DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-130, August 28, 2004 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING 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 1243: Sat 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sat 2300 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sun 0630 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1000 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 1100 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sun 1500 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sun 1900 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 1930 on WWCR 12160 [NEW, ex-Sat 2030] Sun 2000 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330 Mon 0230 on WRMI 6870 Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1242] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Mon 0900 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Mon 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily 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]: WORLD OF RADIO 1243 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1243h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1243h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1243.html WORLD OF RADIO 1243 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1243.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1243.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1243 in the true SW sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_08-25-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_08-25-04.mp3 WOR/COM/MR SCHEDULE updated: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html ** ANGOLA. 4950, R. Nacional, 2308-2332, August 27, Portuguese, OM with news, field report from various reporters. Music bridge, ID at 2317 followed by festive music program. Fair at tune-in, gradually becoming weaker/noisier by tune-out (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R75, MLB-1, RS longwire with RBA balun, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA36-R.Nacional, 2047-2100, August 27, Spanish, YL with talks, reggae music and pop ballad with quick "Radio Nacional" ID in the middle of the ballad. (There was something mentioned before RN that may or may not have been the call sign LRA36, but I'm not positive as the ID caught me off guard!) More music and YL until crushed by Chile-15475 sign-on at 2100. Fair, surprisingly decent signal. Second time logged this month! (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R75, MLB-1, RS longwire with RBA balun, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. El Grupo Radioescucha Argentino está colaborando con LA ROSA DE TOKIO, el programa de DX y comunicaciones que irradia LOS SABADOS de 20,30 a 22 HORA ARGENTINA [Sat 2330-0100 UT Sun] DOMINGOS de 11,30 Y 13 HORA ARGENTINA [Sun 1430-1600 UT] Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, desde La Plata, por los 1270 kHz con 50 kW de potencia. PRONTO COMENZARAN LOS REPORTAJES ESPECIALES SOBRE EL MUNDO DE LA RADIODIFUSION (A EMITIRSE LOS FINES DE SEMANA 30 minutos) en horario diferente a la Rosa de Tokio. [¿Cuál?] ESTAMOS EN LA WEB AM Y FM ATENCION --- estamos en forma experimental en el siguiente sitio: http://200.55.63.35/radio_provincia_am http://200.55.63.35/radio_provincia_fm pagina web: http://www.gba.gov.ar/radio-provincia/ A LOS PRIMEROS QUE REPORTEN LA TRANSMISION VIA INTERNET TENDRAN SORPRESAS. LOS TEMAS de la Rosa de Tokio: SABADO 28 DE AGOSTO 20,30 A 22 HORA ARGENTINA HOMENAJE A LA RADIODIFUSION ARGENTINA historia, identificaciones, anécdotas. DOMINGO 29 DE AGOSTO 11,30 A 13 HORA ARGENTINA EFEMERIDES RADIALES: homenaje a la radiodifusión Argentina. Entrevistas: Daniel Camporini, Arnaldo Slaen, Marcelo Corniaccione [sic], Carlos Malbran, Antonio Carrizo y Néstor Piconne PRODUCCION GENERAL: OMAR JOSE SOMMA PRODUCCION TECNICA: JUAN MANUEL NATALE mail: dxradio @ argentina.com No deje de escucharlo este SABADO Y DOMINGO (via Conexión Digital Aug 28 via DXLD) ** ARMENIA. It seems that Armenia has increased times for 4810 kHz and MW 1395 kHz, noted on 7th August 2004, at 1955 UT in Armenian (under TWR Albania on 1395) and closedown on both frequencies at 2000. Observed: 1730-1745 Armenian 1395 4810 9960 1745-1845 Foreign Service 4810 9960 1745-1810 Armenian 1395 1810-1825 Radio "Mir" in Russian 1395 1845-1900 Armenian 1395 4810 9960 1900-2000 Armenian 1395 4810 On 1350 kHz TWR Armenia and Abkhaz Radio, Sukhum, Georgia, almost blocked at 1900 by new Radio Orient in France (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria - 10th August 2004, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. QUICK OR DEAD ON FOX --- By PAUL STEWART 29aug04 TOP rating Melbourne radio station FOX FM has admitted it uses new technology to speed up songs on its playlist. FOX general manager Gary Pert said the station played some songs faster to create "an up vibe, high energy feel about the station". He denied the process allowed the station to squeeze in more commercials. Mr Pert said most listeners would not know when a song was played faster. "We have never had a single complaint from an artist, listener or record company. But record company executives contacted this week said they were reluctant to complain - but that they were shocked by FOX's admission. "I think a lot of artists will go through the roof when they hear their songs have been speeded up by FOX," an executive for a major label said. "We cannot complain out loud because we need the station's support." Members of US rock act Live, in Melbourne recently, said they were shocked and outraged when they heard one of their songs "speeded up" on FOX. (c) Herald and Weekly Times (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** BULGARIA. The radio.dir.bg website pointed out by Bernd also contains transmitter site pictures: http://www.radio.dir.bg/bg/6/shu.htm Way down the page, under the "Drugi predavateli" subheading, two self-radiating masts, apparently belonging to the 500 kW Shumen site. At the bottom of the page what looks like a mast once carrying a now dismantled cage antenna, probably but not necessarily co-located. http://www.radio.dir.bg/bg/3/plo/pad.jpg A picture of the 250/500 kW Plovdiv-Padarsko shortwave site, showing open wire feeders and 4/8 dipole walls, not the common curtain design but fixed structures. And the Sofia page http://www.radio.dir.bg/bg/1/sof.htm describes the equipment of the Kostinbrod site as "2 x 100 kW, 2 x 50 kW". One would assume that this is recent data, so what about the alleged 250 kW there? By the way, judging from the Radio Bulgaria transmissions I would say that one could well consider leasing airtime at Padarsko. The audio response is not that good, but probably the feed circuits are to blame for this and with an alternative STL the results would be better. Otherwise the transmission quality from this site is fine, and one has really to wonder if no other broadcaster used this site until now, instead only the poor Kostinbrod facilities, probably even with this "250 kW" that probably has not so much to do with reality? As for the denial given by Ivo Ivanov [that the 11525 Minivan test Aug 18 was from Kostinbrod]: I understand that he works for BNR / Radio Bulgaria. Perhaps it should be considered that the transmitters are operated by BTC, another organization. Will they really tell Radio Bulgaria about anything they do? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. The New MOJO Radio --- Testosterone-640 is no more! CFMJ (MOJO) 640 axed "talk radio for guys". They relaunched the talk format with the slogans "the new Mojo radio" and "your news, your views, your city". They're still heavily banking on being the Leafs flagship as the glue that holds the station together, notwithstanding impending NHL lockout that could wipe out the 2004-05 season. http://www.640toronto.com/ 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, Aug 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CHINA. Cari amici ascoltatori, l'anno prossimo ricorrerà il 45mo anniversario dell'apertura delle trasmissioni in lingua italiana della nostra Radio. Nel settembre o nell'ottobre prossimo organizzeremo per la prima volta due incontri con Voi ascoltatori, uno a Roma e l'altro, dalle dimensioni piu' grandi, in una città del Nord d'Italia. Chi ha interesse a partecipare agli incontri è pregato di darci una risposta e di proporci la città. Vi preghiamo possibilmente di comunicarci il Vostro numero di telefono in modo tale che il nostro corrispondente a Roma si potrà mettere in contatto con Voi. Vi ringraziamo per il sostegno che da anni date al nostro lavoro. Cordiali saluti. La redazione italiana Radio Cina Internazionale (via R. Pavanello, bclnews.it via DXLD) The August 29 "In the Spotlight" looks at the English language craze in China, and how some scholars worry that Chinese culture and language are suffering as a result (Jim, CRI/English http://pw2.netcom.com/~jleq/cri1.htm Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Heh heh...it's working... It is through influences of this type that China's economy, political systems, and media will be opened up to more public scrutiny (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) Gee what a novel concept. I wonder what would happen if we increased our social, cultural, economic, and travel intercourse with Cuba? Think of the exotic parts the classic car collectors would suddenly be able to import. Then there is black beans and rice. Bring it on (Joe Buch, DE, ibid.) And Cuban cigars, ***cough, cough*** (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Just got off the phone with Arnaldo Coro, nice clear connexion. He says the main problem at RHC is no power at the transmitter site, since the powerlines serving it are down, or blown away. They are trying to rebuild them and possibly will be ready to return to the air by next Tuesday, but no promises. A studio- transmitter-link tower at the site collapsed, as it was not expected to have to confront such high winds. Otherwise the transmitter site is OK, and there was no damage at the Habana studios. He will be out of country next week in St. Lucia, so if you do hear a DXers Unlimited program, it will have been recorded earlier. [Nothing was said about the antennas in particular, nor whether he was only talking about the Bauta site, since there are two others, partially used for relaying China if not Venezuela --- gh]. (George Thurman, TX, 2330 UT Aug 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RADIO CUBANA: PROA AL SOL --- Por Lydia Esther Ochoa Peña La Radio cubana cumple hoy 82 años y se mantiene tan lozana como el primer día, aquel lejano 22 de agosto de 1922, cuando el compositor Luís Casas Romero inauguró su emisora de 10 watts, la primera en el país, que salió al aire en la banda de 370 metros. . . http://www.radioangulo.cu/diario/2004/agosto/220804/funda_radio.htm (via Horacio Nigro, Conexión Digital Aug 28 via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Been listening to Radio Martí via the Pennsylvania ANG PSYOPS EC-130J airplane (presumably circling over the Tortugas) since 2240 GMT August 28th. Huge signal, baseball coverage, many Martí "Atención Cuba, Atención Cuba..." drops regarding this and the TV program special coverage, with refs to 530 and TV-13, all parallel 6030 (jammed). 530 is nearly local level here! This thing sounds 100 kW from my proximity, but of course it's actually 10 kW. No trace of the Rebelde transmitter -- I'd say "we" won the battle on 530. So, what next Arnie & Fido? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, N, 82.46.08 W, 2332 UT Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note that weekly broadcasts on Saturday nights only mean that R. Martí is putting all this extra expense and effort into broadcasting --- stupid ballgames! (gh, DXLD) Hearing Radio Martí on 530, // 6030 but ahead by a second or two, baseball game. Weak, readable here, through the OC from Eglin's Information Radio. 8-28-04 at 1810 EDT. This could well be the Commando Solo relay. Reported to be very strong further down the Florida peninsula (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, (Where 530 is not usually a pleasant surprise), NRC-AM via DXLD) ** EUROPE. Internet stream of Shortwave pirates online. Also sometimes live studiofeed of Alfa Lima International. The stream is not always on air but very often in the weekend. More at http://www.alfalima.net Greetings from (Alfred Zoer (Alfa Lima Int), Aug 28, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Every broadcast on 603 will be illegal September the first. The business with Mike Spenser and Klaus Hansen is ending. http://www.amradio.se Amradio, Box 14006, S-200 24 Malmö, Sweden Tel ++46(0)40 49 50 00 mob +46(0)10 200 00 00 fax+1-425 795 95 03 radio603 @ malmo.net (Roy Sandgren, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [and non]. Re France: ´´Monaco (not Monte Carlo) & Cyprus: The "2 x 100 and 1 x 500kW" refer to the Mont Agel (Fontbonne) SW site in Monaco. This site is commonly known as "TWR site" (as it is currently leased exclusively by TWR)´´ --- But, but, in 2003 also 1557 was moved to Fontbonne and recently 1350 added there, too. Here are pictures of the construction of the new mediumwave antenna at Fontbonne: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tvignaud/galerie/am/06fontbonne.htm Fontbonne replaced on 1350 and 1557 the Antibes - Plateaux Fleuris site that has been closed in 2003: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tvignaud/galerie/am/06nice.htm In my opinion this is a good reason to again raise the question if it makes any sense to label TWR transmissions via Fontbonne as ``Monaco``. ``the current TWR schedule from this site indicates that their A-04 schedule is covered by the two 100 kW transmitters. The newer 500 kW unit is not used. In fact, the SW transmissions are now limited to 0645/0715 until 1400 only. Long gone are the days when we used to be able to listen to RMC on SW for most of the day.`` --- A large amount of the TWR transmissions via the Albanian shortwave transmitters once used to originate from Fontbonne. It appears to me that TWR falls back upon Fontbonne only for slots that Albania cannot cover. The only major exception seems to be the German ERF transmissions; at least ERF once said that their engineers were ´´not excited´´ about the offer to use the Albanian facilities. And yes, already for a few years no 500 kW from Fontbonne anymore (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. The current hr-skyline network of Hessischer Rundfunk is to be relaunched as an all-news format unter the new name hr-info effective Aug 30, 0400 UT. Between 2000 and 0400 (during winter one UT hour later of course) hr-info will relay MDR Info. Herewith Hessischer Rundfunk is already the third ARD institution to rebroadcast MDR Info at night. No statements were made about the foreign language programmes and the other occasional mediumwave specials aired on 594, but it is understood that they will continue. The current hr-skyline studios are located in the highest storey of the 200-meter-tall Maintower in the city of Frankfurt. Back in last year it was reported that the relaunch as an all-news station would involve a move into the Dornbusch headquarter while hr4 was supposed to move to Kassel in order to free up studio capacity for what will become hr-info and its more demanding production. It remains unknown so far if this anticipated moves will indeed take place. Website of hr-skyline, announcing the approaching relaunch: http://www.hr-online.de/website/radio/hr-skyline/ Unfortunately it seems that a once available picture of the radio studio in the Maintower's 54th storey has been removed, but at least you can check out the Dornbusch studio facilities: http://www.hr-online.de/website/derhr/wir_ueber_uns/index.jsp?rubrik=5024 Pictures of the Rodgau-Weiskirchen main mediumwave site of Hessischer Rundfunk are posted at http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album02 Today a 300 kW Asea Brown Boveri transmitter is in use there: http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_009X_003 http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_002X_001 In the past apparently four 300 kW transmitters delivered by Siemens (but probably actually made by RIZ) were combined to obtain the then used output of up to 1000 kW: http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_001X_005 http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_011X_004 I think this is the dummyload, together with some spare tubes for the old transmitters: http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_002X_005 And the always heart-warming sight of an RTW peak level meter (beware, the majority of the pictures features this audio rack rather than the transmitters): http://rmrc.de/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album02&id=MVC_001X_003 At Hoher Meißner a Telefunken S4003 is run on 594 with 70 kW, in synch with Rodgau-Weiskirchen of course. Some details (although no entire view) of this transmitter can be seen at http://www.senderfotos.de/hessen.htm in the chapter Hoher Meißner, pictures 4, 7, 8 and 9 in the two columns of inside views. This page also contains pictures of the above mentioned Maintower as well as IBB's Biblis station. Other AM's on this website: http://www.senderfotos.de/bawue.htm - Bodenseesender Rohrdorf (666/7265), Heidelberg-Dossenheim (711) http://www.senderfotos.de/bremen.htm - Bremen-Oberneuland (936) http://www.senderfotos.de/hamburg.htm - Moorfleet (972) http://www.senderfotos.de/meckpomm.htm - Wöbbelin (ex 576/999) http://www.senderfotos.de/nieders.htm - Hannover-Hemmingen (828) http://www.senderfotos.de/nrw.htm - Langenberg (720) http://www.senderfotos.de/schlesholst.htm - Flensburg-Engelsby (702), Kronshagen (612), Neumünster-Arpsdorf (1269) http://www.senderfotos.de/images/thueringen/wachenbrunn.jpg - Wachenbrunn 1323 kHz antenna And at http://www.senderfotos.de/ausland.htm are pictures of the Antigua, Sines, Kigali and Trincomalee shortwave sites. ``Nachdem die US-Amerikaner den Mittelwellensender schon laenger nach Kuwait gebracht haben, wurde juengst der erste von drei Holzkirchener Kurzwellensendern in Kuwait in Betrieb genommen.`` --- As far as I know the shortwave transmitters (to be) installed in Kuwait originate from Glória [Portugal]. After the closure of this site they were first moved to Playa de Pals [Spain] but never installed there: http://www.configurarequipos.com/toni/Somniang.html And meanwhile all masts of the former Holzkirchen station are down. Deutsche Welle 3995: Indeed they run this frequency now in DRM exclusively. Previously it was already for some time AM only until 2200 and DRM afterwards. Trouble is, the Sines transmitter on 6075 closes down at 2200 (if I recall the schedule correct), leaving only Wertachtal on this frequency for the remainder of the night. But except in midsummer 49 meters from Wertachtal is skipping over Central Europe; consequently AM listeners lost with 3995 their stalwart nighttime frequency. Various complaints were sent to DW already, and their answer was that they need to check out DRM in all bands, including 75 meters. By the way, the 4 MHz antenna of the Wertachtal station was built only when Deutsche Welle abandoned Jülich in the mid-nineties (I think it was in 1996?) in order to run 3995 from there. It was always a Jülich frequency until DW kissed this station good-bye, and I remember quite lively how it went out from Wertachtal instead the other evening, obviously from a different audio than previously. And probably the last 75 meters activity from Jülich also dates back four years meanwhile, if they really run nothing else on 3965 after the relays of the ``obnoxious, puerile, drug-pushing trash`` in 2000 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. A partir du 30 août, La Voix de la Grèce reprendra ses émissions selon le schéma normal. La station grèque retransmet actuellement le programme "Radio Sport" en raison des Jeux Olympiques à Athènes et toutes les émissions en langues étrangères sont suspendues (courrier électronique de la station - 23 août 2004, informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** GUAM. Special broadcasts from KSDA5 --- ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear and QSL transmitter number 5 at the AWR station on the island of Guam will be available early in September as part of the annual listener contest in the DX program "Wavescan". In a modernization project, all four of the older shortwave transmitters in the Guam facility of Adventist World Radio were removed and replaced by five newer units that were obtained from South Africa. Previously, each of the four older units was connected to its own specific antenna. However, with the installation of a new matrix switch, any of the five new transmitters can be connected to any of the four curtain antennas. The last of the new transmitters, KSDA5, was installed earlier this year. It is planned that the schedule for the special broadcasts from KSDA5 will enable this specific transmitter to be heard, not only in its intended target areas of Asia, but also in Europe and the Americas and beyond. These special broadcasts will be on the air from Sunday September 5 through Sunday September 12 with programming in English. All international radio monitors, shortwave listeners and DXers are invited to tune in to these special broadcasts from KSDA5 and to send reception reports to the AWR address in Indianapolis. These reception reports may be submitted as part of an entry into the annual "Wavescan" DX contest which runs throughout the month of September, or they may be sent as separate items. All genuine reception reports on these broadcasts from KSDA5 will be verified with a specially endorsed QSL card. Here is the schedule for the special KSDA5 broadcasts, which will be on the air in English from Sunday September 5 through Sunday September 12:- 1330 - 1400 UTC 11980 kHz 1600 - 1630 15235 1630 - 1700 11975 The only address for the specially endorsed QSL card is:- Adventist World Radio Annual DX Contest Box 29235 Indianapolis Indiana 46229 USA (Dr Adrian M. Peterson, DX Editor, Adventist World Radio, Aug 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUANTANAMO BAY [and non]. Nice to see Matt Francis on Sunrise this morning [an Oz TV show?] being interviewed about David Hicks in Cuba. Nice little job you have there. Cheers (Dave Onley, ARDXC via DXLD) Not much to report on the radio front - there is a local AFN station which operates on AM (1340) and FM (103.1 and 102.1) (per the info in WRTH as best as I can tell). Based out of the Naval Media Center on the base which also runs a website and local newspaper. Only other station I heard was a Cuban FM station on 95.5 or thereabouts which put in a big signal; believe it was based in Guantánamo City which is the nearest major population centre (you can see it in the distance from some of the higher areas around the base). I only listened briefly on the radio in the kitchen at the place we stayed in. Most entertainment comes in via satellite TV. The mess had plenty of flat-screen TV screens mounted on the walls for people to watch while they chowed down on the $3.30 dinners. The regular stateside channel line-up was available. The 2-bedroom house I stayed in had a cable TV connection in every bedroom and the lounge. Other than that, Guantánamo is hot and dry. Everything is shipped in on barge from the US (giving rise to a local saying for anything that is late or unavailable - "it's on the barge!"). Planes flying in and out of the base take a convoluted dog-leg route to avoid Cuban airspace. We flew in from Jacksonville, Florida on a regular passenger jet under charter to the Air Mobility Command (AMC), and flew out on a commercially operated 14-seat twin prop plane back to Fort Lauderdale. In addition to US military personnel and their families there are a lot of foreign nationals who work for the contractors providing services on the base. All manner of vehicles are on the local roads (a 25 mph speed limit is strictly enforced by the navy base police), including cars known as 'Gitmo specials'. They tend to be old, beaten up and colorfully renovated. I saw an ad for one car which boasted it was NOT a Gitmo special! One guy had turned his sedan into a convertible by simply hacksawing the roof off (Matt Francis, Washington, DC, Aug 27, ARDXC via DXLD) ** HAWAII. 870, Honolulu, KAIM, per program director Jack Waters in an e-mail 8/03, the transmitter for KAIM operates at a paltry one kW, a fraction of its old 50 kW self, and it's still in west Moloka'i. KAIM hopes to operate with 10 KW from a site on O'ahu (Dale Park, HI, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Aug 28 via DXLD) Thanks for the update on this. No wonder I have rarely heard it since the drop in power a couple years back (IRCA ed. Pat Martin, OR, ibid.) 1170, Honolulu, KJPN, per program director Jack Waters in an e-mail 8/03, the transmitter for KJPN operates at a measly 800 watts, sharing the AM 1370 tower near Mililani Memorial Park outside of Pearl City. The proximity to the FCC monitoring station on the Waipio Peninsula in the reason why KJPN is so weak (and why the 1380/1370 operations over the years never went above 5 kW even if the license is for higher power (Dale Park, HI, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Aug 28 via DXLD) Thanks also for this, as I have never heard 1170 since the old KOHO days. With 800 watts from Pearl City, that is a toughie from the mainland (Pat Martin, OR, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Aug 28 via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. 6025, R. Budapest, 2124-2128, August 27, English, Came across the DX program, "DX Corner" while bandscanning, with news re Radio Maria, Church of Ireland, RFE/RL and R. Free Iraq and V. of Mongolia schedule and postal address. ID/IS loop at 2128. Poor, best using USB (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R75, MLB-1, RS longwire with RBA balun, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. Rikisutvarpid, el Servicio Nacional de Radiodifusión de Islandia, posee este esquema de emisiones en idioma islandés, vigente hasta Octubre 2004: HORA UTC KHZ DESTINO 1215-1300 13865 Europa 1410-1440 13865 Norteamérica 1755-1825 12115 Europa 1835-1905 13865 Norteamérica 2300-2335 12115 Norteamérica QTH: Rikisutvarpid, Efstaleiti 1, 150 Reykjavík, Islandia. E-mail: isradio @ ruv.is Web: http://www.ruv.is (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexíon Digital Aug 28 via DXLD) 12115? Has anyone actually heard them there? Presumably reduced carrier USB (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 3315, AIR Bhopal, *0023-0045, August 26, Hindi, IS, ID, choral music (NA?) followed by brief talks by OM and Hindi music. Talks by YL back to OM at 0035, music. Poor under static. // 4880 Lucknow at Sign-on, soon overtaken by numbers stations. Also // 4910 Jaipur, weak under static. 4840, AIR Mumbai, *2353-0000, August 26, Hindi, IS, ID, choral music (NA?) followed by brief talks by OM and Hindi music. Quickly becoming unusable. Poor/weak. QSL: AIR Thiruvananthapuram, 5010, f/d "Safdarjung's Tomb" card with site via New Delhi in 79 days for an English report and 1 IRC direct to the station. V/S, Y.K. Sharma, Director-Frequency Assignments (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R75, MLB-1, RS longwire with RBA balun, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. ARMY RADIO ANTENNA EMITS DANGEROUS AMOUNTS OF RADIATION By David Ratner, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 21:09 24/08/2004 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=468874 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=468874&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y Army Radio's relay station in Haifa, located in the heart of the upscale residential neighborhood Ramat Almogi on the Carmel, emits electromagnetic radiation at up to 400 percent above the Environment Ministry standard, according to a report issued by the Union of Bay Watch Towns for Environmental Defense on Monday. The Haifa-based environmental organization completed its analysis of emergency tests it had conducted at the site and the chairman, Prof. Dan Zilberstein, and director-general Zvi Forer termed the anomalies "severe environmental pollution." Electromagnetic radiation exceeding the allowable standard was measured, among other locations, at the Einstein Street elementary school near the military antenna compound; at a nearby community center; and in several residential apartments. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav dispatched a letter Tuesday to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz demanding that the radio relay station be shut down immediately and moved elsewhere. Yahav reminded Mofaz that during Yitzhak Mordechai's tenure as defense minister, he promised to relocate the station but nothing was ever done about it. The site where the Army Radio relay station is housed dates back to the British Mandate period, when the Carmel was sparsely populated. The 1960s saw a building boom in the area, which included the elementary school on Einstein Street, whose houses abut the fence around the relay station. In the 1990s, the site was surrounded by the townhouses that went up in the Ramat Almogi neighborhood. From the early '90s, neighborhood residents fought against the radio broadcasts and succeeded in halting the broadcasts of the powerful AM antenna at the site. Additional antennas located there belong to bodies affiliated with the Defense Ministry. Both then defense minister Mordechai and deputy minister Ephraim Sneh made promises in the past to relocate the site. The catalyst for the recent emission testing was an increase in the electromagnetic disturbances of which neighborhood residents had complained. Residents said that Army Radio was coming through the intercoms of neighborhood apartment buildings, through home telephones, and through the speakers on switched-off computers. The remote-control central locking mechanism on some cars had stopped working, and even the Union of Towns' monitoring station on Einstein Street ceased operating due to powerful electromagnetic interference. The Union of Towns appealed to the Environment Ministry to run an electromagnetic monitoring operation on site. According to Zilberstein and Forer, an Environment Ministry team came, but found no anomalous radiation measurements. The Union of Towns Monday pointed an accusing finger at the Environment Ministry over its handling of the matter. The Union decided to hire the services of an external firm and approached Dr. Ehud Neeman, who formerly headed the radiation division at the Environment Ministry, and he carried out emission measurements on site. The findings indicated severe aberrations from the norm. The standard established by the Environment Ministry for electromagnetic radiation from radio waves (RF) is 20 microwatts per square centimeter - a far stricter standard than is common throughout the world. Dr. Neeman's tests found electromagnetic radiation 2.8 times in excess at the Einstein Street school and four times the allowable standard in a residential apartment on Yakinton Street. The monitoring data indicates that the source of the radiation is an FM antenna belonging to Army Radio. The Union of Towns transferred the findings to the ministries of health, education, and defense and to the commander of Army Radio. "I think that somebody in the army decided one day to flip a switch and bombard the area with radiation," said Moshe Evenstein of Yakinton Street, who was the first to complain about the coverage of antennas that was interfering with the operation of his car alarm. "It's insufferable." An Army Radio spokesperson said that "the survey of radiation measurements performed by the Union of Towns has not yet been submitted to the IDF for comment. We will receive the survey, study it and examine the ramifications it raises. The IDF is sensitive to the environmental health risks." Dr. Stelian Gelberg of the Environment Ministry commented that a binding standard has not yet been adopted in Israel but merely recommendations for minimizing exposure to electromagnetic radiation. "Our recommendations refer to long-term exposure and they await a bill proposal by the environment minister. Opposition by the Ministry of National Infrastructure has delayed the bill proposal for over a year now," Dr. Gelberg said. "In any event, the findings by the Union of Towns are similar to our own findings," he added (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD, and Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 3259U, NHK1 Fukuoka 1225-1241+ 8/28. Play or radio drama with audience noise and laughter. First log for this one, which was // to other NHK1 low-band outlets, i.e. 3607.5U, 3970U, and 6005U. 3970U, NHK1 Sapporo 1227-1240+ 8/28. Same as above; fair signal with het from presumed Wonsan, Korea on 3970.4 kHz. Fair but deteriorating after 1230. First time logged here. 3373.5U, NHK2 Osaka 1235-1240+ 8/28. One or two M in talk, different programming from NHK1. Pretty good this morning, maybe "best ever" for this 600-watter, before starting to fade after 1230 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [and non]. Here are some observations from Rumen Pankov in Bulgaria of Iranian and Iraqi clandestine radio stations, made between 1st-10th August 2004. These just missed the September edition of Communication: Voice of Revolution: *1425-1535* on 3885 and 4375 kHz in Kurdish. Jammed by Iran Voice of Iranian Communist Party: *1625-1755* on 3885 and 4375 kHz in Persian and Kurdish. Jammed by Iran. Voice of Komala (hostile to the Voice of Iranian Communist Party, as above): *1555-1735* on 1612 and 3927 kHz in Persian and Kurdish. Jammed by Iran. Voice of the Kurdish People (semi-official from northern Iraq): 1420- 1825v* on 4025 kHz in Arabic and Kurdish. Unidentified - possibly Voice of Democracy: 1550-1655* on 4162 kHz in Kurdish and from 1630 in Arabic. Unidentified: 1610-1655* on 4250 kHz. Jammed by Iran. Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan: 1320-1655* on 6340 kHz in Arabic and Kurdish. Note: it seems that in the range 4230-4290 kHz there are two stations at 1400-1800, but they are difficult to identify due to strong Iranian jammers (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria - 10th August 2004 via Tony Rogers, Aug 28, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** LATVIA. EUROPA RADIO INTERNATIONAL START TESTS ON 9290 KHZ Tuesday, August 24 2004 Europa Radio International, E R I, commences its first music test transmission on Sunday 5 September 2004 between noon and 2 pm local UK time (1100-1300 UT) from Riga, Latvia, on 9290 kHz. "This is to be the first of a series of tests", says Alan Day, in charge of operations on Europa Radio International. He adds: "Subject to finalising protracted negotiations, we will also see a series of medium wave tests taking place late in the year with a view to launching a 24 hour service in 2005." E R I is primarily a music station, playing new Rock and album tracks from the past 30 years. Its primary target areas are France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom. Alan Day, via email, adds some further background information: We are four former Radio Caroline and UK local radio presenters who are attempting to get a Euro wide radio station up-and-running by legitimate means. Unfortunately we thought that we had struck a deal with a German company who were to provide us with transmission facilities but, at the last minute, the deal was called off with no explanation which left us somewhat in the lurch, hence the vagueness of our web site. We are now scouring around Europe once again to find a suitable MW tx that will cover the UK, parts of France, Germany, Holland etc etc at a reasonable rate - not an easy task! We have been offered 1386 kHz [from Kaliningrad], but only after 2000 (and the signal is very poor into the UK), and [Radio Scandinavia] 603 kHz [from the Finnish island of Åland], but that has yet to prove itself and in any case there is a strong Gold station operating on that frequency here. The E R I website is still under construction and so far shows little information. http://www.europaradio.co.uk/ (hcdx news desk, 24 August 2004 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Hi Glenn; Radio Mexico International returned my report "A.P. 21-300 Cancelled 30-07-04" in 38 days. I quess they have closed shop for good (Mick Delmage, AB, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was just listening to XERF 1570 last night at 0500 UT (just after catching my first KOKC 1520 ID, tho it really changed 13 hours earlier), one of few other signals strong enough to overcome the T- storm and computer noise level here, and wished again that IMER would turn 1570 into XERMX! At the current power level 100 kW, and maybe eventually back up to 250, it could have far more impact in the US then XERMX ever did on SW with nominal 10 kW from ailing transmitters and mismanaged frequencies. All they would have to do is pull some of the cultural programs in English out of the archives and put them on XERF. Mailbags and DX programs would be nice too. But they are apparently too dense to realize this, programming this Frontier station only in Spanish. After the Mexican anthem at 0500 there followed another anthem-like piece, which I could not identify, but I don`t think it was the Coahuila state anthem. ID slogans include ``más cerca de ti``, presumably alluding to the increased power and reach. Very good on peaks, but considerable fading, probably caused by all the low-powered US stations on slightly different frequencies subaudibly heterodyning (Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA [and non]. Re "Murun", "Moron" etc., the official Latin form is definitely "Mörön", see e.g. http://www.geonames.de/coumn.html (which shows also the original spelling in Cyrillic Mongolian, it includes a special character which is transliterated as "ö"); the form "Mörön" is also the one used on official cartographic material; you may try a search with http://mappoint.msn.com See also http://www.statoids.com/umn.html --- this latter webpage also reports that the town Sainshand was renamed Buyant-Uhaa back in 1994. My apologies if I was not clear enough: when I was writing "official cartographic material" I was, of course, referring to cartographic material in *Latin* script which is released by the Mongolian or Chinese authorities. In a similar case related to official placename spellings, it is perhaps little known that the official spelling in Chinese cartographic material of the town commonly known as "Urumqi" is "Ürümqi" (with dots). More information about the Mongolian Radio and Television (MRTV) from pamphlets given to Van Delft: ``In addition to the external service schedule mentioned above, this is the current SW schedule of the Voice of Mongolia all on 12085: Japanese 0830-0900¤ and 1200-1230¤¤, Mongolian 0900-0930¤ and 1030- 1100¤¤, and Chinese 0930-1000¤ and 1130-1200¤¤. Broadcasts marked ¤ were audible in Denmark on Aug 21-22 with 25333. Broadcasts marked ¤¤ were heard very weak with QRK 1. The other broadcasts were not audible. New website: http://www.mongoliatoday.mn/Mongolian Radio (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Aug 25 via DXLD)`` The domain name is apparently http://www.mongoliatoday.com --- http://www.mongoliatoday.mn does not exist; however, no radio related pages can be found on this website (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bernd, You always submit such interesting information. Thanks so much (Chuck Bolland, FL, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 17800, Voice of Nigeria, 2050-2100 Aug 28. "Africa Hour" program with news and sports by man and woman in English. Strong signal with some fading. Audio a bit low plus hum. SINPO 44333 (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NORTHERN MARIANAS. ARES Assists Red Cross in Wake of Typhoon NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 27, 2004 --- Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) assisted the American Red Cross after Typhoon Chaba swept through August 22 causing widespread damage. While Guam was spared the brunt of the storm, more than 1000 residents of Saipan, Tinian and Rota took refuge in shelters after the storm`s strong winds --- with gusts in some places exceeding 130 MPH --- blew away roofs, and heavy rainfall flooded homes. Bong Malasarte, WH0X, reports ARES members assisted the CNMI Red Cross chapter during an inspection of all affected locations in Saipan. ``Most shelters are at maximum capacity,`` Malasarte said this week, adding that the number of storm refugees at one point exceeded the capacity of some available shelters. WH0X said Saipan Emergency Coordinators Romeo Sison, WH0N, and Edgardo Reyes, KH0NH activated ARES to assist the Red Cross in its damage assessment. Volunteers kept in touch with the Red Cross Headquarters information station and with each other via repeater, Malasarte said. At least 10 Saipan ARES volunteers helped in the damage survey. Communication among the Northern Marianas has been reported sporadic. Malasarte says he contacted ARES volunteer Edgardo Acollador, KH0HV, in Tinian for an update on the situation there. ``He reported that most of the houses there are also flooded and devastated by Typhoon Chaba,`` he said. "Also the radio station transmitter antenna tower collapsed." From Rota, ARES volunteer Arthur Alpino, KH0PH, reported the island was mostly in the dark following widespread damage to the island`s power lines. Utility crews have at work this week in the Northern Marianas restoring power in affected areas. ARRL Pacific Division Section Manager and SEC Kevin Bogan, AH6QO, says he was in touch with Malasarte right after the storm. ``Bong said that he had taken his family to the hotel where he works because power was out,`` Bogan said. ``His family is safe.`` Malasarte also told Bogan that the homes of some Amateur Radio emergency communicators in Saipan were damaged and had lost roofs. Some 80 miles across, Typhoon Chaba passed approximately midway between Tinian and Rota. Saipan, 10 miles north of Tinian, recorded nearly 8 inches of rain, while Rota and Tinian received a foot or more fom the storm. CNMI residents now are bracing for another approaching storm. The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm watch for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan and said rainfall could exceed six inches. As of 0625 UTC August 27, Typhoon Chaba was some 470 nautical miles southeast of Sasebo, Japan, packing sustained winds of 110 knots with gusts to 135 knots. Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyahoogroup via DXLD) So has anyone noticed any ill effects upon the SWBC stations on Saipan, Tinian, even Guam? (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Re KOMA becomes KOKC: Yes, and one of the consistently heard North Americans from Eastern Australia, despite being adjacent to 1521 (Craig Seager, ARDXC via DXLD) KOMA-AM 1520 changes calls [already] today at 11 am to KOKC. After 70 plus years --- KOMA 1520 is no more (--- THE Insultant ---, Radio-Info Oklahoma board Aug 27 via DXLD) They quit being KOMA when they quit playing music. KOMA has the inference of decades of playing great music. A talk station has no right to use the call letters --- they haven't earned them. I find K "OKlahoma City" quite appropriate. Instead of using 50,000 watts to reach vast tracts of land with music that interests people, they use the blowtorch signal for talk radio of little interest outside the city limits of Oklahoma City. May Renda sell it soon to somebody who will program music again! I don't think a call letter change will improve the dismal ratings. (Bruce Carter, ibid.) I really am upset with this... I have spent hours upon hours of my life listening to KOMA-AM because it has been my connection to the Sooner state along with the old KVOO. I wish that they would have kept the calls on 1520 just for historical preservation purposes. I mean yeah KOMA is on FM, and KVOO is on FM in Tulsa, but it will NEVER be the same. The good ol' days are over... Next WKY will be a thing of the past as well (MediaMogul, ibid.) New URL is http://www.kokc1520.com --- looks just like http://www.komanews.com except the calls have changed on the header, not on the animated van, as of 0418 UT Aug 28. Checked a couple hours earlier, the header still said KOMA. Some airchecks of KOMA and many other OKC stations (not including KFNY-1640) are at http://www.OKCRadio.net (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sad to see another longtime AM call sign change (KOMA). I quess the guys that count call changes as "new stations" will be happy. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'm sorry to see these classic call letters go away! (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, NRC-AM via DXLD) In the 1960s, I spent teenaged summers in Florissant, CO (west of Colorado Springs). I have fond memories of hurtling along the crushed- granite rural roadways on moonlit nights, with Top-40 KOMA-1520 blasting away, wonderful reverb on all the jocks. KOMA had a powerhouse signal into central CO at night. It really fed my adolescent infatuation with radio & pop music. Fond memories (Fred Schroyer, Freelance Science Writer / Editorial Consultant, Waynesburg, PA, NRC-AM via DXLD) I have fond memories of KOMA already booming in by early afternoon in New Mexico and Colorado winters, a megameter away (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KOMA QSLed in 1977 with a rather plain brown v/q. The v/s General Manager (partly illegible, looks like Woods Woodorf) signature was rubber stamped on the card! I believe KOMA was my first Oklahoma logging. Later in '77 I would get verie from KVOO-1170, though back in those days I could also hear KRMG-740 after CBL Sign-off. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, NRC-AM via DXLD) Talk formats, from any point of view, are annoying. They should not be called talk formats but rather the-host-is-always-right formats. THIAR would be the abbreviation on NRC and WRTH lists but it looks stupid so such stations are listed as talk. Kind regards to my fellow commentators, (Liz Cameron, Utility Editor, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Too bad. Another oldie will be gone. With KOMA FM, as long as they are co-owned I think they can get the calls back for the AM. At least it isn't a 3-call letter one! (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, IRCA via DXLD) ** PERU. 5014.72, Radio Altura, Cerro de Pasco, 1027-1045, Agosto 28, Español. Programa musical conducido por OM. Tecnocumbias y otros ritmos tradicionales peruanos. TC: "5 de la mañana con 31 minutos" ID: "Es Radio Altura del Perú!!". Otra identificación: "Altura Radio". Saludos: "...a los amigos radioaficionados....", 34332 con mejor recepción en modo LSB. No entra habitualmente a la zona del Rio de la Plata con tan buena calidad como la que fue reportada hoy. Solo tenía algo de QRM originada en comunicaciones rurales (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. The official lists of AM and FM radio in the Philippine Islands can be found at the website of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in pdf y html format at http://www.ntc.gov.ph/consumer_info/consumer_info.html (Mike Dorner, Catholic & Orthodox Radio, Asia & Pacific, Sept 2004, via DXLD) ** SYRIA [non]. Dear Glenn, here's a report about Radio Free Syria's transmission on [Sunday] 22/8/04 [13650 via Germany]. It was edited by a new DXer from Egypt. I taught her some stuff about DXing --- as I'm trying to promote our hobby --- that's her first report ever so I'd be really grateful if you accept to publish it in DXLD. that'd make her very happy. Her nickname is X-Blue Berry as girls here don't like to reveal their real names --- culture differences! Here's her report: 18:13 OM was reading the interior Syrian news 18:20 OM announced the start of a program, ``More than one point of view`` (``Akthar men wagehat nazar`` in Arabic); He said it`s going to be repeated again next Friday at 9:00 Damascus local time!! Syrians living outside Syria were discussing their points of views regarding the political situation in Syria. 18:31 the same OM announced the end of the program (guess his name is Rami Abd el Rahman) 18:32 OM announced the repetition of the program again next Friday!!! 18:33 YL said ``Sout Soria el Hora`` with a song at the background, then ``soria el Hora`` 18:34 OM announced the start of another program called ``lekaa el esboo`` -- that's ``This Week's Meeting`` --- this week the president of the Reform Party in Syria, Mr. Faried El Ghaderi, was the guest. They were discussing some questions sent to the program by Syrians living inside and outside Syria about the current Syrian affairs 18:40 the fading and distortion increased. 18:56 the OM announced the end of the show, and Mr. Faried promised to have another episode recorded to the station. Then another OM announced end of transmission with music at the background. He said the frequency 13.650 MHZ, fax #: 00493069088573 and tel#: 00359899812923 and email: admin @ radiofreesyria.net 18:58 another OM wished we'd enjoyed today's material and goodbye. All the best (X-Blue Berry, Cairo, Egypt) I have one comment, Glenn, about repeating that program next Friday. I got the following from Radio Free Syria: RADIO FREE SYRIA ADDS PROGRAMMING ON PEACE AND CO-EXISTENCE Reform Party of Syria RPS Press Release [as in 4-125] So I'm wondering does that mean they will have another transmission on Friday 3rd of September talking about that issue of peace in the Middle East. I'll write them an e mail hoping to hear from them soonest. All the best Glenn, yours (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANNU TUVA. If these journalists "hardly knew" about the transmitter on 6100, does this mean that the power "5 kW" was not confirmed during the visit? There are some estimated power figures about this transmitter circulating in DX reference lists, but it appears the exact power has not been confirmed directly so far (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LABOR RELATIONS SPECIALIST'S ACTIONS FOUND TO BE "APPALLING" Dateline: Washington, 08/27/04. In her arbitration decision, Mariann E. Schick found that Mary Rasmussen's treatment of an employee "seems particularly cruel", "showed an appalling lack of consideration", and that Rasmussen's opinions "represented the height of bureaucratic balderdash". The incident involved an employee who had suffered the death of a loved one and was required to provide "a blow by blow description" of how she spent her time while dealing with the funeral and the time immediately surrounding that event. Mary Rasmussen has recently married and has changed her name to Mary Poggioli. She was found to have violated Article 5, Section 1(a) of the employees' Labor-Management Agreement which requires that all employees be treated with fairness and dignity. Arbitrator Schick also found that the supervisor involved in this case was merely a messenger for Poggioli. "It was her actions...which violated the NLMA." This finding contradicts what IBB Director of Personnel, John Welch told the Union in July 2003. He stated " ...it must be understood that neither Ms. Rasmussen [sic] nor any other member of the Labor and Employee Relations Division initiates actions regarding employees....It is Ms. Rasmussen's [sic] job to provide appropriate guidance and assistance to managers that is responsive to their needs." However, Arbitrator Schick stated that the supervisor "took no independent actions here...He was merely the messenger for Rasmussen [sic]. It was her actions...which violated the NLMA." The Union sought a written apology and that a letter of reprimand be placed in Ms. Poggioli's file. Arbitrator Schick determined that "[T]he remedy of an apology is one in the nature of a personal remedy, and it is the arbitrator's job not to remedy breaches in behavior between individuals, but to remedy breaches in a collective bargaining agreement. My findings here coupled with the award to the grievant... constitute a full acknowledgment to her that she was not treated with fairness and dignity..." As to the letter of reprimand: "...such discipline is within the sole discretion of management. Such employees are managers, and are the agents and representatives of management... How management ensures that my award is carried out is a matter of its own internal operations." The Union is curious as to how management will deal with this situation. Particularly since Ms. Poggioli seems to be the heir apparent to the position of Chief of IBB Employee and Labor Relations. Her appointment as the acting Chief at this time seems inappropriate in light of this decision. Also Arbitrator Schick's finding contradicts how John Welch Director of IBB Office of Personnel (Ms. Poggioli's supervisor) described the very same actions in a letter to the Union dated July 3, 2003. In referring to her actions: "I call this doing a good job." This would imply that Agency upper management, at the very least, condones if not encourages treating employees in an undignified and unfair manner. We wait to see if that is the case (AFGE Local 1812, Aug 27 via DXLD) ** U S A. Re previous note that WBCQ seems to be running full carrier on 9330: I checked during WOR at 0300 UT Aug 29, and tho the carrier may be a bit fuller, there is still no USB, just LSB. Someone in West Texas says it is ``clear``. Also, I reconfirmed the WOR broadcast Sat 2030 on 17495, which sounded rather muffled on my caradio without SSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WGN off late Saturday --- Heard WGN 720 host say his late night Sat. show is preempted for transmitter work. That would be 2 am ET Sun morning. I guess they might start at 1 am ET [0500 UT] if they dump Twilight Zone program. Plan your Sat. night accordingly (Larry Russell, MI, via gh, far in advance, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) -- Outdoor lights need lamp shades too! * http://www.darksky.org/ Glenn, What would I be listening for if WGN is off? (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, FL, ibid.) Chuck, I doubt if it would make much difference way down there in South Florida, unless WGN dominates the frequency toward the north, northwest. Closer to Chicago, no doubt many DXers will be glad to hear anything but WGN on 720. Some good targets would be CHTN Charlottetown PEI, or Jamaica. KDWN Las Vegas NV (with a null toward Chicago) would be a rare state in the east. There are several other US stations on the frequency, daytimers, or quite low powered at night. There are also several Mexicans, Central Americans, Caribbean, and of course South Americans on 720; consult WRTH. 73, (Glenn to Chuck, dxldyg via DXLD) From WGN's website: 1:00-5:00 am OFF THE AIR: We'll be off the air for a few hours this Saturday night-Sunday morning so our engineers can do some routine maintenance. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. That's Central time, of course. Set those DX machines on 720 tonight! -b (Brian Davis, Aug 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) 0600-1000 UT Note that when WGN 720 goes off, nearby WBBM 780 (about a mile away) often goes off as well (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) ** U S A. PIRATE RADIO TO MOOR AT REPUBLICAN CONVENTION -- STYLE & CULTURE --- Making the most of technology, protestors will report live over the Web and micro stations. By Susan Carpenter, Times Staff Writer August 27, 2004 http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-et-carpenter27aug27,1,717700.story?coll=la-home-politics Over the last few years, many political protesters have felt increasingly squeezed by law enforcement authorities, who frequently seek to restrict them to predetermined "free speech zones" and sometimes threaten them with tear gas, rubber bullets or arrest if they stray. Such tactics can lead to innovation, however, and the technologically savvy have found it in the combined use of cellphones, the Internet and low-power radio. Such know-how will be on display outside the Republican National Convention in New York. Beginning today, RNC protesters plan to use wireless phones to call in live, in-the-trenches reports that will be streamed over the Internet and picked up for rebroadcast nationwide on community-based micro radio stations --- some licensed, most illegal. "It has become sort of a thing that whenever there's a big protest like this, someone sets up a pirate radio station the same as someone setting up the food truck or the sound system," said Pete Tridish, a longtime activist and founder of the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, an advocacy group for legal, noncommercial micro-radio broadcasters. "Someone knows how to start a radio station, and so someone does it." The use of illegal --- that is, unlicensed --- "pirate" radio stations has a long history of giving voice to the disenfranchised, usually on a very local level because of such outlets' relatively low power (10 to 100 watts) and reach (one to five miles). Only recently has the technology become an integral protest tool, used to organize impromptu events and to provide news, interviews, even music from event sites. At the "Battle of Seattle," the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting that resulted in riots, curfews, mass arrests and millions of dollars in property damage, radio pirates trekked in from around the country, seeing the WTO gathering as the perfect setting and illegal, low-power FM radio as the ideal medium to protest corporate power and massive media consolidation. Calling themselves the Voice of Occupied Seattle and operating from a headquarters known as Studio X, the network of seven micro stations held workshops and set up transmitters that were used to coordinate protest activities and broadcast news and views they felt would not get out through traditional media. Some stations disguised their transmitters and antennas in briefcases and umbrellas. Others broadcast from trees. To tune in on the street, activists were urged to BYOB --- bring your own boombox. Protests at next week's Republican convention are expected to dwarf the 40,000 who showed up in Seattle, drawing perhaps six times as many activists and thousands of police for the four-day event. Between the planned and spontaneous protests and marches and the potential confrontations with police and delegates, there should be plenty of content for micro and Internet radio stations to report --- live, while it's happening. "We're the closest to the action on the street. We're the first line of information. When people call in and let us know what's going on, then we can either send reporters out or log their calls and put them on our website or patch their calls in to the Web stream," said Tarikh Korula, one of the coordinators of New York City's A-Noise NoRNC Sound Coalition, which has been holding workshops to train street correspondents, or "streetcasters." The group will also webcast a live audio stream http://radio.socialtechnology.net beginning today and lasting throughout the convention. While A-Noise has "shied away from coordinating too closely with the [unlicensed FM] broadcasters for legal reasons," Korula said he anticipates its stream being picked up and broadcast illegally on multiple transmitters in New York City and elsewhere in the country. Like most of the independent Internet and micro-radio broadcasters who will be operating during the convention, Korula is dissatisfied with activist coverage in the major media. In lowballing protest attendance numbers and focusing on the protesters themselves instead of the issues, he said, "the mainstream media has done a really poor job of covering these events over the years. We just want to make sure that it's covered well." There's no way to know how many people --- or who --- such broadcasts reach. Micro radio, by its very nature, tends to draw a micro audience. But sometimes it has a larger effect "In Seattle, these kind of independent operations were scooping CNN. CNN was reporting on things that they had heard on micro radio," said media critic and syndicated radio host David Barsamian. "Is it reaching a large audience? The answer is self-evident, but I think it's a significant audience, and it can grow as more electronic umbilical cords crisscross the country and really create a movement for a genuine alternative to mainstream electronic media." Free Radio Santa Cruz, a politically oriented unlicensed radio station that also streams live over the Internet http://www.freakradio.org anticipates numerous call-ins from protesters during the Republican convention. The station, which has been on the air illegally for nearly 10 years, has broadcast live, from-the-streets reports at many of the major protests in recent years --- including the latest WTO meeting in Mexico and last month's Democratic National Convention in Boston. "People from Santa Cruz that go out there make a point of calling in to us," said a longtime DJ at the station who goes by the name "Skidmark Bob." At last November's Free Trade Association meeting in Florida, he said, a fellow DJ was calling in a live report from the protests when he was shot by a rubber bullet. "It's pretty wild sometimes," Skidmark Bob said. "It's scary to hear that stuff, but no regular FM station's going to [air] that." Free Radio Santa Cruz is one of about seven West Coast and New York City stations --- Internet, pirate or both --- that are involved with the Critical Mass Radio Network http://www.criticalmassradio.net an Internet audio stream that allows stations to contribute programming and also pick up the stream for rebroadcast. Today the L.A.-based group is debuting an RNC-themed broadcast that will be synchronized NPR style, with all of its contributing "member stations" broadcasting the Critical Mass Radio Network's live audio stream at the same time. Micro radio stations have typically operated independent of one another, but the Web has become a potentially powerful tool to bring them together. "It's just a natural evolution of new innovative technologies we have access to. Computers, the Internet, play a central role," said Chris Burnett, cofounder of the Critical Mass Radio Network and the L.A.- based Internet station Kill Radio http://www.killradio.org which is contributing content and also webcasting the CMRN audio stream. Burnett came up with the idea of a synchronized micro-radio broadcast with a former roommate. He began building the coalition late last year when he took his band, the hard rock act Saber Tooth Tiger, on a West Coast tour to network with Internet and micro radio stations in Portland, Ore., Humboldt County, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Diego --- all of which are participating in today's broadcast and what Burnett hopes will become a monthly themed event. Burnett is in New York, helping coordinate RNC webcasts with A-Noise and a dozen or so other groups from around the country, all of which are committed to bringing more voices to the ever-consolidating FM dial. "It's definitely not going to sound like commercial radio, and that's a good thing," Burnett said. "You're going to hear real people's voices --- people who are learning and teaching themselves how to use this voice instead of going through this machine called broadcast journalism that puts you into thinking about the way people expect to hear things. "That's the whole point of what we're doing --- to give people who don't normally think they have a voice a voice." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. KGNU 88.5 Boulder recounts all its efforts over the years to improve and protect its signal, and get into Denver, not including on this page, the latest development, acquiring 1390 there: http://www.kgnu.org/denver/denver.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KKZN may become an Air America affiliate station at 7 AM MDT on Monday. This is from INSIDE RADIO by Tom Taylor from Friday 8/27: IS DENVER GETTING AIR AMERICA NEXT WEEK? ON CLEAR CHANNEL'S "ZONE"? The "760TheZone.com site says "This is no longer 760 The Zone - Tune in Monday at 7 am to hear the new AM 760." Our Denver ears tell us the station's airing short promos bashing Bush. KKZN, Thornton, CO has been running a sports and business news format - and did just a 0.6 share 12+ in the Spring Arbitron. I checked the Air America website and there is no mention of KKZN becoming an affiliate station on Monday, but I don't know how up to date AAR keeps their website (via Mike Oswald, Houston TX, Aug 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) From 8/28/2004 Rocky Mountain News --- By Dusty Saunders Air America, the five-month-old liberal radio network, will make its Denver debut at 7 a.m. Monday on KKZN-AM (760). While Clear Channel Broadcasting executives would not officially confirm the switch, several sources said the net- work will replace Business for Breakfast and the sports format on The Zone. Friday's programming on The Zone featured numerous "Bush-bashing" audio loops as a prelude to the new format. Monday's debut is expected to feature an interview with Al Franken, Air America's leading talk show host. Currently heard on 23 stations around the country, Air America premièred March 31. Billed as an alternative to conservative talk radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, the network features around-the- clock programming with liberal hosts. In some cities, local talent is featured. Clear Channel is expected to follow that lead once the network is introduced. Industry observers have noted that several Clear Channel stations, most of them secondary outlets, recently have added Air America as a way of combating criticism about stations featuring only conservative viewpoints. Monday's change at KKZN will produce a domino effect in Denver radio. Syndicated sports talk host Jim Rome (10 a.m.-l p.m.) will move from KKZN to KKFN-AM (The Fan-950) in the same time period. Marc Moser, co- host with Jim Ryan in that time period on The Fan, will work with Lou From Littleton, 5:30-9 a.m., with Mike Evans doing sports up- dates and working with Sandy Clough in the evening. Ryan, former Broncos linebacker and football coach at Regis High School, is the odd man out in the switch. Charles Johnson, former University of Colorado football star, is moving from The Fan to KOA-AM (850) as a pre- and post-game personality on the Broncos and Buffs games. In an unrelated development, Clear Channel announced that "Gunny" Bob Newman, a former marine and local Clear Channel military analyst, will be the full-time weeknight host on KOA, 7-10 p.m. (when the Rockies aren't playing), replacing the late Ken Sasso. Newman also will host an hour of week- day talk (2 p.m.) on KHOW-AM (630). Both assignments begin Monday. Dusty Saunders is the broadcasting critic (via Wayne Heinen, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. TALK RADIO TAKES LEFT TURN IN ALBUQUERQUE WITH ARRIVAL OF FRANKEN --- TRIBUNE STAFF http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/082804_news_franken.shtml Starting Monday, Albuquerque radio listeners will be part of a nationwide experiment in talk radio. Air America Radio Network is coming to the Duke City on KABQ-AM (1350), owned by Clear Channel Radio. The network was established to counter conservative domination of the talk-show format by figures such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity, all of whom have shows broadcast on other AM stations in Albuquerque. The format, which begins airing Monday morning, will include Limbaugh archcritic Al Franken, whose show is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., [MDT = 1607-1900 UT] directly opposite Limbaugh on KKOB-AM (770). Chuck Hammond, vice president and marketing manager for Clear Channel Radio Albuquerque, said this morning his organization decided to give Air America a run after seeing its success in other places and divining an interest in left-political talk radio in Albuquerque. "It's shown legs in other markets, with the ability to garner ratings and revenues," he said. "We've looked at what's happening. KUNM (89.9- FM) does pretty well. Obviously, 770 does well. This is a different kind of talk radio." Hammond said he expected additional interest from listeners and advertisers with the presidential election in progress and the Republican National Convention opening on the same day the format is launched. Hammond said the station will be looking for a local talk radio host down the road. "Doing talk radio is difficult, and the guys who are doing it well are doing it nationally, but we're going to go out and start the search," he said. It will be a radical format change for KABQ. The station has been carrying nationally syndicated sports for the past year, Hammond said. The lineup to start Monday, according to a Friday press release, will include: [UT -6] - 6-9 a.m. - Morning Sedition, Mark Maron and Mark Riley - 9-10 a.m. - Unfiltered, Lizz Winstead and Chuck D - 10 a.m.-1 p.m. - Al Franken - 1-4 p.m. - Ed Schultz - 4-8 p.m. - Randi Rhodes - 8-11 p.m. - The Lionel Show - 11 p.m.-2 a.m. - Majority Report with Janeane Garofalo - 2-5 a.m. - Mike Malloy (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) According to the September ICE Newsletter, Artemis plans to release a compact disc, ``The O`Franken Factor Factor: The Very Best of the O`Franken Factor`` on September 28. No catalog number was given (John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Re KLSD 1360 San Diego: Wow, I was a doubter but I'm doubly impressed. Clear Channel has stacked up an impressive lineup on 1360, particularly with Ed Schultz. That guy is the biggest breath of fresh air I've heard on the radio in centuries. A lot of people who've NEVER or seldom tuned into talk radio - like me - are suddenly finding 1360 a great place to go, and it's not to have their worst fears validated by someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about because they yell louder than everyone else, but because there are opinionated programs available that deal in facts, issues, and revelations and flow charts of administration distortions discussed at length, naming names and revealing agendas for people who can actually read a newspaper. Finally, it's like a door has been opened to the outside. Woodward and Bernstein said it best, "follow the money," and with many Republicans that's all too easy. I hate to give C.C., uh, "props," but Clear Channel is going to have a monster hit on their hands with this. A lot of my friends and acquaintances are already finding out about 1360 and "taking it for a drive," and I have to say, it's amazing to hear something that I may have read about in the paper on page A-9 a week ago that so incensed me suddenly being mentioned on the air and clearly chapping a lot of other people's asses too. Wow. Now I know what my friends in Chicago and Portland have been raving about. I thought this was going to be some half-baked radio, but it's the real deal. Love the note from J. Craig Herman on your site today, that's the rather typical reaction I've gotten over the years from most hysterical, blinders-on righties at the notion that someone, somewhere, who may have the slightest deviation in opinion from the ceaseless administration spin endorsing and justifying continued corporate coziness, misuse (abuse) of the military and rampant religious fundamentalism at the highest levels of the executive branch, is somehow a detriment to the health of the nation by virtue of their speaking out. Dead wrong. It's like I was complaining about the other day with the lack of Barry Goldwater-style straight shooters anymore, people have been trained not to speak out anymore, and this administration takes full advantage of the press' built-in blind spots. Mr. Herman says "commie libs," and I guess I shouldn't be surprised at finally seeing those two words strung together for lack of any kind of specific content or issue-laden quarrel, it's after all just another name to discredit arguments without actually having to wade through them and defend one's position, while getting your opponent off- message trying to counter what you said. I'm not surprised. And what is it that Mr. Herman takes issue with? That there's one outlet on the radio he disagrees with, or is he afraid that more fact-based truth will bleed through? Yeah, John McCain, Max Cleland, real "commie libs," like Mr. Herman would know. If these trash-talkers were bright, instead of having their bait words handed to them they'd go to the meat of the matter and talk issues, but of course that never happens, I assume because they don't know anything and are just ditto-heads, or in the back of their minds they're terrified they may be dead wrong and genuinely afraid a little progressive talk will expose them. It will. There's more to an argument than an emotional hook, there's facts, augmented by a healthy, open brain capable of appreciating grays as well as blacks and whites, tempered by emotion, and having a social responsibility gene that understands right and wrong too (Ray Mercer, La Mesa, letter to SDRadio.net Aug 27 via DXLD) ** U S A. SHOCK JOCK TOM LEYKIS SAYS HE WAS ATTACKED IN SEATTLE By Mark Rahner, Seattle Times staff reporter Thursday, August 26, 2004 - Page updated at 12:39 P.M. Seattle police are looking for radio listeners who allegedly assaulted syndicated shock jock Tom Leykis outside a Seattle bar early Monday. Leykis said yesterday that the attack left him with 17 stitches above his right eye. His call-in show originates in Los Angeles and airs afternoons on Seattle's KQBZ-FM (100.7). Reached by phone in Los Angeles, Leykis said the attack occurred during one of his regular trips to broadcast from Seattle, where for several years he's maintained a large fan base. Leykis said he had stepped outside of the Five Point Cafe, 415 Cedar St., near Fisher Plaza, about 3:45 a.m. when a man began talking to him and another kicked him in the head. "I was minding my own business. It was a person who knew who I was from the radio." Seattle police records provide more detail: According to Leykis and a witness with him, he was "not feeling well" when one of the alleged assailants photographed him outside the Five Point bar and went back inside to show the photo to two other men. The witness saw this, paid the bill and went back outside to check on Leykis. Two of the men followed her out, according to the report. One of the men said to Leykis, "I called your show once and you called me" a name. "You had no right to do that." Then a man standing to Leykis' left kicked him in the face. The blow knocked him to his knees, leaving his right knee scraped and bruised. The two men fled, while a third approached the taxi in which Leykis and the witness were leaving and apologized, the report says. Leykis received treatment from a police aid car at his hotel but needed further treatment at Swedish Medical Center. The men's images may have been captured on video. Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said Leykis and the witness have viewed security-camera footage with the Five Point staff. The bar owner wouldn't comment on the attack. Leykis has enjoyed high ratings among male listeners for his blunt talk, mainly on gender issues. Visiting for a Seattle Times profile in August 2000, Leykis often was greeted like a rock star by women asking him to sign their breasts and men hollering the show's familiar greeting, "Helloooooo, Tom!" But the host has his share of detractors and has made a sport of antagonizing them. Leykis routinely does shows in which he only takes calls from listeners who hate him, takes on callers in "Ask the Atheist" segments, and has singled out Seattle men as the world's biggest wimps. His other controversial stunts have included revealing the names of a Seattle woman who tried to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge, an accused child molester in SeaTac and former schoolteacher Mary K. Letourneau's then-underage rape victim. But such attacks are rare. Leykis said he had never been attacked by a listener before. He's looking for information about the assailants and asking people with tips to call his office at 310-840-4444. Management at KQBZ would not comment (via Pete Kemp, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Tom Leykis is a likable person. My partner who passed away interviewed Tom on more than one occasion for Radio World. I met him several times. But he does make a lot of people mad at times with him comments as most of the "Talkers" do. I am a bit surprised this has not happened before. Being out alone at 3:30 in any city can be dangerous. I hope they catch the guys. They probably will. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) During George Harrison's last weeks, this person falsely reported that he was dead, bragging that he was the first to announce it. Harrison lived for another three weeks (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, ibid.) ** U S A. Many college stations have a 30-year history, but some, like WSUI, date back to the early days of broadcasting. Licensed to the University of Iowa, WSUI AM / KSUI FM is a public radio broadcaster, but, with its full-time professional staff, it can`t be categorized as a true student radio station. Still it would be interesting to hear some of its early recordings. Program director Dennis Reese said that he was recently able to salvage hundreds of tape recordings from the 1940s and transcription discs from as early as the mid-1930s. After reprocessing, he hopes to have them available on the Web site for people to hear (Communications, Sept MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** U S A. Berkshire Community Radio Nearing Deadline http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~7514~2364912,00.html NEW FM RADIO STATION RACES TO GET ON THE AIR BY DEADLINE By Ellen G. Lahr, Berkshire Eagle Staff GREAT BARRINGTON [Massachusetts] -- The organizers behind a new, nonprofit FM radio station are racing against the clock as they try to launch a low-power broadcast operation in time for an Oct. 25 federal deadline. The nonprofit Berkshire Community Radio Alliance must persuade the Selectmen on Sept. 7 to issue a special permit for installation of a radio antenna atop Fairview Hospital. That's only one of several pressing matters. The organizers are still angling for a small studio space in town, have not yet finalized a lease agreement for rooftop space at Fairview, and must raise $30,000 by mid-September to purchase equipment and cover other start-up expenses. But the initiative is accelerating. The alliance is scheduling concerts to raise money, more than $5,000 is already in the bank, and the group is holding an old-fashioned bake sale on Labor Day weekend on Main Street. Also, the Planning Board made a favorable recommendation Thursday night regarding the antenna application. Their Web site, http://www.berkshireradio.org is equipped to accept donations online, and an application for a $25,000 federal grant is pending, said Asa Hardcastle, who is heading fund-raising efforts. Meanwhile, he said, alliance members are prepared to "beg and borrow" to get the necessary broadcasting equipment if funding isn't in place in time for the deadline. The Federal Communications Commission has issued a license for the 300-watt station, WBCR, at 97.7 on the FM dial, with a reach of between four and 10 miles. But if there's silence on the airwaves on Oct. 25, the FCC will revoke the license. "Our plan is to make it work no matter what, and we're working our butts off," said Hardcastle. "Everyone is putting in so much time, and we're also dealing with all the things a new organization deals with in funding and putting the pieces together. We have this big goal of $30,000 and the machinery has started to crank, but it still hasn't all materialized." Today at 2, the Berkshire County Radio Alliance will hold its first annual meeting at the Friends Meeting House on State Road. The meeting will include election of five new board members, and will be followed by a potluck supper. Thursday night, the Planning Board reviewed the organization's proposal for Fairview and voted 2-1 in favor, with board Chairman Donald O. Goranson opposed to the plan. "I did not feel they had searched out any other sites, and I questioned the site as far as an adequate signal," he said yesterday. "I like the idea of community radio, I just didn't feel it was a good site for an antenna." The board's recommendation will be forwarded to the Selectmen. The group's FCC license specifically lists Fairview as the transmission site for the radio station, but Fairview's director of general services, Charles Harner, said no formal agreement has been signed. "We are working on it, but it has not been finalized," he said, though he added that an arrangement will most likely be reached. A new town bylaw prohibits establishment of a radio studio in a residential neighborhood without a special permit, so a search is on for a studio space in town, said Ann Condon, a member of the radio alliance. She said the ideal space would be large enough to accommodate equipment for locally produced programming. There are a couple of leads being pursued. Short of the ideal space, preprogrammed music requires just enough space for a radio announcer and a laptop computer. The programming is transmitted to the radio antenna via phone lines, said Condon. "We plan to make it work no matter what," he said. "We will not let this opportunity pass," said Hardcastle (via Pete Costello, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. RIZ transmitters: ``I wonder why, apparently, no US MW station ever purchased one of their 10 or 50 kW transmitters, for instance?`` --- This question also applies for other European manufacturers like Telefunken and ABB/Thomcast/Thales. I already browsed some webpages about US stations but found never any mention of other gear than the usual US and Canadian brands. Contrary at least Bayerischer Rundfunk and Süddeutscher Rundfunk (or already Südwestrundfunk) purchased Nautel transmitters (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nautel being Canadian ** U S A. WNYT channel 13 (NBC affiliate) Albany, NY - SAP was used by Metro Traffic to send traffic reports to the local radio stations. Not sure if they still do that or not (Brian, Glens Falls, NY, WTFDA via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6125, SODRE, Montevideo, 1403+, Agosto 22, Español, en paralelo con los 1050 kHz, programa "Radioactividades". Anuncio: "En onda corta, Internet y por la 26... Radioactividades", tema musical "Last train to London" (via Electric Light Orchestra). Charla sobre antiguos programas que irradiaban Radio Panamericana, Radiomundo y otras emisoras uruguayas, 25542. 9620.9, SODRE, Montevideo, 1645+, Agosto 22, Español, música clásica en paralelo con los 650 kHz. Presentaciones por locutora. ID y anuncio: "...la direccion del SODRE en Internet......", 35443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Just one odd log last night (27/8/04) that might not even be a harmonic! 2435 kHz, Very weak unID OM talk, severe local mains QRM, 1958 UT, gone by 2102. Is Tunisia still radiating on frequencies around here? (Tim Bucknall, Congleton, NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ala 1530, harmonics yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. This night August 27 at 2107 I heard a strange station with bad modulation fading out around 2115 UT. Exact frequency was very difficult to measure. My AOR 7030+ sync detection said it might be 9706.5 kHz. Program consisted of continuous music. It sounded like Caucasian. More observations needed. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ QSL INFORMATION PAGES - UPDATE : JUNE 5 - AUG 26 Contributors : Emmanuel Ezeani (4x), Patrick Robic (3x), Martin Elbe Martin Schöch, Dieter Kraus (2x), Edward Kusalik (3x) Nino Marabello (4x), George Maroti, Thomas Rösner (8x) Mick Delmage, Rudolf Sonntag, Daniel L. Srebnick Sources : A-tividade DX 203 +204 +205 +206 +207 +208 +209 BCDX 672 +673 +674 +675 +676 +677 +678 +679 +680 +681 Conexion Digital 267 +268 +269 +270 +271 +272 +273, +274, +275, +276 dxld4087-dxld4123 DX-MidAmerica Jul 07, Aug 2 JAP 319, +320 +321 +323, +324, +325, +326, +327 +328, +329, +330 Signal 127 +128 +129 +130 CIDX 2004-06, 2004-07 This has been an update with 615 qsl-logs. ------ The QSL Information Pages provide more than 41000 qsl logs from 8294 BC-dx stations, coming from 240 radio-countries. Site URL for QIP: http://www.schoechi.de/qip.html If you do want to get full access to QIP (subscription 5 EUR 2 years) please send me a short personal mail so that we can discuss the methods of payment of the subscription ! (PayPal payments without credit cards please). --------------------------------------------------------- Martin Schoech - PF 101145 - 99801 Eisenach - Deutschland --------------------------------------------------------- E-mail : radio[a]schoechi.de Web : http://www.schoechi.de --------------------------------------------------------- (via BCLNEWS.IT, the only italian updated DX web site! http://www.bclnews.it Aug 27 via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ YOUR OFFICIAL (AND FINALIZED!) NATIONAL RADIO CLUB 2004 CONVENTION SCHEDULE! BATAVIA NY Just nailed the very last bit of Jell-O to the wall, as it were - and the NRC 2004 convention schedule is now as close to finalized as it gets. And it looks like this: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 8:00 AM Depart Batavia for Canada 11:00 AM CHWO 740/CJBC 860 Transmitter Tour, Hornby ON 12:30 PM CHWO 740/CJYE 1250/CJMR 1320 Studio Tour, Oakville ON 1:30 PM Lunch, Oakville 2:30 PM CHUM 1050 Transmitter Tour, Mississauga ON 3:30 PM Depart CHUM (possible additional tours on the way) 7:00 PM Early Arrivals Dinner, Alex's Place Restaurant, 8322 Park Rd., Batavia (turn right on NY 98 and an immediate left on Park Road; pass the Holiday Inn and Alex's Place will be ahead on the left.) FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2004 9:00 AM Depart Batavia for Buffalo (directions, page 8) The hospitality room will be open all day for those not traveling to Buffalo or arriving later in the day 10:00 AM WNED 970/WHLD 1270 Transmitter Tour, Hamburg NY, plus a drive by WGR 550/WWKB 1520 Transmitter Site 11:30 AM WNED 970/94.5/TV 17 Studio Tour, Buffalo NY 1:00 PM Lunch 2:30 PM WBTA 1490 Studio Tour, 113 E. Main St., Batavia 7:00 PM DX Picnic Dinner, Jim Renfrew's house (directions, page 8) SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2004 9:30 AM Depart Batavia for Rochester (directions, page 8) The hospitality room will be open all day for those not traveling to Buffalo or arriving later in the day 10:15 AM WLGZ 990 Transmitter Tour, Ridge Rd., Clarkson NY 11:30 AM WHAM 1180 Transmitter Tour, Brook Rd., Chili NY 12:30 PM Lunch 2:00 PM WROC 950 Transmitter Tour, 2673 S. Winton Rd., Rochester NY 3:00 PM WXXI 1370 Transmitter Tour, 560 French Rd., Rochester; WHIC 1460 Transmitter Tour, 1840 S. Winton Road (and then, time permitting, a run up Pinnacle Hill to WXXI-FM/TV/DT's transmitter) 6:30 PM NRC Business Meeting, Banquet and Auction, hospitality room Speaker: Bob Savage, WYSL 1040 owner and former WKBW/CKLW DJ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2004 9:30 AM "Wake Up" Radio Quiz with candy rewards, hospitality room 9:50 AM DXAS Travelog taping (890 kHz), hospitality room 10:15 AM Ben Dangerfield on "World War II DXing," hospitality room 11:00 AM Official NRC Examination, hospitality room 12:00 PM Depart Batavia for Bloomfield (directions, page 8) 12:45 PM Lunch 2:00 PM Antique Wireless Association Museum tour, Bloomfield NY 6:05 PM Rochester Red Wings vs. Buffalo Bisons, Frontier Field, Rochester (with, time permitting, a quick look at the nearby WXXI studios first!) Looking forward to seeing the more than 50 of you who have signed up so far! As always, any questions, requests for transportation, ticket reservations for the Red Wings game - get in touch with me, pronto! (Scott Fybush, NY, Aug 27, NRC-AM via DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONES +++++++++++++++++++ FCC CUTS PUBLIC LINE TO PHONE OUTAGE DATA By Christopher Stern Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, August 28, 2004; Page E01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40329-2004Aug27?language=printer The Federal Communications Commission, citing concerns about national security, has abandoned a 10-year-old policy and will no longer give the public access to information about past telephone network outages. The decision, reached this month, has angered consumer advocates and some state regulators who say the data are a critical tool in evaluating phone service reliability around the country. They also say that concerns that the information poses a national security risk are overstated. The reports typically include details about the cause of an outage, how long it lasted and how many customers were affected. The information is used by state regulators, consumer groups and consultants to assess which companies are having problems and which are most reliable. Large companies use the information to make decisions about where they build their own networks and to plan for key facilities such as data centers. The information "is essential to your ability to understand what is going on," said Brian R. Moir, a lawyer who represents large business customers. According to Moir, most of the information is mundane, providing details about the fallen tree limbs that knock out telephone poles or construction crews that accidentally sever fiber optic lines. "If you look at 99 percent of incidents that trigger reports, they are not what I call, Osama [bin Laden] issues," Moir said. But an FCC official who was involved in the decision and who spoke only on the condition of anonymity said a report of a downed line that results in a major outage could highlight for terrorists points of weakness in a large network. Although the FCC will not make the information it collects about the outages public, the companies are free to keep the public informed about outages as they are occurring. While the FCC limited the amount of information it is making public, it has expanded the amount of information it collects from the wireless and satellite industries. Previously, cell phone and satellite companies reported information about outages on a voluntary basis. Under the new rules, wired, mobile and satellite carriers must report an outage that affects 900,000 user minutes or more. For example, an outage that affects 90,000 customers would have to be reported if it lasted 10 minutes or more. FCC officials said the new rules are a compromise allowing the agency to expand the information it collects without endangering national security. "What the national security guys are telling us is that it is a mistake going forward to make outage report[s] available publicly," said Fred Thomas, chief of staff with the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology. California State Public Utility Commissioner Carl W. Wood said there is lots of information that the companies could make public but don't for competitive reasons. For instance, many cell phone companies decline to release data on their signal strength in different areas. If the information were public, consumers could pick their mobile carrier based on the strength of their local signal, Wood said. "They absolutely do not want to compete on the basis of quality." Moir said he has been lobbying the FCC for many years to expand its outage reporting requirements beyond traditional wired telephone companies. He won the battle only to have the agency make the information confidential. But Moir said that he will continue to press the FCC to change its mind about keeping the data out of the public's hands. Privacy experts said the FCC's decision to make previously public information secret follows other steps taken in the wake of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "It's certainly been a trend since September 11 to make less information available under circumstances that are questionable," said David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington public interest group. (c) 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Various propagation reports: if you`re wondering about the reports from Belgium, ARRL, RSGB, etc., I am not in the habit of running them here unless there is something very unusual, but they are as a rule posted in the dxldyg each week (gh) FRANK FARMER --- OBITUARY --- A PIONEERING MEDICAL PHYSICIST, HE MADE IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGHS IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER by John Haggith, Friday August 27, 2004, The Guardian Professor Frank Farmer, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 91, was one of the pioneers of medical physics. He will be remembered for his numerous technical and practical contributions to the treatment and diagnosis of cancer and other illnesses, and for establishing the northern regional medical physics department at Newcastle general hospital as a world-class centre of excellence. Frank was born in Bexleyheath, Kent, and educated at Eltham College. He graduated with first-class honours in electrical engineering from King's College London, a period followed by four years at Cambridge (under JA Radcliffe) working on radio-wave propagation in the ionosphere, study that resulted in his PhD in 1937. He continued this research at the Marconi Research Laboratory, Chelmsford... http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5002863-111400,00.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ###