-Albeins and Bruneck) is to stay on air, too (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [mwc] RAI: The Day After --- Hi DX and radio MW friends, First impressions about RAI revolution, from Udine, in the North-East of Italy. 189, RAI Uno Caltanissetta (Sicily) CONTINUES! 846, no RAI signals 981, RAI Trieste in slovenian CONTINUES! 1296 RAI Uno Udine OFF 1449 RAI Due Udine OFF 1602 RAI TRE CONTINUES! 73's de FC (Francesco Clemente, Udine, Italy, Radiorama/AIR, 535/545+LWs, May 16, mwc via DXLD) ** JAPAN. QSL: 3925, R. Nikkei F/D card with EG/JP text on back; front has word "START!" at top, referring, I imagine, to the start of the station's new name; the next line says "Radio Tampa & BSC change to Radionikkei". Also shows photo of man with a megaphone to his ear. Rec'd in 20 days for $1 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R- 8, 100-foot RW, May 16, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KENYA [and non]. Hi Glenn. In the latest DXLD I noted the item that KVOH was sold by WJIE. That reminded me about the information from East Africa I got some weeks ago. I believe one of the ex-FEBA transmitters which was meant to be broadcasting from Uganda, is "frozen" in a port in Kenya. I understand there are some plans to apply for a license to broadcast from Kenya. But no official information about this seen anywhere. Haven't been discussing with Morgan about this. This transmitter may (just my speculation) even end up in Madagascar if the WCBC (KNLS) needs one there :). 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. The schedule distributed by Arnulf Piontek is indeed valid since May 3. Various frequency changes came into force this day, and reportedly in the German programmes the new frequencies were announced in advance. However, 11845 (probably the first ever in-band frequency for German from P`yongyang?) is quite a mistake, already occupied by BBC Russian. This schedule should originate directly from the station since Arnulf Piontek already met some editors of the German service while visiting P`yongyang, although not in the radiohouse for whatever reason; years ago even German TV was allowed to shoot there (the footage I recall included two announcers sitting in front of a single mike similar to Neumann U89 and a console reminiscent to a certain Soviet design). By the way, this version of the schedule also includes 6070 for Japanese, missing in another one. Monitoring by Olle Alm established that this frequency must be operated with one of the Brown Boveri transmitters obtained from Switzerland, since the carrier is stable on 6070 and the modulation different from the other frequencies (cleaner audio but very low modulation depth, apparently not any audio processing in use). At other times this transmitter carries KCBS on 6100. Its location is officially listed as Kanggye, but Olle's monitoring indicated another site, probably closer to P`yongyang. Anyway the Brown Boveri was obviously not installed at the main shortwave center responsible for the foreign service transmissions (officially listed as Kujang but with coordinates for a location between Kujang and Sinuiju given). All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 9335.16, 1528-, Voice of Korea, May 16. Mind numbing programming in English with somewhat distorted audio. Program about the 'Role of Ideological Conciousness in Socialist Society'. Exciting programming, let me tell you. This followed the 59th installment of the readings of the great leader, or some such topic. Frequent IDs. Parallel to 11710 (also good). 9325.02 was on at same time, but in Russian at good level as well (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. USA, 7384.98, 0426-, Radio Netherlands, May 9. I didn't know that RN is relayed via WRMI, with an English program about Estonian music, followed by an ID. Then into Amsterdam Forum from Toronto. Good, but not nearly as clean as the signal from Bonaire. Checked their website, and it's a relay of WRN (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yeah, loads of stations get relayed by WRMI this way, but as previously reported, some of them won`t even QSL, and may well not even be aware of an additional SW frequency, as this is a `double relay` they have not directly and individually arranged (gh) {4-082!} ** NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR [and non]. According to a posting by Victoria Wilcox, who posts the hotsheets in the newsgroup alt.radio.networks.cbc Paul Moth, late of The Great Eastern, is going to have a program on Saturdays from 11 to 11:30 A.M. during the summer (presumably half an hour later by Newfie time) with a repeat on one or other of the Richardson's Roundups. Lorne Elliott will be producing a show in Montreal on June 12 (I don't know when this will be on the air) marking his return as host of MOIAD [Madly Off In All Direxions] (Joel Rubin, May 14, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 3935, Radio Reading, ZLXA, 5/14 0839 to 0858.5 with mostly woman announcer and occasional short music segments (15-20 sec each). After 0858.5 faded into noise level but could occasionally hear some audio after that. First time ever to hear this station after many years of trying! There's usually too much ARO QRM around this frequency, but this night it was relatively quiet. Sent a quick e-mail report to reports @ radioreading.org and to Bstokoe @ radioreading.org (Brian Stokoe, nominally the QSL Manager). We'll see what happens! (Bruce Churchill, CA, Japan Radio 545; Wellbrook ALA-1530P rotating loop antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. KSBI, channel 52, OKC`s only really independent TV station, and with lots of translators around the state, including channel 45 in Enid (when it doesn`t break down), has been beefing up its programming, including more local origination. It`s easy to overlook, as e.g. not listed anywhere* in print TV Guide. Checking out their current week`s schedule at zap2it, we see they have a local sesquihour morning show, M-F 6:30 am (all times CT = UT minus 5), Hello Oklahoma. I taped the first third of it Friday, having seen a promo for it. KSBI has their own meteorologist now, a must for any station to be taken seriously in Tornado Alley, Brady Brus, who used to work at some VHF station, but I can`t remember which. However, his segments every few minutes on the morning show are obviously only pre- taped voiceovers leaving it to the graphics to present, hopefully, current info. I suspect the entire show is taped the day before at a waking hour; unlike that, another show is billed as ``live``, ``At Home``, M-F 10-11 am, not seen yet. {*actually KSBI is listed in print TV Guide, only in the primetime grids} Not a serious local news department at 52, but 4, 5, 9, 13 and 25 should be enough, tho it`s debatable how ``serious`` KOKH-25 is as a Sinclair propaganda outlet with Fox affiliation. KSBI has added CNN Headline News M-F for half an hour at 6 and 10 pm. Besides infomercials, automotive shows and gospel huxters scattered thruout the schedule, KSBI programming is grouped into some theme blocks: Sat 12-5 pm, fishing and outdoor Mon 7-10 pm, westerns Tue 7-10 pm, Oklahoma sports, outdoor Wed 7-10 pm, home and yard Thu 7-10 pm, vintage sitcoms Fri 7-10 pm, vintage detective shows I see Diane Bish`s Joy of Music is still on the KSBI schedule, Mondays at 3:30-4 am. Haven`t seen it in ages, but includes some great classical music, centred around her organ-playing with rich video from decorative European churches and gardens; if she would only shut up, ditch the proselytizing and play the music. While I was at it, I checked the TBN grid and her show is no longer on there --- that inadvertently used to put it on SW too via KTBN. There are several other shows with Joy in the title (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 15724.64, 1600-, Radio Pakistan, May 16. Interval signal for several minute before TOH, followed by English ID and news. Initially very difficult to understand, but slowly improving. Fair at best, and parallel to 15100. End of news at 1509 with headlines. Followed by news commentary. 15100 is stronger and much easier to follow. 