DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-139, September 11, 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 1245: Sat 1830 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, http://www.wpkn.org Sat 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sat 2030 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Sat 2030 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sat 2300 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB 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 Sun 2000 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Sun 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0230 on WRMI 6870 Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1244] 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 Mon 2100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [maybe, repeated Tue, Wed] 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 1245 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1245.html WORLD OF RADIO 1245 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1245.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1245 in the true SW sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-08-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-08-04.mp3 [this week WBCQ got a download instead of phone feed, better quality] ** ANTARCTICA. ANTÁRTIDA ARGENTINA, 15476, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, 2040, Canciones y comentarios por locutora. Señal muy débil. 14222. (Septiembre 10). (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ASIA [non]. RFA schedule in A-04, valid till Oct 30th, 2004. RFA currently broadcasts from 1100 to 0700; there are no transmissions between 0700 and 1100. Daily programming includes Mandarin for 12 hours, Cantonese for two hours, Uyghur for two hours, and Tibetan for eight hours. J04=til Sept 4th. S04=from Sept 5th/26th, 2004. But mostly NOT YET in service, so the S04 frequencies will probably come into effect on Sept 26th. RFA uses IBB txs in IRA/I=Iranawila Sri Lanka, SAI/S=Saipan, TIN/T=Tinian N Mariana Isls. And relays in HBN/P=KHBN Palau Isl, IRK=Irkutsk-RUS, TWN/N=Taiwan, UAE=Al Dhabayya-UAE, WER=Wertachtal Germany. Additional transmitter sites have been researched but deleted from this list upon request of RFA to suppress this info, to avoid pressure from China upon the host countries. Are we to assume that China has no way to find out this sensitive info except through DX publications? [gh] RFA A-04 updated schedule of 10th September, 2004. # changes during A04 season. 0000-0100 LAO 12015I 13830 15545T 0030-0130 BURMESE 11540 13680T 13820I 17835S 0100-0200 UYGHUR 9350 11520 11895UAE 11945UAE 15405T 17640T 21470T 0100-0300 TIBETAN 9365 11695UAE 11975WER 15225T 15695 17730 0300-0600 MANDARIN 13670T 13760T 15130T# 15685T# 17495 17525 17615S 17880S 21690T 0600-0700 MANDARIN 13670T 13760T 15165T# 15685T# 17495 17525 17615S 17880S 0600-0700 TIBETAN 17485 17510 17720 21500T 21690UAE break 1100-1200 LAO 9355S 9545T 15560I 15635 1100-1400 TIBETAN 7470 11590 13625T 15510UAE 15695 17855S-(from 1200) 1230-1330 CAMBODIAN 13645T 15525I 15670 1300-1400 BURMESE 9455I [11540-S04 not yet in service] 11765T 13745T 15680-J04 still on air 1400-1500 CANTONESE 9780T 11715S 13790T 1400-1500 VIETNAMESE 9455S 9635T [delete 11510#] [11535-S04 not yet in service] 11605N 11680I 13775P 15705-J04 still on air 1500-1600 TIBETAN 7470 11510 11705T 11780UAE 13825 1500-1600 MANDARIN [7540-S04 not yet in service] 9455T 9905P 11765T 12025S 13675T# 13725T 15495T# 15680-J04 still on air 1500-1700 KOREAN 7210IRK 9385S 13625T 1600-1700 UYGHUR 7465 9350I 9370 9555UAE 11750I 11780T 1600-1700 MANDARIN [7540-S04 not yet in service] 9455S 9905P 11795T 12025S 13675T# 13715T 15530T# 15680-J04 still on air 1700-1800 MANDARIN [7540-S04 not yet in service] 9355S 9455S 9540T 9905P 11795T 13625T [delete 13680T#] 13715T 15510T 15680-J04 still on air 1800-1900 MANDARIN [7530-S04 7540-S04 not yet in service] 9355S 9455S 9540T [delete 11665N#] 11700T 11740T [delete 11995S#] 13625T [delete 13680T#] 15510T 11520-J04 15680-J04 both still on air 1900-2000 MANDARIN [7530-S04 7540-S04 not yet in service] 9355S 9455S 9905P 11700T 11740T 11785T 13625T del13680T# 15510T 11520-J04 15680-J04 both still on air 2000-2100 MANDARIN [7530-S04 7540-S04 not yet in service] 9355S 9455S 9850T 9905P 11700T 11740T 11785T 13625T 11520-J04 15680-J04 both still on air 2100-2200 MANDARIN [7540-S04 not yet in service] 7105T 9850T additional 9900N# 9910P 9920N# [delete 11700T#] 11740T 11935T 13625T 15680-J04 still on air 2100-2300 KOREAN 7460 9385S 9770T 12075T [new time] 2200-2300 CANTONESE 9355S 9955P 11785T 13675T 2230-2330 CAMBODIAN 9490I 9930P 13735T 2300-2359 MANDARIN [7540-S04 not yet in service] 9910P 11760T# 13670T# 13775S# 15430T 15585T# 15680-J04 still on air 2300-2359 TIBETAN [7550-S04 not yet in service] 7470 9365-J04 9395-J04 both still on air 9805UAE 9875T 2330-0029 VIETNAMESE 9975-S04# [11540-J04#] 11560 11580 11605N 11670T 12110I 13735S 15560P Korean 1400-1500 UT has been deleted, and replaced by an extended 2100-2300 UT morning transmission. (various sources, updated on 10th September, 2004) (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGST) ** BOLIVIA. 4845.06, R. Municipal, Thanks Björn for the tip!! Heard at 0929 10 Sept. with live M announcer at tune-in giving frequency "...4,845 kilocyclos amplitud modulada, banda de 60 metros...", mention of Provincia and "la voz ??", and ending with nice ID!! Instrumental Andean band song. 0933-0936 canned ads mainly by same W and M. First ad mentioned Santa Cruz and then La Paz Bolivia at end. Back to live M announcer with long talk from 0936-0939. More music at 0939 with two songs. 0944 live M again TC and ID, continuous talk, and another nice ID at 0946. Gave SW frequency again at 0948. Sounded like some announcements were in Ayamara, similar to Pio Doce. Fair strength but horrible intermittent utes (more on than off) right on top!! Glad to ID this new one!! 73's (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) According to Mark Mohrmann`s LA-DX, R. Fides has not been active recently, but it appears in his separate archive as last reported four years ago in Conexión Digital: 4845.09 BOLIVIA * R Fides, La Paz [2252-0358*/1048-1250] Sep 00 X // 6155, 9625 0159* Note the frequency then was also slightly high .09 versus .06 just reported for R. Municipal. It looks likely they acquired the Fides transmitter after a long period of inactivity, but that does not explain how a Fides ID was heard the other day (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi all, Please cancel the log of Radio Fides on 4845 at 0948 of Sept 9, 2004. Thanks (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4904.03, 08/09 0917, R. San Miguel, Riberalta-Beni, "...Un saludo cordial para todos los amigos que nos están escuchando... (anuncia varias localidades) ...que siempre están en sintonía de Radio San Miguel cada amanecer". 34323 "... Continuamos compartiendo con más de la música que va a alegrar los corazones de la gente que está compartiendo junto a Radio San Miguel, La Voz del Vicariato Apostólico de Pando" música andina (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, rx: Kenwood R-5000, Antena T2FD 27 metros, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3375, R. Educadora, signs on around 0855 10 Sept. Full ID with frequencies by M at 0857. Fair (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA. JAZZ RADIO STATION LAYS OFF MORE STAFF Fri Sep 10 2004 By Morley Walker WINNIPEG jazz radio station 99.1 COOL-FM has laid off four more people from its staff of 20. With the all-important fall ratings period just begun, gone are program director John Wyndels, morning-show co-host Gary Grosvenor, office manager Sandra Shapiro and swing announcer Neil Coligan. Meanwhile, CJWV 107.9 FM switched to an all-hip-hop music format on Monday. Brian Wortley, Cool's newly appointed general manager of sales and operations, confirmed the firings yesterday. "It's restructuring," said Wortley, who took over the top job last Friday with the CanWest Global Communications-owned signal. "It was not the best day for me, either." He said that the employees let go were offered generous severance and, in at least one case, help finding a new job. Wortley conceded that COOL-FM has seen more than its share of staff turnover since it signed on March 1, 2003. "There have been mistakes made here in the past," said Wortley, who has been with the station since sign on. "The radio business is tough. The bottom line is that we have to answer to shareholders." In recent months, top-rated FM station Hot 103 and perennial rock favourite 92 CITI-FM have fired their general managers. COOL-FM, which has shed itself of numerous programming and on-air people in the past year, made headlines in spring 2003 when it cherry- picked CBC Radio national jazz show host Ross Porter to serve as vice- president of programming. Porter resigned in June for the top job at the lone jazz station in Toronto. At least three of the four people let go yesterday from COOL were Porter hires, two of them from the CBC. CJWV-FM, licensed as a campus instructional station by the federal broadcast regulator, had been playing an all-Canadian music format until this week's change. "Hip hop is to young listeners today what rock was in the '70s," general manager Franc Capozzolo said. "We want to do to Hot 103 what they did to Q94." The station, which also fired its morning talk-show host Marty Gold, recently received a seven-year licence renewal. Capozzolo had bought the old licence from the former owners of National Institute of Broadcasting. He says he has partnered with the Winnipeg Technical College to offer broadcasting courses. CJWV's instructional licence allows it to sell four minutes of advertising per hour to help defray costs of offering the courses. Rumours in town have CanWest Global negotiating to add FM station CKVN to its stable. COOL FM was in 10th spot among 12 commercial radio signals in the spring ratings book with a 2.7 share of the radio audience. The most popular signal in the spring ratings book was perennial leader talk formatted CJOB AM with a 17.3 share, followed by Hot 103, which plays youth-oriented pop music, with a 9.2 share (via Yoshi Traverse, DXLD) Flava in Winnipeg --- YO YO YO 107.9 FM in Winnipeg has changed its format in a big way. The station has been playing nothing but Canadian music since it came on the air. I tuned in today to hear them playing Hip Hop and R&B. The new slogan is Flava one oh seven point 9 Guess there wasn't enough of an audience for Canadian music all day in Canada. 73 and Best of DX (Shawn Axelrod, VE4DX1SMA, MB, Sept 10, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 6135.02 [sic --- must mean 6035.02], LV de Guaviare, 10 Sept. 0902-0912, Nice easy ranchera music, 0904 canned ID promo by M over music (100% copy) and jingle by women`s chorus. 0905 back to ranchera, live M at 0911 accompanied by another M. 0912 more Ranchera music. Heavy 6030 Martí slop QRM (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CUBA. Hurricane Charley destroyed the antennas of Radio Havana Cuba and thus, its and China Radio International`s broadcasts relayed to North America ceased (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Sept 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) That`s it? Just plain destroyed? RHC has not been so blunt in its own reports (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 5025, Rebelde back on today 10 Sept. Blasting in at 0900 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CUBA. 5025, Radio Rebelde, 0601 Sept 11. El huracán Iván está a punto de llegar a Cuba y en estos momentos; a las 0601 UT Radio Rebelde tiene en antena un programa especial sobre este fenómeno atmosférico. Locutor: "El huracán Ivan está arrasando Jamaica y representa serio peligro para Cuba. Son las 2 y 3 minutos, estaremos aquí hasta las 5 de la mañana. Estamos despertando a toda la población para informarles sobre el huracán Iván". '"Atención, Atención, información Nacional de la Defensa Civil, prevención ante la llegada del huracán Iván, no se acerquen ni a las puertas ni a las ventanas. Fidel Castro llama a los cubanos a ser más disciplinados que nunca para evitar pérdida de vidas humanas". Medidas preventivas a seguir. 35333. (Septiembre 11). (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. NO Cuban bubble-jamming against any of R. Martí`s four frequencies when checked at 0600 UT Sept 11 --- 6030, 7405, 9805, 11775. Nor when rechecked at 1340 on 7405, 11845, 13630, 13820. Scenario: high winds, tho not hurricane-force, in eastern Cuba where many of the jammers are, so had to be turned off to save the antennas. Scenario 2: dentroCubans have the good sense to temporarily quit impeding Martí because of its useful hurricane-related coverage. Naaah, on the 0600 Martí news, one of the items was that Fidel would not accept humanitarian aid from the US. Meanwhile, one of RHC`s big guns was back at 1400 Sept 11, 11760 loud & clear, along with weaker signals on 6000 and 15230 which had been back for a week or so; still no 11800 or 12000, concluding Despertar con Cuba, which Manolo de la Rosa hoped Iván would allow to be back on the air Monday morning (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11/9, 9805 0520-0525, Radio Martí - soliti discorsi anticastristi - segnale a fondo scala e nessun jamming ( // 7405 segnale più debole e con jamming) (LeoBlues, Italy? Play-DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. Listening to 590 Musical Nacional right now, 1610+ (1210+ local) GMT Sept. 11, huge signal and modulation better than usual, just a fluke. Classical music interrupted in favor of nonstop Huracán Ivan evacuation coverage, electricity status on Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Río and path updates, two announcer remote with awful 60-cycle buzz, woman in the studio and back to the classical at 1620. Meanwhile, Rebelde on 1180 is nothing but 100 kW of open carrier, allowing threshold traces of something is Spanish underneath -- not parallel Radio Martí -- indeed it's the "other" Rebelde that has been noted here in the past in slight non-sync with the big one, as it is parallel the weak 530 Rebelde "Martí blocker" with live hurricane coverage (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Sept 11, DX LISTGENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. World Music Radio sta di nuovo testando il trasmettitore operante su 5815 Khz. Questa nuova fase è cominciata venerdì pomeriggio e si protrarrà fino a lunedì mattina alle 0600 UT. E' stato pure messo in opera il trasmettitore in FM destinato alla diffusione locale e che opera sui 104.2 Mhz. Al momento è modulato soltanto con un tono, in attesa di diffondere regolarmente i programmi a partire dal prossimo fine settimana (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, 1646 UT Sept 11, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Domestic broadcasting news: Frankfurt Business Radio was relaunched on Monday (Aug 30) at 6 AM (0400 UT), new name of the station is Main FM. Provisional website: http://www.salue.de/mainfm The station fully focuses on the Frankfurt area despite having FM outlets also in some other towns. Actually it was planned to broadcast only music for four weeks, but today the LPR media authority pointed out that the licence issued to the former Frankfurt Business Radio requires the station to broadcast business / stock market information. Main FM is obliged to broadcast a program in accordance with the licence requirements within two weeks at the latest. LPR press release: http://www.lpr-hessen.de/Presse/pmlpr04/09.09.04.htm The driving force behind the relaunch is Lagardère, i.e. Europe 1, who holds since earlier this year a 40 percent share on the former Frankfurt Business Radio and also operates Radio Salü at Saarbrücken (hence the provisional Main FM webpages were put on the Radio Salü server). In Saxonia the SLP station group intends to merge with Hitradio RTL. Report by Sächsische Zeitung: http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/artikel.asp?id=673497 A page with pictures of the Berlin-Britz site has been posted at http://people.freenet.de/senderfotosbb/britz.htm 6005 kHz antenna: http://people.freenet.de/macs/radio/britz07_2.jpg http://people.freenet.de/macs/radio/britz07_3.jpg 6190 kHz transmitter building and antenna (= the old 6005 kHz facilities from 1950; at least years ago an ancient FM transmitter, kept as standby, could be found in this shabby building, too): http://people.freenet.de/macs/radio/britz07_1.jpg (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wachenbrunn: Komintern scrapping From: KaiLudwig@t-online.de Add to Address Book The slaughter of the Komintern's at Wachenbrunn: http://www.z83.de/Wachenbrunn/wachenbrunn_danach.html It appears that the pictures shows especially the two 500 kW's with the paralleling device between them, but of course it is difficult to still identify the equipment at this stage :-( The two pictures with tubes for the Komintern transmitters at http://www.z83.de/Wachenbrunn/Wachenbrunn_A.html were obviously made in the spare parts shop, and the coils shown at http://www.z83.de/Wachenbrunn/Wachenbrunn_B.html belongs to the Funkwerk Köpenick transmitter (ex 692/882). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GRENADA. ...Fullerton said he had been updated by news reports emanating from Trinidad and Tobago since all of the radio and television stations, including the Grenada Broadcasting Network, owned by the Caribbean Communications Network, had been off the air. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=37305506 (via Steve Whitt, UK, Sept 9, MWC via DXLD) MOST ONLINE RADIOS UNAVAILABLE, PRESUMABLY DUE TO HURRICANE As Hurricane Ivan has reportedly left the Caribbean island of Grenada with no operational radio or television services, BBC Monitoring checked the availability of online audio streams from the island's radio stations. BBC Monitoring is aware of four Grenadian radio stations normally available with online streaming: City Sound FM, Grenada Broadcasting Corporation Klassic AM, Voice of Grenada and Wee FM. Only City Sound FM was obtainable when checked at 1400 gmt on Saturday 11 September. Programming appeared to be normal - Caribbean music and the usual DJ patter, interspersed with commercial breaks. The station broadcasts on 97.5 MHz FM from the capital, St. George's. The hurricane struck the former British colony on 7 September, causing widespread damage and around 17 fatalities. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 11 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR Bangalore "non" QSL --- 15040, Received a friendly letter from R. Narashima Swamy, Superintending Engineer at AIR, Bangalore in response to my August 14th report of Red Fort, Delhi Independence Day coverage. Mr. Swamy thanks me for monitoring AIR transmitter, but regrets to inform that the broadcast monitored originated from AIR, Khampur-Delhi, not Bangalore. (I have long since discarded the printout, but I seem to recall DX info at the time listing this special broadcast as via Bangalore) Mr. Swamy goes on to state that he has forwarded my report to the Khampur-Delhi, Superintending Engineer. Also enclosed with his reply was a Bangalore frequency schedule requesting my monitoring of their station. In 22 days for $1. I appreciate his forwarding my report to the appropriate site and not just discarding it! A "thank you`` e-mail is on it's way to Mr. Swamy. (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. RADIO SILENCED DURING ELECTION http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20040911.C08&irec=7 JAKARTA: The Ministry of Communications has banned the use of shortwave radios beginning next week in order not to disturb the presidential election runoff and the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly. According to a circular issued by the ministry's Directorate General of Post and Telecommunications, shortwave radio users must halt all radio communications seven days prior to the runoff on Sept. 20 until three days after the Assembly's session ends on Sept. 27. Only the state's telecommunication institutions, the government- sanctioned Amateur Radio Organization and the Indonesian People's Radio Organization will be allowed to operate during this period, it said. Anyone violating the ban can be punished with a jail sentence or fine (via Ulis Fleming, dxldyg via DXLD) ``Shortwave radio users`` I suppose refers to those with transmitters, not receivers!? How vague (gh, DXLD) This probably applies to communications equipment and not broadcasting stations? 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. PUBLIC BROADCASTER'S NATIONAL RADIO NETWORKS AVAILABLE ONLINE BBC Monitoring observes public broadcaster Radio Republik Indonesia's six national radio networks available streamed live online from its web site at http://www.rri-online.com As well as streams of domestic Programmes 1 to 6, an audio stream labelled "SLN" is also available, presumably their Voice of Indonesia multilingual external service. However, this could not be confirmed as when BBC Monitoring checked on 11 September the stream was found to be silent. The web site has pages in Indonesian, Arabic, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Thai. The homepage links for the Arabic and Mandarin pages are inactive and can only be accessed by going to one of the other language pages and editing the URL. Following the Japanese occupation and the granting of independence from the Netherlands, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) was established on 11 September 1945. Initially owned and operated by the Indonesian government, it became a public corporation in 2000. In addition to the six national radio networks and the external service, RRI operates a chain of regional and local stations broadcasting on shortwave, mediumwave and FM frequencies. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 11 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. IRANIAN EDITOR COMMENTS ON MONITORING OF FOREIGN RADIO BROADCASTS At 1545 gmt on 10 September, Iranian radio broadcast a special 15- minute programme about one of Iranian radio's regular programmes which has been running for the past 23 years, "the Review of Foreign Radios" [Persian: kand-o kav; barresi-ye radioha-ye biganeh]. This programme was part of a scheduled weekly programme entitled: Evening of the Seventh Day [Persian: asr-e ruz-e haftom]. The Evening of the Seventh Day is an entertaining programme broadcast every Friday evening which deals with social and cultural issues and includes music and interviews. Review of Foreign Radios has daily 15-minute programmes which are broadcast after the 0930 gmt news bulletin and also a weekly 30-minute programme on Friday mornings at 0300-0330 gmt. The programme's chief editor and writer, Qannadbashi, is interviewed. Qannadbashi says the programme is aimed at a particular group of audience and does not intend to be an entertaining programme. He says the programme collects, monitors and selects programmes of foreign radios beamed to Iran in Persian. He says the programme concentrates on collecting a good sample of what foreign radios say about Iran and the world. The programme criticizes their output, responds to their rumour-mongering and possible exaggerations or lies. Moreover, Qannadbashi says that the programme focuses on contradictory remarks made by those radios. He says: We put those contradictory broadcasts next to one another to show what those radios have said against themselves. Therefore, we aim to pave the way for experts who want to know the areas where foreign radios have concentrated on and what course they are taking. On the monitoring of foreign radios, Qannadbashi says that more than 130 hours of foreign radio broadcasts in Persian are listened to every 24 hours. He says sometimes the number of hours is even higher than that. Qannadbashi says two different groups record and transcribe the programmes of those radios and a News Monitoring group helps studying and sorting their output which is recorded and transcribed and put in folders every day. Qannadbashi says the monitoring of foreign radios takes place round the clock. He says 30 people do shifts round the clock to cover foreign radios. He says in the morning as we arrive at the Voice and Vision organization, a 100-200 page file is on our desk every day. On the output of foreign radios, Qannadbashi says: Not all of foreign radios' Persian broadcasts are "hostile". He says: "Some of those radios try to be impartial. Not all of them are hostile towards us at the moment." For example, Qannadbashi says, some countries' radios deal with Iran cautiously. He says: "For example, the Chinese have started Persian broadcasts, however, they do not follow the issues which the Western world pursues." He says: "Some regional and neighbouring states have also begun broadcasts in Persian and their output is not hostile either." Later in the programme about the Review of Foreign Radios, a snippet of one of the programmes is broadcast. Qannadbashi says on even days, the 15-minute programme reviews foreign press and on odd days, the programme reviews the output of foreign radios. Qannadbashi also speaks about a powerful archive containing foreign radio broadcasts for the past 20 years. Qannadbashi says this is one of the programme's strong points. He says: "We can very easily find out, for example, what the BBC radio [in Persian] is saying now about a certain issue and find out what the same radio said about the same issue some 20 years ago." Qannadbashi says officials in the Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry, universities, university lecturers and many other places where people pursue political matters have told him that they value the programme and have praised its output. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, in Persian 1545 gmt 10 Sep 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ITALY. MEDIALINE. Hi John, Thanks very much for including my programme in your guide to DX/SWL/Media programmes on ShortWave. Just to let you know that the programme will be returning this weekend and will include an interview I recorded with Simon Blackmore, project manager of Oneword radio (UK). Also, I'm hoping to have the programme archived on the Internet soon, but I'm still not sure when, or exactly how this will happen. Thanks again, Henry (Henry Brice, e-mail to John Norfolk, dxldyahoogroup via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s Sat 0800-0830 on 13840, which has been filled by VOA (gh, DXLD) ** JAMAICA. Glenn, The only webcast I can find out of Jamaica (which will get hopelessly clobbered Friday) is a talk station called Power 106. (BBC-modeled RJR is also on the web, but at $13 a month.) The fairly dire warnings are taken in stride by some of the callers, many in an indecipherable patois to my ears. Evacuate and pray. Gentlemen take care of your ladies. http://www.go-jamaica.com/power/0001.ram http://www.go-jamaica.com/power/0002.ram http://www.go-jamaica.com/power/0003.ram http://www.go-jamaica.com/power/0004.ram Tonight I get a "server is at capacity" prompt, but when clicking OK the feed comes thru anyway. The RJR site http://www.radiojamaica.com/ by the way, offers a CNN- style webpoll each week, and this weeks question - not making this up here - is as follows: ------ Do you think skimpy clothing encourages rapists and homosexuals? Yes No Submit Vote view results © 2003 Multi-Media Jamaica LTD. ---------- (Tom Roche, GA, Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Kingston station Power 106's webcast was surprisingly reliable all day. Announcer said they had increased bandwidth three times today to accommodate more listeners. But an hour ago the host said that the winds were getting "very heavy" and soon after the feed stopped. Their website www.go-jamaica.com went down too, now inaccessible. The Daily Gleaner site is also down. RJR site is still up, but not updated since 1PM. A mirror site maybe? No working links beyond the home page (Tom Roche, 2202 UT Sept 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s about the time I first tried to hear Power 106. The home go- jamaica.com page was accessible, but the streams I tried, 3 or 4 of the 5, I think, all got server alerts, maxed out, not surprisingly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTNEING DIGEST) Power 106 FM from Kingston, Jamaica is broadcasting over the internet at: http://war.str3am.com:7550/ [sic, typo? For http://war.stream.com:7550 ? Neither works for me at 0210 UT Sept 11 - -- gh] (Paul Crankshaw, UK, 2232 UT Sept 10, MWC via DXLD) BBC JAMAICA FM SERVICE CURRENTLY OFF THE AIR The BBC has announced that its FM service in Jamaica will be off air until Hurricane Ivan has passed. Listeners are advised to tune to BBC World Service on shortwave frequencies 6195 and 15190 between 0300 and 1000 local time and on 5975 between 1600 and 2000 local time. Media Network requests readers not to try to listen to online radio from Jamaica while the hurricane is in progress, unless they or their families are personally affected. This will use up bandwidth which may be needed by people who have a more pressing reason to get information. Internet radio services cannot cope with an infinite number of listeners. # posted by Andy @ 10:57 UT Sept 11 (Media Network blog via DXLD) I am currently compiling the English speaking part of the Caribbean for the WRTH 2005 and incidentally just finished Jamaica. It might be of interest that RJR94 is still being carried on all the five MW transmitters which have been active for the past couple of years. However four of the transmitters (550, 580, 700 and 770 kHz) are now running at reduced power = 1.5 kW, and only one (720 kHz) is still on full power = 10 kW. All of the transmitters are on the air 24 hours a day. Best 73s (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, Sept 10, MWC via DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. Special Transmissions of Radio Japan's Regional Service in Arabic --- In view of the tense situation in Iraq, NHK World Radio Japan is providing Special Arabic service. The schedule is as follows. Special Transmission Time (UTC) / 0500 - 0515 Frequency(kHz) / 17595 Relay Station / EKALA, SRI LANKA [to the Middle East & North Africa] Regular Transmissions Time (UTC) / Frequency (kHz) 2200 - 2230 / 17780 [to the Middle East & North Africa] 0100 - 0130 / 15220 [to the Middle East & North Africa] (Via NHK WORLD e-GUIDE via Mukesh Kumar, THE COSMOS CLUB, MISCOT-3, R- 8, RAMNA, MUZAFFARPUR – 842002, BIHAR, INDIA, Sept 11, DXLD) ?? The situation in Iraq has been ``tense`` for at least a sesquiyear (gh, DXLD) ** LATVIA. Radio Marabu super strong via Latvia adesso (1600 utc 11092004) su 9290 Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Rx Drake SPR-4, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** LESOTHO. Radio Lesotho is now webcasting via: http://www.leo.co.ls/media2.htm Home page: http://www.radioles.co.ls/ Program schedule: http://www.radioles.co.ls/program/default.html (PublicRadioFan.com via DXLD) Mostly non-English tho NEWS is scheduled at several times, perhaps in English (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. IMPULSA GOBIERNO FEDERAL TRANSICION A LA RADIO Y TELEVISION DIGITAL México, 2 Sep (Notimex). --- Con el impulso del gobierno federal, la radio y la televisión mexicanas están por iniciar su transición hacia los sistemas digitales y hacia la convergencia con las telecomunicaciones. En los anexos del IV Informe de Gobierno del presidente Vicente Fox se destacan los avances que hay para el proceso de digitalización de las televisoras y estaciones radiofónicas, lo cual será posible al adoptarse el estándar a/53 de la norma del Comité de Sistemas de Televisión Avanzada (ATSC, por sus siglas en inglés). En este acuerdo se establece además la política de transición a la Televisión Digital Terrestre (TDT) en México, lo cual pone al país como el primero de Latinoamérica en tomar esa decisión. Luego de adoptarse la Política de la TDT, se proyecta de manera flexible que la transición en todo el país concluya en 2021, aunque para 2006 se esperan ya transmisiones en las ciudades de México, Guadalajara, Monterrey y la zona fronteriza con Estados Unidos, a las que se unirán gradualmente el resto de las poblaciones. Como parte del los trabajos del Comité Consultivo de Tecnologías Digitales sobre las tecnologías de radio digital se otorgó un permiso experimental para realizar pruebas con los estándares internacionales entre los que se encuentran el In Band/On-Channel (IBOC) y el Eureka- 147. De acuerdo con el texto, al mes pasado pasado se otorgaron refrendos que amparar la operación de 306 estaciones de radio y 99 de televisión, mientras que de septiembre de 2003 a agosto pasado se dieron permisos de transmisión a tres estaciones de radio y 23 canales de televisión, enfocados a la integración de comunidades rurales e indígenas. En atención a las comunidades rurales se promovió además la instalación de 189 equipos complementarios de televisión para mejorar la calidad del servicio. Para cumplir con el propósito de ser un gobierno digital, se desarrolló el Sistema Integral de Información de Radio y Televisión (SIIRTV), con el que se favorecerá la sistematización de procesos para realizar trámites a distancia, lo cual está por iniciar (vía Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Donde está Radio Enlace --- La página actual de Radio Enlace no se halla en su lugar habitual sino en: http://www.rnw.nl/sp/toolbar/radioenlace_050904.html Que incluye la primera parte de mi informe DX huracanoso. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, Sept 10, Noticias DX via DXLD) Efectivamente Glenn. Me sorprendió mucho la falta de publicación en Radio Enlace de tus colaboraciones, muy importantes y de ayuda. Gracias por la dirección donde podemos verla. Muy atentamente 73´s (José Bueno - Córdoba - España, ibid.) ** NEW ZEALAND. 1ZM AUCKLAND JOINS THE MOSQUITO NETWORK, APRIL 1944 Radio New Zealand International Mailbox In the first of a new series about radio heritage in the Pacific, David Ricquish takes listeners back to 1944 during the Mailbox program this coming week. In April 1944, 1ZM Auckland joined the Mosquito Network of the American [sic] Forces Radio Service. You'll hear the original opening announcements, the speeches, the DJ's and some of the great 'big band' music of the era in this unique radio documentary using long forgotten recordings from the RNZ Sound Archives and original research from the Radio Heritage Foundation. These 60 year old recordings are the only known example of a WWII American Expeditionary Service (AES) station signing on their daily broadcast, and were cut live in the studio as the broadcast took place. You'll hear excerpts from GI Journal, Command Performance and the 290th Army Band, the Hon. Peter Fraser (NZ Prime Minister), as well as each of the 'hipcat' announcers who brought a taste of American home town radio to the South Pacific, and a complete listing of Mosquito Network stations. These recordings have not been heard for over 60 years, and are played exactly as they were heard on 1ZM Auckland, 1260 kc at a time when the island hopping campaign towards Japan was about to get underway. Great music, a unique historical event, and wonderful listening for everyone interested in radio heritage. A Real Audio version of the program will be available on-line at http://www.rnzi.com in the audio- on-demand section for Mailbox. Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, PO Box 14339 Wellington, New Zealand, Sept 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glad to note that RNZI`s new 11820 inbooms just as well as ex-9615 did, checked Sept 11 around 0500 UT Sat --- unfortunately, wasted on a silly ballgame (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. The very first internet TV show devoted to pirate radio starts on Tuesday, September 14th. The program title is "The Pirate DXer Show." This short program will air weekly and be available in the Windows Media Video format. The program will consist of loggings, how 2's, comments and mostly pirate radio silliness. Check us out every Tuesday evening after 8 PM Eastern [0000 UT Weds] at http://members.rogers.com/thepiratedxer/. [Mark your calendars!] (Free Radio Weekly Sept 11 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. FM Channels in the Commercial Band (92.1 - 107.9 MHz) Reserved for Non-Commercial Use. Frequencies FCC is removing from the planned November auction for commercial FM stations. Stations on the following frequencies are to be awarded to noncommercial entities at a different date from when the commercial applications are to be considered. OK Cordell 93.7 A OK Weatherford 105.1 A (OK portion only excerpted from Sept FMedia! via DXLD) We can only hope these are planned for genuine public radio station relays --- KOSU Statewide Network? KCCU empire? Rather than gospel huxters (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 1130, Bacan, 0547, 333, "Radio Bacan del Perú OAN4N..." (Felipe Asenjo, Desde Algarrobo, litoral central Chileno el dia 31 de Agosto de 2004, Conexión Digital via DXLD) I was wondering about this station in the Lima bandscan in 4-139. This log gives us some more info but the call letters cannot have N as the third character, as Peru mostly uses X and sometimes U, Y and Z --- making it impossible, along with numbers inside, to `pronounce` callsigns in this country as a word. WRTH 2004 shows on 1130 in Lima, OAX4N, Radio Gol, which apparently now has changed to Bacan. Wonder where that name comes from (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Harmonic logs 10 Sept: 18900 R Rossii (2 x 9450) 1906 18960 R Rossii (2 x 9480) 1906 Both poor (Tim Bucknall, Congleton NW England, Icom R75 + Wellbrooke ala 1530 (below 30 MHz), harmonics yg via DXLD) ``15m`` lives! (gh) ** RUSSIA. Second journalist 'drugged' by Russians Claire Cozens and agencies, Friday September 10, 2004 A Georgian journalist detained by Russian authorities after reporting on the Beslan school massacre was drugged, according to medical experts, raising fresh concerns about press freedom in Russia. . . http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1301652,00.html (Media Guardian, via Gerald T. Pollard, NC, DXLD) ** SEALAND. HOLLYWOOD SET TO MAKE FILM ABOUT SEALAND In today's Daily Express there is a double page feature on Sealand... Roughs Tower, Fantasy Island! See pages 24 and 25, noting really new. The possible film has been on the table for quite some time; I presume the Bates family will be in for some "Royalties?" and would probably use the real fort to film some sequences. I have a great respect for the Bates family, having briefly being employed by them; however I don't suppose my loyalty would extend to me actually opening up a savings account with the Royal Bank Of Sealand:-) I trust I will be able to get my hands on a 'pirate' DVD of the Warner Brothers film when it is released (Andy Cadier, UK, Sept 11, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. AMATEUR RADIO FEATURES ON BBC RADIO AND TV This has been a week where amateur radio has received some good publicity in the mass broadcast media. Firstly, 'Unsung Heroes', broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 4 September, was the story of the radio amateurs who provided vital communications when the World Trade Centre was attacked in New York on 9/11. The programme interviewed several amateurs who responded, and they told what they did on that fateful day. The programme highlighted the great advantages to a country of having an emergency amateur radio organisation. The American radio amateurs' actions were described as "quietly professional" and "life-saving" and the amateurs were described as "public-spirited heroes." Later in the week was a piece on the 'In Touch' programme about young blind Foundation licensees. As with 'Unsung Heroes', this was a wholly complimentary piece which treated amateur radio most sympathetically. You can listen to both of these programmes on the Internet. Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk and follow the "Listen to shows you've missed" links. Finally, Ian Harley, G6BJJ, from Plymouth won 'The Weakest Link' quiz on BBC TV on 7 September. Under Anne Robinson's adversarial questioning he gave a good account in two or three sentences of his interest in ham radio. Congratulations to Ian on both counts - he was clearly the Strongest Link and he portrayed the hobby in a positive light (RSGB via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. [Part of the lengthy DTV thread under USA:] The 405-line service was scheduled to be closed down in a piecemeal manner between 1982 and 1986, starting with the smaller transmitters and ending with the main ones. However, by 1984 it was clear that so few viewers still watched 405-line sets and so the close-down was accelerated. The last main transmitters were ceremonially shut down on 1 and 2 January 1985 in England and Scotland respectively. Basically Band 1 had 405-line BBC-1, Band 3 had 405-line ITV (commercial), and anyone with any sense got a UHF set so that they could get these two channels in 625 line plus the BBC-2 channel. Also VHF never had "production" colour, so if you wanted colour TV, you had to go for UHF. However the current Government-led transition to digital TV is a much harder sell, as ultimate quality is less due to digital compression and there's no compelling "more choice". (Mark Hattam, UK, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Caught the last part of Allan Weiner Worldwide on WBCQ 7415, UT Sat Sept 11 until 0100; apparently the ship-originated broadcasts are about to begin, primarily in the 0000-0300 UT period on 5105; Larry Will a.k.a. cosmikdebris was on the cellphone from the vessel. A caller asked about the antennas used: on 7415, a log periodic beam on a 60 foot tower, also capable of operating on 9 and 13 MHz; on 5105, a vertical curtain multi-element dipole, both aimed at Mexico City. Callers in AL and VA(?) reported poor reception on 5105, at least until later at night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hearing WJIE 7490 very well tonight Sept 10 2300-0100Z with the "Adventures in Odyssey" kid-oriented serial drama and other programming. Excellent S9 signal and audio here in the Detroit area. Have also noted substantial improvement in the audio quality and signal strength of WHRI broadcasts (e.g. DXing With Cumbre at 0400Z Saturdays) since they changed from the Indiana site to WSHB's facilities. Best Regards, (Ben Loveless WB9FJO ex-WPE9JLQ, Michigan, Sept 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fri Sept 10 at 2105 on 17650 WHRA, it was still the show produced Sept 2 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Re: the comments of David Austin and Dave Pomeroy regarding DTV --- I wholeheartedly agree, and then some. I think the best description I`ve ever heard of DTV is ``the solution to a problem that didn`t exist.`` The public doesn’t need DTV, and there aren`t legions of viewers clamoring for it. DTV is not being pushed for the benefit of consumers, but rather for the benefit of equipment manufacturers (both commercial and consumer) and the government (which stands to raise a good hunk o`cash by auctioning off spectrum space). Given the quality and purpose of much of what is on TV these days, there is no need for DTV or HDTV. Sure, a football game or movie looks cool in HD, but what is the point of added sharpness and clarity to the majority of TV programming? Do we REALLY need a picture so sharp that we can count the pores on Dan Rather’s face? I could see HDTV as an adjunct to regular broadcasting and cablecasting. Make it available as an option via cable or satellite for those who really want it (videophiles), and don’t force it upon everyone else. A lot of folks still rely on off-air signals for TV, either primarily/exclusively or secondarily and, yes, there are going to be an awful lot of pissed-off people if analog is switched off too early. Imagine folks in rural areas (especially fringe areas) who are too poor to afford cable or satellite (if they are even available to them) or simply are satisfied with watching the broadcast networks (not everyone is as wholeheartedly addicted to TV as others are). They are willing to put up with a little snow, a few ghosts, or occasional fades to watch their soap operas and reality shows. Now, with DTV, a ``pretty good`` signal just won’t cut it --- it`s either there or it isn`t. Even if they lay out the money for a digital set, they will have to either invest in a major antenna system, subscribe to cable or satellite, or just do without. Even in urban areas, what about the guy at the newsstand who likes to watch over-the-air TV on his little Korean 12`` portable while working? Or the suit and tie guy who likes to watch college football at the office on a handheld Radio Shack TV when he is forced to work a Saturday? Or Joe Sixpack with the little bargain-basement portable in his workshop? Or Grandma in her mobile home who’s still watching Jeopardy on her 1963 RCA? Are all these sort of folks going to be forced to lay out major cash for a digital set or DTV-to-NTSC downconverter? (Imagine paying like $300 for a downconverter to hook up to your $49 TV.) No, the viewing public is really not too interested, and it will take a long time to work up a degree of interest sufficient to motivate the public to voluntarily make the costly switchover. The latest industry estimates I have seen now push the final analog switch-off back to something like 2009 or 2010 --- frankly, I don`t see it happening even that soon. If they pull the plug too prematurely, they will incur major negative P.R. flack. I think analog will continue to exist side-by-side with digital for a long time. Maybe it will eventually get to the point where affiliates have lost too much money bankrolling a second transmitter and antenna system for a service nobody cares about. Maybe sufficient technological advances will allow land mobile, cellular, and wireless services to more efficiently use the spectrum already available to them, or better use of 1 GHz+ frequencies, making the need for that relatively small hunk of the UHF band obsolete. Maybe one day everyone involved will realize that this has been a huge miscalculation, a screw-up on a par with ``New Coke.`` But this is the government we are talking about. Someone once said, ``what the government wants to do, and has the power to do, it WILL do --- morals and common sense notwithstanding`` (Stan Jones, Orlando FL, Sept 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The antenna "specialist" who changed my rotor had absolutely no idea of what over-the-air DTV was!! And I'm not sure he actually believed what I was telling him even after a 15 minutes explanation. It's nothing more than corporate greed and an industry ploy to make more money and of course, their friends at the FCC are more than happy to obliged. Better to let the public in the dark --- and force this on them at the last minute. The funny thing is that most people wouldn't even see the difference between a good analog local signal and a DTV one. IMHO. 73, (Charles Gauthier, St-Lambert, QC, WTFDA via DXLD) David Austin's comments and Dave Pomeroy's responses seem quite representative of the general state of public understanding of DTV and HDTV. Basically, nobody understands much of anything...and I have a hunch that's because the topic is so technically complicated that most people will NEVER fully understand all the variations. I contended from the inception of DTV that it was not the right technical protocol (there should have been backward compatibility with analog much like there was with b&w when the RCA color system was introduced), and that without government mandates the whole idea would be a complete failure. I see no reason to stand down on any of those premises. It's all really going to hit the fan (as both Daves pointed out) when analog is banned and unsuspecting millions are going to be staring at blank screens on useless TV receivers (Tom Bryant / Nashville, TN, ibid.) My brother and his wife are not big fans of TV in the first place, so they don't have cable or satellite. All they watch is the news, Jeopardy, and a few shows on PBS. They tell me that they *don't* intend to "waste their money" on a HDTV set when the analogs go off. They are among the exceptions, however. I'm amazed at how little the American public knows about DTV and how they will be affected by it. I don't think many people even believe me when I tell them what is ahead for TV (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) All of the sets at my Best Buy store are usually hooked up to cable, satellite, or a demo tape. The one in Robinson had an antenna feed, because they had sets showing KDKA-DT before Comcast began carrying that channel. I think I helped sway them to that decision, because back in 1999 while at the store, a guy dressed like a sales person approached me and began asking me questions on what I would change. I told him that since they sell HDTVs (and AT&T Broadband was not carrying HDTV channels at the time), they should install an antenna so that prospective buyers can see OTA stations and get a true sense of how the picture would look via a real source instead of an in-house demo feed. Turns out, the guy was the regional manager for Best Buy. (Jeff Kitsko, ibid.) Does anyone really think that politicians are going to stand by quietly while millions of voters are stuck with suddenly useless televisions??? Talk about a ready-made campaign issue!! Let's get real. The public outcry will force the FCC to extend the analog broadcasting termination date well into the future. After all, wasn't the United States supposed to be 100% metric by 1983 or so? And whatever happened to the 55 MPH speed limit? (Harry Helms W5HLH, Wimberley, TX EM00, ibid.) No argument there...and that's probably exactly what will happen. One of the funniest (and perhaps saddest) aspects of all this is that I'd say it's a pretty good bet that most members of Congress don't have much more of a clue about the impending digital TV tsunami than their constituents (Tom Bryant / Nashville, TN, ibid.) There was a proposal floated a year or so ago that digital-to-analog converters be provided at government expense to those whose only local TV is analog OTA. At the time, nobody took it seriously. That proposal has resurfaced. Someone did the math and claims the revenue the government could earn through early auction of channels 52-69 far exceeds the cost of free D-to-A converters. One might expect to see more talk about this proposal over the next few months. (it has some pretty serious problems though. I'm not sure they budgeted for the fact that most households would require more than one box - to support VCRs, or multiple TVs. It would require creation of a large new bureaucracy to ensure people receive as many boxes as they need without receiving *more* than they need. The opportunity for fraud is pretty amazing. ) =========================================================== Y'know, I wonder if we have a "Catch-22" pending in some markets? Consider Chicago, where WBBM-DT has been having serious problems with the use of channel 3. Many Chicagoans are not able to receive WBBM-DT reliably. For this reason, the FCC is giving stations with two channels in low-band VHF priority in selecting some other channel - a channel vacated by some other station - for their permanent DTV operation. Presumably, WBBM would wish to abandon both channels 2 and 3 and select a UHF channel for their permanent DTV operation. (or possibly channels 7, 9, or 11 if WLS/WGN/WTTW choose to operate on UHF) 10. So, say WYCC-DT informs the FCC they're going to remain on channel 21 after transition. WBBM-DT elects to use WYCC's old analog channel, 20. 20. WYCC can't afford to shut down their analog facility on channel 20 until their OTA viewers are watching their digital facility on channel 21. 30. Their OTA viewers are unwilling to give up their analog TVs until they can reliably receive CBS/WBBM digitally. 40. But they can't receive CBS/WBBM digitally until it moves to channel 20. 50. Which WBBM can't do until WYCC abandons the channel. 60. GOTO 20. (control-C?) =========================================================== (one might be surprised just how metric the U.S. *is* |grin| Seriously, you won't be filing an application for a new broadcast station in feet and inches...) (more seriously, one might be surprised just how easy it is to learn metric. And just how much you'll hate the old system once you learn the new one. At least while doing any kind of work that requires wrenches!) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) I'm not sure I understand the first paragraph. Whose "local TV" would be anything OTHER than "analog OTA"? Or was the proposal for those who are out of the reach of cable (which provides local stations)? Was the advent of locals via DTH dish figured into this? Not every place can be cabled, but every place (at least in theory) can receive dish signals from the open sky, assuming they're within the footprint of the spot beam. I think something similar to this was done in Berlin (Germany). The broadcasting authorities simply mandated digital-only, analog was turned off, and either free or subsidized converters were made available. I bought a 5" B&W portable (625 lines, systems B/G) in Germany last year and people asked me "what are you buying THIS for?". But broadcasting of any sort is much more of a public/private sector cooperative effort in almost any European country than in the US, for reasons that would go beyond the scope of this message board. My wife's family in Poland pays a TV tax ("abonament") every year. I get the impression that Europeans don't have as many TV sets in their homes as North Americans do. This would only work for a single channel at a time, but to reach those free-standing non-cabled sets in the house (small B&W, LCD, etc. sets), you could always get a flea-power Part 15 TV transmitter, feed the converted digital signal into it, and render the small sets at least partially useable. Any way to multiplex this? Would it be worth it? Any more ideas? (David Austin, Columbia SC, ibid.) [earlier:] Some more, and random, thoughts on DTV: * - There WILL be a great public outcry if analog TV is either shut down or appreciably cut back anytime in the near future. TV sets last longer than they used to. It's not unreasonable to think that a TV set bought today will be working 25 years from now. A TV set bought right now will almost invariably be an analog-only set. People have never been used to junking "obsolete" TV sets, however, it seems worth noting that people junk perfectly good computers, costing much more, simply because they can't get compatible hardware and software for them anymore. * - Analog TV sets will always be good as monitors for VCRs and DVDs that have A/V inputs, as almost all color sets do nowadays. * - Someone will come out with a cheap DTV box; the wireless-cable digital venture out in Utah and elsewhere (name escapes me right now) may be a portal to this. But people won't buy DTV boxes for 5" portable B&W sets. * - The vast majority of people want a selection of premium programming (whether cable or dish), accompanied by what they're used to in the way of "local" programming. They definitely want local news. As for syndicated or network programs, they're not really particular how they get them, as long as they get them. Cable carries local stations seamlessly (the more popular stations on low dial positions) and direct-to-home dish services are now carrying local stations as broadly and as seamlessly as the technology will allow. What people do NOT want to do is to have to pick up local stations with a terrestrial antenna. That's too much rigamarole and an increasing number of neighborhoods (HOAs et al) don't allow it. There is an FCC-mandated loophole allowing one antenna but hardly anyone is aware of it, and wouldn't be interested if they were. * - Cable and dish subscribers will not see the point of having to buy a dual-tuner (analog and digital) TV set when they don't need the digital component. Hardly anyone remembers when UHF was a "new thing" requiring a (relatively inexpensive) converter box. (I am just barely old enough to remember 12-channel sets and UHF boxes myself!) * - Perhaps just stating the obvious, the DTV transition and the ensuing must-carry scenario will be seamless to cable and dish viewers. On "drop-dead day", when and if it ever occurs, digital signals will simply replace what's left of analog. * - A handful of stations are going digital-only. For new stations (what few there are), this is probably the smart money in the long run. People will never have developed the habit of tuning in a DTV- only station on a "plain old TV set", and in their minds it is a hybrid of a local station and a cable/dish network, similar to the "fake WB" cable outlets with the bogus "call letters". Can DTV-only stations invoke must-carry? (David Austin, Columbia SC, ibid.) The other surprise pending I think for many people is that increasing numbers of communities won't let you throw out anything containing a CRT. (for environmental reasons - there's a lot of lead in there among other harmful chemicals) Tell Joe Blow his analog TV won't work anymore -- and then tell him he's going to have to pay some recycling center to take it, he can't dump it in the trash... 'Course too, in 1964 people were saying "why should I have to pay for a UHF tuner when I never watch UHF?" IMHO without that mandate, most of us would still only receive four OTA signals. We also have mandated closed-caption decoders in our analog TVs. The price of a standalone decoder, at the time the mandate went into effect, was about the same as the price of a DTV STB today. I don't sense that a TV is more expensive today than it would have been without the caption-decoder requirement. Economies of scale work very well with consumer electronics! Yes, DTV-only stations may invoke must-carry. They may demand to have their signals delivered to analog subscribers but to do so they must provide a digital-to-analog converter at their own expense. (relatively trivial) ========================================================== I was paging through a copy of "Broadcasting and Cable" at work tonight. Each week they do an advertising review of a different TV market. This particular week, the "market of the week" was Houston. They mentioned that the flat terrain made cable unnecessary and only a bit more than half of households subscribe (in context they meant satellite too). They did indicate that was one of the lowest (but not *the* lowest!) cable penetration rates. I believe the figure for Nashville is between 75 and 80%. That's still a LOT of people watching OTA signals! -- Just to put a number out there... (it is amazingly difficult to find data about cable TV penetration online!) According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 1998 23% of U.S. households had only OTA television. The CBO estimates that figure will fall to 10-15% by 2006. It obviously varies considerably by market! (If the "nearly 50%" figure for Houston in the Broadcasting and Cable article is accurate... then closing analog TV in Houston will probably ensure no incumbent politician of either party will be re-elected in southeast Texas!) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Wow, has this been a lively thread! Like Billy Martin (I think) in an old Lite Beer commercial, I feel very strongly both ways. First, the pluses. I have an HD setup (complete with D-VHS VCR) and just bought my Mom an HD set, with dual tuners built in, for her birthday. The improvement in picture quality is tremendous, if the picture is there. The problem is, of course, getting the picture in. Neither my nor her setup has digital cable, so it's antennae for the DTV signal. Thus, I could watch tonight's NFL game in beautiful HDTV on WLS-DT's first subchannel, or check out ABC News Now on the second subchannel, or the local weather radar (with an NWS audio simulcast) on the third subchannel. There's little problem with UHF signals in the Chicago area now, but CBS's DTV is WBBM-DT 3, a chore even with a full-power signal, at least where I live, because a bit of tropo enhancement means WWMT-TV 3 in Kalamazoo drops in and makes for trouble. It also means outdoor antennae (or at least one on a porch), which is more than the average viewer wants to deal with these days. (Let's not forget how many people have never known a world without cable TV, unless it's a Watchman.) And that's the huge minus. As Glenn Hauser [not me; I forwarded an item] mentioned, all the folks who have absolutely no inclination to get cable or a dish hookup, much less a new TV, would be shut out if the analogs shut down. Likewise, someone with a portable TV in the yard, or tailgating at a football game, or just listening to TV audio, or whatnot. Though the chipset to produce the DTV signal is getting less and less expensive (and more reliable), it's still a cost, and even more to the point, the replacement cost for everyone to get a new portable, etc., when DTV is ubiquitous, is an expense few will want to shoulder. As Tom Bryant mentioned, it would have been great, indeed preferable, for DTV to be backward compatible, like NTSC color and b/w. Instead we have the modern equivalent of the CBS color system of 1951, only it's caught on, and the government, which pushed for it, can't want to see everyone embrace it, or at least fiddle with the numbers until it appears to be embraced. The 2006 deadline was completely unrealistic from the start, and even now, while the DTV-ready set penetration level is well ahead of where color TV was in 1959 (the sixth full year of compatible color TV), the DTV-tuner level may still be behind it, if DTV cable boxes aren't included in the total. As much as it screws up once-open DX channels (and gives others a chance for DXing even more), time is the key. Let's not forget how long it took the UK to allow the BBC to shut down the 1936-era 405- line VHF b/w system a lucky few on this side of the pond were able to DX, in favor of the 625-line UHF color system started in the mid- 1960s. What was it, 1991? [see UK] I don't know how the shutdown in the UK was covered, if it was an issue for years or what, but over here, I'd think that TV stations, if not some newspaper TV critics, would make a big stink if a flat date was announced for the shutdown of analog TV. Say it was Dec. 31, 2008. Regular TV goes off at midnight. Imagine the howls the next day if people without cable couldn't watch the Rose Bowl (or Rose Parade) on New Year's Day. Or the Super Bowl. Or their soaps. Likely, the howls would come well before, and before Election Day 2008, and the pols would realize that without a flat pronouncement that regular TV would stay on the air, they would all be looking for new jobs. Funny thing was, when the HD was being hammered out, the talk from the pols was that this would revitalize the U.S. electronics industry. Anyone with a working knowledge of business knew that was nonsense. The manufacturers today are the same then, all foreign-owned (including key DTV patent holder Zenith, now a nameplate of LG). That's hardly unexpected, and fine by me. I will note that the Sanyo I bought for my Mom (for $747 at WalMart) was assembled in the U.S., a surprise to me. A great TV, but not DX-friendly on the DTV side. Unless there's a hidden feature on the service menu, you can't add channels separately, but instead have to do a scan for the entire band when checking for new DTV channels. So you get the locals that the TV can find at that moment, and if a channel is missed, you have to do it again. Here's what I'd like to see. All analog TV on VHF and all digital TV on UHF. That would mean a whole ton of channels jammed into the 2-13 universe, a shift to LPTV-sized power for many hundreds of transferred stations from UHF (perhaps all VHF stations would shift to half-power to make room), and not every channel in a big city surviving as an over-the-air analog (they would still have must-carry cable status as a digital), but it would give people who don't want to make the move the option of receiving some broadcast television (Tim Cronin, Worth, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) And of course you've hit the nail on the head right there. I don't know what size you bought, but that money would buy one he** of a big analog TV. We bought a 25" analog for our son last Christmas (or maybe the year before) for about half that. Another thing people tend to forget is that despite cable penetration numbers in some areas, in others (read that to include the entire Philadelphia area served by local giant Comcast) you have to pay $50 a month for basic cable. A lot of people really can't afford that, some who could simply won't because they don't see the value in it (count me in that group) and probably others shouldn't afford it be cut something else in order to do so. Where I live, even though only about 8-12 miles from most of the VHF transmitters, you can't get and maintain a good solid picture from any of them without an outdoor antenna. (And I seem to have other priorities for the limited place I have for outdoor antennas |g|). (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (360' ASL), ibid.) One thing I seem to see people mentioning a lot is that the only way to program the DTV channels in their tuner or set is to just scan and adding channels manually is difficult. That tells me that the mfg's are only concerned with satellite and cable viewers - NOT off air reception. With my WinTV-D card I can NEVER get all my locals with one setting on my UHF antenna. Last note for those who hate CATV and the high cost. I hated spending $50/month for 80 channels of cr@p and was toying with a pair of fixed UHF 8 bay antennas. Had it almost perfect and called the cable company to cancel service. The customer service person asked if there was anything they could do and I told him the cost was the problem. Then he suggested that they offer a basic subscription for $9.50/month for the channels up to 25. Wow, they don't advertise that on billboards do they ??? So, with tax, I have been paying $10.46/month for the past year for all my locals plus a few other nice to haves. Now that I call a good deal! And I haven't missed the other 55 channels of HSN one bit! (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, ibid.) Add to that TV sets built with poor sensitivity and that dreaded feature, the blue screen. I would say that manufacturers have only been concerned with satellite and cable viewers for a long time. It is amazing! I have satellite, my costs are about $15-20 less than with the comparable cable package, I have access to more channels, and I still feel ripped off -- too much cr@p, too much money. The satellite service recently added OTA channels in my market, almost at exactly the same as my rotor died (I am primarily an FM DXer who only dabbles in TV). The cost seemed reasonable -- $3 per month -- and at first I thought of adding local stations to my satellite package. Reflecting on it, however, I bought a new rotor instead. It will pay for itself in a couple of years, I can enjoy a little TV DX, and maybe I can use the antenna at some point for FM phasing. I am surprised that no one has jumped in on this thread regarding this point, and wonder if it's because AM DXers are so much farther along on the learning curve than are FM DXers. Does the backward compatible system sound familiar? Except for the "caught on" part, it sounds to me just like IBOC. Despite its backwards compatibility, the idea is the same: set up the system, grow interest in it, convert stations to it, set a cut-off date for analog and on that day obsolete every old receiver in existence. There is lots of money to be made. And, while IBOC's backwards compatibility may seem to be more consumer friendly, it is devastating for the FM and AM DXer. As was pointed out in this thread, HDTV destroyed some DX opportunties but created others. TV DX *may* survive into the future. I see no new DX opportunities created by IBOC, when local stations start wiping out their first adjacents. Things improve only on the day that analog is turned off, and who knows how long that process will take? And, how far digital only signals will travel? 73 (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, ibid.) I think this isn't as good an analogy as it seems. IBOC on AM is in a temporary transitional stage and it is not really backward- compatible so far as I know. But aside from that, there is no cable alternative for AM, nor is there really a satellite alternative. Satellite radio presents an alternative to FM and to FM-IBOC. Otherwise the problems are similar - small consumer interest, small penetration, high cost and limited availability of equipment and programming. From a DX standpoint, FM has an advantage in terms of propagation types overriding the IBOC hiss, but both AM & FM DX'ers can use phasing to varying degrees. In all cases, the premise is anti-consumer, who benefits the least in the equation (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) An average cable bill in Pleasant View is *greater* than an average property tax bill (at least until they finish building all those $500k houses on the near west side |grin|). I find it amazing that people who are unwilling to pay an extra 2% in property tax to fund education are very willing to pay an extra 100% to get more TV channels, almost all of which they never watch. (does not considering ESPN a necessity of life make me unAmerican?) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Comcast's Basic is $50. I know people who have quit over it and had no such counter-offer. They have a government-sanctioned monopoly and don't consider DirecTV a competitor. When a cable company comes to me and offers me my choice of say a dozen or two non-premium channels for $20 a month, then I'll consider signing up (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) What good timing :-). Article about a new proposal to extend the analog surrender drop-dead date to 1 Jan 2009, in exchange for it being an absolute date with no exceptions. Sorry to those who are not registered at the site, though it is free. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9785-2004Sep9.html (Dave Williams, Redmond, OR (near Bend, OR), ibid.) ** U S A. Re 4-138, cable vs. Off-the-air channel IDs: Reminds me when Toronto, Ontario first got cable back in the early 1970s (?) and I was watching in my hometown outside of Buffalo. CBLT used to ID as "CBLT, Channel 5, Cable 6". Not sure what they do any more. Interestingly, here in Allentown, near the birthplace of community antenna television in 1948, our local WFMZ-69 has always been known by its OTA channel, as in "69 News". One likely reason is that the two competing cable providers here put WFMZ on two different VHF channels in their cable lineup (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1420 KULY Ulysses KS, p/d letter on Western Kansas Broadcast Center stationary and business card in 15 days for EE report (returned) and $1 (returned). Stationary lists 10 call signs. V/s: Gil F. Wohler, GM. Addr: 1402 E. Kansas Ave, Garden City KS 67846 (Patrick Griffith, NØNNK, Westminster, CO, NRC-AM via DXLD) Notable thing about this little AM station, like a few others in Kansas, is that it`s on the Chevron-Texaco Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network --- did I get that all in? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Lubavitcher 1710. IHMO, they've definitely improved their signal --- either more power or better antenna --- they have been into York at very listenable S-8-to 10 over, with better audio than before. I would think this loggable by many who never could before. 73, (Bruce WB3HVV, York, PA, Sept 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) Lubavitcher 1710: off the hook The FCC must have known we were talking about this one - and look how well the "plausible deniability" worked. They couldn't touch the landlord, since they weren't actually operating the transmitter. And they won't touch whoever was actually operating the transmitter. Must be nice... s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Viz.: In the Matter of Hip Hop City Corp Brooklyn, NY ) ) ) ) ) File No. EB- 03- NY- 003 NAL/ Acct. No. 200332380020 FRN 0008- 5372- 76 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: September 7, 2004 Released: September 10, 2004 By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau: 1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order (`` Order``), we cancel a ten thousand dollar ($ 10,000) Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (`` NAL``) 1 issued to Hip Hop City Corp. (`` Hip Hop``) for its apparent willful violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (`` the Act``). The alleged violation involves Hip Hop’s operation of an unlicensed radio transmitter. We have reviewed Hip Hop’s May 12, 2003 response to the NAL, including its statement that it is not the operator of the unlicensed radio transmitter. Based on our review of its response and the record before us, we conclude that cancellation of the proposed $10,000 forfeiture is warranted. 2. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 504( b) of the Act 3 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80( f)( 4) of the Commission's Rules, 4 the forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) proposed in the April 23, 2003 NAL issued to Hip Hop City Corp. IS CANCELLED. 3. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, a copy of this Order shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Hip Hop City, 1236 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11216. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION David H. Solomon Chief, Enforcement Bureau 1 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/ Acct. No. 200332380020 (Enf. Bur., New York Office, rel. April 21, 2003). 2 47 U. S. C.§ 301. 3 47 U. S. C. § 504( b). 4 47 C. F. R. §§ 0. 111, 0.311 and 1.80( f)( 4). (FCC via Fybush, ibid.) Phooee! The thing I still can't figure out is, if the FCC enforcement people actually saw the equipment that was being used when they inspected the site, why they didn't seize it and stop the broadcast. That's typically what happens when other pirates are busted. There must be a story behind this one... (Brett Saylor, PA, ibid.) Sure there is. You don't seize without the help of federal agents. No federal agent in his/her right mind is going to mess with the Lubavitchers in Crown Heights. End of story. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Hi there, I'm not sure I understand this...Why would the government be afraid of a pirate broadcaster? Can someone explain this (John Hunter, Rossville GA, ibid.) Oh, you can bet on that. But you'll probably never hear it... The original NAL stated that they tracked the coax back to a locked equipment room. A teency bit of research could have determined who had the keys to that room, and whose equipment it was. They could have also just cut the coax and/or taken down the antenna (not that that would have stopped them for long). Besides, based on my google searches, I think there's an excellent chance that Mr. Ezagui, who is the owner of "Hip Hop" was very well acquainted with the fact that there was a radio station broadcasting from his building (whether he was the actual operator or not). In fact I think it's almost impossible that he was not aware of it. I mean, here we have a prominent man in the Lubavitch movement, who owns a bunch of buildings in Crown Heights. And over here we have "Radio Moshiach", a Lubavitch operated radio station. And over there, we have the FCC telling us that Poor Mr. Ezagui didn't have any idea that this station was transmitting from the roof of his building. Yeah, right. I'd really love to know where they are broadcasting from today, and who the owner of the building is. And I'd also love to get a look at Hip Hop's response to the original NAL. This one really doesn't pass the smell test (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) My understanding was that all they saw was an antenna and some wire. But I wonder what sort of evidence was presented to convince them that the landlord had no part of it. What makes you think they've moved ? I'd bet they're still right there (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) I went back and re-read the NAL and you're right, they only saw an antenna and coax cable leading to a locked room (and their field strength meter pegging off-scale). Guess they weren't allowed to bust the door down (Brett Saylor, PA, ibid.) The FCC's not afraid of Radio Moshiach. But the FCC has no firepower of its own, and for an FCC inspector to carry out any action (seizing equipment or shutting down an operating broadcaster) in the field, they turn to local law enforcement, to the FBI and to the U.S. Marshals Service. In addition, for the FCC to take a pirate broadcaster to court requires the cooperation of the local U.S. Attorney's office. When the pirate in question is perceived to be associated with a powerful political entity like the Lubavitchers, who control a sizable bloc of votes in Brooklyn and who have deep ties at many levels of the New York City power structure, that cooperation from law enforcement becomes much harder to obtain. No DA or U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn wants to go up against the Lubavitchers; it's a very bad way to win job security. And since the FCC's resources are extremely limited, and the pool of potential targets for their action is nearly unlimited, a wise FCC field agent (whose career at the agency depends in part upon producing successful enforcement actions) will inevitably turn his or her attention to the less well-connected pirates, especially when the Lubavitchers aren't really interfering with anyone anyway. This would get considerably more interesting if the Lubavitchers set up on, say, 1610 (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Oh Ok, Thanks for the explanation. I had never heard of the Lubavitchers before joining the club and finally logging 1710 myself. I appreciate the info. Best regards, (John Hunter, Rossville GA, ibid.) Agreed that the FCC has little political need or will to mess with them as long as they're on 1710. 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) I myself would not be at all surprised. It's just that it would be hard for the FCC to claim that the landlord was not complicit in the illegal operation if they took absolutely no measures to shut it down when they were informed of its existence. But that would be expecting the FCC to actually pay attention, and for the operator to have at least a small amount of fear of getting in some trouble. This folks, is what we Jews call "Chutzpah". (Brian Leyton, CA, ibid.) Well, now this opens up a neat little loophole. Since I believe Lubavicher doesn't operate on the Sabbath, couldn't some other entity use that night? After all, Lubavicher wouldn't complain. The precedent is set that unlicensed operation is allowable on 1710 since the FCC has walked away from this one. Were they to bust someone else, couldn't that person simply point to what just happened as an example of selective enforcement? And no, it will not be me (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Only so long as whomever it is who is trying to use it as a precedent is also not interfering with anyone else. And whomever it is would have to really contest their own bust, have the means to do so, be aware of this situation and draw that conclusion from it (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Not to argue the point, but about 2 years ago the FCC busted an FM pirate operating out of an otherwise legitimate business in the community for which I have worked for 17 years. The only law enforcement authority on hand was one of our municipal police officers who happens to be a fellow ham. His only involvement was to observe while the FCC agents made the bust and seized all of the pertinent equipment. Being a suburb of Denver there are many Federal agents on hand in the area. None of them accompanied the FCC staff (Patrick Griffith, NØNNK, Westminster, CO, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 4-138: One of the more intriguing posts in this IMHO was the item about Microsoft's new "MSN Radio" venture. See the item entitled MICROSOFT CREATES STATIC OVER NEW RADIO FEATURE Harry Helms passed along a quote from a Nashville radio industry consultant regarding the advent of broadband wifi-delivered radio. Interesting -- this gives you the portability of radio and the reach and diversity of the Internet without the perils of shortwave propagation – or even local rebroadcasting. he consultant says such a concept is 5-10 years away, but it's an interesting premise to consider (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. A former employee of WSM 650 - WSM-FM 95.5 Nashville mentioned how he was treated as a management type person, even though the new overtime law would have made that arrangement illegal. ``At the time we decided to continue the status quo (fully aware that what we were doing wasn`t kosher), both of us snarled at the government intrusion where it wasn`t wanted or needed. . .and decided to ignore their meddlesome decree. I happen to know that the other government edicts of similar nature also got tossed to the wind. I suppose the company left itself open to big trouble if one of the trusted employees who enjoyed a perk that wasn`t sanctioned by wage and hour became disgruntled and ratted on them. . .but it never happened. They were consummately fair with `nearly` all of their employees. A few people got the short end of the stick now and again, but there generally was a pretty good reason; and those folks were never privy to any special arrangements. ``Toward the end of my career with WSM, things began to change. The management team brought in by the Gaylord people (to replace locals who were retiring or being pressured to retire) was a bunch of ruthless bottom-liners that knew little about broadcasting. . .and cared less about WSM. To them the broadcast operation was a nuisance that interfered with more profitable facets of the company (such as the Opryland Hotel). Had they discovered my arrangement, it would have been immediately rescinded. . .and both my supervisor and I could well have been dismissed without benefits. My dislike for them grew at a tremendous rate, and finally, after two years of gritting my teeth, I opted for early retirement. Good thing that I did. Just a couple of years later, my good-guy boss was canned for not marching to the corporate drumbeat; and a year or so later all but about 10 of the staff of 60+ was fired on the spot, and most of the off-air functions were farmed out to the group that had bought WSM-FM and WWTN (FM) from Gaylord. The WSM payroll now stand at about 10.`` (T.B., Nashville, Sept FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. KPPV, 106.7, Prescott Valley, AZ, 493 meters AAT, 3700 watts H and V. Did you know it`s solar powered? It`s from a mountain-top site, reports Radio World. Its original antenna was on a telephone pole outside the studio, about 122 m below average terrain. Owner Sanford Cohen looked for a better site, and found one a few km from town, atop Glassford Hill. Its history includes being an Army heliograph station during the Apache wars. The problem: the site lacked commercial power. He looked at KFMU 104.1 Oak Creek CO, which is a wind-powered station, but the AZ mountain only has winds some 200 days a year. So he went to work on solar, devising a plan to have 54 solar panels on a large grid, producing nearly 2.3 kW of power. This was enough to power KPPV`s transmitter, with additional power realized through antenna gain. Studios, too, were moved to a business mall, also owned by Cohen, 6 km way. ``Where heliograph mirrors once blinked warnings of Geronimo`s raiders, Cohen`s solar-powered FM now rocks northern Arizona.`` (Sept FMedia! via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS BRITISH. NEW WEB SITE FOR ZBVI RADIO, LIVE AUDIO NOW AVAILABLE BBC Monitoring observes ZBVI Radio available with a live audio stream available from their newly-constructed web site at a new web address (URL): http://www.zbviradio.com The web site includes some programme information, a schedule, and contact details. Their old web site at http://www.zbvi.vi continues to be available. ZBVI is the only mediumwave radio station on the air in the British Virgin Islands, operating on 780 kHz with a power of 10 kiloWatts to cover the entire Eastern Caribbean, according to the web site. Broadcasting hours are 0530-2200 local time (0930-0200 gmt) Monday- Friday, 0700-2200 local time (1100-0200 gmt) Saturday/Sunday. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 11 Sep 04 (via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. SODRE?? 9621.12, Extremely weak het here today at 0927 10 Sept. (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 10242, unID Middle Eastern music, no // found, 1927 UT 10 Sept 04 (Tim Bucknall, UK, harmonics yg via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Leonard Kahn vs. Tom Ray [= CAM-D vs IBOC] Really funny stuff, like eavesdropping on two religious fanatics arguing about whose god is better: http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=5788 (Harry Helms W5HLH, Wimberley, TX EM00, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: Date posted: 2004-09-09 Kahn Bashes WOR's IBOC; Ray Disputes Claims Leonard Kahn, who is working on an alternative to AM IBOC technology called Cam-D, says recent nighttime tests between WLW and WOR show that high-power stations would interfere with each other and wipe out some skywave reception if they went digital using HD Radio technology. In a reply to an opinion piece in Radio World by Buckley Corporate Director of Engineering Tom Ray, Kahn, also known to the industry for his earlier work on AM stereo, states, "WOR 50 kW 710 kHz is pushing the FCC to let it operate at night even though when WOR and WLW(AM), Ohio 50 kW 700 kHz ran their only test at night, they jammed each other 30 miles from their transmitters. They also interfered with innocent stations three channels above and below their channels." Ray disputes Kahn's claims as "pure crap." "On what criteria is Mr. Kahn basing his claims?" continued Ray. "During the WOR-WLW overnight tests, WOR had digital coverage to our 1/2mV contour - which, on the skirt of our secondary lobe towards Philly, reached 78 miles to Allentown, Pa., and 95 miles to Philadelphia. This is documented and witnessed by myself. Mr. Kahn was nowhere to be found during these tests. "What Mr. Kahn isn't telling people," Ray said, "is that, during those tests, the WLW skywave signal, with the WOR IBOC carriers off, was getting trashed by skywave interference. It was just as noisy if not noisier with the WOR IBOC carriers off." Cam-D, Ray says, does not answer consumer complaint about low audio quality and noise on the AM band, while IBOC does. Both opinion articles will appear in print in Radio World (via Helms, ibid.) I dunno about funny, but certainly bizarre. Kahn says that WOR and WLW "jammed each other 30 miles from their transmitters" when they ran IBOC. I'm sure he was referring to their analog signals being interfered with by the digital signal from the other station. But Ray responds with: "WOR had digital coverage to our 1/2mV contour". Huh? Who's talking about digital coverage? The issue is interference to analog. And he's wrong, anyway... the digital coverage didn't go anywhere near the 0.5 mV/m contours. It pooped out at an average field strength of 3.3 mV/m for WOR, and 3.7 mV/m for WLW. Given all the obfuscation and mistruths about IBOC flying around, the resemblance to a certain election campaign is uncanny! (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) And I see too that Tom Ray is continuing his loud and blind defense of IBOC, and continuing his very confrontational style. The man just has a way with words (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ FCC KIDS' ZONE You know, I used to feel bad that the FCC was nothing more than a bad marionette show dedicated to ramrod IBOC and BPL down our throats. Sometimes I would get a little agitated that the FCC could care less about me as a lowly consumer. Even once in a while, I would become frustrated as they abdicated their obligation to enforce the rules and regs. But things are all better now that I see that the FCC is focused on the important things. They (sniff) care about the children. Feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, (Russ Johnson, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: It's new, it's fun and it's educational. The FCC kids` zone is a safe place for children of all ages to learn fun facts about the telephone, satellites, fax machines, computers, television, radio and much, much more. Guided by our mascot ``Broadband`` you can learn about the FCC, find out how things work, check out rumors, find out what some tough words mean, and learn how things we use everyday were invented. In addition to all the above, the Web site contains lots of interactive games and puzzles, surveys, telecom factoids and much more. It provides a useful tool for children to learn about the FCC and let the FCC know what`s on their minds and the site will reflect their input. So come into the zone - http://www.fcc.gov/kidszone (FCC) Kewl !! Our tax dollars at work and funky music too !! (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) Gee boys and girls, this is what your tax dollars pay for! Let`s inculcate you into believing the FCC and government is out to help you. Boys and girls, this is Mike Powell, Jr. He's a wonderful guy and wants to make you spend thousands of dollars on new TVs and radios. Isn't it special that he can spend your money without asking you if he can? Just remember to say every day, "I Love My FCC. They want what's best for me." Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood.... (Kevin Redding, Mesa, Arizona, ibid.) It really is something special, isn't it? Somewhere, Fred Rogers is looking down and approving. Gosh, maybe "Uncle FCC" will even leave presents under the tree for the kids (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) Six million kids all writing to the FCC: "Mr. Powell, I really LIKE my Analog AM radio. Radio Disney sounds so, like, FUNKY on it" .... Disney should promote this. Look at all the money they would save by not having to upgrade to IBOCrap ... (oops, editorializing again, are we?) And with the quality of their music, who would notice the difference? Dream on .... (Bob Foxworth, Tampa, FL, ibid.) (probable ground zero for Ivan, 3 days and counting. No place to hide. No plywood, no generators. I-75 at a standstill here with Keys/SoFla evacuees. And that was just TODAY. Home Depot had 53-foot trucks coming in from the Carolinas with replacement exterior sheathing 4x8 sheets. Waiting lines 2+ hours. They are starting to take THIS one seriously here.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ASIAN MW ARCHAIR LEVEL IN SAN FRANCISCO From 0620 to 0645 PDT Sept 11 I found nice signals from both HLKZ-1566 South Korea and JOUB-774 Akita Japan. Especially South Korea. Their signal strength rose to arm chair levels at times (and this with my horrid neighborhood noise making machines all turned on full force). They had several women talking and laughing. Think it was a discussion program, probably in Japanese. Asian language at any rate. During this discussion I heard 'for those of you who don't understand English' popped into their conversation. Rather amusing. The Japanese on 774 was not quite as well received but in clearly, first with what seemed to be JJ classical music, then at 0630 PDT my favorite program --- Japanese/English lessons. They were using phrases describing political corruption and public cynicism about politics. Wonderful :-) Further checking found hets (but no audio) on 837-873- 882-891. This reception (thru ghastly high noise levels) indicates that this season has promise. At least for those of us who don't have neighbors with every electronic gadget known to man. Brings back waves of nostalgia for the good old days of 1976 & 1977. Days of very little man made noise. Watch out Pat Martin. I'll catch up with you yet... 73 (Don Kaskey, San Francisco CA, Drake R8A, Kiwa loop, IRCA via DXLD) This was on the Medium Wave Circle list. Possibly we should be looking for good high latitude conditions here in North America also.... This from Jan Alvestad's page today: - Propagation Long distance low and medium frequency (below 2 MHz) propagation along east-west paths over high and upper middle latitudes is good. Propagation along long distance north-south paths is very poor. Trans Atlantic propagation conditions are monitored every night on 1470 kHz. Dominant station tonight: WLAM Lewiston ME. Apart from a few stations from the Caribbean, a large number of North American stations dominated most of the other 10 kHz spaced frequencies in the MW band. WBBR 1130 had an impressive S9+20dB signal with several other stations topping S9. Greenland on 650 kHz had a strong signal as well. Propagation conditions could improve further during the next few days (via Nick Hall-Patch, BC, Sept 10, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) ###