DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-156, October 12, 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1249: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Thu 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily Thu 2000 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 4-hourly -1600 [maybe] Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Thu 2100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Fri 0200 on ACBRadio Mainstream repeated 2-hourly thru 2400 http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.html Fri 2300 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sat 0000 on SIUE Web Radio http://webradio.siue.edu Sat 0800 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Sat 0855 on WNQM Nashville 1300 Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070 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 0230 on WRMI 6870 Mon 0300 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1248] 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 repeated thru Wed Wed 0930 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1249 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1249h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1249.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1249 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1249.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1249.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1249.html [from Thu] WORLD OF RADIO 1249 in the true SW sound of 7415, probably UT Thu: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_10-13-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_10-13-04.mp3 ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Altho InterNews, Salaam Watandaar was expected to close its SW service as of Oct 15, a B-04 schedule is included in the huge VT listings via Alokesh Gupta [posted on the dxldyg, but I don`t know if or when I will get it all fixed up for DXLD], where I found this: 17720 1330 1500 smtwtfs NEW Rampisham 500 95 Persian ME 7230 0130 0300 smtwtfs NEW Dhabbaya 250 45 Persian ME At least the timings match the service currently on 15195 at 1330 from Samara, ex-Rampisham, 17700, and not, of course, in Persian but Dari and Pashto; maybe they are actually starting up a new service to Iran to replace the Afghan one?? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA: B04 tentative schedule of Radio Tirana from Oct 31, 2004, as of 10-Jul-2004. All SHI 100 kW (Shijak/ALBANIA: 41 N 19'53,5" - 19 E 33'8,6"). Address: ALBANIAN RTV, Radio Tirana, External Service, Rruga Ismail Qemali, Tirana, ALBANIA. Fax: +355-4-223650 / 226203. Email: dcico@icc.al.eu.org (Drita Cico). 1=Monday ... 7=Sunday. FREQ STRT STOP CIRAF Z AZI ANT DAYS FDATE TDATE LAN ADM BRC 6100 2130-2300 28 350 141 1234567 311004 260305 ALB ALB ALR 6115 0000-0130 8 300 216 1234567 311004 260305 ALB ALB ALR 6115 0245-0300 8 300 216 .234567 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 6115 0330-0400 8 300 216 .234567 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 6115 1945-2000 27 300 216 123456. 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 6115 2000-2030 27 300 216 123456. 311004 260305 FRE ALB ALR 6130 1830-1900 28 350 141 123456. 311004 260305 GER ALB ALR 6135 2215-2230 28 ND 925 123456. 311004 260305 SERB/CROA ALB ALR 7110 0730-1000 28 ND 925 1234567 311004 260305 ALB ALB ALR 7130 2230-2300 27 300 216 123456. 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 7160 0245-0300 8 310 146 .234567 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 7160 0330-0400 8 310 146 .234567 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 7185 1830-1900 28 350 141 123456. 311004 260305 GER ALB ALR 7210 1945-2000 27 310 146 123456. 311004 260305 ENG ALB ALR 7210 2000-2030 27 310 146 123456. 311004 260305 FRE ALB ALR 7240 1900-1930 28SW ND 925 123456. 311004 260305 ITA ALB ALR 7270 0000-0130 8 310 146 1234567 311004 260305 ALB ALB ALR 7295 2130-2300 28 350 141 1234567 311004 260305 ALB ALB ALR (Drita Cico, Albania, ARTV Head of Monitoring Center, BC-DX; July 13, 2004 via WWDXC via DXLD) July 13? That was awfully early (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. WORLD REGION NEWS: HCJB WORLD RADIO-AUSTRALIA TO LEASE LAND NEXT TO SHORTWAVE SITE Posted by: newsdesk on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 11:57 AM After seven years of praying and sorting through red tape, HCJB World Radio-Australia has received official permission to expand its international broadcasting facility in Kununurra, Western Australia, onto adjacent property. This will make it possible to better serve the millions across the Asia/Pacific region. "It's amazing how our great God does His business when He wants to bring things together," said HCJB World Radio-Australia Director David Maindonald. "This is truly another miracle of God. It's the major breakthrough that we've been waiting for the past seven years. Praise the Lord!" Maindonald says the staff and supporters across Australia and around the world had been "asking God to move the hearts of the authorities in Western Australia to allow for the lease of needed adjoining land for the major International Broadcast Facility. Tuesday, Oct. 6, was a day of rejoicing as we received word from the office of the Minister of Lands, advising us that the adjoining land can be released to us, and she has instructed her department to facilitate that documentation as soon as possible." HCJB World Radio-Australia also has planning approval in principle from local authorities to expand the facilities as well as clearance from about 19 other governmental departments and agencies to move ahead. As a result, Maindonald expects an "early conclusion of the [lease] documentation," paving the way for construction to begin later this year or after the March-April rainy season. "No further approvals are needed by the Australian federal government," he explains. "It's just the concluding of this [lease] documentation with Department of Planning Infrastructure, the Western Australian government and the granting of local Shire council construction permits and some native title issues." The idea to use the land dates back to July 1997 when David and Glenis Maindonald were on a deputational trip to Kununurra. Some donors offered to give a 200-acre farm to HCJB World Radio-Australia as a base for local ministry and the development of an international shortwave broadcast facility. The shortwave station went on the air in January 2003 and now broadcasts Christian programs from this site across the Asia/Pacific region in more than 11 languages. "With the station's strategic location adjacent to the Ord River system and the huge adjoining flat area, it became obvious that it would be desirable to have that flat land for the major international broadcast facility," Maindonald adds. This led to the first application for an international broadcasting license. "On Aug. 15, 1997, we also applied to the Department of Lands (now Department of Planning Infrastructure) in Western Australia for that adjoining land," he says. "They required us to work through 19 other government departments and agencies to seek their approval, prior to any land release. Parallel with that, the processes were continued in Canberra that ultimately resulted in the issuing of our four international broadcasting licenses." Maindonald says the government minister was reluctant to release the adjacent land until native title claims at Kununurra were settled and planning approval in principle given for the major international broadcasting facility. These claims were settled late 2003, and planning approval in principle was granted to HCJB World Radio- Australia on May 18, 2004. This cleared the way for further discussion regarding the requested adjoining land that is now available for the ministry to lease (HCJB World Radio Press release via DXLD) ** BELARUS. RICHARD READ (via Mike Barraclough) sends in this information sheet that he received from Radio Minsk, now re-organised as Radio Belarus: [this looks familiar and has probably been published here before, old stuff from their website --- gh] Radio Minsk is the only English language external service in Belarus. Structurally it comes as one of the departments at radio station Belarus - the oldest international radio broadcaster in the country [and the only one? --- gh] The idea that lay behind the establishment of radio station Belarus in 1962 was to provide the Belarussian diaspora abroad (mainly in the European region) with a link to their homeland. Originally the broadcasts went out only in the Belarussian language and focused on the politics, economy and culture of Belarus. At that time the radio station was an integral part of the Soviet Union unified external broadcasting system and the programs also had to convey Moscow's point of view on world affairs. The fact that the output was aimed at the Western listener affected the general nature and style of reporting. The senior management in Moscow realised that the productions would be more convincing and appealing if they were more or less comparable to international standards. Unlike all the other broadcasters catering for internal audiences in the country the staff of radio station Belarus was allowed greater liberty in its coverage and analysis of news. In 1985 when on the threshold of Perestroika an enthusiastic team of journalists working at radio station Belarus undertook an initiative to expand their audience and launch a new service in the German language, they had to get over innumerable bureaucratic barriers to obtain permission from the headquarters in Moscow. After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the whole country plunged into the maelstrom of independence, radio station Belarus gained an opportunity to add to its traditional focus an international perspective and thus increase the interaction between Belarus and the international community. However except for obvious advantages the independence also brought an array of new problems which have, to a great extent, been a drag on further development but which the radio station has been struggling to overcome. In January 1998 news programs started to go out in English and Russian. The English language service primarily deals with political and economic news from Belarus and CIS states, relations between Belarus and the world, analysis of current issues with an emphasis on the international aspect, culture and music (via Oct World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. re ``Even tho RVi only has one program going at a time, a total of eleven different transmitter sites are used during the day``: Probably even more, since ``Moscow`` are in fact three sites (Taldom, Lesnoy and Kurovskaya), or is it known that RVi will only use a certain one of them? Also interesting the 15230 from Sackville back to Europe (Kai, Ludwig, Germany, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. A Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, que emite desde Brasília (DF), está enfrentando problemas técnicos na faixa de 49 metros. Em 10 de outubro, por volta de 0200, o sinal estava sendo irradiado em 6185 kHz, durante a partida de futebol entre Brasil e Venezuela. No mesmo dia, no entanto, por volta de 1820, o sinal voltou para 6190 kHz. Lembrando que, inicialmente, a emissora irradiava em 6180 kHz (Noticias de Ondas Curtas de Célio Romais, via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11750, Radio Marumby, Florianópolis, SC, 1325-1400, Octubre 11, Portugués. Programa musical auspiciado por "Estudio RDE". El nombre del programa escuchado era: "Musical RDE". Anuncio: "Você está ouvindo Musical RDE". ID completa a 1400 UT: "Radio Marumby... 11750 kHz... Marumby", 44444. En // con 9665 donde llegaba con SINPO 44444 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) 11750 apparently a new frequency; WRTH 2004 does not have any Brasilian on 11750, nor Marumby on any other 25m channel (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC RADIO-CANADA FACING MORE LISTENER PROTESTS The transformation of the Cultural Channel of Radio-Canada into a musical channel has resulted in the creation of a new protest group. The "Mouvement pour une Radio Culturelle au Canada" (Movement for a Cultural Radio in Canada) says it intends to take the matter up with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Last spring Radio-Canada announced the disappearance of the Cultural Channel, which was replaced at at the beginning of September by Espace Music, a channel that presents a range of musical genres including French songs, jazz, classical music and "music of the world". For the moment, the Movement for a Cultural Radio in Canada has only one public spokesman, Jean Portugais, who is a professor at the University of Montreal, and has collaborated in the musical programmes of the Cultural Channel. "We have collected support from hundreds of people in various fields such as visual arts, dance, literature, and the cinema," says Portugais. "But we agreed that I would be the only public spokesman, and we will shortly organize a conference press to make public all our support." "We have nothing against the new musical channel," continues Portugais. "Rather, we are protesting about the disappearance of the Cultural Channel. We have lost the only French-speaking radio network entirely devoted to culture in Canada, whereas in English Canada CBC Radio 2 performs this role." Portugais points out that the decision of Radio-Canada was made without public discussion, relying just on focus groups "which is the method of the private company". The Cultural Channel was "public property", he says, and the movement intends to prove that, from a legal point of view, Radio-Canada respected neither its mandate nor its licence when taking the decision to axe the Cultural Channel. Sylvain Lafrance, Vice-President for Radio of Radio-Canada, declared in the spring that Radio-Canada had met the CRTC to inform it of the nature of the change. This new dispute is bad news for Radio-Canada, which is already reeling from criticism relating to Espace Music. Last week, Sylvain Lafrance met representatives from the fields of classical music after about fifty people from the medium complained, in a letter sent to the press, that Espace Music is "an indigestible and unbearable menu" and "an insult to the intelligence". (Source: Le Devoir.com) # posted by Andy @ 11:51 UT Oct 12 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CAYMAN ISLANDS. Radio Cayman now available on the Web (updated) The home page of Cayman Net News, based in the Cayman Islands which were severely affected by Hurricane Ivan, advises that the government station Radio Cayman is now available on the Web in Windows Media format. The announcement says "Xstream Technologies and Cayman Net News with Cable & Wireless Broadband presents Radio Cayman 89.9FM on the Web. Click here (requires Windows Media Player)." When we clicked on the link it produced the message "cannot find server." There's also an audio link on Radio Cayman's own Web site, which is now available again, but clicking on it takes you to the Home Page of Cable and Wireless. However, Mike Dean has found a working stream. He says "The 40 Kbps stream is currently up and running at mms://209.27.53.25/RadioCayman Radio Cayman Director Loxley Bank is featured on the front page of the current newspaper as "Caymanian of the Week." To view, click on Today's Newspaper in the left hand navigation bar. In another development, Weststar TV Ltd announced that Digital Cable TV and WestTel Internet Services are back up and running, and the company hopes that ten of its analogue channels will also be working within a few days. The Television building, situated just off Eastern Avenue in George Town was badly damaged during the hurricane, and the studio on the ground floor was destroyed by a deluge of water, but building and repair work has been steadily carried out and some of the building is now operable. The company says that for those fortunate enough to have electricity as well as their antenna and cable boxes up and working, then the customers will also be able to watch 60 digital channels, almost up to the regular service of 70 channels. The company is not charging for any television service during the months of October and November, whether analogue or digital. CEO Mr Rod Hansen is asking customers to "Be patient as we all cope during these trying times." The Broadcast side of the business is expected to be up and running within two weeks, and at that time, it is anticipated that customers will be able to watch local news in the mornings and evenings. (Source: Cayman Net News) Cable and Wireless Cayman Islands http://www.cwinternet.ky/ Radio Cayman http://www.gov.ky/servlet/page?_pageid=1792&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&_mode=3&orgcode=18 # posted by Andy @ 15:06 UT Oct 10 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. Re 1377 heard at Ilha Comprida, Brasil: Excellent catch! Is this is an antipode reception like your 1557 Taiwan catch? (Chuck Hutton, WA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Kind of, Chuck. It's difficult to tell exactly from where these megachineses transmit. Anyway the 1377 signal is supposed to originate from the Henan province, Central China, slightly closer than Taiwan. But.... Taiwan was heard again tonight! Marcelo and I are just back from the beach. We got the WYFR program on both 1557 and 1503 between 2030 and 2130 with superb signals. Interestingly the two channels are in English with a parallel until 2100, than 1503 switches to Chinese. Heard China on 1359 too and India on 1566. Africa and regular Middleasterners are poor instead. Great conditions! (Rocco Cotroneo, Brasil, ibid.) ** CUBA. Bandscanning at 1630 UT Oct 11, came across 15570 with R. Rebelde, la Emisora de la Revolución, announcing only 6140 and 9600 where it was inaudible, tho possibly on the air and below the local daytime noise level here. Par for the course, Cuban stations unable to announce their own frequencies correctly; 15570 was not very strong, and with a pronounced subaudible heterodyne from some other station a few Hz away. Introduced ``Hecho en Cuba`` program for next half hour, which I figured would be pretty lame about manufactured products, and tuned onward. Later came upon much better \\ signal on 11655 with --- nice Cuban music, that`s what`s made in Cuba in this case, and I have added it to my MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR as a presumably M-F program. The 11655 signal was big enough to be one of the major RHC transmitters, which are otherwise taking their daily siesta at this hour. No doubt these, like RHC, were missing for weeks following H. Charley, but don`t know when they came back. 1700 into Noticiero Nacional de Radio, reminding us it is the 45th year of the triumph of the Revolution. Can you imagine an American station constantly reminding us how many years it has been since our Revolution triumphed? Get on with it. No doubt the next Cuban government will start the count over (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Havana Cuba's Spanish program at 11 UT is heard with a fair reception on a clear frequency here in Copenhagen on 12000 kHz. Also heard in // at this time are: 11760 (side from Finland 11755 and BBC/English co-channel), 11800 and 15230 kHz (Erik Køie, Copenhagen. Oct. 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also NIGERIA ** CUBA [non]. Re the late Andrés Nazario Sargén: for more about La Voz de Alpha 66, see http://www.clandestineradio.com/intel/station.php?id=50&stn=367 Location 1999-2000: WRMI 1992-1998: WHRI 1980-1990: Broadcast without a license in Miami. Active 1992 - 2000 when Dr. Medina died 1983-1990? when busted again by the FCC 1983 when closed again by the FCC. March 1980 - June 1982 from mobile vans in Florida (Clandestineradio.com via DXLD) As I recall, when it was its own clandestine, it broadcast in the 7.0 MHz range (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see TURKS & CAICOS ** ECUADOR. WORLD REGION NEWS: HCJB WORLD RADIO PREPARES TO LAUNCH DIGITAL SHORTWAVE [on tropical band!] Posted by: newsdesk on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 11:24 AM The future of shortwave and AM radio has arrived. It's called Digital Radio Mondial (DRM), and HCJB World Radio is at the forefront of this new broadcast technology. Analog broadcasting in the AM and shortwave bands can sometimes be difficult to listen to because of fading, static and interference. DRM has the same listening range as analog shortwave and AM, but improves the listener experience by broadcasting in "near FM" quality audio and providing enhanced program options such as data services. HCJB World Radio is developing DRM technology for its broadcast transmitters as well as for transmitters manufactured by other broadcast companies. Engineers at the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., and in Quito, Ecuador, have been breaking new ground in the development of the digital transmission technology by designing and building the computers and transmitter equipment necessary for broadcasting digital signals. In 2000, together with the DRM consortium (an organization of broadcasters, network operators, equipment manufacturers and regulatory bodies), HCJB World Radio successfully conducted transmission tests from its transmitter site in Pifo, Ecuador. This summer missionary engineers in Pifo began installing equipment in anticipation of commencing digital shortwave broadcasting. HCJB World Radio is waiting for a frequency assignment from CONARTEL (the Ecuadorian agency that governs radio) to begin DRM broadcasting in the tropical shortwave band from Pifo. More than 60 radio stations worldwide are broadcasting in DRM, and HCJB World Radio hopes to begin limited digital broadcasting from its Pifo transmitter site in the near future, and will add full digital broadcasting from HCJB World Radio-Australia's shortwave facility in Kununurra at a later date. The ministry doesn't expect many digital shortwave listeners initially because of the high cost of the special DRM-capable receivers. But as the technology becomes more common, prices are expected to drop. By helping to push technology forward, HCJB World Radio is demonstrating its commitment to making sure that all the people of the world can hear the gospel in a language they can understand through radio -- whether via local FM, AM or shortwave (HCJB World Radio press release via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Quelle est l'audience réelle globale de RFI? Le rapport d'audit général de l'IGF (NDR : Inspection générale des Finances) fait état des problèmes de mesure que connaît en la matière "la radio mondiale", et n'avance aucun chiffre précis. "RFI n'a pas de vue d'ensemble de son audience", et "ne connaît que vaguement sa répartition", écrivent les inspecteurs. En outre, "les données que collecte RFI ne parviennent pas de manière assez transparente à ses tutelles". La dernière mesure de l'audience globale, effectuée par le Groupe d'études de démographie appliquée (Geda) est "ancienne" et a été menée "à partir d'extrapolations des sondages d'audiences menés de 1989 à 1993", indique le rapport. Cette estimation aboutissait à chiffrer "entre 23 et 25 millions d'auditeurs l'audience de RFI (hors RMC-MO, sa filiale pour le Moyen Orient). Le président de l'époque a décidé arbitrairement de relever à 30 millions l'audience qu'afficherait la radio à l'extérieur. L'ajout de 15 millions d'auditeurs pour RMC-MO a permis au groupe d'afficher 45 millions d'auditeurs. RFI a depuis communiqué sur ce chiffre sans aucun démenti à l'attention des tutelles", poursuit le rapport de l'IGF. RFI a toutefois établi ces dernières années "un état récapitulatif de ses études d'audience volumineux mais il est peu exploitable". Ce manque de données précises conduit les inspecteurs à évoquer dans leurs conclusions une fourchette d'audience particulièrement large, comprise entre 30 et 40 millions d'auditeurs. Un autre passage du rapport affirme que RFI "ne compte en France que quelques centaines de milliers d'auditeurs et environ 35 millions à l'étranger" (Satellifax - 04 octobre 2004, informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier/infos.htm via DXLD) This page has several other articles about RFI and its finances, effectiveness, etc. ** GERMANY. Re 4-155, weather on 6005: Sea weather forecast and navigational warnings for Baltic sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean up to Iceland and Greenland. See page 206 in WRTH 2004. Carried at 2305, 0440, 0905, and 1905 UTC. Maybe in winter one hour later. DLF Cologne via MW Neumunster 1269 kHz, SW Berlin Britz 6190 kHz. DLR Berlin via LW Oranienburg Zehlendorf 177 kHz, SW Berlin Britz 6005. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Oct 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, great fun it is for some guys who consider Thyyyborøøøn and all the other places where the wind is coming from Ooooost as a real cult. These are sea weather forecasts and navigational warnings, the phone number belongs to an answer machine where they are available anytime, and the whole thing is read out in the same style as by the operators of the now defunct Norddeich Radio maritime station. Times for these broadcasts are at present 2305, 0440 and 0905, during winter one UT hour later of course; they are carried on 177, 1269, 6005 and 6190, and they are performed by the Deutschlandfunk news announcer on duty. Technical-wise the news announcer`s mike is still routed through the very same console than the regular Deutschlandfunk programming but into a separate sum, fed to the above mentioned transmitters. I was told that it caused quite some surprise at the fair booth of a studio equipment manufacturer when a Deutschlandfunk sound engineer how the second program could be handled by this console. The present frequency selection for these broadcasts is the result of the circumstance that GDR radio had a similar radio, too. In the old days GDR radio brought sea weather forecasts on 177, a frequency known for a wide range in northern and northwestern directions where no 171 or 183 curtailed it. (By the way, there was once per month or so also a special show with greetings and musical dedications for seamen, between midnight and 3 or 4 AM on 177 and 6115.) On the western side Deutschlandfunk broadcast sea weather forecasts on 1269 and 1539. After 1990 the then Deutschlandsender Kultur started to rebroadcast the Deutschlandfunk weather forecasts; they were fed through a regular circuit to Berlin, recorded and at another time played in a studio dedicated for the 177 output. Just imagine that: a complete studio, never used for anything else than playing tapes a few times a day and otherwise having the fader with the feed from the other studio open and the door locked. Well, there were plenty of studios at Nalepastraße Block A since in the past a certain thing called RBI existed there, too. From 1994, when Deutschlandsender Kultur had been merged with RIAS and 177 got its feed from the latter one's radiohouse now (resulting in a noticeable change of the modulation characteristics, on 177 even more striking than on FM), the sea weather forecasts from Cologne were directly relayed, just through the main control room. Later they were put on 6005, too, and finally on 6190 as well. By the way, one will find Deutschlandradio Berlin also being // Deutschlandfunk during the news; its own news department at Berlin had been dissolved years ago. And if anybody ever wondered about the affected pause at the conclusion of the Deutschlandfunk news (``Soweit die Meldungen. ........ Die nächsten Nachrichten um`` -- certain announcers really overdo it), this is the explanation. And finally: The birds are chirping about a plan to shut down another German shortwave transmitter (not amongst the above mentioned ones) by the end of this year. I will try to find out if this rumour is true (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. WEB SITES WITH VOICE OF GREECE SCHEDULES --- where to look for on ERA 5 when the frequencies and programs change on October 31; that is, if Greece gets on the ball and updates them in time: All in Greek, some files currently corrupted, with daily, Saturday and Sunday programs in ``analytical`` and another format: http://www.ert.gr/radio/channel.asp?id=7 Presented in English: daily, Saturday, Sunday, and Foreign Language program schedules: http://www.ert.gr/radio/channel.asp?id=19 Frequency schedules in Greek: http://www.ert.gr/radio/frequencies.asp?id=7 Frequency schedules in English: http://www.ert.gr/radio/frequencies.asp?id=19 Program schedules in Greek, and English similar to first two entries, some files corrupted: http://www.voiceofgreece.gr/program.asp Frequency schedules in Greek: http://www.voiceofgreece.gr/frequencies.asp ERA5 Program to Europe, presented in French: http://www.amb-grece.fr/grece_en_france/era_5.htm Voice of Greece Schedule, when available: http://www.bclnews.it/b04schedules/grecia.htm (John Babbis, Silver Spring, MD, Oct 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. 1370, KUPA, Pearl City/Honolulu, 9/13: noted back on air relaying KHUI-FM 99.5`s Hawaiian AC oldies music, using slogan ``Ka Makani`` (the wind). Never mentioned AM during TOH IDs. Per local radio bulletin board, station was reactivated a few days ago, still under lease to Salem Radio. Was relaying KJPN-1170 until going silent six months ago; in the interim the callsign was changed three times! (Dale Park, Honolulu HI, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Oct 11 via DXLD) ** INDIA. Re poor audio on 15050: I noted this problem already several months ago. It also appears on other frequencies using the same feed at other times, but it is especially prominent on 15050. Apparently the problem is that with the increased number of transmitters now in operation at Khampur, the available number of broadcast quality lines is below requirements, so ordinary telephone lines have to be relied on to fill the gap. Since Khampur is located in the countryside quite some distance north of Delhi, parts of the telephone line system may date back to colonial times. Before the problem can be fixed, a government appropriation may be necessary, and if so it can take years and years before the necessary lakhs are made available and even more years before new equipment is in place (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Pirate Stations: ***MAIL DROPS*** ===================================================================== *Basel: Box 510, CH-4010 Basel, SWITZERLAND *Belfast: Box 1, Belfast, NY 14711 *BRS: Box 109, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214 *Elkhorn: Box 69, Elkhorn, NE 68022 *Eisenach: SRS Deutschland, --Station Name-- Postfach 101145, 99801 Eisenach, Deutschland (Germany) *Herten: PO Box 2702, 6049ZG Herten, The Netherlands *Hoogeveen: PO Box 663, 7900AR Hoogeveen, The Netherlands *Huntsville: Box 11522, Huntsville, AL 35814 *Merlin: Box 293, Merlin, Ontario NOP 1W0, CANADA *Neede: PO Box 73, NL-7160 AB, Neede, The Netherlands (Radio Spaceman) *Providence: Box 28413, Providence, RI 02908 *Santiago: Casilla 159, Santiago 14, CHILE *Ytterby: C/o SRS News, Ostra Porten 49, 442 54 Ytterby, SWEDEN --------------------------------------------------------------------- ***E-MAIL ADDRESSES FOR STATIONS*** ===================================================================== Alfa Lima International: info@alfalima.net Big Thunder Radio: bigthunderradio@hotmail.com Blind Faith Radio: blindfaithradio@yahoo.com (The) Border Radio: theborderradio@hushmail.com (?) Buckwheat Radio: buckwheatradio@hotmail.com (The) Crystal Ship Shortwave: tcsshortwave@yahoo.com Dr. Who: theedrwho@yahoo.com Friendship Radio: friendshipradio@hotmail.com Grasscutter Radio: grasscutterradio@yahoo.com Ground Zero Radio: gzrsw@yahoo.com Ironman Radio: ironmanradio@hotmail.com Jolly Roger Radio Int'l: JR_Radio@hotmail.com KIPM (Illuminati Prima Materia): kipm_outerlimits@hotmail.com KMUD: vlfradio@triax.com KRMI Radio Michigan Int'l: KRMI6955@hushmail.com (?) Laser Hot Hits: hothits@radiolink.net Radio Borderhunter: borderhunter@hotmail.com Radio Cochiguaz: radio_cochiguaz@yahoo.com Radio Omroep Zuid: roz@chello.nl or roz.am@chello.nl Ragnar Radio: ragnarradio@yahoo.com Seattle Free Radio: seattle4166@yahoo.com Shadow Radio (WSDW): the_shadow6950@hotmail.com Sunshine Radio: sunshineradios@hotmail.com United Patriot Militia BINGO: yahwehradio6925@yahoo.com Undercover Radio: undercoverradio@mail.com Voodoo Radio: vudu11@hotmail.com Voice of the Angry Bastard: pigmeat_voab@yahoo.com Voice of Capt. Ron: captainron6955@hotmail.com Voice of the New World Order: vonwoun@yahoo.com WBMR (Black Mountain Radio): wbmrradio@hotmail.com WEAK (Radio): weakradio69@yahoo.com (?) WHYP: whyp6925@yahoo.com WLIS (We Love Interval Signals): wlis@beer.com WMOE: wmoe6955@yahoo.com WPAT: brewmaster66@hotmail.com WPN (World Parody Network): wpn_sw@yahoo.com Z100: bigz100fm@yahoo.com (Additions/corrections to mail drop or e-mail addresses appreciated.) (Free Radio Weekly Oct 9 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. ...This duopoly of the old and the new was brought home with a fascinating visit on Saturday to the studios of the World Radio Network, known for short as WRN. The trip was arranged by Mike Terry, who I've mentioned before in this blog is a fellow member of the British DX Club a, one of our longest-serving in fact. Mike had been planning this trip for some time, but I have to admit I had not originally approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm of expectation. When you've worked in radio particularly, as I have, there can be something of a blasé attitude of "when you've seen one radio station, you've seen them all", after a while. Nothing could be further from the truth in WRN's case, however. We had an enthralling afternoon both learning about the background to the station and their exciting plans, as well as looking round the "business end" where a large bank of flashing lights and whirring gubbins worthy of the Tardis transported in radio programming from all over the globe. WRN is a unique organisation in that it takes in programmes from most of the world's major international broadcasters and then sends them flying out again through satellites and cables to landfall listener- side to the world's TVs, radios and PCs. It's an interesting and unique business proposition which nevertheless remains in the hands of three former BBC bods, but looks set to go from strength to strength as the means of digital delivery continue to grow and burgeon. I've known of WRN's existence for some time, of course (they started in 1992) and for a while used to listen to them through WorldSpace, a somewhat less well-organised satellite system which started with good intentions but has rather lost the plot recently. Following my visit to WRN yesterday, however, I intend to hook the WorldSpace receiver back up to its windowsill mini-dish, so that I can take full advantage of the excellent programming "bouquet" WRN offers. Even if I don't do that, there's always the option of catching up via the net and cordless speakers. Can you think of a more comforting way to end a dark and damp autumn night on a large island in the North Atlantic, by moving by the magic of technology to hear what's happening in the warm seas of the Pacific on a Spring day? That's how I concluded my Saturday night, falling asleep listening to Radio New Zealand in perfect quality, thanks to WRN. Excellent stuff. Having said all that, it takes a lot to stifle the pleasure of chance discovery which a short wave radio set with an old fashioned "analogue" tuner can bring. On my late night train journey back from London, my audio boat landed me on the far off shores of the People's Republic, with the enchanting sounds of China Roots on China Radio International. Find their website at http://www.cri.org For those that would like to know more about WRN, there should be a report on this visit in the next edition of Communication. This is of course sent on subscription to members. We always welcome new participants, whatever your level of interest in broadcast radio or however long you've been listening. Check out the BDXC website for more information. Also, look out for an article on WRN written by my good buddy Chris Brand in a forthcoming edition of RADIO ACTIVE, an excellent magazine available from all good newsagents (Mark Savage`s blog http://www.mas59.blogspot.com/ Oct 2 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. No bleeps on Dr. Demento on XM According to a posting in rec.music.demento by David Tannny http://davesfunstuff.com "If I Had the Copyright on the Word F*ck", by Carla Ulbrich http://Carlau.com was played on the most recent XM Best- of version of his program sans bleeps. He had Ms. Ulbrich as a guest on his over-the-air/'net program and I can assure you that when the same song was played, it was FULL of bleeps. But, beware. According to Don Imus, speaking about Howard Stern's move to Sirius, (FCC Chairman Michael) Powell "is preparing a space-based defense shield ... to employ laser-equipped anti-satellite satellites to shoot death rays at these Stern-carrying vehicles," quote from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/240917p-206627c.html (Joel Rubin, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. STATE COMPTROLLER'S REPORT / ARMY RADIO: BUDGET BUGABOOS AND TATTERED TAPES By Anat Balint, Last update - 00:54 11/10/2004 Israel Army Radio budget http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=486966 The archive at Army Radio contains approximately 70,000 hours of recordings, some of them of rare historical importance. But according to the State Comptroller's Report, a large portion of them are in danger of disintegration due to poor handling, unsuitable storage conditions and the fact that they are analog tapings that not have been transferred into a digital format. In 2002 the cost of preserving the Army Radio archive was estimated at NIS 14 million. A request for budgeting was relayed to the head of the general army headquarters, but so far no approval has been granted for the project. Radio and archive workers say there are historical recordings on deteriorating tape, and note that some irreplaceable recordings have been lost. One worker told Haaretz how he began playing a recording of a performance of Shalom Hanoch from 1977 and watched the film disintegrate while it was being shown. The main section of the State Comptroller's Report on Army Radio, however, deals with the handling of the station's budget, advertising deals and personnel management. Faults were found in all these areas, indicating the problematic status of the station, which belongs to the Israel Defense Forces, but whose nature, as a media body, is contrary to the military spirit. The IDF and the Defense Ministry, it seems, are avoiding formulating a policy or taking any decision that would settle the contradiction between the station's ownership and its character. The comptroller's report notes that faulty management of the station's budget prevents any tracking of its various sources of income - whether from the army or from sponsorship agreements and public service broadcasts. Thus, for example, Galgalatz, the Army Radio music channel, has a barter agreement with Pelephone that does not appear in the budget. Other barter agreements worth millions of shekels annually are similarly absent from the budget. The services that Army Radio receives from other branches of the IDF are also not included in the budget, which is submitted for the approval of the chief education officer. At the end of this section of his report, the comptroller recommends turning Army Radio into a closed budget system that will sell radio services to the IDF and will purchase services from it. A whole chapter of the report concerns the nature of the business relationships between Army Radio and its commercial sponsors, which are conducted without proper legal and economic examination. The comptroller writes that Army Radio's financial and marketing staff work without the appropriate training for their jobs. An investigation into the income from the deal with Pelephone, for example, found that Army Radio does not benefit as it should have from the company's commercials: Pelephone provides the station with services worth NIS 2 million - an airplane that flies over the Dan Region every day, plus 110 cellular telephones for the station's workers. But the company, for its part, receives advertising estimated by the station's economic department to be worth between NIS 5.5 million and NIS 16.3 million. The comptroller feels that the discrepancy between these figures indicates the deal was done without accurate and verified data, and that Pelephone has received advertising whose value far exceeded the services it provided. Advertising via the awarding of prizes is another area that is unregulated at Army Radio. "It was found that station workers, including program producers, among them soldiers doing their compulsory service, conducted negotiations with commercial companies, entered relationships with them for the receipt of the prizes, and also signed agreements with them in this matter without proper authorization," states the report. "Covert competition has been created between the producers of the various programs as to who can obtain the `most valuable' prizes." In two cases the comptroller found that in addition to the prizes for listeners, the advertising company wanted to send other perks, such as tickets to a show or T-shirts, to be distributed among the station's workers. Here, too, as in the case of the sponsorship agreements, it was found that Army Radio staff regularly granted the prize donors rates that were significantly lower than those set by the station in May 2002 (according to which each mention of a company's name is worth a prize that costs NIS 1,150). "The character of Army Radio's unique activities in the framework of the army requires the formulation of an appropriate normative foundation," concluded the comptroller's report. This, he writes, means the IDF and the Defense Ministry should be much more involved in what goes on at the station, and that "over the years they have not worked toward the establishment of minimally appropriate [administrative] infrastructure for the station's operation." (via Doni Rosenzweig, DXLD) ** MEXICO. R. Educación was again dominating 6185 around 0530 UT Oct 11 with some weird classical music with sound effects, which I think I heard around the same time of night on XEPPM some months ago. No Brasil co-channel, tho the latter may be more active on weekends (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Wavescan program #511 -- 43/1 10/17/2004 Main Script for Wavescan, Edition number 511 for airing on Sunday 10/17/2004. http://english.awr.org/wavescan/scripts/ws511.htm Let`s start in with our Wavescan topic for this week. Radio Broadcasting in Mexico. The earliest origins in the story of wireless and radio in Mexico go back a long way, exactly one hundred years in fact. According to the recent book on the story of shortwave broadcasting in Mexico, which was published in Spanish by Pepe Gonzales, the government communication department was ordered to import wireless equipment from the Marconi company in England. The type of equipment that was ordered in 1904 is described as the ``Slaby Spark``, a type that was developed in Germany. Subsequently, Mexico took progressive delivery of wireless equipment from England, sufficient for as many as 23 communication stations throughout Mexico. The final delivery of all of this equipment occurred in the year 1911. The earliest known experiments in Mexico, using primitive wireless equipment, took place in the regional city, Monterrey in the year 1908, just 13 years after Marconi began his earliest experiments in Italy. These experiments were conducted by Sr Constantino de Tamava, apparently using items of equipment that he himself constructed. Subsequently, another experimenter, Sr Bonilla, built a small transmitter in Chapultepec, as well as a cluster of small stations in the Fresnillo area. According to the radio historians, the first radio broadcast in Mexico took place in Mexico City on September 27, 1921, when Dr. A. G. Hernández commenced a series of regular program broadcasts. Soon afterwards, the aforementioned Tamava also began a series of radio broadcasts at night from his same location in Monterrey. The Monterrey station was on the air under the unusual callsign, ``24A``. Regular radio broadcasting in Mexico commenced in 1923 when three stations were launched in Mexico City. These stations identified on air with the callsigns, JH, CYB & CYL. In 1929, international regulations required that all radio stations in Mexico should change their callsigns to an X prefix, and thus CYB was re-designated as XEB, the oldest radio station in their country. Experimental broadcasting on shortwave commenced in 1922 when a 50 watt transmitter was installed in the Esto Theatre in Mexico City. Programming for these transmissions on 120 metres were live broadcasts presented from the regular performances on the stage in the theater. A regular shortwave service was commenced in the year 1928 when station XC51 was inaugurated in Mexico City. This station was noted in subsequent years carrying at times the programming from the well known mediumwave station XEW. Over the years, Mexico has been noted for the fact that a multitude of shortwave stations were available to the shortwave listener. In the mid 1930s for example, 20 different shortwave stations were on the air, most of which took a relay from the mediumwave parent station. In fact right through into the late 1990s, there were still more than 20 shortwave stations on the air throughout Mexico, though not all of them were active throughout the year. In the late 1990s, the number of shortwave stations in Mexico began to diminish rapidly, until today, just eight are listed in the current edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. Even so, only three or four of these stations are considered to be active at the present time. It was in 1989 that Radio Mexico International was launched under the callsign XERMX, using equipment provided by East Germany. This station was the only truly international broadcaster on shortwave in Mexico, and it too went silent just a few months back. Our QSL collection contains close on 200 QSL cards and letters from radio stations in Mexico, confirming broadcasts on both mediumwave and shortwave. Maybe you should obtain your QSLs from the remaining shortwave stations in Mexico while they are still on the air. In a recent news item, it is stated that Mexico has adopted the DRM standard for radio broadcasting, so perhaps this development will bring a revival of interest in international radio broadcasting also in this rapidly developing country, just ``South of the Border``, as they say. Radio Broadcasting in Mexico References see http://english.awr.org/wavescan/scripts/ws511.htm (via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** MYANMAR. Re: Burma: Government radio available live on the Internet ``The web site of the broadcaster'sinternational television service, MRTV-3, at http://www.mrtv3.net.my`` Aha! Wrong web site address: really http://www.mrtv3.net.mm and the stream is http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/MR.asx (Kevin Kelly, MA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Here is a completed version of the new schedule of Voice of Nigeria as broadcast from October 7th onwards: *0500-0700* 15120 English to Europe *0700-0800* 15120 French to Europe and North Africa *0800- 7255 Hausa, possibly followed by other West African languages *1000-1305* 15120 English to Europe ?1400-1500* 15120 English to ??? *1500-1530* 11770 Arabic *1600-1630* 9690 Kiswahili? *1700-2100* 7255 English *2100-2200* 15120 French to Europe (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Oct 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It looks like this is from your monitoring, rather than some VON source, right? It also looks like they have only one usable transmitter. BTW, Oct 11 around 2040 I noticed RHC on 15120 in Arabic, the speaker intoning almost like a Christian preacher, but he was talking about Habana, Cuba, not to be taken for Nigeria or anything more exotic. Missing from EiBi, the Arabic broadcast is scheduled at 2030-2100, and RHC`s other usage of 15120, per website is 2000-2030 Portuguese to Eu, 2100-2300 Spanish to Rome (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 4960, CRN, 10 Oct. 1024-1146, English program from Vatican R. to 1029 with news by W host, ending with IS once. M with very short program intro, music bridge, and program "?? Gospel" with M and W hosts. Came back at 1117 and heard programm on Peter`s relationship with the Holy Family, but mostly about Saint Stanislaus. Program ended at 1140 with outro by M: "Hope you join us again next week at this time for 'Super Saints", (yes, that's what it was!!). Played "When the Saints Go [sic] Marching In". Then next program "?? with Donna" at 1144. Presumably Donna then with talk show. Tuned out as it appeared this was going to be a long program. I checked out the Web site and it confirms Vatican R. relay, but for the other programs later, it lists only "open line and talk". One of the best signals heard from this so far. If they would only verify (Dave Valko, NRD- 535D, Beverage of 300' at 310 degrees, Reclaimed stripmine near Dunlo PA, Solar Flux = 88, A Index = 8, and K Index = 1. No storms. WX: Clear, starry, and cool. 40 degrees (5 C), Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. I had bombastic reception for a few minutes this (Oct 11) morning from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on 279 kHz, with a huge carrier and weak audio (probably peaking no more than 75%), approximately 1243- 1255 UT --- faded into the muck just in time for the top-of-hour ID, if any. Also, I recall Mayak IDing with a bells version of the first ten notes of "Midnight In Moscow", from the late 1960s, till the end of the Bolshevik regime. Perhaps that's the tune you were thinking of? 73z (GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, but there was no doubt about that one (gh, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. B04, FYI, English, French, and Spanish only. via Andreas Volk, ADDX. 73 wb [i.e. omitting Slovak, German, Russian as in key below] Slovak radio -- Odbor rozhlasových technológií SRo Frekvencný a casový harmonogram vysielania SRo do zahranicia ZIMA 2004-2005 (31.10.2004 - 27.03.2005) UTC Jazyk Oblast Frekv. Azi. Vln.dl?ka KHz stupne 0100-0130 A Severná Amerika 7230 305 A Ju?ná Amerika 9440 245 0200-0230 F Severná Amerika 7230 305 F Ju?ná Amerika 9440 245 0230-0300 Sp Ju?ná Amerika 7230 265 Sp Ju?ná Amerika 9440 245 0700-0730 A Austrália 15460 085 A Austrália 13715 075 1530-1600 Sp Západná Európa 9445 265 Sp Západná Európa 11600 245 1730-1800 A Západná Európa 5915 275 A 6055 285 1800-1830 F Západná Európa 5915 275 F 6055 285 1930-2000 A Západná Európa 5915 275 A 7345 285 2030-2100 F Západná Európa 5915 275 F 7345 275 2100-2130 Sp Ju?ná a stredná Amerika 9460 245 Sp Ju?ná a stredná Amerika 11610 245 Jazyk: A - anglicky N - nemecky (German) Sv- slovensky R - rusky F - francúzsky Sp- Spanielsky (Slovak radio, Edita Chocholatá, Bratislava, 8.10.2004; via ADDX Andreas Volk, via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ? = probably hook-Z Yet another European broadcasting to the Americas inside our 40m hamband! What is going on here?! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. RADIO TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES NEW LOGO Radio Taiwan International (RTI) has launched a new logo that it says "provides a strong visual endorsement that enhances its stature as one of the world’s leaders in the industry. The design's clean lines depict a corporation that is technologically advanced, international and excellence-oriented." [illustrated] According to RTI, red and gray were chosen to create a new palette to distinguish from RTI’s previous colour scheme. Using the colours red and gray reinforces closeness, warmth and dynamism. RTI says the brilliant red colour is unique in the industry, and it evokes the emotional appeal of human communication enabled by technology. The identity is a simple and symbolic configuration comprising three gradient curve lines, representing a continuous cycle of discovery, creativity and knowledge, which stems from latitude, longitude and altitude coordinates to pinpoint a location. The curves indicate RTI's global scope, and the gray color suggests stability and trust. Additional graphic devices will be used on all applications to express movement and innovative thinking. # posted by Andy @ 18:06 UT Oct 12 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** TURKS & CAICOS. BBG TO INSTALL 50 KW MEDIUMWAVE TRANSMITTER IN TURKS AND CAICOS The US Broadcasting Board of Governors is soliciting bids to supply a mediumwave transmitter for installation in the Turk and Caicos Islands. The solicitation is for a "50 kW all solid-state MW transmitter with adjustable RF power output capable of being installed and operated in an existing facility on the Turks and Caicos Island; the transmitter shall be a stand-alone device requiring only primary mains power, a conditioned operating environment, and a RF output load; the carrier frequency shall be 1570 kiloHertz." Turks and Caicos, a British territory, is situated roughly 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Cuba. Full text of solicitation at http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2004/10-October/10-Oct-2004/FBO-00691699.htm # posted by Andy @ 07:56 UT Oct 11 (Media Network blog via DXLD) Existing facility? (Brandon Jordan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably at the 1020 station, where several R. Martí tests have been carried out; I seem to recall the old Atlantic Beacon 1570 was dismantled, but if any of that remains, perhaps could still be used (Glenn Hauser, to Brandon, via DXLD) Ahhh ... memories of the Atlantic Beacon on 1570 (Mark Hattam, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Indeed; but did BBG take into consideration the revived XERF now at 100 kW, and possibly upping to its original 250? That could be a bit of a problem in Cuba, when all is dark. These plans sort of explain the occasional tests from T&C on 1020, presumably the existing site referred to (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International B04 tentative schedule (31 October 2004 - 27 March 2005). Time UTC kHz Tx Site Azimuth Target Area 0000-0500 7440 Mykolaiv 314 N. America 0100-0600 7420 Kharkiv 055 Russia (Tyumen) 0600-0900 7490 Kharkiv 262 W. Europe 0900-1400 15620 Kharkiv 277 W. Europe 1400-1800 7400 Kharkiv 055 Russia (Tyumen) 1800-2200 7555 Kharkiv 290 W. Europe 2200-0100 5840 Kharkiv 290 W. Europe Transmission schedules in various languages are as follows: GERMAN (one hour long): at 1800 & 2100 on 7555 kHz; at 0000 on 5840. ENGLISH (one hour long): at 2200 on 5840 kHz; at 0100 & 0400 on 7440 kHz; at 1200 on 15620 kHz. UKRAINIAN programmes are transmitted on all frequencies and at all times except for the time reserved for German and English programmes, as shown above. ROMANIAN (half an hour long): at 1800, 2030, 2200 on 657 kHz MW Chernivtsi, 25 kW. Attention! This schedule is subject to changes. E-MAIL: vsru @ nrcu.gov.ua Web-Site: http://www.nrcu.gov.ua (Alexander Yegorov, Kyiv, Ukraine via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, DXLD) R. Ukraine International Schedule: 31 Oct 2004 to 27 March 2005 English 0100-0200 NAM 5840 0400-0500 NAM 5840 1200-1300 wEU 15620 2200-2300 wEU 5840 German 0000-0100 wEU 5840 1800-1900 wEU 7555 2100-2200 wEU 7555 Romanian 1800-1830 eEU 657 2030-2100 eEU 657 2200-2230 eEU 657 Ukrainian 0000-0100 NAM 7440 0100-0600 Rus 7420 0200-0400 NAM 7440 0600-0900 wEU 7490 0900-1200 wEU 15620 1300-1400 wEU 15620 1400-1800 Rus 7400 1900-2100 wEU 7555 2300-2400 wEU 5840 (Alexander Yegorov, via Alokesh Gupta in hcdx and dxldyg mail lists via Alan Roe, WDXC via DXLD) ** U S S R. Re. ``Unfortunately, Mark overlooks the other (what I consider original), R. Moscow interval signal as discussed a few weeks ago in a thread here. which preceded `Moscow Nights``. Perhaps it was before his time. As I recall, a version of Moscow Nights was used on the Mayak domestic service`` --- Yes, the first ten notes. And perhaps it should be pointed out clearly that Moscow Nights was used on ``Radio Noscow Worldservice``, the 24/7 program in English, only. On the other hand the original interval signal was also in use at the domestic Radio-1. Here is a recording from Christmas 1997, made off a transmission from the now closed Noginsk site where an ancient 120 kW transmitter was in use (sorry, I did not note down the frequency, but it was somewhere around 7.5 MHz): http://www.radioeins.de/_/meta/sendungen/apparat/030405_a5.ram (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. THE 'WORLD'S BEST RADIO STATION' THAT YOU'VE NEVER HEARD http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=570887 Resonance only has a three-mile range [moderator: more like 15 miles on a good radio], but it's a big hit on the internet. Mira Katbamna reports 11 October 2004 Ringing the doorbell at 9 Denmark Street, a few metres from Tottenham Court Road in London, is tantamount to asking to enter a parallel universe. You walk away from the sound of the traffic into a short corridor, before climbing a steep set of stairs into the tiny studio of Resonance FM, described by New York City's The Village Voice as "the best radio station in the world". In the studio, Lukax Santana, a refugee from Pinochet's Chile, is unpacking his bags, bringing out pan pipes, pots, a wooden box, a whistle, a flying saucer that starts whirring manically as it lands on the floor, and what he describes as "found objects" - a kitchen whisk, a few square sound boxes (one sporadically emitting the "Whoo-ohwooh!" of a steam train and the other mooing gently to itself). Chris Weaver, Resonance's engineer, sets up the whisk for sound without batting an eyelid. I, on the other hand, am panicking, because Lukax is here for my programme, London Diaspora Live, we're on air in two minutes, and I have no idea what he is going to do with all these objects. Resonance listeners are used to this sort of ad-hoc arrangement. Broadcasting from a transmitter on top of Guy's Hospital, Resonance can be heard in central London, and worldwide on the web. The station estimates it has an audience of around 50,000 and growing fast. People tune in for shows like Xollob Park, hosted by Reverso Mondo, where everything, including the DJ patter, runs backwards, and Headroom, a show devoted to "unexplained phenomena and exo-politics". The station manager, Knut Aufermann, says Resonance is about more than just "being weird. It's about providing a space for great stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else," he says. "We fulfil a really important function for ... struggling artists, homeless people, teenagers, our engineers or presenters - and we have regular Congolese, Albanian, Iranian and Serbian shows." The station has won an extension to its licence to June 2005, and is applying for a further five years. Listening to Resonance sometimes feels as if Radio 4 went out, took too many drugs, partied all night, and then settled down to make Women's Hour. Last week's Diggers, a weekly afternoon programme, is a case in point. Presented by a visual artist, Sharon Gal, and a writer, Edwin Pouncy, their guest was Cathy Lomax, a gallery owner and artist. As well as talking about Lomax's exhibition "Girl on Girl" and how she selects artists for her gallery (very Radio 4), they also talked about her obsession with 1960s Sindy dolls and the new "girly" sensibility in art (very Radio 4 on speed). Gal has been involved with Resonance from the beginning, and has seen the station move from a one-month only experiment on the South Bank as part of John Peel's Meltdown Festival, to its current incarnation as a fully fledged Access, and now Community, radio station in its third year. "It's amazing to me that we have come this far without losing how democratic and free Resonance enables you to be," she says. Anyone can approach Resonance with a proposal for a programme idea (see their website for how to go about it). Aufermann estimates that around 3,000 people have passed through the studio, often as creators of a Clear Spot - an hour and a half every day devoted to musicians, artists, thinkers, critics, activists and instigators doing their thing. "We do turn down people who just want to play their favourite tunes or do something that would be better on a mainstream station but the Clear Spot is a good way of testing something out," he says. So what's it like presenting on Resonance? Is it as chaotic as the listings suggest? Well, once Lukax has unpacked his instruments and objects, Chris waves from behind the mixing desk to indicate we're on air. A brief chat about his background - Santana is an experimental musician, exiled from Chile in 1975 as a result of Pinochet's coup - and he is off, creating an aural journey so moving that I forget it is a tin whistle and a whisk that is bringing tears to my eyes. More talking, more music, and our hour is up. We rush down the stairs to give the next set of artists time to settle down before they too are sharing their thoughts and sounds with London. Like most London Diaspora Live programmes, the hour has been a bit like being a fly on Santana's living room wall. As well as hearing his music, I've got to hear about his life, being part of the student protests in Chile and then being jailed for it, working in London and what inspires him. It's really just the musician and me, and in theory, it should be terrible - but somehow it works. Sharon Gal thinks this is what makes Resonance so special. "There are points when you are listening and you just groan, but if there is too much control then everything ends up sounding samey, and there are already plenty of commercial stations that can do that. It's the unexpected that is the best thing." Aufermann agrees. "Someone brought in a window in a wooden frame to play the other day, but what made me laugh was that the engineers behaved like it was a completely normal thing. I think it's great that an acoustic guitar is treated with as much respect as a window, or pot or a computer" he says, before adding as an afterthought, "She brought in utensils and scrapers so it wasn't just solo window." Resonance in London is at 104.4 FM http://www.resonancefm.com 'London Diaspora Live', Thursday 6 pm (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** UNITED NATIONS [non]. UN Radio B-04 7170 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 100 76 Non-Specific S AF 9565 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 180 Non-Specific N AF 21535 1700 1715 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 500 342 Non-Specific S C AF 7170 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Meyerton 100 5 Non-Specific E AF 9565 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 110 Non-Specific ME 17810 1730 1745 .mtwtf. UNR Ascension 250 65 Non-Specific W C AF 7265 1830 1845 .mtwtf. UNR Rampisham 500 140 Non-Specific ME 9810 1830 1845 .mtwtf. UNR Skelton 300 110 Non-Specific ME (from overall schedule via Abby Spence, VT, via Alokesh Gupta, excerpted and rearranged into time order by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Languages may be ``non-specific`` but the English segment has always been at 1730-1745, others French and Arabic. One continues to wonder why UN Radio restricts its SW output to this tiny service. The complete(?) huge VT B-04 schedule, unfortunately not organized for convenient reference, has been posted at the dxlg yahoogroup (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Voice of America used to emanate from Dixon --- History and reminiscences of the old VOA shortwave site. http://www.dailyrepublic.com/articles/2004/10/11/news/news1.txt (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) Nice story, except I don`t think Dixon alone ever used 44 languages, since it was not used for Europe, Mideast or Africa (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Re Media bytes tuesday rocktober 5 2004 Starlight Express ``They might have mentioned this page too: http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave/ (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` /sarcasm on And then perhaps they could mention why the QSL@mediacen.navy.mil address *still* posted at http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave/ page has been been bouncing for the past year or two? And then perhaps why the AFRTS 'Contact Us' page that leads you to http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/faqolator/remote.asp is still broken for the same amount of time. And finally, is it just that they don't want to hear from non-military folks or do they just need a competent webmaster. Y'now, one that, at the minimum, can respond to email queries regarding these questions. Your message To: QSL@mediacen.navy.mil Subject: test Sent: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 17:41:52 -0400 did not reach the following recipient(s): QSL@mediacen.navy.mil on Mon, 11 Oct 2004 17:41:59 -0400 The recipient name is not recognized The MTS-ID of the original message is: c=us;a= ;p=navy;l=ALICE041011214143X13TH8 MSEXCH:IMS:Navy:NMC:ALICE 0 (000C05A6) Unknown Recipient /sarcasm off Does anyone know of a current, unbouncing, valid email for AFRTS/AFN reception reports? 73, (Brandon Jordan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surprised you are surprised; as a former military member, I am rather familiar with the attitude, ``good enough for government work``. We are fortunate there are not more ``friendly fire`` incidents than have happened already (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Ideas, on CBC Radio One: ========== Tuesday, October 12, SPIN TILL YOU WIN, Part One [CD available] An army of ``perception warriors`` works around the clock to portray American foreign policy in the Arab world. It runs radio and TV stations in Arabic; its goal is ``truth maintenance.`` The context is the GWOT — the Global War on Terror. Mary O'Connell looks at how the United States fights the battle for hearts and minds in the Middle East. Part Two continues on October 19. ========== The program is repeated via satellite on RCI. 73s, (Ricky Leong, Montreal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3185, WWRB (presumed) NF with poor reception and program in English. In addition to this channel I can hear 5050, 5085, and 5745. I cannot hear 6890 at this time, but that is a harder channel to hear in WY. So, I cannot tell if they have four or five transmitters on at this time. 0108 Oct 12 (Hans Johnson, Cody, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) No need to presume. It was reported in DXLD that WWRB would activate 3185 tonight, and it is // 5085. 5745 is // 5050, but the modulation sounds different. Nothing on 6890. I could not hear any trace of 3185 until I turned off computer at 0130, another drawback to using such a low frequency. It was also noticeably weaker than WWCR 3210. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, ibid.) Same heard in Memphis, TN area. 3185, 5050, 5085, 5745 blasting in. Only noise heard on 6890 (Jim Evans, TN, Oct 12, ibid.) ** U S A. WWCR has changed their 5770 kHz frequency down to 5765 kHz. (Barry, Radiowave Man, Oct 5, Monitoring Times BB via DXLD) From 31 October, your Spanish program will be on 9985; note that 9985 is taking the place of 9475 effective this season (Adam Lock, WWCR, Oct 6, to gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This refers to the 2200-2300 UT hour, when Mundo Radial as time- shifted will presumably remain: Fri 2215, Tue 2230, Wed 2200; 9475 will no longer be used at all, per the B-04 schedule below, but 9985 will be used depending on the time, by three of the four transmitters, put another way for the first month: 1000-1100 WWCR-1 1300-1600 WWCR-3 1600-2200 WWCR-4 2200-2400 WWCR-1 WWCR Winter (B-04) Final Schedule Transmitter #1 - 100 KW - 46 Degrees FREQ TIME (CST) TIME (UTC) DATES 9.985 4:00AM-5:00AM 1000-1100 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 15.825 5:00AM-4:00PM 1100-2200 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 9.985 4:00PM-6:00PM 2200-0000 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 3.210 6:00PM-4:00AM 0000-1000 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 9.985 4:00AM-5:00AM 1000-1100 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 15.825 5:00AM-3:00PM 1100-2100 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 9.985 3:00PM-5:00PM 2100-2300 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 3.210 5:00PM-4:00AM 2300-1000 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 9.985 4:00AM-5:00AM 1000-1100 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 15.825 5:00AM-4:00PM 1100-2200 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 9.985 4:00PM-6:00PM 2200-0000 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 3.210 6:00PM-4:00AM 0000-1000 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 Transmitter #2 - 100 KW - 85 Degrees FREQ TIME (CST) TIME (UTC) DATES 13.845 7:00AM-7:00PM 1300-0100 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 5.935 7:00PM-7:00AM 0100-1300 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 13.845 8:00AM-6:00PM 1400-0000 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 5.935 6:00PM-8:00AM 0000-1400 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 13.845 7:00AM-7:00PM 1300-0100 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 5.935 7:00PM-7:00AM 0100-1300 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 Transmitter #3 - 100 KW - 40 Degrees FREQ TIME (CST) TIME (UTC) DATES 9.985 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 12.160 10:00AM-5:00PM 1600-2300 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 5.070 5:00PM-7:00AM 2300-1300 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 9.985 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 12.160 10:00AM-4:00PM 1600-2200 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 5.070 4:00PM-7:00AM 2200-1300 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 9.985 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 12.160 10:00AM-5:00PM 1600-2300 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 5.070 5:00PM-7:00AM 2300-1300 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 Transmitter #4 - 100 KW - 90 Degrees FREQ TIME (CST) TIME (UTC) DATES 9.985 10:00AM-4:00PM 1600-2200 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 7.465 4:00PM-10:00PM 2200-0400 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 5.770 10:00PM-7:00AM 0400-1300 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 7.465 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 31 Oct 04-30 Nov 04 9.985 10:00AM-4:00PM 1600-2200 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 7.465 4:00PM-9:00PM 2200-0300 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 5.770 9:00PM-7:00AM 0300-1300 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 7.465 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 01 Dec 04-28 Feb 05 9.985 10:00AM-4:00PM 1600-2200 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 7.465 4:00PM-10:00PM 2200-0400 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 5.770 10:00PM-7:00AM 0400-1300 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 7.465 7:00AM-10:00AM 1300-1600 01 Mar 05-02 Apr 05 Last revision 10 October 2004 Webmaster © 1996-2004 F.W. Robbert Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via DXLD) ** U S A. I think the Lubavitcher station [1710] was calculated at 60 watts. The problem that I heard from a source in NY was that when they tried to get close enough to meter the station, the locals ran them off. I don't see this station going anywhere, unless we have another Waco in the heart of Brooklyn (Fred Vobbe, OH, Oct 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re `NRC` 1710: I think the point about micro-power getting out was already verified when I was DXing broadcast band harmonics between 1.7 and 2.9 MHz, some years ago. Some of those harmonics were making a 1200 mile trip, when the actual transmitted power in the harmonic frequency couldn't have been more than a couple of watts -- and the station engineer reported he wasn't hearing a thing on the frequency, a mile away from the tower! [earlier:] This "beverage antenna" gambit reminds me of the days when I used to DX broadcast band harmonics between 1700 and 2900 kHz, generally at dawn, when "grey line" propagation was active. I'd send confirmation letters to the astonished chief engineers of the stations, mostly in the south and midwest. A typical response was, "Hey, I went and checked out that frequency, and I can't hear a thing from us just a mile from the transmitting towers! But your program information is absolutely correct, so I tend to believe you." Indeed, radio propagation is still one of the great unplumbed mysteries in geophysics! 73, (Dave, KB1F, Beauvais, MA, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I did this too, and would still if local noise level and need for sleep permitted, but my policy is NOT to report such harmonics to the stations, since if they did believe me, they might take action to eliminate the harmonics, totally counterproductive (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dear KCRW Listener, We wanted to send a short note about upcoming specials here at KCRW. Tomorrow tune into to Final Curtain, the obituary show on radio. Interesting people die every day -- some we've heard of, some we haven't. Final Curtain, a monthly half-hour obituary page for radio, celebrates the lives of people you may not have heard of, but who you should know about. Tomorrow hear about the last living Stooge, the man who changed winemaking forever, one of the 20th century's last great astrophysicists, one of The Prisonaires -- a vocal group formed at the Tennessee State Penitentiary -- and the Grande Dame of Washington political culture. That's tomorrow's FINAL CURTAIN, (Tuesday, October 5) at 2:30p. And if you missed the show, it's archived on the web at http://kcrw.convio.net/site/R?i=Hs7lUoSiGpuJUeommX0FCA (KCRW Program Update Oct 4 via DXLD) So I guess it is on the first Tuesday, the next one being Nov 2, unless something else captures their attention on that date, the time then being 2230 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WBUR HEAD RESIGNS AMID INVESTIGATIONS By Mark Jurkowitz and Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff | October 9, 2004 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/10/09/wbur_head_resigns_amid_investigations?mode=PF Jane Christo, who built WBUR-FM (90.9) from a broadcasting backwater into a public radio powerhouse even as she left a legacy of turmoil and turnover, resigned yesterday as general manager, amid allegations of mismanagement at the Boston University-owned outlet. The fast-moving chain of events that culminated in Christo's resignation began three weeks ago, when WBUR announced that it planned to sell two Rhode Island public radio stations it has owned for six years. As a backlash built, Rhode Island's attorney general, Patrick C. Lynch, ordered WBUR to turn over financial records relating to the stations. A week ago, Boston University announced its own investigation into WBUR. Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, whose office also has received allegations of wrongdoing, would not confirm or deny it is investigating the matter. Christo, 62, who has run WBUR for a quarter-century, will leave her post next Friday. BU spokeswoman Nancy Sterling said an interim general manager will probably be named next week. The university will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement, Sterling said. Christo announced her resignation shortly after 1 p.m. to about 85 staff members at the end of a weekly Friday lunch for station employees. She was smiling and energetic, but also teared up a bit, said one staffer who was present. ''The present controversy regarding my leadership of WBUR has become too large a distraction," Christo said in a written statement released to the media. ''I have decided to step aside so that the focus of the staff and management at WBUR can be returned to providing our listeners with the very best in public radio news programming. I am extremely proud of the significant contribution that WBUR has made to public radio here in New England and nationally. I am confident that when concluded, the internal investigation will show that the allegations of improper misconduct [sic] against me are baseless." Boston University also issued a statement yesterday: ''We want to thank Ms. Christo for her many accomplishments over the years . . . With Ms. Christo's help, WBUR has become one of the preeminent public radio stations in the United States." A source who has been briefed on the discussions over WBUR said three factors precipitated Christo's sudden departure -- the controversy over WBUR's decision to sell WRNI-AM (1290) and WXNI-AM (1230), the allegations that prompted BU's investigation, and WBUR's mounting debt. By 2003, WBUR owed BU more than $12 million. ''Everybody agreed the station needs to improve its financial position, and in order to do that you're going to need incredibly focused and strong leadership," the source said. ''Unfortunately, Jane is not in a position to provide that" The source said that Christo did not fight the idea of leaving, but that ''the university initiated the discussion." BU and Christo negotiated a financial settlement, said the source, who declined to discuss the terms. Several observers reflecting on Christo's exit suggested that her vision for the station may have become more ambitious than its revenues could support. ''I think Jane created a great station, arguably the best public radio station in the country," said James Segel, chairman of the WBUR advisory board. ''I think that as that [revenue] flow diminished at the end of the '90s it was hard to reconcile the expenses with the revenues." ''There was clearly an ambition that just went beyond. . . She may have just underfunded her ambitions and she was frustrated," said Bruce Gellerman, a former WBUR employee. ''I think the story of Jane Christo is 'Citizen Kane.' It's Citizen Jane." The buildup to yesterday's announcement began Sept. 17, when Christo met with backers of the Rhode Island stations and abruptly informed them of the plans to sell. Lynch asked BU to halt the sale. When Rhode Island's governor, Donald L. Carcieri, wrote to BU Interim President Aram V. Chobanian on Sept. 27, expressing concern over the sale, the university agreed to delay putting the stations on the market. The Rhode Island controversy reignited longstanding concerns about WBUR's fiscal health and Christo's management. A number of complaints -- ranging from patronage hires to the station's spending habits -- found their way into the hands of BU officials, the Massachusetts attorney general, and the news media. On Oct. 1, BU announced its own investigation. Between 2001 and 2003, WBUR amassed a debt that amounted to more than half its annual operating budget. According to financial documents that WBUR is required to file with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the station owed $12.4 million to Boston University by 2003, the result of three years of disastrous budgets. In fiscal year 2000, the station had a balanced budget. But in 2001, the WBUR Group (which includes WRNI and WXNI) ran a $4.5 million deficit. WBUR then had a $5.2 million deficit in 2002 and a $3.2 million deficit in 2003. Gifts from listeners and corporate benefactors have grown steadily in recent years, from $4.6 million in 1998 to $7.9 million in 2003. But revenue from underwriting, or financial support from corporations, in exchange for on air publicity, was erratic. Underwriting more than doubled from $4 million in 1998, to $8.6 million in 2001, then plummeted to $5.7 million in 2002 and crept back to $6.7 million in 2003. Expenses also skyrocketed, in part because of WBUR's purchase of the Rhode Island stations. WBUR spent $14.5 million in 1999 and $25.1 million in 2001. Then the station began cutting, bringing spending down to $22.4 million in 2003. The source who has been briefed on the WBUR discussions said the financial problems were rooted in the poor economy, combined with a variety of investments that WBUR made in WRNI and its own infrastructure, including towers to enhance its broadcast signal, and a new website. BU has been working closely with the station for over a year to improve its finances, the source said. BU spokesman Stephen Burgay said the station's finances are improving. Although financial documents have not been completed for fiscal year 2004, Burgay said that the station had a $1.8 million deficit, and that its budget is projected to be balanced for 2005. He said last year's revenues grew by 8 percent, and they are expected to grow 12 percent this year, because of more gifts and underwriting. One question BU is investigating is whether Christo filled the WBUR payroll with patronage hires. The Boston Globe developed a list of about two dozen current or former employees who are alleged to be patronage hires. In addition to family members (including Christo's son Zach) and relatives of other employees, the list includes about a dozen Albanians, who include several members of the same family. Christo's husband, Van, is the president of the Frosina Information Network, a cultural and information resource for Albanian immigrants, and Jane and Van have served as legal guardians for several Albanians who also worked at the station. Fred Lyford, the CEO of Puritan Press, a New Hampshire printing company, said WBUR became a customer sometime after Jane Christo's stepson, Jeff, joined the company as a salesman in 1994. The station bought at least a couple of thousand dollars worth of direct mailings and other materials from Puritan each year -- until Christo left in 2000. ''When he left us the business left with him," Lyford said last night. ''It was no surprise because we knew Jane Christo was his stepmother." Christo helped build WBUR with a strong programming vision, a dominant personality, and a finely trained ear for what she called ''sound-rich radio." She first revamped the station by importing NPR news program such as ''Morning Edition" and ''All Things Considered" but then became an exporter of programming with such WBUR-produced shows as ''The Connection," ''Here and Now," ''Only a Game," and ''On Point." But as the station grew to become one of public radio's most influential outlets, Christo became known for a management style that critics called imperious and unfair. In an interview for a 1997 Globe profile, Christo said: ''We've had a mission, high standards, goals. . . There have been people who haven't shared that." © Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company (via Boston.com via Current via DXLD) WBUR staffers reportedly gave the teary-eyed Christo, 62, a standing ovation after she announced that she'll resign this Friday - but it's not clear how much of that was appreciation for her work, and how much was relief at the departure of the boss who oversaw not only the creation of Car Talk and Here and Now but also controversies that included the departure of prominent talk show host Christopher Lydon and even a spat over the proper wording of underwriting announcements that led to the firing of an overnight board operator. That level of personal involvement with WBUR's product may well have spelled the end of Christo's leadership there. The fight over her plans to sell Rhode Island satellite stations WRNI (1290 Providence) and WXNI (1230 Westerly) opened floodgates of criticism that led to an anonymous letter from staffers accusing her of mismanaging station funds and, last week, the start of an investigation by Boston University and, reportedly, by Massachusetts' attorney general. The station reportedly owes Boston University more than $12 million, and ended 2003 $1.8 million in debt (though a BU spokesman told the Boston Globe that the station's 2004 budget would be balanced), undercutting WBUR's denials that the proposed sale of the Rhode Island stations, expected to net several million dollars, was financially motivated. A bit more from RHODE ISLAND amidst the continued uncertainty over the future of WRNI/WXNI: station supporters met last week with management from rival Boston public broadcaster WGBH (89.7 Boston). While the meeting wasn't expected to produce any immediate results (and in any case, WGBH already puts a potent signal over most of northern Rhode Island), it shows that the search for a public radio future for the stations continues. Interesting tidbit from VERMONT, where commercial WDEV (550 Waterbury)/WDEV-FM (96.1 Warren) is picking up Pacifica's "Democracy Now" for a four-days-a-week 5:30-6:30 PM broadcast. Station owner Ken Squier says he's doing it to bring another viewpoint to the Green Mountain State's airwaves - but it sounds to us like he's also doing it to tweak Vermont Public Radio, which which he's had a longstanding grudge. (VPR's listener advisory board recently recommended against picking up the show for statewide airing on the public radio network.) (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Oct 11 via DXLD) ** U S A. Pirate radio is happening in San Diego. Sure, there is not- so-clandestine 96.9 located somewhere close to downtown San Diego. The 96.9 FMer that was broadcasting from a church in Oceanside has been silent lately -- but the antenna is still there. Now comes word from David Tanny and another SDR spy that Radio Clairmont is on air. The spy writes: "Radio Clairemont" - 98.5 MHz is now on the air 24/7 with a few watts. Location west on Balboa off 805. Lots of produced promos that ask people to email "if they want to be a DJ." Great sounding production! Can only be heard for a few miles." The website for the station is http://www.Clairmont.us and posted the station claims: "Radio Clairemont is a micro power radio station located in east Clairemont, near the public library and fire station, a few blocks north of Balboa on Mt. Abernathy... If you can hear us, cool! If not, that's the best we can do and still be legal." The email address is radio@clairemont.us (note the US domain). Thanks to David for the website link, visit SanDiegoRadioNews.com (SDRadio.net Oct 12 via DXLD) ** VANUATU. Can anybody confirm that Radio Vanuatu is now on 7260.11 kHz? I have a carrier on this frequency, nothing on 7260.0 kHz. The signal was "strongest" at around 0630 UT, now an hour later it is already fading out, what corresponds with reception conditions between middle Europe and the part of the Pacific where Vanuatu is located. Thanks and GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030, 80 m LW, Oct 8, hard-core-dx via DXLD) No, it`s on 7260.12: 7260.12, R. Vanuatu, 10 Oct. 0917-0933, Talk by W in local Pidgin-like language, sounded like an editorial. Talk by M at 0927. Singing by M and male group at 0928, then talk by M followed by same W. Dropped down from the start and never recovered (Dave Valko, NRD-535D, Beverage of 300' at 310 degrees, Reclaimed stripmine near Dunlo PA, Solar Flux = 88, A Index = 8, and K Index = 1. No storms. WX: Clear, starry, and cool. 40 degrees (5 C), Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. R. Nacional de Venezuela, six E-QSLs as PowerPoint attachments, one for each frequency reported in a comparative report (tnx Ralph Brandi for converting these to .jpg for me, as I don't have PP). A beautiful design, with colorful views of Venezuela, and logo, on top half, full-data veri statement, "QSL," second multi-lingual veri statement and logo again on bottom half. This was received 17 days after I sent an E-mail follow-up (with a RealAudio attachment) to a 5-month-old postal/CD report sent to their P.O. Box, apparently now closed. The E-follow-up bounced because Hotmail could not handle the attachment, so I re-sent it without the attachment. The day after I sent the E-mails the original postal/CD report came back through the postal system, whereupon I remailed it to their street address. So I don't know if it was the E-report or the postal report that brought the eventual response. The E-mail was sent to Sr. Ing. Jéferson Rodríguez at ondacortavenezuela@hotmail.com --- the reply came from the same E-mail address, unsigned except for "Antena Internacional de RNV." Nice E-mail message as well, basically "tnx for the report, here's a QSL, good luck." Definitely a nice way to QSL by E-mail. No mention of Cuba as transmitter site (Jerry Berg, MA, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** YEMEN. Took advantage of a Columbus Day off from school to do some afternoon Dx'ing. Managed to hear Republic of Yemen Radio in English as follows: 9779.58, (Sana) in English. 1758 10/11/04. Poor with fading and severely muffled audio. IS (flute?) into "This is Yemen --- English Service" ID followed by music (National Anthem?) and then news. Very poor copy (Jim Clar (Rochester NY), R8 with Eavesdropper dipole, dxldyg DX LISTENING DIGEST) Scheduled 1800-1900 in English; in Arabic a regular guest at 0300 til close-down 0650 UT. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 3168, 2334-0007, Oct. 11, Spanish, fast-paced OM with talks between nice Spanish musical selections, talk by small child at 2343. Canned ID at 0002, could only make out "Radio.." through rough copy. Fair at best, occasionally booming, with deep fades under static. Closest frequency listing at Mark Mohrmann's LADX is R. Municipal, Peru, 3172.69 from Sept. 2004 (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R75, MLB-1, RS longwire with RBA balun, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Quito 12/10 2004 *** Tuesday Edition: *** Recording of Radio Naylamp, Lambayeque 3168.29 kHz. Radio Naylamp with better sound quality on new frequency; normally this irregular station has very distorted signal on SW. I first thought it was Radio Municipal drifting from 3172.69 kHz but after non-stop Huayno-music without any talk 25 minutes their female DJ gave an ID with jingle: "Radio Naylamp - la diferente". Naylamp is drifting around on mediumwave; I have logged them around 1575-1585 kHz. Comments and Recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3567.83, 10 Oct. 0923 definitely talk by M, almost sounding like English. Could've been // 5070. Probably a spur or image so didn't waste time on this. I believe there is a ZY around this freq though (Dave Valko, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) See VANUATU for details. Why not take along any old portable radio as a second receiver to check out parallels? (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ OBJECT UNDER BUSH JACKET IDENTIFIED: 'IT'S A SPINE' (2004-10-11) -- A forensic scientist studying photographic evidence has identified an object which caused a bump on the back of a suit jacket worn by President George Bush during his first debate with John Forbes Kerry. "It's a spine," said the unnamed scientist. "The president's backbone, in a sense, was showing during his debate with Mr. Kerry." Similar images of Mr. Kerry showed "no comparable spinal features." When asked about the new evidence, Mr. Kerry said, "I had a spine when I defended this country as a young man, and I will have one again when I defend her as president of the United States." http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/001873.html (via Brandon Jordan, DXLD) Seriously, the bulge is distinctly rectangular in shape, awfully odd for a spine. Here`s a cartoon version: (gh, DXLD) http://makeashorterlink.com/?S37A22189 (via Dave Beauvais, DXLD) Is Bush wired ?? Or perhaps of more importance, will he get caught before the election? Will somebody please bring a scanner to the next debate. http://www.isbushwired.com/ (Franklin Seiberling, IA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That was 503, down for maintenance when I checked, probably due to overload (gh) BALLOONS & ANTENNAS Ironic, since that station [KKOB 770 Albuquerque NM] is a sponsor of the balloon fiesta (Paul Smith, Sarasota, FL, NRC-Am via DXLD) They've been off the air almost 8 hours now. I think that's the longest the station has ever been off the air. Last I heard, the gondola and propane tanks were still dangling from the top of the tower. They had two tower crews out there, and plenty of cops and PD officers, and they're still trying to clear the stuff from the tower. Then, they have to inspect it to make sure it's structurally sound. At least when the tower is clear, they'll be able to do low power from the west tower ND until they can certify that the tall tower is OK. The people in the gondola climbed down the tower, and there were no injuries (Gary L. Diamond, via Durenberger, NRC-AM via DXLD) Presumably the VSWR protection tripped the transmitter, or we might have hear more about the balloon riders (Mark Durenberger, CO, ibid.) Years ago an accident occurred at Nauen, Germany. A balloon flew immediately in front of one of the ALLISS antennas (I think to less than ten metres distance) and got enough of the 500 kW for heating up a piece of metal to a degree that the balloon caught fire. Of course this resulted in a discussion about these extremely dangerous installations. At Dresden balloons can be seen during the summer months on literally every suitable evening. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Re: [Swprograms] PPL's BPL areas in the Lehigh Valley IIRC, that monitoring was the effort that resulted in the video tape Joe Buch showed at the last SWL Fest. I believe subsequent testing showed that PPL had cleaned up their act in the Emmaus ("ee-MAY-us", in case anyone cares...), but now knowing the whereabouts of these trials, I can take some evening field trips (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field was mostly quiet to unsettled with some isolated periods of active conditions observed at high latitudes. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 13 OCTOBER - 08 NOVEMBER Solar activity is expected to be very low to low. A greater than 10 MeV proton event is not expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 13 - 17 October. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from mostly quiet to unsettled. From 13 to 15 October, a recurrent high speed coronal hole wind stream is expected to produce occasional active to minor storm periods. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2004 Oct 12 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2004 Oct 12 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2004 Oct 13 80 15 3 2004 Oct 14 80 20 4 2004 Oct 15 80 15 3 2004 Oct 16 80 10 3 2004 Oct 17 80 12 3 2004 Oct 18 80 10 3 2004 Oct 19 80 10 3 2004 Oct 20 80 10 3 2004 Oct 21 85 8 3 2004 Oct 22 85 5 2 2004 Oct 23 90 5 2 2004 Oct 24 90 5 2 2004 Oct 25 90 8 3 2004 Oct 26 90 5 2 2004 Oct 27 90 5 2 2004 Oct 28 90 5 2 2004 Oct 29 90 10 3 2004 Oct 30 90 10 3 2004 Oct 31 90 10 3 2004 Nov 01 90 5 2 2004 Nov 02 85 5 2 2004 Nov 03 85 5 2 2004 Nov 04 80 5 2 2004 Nov 05 80 5 2 2004 Nov 06 80 10 3 2004 Nov 07 80 10 3 2004 Nov 08 80 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1249, DXLD) ###