11570 barely audible here. Off when rechecked at 1616 (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Only these PNGs noted this morning: 3220, 3235, 3275, 3305, 3325, 3365, 3375, 3385, and 4890, at 1002 (16 May) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.57, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco 1010 to 1030 numerous ID's and flauta andina, 11, 12, 13 14 May (Bob Wilkner ~ Pompano Beach, Florida ~ Sony 2010 ~ R 75 ~ NRD 535D ~ R 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. Celebrating on the eve of Mother's Day DXLD 4-080: * PERU. Re: LA VOZ DEL CAMPESINO AL FILO DE LA MEDIANOCHE ---------- This was another of those recurrent Mother's Day specials... /HK (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So the mothers are staying up past 1 a.m. to listen to greetings on an obscure pirate SW station? (gh, DXLD) In this part of the world Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve are big celebration dates. So why wouldn't Latins celebrate on the eve of Mother's Day (which after all is an official holiday in Peru)? Everyone has a mother, hasn't he? And I don't think mothers care whether a radio station is a pirate or not. And celebrating on the eve of an anniversary is not at all unusual. The following excerpt is from "Dateline Bogota 1998". It's related to Bolivian Radio San Miguel, at the time on 4926.5 kHz: - The station was founded on Aug 29, 1968. As expected, the big celebration was aired on the night immediately before the anniversary date, so that all assistants to the celebration show would be able to shout "happy birthday" in unison at midnight local Bolivian time. As I am writing this, on Aug 29, at 1115, the station has not come on the air yet. Maybe they will not be on the air in the morning at all! http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/Dline98.htm Radioprogramas del Peru had a report about a Mother's Day celebration starting at 8 pm on May 8, in a Lima neighborhood called Magdalena del Mar, at http://www.rpp.com.pe/noticia/nacional/7515.php This event was scheduled to run way past midnight (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Article about Radio Quillabamba, starting with comments by Don Moore: http://www.comminit.com/la/lahaciendoolas/sld-940.html (via Henrik Klemetz, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. Recordings and comments at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 5950.35v, Radio Bethel, Arequipa on new frequency! Listen! 16/May/2004 15:47, Saludos Cordiales desde "La Mitad del Mundo"! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {the unID below} ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, SIBS, local programming 5/14 0750 to past 0835 with excellent signals. Local pop music to 0801 followed by a musical signal and local news at 0801.5 to 0813.5 when had a "summary of the main points". ID at 0809.5 "this news is brought to you by --?- -, Honiara". Into a feature talk program at 0814 and a pop vocal at 0829.5. Local news by man in what sounded like EE and Pidgin from 0833 to past 0837. SINPO 45544 (Bruce Churchill, CA, Japan Radio 545; Wellbrook ALA-1530P rotating loop antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Overcomer Ministry, "Voice of the Last Day Prophet of God" has really made an invasion in the 31 mb signing on at 22 UTC. Logged on six (!) frequencies: 9745-, 9730-, 9695-, 9615-, 9490,- and 9480 kHz. These transmissions originate most probably from DTK Germany. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RADIO TAIPEI IS 25 YEARS OLD TODAY Taiwan's English-language radio station International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) is 25 years old today. The station rose from the ashes of Armed Forces Network Taiwan (AFNRT), and used equipment purchased from the US military for the nominal sum of US$1. The past 25 years haven't all been plain sailing, and a few year ago ICRT changed its format with disastrous consequences. But the station survived, and is once again climbing the ratings. Today's Taibei Times has the full story. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/05/16/2003155761 # posted by Andy @ 10:08 UT May 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 9270, 2001 May 13, Tajik R, Yangi-Yul, 2 x 4635 very poor; 13905, 1850 May 13, Tajik R, Yangi-Yul 3 x 4635 (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ALA 1530 outdoor loop, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** TUNISIA. 9720, 0409-, Tunisian Radio and Television, May 9. Good reception of an Arabic language program with western EZL instrumental music, with a lot of adjacent splatter [WYFR 9715 no doubt, and/or TIRWR 9725?], but strong signal. Parallel to equally strong 7275, and weaker 7190. Just as I'm typing this they have reverted to Arabic music (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Classic Bob and Ray --- funny program from WFMT Live webcasts: Mon 1700-1800 UT WKMS Fri 0210-0310 UT WMCE Fri 1700-1800 UT KSKA Sat 0600-0700 UT WMCE (Publicradiofan.com via DXLD) ** U S A. NADER WATCH --- Ralph is getting a little more attention as Kerry & Bush can`t manage to top 50% in the polls. An appearance is scheduled on Wolf Blitzer`s Late Edition, Sunday May 16, sometime in the 1600-1800 UT bihour on CNN (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. This was one fine gentleman. I was privileged to know and work with at ARRL Headquarters back in the 1960s. By had a razor wit and brilliant mind. He was the leader of the noon lunch bunch who brown bagged in the HQ laboratory each day as us young bucks listened to the OTers spin yarns. Most all of that group is gone now; McCoy, Mix, Tilton, Handy, Campbell, Bob White --- makes this ex-young buck feel old (Bill Smith, W5USM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Longtime ARRL Staffer, SSB Pioneer By Goodman, W1DX, SK By Goodman, W1DX (2002 photo). NEWINGTON, CT, May 13, 2004 -- Byron H. "By" Goodman, W1DX (ex-W6CAL, W1JPE), of East Hartford, Connecticut, died May 11 after a period of declining health. He was 93. A San Francisco native, Goodman was a member of the ARRL Headquarters staff for more than three decades, most of that time serving as a technical editor. Goodman authored and edited literally hundreds of QST articles and columns as well as other League publications, including The Handbook for Radio Amateurs. Former ARRL colleague and retired ARRL General Manager Dick Baldwin, W1RU (ex-W1IKE), best remembers Goodman for his pioneering efforts in SSB and for technical expertise. . . . http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/05/13/2/?nc=1 (via Bill Smith, DXLD) ** U S A. FAA NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) previously quoted in DXLD as saying New York Volmet is off until further notice remains in effect. Mc (Mike Cooper, GA, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Up in Denver, "The Rocky Mountain News" tells us former KNUS/710 talk host Marty Nalitz is facing Felony theft charges, stemming from an apparent mortgage scam. Nalitz is the Associate Director of the Christian Coalition of Colorado, by the way (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update May 13, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/message/420 via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The Gang format --- Here's an innovative format: gang radio, featuring warnings for when the police are on the way. That was the programming on a pirate station in CHICAGO run by the BLACK DISCIPLES street gang that was busted up by CHICAGO POLICE in raids on WEDNESDAY (5/12). As part of the raid, which netted over $300,000 in cash, 11 guns, bulletproof vests, and jewelry, the police and FCC agents shut down a pirate station operating on 104.7 FM from a building owned by reputed DISCIPLES leader MARVEL THOMPSON at 6723-29 S. Parnell in CHICAGO (from http://www.allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. rfb seeks FCC waiver --- Wants to put end to spat By DANIEL BARLOW, Reformer Staff, Brattleboro Reformer http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8860~2097382,00.html Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - BRATTLEBORO -- The town's 10-watt unlicensed radio station is seeking a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to continue operating and avoid a drawn-out and heated legal battle. Calling the court battle between the FCC and radio free brattleboro a "wasteful endeavor for both sides," the tiny station's two attorneys are seeking waivers for four FCC provisions. "(The station's) intention has not been to engage in battle with the authority of the Commission, rather, rfb was formed as a community organization to fill a community need by commencing a broadcast service for which no licensing was available, and remains unavailable," reads a court document filed by rfb's attorneys this week. Approval of the waivers by the FCC would allow rfb, a non-profit community-run station that has broadcast in Brattleboro for more than five years, to continue broadcasting as long as other FCC broadcast requirements were met. "We decided to take a shot at getting a waiver because we would rather go right to the FCC and submit what we need than argue in court," said James Maxwell, a Brattleboro attorney working with rfb. The FCC's guidelines and history of giving out waivers for broadcasting licenses and other requirements is very much a mystery, commented Maxwell. Maxwell said no evidence could be found that a waiver has ever been granted for low-power stations ranging in wattage from 10 to 100, although waivers have been given out to phone companies and other broadcasters in unrelated areas. A section of the FCC's rules allows provisions to be waived if there is a showing of good cause or if it is in the public interest, according to court documents. "Here in Brattleboro there exists a locally authorized broadcaster doing the very thing the rule was propagated to nurture," the document states, "an extremely local (within the town only), totally community- based and community-focused radio station that presents no hazard, no interference and of course no commercial threat to other broadcasters or to the public." The station, which broadcasts at 107.9 FM, attracted the notice of the FCC last summer for operating without a license, in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1934. Members of the station contend that the FCC has neglected its duty by not offering licenses to small community radio stations such as itself and that the people of Brattleboro constitute its authority to broadcast. Late last year, the station received a supportive resolution from the Brattleboro Selectboard, a petition with more than 3,000 local signatures. In March, Brattleboro voters cast their vote in favor of the station 1,519-780. Earlier this year, the FCC and rfb filed similar civil complaints against each other in court and at a hearing on March 15 in Brattleboro the station won its first legal victory when U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha did not grant an FCC request to shut down the station. The FCC and the station are expected to file new legal motions and arguments before May 21, although rfb has filed for a two-week extension to that deadline. The assistant U.S. attorney for Vermont who is working with the FCC in the case against rfb said Tuesday that he hadn't yet looked at the waiver request and was hesitant to comment on it. During the first court face-off between the FCC and rfb on March 15, David Kirby questioned station co-founder Larry Bloch on why a waiver was never applied for. "Obviously, if they do get a waiver, then they would be considered a legal station," said Kirby on Tuesday, when asked how the request would affect the court cases. Rfb's attorneys began looking at the waiver options after it was mentioned in court last month, explained Bloch. And while these waivers are not common, said Bloch, it was decided it was worth the effort to obtain one. If a waiver is granted, then the station will continue operating as it does, said Bloch. This includes the FCC broadcast requirements pertaining to indecency and obscenity, he explained, to which the station already adheres. "If this does not crystallize then, at least on a legal basis, it gives us some ground to stand on," said Bloch. "If they deny our request, then that becomes part of the argument we present to the judge." The FCC could not be reached for comment Tuesday (via Artie Bigley, April 21, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Estimado Don Guillermo, Le mando una nota aparecida el pasado viernes en el diario El Nuevo País de Venezuela que espero sea de interés. Gracias! Sin más reciba un cordial saludo. 73´s Cordiales. Jorge García, Barinas, Venezuela. De las 115 emisoras ilegales reportadas, Conatel sólo otorgó el permiso de "Comunitarias" a 8. con el resto se hacen de la vista gorda por el servicio que hacen de a la revolución. Despues del 11 de abril de 2002, Hugo Chávez orquestó un plan para quebrar la resistencia mediática, salvando su aparente respeto por la libertad de expresión. En primer lugar, castigó a los medios televi sivos y radiales a través de Conatel y otros organismos, con multas millonarias, decomiso de equipos, constantes inspecciones para amedrentarlos. Luego el gobierno decidió fortalecer sus medios. El canal 8 cambió sus obsoletos equipos y potenció su señal nacional. Con 10.000 millones de bolívares instaló otra televisora oficial, Vive TV. Apadrinó a las comunotarias, que son emisoras ilegales que embasuran el espectro y no respetan ningún parámetro técnico. De las 115 emisoras ilegales reportadas, Conatel sólo ha otorgado el permiso de "Comunitarias" a 8. Con el resto se hacen de la vista gorda por el servicio que hacen de a la revolución. La Campaña contrainstitucional, la cruzada antiimperialista, el apoyo a los procesos subversivos de otras naciones, el continuo insulto contra los disidentes opositores y el adoctrinamiento atormentador, son la tónica comunicacional de los medios oficilistas. No conformes aún, Chávez y sus maquiavélicos asesores trazaron una estrategia en sintonía con su política de matar el hambre que ellos mismos producen. La crisis económica que viven los medios, gracias a la incertidumbre política, ha sido aprovechada para acceder a los espacios de las televisoras y grandes circuitos radiales, a través de un trancazo de cuñas (comerciales), pagadas por PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela). Ni los canales de satélite se salvan de la inundación de mensajes revolucionarios. Una vez más, Chávez juega a confrontar la ética contra la supervivencia. En reciente editorial, la Cámara Venezolana de la Radiodifusión protestó el anuncio hecho por el ministro de Información, Jesse Chacón, sobre la adquisición de equipos de radio y televisión a Cuba. El régimen recibirá 100 equipos de radio y 28 de televisión, no se sabe a que precio. El lince Fidel Castro los comprará a España para revendérselos a Venezuela. Un negoción. Y prosiguiendo su escalada mediática, el gobierno recibió de Fogade (Fondo de Garantias de Deposito) un organismo financiero del estado, el Circuito radial YVKE Mundial. Tomado del Diario El Nuevo País, de la sección AGORA escrita por la periodista Charito Rojas. Viernes 07/05/2004 (via Jorge García R., DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Amigos DXistas! This Friday morning I had unidentified LA stations on the 49 meter band, very weak so your help is needed! 5950.28 (no audioclip) 1145 UT. Very, very weak signal Friday morning on 5950.28 kHz but it is a religious station with modern religious music and religious talk. This Friday evening at 0100 UT still very weak, this time on 5950.19 kHz. Radio Bethel, Arequipa 5940.xx kHz has been off air for a while so perhaps them? {Yes, see PERU above} 14/May/2004 22:08, Saludos Cordiales desde "La Mitad del Mundo"! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL +++++++++++++++++++++++ Heard WOR via Studio X Hi Glenn, I thought I would let you know that I believe I heard WOR last weekend in a somewhat unusual way. I was on a solo DXpedition to Newfoundland last week, and I was surprised to hear a familiar voice (yours) on 1584 kHz at 2319 UT (7 May) mixing with the Spaniards (Ceuta and SER Orense). It took me a while to ascertain that it wasn't a weirdo spur, and I then remembered that you are on Studio X from Italy. So WOR turned out to be more than about DX, it was DX! With best wishes, (Jean Burnell, Halifax, NS, Canada, May 15) MUSEA +++++ GUIDE TO UK RADIO MUSEUMS The Guide to Radio Museums and Vintage Radio in the UK has been comprehensively updated on the BDXC web site for the Summer 2004 period. There are several new entries and unfortunately a number of deletions following some recent closures. Links to museums and other vintage radio web sites have also been added where possible for all entries. Please let us know if you spot any further updates. We always recommend phoning beforehand to check opening times, especially out of season, so phone number are also given. See the Articles Index Page at http://www.bdxc.org.uk (Dave Kenny, May 15, BDXC-UK via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 21:46:56 -0400, you [whoever that was] wrote: ``I truly wonder how many short-wave listeners actually tune in to a station on a regular basis to listen to a program? My guess is that most are just passing by, like Stewart. Which is fine, but if nobody is listening, why bother transmitting? I mention Stewart because everyone sees his logs and it is obvious noting the times and details that he is just band cruising, which is what most of us do.`` I wake up to broadcasts from the BBC every morning on 6195. I also typically monitor RCN late mornings on the weekends. [RCN?? Surely not Radio Cadena Nacional, Colombia --- gh] The problem is one of chickens and eggs. Most international broadcasters don't evangelize their programs -- so nobody bothers tuning in except a DXer who wants a rare catch. And since few actually listen to the program material, nobody bothers to produce any good programming. International broadcasting is no different in this respect than other domestic broadcasting. It's all about the program, silly. We don't want the "party line." We want interesting and engaging commentary, music from cultures we don't hear much about (example: Tuvan Throat Singing), Cultural stories, and so forth. However, most international broadcasters reduce themselves to language lessons and party line news bulletins. Then these folks sit around and wonder why the average person couldn't care less to listen to their broadcast. If this is the best they can do, it deserves to die. 73, (Jake Brodsky, AB3A, "Beware of the massive impossible!", April 21ish, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Jake, Still chuckling - You are correct in your overview. As you stated, just look at the format of many BCB (AM/FM) stations here. However, SW was intended to be a means of getting critical information into areas of the world that did not have other means of hearing the facts, truths or whatever. That need is just as important today in many countries as it was sixty years ago. For the rest of the world, they can not afford to produce quality programs with a mass audience appeal. Most are funded by their governments. Perhaps VOR has a good approach, commercials on SW. I guess it depends what is done with the money. But there is trouble brewing on the Russian horizon, have you heard the latest with ISS? Russia wants to launch one team per year, the USA does not. USA says wait until the shuttle is operative and we will take the load off Russia. Russia says tough, we are not going to wait. It does not look good. This one has major problem written all over it. Better brush up on your CW! (Duane W8DBF, Fischer, ibid.) DRM +++ Glenn wrote: "It would be nice if those promoting DRM, Andy and Jeff, would try to rebut all of Ralph`s specific points in previous issue (gh, DXLD)" As a matter of fact, I have been discussing with technical colleagues at Radio Netherlands how we can do a more effective job of "selling" DRM. The fact that Jeff is going to be doing that in North America is a happy coincidence. However, if people will persist in making sweeping assessments of DRM as a technology based on their own limited experience, it's very hard to rebut it. Ralph, for whom I have the greatest respect, has sadly not been impressed. That's a shame, as he was previously very enthusiastic. But I think he has just been unfortunate. Radio Netherlands is not promoting DRM simply because we have been involved in its development. We are a publicly funded organisation, and we only put money into things we believe will enhance what we do. If my technical colleagues had decided that DRM didn't work, they would have said so. The fact is that the results of the tests surpassed even the wildest expectations of those who first conceived the idea. Having said that, we need marketing people and not engineers to sell the concept to the general public. I've been saying that for three years, and it seems that at last people are starting to take me seriously. Jeff's a great PR man, and I'm sure he will raise the profile of DRM among North American listeners, and ensure that more broadcasts are beamed that way, something that Ralph commented on. 73, (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I can`t help wonder if, like the recent speculation on how WOR`s Tom Ray REALLY feels about IBOC, Andy feels constrained to advocate DRM as part of his job; less so, apparently, Jeff White (gh, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ HAM RADIO & SHORTWAVE LISTENING's WORST NIGHTMARE -- BPL -- IT'S HERE! Broadband over powerlines (in my opinion, the Exxon Valdez of radio frequency spectrum pollution) has arrived in Canada. It`s currently being tested in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario under an experimental license granted by Industry Canada. Sault Ste. Marie PUC Telecom, the telecommunications arm of the local public utilities commission is using technology developed by U.S.- based Amperion Inc. to deliver internet services over the powerlines. The data signal is carried along the powerlines and then sent to homes and businesses via 2.4 Gigahertz wireless. Just as in the U.S., local hams are finding interference problems. ODXA member Bob Hawkins VE3AGC has been up in the Sault area a couple of times over the last month and has found the interference to be particularly bad between 10 and 30 Megahertz. He also found that the powerline infrastructure in the test area is rather old and no doubt this is adding to the interference issue. Interestingly, he found interference via ``inductive coupling``, where lines that were not part of the experiment were radiating the BPL interference. While Bob told me that he'd found the local Industry Canada folks to be quite cooperative on discussing strictly technical matters, they would not give him any information at all on the terms of the experimental BPL license. He also found the PUC Telecom representatives to be very tight-lipped. Bob has a rather lengthy article planned for an upcoming issue of ``The Canadian Amateur`` on his BPL experiences. Ottawa is possibly the next site for a BPL test, along with Hydro Quebec. There have been some rumblings about Sudbury as well. I've been following developments around an experimental BPL deployment near Raleigh, North Carolina in the USA where Progress Energy has also deployed the Amperion system. The local ham community in Raleigh has a great pool of talent to draw upon, including hams who also happen to be employed as RF engineers! Amperion's public relations material boasts about their ability to ``notch out`` the ham radio spectrum. What the ham community has found is that this is much easier said than done. Of course all that happens is they notch out part of the ham radio spectrum and dump their interference on another part of the HF spectrum like the international shortwave broadcast bands. And the North Carolina hams have found that this alleged notching can only be done under constant surveillance and monitoring of the radio frequency spectrum. We also have to bear in mind that the tests are only being carried out in a relatively small area. The level of monitoring and adjusting that would be required under a `full-scale rollout` of BPL over a large area would be just incredible. Last month, the North Carolina hams complained to Progress Energy of inadequate notching of the ham bands. At one site they were still interfering with the upper end of the 20 meter band (where incidentally most of the hurricane watch and maritime mobile nets take place), at another site they were wiping out the 17 meter band, and at yet another where the powerlines are underground they were disrupting the 40 and 80 meter bands. We also have to remember that North Carolina is a state that gets clobbered by hurricanes on a regular basis! Of course all three sites were wiping out large sections of the international shortwave broadcast bands along with other HF radio services. Progress Energy's response was simply that: ``These measurements occurred subsequent to PEC modifying it BPL system to minimize interference with ham radio transmissions. These tests revealed a small level of interference at the fringes of certain frequencies. Since that time, further modifications have been made to address this fringe interference. ``It is PEC's position and interpretation of the FCC's rules with regard to "harmful interference" that any interference that may still exist is not "harmful" as that term is defined by the FCC's rules.`` In otherwords, Progress Energy was basically saying that ``we've made a few changes to accommodate you whining ham radio operators, now shut up and go away``. Here in Canada, the national organization Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) has been meeting with Industry Canada officials on BPL and also working at the international level through the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). So if you are a licensed Canadian ham radio operator, make sure that your RAC membership is up-to-date. This is going to be a very tough fight because there's lots of money at stake for those who stand to profit from the sale of BPL equipment. If BPL does turn up in your neighbourhood you're going to need to complain very loudly to the local BPL provider and to Industry Canada. And you're going to have to keep making those very loud complaints until the BPL interference stops and until your local public utility figures out that BPL over HF frequencies is a very bad idea and decides to throw in the towel. That's whats happened with HF BPL in Japan and in many European countries that have tried it. By the way, not all BPL systems are necessarily bad. A California company by the name of Corridor Systems is testing a BPL system that operates on the microwave frequencies. This particular system looks quite promising with no interference to the HF bands. It also helps that the company president, Glenn Elmore happens to hold the amateur radio callsign N6GN and is a longtime packet radio and microwave experimenter. We have to remember that HF BPL is ``first generation`` BPL technology. Who remembers buying Windows 1.0? or Windows 2.0 for that matter? It wasn't until Windows 3.0 and 3.1 that the Microsoft Windows graphical computer interface went ``mainstream``. Power companies that are early adopters of HF BPL may just find that they've bought a pile of soon-to-be obsolete electronic junk and their customers will foot the bill. If you'd like to learn more about BPL, I'd strongly suggest a visit to the BPL information section of the ARRL website at: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ You'll find a plethora of audio and video files of BPL interference along with numerous technical studies. A ``Yahoogroup`` has been setup to discuss BPL in Canada. To get on this list just send a blank e-mail message to: nobplcanada-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Or you can if you already have a Yahoo ID visit the following website to join the group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nobplcanada/ (Bob Chandler, VE3SRE, QRZ? -- Ham Radio Corner, May ODXA Listening In via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO SERVICE PROMISES SCIENTIFIC WONDER, "BPRR" Manassas, VA. May 13 (UIP) --Radio Manassas 109.1 KMVVA announced today an exciting new breakthrough called "Broadcast Power by Radio Rays", or BPRR. . . . http://www.home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/boys_radio.htm Against my better judgment, I offer this (Steve Waldee, CA, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) LOL! And be sure to check out Steve`s many other articles at http://home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/index.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) THE FCC IS NOW PROPOSING USING VACANT TV CHANNELS FOR BROADBAND WIFI DISTRIBUTION http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-247169A1.pdf Unlike the dubious Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL), where "primary user" hams like me can complain and require the provider to fix potential problems, TV viewers will have no such standing, as non licensed users of the spectrum. "Damn the interference, and full speed ahead!" NAB is gonna have a tantrum over this one (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M., N4LI, Germantown, TN/EM55, WTFDA via DXLD) TV HAS GROWN UP. SHOULDN'T FCC RULES? By Drew Clark Sunday, May 16, 2004; Page B02 We Americans have always been on intimate terms with our televisions. They sit in our living rooms. They keep us company. They show us family values, from "I Love Lucy" to "All in the Family" to "The Cosby Show." So it seems only natural that if our TV friends misbehaved by speaking foul language or showing too much skin, they would be in trouble -- perhaps even grounded -- very quickly. Television and radio have always occupied a unique space in the nation's public conversation, and politicians going back to at least Franklin Roosevelt and his "fireside chats" have understood the power of the electronic soapbox. Part of its influence came from an inherent limitation: The finite number of broadcast frequencies. That led the government to create the Federal Communications Commission, which regulated who could and couldn't use the airwaves. The FCC also developed rules on what broadcasters couldn't say. But now our televisions and radios have grown up, and they have gotten married to all sorts of other electronic devices and technologies. These marriages are producing multimedia offspring that bear little or no resemblance to the bulky boxes of yesterday. This "convergence" of various technologies, as this trend is known in the industry, renders obsolete many of the rules that have governed broadcasting for decades. It no longer makes any sense to impose one set of rules on the "over-the-air" networks while cable, Internet, satellite and music providers can send -- almost unimpeded -- all sorts of programming directly to your living room, car, laptop and even your cell phone. Consider these three scenarios: . . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28452-2004May14?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) THE NATIONAL RADIO CLUB IBOC THREAD CONTINUES RE: [NRC-AM] Barry's comments on IBOC I have been dipping in from time to time on the NRSC discussion. And I can tell you that the NRSC mask is being adhered to by IBOC. At least in the installations I have had a part in. It is just that the NRSC mask was designed for allowing instantaneous peaks of analog energy, splatter if you will, to be present in a quantified amount. Not to be exceeded in a 10 minute period of peak hold measurement. The problem is the NRSC mask was intended as a worst case to be tolerated. Many transmitters handily exceed the requirements. The IBOC plan allows for utilizing the total spectral area "allowed by law". Sort of like a large truck driving on the road with a Geo Metro. The road was designed to allow the truck as needed. But the metro passes easily as well. Now every one just wants to drive the large truck to haul more load. There are several factors that will make some transmitters and arrays cleaner than others. And it is a quality of service issue as well. The poor array tuning and older transmitters will degrade the IBOC performance in the field. And this affects the sideband regrowth issue. It is nothing new in my book and each system I have been associated with was tuned for minimum sideband regrowth --- it is a buzz word for intermodulation distortion. And as the signal gets "fatter" pushing it all through some of these directional arrays which will barely pass audio is going to get interesting. This system needs a large passband. And if the system is not adjusted right it could exceed the mask, and perform poorly also. But if you actually review the rules you will see there is a complete range the mask covers and not just out +/- 15 kHz. It is all codified in the rules. As far as enforcement I don't know of anyone yet cited for exceeding NRSC. But it is a rule and as such it is enforceable (Paul Jellison [Clear Channel, Denver], NRC-AM via DXLD) The question comes to mind...if an AM station running IBOC has to stay within the NRSC mask, and someone is able to document with a spectrum analyzer that the mask limits are being violated, what effect or recourse is there? Besides of course, just placing letters in the station`s public file (along with screen shots and calibration documentation for the analyzer itself). What are the consequences of going outside the mask? In other words, is this a viable approach to dealing with IBOC? And how does this effect behave when varying reactance of the array's CP off of center frequency is considered. Who has access to a proper analyzer? (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.) Fred, if it were as abrupt a change as you suggest, it would have a very undesirable effect on the signal - IM distortion etc. etc. Some are, and they will need work before they can pass digital sidebands effectively. So far I've been lucky enough that I haven't had to do an IBOC, but I've been studying the problems carefully - because you can't be lucky forever. |g| We've always gotten away with murder so far as coupling AM transmitters to towers, and IBOC will change all that. Basically, there are three types of problems. First, and foremost, are the directionals, and for reasons I'm sure you understand, this list is not the place to get into that because it would take a book or at least a short story to cover it all. The short story is that quite a few phasors and ATU's in DA plants will have to be completely redone. Second come the non-DA towers that are simply the wrong height, IOW too close to the point where reactance reverses and resistance peaks out. In the real world that's around 140 - 150 degrees electrical height. Third are the old, very "skinny" towers, and these are generally 112 degrees tall or more. The problems of wrong height can be cured by adding steel provided the tower can handle it, or by replacing the tower. It looks to me like top loading might be another alternative. These changes would require a license modification, and it's not clear to me if a "minor" modification will be sufficient, although it should be. It might require a reduction of TPO [transmitter power output] to maintain the same field strength at 1 km to keep it in the minor category. In some cases, a height reduction of 10 or 15% may also be a possibility. A skinny tower, especially a tall, skinny tower, will have a Q that may be too high to get the linear load that IBOC needs. In this case, there appears to be some promise in dropping drape wires about 4 or 5 feet off the corners of the towers, using the short inner guy wire sections as jumpers tying the drape wires to the tower all the way down and then bringing them in to the tower base above the insulator. This is not intentional top loading although there will be some effect; however, it does significantly decrease the L/D ratio of the radiator with the effect of reducing the Q. In both cases, the objective is getting a load that is nearly linear and complimentary on both sides of carrier. IOW a nice even slope that's not too steep. Generally, when this is achieved, the reactance tends to fall in line, and that can be canceled in the ATU network. However, to work with IBOC, the radiator itself must be fairly linear. If this is not achieved in such a way that there is stability, there will be untold problems keeping IBOC working and keeping the digital sidebands below the mask, IMHO. This also means that ground systems will be needing work in some cases, because it's useless to get the tower right and have everything change whenever it rains. Here's an example of what happens. WILO is the testbed station for Delphi Electronics for IBOC. The reason, so the rumor goes, is that the iBiquity folks took one look at the WIOU array (an ancient 4 stick end fire) and quickly started looking for another station. WILO in Frankfort was the closest good candidate they found. Look those up, and you'll see why. |g| I'm afraid that the future of quite a few small operations may be dark for very much the same reason that WIOU is not the test source for Delphi in the same city. As analog comes to an end, and IMHO it must if the band is to return to some semblance of normalcy, the less profitable stations with a high conversion cost may have little choice except going dark (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology, Indianapolis, ibid.) It would be interesting to compare the desired/undesired limits for co-channel allocation vs. the apparent "carriers" signal strength of IBOC. The IBOC signals are really a stand-alone digital signal +/- 10 kHz from the analog signal. Since it can be a separately-programmed signal, it should be allocated as such. The whole method of wedging IBOC into the existing band is a sham (Dennis Bouchard, May 9, ibid.) I agree 100% - it is a sham. IBOC is a new and separate service overlaid on the existing analog service, and as such, it should have to abide by all the existing allocation and protection rules. Stations are being allowed to put the equivalent of two new stations on the air on the first adjacent channels without regard to any of those rules. The claim is made that the rules are being followed because the signals fit under the mask, but that is simply not the case (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) "Listening with analog ears" More about the technical aspects of IBOC, with nary a word about programming and its impact on listenership: http://www.radioworld.com/reference-room/special-report/03_rw_opinion_may_5.shtml (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) Spectral regrowth is certainly possible with a digital emission, especially a multicarrier one if things get a little nonlinear in the transmitter. But it would have to be very severe for the intermod products to get anywhere near the mask, and if that happened, there would be so much intermod between the digital carriers that the digital system wouldn't work at all. Of course, strange things can happen to the transmitted spectrum when you factor the antenna characteristics in, but the point I want to emphasize is that serious interference from IBOC on both first and second adjacents will occur even with a pristine, laboratory-grade IBOC signal. Receivers vary in their susceptibility to the interference, but all receivers are affected to some degree, and there are no technical fixes that can make the problem go away... other than scrapping IBOC, of course (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The stations and people involved at this stage of IBOC implementation virtually guarantee strict adherence. Later, that may be a problem, but it's so obvious on a spectrum analyzer that enforcement would be a simple matter after a thousand or so stations add it. The problem is lawyers believe that which is allowed by law is that which may be done - continuously and to the maximum extent allowed. The concept of "safety factor" or "diversity of load" is not a part of their education. That's why at least, IMHO, two members of the Commission should be engineers with commensurate experience in broadcasting and telecommunications. The primary concern is that the weak signal areas where rural people, especially west of the Mississippi, rely on 0.5 or 1.0 mv/m signals for vital information. It appears that many will lose access to these even in the daytime, and most certainly at night. ``The poor array tuning and older transmitters will degrade the IBOC performance in the field. And this affects the sideband regrowth issue. It is nothing new in my book and each system I have been associated with was tuned for minimum sideband regrowth, it is a buzz word for intermodulation distortion.`` I've suspected something like that. Thanks, Paul, for clearing that up for me. "Emerging sidebands" sounds too much like some spin artist in a marketing department to be real, and linearity is the key to making IBOC play. Intermodulation distortion sounds like the equipment or adjustment might be at fault, while "emerging sidebands" is just a "thing" that "happens" --- the nature of the beast, so to speak --- so the equipment or system design is "not really" the "problem" - or so someone might like to try to make the less technically inclined think. Think of all the tank and jeep coil phasors that will need rebuilding, but that should have been done years ago. |g| If, as I've read elsewhere, the EB is determined to make the FCC a revenue producer, rather than a revenue consumer, we may yet see them in the field with spectrum analyzers again. ``But if you actually review the rules you will see there is a complete range the mask covers and not just out +/- 15khz. It is all codified in the rules.`` See: 47CFR73.44(b), found here, for those interested in the gory details: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=47&PART=73&SECTION=44&YEAR=2002&TYPE=TEXT ``As far as enforcement I don't know of anyone yet cited for exceeding NRSC. But it is a rule and as such it is enforceable.`` Probably not until the final Report and Order sets forth the new Rules, but as I mentioned above, this could be a more effective revenue generator than fences, gate locks and public files. All they need to do is come into town, set up their analyzer and start taking spectra. No station visits needed. That would be very "efficient" by their standards. And, like many of their revenue projects, it won't solve much of anything. The problem --- and it's not going away --- is that it is a legally authorized sham, authorized by the lawyers on the FCC. The problem with lawyers is they don't understand spirit. All they know is the letter of the law. So we can yell all we want about IBOC, but it's still happening and will continue to happen. The way that the Docket is proceeding, I think we can expect full night authorization this fall, if not earlier. I'd propose several new categories here, but I'm beginning to lose my sense of humor over what these legalistic idiots have done when better ways were available that would cause less upset (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology, Indianapolis, ibid.) That's really the crux of the matter. The parties involved really do believe they are operating in the best interests of the majority of the listening public. However, there are some people who are out of the mainstream, and will be cut off. Yes, this will be done, despite the damage done during the transition process. I do have serious reservations that AM will survive. XM is too attractive, and does cover all of the US. I have it, and it blows away my local broadcasters in terms of content. Even a city full of AM and FMs can't compete in terms of presentation and variety. (pessimism mode on) Ah well. It was fun while it lasted. Soon the only DXing will be on the coasts such as Mark Connolly does. (Pessimism off) (Denny Bouchard, ibid.) I'm curious about whether those on the list who have XM use it exclusively in the car, or whether they have had success with an indoor installation using the "boombox" adapter (e.g. how limited are you in locating the system in the house?) My drive to work is short, so it wouldn't pay to have something I can only listen to while mobile. I already have a small FM transmitter that I use to rebroadcast the radio/computer audio around house, but the coverage is less than desirable in some rooms. Another thought has occurred to me... given the impending disaster that IBOC will cause to the hobby, is there any way to use technology to "preserve" a snapshot of the current RF spectrum for the future? I've been recording ~ 5 minute TOH timeslots to .wav and .mp3 files for several years now to catch ID's, but haven't gotten to every frequency. I read the DX Time Machine article from years ago http://members.aol.com/WA1ION/vcrdx.pdf that describes using a VCR to capture a swath of the band, and there is a solid state recording device http://www.expandedspectrumsystems.com/prod2.html aimed at hams that purports to save a small (80 KHz) portion of RF. Has anyone ever heard of success with the either approach? Are there any other options available to us? (Brett Saylor, May 11, ibid.) I have XM in my truck and I mounted the antenna up on the dash. I didn`t want to have a mag mount antenna with wire hanging thru the door. Works great right thru the glass windshield. No dropouts except under the normal expected areas. Have tried it in the house and it actually works all over my home. I assume the signal is penetrating my wood shingle roof (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) Thanks for your answers to my questions. Now I understand a little more of IBOC. And I've also listened to it in the recording made by Brett Saylor, where he shows the differences with and without phaser. No comments needed. Hopefully we won't suffer from IBOC in this distance, and it should be used only in daytime. But you never know, daytime power should also be used only in daytime. I'll see in Sept/Oct. /Sig (Sigvard Andersson, Sweden, ibid.) The big problem I see with XM is providing local content. And don`t think they don` know that. I think that the market place will distill down to a few good local service providers. And remember to even get XM in a big building you need to be in an area with a terrestrial based repeater. Those satellite signals do not mysteriously penetrate the tall buildings from a geo sync orbiting bird. I can tell you that one of the several boosters in Cincinnati is running many Kilowatts of ERP from a major tower at 800 feet AGL. We rent them the space. Their ground based system is extensive and expensive in the metro areas. And you can bet they will want to make that local when the time comes. If you are out in B.F.E. XM is not ever going to invest in a booster. No ROI. You are never going to hear the local high school ball game, obitz or swap and shop on XM. Weather and traffic could even be a long way off on XM. Though they are now wanting to provide that even though it is totally against their "charter" design. Radio was dead in the late 40's if you remember history right. TV was surely going to kill it. I imagine radio will morph again and survive. It just will not be the way we see it today (Paul Jellison, Clear Channel, ibid.) I guess I'd be curious just how certain both of you are that *everyone* testing IBOC is in compliance. That said, given WOR's high profile, it would certainly seem unlikely they'd operate non- compliant. Maybe the greater adjacent-channel power density is a bigger problem than I realize? (My personal experience with IBOC is limited to WSAI, which I've monitored on the car radio and various ham rigs. I've heard the IBOC on the adjacent channels but never on the second-adjacents.) With the help of engineers willing to design a system that fits somewhere between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law... I made this point in my comments on the IBOC proceeding. You don't have to cross the Mississippi to find potential "white areas". At my location, (1990 pop. 7,060) WSM is the ONLY station that delivers primary nighttime service. It is not difficult to find other parts of the South with NO primary nighttime service. If IBOC wipes out secondary coverage, there will be many people getting only FM at night. (my guess would be on the order of hundreds of thousands in Tennessee alone) If they REALLY want to do that there's plenty of grounds to be doing it already. Send out a couple of engineering interns with a copy of the NRC Log, a GPS, and a field strength meter and I'm sure they could find enough daytimers operating at night to more than cover the gas & lodging. It seems a bit strange that they're fining $700,000+ for indecency, but: - A station can intentionally operate from an unauthorized site, and pay only $4,000. (Honolulu TV station) - A station can intentionally operate from an unauthorized site, unauthorized power, non-directional, and interfere with another station, and be fined less than $30,000. (Florida) - Numerous daytimers can intentionally operate at night, and be fined less than $10,000. (all over the place) - In recent memory, they've only been able to find grounds to revoke *one* license for technical violations. (ironically, KFCC!) - Old issues of the FM Atlas even noted reports a station in Minnesota was intentionally operating on the wrong frequency, because the assigned channel was too crowded. That station is still licensed today. [0] Point being, will the penalty for allowing one's IBOC sidebands creep out from under the mask be enough to dissuade stations from doing it? I trust CC to keep their stations under control -- history shows their stations are pretty good about technical compliance. It's the smaller stations - that can just barely afford to buy the IBOC equipment in the first place - that I'm worried about. [0] but when I drove by a couple of years ago, it was on the right frequency |grin|... (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) Like Kevin Redding, I also have tremendous respect for Paul Jellison and the insights he brings to this list. I have learned a great deal from his posts on various threads. But I think Paul has a too "terrestrial-centric" view of XM (and Sirius) and other emerging technologies like MANs. Taking Paul's comments in order: ------- The big problem I see with XM is providing local content. ------- And existing terrestrial broadcasters are doing a good job of providing local content?? Dr. Laura, Rush, Stern, Imus, Art Bell, etc. etc. aren't "local content," and they happen to be the bread-and- butter of many AM stations, just as satellite-delivered music services are a staple of many FMs. If "local content" is so important, then why is it so rare outside of major markets? BTW, I'm not arguing there isn't a need or demand for local content. My argument is that most AM/FM stations are doing an execrable job of providing it so any criticism of XM on that basis is meaningless. Stations like WLW are the exception when it comes to quality local content; they are certainly not the rule. ------- And remember to even get XM in a big building you need to be in an area with a terrestrial based repeater. Those satellite signals do not mysteriously penetrate the tall buildings from a geo sync orbiting bird. I can tell you that one of the several boosters in Cincinnati is running many Kilo watts of ERP from a major tower at 800 feet agl. We rent them the space. Their ground based system is extensive and expensive in the metro areas. And you can bet they will want to make that local when the time comes. If you are out in B.F.E. XM is not ever going to invest in a booster. ------- XM coverage is similar to that of a cell phone; there are "hot spots" and "dead spots." If you're using the Delphi SkyFi "boombox" (as I do), the "flip" antenna is connected by a cord and you can position it near a window or other hot spot. The open road coverage of XM must be experienced to be believed. To be able to listen to the same stations/channels all along Interstate 15 from Las Vegas to San Diego, with great sound and great choices, is a bargain at $10 a month. ------- You are never going to hear the local high school ball game, obitz or swap and shop on XM. ------- But, as I noted above, it's increasingly rare to hear that sort of local content on AM/FM. -------- Weather and traffic could even be a long way off on XM. -------- Huh?? I just tuned into the "200s" on my XM and there's already local traffic/weather for not only the majors like New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. but also some "mid-metros" like Orlando. What I think terrestrial broadcasters don't get about XM and other satellite services is that we (satellite listeners) are different from terrestrial radio listeners. We want choice and variety, not swap shops and local obituaries. We like hearing several songs in a row without interruption instead of having to wait through 18 or 19 minutes of spots per hour. We don't mind paying for better radio; we don't care if it's "free" if it's not what we want. High school football and local traffic/weather aren't that important to us. We like it so much we're willing to fork over $10 a month for it. If XM (or Sirius, etc.) wasn't available, we'd probably be listening to CDs, etc., instead of local AM/FM stations. Guys like me are permanently gone from the terrestrial radio audience, IBOC or no IBOC. It has nothing to do with technology; it's all about choice and variety. ------- I imagine radio will morph again and survive. It just will not be the way we see it today. ------- There will always be a need for stations like WLW that provide wide coverage and quality content, especially in emergency situations. They will not only survive but thrive even as new competing broadcast delivery technologies become common. But the scads of marginal operations that have come on the air in the past two decades --- those automated operations that just relay satellite-delivered programming and add no additional value themselves --- are dead meat, as they'll soon find out. (Harry Helms, W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) First, the fewer the number of local terrestrial providers, the less diversity of content will be, and therefore I believe this should benefit rather than harm satellite broadcasters. Second, the reasons people said radio would be killed by TV are very different from the reasons given for radio's demise today. TV and radio are two very different services, obviously, and there are a great many places where radio can be used and TV cannot. That was a rather unsupportable position to take back in the 1950's. This time the threat is from media which can be used anywhere a radio is - satellite radio and streaming audio. I'm not predicting that either AM nor both AM & FM will die anytime soon -- there will always be some appetite for local programming, and I agree that there will be a distillation of terrestrial stations, but the main issue remains that satellite and streaming are picking up audiences which terrestrial radio has abandoned over the years. And presuming it doesn't fail early on, IBOC will do more damage to radio than it will solve - that I will fearlessly predict. But stations like WLW will lose coverage they currently have today. If the IBOC proponents are correct in saying that local contour billings/audiences are all that matter, then the 'wide area coverage' argument is much less of an issue (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (15 mi NNW Philadelphia) 40:08:52N; 75:15:58W, Grid FN20ID, ibid.) Which makes me wonder why there is such a to-do about the proliferation of higher-powered operations in Mexico. If all that really matters is the local contour (which, in my opinion DOES make sense), how can co-channel Mexican stations be a problem to fight while adjacent channel IBOC is a technology to embrace? Having lived through radio's "death" in the late '40s, I remember the history very well. Most stations carried block programming from the four major networks -- NBC, CBS, ABC and MBS -- with a smattering of local programming in non-prime time. Independents were able to buy syndicated block programming in those large transcriptions (16"?) that have become collectors items today. ("Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" and "Box 13" with Alan Ladd come to mind.) There was some local programming during prime time on the network affiliates -- 90 seconds at the top and the bottom of the hour, where local commercials, weather, and IDs were aired. In 1947, when I was 12, I had a notebook in which I mapped out a schedule of night-time programming that I would listen to regularly. As far as DX'ing was concerned, I could relax with my entertaining programs on the stations from Portland (or from KNX and KQW/KCBS for CBS or KFI and KPO/KNBC for NBC when KOIN or KGW were QRM'd. For ABC, it was KGO and KEX, when the latter's power jumped from 5 to 50 kw. For Mutual, KWIL-1240, then 790, was just 11 miles away); then "fish" for TOH or BOH ID's. When TV spread, it took the network radio shows (like Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Your Hit Parade, Gunsmoke, et al), before developing its own programming. What saved radio in the '50s was intensified local news, personality DJs playing popular music, plus 5 minutes of national news on the hour (or 5 minutes before the hour) and/or on the half hour (MBS carried news at :60 and :30.) The networks also provided voice cuts that local news directors could use in their expanded news casts. Todd Storz, Gordon McLendon and other creative minds built Top 40 radio --- stations began specializing in country music (instead of blocks of an hour or two) --- eventually, all news and news/talk formats evolved, where the talk shows provided balanced coverage of local events and issues. In the major markets, there was room for a classical music station on AM (WRR-Dallas, WCRB-Boston, WGMS- Washington and, of course, WQXR New York, KFAC Los Angeles, San Francisco on 1550 [KKHI], come to mind.) We who kept up with music and perhaps wanted to buy our own 78s or 45s could always count on the DJs to identify the song and the artist (and maybe even the record label). Today, if we hear a piece of new music that interests us, nobody IDs either the artist or the song. Consultants have told programmers, apparently, that their audiences already know the titles and artists. So, in a way, radio has come full circle. From the golden days of network radio, through the golden days of local radio to the tinsel age of syndicated programming. For music, as I sit at the computer, my TV set hooked to the Dish Network provides whatever kind of music I'm in the mood to hear. (Can't take that with me in the car, where I'm content to carry along a few favorite CDs rather than buy XM.) I will listen to KAAM, which started out on 1310, then moved to 620 and now is virtually unavailable at night on 770, to WRR-FM for classical music, and to some of the Latin music that's become profusely available in the DFW market. I guess you might say it's why I am: (The Krumudgeon, Qal R. Mann, John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Krum TX, ibid.) Personally I would rather have Sirius out of the two. As they run more programming to my liking. I have the Dish Network and the Sirius music channels will be added to Dish later in the month. Isn't XM partly owned by Clear Channel? (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, ibid.) Paul, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you in your position at Clear Channel. You have done a superlative job engineering the stations you have worked at and controlled. But, I have to say some things that will, as usual get me into trouble. What is the difference between XM providing local content as an adjunct to satellite programming or Clear Channel providing local content as an adjunct from a satellite? As far as I can see, the difference is that there are more formats on the XM satellite than Clear Channel can provide. Generally, [ that means mostly but not always ] you will not get HSFB on a Clear Channel station, nor will you get the obits or the swap and shop either. What's the difference between the average CCU station and XM other than XM has more formats and you have to pay for it? But what would be the difference between Clear Channel with its centralized satellite programming with traffic and weather and XM with pay centralized satellite programming and traffic and weather other than you pay at XM and XM having more variety than CCU? Is this "charter" their charter or is it government regulation that makes it the way it is. I am asking because I don't know. I don't know that Radio will be dead, but its going to have a lot less relevance than before. A lot of people are on to other things and that IBAC racket is going to cause more to leave. Radio will always be around but terrestrial radio will be much less important than it is presently. Russ, I do not have XM. I will probably get it. Right now I listen to internet streaming about 90% more of the time than terrestrial radio. You all have heard me harp on it before. It's the programming. On this one, its a no-brainer. IBAC will hurt terrestrial radio terribly. The NAB should be doling out the cash in congress for another band for digital. I can't believe that station owners are about to turn their backs on 150 million cars with analog radios and captive listeners. That alone is incredible to me. The economics of that are plain and stark. How radio corporations can do this one thing is beyond comprehension. Bad, bad move (Kevin Redding, Mesa AZ, ibid.) Mexican stations can only reach so far over the border. IBOC could be everywhere. In Mexico, too, the overall population is much poorer, and TV penetration isn't as complete as in the US. IBOC is like having two new locals for each station that adopts it - one on either side. There will be a small number of markets where Mexican border stations will cause as much problem. In fact US IBOC could potentially cause as much or more interference in Northern Mexico as their higher powered stations will in a comparable area of the US Southwest. As DX'ers, we can complain about them both. But I'd actually like to see the US government complain to Mexico about not respecting broadcast treaties, so that we could have the pleasure of hearing the Mexicans telling us we did the same with IBOC (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 15 mi NNW Philadelphia ), 40:08:52N; 75:15:58W, Grid FN20ID, ibid.) Doug, I have, and it's quite noticeable. From time to time, WZRC-1480, experiments with IBOC during the day. When I drive on interstate 80 within the PRIMARY coverage area of WGHT-1500, a one thousand watt daytimer, a distinct IBOC white noise/buzz is under WGHT. And, this is on the BACK lobe of WZRC's 5,000 watt coverage. (WZRC's four tower array is located about 15-20 air miles from WGHT.) As I have brought up before, there is local programming that NEEDS a 50 kw station that covers well beyond the TSA - sports play - by - play. Go tell a VP of marketing for a team, an organization that's paying or receiving millions of dollars on rights fees, that anything beyond the TSA is irrelevant (Bob Galerstein, WB2VGD, Morris Plains, NJ, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ 'SONGS OF THE SKY' ON BBC RADIO Radio 4 documentary will air on 31 May, 2004. A radio documentary on BBC will explore the Northern Lights, including natural radio emissions and reports of audible phenomena involving the aurorae, plus Alaskan native legends about the lights. Shawn Korgan of Project INSPIRE Team I-1 went to Alaska with the independent production team, and writes about the upcoming broadcast in this month's LOWDOWN http://www.anarc.org/lwca/ The program will be transmitted on May 31st at 1930 UT on the FM stations of Radio 4 and 198 kHz longwave. You can also listen live at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ or check the audio archives after the air date. http://www.lwca.org/#news (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ###