DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-184, December 11, 2004 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2004 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1256: Sun 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0430 WOR WRMI 6870 Sun 0730 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0930 WOR WRN1 to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP Sun 0930 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0930 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0930 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1030 WOR WRMI 9955 Sun 1100 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 1400 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1500 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 2000 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sun 2030 WOR WWCR 12160 Sun 2100 WOR RNI Mon 0330 WOR WRMI 6870 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1255] Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 2200 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2200 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1256 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1256h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1256.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1256 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1256.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1256.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1256.html WORLD OF RADIO 1256, mp3 in the true SW sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_12-08-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_12-08-04.mp3 ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. U A E. QSL: 15195, Salaam Watandar, p/d "FM Coverage Map" with site and power in 42 days for $2 and an English report sent direct to the Internews Afghanistan, Kabul address. Nice "WHO" Afghan stamps and "Internews Afghanistan" seal on envelope (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200ft. NE and NW Beverages, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. BBC launches 24 hour FM station in Kabul -- 9 December Listeners in Kabul can now hear BBC World Service programmes in English 24 hours a day thanks to the launch of BBC 101.6 FM. The programmes broadcast on BBC 101.6 FM range from health and sport to business and music. Key programmes include Newshour which offers news and analysis of the day's top stories from around the globe; The World Today which examines in detail the stories that make the headlines; Talking Point, an award-winning programme enabling listeners and internet users to put questions to leading international figures and Outlook an award-winning live daily magazine programme offering listeners topical human interest stories from around the world. Behrouz Afagh, Head of the Eurasia Region, BBC World Service welcomed the launch of a 24 hour BBC FM in Kabul: ``Thanks to this development, listeners in Kabul can now hear for the first time the full range of BBC programmes in English in crystal clear quality in addition to BBC programmes broadcast in Pashto, Persian and Uzbek through our other BBC FM stations.`` In addition to the programming on BBC 101.6 FM, BBC World Service programmes are currently broadcast on FM across Afghanistan on 89 FM in Kabul, Mazar and Jalalabad; 88.1 FM in Konduz; 88.4FM in Fairzabad; 99.6 FM in Pole-Khomi; 89.2 FM in Herat; 87.9 FM in Gandez; 89.1 FM in Jalal os Saraj; 91 FM in Sheberghan; 92 FM in Maimana; 88.3 FM in Saloquan; 88.3 FM in Taloqan and 90.1 FM in Khost. Programmes can also be heard on medium wave and short wave across the country. Ends For more information contact: Justine Powell, Regional Business Development Manager, BBC World Service +44(0)207557 0335; justine.powell @ bbc.co.uk Christine George, Assistant International Publicist, BBC World Service +44(0)207557 1142; christine.george @ bbc.co.uk Note to Editors: BBC Pashto broadcast four hours of daily programming. Pashto speakers across the world can access information in text and audio on their website http://bbcpashto.com BBC Persian broadcasts nearly 50 hours of news and current affairs programmes a week to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Its online website http://bbcpersian.com provides coverage of news, current affairs, culture and sports. Persian speakers around the world can access the interactive content and listen to the audio of popular radio programmes. BBC Uzbek broadcasts its programme Nigoh at 21.30 Kabul time every weekday. It can be heard on 1251 medium wave in Northern Afghanistan. Nigoh can also be heard by Uzbek-speakers across the world via their website http://bbcuzbek.com BBC World Service broadcasts programmes around the world in 43 languages and is available on radio and online. It has a global audience of 146 million listeners. BBC World Service is available globally on short wave; on FM in 139 capital cities; and selected programmes are carried on around 2,000 FM and MW radio stations around the world. The BBC World Service websites receive around 280 million page impressions every month. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated. . . (BBC WS press release via DXLD) ¿¿ How can it be confidential and contain personal views if it is an official BBCWS press release?? (gh, DXLD) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS [and non]. Port Blair on 4765, DX- pedition. Dear Friends, AIR Port Blair is now noted on 4765 kHz from tune in around 1530 UT today 11 Dec 2004. On 4760 Leh is heard clearly which is normally blocked by Port Blair at my place. It will be interesting to hear both stations on separate frequencies, while it lasts! The normal schedule on 4760 is: Leh 0213-0430 1130-1630/1700 Port Blair 2355-0300 1030-1630/1700/1730 Incidentally, the VU4 Andaman DXpedition from our National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) is now in progress from Port Blair until 31 Dec 2004. A demonstration of Amateur Radio by the NIAR team is scheduled at All India Radio Port Blair shortly. More info on the dxpedition is available at http://www.niar.org ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Dec 12, dx_india via DXLD) ** ANDORRA. You might remember this summer that a website http://www.radioandorre.com was claiming to resurrect R. Andorra, at least in name. (See IDXD, DX News, Vol. 71 No. 29) There have been no announced tests since August, but there is now a snapshot of two towers on the tests page (follow link "Cliquez ici pour les dates d'émission"). Anyone recognize them? Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest, speculated that they are in Italy. I visited Andorra in 1987: those towers are not anything that was in place then at the old Sud or Andorre sites (Nolan Stephany, NRC, NRC IDXD Dec 10 via DXLD) I don`t remember speculating that; maybe someone I quoted did. I think I was doubtful that 702 kHz would be a good high-power frequency for Andorra now, with another high-power up the Mediterranean coast at Monaco/France (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENIND GIEST) ** ANTIGUA. BBC harmonic heard in NE USA Friday 10 December 2004, 1453 UT - 30.38 MHz AM: BBC World Service via Antigua FK97, unmodulated carrier S3+ with flutter & deep fading (Jack Sullivan, Central New Jersey, FN20, harmonics yg via DXLD) See also PROPAGATION ** ARGENTINA [non]. ALEMANIA: Este domingo pasado 05 de diciembre encontré a la "Radio Cimarrona", en los 9480 kHz, a las 2200 UT. Entró con una fuerza impresionante. Interesante la programación: tiene el mismo sabor de la historica "Radio Magallanes", transmitida hacía Chile, desde la ex-URSS. Fascinante la programación de "Radio Cimarrona". Denunciaron a los bancos e inversionistas internacionales, por haber despredado a la Argentina. Transmitieron El Himno Nacional de Argentina, cantado por una cantidad masiva de personas, en el aire libre. Dijeron que transmiten desde Colonia, en Alemania (Adan Mur, Paraguay, Conexión Digital Dec 11 via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. SOUTH AFRICA: 7380, Voice of Biafra International; 2140-2149+, 4-Dec; M speaking about the history of the struggle for native rights in Africa. "Wait until fundamental Islam takes over, then the shit will hit the fan". "God bless Biafra and all those who fight for her". Full ID at 2149. All in English. SIO=3+43 (Harold Frodge, MI, DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. THE 1945 CHRISTMAS HIT PARADE FROM RADIO 9AC TOROKINA, BOUGAINVILLE Scheduled for broadcast in the Mailbox session of Radio New Zealand International from December 20, is the fourth in the current series of radio heritage documentaries being produced in association with the Radio Heritage Foundation http://www.radioheritage.net In 1944, Jungle Network station WVTI broadcast from the island of Bougainville, and was replaced in mid-1945 by Australian Army Amenities Service radio station 9AC who took over the WVTI record library. You'll hear the Christmas week 1945 countdown as broadcast by 9AC, and enjoy old favorites such as Johnny Mercer with 'Accentuate the Positive', the Andrews Sisters with 'Rum & Coca Cola' and the number one favorite singer on the island in 1945, Bing Crosby, as you listen to the same songs that filled the airwaves over the island almost 60 years ago. The documentary introduces listeners to the Australian radio personalities who broadcast over 9AC, some of the locally produced shows, as well as details about the broadcasting conditions at the Torokina Airfield. The program is dedicated to all those who served on Bougainville during WW2, and to modern day peacekeepers from Australia and New Zealand who still serve on the island today. Mark your diaries now to listen to this special Christmas week radio heritage documentary on the usual Radio New Zealand International shortwave frequencies and available at the on-demand audio site at http://www.rnzi.com from December 20 [replacing the previous docu about 8DR Darwin]. Warm regards (David Ricquish, Wellington, New Zealand, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Paul Reid Christmas Special --- I found this on the CJAD Montreal website. This program is well worth a listen. It recounts a story from Christmas past, about a young man coming home (to my hometown St Catharines btw) on Christmas Eve. Fred Waterer [viz.:] The classic *Paul Reid Christmas Special* returned to CJAD 800 Sunday night December 5th. There is an encore presentation Dec. 19th. The Paul Reid Christmas Special will also air on Christmas Eve at 6 PM [EST = Fri Dec 24 2300 UT] and Christmas Day at 7 PM [UT Sun Dec 26 0000], so we've got you covered no matter when you are settling into the turkey and stuffing. The legendary Paul Reid's Christmas show has marked the beginning of the Christmas season for decades, and now has a worldwide audience through this website. Tell your friends. Listen to some samples of the Paul Reid Christmas Show: Sample 1 http://www.cjad.com/special/paulreid/reid1.ram Sample 2 http://www.cjad.com/special/paulreid/reid2.ram http://www.cjad.com/content/content_publish/program_details.asp?filename=program_id_846.html (via Fred Waterer, dxldyg via DXLD) See also VENEZUELA ** CUBA. Another nice musical show from RHC is Cancionero Iberoamericano, Sat 1430-1445, heard Dec 11 starting with calypso song in English, ``Everybody Loves Banana``, singer accompanied by La Orquesta Costeña de Bluefields, Nicaragua, but title given as ``Banano``. This assuaged to a minor degree our thirst for English programming in the morning from RHC --- why have they never had any English before 2030 UT?? Excellent on 9550, 11760, 11800 and 12000, also audible on 6000, and buried by China-via-Canada on 15230 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Very exciting to get exotic RHC Bauta outlets also during our Dec/Jan daytime propagation. Noted today [Dec 11] again around 1100- 1500 UT on strong fundamental (not harmonic!) 12000 kHz in Spanish. \\ 9550, 11760, and 15230 kHz (latter suffered by mainpower 50 Hertz hum). (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, BC-DX Dec 12 via DXLD) ¿¿exotic?? ** CUBA. Re R. Angúlo, reported on 740: CMKO R. Angulo, Holguín is at 1110 kHz per WRTH. Maybe R. Progreso, Camagüey (20 kW) was relaying this (Bruce Conti, NH, NRC IDXD Dec 10 via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC [and non]. MEMORIES OF CÉSAR OBJÍO By Richard E. Wood, Ph.D. The sad news of the death of Latin America`s leading DXer, César Objío (1928-2004), prompts me to set down some memories of him, since I was the North American DXer who knew him best, and our travels together should not go unrecorded. Since I was doing linguistic research in the West Indies toward my Ph.D. degree, I contacted César, whose fine reporting I had long admired, and arranged to travel with him from Santo Domingo westward through the Dominican countryside, over the border to meet the leading DXer in neighboring Haïti, Victor Jaar, a young businessman of Palestinian ethnic background. This was in 1963. César met me at the Santo Domingo international airport, not long after the old city name had been restored after thirty years as Ciudad Trujillo. One of the grislier sights there was the wall against which the old dictator had been machine-gunned to death. A remarkably similar historic site in the US is the sliding door of the elevator in the State Capitol Building in Bâton Rouge, Louisiana, where the near- similar, quasi-dictatorial governor of the Pelican State met the same fate; the ``Kingfish`` Huey Long. In Santo Domingo we visited many stations. Those I remember best were Radio Mil (1010 kHz), where I recorded several station ID`s in English and French (although afterwards I never heard them on the air); also HIN, Broadcásting Nacional, where we met the septuagenarian Frank Hatton, one of the pioneers of Dominican broadcasting. In César`s simple apartment, I saw his equipment, mostly Drakes and Yaesus, which were supplied by the international SWBC stations for which he was an official monitor, notably Deutsche Welle, Radio Nederland and Radio Sweden. César`s approach to DXing was not hard- core DX (such as chasing low-powered rural stations in the Andes) but monitoring, observing frequency changes, band-scanning, following the history of broadcasting in the Dominican Republic, Haïti, and Jamaica, and corresponding with stations and DXers. The highlight of my visit was the journey west to his hometown of Baní, in a superb location on a peninsula on the south coast, forty miles from Santo Domingo. There, his father, a fine farmer, operated a large banana plantation and taught me the varieties of banana-apple, Williams, Cuban Red, Bluefields, plantain --- knowledge which I use every day in the present day business as owner/operator of Richard`s Fruitstand at the Kona Farmers` Market in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. At that time, César was quite marginally employed as a duplicator operator cranking out a newssheet for the Ministry of Sports and Physical Culture of the Dominican Republic. I tried to persuade him to leave the big city and move back to his ancestral farm which would have produced by far the best DX results in Latin America. Also in Baní, he showed me the ruins of the house in which Máximo Gómez, the second-in-command of José Martí, liberation fighter of Cuba was born. This symbol of freedom had been burned to the ground by dictator Trujillo, so only four charred foundation posts were visible. We approached the Haitian border; I had no trouble crossing, but César was delayed by a lengthy search through a much-thumbed card index of Dominicans not allowed to exit their country. The complications were caused by the multiple names used in Hispanic countries, with some uncertainty as to which is the family name or surname. For example, the leading Spanish poet Federico García Lavaca was in early life referred to as García, but later came to prefer Lavaca. A major incident was in progress on the border that day. It was the anniversary of President ``Papa Doc`` Duvalier`s proclamation of himself as President for Life, and the Tonton Macoute, politely referred to as The Militia, were rounding up Haitian peasants in the countryside to take them on trucks to Port-au-Prince to sing and dance in honor of the dictator. It was a poor day to cross the border as Haitian peasants were trying to flee in the opposite direction, but we made it across, mostly due to my knowledge of French, Haïti`s main official language and language of the upper classes. The main station visited was La Voix de la Revolution Duvalièriste, 5985 kHz, whose attractive QSL card for some reason bore the misprinted frequency ``5485 kHz``, usually corrected by hand at the station. I pointed out the error, but a new version was never printed. Another station visited was Radio Haïti, 6195 kHz, but it, like all other stations that day, was only relaying the presidential celebrations from La Voix de la Révolution. Otherwise, I might have been interviewed on-air. Walking through the rather deserted streets of Port-au-Prince at 10 p.m. local time (0300 UT), the musical interval signal of Radio Havana Cuba beginning its French broadcast to the Caribbean could be heard emerging from most houses. The same frequency is still used today, 41 years later! The next most widely heard Haitian station in those days was 4VEH, La Voix Évangelique d`Haïti, on MW 1035 kHz and many SW frequencies (later reduced to one, 4945 kHz, and then dropped). I wanted to visit its studio in Cap-Haïtien (known in French colonial days as Cap- Français), but bad roads combined with political unrest made it impossible. 4VEH was the leading Gospel broadcaster in northern Haïti, funded by American missionaries. Its counterpart in the south was Radio Lumière, 760 kHz, in Port-au-Prince, which we did visit. The manager was a Baptist missionary from Macon, Georgia, who spoke only English, and his Haitian staff were delighted to talk to me in French. As we left, César, Victor, and I got badly stuck in mud on a typically atrocious Haitian road, but we were pushed out by Radio Lumière staff and local peasants. This was my main meeting with the delightful César Objío, but I met him again in the late 1960s at a convention of the National Radio Club on the US East Coast. This was, I believe, his honeymoon and I met his wife. As a matter of personal curiosity, César showed me his ``Cédula`` or official Dominican ID card. He pointed out that he was listed as ``I`` for ``Indio`` or Indian. He said only one percent of Dominicans are so classified. Most are white, black, or mulatto (Richard E. Wood, HI, handwritten letter transcribed by Jerry Lineback for Shortwave Center, Dec NASWA Journal, also edited and accentuated by gh, via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 2º día de la DXPedición en Losana de Pirón : 1640, RADIO JUVENTUS DON BOSCO, 2338, ID, teléfono (538-43-47) y comentarios religiosos y la recomendación de no fumar para que no aparezcan arrugas. 353 (Ignacio Sotomayor, Rcvx: ICOM R-75, Anx: Hilo largo de 50 metros y Balun, Dec 11, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Latest Recordings 11/12: 1590.00, HCRZ1, R. Mensaje, Cayambe --- Timechecks or "TCs" are all the same but there is one station that makes me happy every time I´m hearing this nice TC. Very typical Ecuadorian music followed by timecheck and ID. Comments and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DXLD) ** EGYPT. Re: EGY spur on 4930 kHz. Glenn, seemingly also spur on 4935 kHz at 2330-0030 English, 0030-0430 Arabic, same formula. 12050 minus 7115 = 4935 kHz. Also symmetrical 19165 kHz, though no propagation at this time of the night/day. 7115 2300-0430 6,7 ABZ 500 330 Ar, En EGY ERU 12050 0000-0400 7-9,27,28 ABS 250 325 Arabic EGY ERU 12050 1200-2400 7-9,27,28 ABZ 500kW 315deg Arabic EGY ERU 2300-0030 7115 41 ENGLISH E. N. AMERICA 0030-0430 7115 41 ARABIC E. N. AMERICA (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So has the 4935 spur actually been heard, or just computed and theorized? (gh) Now Christoph Ratzer-AUT OE2CRM reported of weak English signal on 4935 kHz around 2330-0000 UT. Both this and 4930 reported by Liangas seemingly spurious outlets of R Cairo EGY from Abu Zaabal site, both mixture of the 7 MHz, and 12050 kHz Arabic service, 24 hrs. Clip on http://www.ratzer.at/audio.php Yes confirmed by Christoph now on Dec 10/11/12th. Egypt 7115 is scheduled at 2300-0430 UT, so give them a try on spur 4935. But I see registration via Abu Zaabal site from 1200 UT onwards: 12050 1200-2400 7-9,27,28 ABZ 500 kW 315 deg Arabic EGY ERU But I guess all three signals did broadcast from Abis site this night. 73 wb (wb, BC-DX Dec 12, via DXLD) Viz.: Gestern abend konnte ich gegen 23.30 UT eine englischsprachige Station auf 4935 kHz sehr schwach hören, das unter teilweise heftigen Störungen aufzunehmende Programm endete wohl gegen 00 UT. Zum Anhören steht der Mitschnitt auf: http://www.ratzer.at/audio.php Gibt es hilfreiche Tipps hierzu? (Christoph Ratzer, Austria, Dec 11, A-DX via Büschel, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Yesterday morning, 10th of Dec, I heard a weak Spanish station on 5005 around 0545 UT. Did somebody else heard them with a better signal. Is R Nac Eq Guinea still using this frequency? I haven't heard this station since a long time (Max van Arnhem, The Netherlands, Dec 11, HCDX via DXLD) Yes, see DXLD 4-180, 4-182 ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [non]. Just a reminder of a very exotic and easily missed service, if not from an exotic station: Calling Falklands from BBC World Service. It`s Tuesday and Friday only at 2130-2145 on only one frequency, and direct from UK, 11680. I could barely hear it today Dec 10, right after the big signal from Antigua on the M-F Caribbean service at 2115-2130 on 11675, which, by the way, was cut off about 10 seconds before 2130 with the announcer still talking. See previous comments under AUSTRALIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. Reactivated Radio Diffusion Gabonaise, strong signal here in south Italy on 4777 (Roberto Scaglione, http://www.bclnews.it 2205 UT Dec 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4777, RTV Gabonaise, Libreville, 2205-2215 December 11th, African highlife music interrupted by phone calls, many mentions of Libreville. Thanks to Roberto Scaglione for tip-off that this is back. Strong signal and very little interference (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, ibid.) 4777, RTV Gabonaise, 2104, varias menciones a Gabón e ID. 554 (Ignacio Sotomayor, DXPedición de Losana de Pirón, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This evening Radio Gabon, 4777 is heard here in The Netherlands with an excellent signal. Mark Velhuis was the first who reported the station on the BDXC mailinglist at 1950 UT. It seems they have reactivated this frequency after about four years (Max van Arnhem, The Netherlands, Dec 11, HCDX via DXLD) 4777, Dec 11 1955-2100, Gabon: RTV Gabonaise. Reactivated! Strong. ID's at 2000 UT, French News. GuidoS[chotmans, Belgium??] 4777, Dec 11 2230- RTG Libreville. Reactivated, good signal (Mauno Ritola, Finland, both: HCDX Online Log via DXLD) ** GREECE [and non]. Here is the reception report for Saturday, December 11, 2004: MHz 1200 1230 1300 1330 1400 1430 1458 1500 9.775 35445 35545 35545 35555 35444 35334 35545 15.485 45555 15.630 23232 23232 25443 25443 35443 35334 35444 35444 15.650 00000 00000 14222 24333 On 9.775 MHz. there was what I presume to be atmospheric noise from 1200 to 1458 UT. Just before the frequency shifted to 15.485 the noise completely halted, At 1500, 15.485 came in SA KAMBANA. From what I can determine by one day's monitoring, 9.975 is best for 1200-1330, 11.750 is best for 1330-1500, and 15.485 is best from 1500 to 2200. That is only my opinion; maybe in January, it will be time to go to 11.750 for the 1200-1500 broadcast. The new frequency of 9.775 compares favorably with Radio Canada's 9.515 at the present time. I'll keep an eye on them and see if they make a move before the A05 broadcasting season (JOHN BABBIS, Silver Spring, MD, Dec 11, to VOG, cc to DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOG via Delano is indeed on 9775 ex-11750 as of Sat Dec 11, excellent as expected at 1450 UT check; BTW, the 15485 transmitter is a different one, since it was already on warming up its open carrier. I was listening to both at 1500, and the audio, in the middle of some music, switched instantly from one frequency to the other, as 9775 dropped carrier immediately. Usually I am listening to Vinyl Café from RCI at this time, but this week I stay with Greece. It was not until 1501 that the weekly English program, Hellenes Around the World started. Katrina said it was airing live, at 5 pm Athens time. Her first guest was a photographer from San Francisco, Ms. Wicks/Weeks(?), telling the moving story of the glass plates she acquired documenting early Greek immigrants to the US; some of these are now on display at the Hellenic-American Union in Athens, called ``Eyes of Hope``. Second guest at 1543 the author of a new novel, ``Arcadia, My Arcadia``, Nicholas D. Kokonis, who is a psychiatrist/psychologist from Chicago/Wisconsin; also about immigrants. See his website http://www.myarcadiabook.com (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. See DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ** INTERNATIONAL. FESTIVE FEAST ON SHORTWAVE [and non] Don`t forget that many international broadcasters have some special programmes over the Xmas and New Year period. And with the Internet as an option, you can check details beforehand, and in many cases listen via the Internet if you do miss the actual broadcast times. Radio Sweden always has an interesting angle on the Nordic winter, be it from an ice hotel in the far north or details of how Swedes celebrate Xmas: http://radiosweden.org [remember, Dec 13 is Saint Lucia Day --- gh] Radio Prague often has a light-hearted look at life on New Year`s Eve. Last year there was a Prague Pirate parody. Who knows what is in store for this year. Listen to Mailbox to find out or see http://www.radio.cz/en/ The radio stations from Orthodox Christian countries don`t celebrate Xmas until 6 January of course (which is 12th night for many of us). So, amongst others, tune into Radio Bulgaria, http://www.radio.bulgaria.com The Voice of Russia, around the 5th and 6th January for some haunting church music and a Xmas message from Patriarch Alexi II: http://www.vor.ru Radio Belarus has a very nice looking website which is modern, whilst retaining an Eastern European look and feel: http://www.tvr.by/eng/radiobel.asp Voice of Armenia`s website has been under construxion for a long time. Maybe there is another website they use? If anyone knows the answer, do write in; http://www.armtv.com/ There is a `Voice of Armenia` newspaper, which I assume is separate from the radio station: http://www.golos.am/ For a full guide to festive programing on shortwave and other radio around the world, both Lou Josephs (Media Network) and Joseph L. Buczyunsk [sic] have superb guides online: http://www.myjamby.com/medianetwork/ and http://www.ibcworks.net/ Also, check Glenn Hauser`s wonderful World of Radio bulletins in the buildup to Xmas: http://www.worldofradio.com Wishing all club members and families a Happy Christmas (Chris Brand, Communication Webwatch, Dec BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Specifically for Holiday Special pages from Public Radio stations: http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html#advance ** IRAN [non]. TARGETING TEHRAN By Mariah Blake, Columbia Journalism Review. Posted December 9, 2004. By beaming dissent into Iran, much of it aimed at improving the lot of women, expat broadcasters are weakening the clerics’ chokehold on news. It's a misty October morning in suburban Virginia and three middle- aged women are hatching a subversive scheme --- one that would land them in prison if they were ever to set foot in their home country, Iran, again. They gather at George Mason University, a cluster of brick buildings skirted by meandering footpaths and thick oak and maple groves, then file into a soundproof recording studio and start flipping switches. Jila Kazerounian, a forty-seven-year-old computer analyst and the group's leader, hunkers down in one corner next to a mound of crumpled newspapers and gutted recording equipment, and grabs a mike. "Salam," she barks, "testing, testing, salam." Nothing. The project's technical director, Ramesh Rad, fumbles with the mixing- board knobs, sending shrieks of feedback through the room. When this doesn't work, she plugs and unplugs cords, and checks the settings on the audio-editing software. Finally, she and the others huddle around the computer monitor blinking and scratching their heads. Eventually, Parvin, a forty-eight-year-old insurance-claim processor who asked that only her first name be used because she is concerned about the safety of her sister in Iran, suggests a plan B. Half an hour later, the group shuffles into her cramped home office. Parvin switches on her Hewlett Packard desktop and launches her digital-audio software. Leaning close to the mike embedded in her computer, she introduces Kazerounian, who pauses before launching her opening salvo. "Allow me to first say hello to my fellow countrywomen," she says in Farsi, "the Iranian women who have been living under tyranny for the past twenty-five years." The crew is recording the first half-hour program for their new radio station called Voice of Women. They intend to stream it over the Internet to a German company, which for $75 will broadcast it via short-wave into Iran on November 6. The station, which is ultimately slated to broadcast live for an hour each week, will feature news, talk, and a call-in segment, during which Iranian women can air their views. The relative ease with which shoestring operations like Voice of Women can now reach Iran complicates the Islamic regime's struggle to control public opinion. The government has closed more than a hundred papers, many for questioning its policies. And the broadcast media, the most popular source of information among Iranian citizens, remain in the grip of the nation's spiritual and political leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "It's mostly propaganda," says Nati Toobian, who monitors Iranian television for the Middle East Media Research Institute, of official programming. "Even the government admits it's a tool of the regime." But the ruling clerics can't control what airs on the dozens of stations that expatriate groups in the United States and Europe have recently begun beaming into Iran. . . . . . Like Voice of Women, most of the radio stations focus on political and social issues. The majority feature weekly hourlong programs sponsored by a particular faction, be it the Communist Party of Iran or the Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution. In fact, Voice of Women, which is sponsored by a fledgling nonprofit called Women's Forum Against Fundamentalism in Iran, is the first Iranian expat radio station that isn't linked to a political party. . . [continues, mostly about TV] http://www.alternet.org/story/20707/ (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** IRAQ. Work YI9DXX, Baghdad Remotely Over the Internet! The US radio amateur Keith Lamonica, W7DXX in Boston plans to install a fully remotely controlled transceiver in Baghdad, Iraq next month with the call sign YI9DXX. This will be available for any ham in the world who is registered with W7DXX to use VoIP over the Internet for voice contacts. Keith has the world`s first Internet Amateur Radio remote base station, W7DXX in Boston and is the recipient of the prestigious ARRL Technical Innovation Award (R. Bulgaria DX Program Dec 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Que pena, uma rádio diferente por aqueles lados, que se ouvia tão bem em espanhol aqui em Portugal, e vão deixar de transmitir? Caracoles! (Sergio Oliveira CT2IFT. Transmitam-lhes esta minha indirecta de pesar. Nunca gostei de pesares directos, Dec 10, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. INDIA. 4950, AIR-Srinagar, Dec 12, 0118 clear AIR IS at fair level, 0120 into singing that I have heard before with the AIR sign-on, signal almost immediately lost but I am still pleased, as this is the first time I have heard this location (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 7295, Radio 4 (presumed); M DJ in English with DJ chat & wide variety of tunes, mostly low-key. 1-3 minute talk segments every other song or so. Mentioned Radio 1 at 1244, but that's the Malay service. Presume news at 1300 --- mentioned India. Tough copy all the way, but best about 1230-1245? Thanks to W0ABO on 7294 for all the QRM (Harold Frodge, MI, DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1250, 1.12. 0610, XESJ Saltillo SN. No ID nor slogan, but spots for businesses in Saltillo. This station has a rare format, giving the time and current temperature every few minutes (Mika Mäkeläinen & Jim Solatie, Lemmenjoki 202 DXpedition, Lapland, Finland, dxing.info via DXLD) I picked this out of many loggings because of the format info, then noticed that it`s under the wrong state --- it`s in Coahuila, much further east than Sinaloa. See link to full report below (gh, DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. CRYSTAL SHIP: 12/08 4070 kHz AM. 0130+/-. Heard a Crystal Ship ID and Barracuda by Heart, and not much else due to noise (Joe Wood, Greenback TN, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) Dec 8, *0152-0437, Foghorn IS at sign-on, then lots of music by the Doors. Later, music by the Ramones and the Cars. Carrier drifted downwards during the show. 333 (George Maroti, NY, ibid.) *0152-0204+, 8-Dec; May have come on about 0152 with foghorn IS. Basso vocal about 0156. At QRN level & way too much QRM to copy any details. Started off about 4069.6 and dropped steadily. Only copy anything in USB. Log matches FRN posts (Harold Frodge, MI, ibid.) 4070 A/Dec 08/0349-0423+. Alannis Morrisette song. High noise levels & ute freq sweep made it impossible to hear much more. Poor (John Sedlacek, Omaha NE, ibid.) 4069.7-69.9/AM, *2327-2346+, 8-Dec; IS is fog horn & group chant, "We want ?, and we want it now." Doors & other era group tunes. Allen Maxwellian ID @2334+ SIO=3+53/freq dropped steadily (Harold Frodge, MI ibid.) New pirate band developing down there? (gh) ** OMAN. UNKNOWNISTAN: 6090 BBC (guess via Canada per signal strength at this time); 1741-1802+, 4-Dec; 2M in HB with talk and music; No pips/tone at 1800, but Big Ben chimes. SIO=354-. 1900, 4-Dec; Still in HB, Big Ben chimes & "London" (Harold Frodge, MI, DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ??? You mean Hebrew by ``HB``? BBC does not broadcast in Hebrew, and if they did, why at midday via Canada?? HFCC B-04 shows BBC via Oman in Persian on 6090 at 335 degrees which favors us; must be superb winter conditions to be so strong in MI: 6090 1600 2000 40 SLA 250 335 1234567 311004 270305 D G BBC MER (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY. Radio Nacional de Paraguay was received in Sofia with a loud signal from its new transmitter on 9734 kHz from 0245 to 0330 UT. The QSL address is: Radio Nacional de Paraguay, Asunción, Paraguay (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Program Dec 10 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** PERU. Has been stable on this frequency [5070.7] but irregular lately and with 2 IDs: "Radio Suroriente" or "Ondas del Suroriente". 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder if anyone in NAm can hear a 700 Hz het on WWCR when its signal fades down (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA [non]. Radio Armonia was reported on the new frequencies of 6245 and 7175 kHz from 1700 to 1730 UT. It is on the air on Saturday only from a transmitter in Russia (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Program Dec 10 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) What`s this? ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO [non]. Radio Internazionale di Serbia e Montenegro --- Malgrado la terribile isofrequenza 6100 kHz con Cina e Iran, la Radio Internazionale di Serbia e Montenegro continua a trasmettere la sua inascoltabile trasmissione in lingua italiana dalle 1830 alle 1900 UT (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Dec 9, BCLNews.it via DXLD) RADIO SERBIA Y MONTENEGRO: Emisora bastante difícil de sintonizar por el fuerte QRM que padece, a las 2000 UT con una programación de treinta minutos por los 7200 kHz. Tras el informativo suelen incluir música clásica (Héctor Frías J., Chile, http://ondacortachile.tk via DXLD) ** SIKKIM. 3390, AIR Gangtok, 1103-1114; 1121-1145, Dec. 11, Vernacular, Weak talks poking thru static at initial tune-in; tried again at 1121 to hear definite Hindi music, brief announcer at 1125, more music until 1130 then talks until music at 1140. Signal then becoming weak; unusable by 1145. Fair at 1121 tune-in, becoming poor. Very, very pleased to log this. Been trying for 2 years (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200ft. NE and NW Beverages, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Last night, I heard Radio Slovakia International asking their listeners to call in on Monday between 1400 and 1430 UT. Not quite sure why. The number is +421 252 495613. 73s from Cornwall, (Henry Brice, Dec 11, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** SPAIN [non?]. 6165, Radio Exterior de España; 1841-1906+, 4-Dec; M in Spanish with Latino & electronic music, "programa por Mexico". Continued in English at 1906. SIO=142; may have gone off by 1930. Not in '05 Passport. Expect via Costa Rica if for Mexico, but sig not good enough (Harold Frodge, MI, DXPedition, MARE Tipsheete via DXLD) This seems very unlikely, as Spain barely manages to broadcast in English to English-speaking countries. Nor in HFCC B-04. One 6165 station which is on at that time is Croatia, and it does have news in English at 1905-1915 // 13830, per recent sked here (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 4750, Radio Peace; 0323-0346+, 4-Dec; Christian! religious program in sounds-like Arabic, with "Christo" & "Hallelujah". Clear English ID at 0345. SIO=333. Is this really from Sudan? (per '05 Passport) -- a Christian program from Sudan! (Harold Frodge, MI DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet vias DXLD) Ditto. Hans Johnson and Glenn Hauser really say this is from Sudan (Liz Cameron, DXP 4 Dec, ibid.) Extreme southern Sudan, the predominantly Christian area, and surely the central government has no control over it (gh, DXLD) Horn of Africa. Radio Peace was received for the first time in Sofia between 0245 and 0415 UT on 4750 kHz with a broadcast in English and Vernaculars (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Program Dec 10 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SWAN ISLAND. BRIEF HISTORY OF RADIO SWAN [From Taylor report] ANNEX 2 EYES ONLY SECRET 1. On 17 March 1960, President Eisenhower approved a covert action program to bring about the replacement of the Castro regime. Within the propaganda framework of that program, an important objective was to create and utilize a high-powered medium and short wave radio station. CIA was asked to provide such a station, outside the continental limits of the United States, and have it ready for operation within sixty (60) days. 2. Swan Island, in the Caribbean, was chosen as an appropriate site... http://cuban-exile.com/doc_226-250/doc0241.html (via Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital Dec 11 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. CHINA: RADIO STATION SET TO ADD TAIWAN TO TITLE --- THE RADIO STATION WOULD BE FIRST TO FOLLOW TAIWANESE PRESIDENT'S "NAME RECTIFICATION" PLAN South China Morning Post Friday, December 10, 2004 By Jackie Hsu A radio station may soon alter its title to become the first body to follow Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's "name rectification" plan, aimed at dropping "China" from the names of government firms and the island's overseas missions in favour of "Taiwan." The station's move is expected to be the start of a series of name changes certain to infuriate Beijing and cause concern from the US, which has already warned against the plan. Although "China" is not in its name, the Central Broadcasting System (CBS) has decided to change its title to Radio Taiwan International beginning next year, Taiwanese media reported. The station, which, although not official, is government funded, would use its new title in broadcasts to the mainland and the world, but might use the old title on paper, the media said. A CBS spokesman was not immediately available for comment yesterday, but cabinet officials said the government would go ahead with the plan to change names with or without US approval. On Monday, US State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said the US was "not supportive" of Mr Chen's plan. Mr Ereli said Washington believed the plan amounted to a "unilateral change" of the island's status quo. In Taipei yesterday, several dozen activists from local workers' rights associations demonstrated outside the American Institute in Taiwan to protest against what they claimed was US interference in the island's domestic affairs. "Condemn Chinese hegemony, and protest against the US violation of Taiwan's sovereignty," the protesters shouted. They also called on Mr Chen to immediately lodge a letter of protest with Washington. "The Democratic Progressive Party government should not act like a coward," said Ho Yen-tang, spokesman for the Committee for Action for Labour Legislation. He said his group was initiating a signature drive against "Chinese hegemony" and "American imperialism". "We will invite both the ruling and opposition camps to join us in this campaign," he said. Date Posted: 12/10/2004 (via Dan Say, DXLD) But, but, but, but, the station has already been named Radio Taiwan International for months, if not a year, and before that Radio Taibei International. Don`t they know that???? Or have the Chicoms just noticed? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TUNISIA. Referring to DXLD 4-171, -172 and -173 I have been listening to their satellite outlet of 'Tunis International Radio' on 13 degrees East, 12.149 GHz, vertical, 27.500 and FEC 3/4. The right channel is in // with 963 kHz (which cannot be heard here due to a strong signal from Finland), and these are the programs in other languages than French that I have heard: 0903-1000 German, 1303-1400 English, 1403-1500 Italian and 1903-2000 Italian. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So this contradicts the report that 963 had quarter-hours of four different languages at 1900-2000 (gh, DXLD) ** U K. Taking care of Auntie --- "BBC bosses unveil bloodbath" is how the London Evening Standard chose to headline the news that the BBC plans to cut 2,900 jobs, more than 10% of its workforce, with the total number of job losses expected to rise further to more than 5,000. Some foreign newspapers reported the likely total to be 10,000 - a figure which was quickly dismissed by the BBC's Director-General Mark Thompson. I hope due care and attention will be applied to ensure that all the foundations are still intact at the end of what's going to be a painful process for thousands of people. . . http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/features/bbc041211.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Dec 10 via DXLD) ** U S A. Dear Glenn, Radio Free New York returns to WBCQ shortwave Sundays, 4-5 pm eastern on 7415 [2100-2200 UT]. This is the original WHOT Pirate crew that did free radio broadcasting on 1620 AM in the late 1970s. We are happy to have them aboard. Cheers, (Allan Weiner, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glenn, Giving you some extra time till we fill it. Friday 5-5:30 pm on 7415 [EST = 2200 UT Fri] Friday 7:30-8 pm on 9330 [EST = 0030 UT Sat] Also; Sprit of Elijah returns on Dec 4th Mon-Fri 7-8 pm Eastern on 9330. World Microscope is a hit and there is no talk show on the air quite like it. Listeners will learn a lot when they tune in. Tue-Fri 9-10 pm [EST = 0200-0300 UT Wed-Sat] on 7415 and 5105. Cheers, (Allan Weiner, WBCQ, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nice to have Friday evening airings, where there had been a gap; both confirmed here, tho 9330 weak (gh) ** U S A. The WORLD OF RADIO broadcast UT Thu at 2130 on WWCR 9985 provides excellent reception here (Chris Hambly, Victoria, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. One reason KAIJ is looking toward cutting back the hours of Dr Gene Scott is that we have unconfirmed reports that he has terminal cancer. Puffing on all those cigars cannot have helped. However, if his heirs want to continue the University Network ministry, they could do so playing DGS` old tapes 24 hours a day for seven years without repeating any of them, but we can hope that KAIJ won`t be the only outlet to try some other programming (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KB 1520 AM, Buffalo's Klassic, Buffalo-Niagara, NY --- Glenn, This adds more to the story on WKBW radio in Buffalo. As a New Yorker, I grew up on this station; of interest, there is a record that came out in 1960 called "Wild Weekend". It was by the Rockin` Rebels from Buffalo; they were high school kids. Tom Shannon used it as his theme song. I'm about 275 miles from Buffalo; as I write this I've got 1520 playing on my 909 and they`re sounding good just like the 60's. Merry Xmas http://www.kb1520.com/index.php (Daryl E Rocker, NY, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And in the interest of broadcast historians everywhere --- while "Well Known Bible Witness" was indeed the slogan that the station used in its early years, it's generally believed now that it was made up to explain the calls after the fact. The WKBW calls were themselves sequentially assigned, or so it's thought. s (Scott Fybush, NY, Dec 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) And for anyone who is interested, some early WKBW jingles are posted at http://www.nrcdxas.org/audio in MP3 format (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Thanks for those early jingles, Fred. Wow. A very good tribute site for WKBW is available for those that are interested at http://www.wkbwradio.com It will bring back a lot of memories whether you listened to them at night in the 60s and 70s or just used them as an indication of how band conditions were (Lawrence Stoler, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 4-183: Please add the following to the end of the WBZ Brudnoy story: Dr. David Brudnoy passed away on December 9, 2004. He will be missed (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) David Brudnoy --- As most of you know, I worked at WBZ from 1992-97. Working with everyone at that legendary station was a privilege, but working with David was a particular honor. David's radio career was just one of the many facets of that remarkable man. He was one of the most educated people ever to sit behind a mike, and he was a great educator as well, teaching students at Boston University right up until his last illness set in a few weeks ago. He cared deeply about the people he worked with, even the ones who were, like me, right out of school and still wet behind the ears. In June 1993, when I'd been at WBZ less than a year, he let me produce two hours of his show talking about the history of WBZ. And then he asked me if I'd co-host it with him - and you can't imagine the thrill of sitting there with David and hearing him refer to me as "my colleague." David didn't have to do that - but he did, and that's a measure of the kind of man David was. We knew, inside the station, that David was very sick long before the rest of the world knew. He would come in to work looking - literally - green, holding on to the wall as he tried to get down the hallway to the studio. But once he was in there and that "on air" light came on, David was David again, right up until the day he collapsed and had to be hospitalized. That was 1994, and I vividly remember station management huddling and making plans for what to do next. Nobody thought David was going to live, much less return to the air. But he did, and it wasn't long before he was back to all of his various tasks, teaching, doing the radio show, making TV appearances, reviewing movies and even traveling a bit. He had his ups and downs over the last decade, and I suspect he was far sicker much of the time than he ever let on over the air. Say this about David, though: he went out exactly as he wanted to. He made the announcement last night, had the opportunity to listen for five hours from his hospital bed as friends, listeners, co-workers, former co- workers and every politician in New England called in to tell David stories. I'm especially grateful that I was able to get through and say a few words about David, knowing he was listening. When he died just after 6 tonight, you can't tell me he wasn't thinking that the timing would be perfect for the TV newscasts and for his own 7-10 shift tonight. That was David, too. I hope most of you had the opportunity as you scanned the dials at night to hear a bit of David's show, because he was as far as you could possibly get from your typical talk-show host. He was ideological, sure - but ideologically Libertarian. And he always, always, always respected the intelligence of his guests and his callers and his producers and his listeners. David's show trafficked in ideas, at a level of discourse that was always a cut or two (or five) above the rest of the talk spectrum in town. It's hard for me to believe I won't hear that voice anymore on 1030. David was one of a kind, and no matter who ends up in that chair now, it won't be the same. We're lucky to have had him for as long as we did. s (Scott Fybush, NY, Dec 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. AIR AMERICA, TOUCHING DOWN IN D.C. PROGRAMMING TO DEBUT ON WRC NEXT MONTH By Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer Air America, the liberal radio network that had a rocky takeoff last spring, has struck a deal to land in Washington. The arrangement with WRC-AM comes as the fledgling network is gaining altitude, announcing yesterday that it has re-signed star personality Al Franken to a multiyear contract, raised $13 million in new financing and named Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, as its chairman. WRC (1260) plans to drop its syndicated sports talk programming in favor of Franken and some of the rest of Air America's left-leaning lineup while adding other liberal commentators, say people familiar with the matter. This would give WRC's owner, Clear Channel Communications, a "blue state" station to balance its "red state" programs on WTNT (570), which includes conservative hosts Laura Ingraham, G. Gordon Liddy and Michael Savage. Don Imus, the acid-tongued morning host heard on WTNT, will be simulcast on WRC. Neither station has been a powerhouse in the Arbitron ratings, with WTNT ranked 17th in the market last summer, with an average of 74,500 listeners. WRC, which has a weaker signal, was last at No. 40, averaging 29,800 listeners. Air America's Beltway debut will be Jan. 20, with Franken broadcasting from President Bush's second inauguration. WRC and WTNT hope to have many of their liberal and conservative hosts broadcasting live that day from the Mandarin Hotel. Air America is on in 40 cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as on Sirius and XM satellite radio. "The original CEO said we had enough money not to make money for three years, and it turned out it was actually three weeks," Franken said yesterday. "Now we're just loaded with new money from investors and we're kicking [butt]." The $13 million cash infusion represents about two-thirds of Air America's fundraising goal. Franken, an activist and satirist, said he originally signed for one year because "I didn't know if I'd like it," not because he wanted to be on the air only during the presidential campaign. "It turned out I love it. I love the three hours on the air. I'm proud of the show. I like the mix of humor and seriousness and sometimes emotion." The decision douses speculation that Franken might run for a Senate seat from Minnesota in 2006. The new affiliate is important, Franken said, because "in Washington, which as you know is our nation's capital, you don't exist unless you're on." Franken's noon show will compete here with Rush Limbaugh on WMAL-AM and Bill O'Reilly on WJFK-FM. Asked for comment, Bennett Zier, who oversees WRC and WTNT as Clear Channel's regional vice president, said, "We broadcast what the people want to hear. After the election, people in this area have a lot to say and we want to make sure we're providing outlets for all opinions." Sheldon Drobny, the Illinois venture capitalist who founded the network, sold it and then helped raise money when the original management was ousted, said in an e-mail to the political newsletter Hotline: "Competition for our network in the market allowed us to do this deal without compensation!" (Radio syndicators pay local stations to carry their programming in exchange for a share of advertising revenue.) Drobny's wife, Anita, has served as interim chairwoman. Glaser, whose RealNetworks streams the network on the Internet, has also been an investor. Many analysts wrote off Air America last spring when it hit financial turbulence and lost its stations in Chicago and Los Angeles. But it has mounted a comeback, abandoning its original strategy of buying stations and signing affiliates instead. The lineup, which includes actress Janeane Garofalo and radio veteran Randi Rhodes, who has also signed a new contract, has drawn respectable ratings in a medium long dominated by the right. Among listeners ages 25 to 54, Air America says, it has been in the top five in San Diego, Miami and Portland, Ore. "Air America has been something of a phenomenon," said Michael Harrison, editor of the industry magazine Talkers. "Their accomplishment has to be measured in more than revenue and ratings. They've had a tremendous impact on changing the culture of talk radio and the way talk radio is perceived by the public. They've really opened the door to major industry licensees and program producers recognizing that talk radio has a huge potential market beyond just conservative hosts." (From the Washington Post, Dec. 9 via Matt Francis, DC; Mike Cooper, GA, DXLD) There is a lot more hype then reality here. WWRC 1260 has the worst mediumwave technical plant in the Washington DC area. Half of their ground radials are faulty. When the weather changes you may end up with different signal levels. At night forget it. The only thing consistent about WWRC is that it always falls to the bottom of the ratings list. Edited By Siteowner – (A DC Listener, 12.11.04 - 6:02 pm, Media Network blog via DXLD) The local radio monopolies in Albany, NY have not yet seen fit to add Air America to their terrestrial offerings, but I can and do sample the network via Sirius satellite and the internet. I was going to ignore the inauguration; but now that Franken is going to be covering it, it may just be a fun afternoon and evening after all (John Figliozzi, 12.10.04 - 9:22 pm, ibid.) ** U S A. SPRINGER TO LAUNCH RADIO SHOW HERE By John Kiesewetter, Enquirer staff writer, Friday, December 10, 2004 Jerry Springer is starting a new Cincinnati talk show. TV talk-show host Jerry Springer will debut a three-hour weekday radio talk show here in January. The former Cincinnati mayor and TV anchor will launch a 9 a.m.-noon call-in show on WSAI-AM (1530) when the Clear Channel station switches from oldies music to liberal talk. He wants to syndicate the show nationally from Cincinnati, he said. . . http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041210/NEWS01/412100392 (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) so not totally Air America ** U S A. OK Guys, here`s a GOOD one --- WB3XNN - 1620 kilohertz should be on the air about December 15th. This station licensed to Milford, PA (near Port Jervis and less than a mile from NRC member BILL ALISAUSKAS)) is being operated for field intensity measurements of the ground conductivity in the area. This will be operating during non critical hours (approx. 0915 til 1445 [EST = 1415-1945 UT[) with an unmodulated carrier, ID's given on the hour. Power will be 1000 watts into a 50 foot top loaded single tower. (For those into tower currents, that adds up to 8.8 amps at 14 ohms!) Tests should continue through the end of January. Reports can be sent to myself c/o: Digital Radio Engineering, 2927 US Route 6, Slate Hill, NY 10973. A DX TEST will be set up prior to completion of the measurements. Good luck! Dave Schmidt (via Fred Vobbe, Dec 10, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. The WNTP 990 DX from Philadelphia, Dec 11 at 0500-0600 UT was widely reported in NE America, and the Midwest, but blocked in the South by other stations judging from reports on the NRC-AM list; here in OK, I tried before and after 0530 for both patterns, but could not pull anything past CBW and the Dallas station hijacked from Wichita Falls, whatever it is. Pat Martin pulled it in via his Beverage in Oregon. During the WNTP silent half-hour at 0600, WXCT in CT unexpectedly ran a pre-test, see below (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MEDIUMWAVE DX TEST CALENDAR KTNS, 1060, Oakhurst, CA TEST. Date: December 22, 2004 [early Wednesday 0700-0900 UT]. Time: 0200-0400 EST (2 Hour Test.) Modes of Operation: 5KW Daytime Non-Directional. Programming: Morse IDs, Voice IDs, Sweep Tones, Old Television Theme songs. Morse Code ID's are at both 10 WPM and 5 WPM, 1000 Hz. Test is being conducted by Mr. Larry Gamble, station owner/operator who will be retiring soon. He has done several DX Tests over the years. Mr. Gamble would prefer to verify reception reports via e-mail only. Written reports or short MP3 clips are sufficient for verification. Send reports to: Larry W. Gamble: mtkaat @ sierratel.com Tests Notes: Oakhurst is located in Central California near the Yosemite National Park. Past DX tests have resulted in reports from most of the Western US. Note too the use of television theme songs as program material. Hopefully these will be easier to pull out of the noise. An example might be the theme from the Addams Family, etc. WXCT, 990, Southington, CT, TEST. Date: January 9, 2005 (Late Sunday night into Monday morning.) [then it is Jan 10! Both by EST and UT = 0500-0700] Time: 00:00 AM EST to 02:00 AM EST (2 Hour Test.) Modes of Operation: 00:00-00:30 Full day power 2.5 kW and pattern. 00:30-01:00 1 kW Non-Directional. 01:00-01:30 80 Watts Directional Night Pattern 01:30-02:00 Off air to allow locals to DX 990. Programming: Mixture of Morse Code ID's, unique test tones, voice announcements and "most notably, you will hear music never heard before and probably never again on the radio!" This special test is being conducted Mr. Ron Barnes, the Chief Engineer. The test schedule makes it obvious that Mr. Barnes is very interested in seeing how the station performs over the entire test. If you can, try to observe how the signal changes strength as the power is reduced and include that information in your reports. Any reception reports should be sent to: WXCT AM 990 440 Old Turnpike Road Plantsville, CT 06479 ATTN: Ron Barnes CE Information about this test comes from a posting by Mr. Barnes to the "Radio-Info DX Web Board" and several e-mails exchanged with Mr. Barnes and noted DX'ers. So far, I have been unable to confirm this test directly with Mr. Barnes. If I am able to do so, I will send out a follow up e-mail message. KFBK, 1530, Sacramento, CA, TEST. Date: January 24, 2005 [Monday]. Time: 0200-0600 EST [0700-1100 UT] (4 Hours ID's ONLY Test.) Modes of Operation: 50 KW Night Time Directional Pattern. Programming: :60 and :30 Morse Code and Phonetic Voice ID's Only during program breaks. This special test is being conducted by Ross du Clair, Ph.D., WA6VWY, who is the Chief Engineer for "News Talk 1530" and other Clear Channel stations. Due to programming commitments, test will be limited to commercial breaks only during regular programming. ID's will consist of both Morse Code at 10 WPM, 1000 Hz and phonetic voice announcements... such as: "This is Kilo Foxtrot Bravo Kilo". Reception reports should again be submitted via e-mail directly to Mr. du Clair at: Duclair, Ross: rossduclair @ clearchannel.com (all via [Les Rayburn], IRCA Soft DX Monitor Dec 11 via DXLD) ** U S A. STUDY SUPPORTS PUBLIC RADIO CONSOLIDATION [in IOWA] By Charlotte Eby Last Updated: 11:32 pm, Tuesday, December 7th, 2004 http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1041070&l=1&t=Iowa+/+Illinois&c=24,1041070 . DES MOINES — A study of Iowa`s public radio stations is calling for a unified ``Iowa Public Radio`` system, which a consulting group says would improve service to public radio listeners across the state. . A consultant`s report recommended unprecedented sharing among the current radio systems at Iowa`s three public universities and the hiring of a single executive director to oversee operations. . WOI, KUNI and KSUI and WSUI would be allowed to keep their call letters and their own university affiliations. The 49-page report, issued by media consulting group Bornstein & Associates of Tucson, Ariz., had been requested by the radio stations as they faced steep budget cuts. . The study suggests a statewide network could attract more listeners while boosting public radio`s fund-raising potential in Iowa. . ``The consultants are not suggesting that the three broadcast organizations in Iowa are unsuccessful,`` the study said. ``Each does a good job within its resources and each has developed a loyal following. But each has probably reached its full potential as a totally independent university station.`` . The Board of Regents is scheduled to discuss the study`s findings at its next meeting Dec. 15-16 in Ames. . Regent Dave Neil of La Porte City, said consolidating management and overhead costs at the stations would be beneficial and Regents President John Forsyth has been one of the main proponents of collaboration among the stations. . Joan Kjaer, interim director of broadcasting services at the University of Iowa`s KSUI and WSUI, said the report calls on Iowa`s stations to work together more closely than they ever have in the past. She hopes any new system would benefit listeners. ``If there`s one common thing to the people who work in public radio here in Iowa, it`s that they really do want to work in a great public radio system,`` she said. . But she said station employees are concerned they could see job cuts under a new system. . WOI general manager Bill McGinley is optimistic about the recommendations in the report and believes a unified radio system makes sense. ``I think it really sets the stage for some significant improved services to the people of Iowa,`` he said. . A new plan would create three networks including ``The AM Information Network,`` which would strive to serve primarily older, more rural listeners, and serve a younger and more urban audience, and ``The Classic Network,`` would feature mainly classical music. . KUNI station manager John Hess said competition among the stations helped them grow in the beginning but now is the time to form an alliance. He anticipates that if the new system is adopted, KUNI`s daytime news programming will see little change, and the station`s evening ``adult album alternative`` music will stay on the air. . Other recommendations included creating an executive council overseeing the radio system, a new statewide ``friends`` network would be created for fund raising, and public radio service would be extended to the western parts of the state that currently cannot get any of the state`s public radio stations (QCTimes.com via Art Blair, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. More Jean Shepherd, KCRW's annual Chanukah Yiddish show, KCRW's archives of HHGG Jean Shepherd: 0515 ELT Tuesday [1015 UT] on WBAI and on demand at: http://www.flicklives.com/Mass_Back/mass_back.htm http://www.kcrw.com --- Scroll down on the Keywords box for Jean Shepherd (A Voice in the Night), Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy, and Philosophers, Fiddlers and Fools (Chanukah program). They have these programs in Realaudio on demand. The live 2004 Chanukah program is on 12/10 at noon-3 PST (Joel Rubin, NY, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard most of that and enjoyed (gh) ** U S A. Another ham in trouble over sexual abuse is W6QYI, a.k.a. Cardinal Roger Mahony, RCC archdiocese of Los Ángeles, in the news lately over charges that he covered up or looked the other way when his subordinates were involved in sexual abuse of children; CNN`s Newsnight has been reporting on this, but they haven`t mentioned he`s a ham! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC WARY OF GREEKS BARING GIFTS AT GAMES By Lisa de Moraes Saturday, December 11, 2004; Page C01 In response to one or more indecency complaints, the Federal Communications Commission has asked NBC to send it tapes of its coverage of the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Athens, the network confirmed late yesterday. Ironically, the night before, NBC's Summer Games coverage was named the family-friendliest special of 2004 during WB's broadcast of the sixth annual Family Television Awards. The awards are given by the Family Friendly Programming Forum, a group of 46 major national advertisers working to encourage networks to produce more family-friendly prime-time fare. An FCC rep declined to comment on the specific request. But one source familiar with the FCC's investigative procedures explained that a request for a tape is generally the first step to help the commission determine whether a complaint has enough merit to warrant further inquiry. It's unclear what aspect of NBC's coverage of the ceremonies has knotted the knickers of someone who has corresponded with the FCC, word of which was first reported by trade paper Mediaweek on its Web site late yesterday. But on the day of the Opening Ceremonies back in August -- about six months after Janet Jackson bared her breast during CBS's broadcast of the Super Bowl -- NBC took some questions from sports reporters who were on the scene. These were guys who apparently don't go to museums much and had watched the dress rehearsal and seen performers representing classical Greek statues and mythological gods and goddesses in the various states of undress that were so fashionable in days gone by. They demanded to know whether NBC intended to subject the flower of American youth, watching back at home, to such a wanton display of Greekness. (The Opening Ceremonies also included thespians depicting lovers frolicking in the world's largest puddle and a young woman in a shift wading about aimlessly in the same puddle. She appeared to have been impregnated by someone who was radioactive, but we cannot say with certainty whether that was Greek or just weird.) At the time, according to news accounts of the kerfuffle, an NBC representative assured the reporters that "NBC has the highest standards." And now, thank goodness, the FCC has stepped in to determine, once and for all, whether that is, in fact, the case. (c) 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. "What AM Station do you miss the most? Think broad: It could be a station on the air currently, but you miss its prior format, or it could be a set of call letters long gone from the dial." IN THE 50's DALLAS TEXAS HAD SOME OF THE GREATEST RADIO. From 1950 to 1957, I had a 5 tube table model radio, with a long wire antenna, 30 feet high and 100 feet long. I logged 37 states and 15 countries on that little radio. In 1957 I got a Lafayette KT-200 and really started logging the stations. I miss the radio shows of the 40's and 50's. Fibber McGee and Molly on NBC, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on the Chase and Sanborn Hour, Kate Smith, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis; I was a Communist for the FBI; Damon Runyon theater; Superman; the Green Hornet; X-1; all these and more can be heard throughout the week WBBM-780, but it's not the same as was when I was a boy. Also every Saturday night KMOX- 1120 plays 4 hours of 'I Like Jazz' with Don Wolfe as host, followed by 2 hours of When Radio Was. KRLD 1080 in Dallas, TX. Comes to mind. They had American Airlines Music Till Dawn, where they played real music. This was from 1957 into the early 60's. None of this Lead Blimps falling from the sky stuff. They also had the Dallas Texans football in 1959, but dropped them for the new upstart team, the Dallas Cowboys, in 1960. WBAP 820 Ft. Worth, TX when they had real country and western, late 60's and into the 80's when Hal Jay and Dick Segal came onto the station in the mornings and evenings, along with Sam from sales. I miss KIXL 1040 in Dallas, TX. Real music, nothing but real music in 1950's. No rock 'n Roll stuff. They would have from time to time, the big movie stars of the day, like William Holden, come on as DJ's; their "Thought for the Day" was always something uplifting and inspiring, though not religious. Never any nasty jokes. Just good radio. I remember the commercials for Woosey. This was a local soft drink company. They had the best cream soda, strawberry, grape and root beer. WRR 1310 in Dallas, late 50's, with Jim Lowe, (also the voice of Big Tex) and his morning drive show with music, news and his Caravan. How about KLIF 1190 in Dallas, TX. When Gordon McLendon owned the station it was a top 40 station from about 1955 to 1963. But McLendon only played the good do-wop songs, never the trash that later became Mo-Town. In the late 50's Gordon would play the news from Radio Moscow and then give his commentary against communists. A lot of good it did, just look at the mess this country is in today. He was also running for political office at that time. From the late 40's, I miss the old WFAA radio on 570 from Dallas, TX. I can't remember the name of the program that was on from 0600 to 0900 each morning. But it was a local breakfast club style show with live talent and local events. My mother would always listen. One such person who sang on the show, from time to time, was Dale Evans. This was followed by Don McNeil's Breakfast Club from Chicago. In the afternoons, after school, on WFAA radio, I would always listen to "Big John and Sparkey" a great kids radio show. This was around 1951 or so. I remember in one week of episodes the two came upon a flying saucer. This was big stuff, and a hot topic in the early 50's. KSKY 660 Dallas, TX. I remember they were a Christian radio station through the 50's and 60's, and they gave their call letters as "K- SKY, 6-6-0 on your radio." KBOX-1480 "K-BOX 1480" In the late 50's and early 60's this was KLIF's opposite in the ratings. There are so many calls that come to mind. In the late 50's, I remember when WSM-650 and WLAC-1510 (both in Nashville, TN) were nightly visitors. WSM of course, had the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night. And us'n and our neighbors, who lived in east Texas, would gather at our house to listen on the car radio. Do a little danc'n in the yard. WLAC had Randy's Record Shop. This was the sale of the worst recordings you would ever want to hear. But they sold. Also on WLAC, I remember the sales of baby chicks, to be shipped to your home. I just don't remember the name of the company. There are so many stations that were had great radio, I couldn't possibly write them all down. Kids today have no idea how great it was. I didn't intend to write an essay, but I did. Thanks for your time, and for letting me to take a trip back to the jungles of my memoirs (Willis Monk, Old Fort, TN, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** URUGUAY [non]. See ARGENTINA [non] ** VENEZUELA. CHAVEZ SAYS MEDIA LAW MUST BE APPLIED STRICTLY, TASKS NEW MINISTERS A speech by President Hugo Chávez Frías [hereafter: Chavez] after swearing in the new Finance and Higher Education ministers, at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on 6 December (local time), was broadcast live by Radio Nacional de Venezuela. Chavez started off by announcing the passage of the Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law: "I and my cabinet signed off on it a few minutes ago and it will be published tomorrow in the Official Gazette. "I congratulate the National Assembly for setting such an important milestone, in the face of hardship, intrigues and the media campaign to discredit the law, and after withstanding all sorts of pressures. Pope John Paul II once said, referring to the media, that there cannot be unlimited liberties. Everything must be regulated. Hence the state, the institutions and the constitution. Jean-Jacques Rousseau also argued that between the strong and the weak, freedom oppresses and the law liberates. "Only the law frees the weak from the tyranny of the powerful and that is what we are aiming for here in Venezuela. With the promulgation of this new law, the Venezuelan people will be free from the domination of private media outlets and the dictatorship to which they subjected the nation for a very long time!" After criticizing remonstrating media owners and IAPA (Inter-American Press Association), Chavez added: "I call upon media outlets to obey this law, and urge the entities in charge of enforcing it - Communications Ministry, Infrastructure Ministry, Conatel [National Telecommunications Commission] - to be absolutely inflexible in its implementation." Focusing on the reason that day's ceremony, Chavez thanked outgoing Finance Minister Tobias Nobrega for his outstanding administration and for "bringing the ship safely to port through turbulent waters" and attempted to dispel misgivings about this cabinet change: "The truth is - as we have been telling the nation - that we have entered a new stage and are hard at work revising and planning what we have called the 2005-06 leap forward. The economy will, of course, play an important role. It is quite remarkable that, after all these years, a senior IMF official recently admitted that Venezuela's economic policies are effective, even though we are completely at odds with IMF views and have made our own decisions independently. That is a good sign. Let us hope that the IMF also appreciates the harsh reality that Latin American nations are undergoing, acknowledges their sovereignty and discards its shock policies." Chavez went on to describe how Nobrega "got us through the storm," and related the various economic hurdles his administration has had to overcome - including the opposition-led coup [in April 2002] and general strike [December 2002 - February 2003] - then said: "Now that the storm is behind us, we need to cement the economic changes and drive the transformation of the current capitalist model. In order to do that we need fortitude and a political, social and a framework of economic governability, which we have always had, but which was debilitated for quite some time." President Chavez gave incoming Finance Minister Nelson Merentes the task of: working together with the People's Economy Ministry; following up on the development plans for agriculture; looking after small and medium-sized businesses, tourism and housing; requiring private banks to abstain from speculating and to fulfil their duty as financial mediators; and recovering what the Central Bank owes the government. Chavez then predicted that 2004 will end well economically and 2005 will concentrate on "transforming the economic model and the ultimate goal of raising the standard of living of our people". Chavez then welcomed incoming Higher Education Minister Samuel Moncada to his new portfolio and gave him the task of improving the higher education system. Before taking his leave Chavez noted that the forthcoming signing of the Cusco Declaration will give birth to the South American Community of Nations. Source: Radio Nacional de Venezuela, Caracas, in Spanish 0217 gmt 7 Dec 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) Venezuela is following Canada's lead in terms of mandating local content on the radio. According to an article in the New York Times, a new law requires that "At least 50 percent of a radio station's programming must be Venezuelan music and at least 85 percent of its commercials must be Venezuelan-made. The law allows the government to impose fines and permits regulators to close stations that break the rules." With so few Venezuelans on SW any more, this is mostly of interest to MW DXers. The article mostly deals with how the new law regulates violence and sex on television when children might be watching. (Hmmm... does Hugo Chávez have higher moral standards than the Fox TV network and the US politicians that support it?) The article is at the following URL, but read it soon - usually after two or three days you have to pay to see them. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/international/americas/10venez.html (Don Moore, Dec 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Venezuelan radio (and TV) is subject to what has been labeled as a "Gag law". At any rate, I think this is the time to dig out your follow up reports and send them right away to Venezuela. The passing of the "Ley del contenido" may make stations more prone to honor QSL requests from abroad. Read this protest letter from Vienna [in English] http://www.eluniversal.com/2004/12/11/en_pol_art_11A515127.shtml The actual law can be found at http://www.eluniversal.com/2004/12/08/pol_esp_08A514359.shtml The government will set up a controlling body to monitor all broadcasting content, including the mandatory playing of the NA at midnight and 6 am (every 6th hour along the national borders). [UT -4] The law will be enforced by a Judiciary which, after recent purges, appears to be listening very intently to ``His Master´s Voice``. I think the comparison to Canada is slightly out of tune (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, HCDX via DXLD) This is not a bad news. When I listen to Kys FM on the Internet I only hear maybe 1% of Venezuelan music (the only YV artists I hear are Los Amigos Invisibles and Franco Devita) and a lot of Spanish pops from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and other countries along with lots of International pop/rock music. I'd like to hear more Venezuelan pop- rock/AC music, but I think there isn't much material in this country for this category. Most of YV music is salsa, merengue or llanera. Maybe Kys FM will start to play some llanera music to enter the 50% law. Personally, I like all the kinds of music, but from an objective point of view, this will homogenize the radio stations and their music like it is here in Quebec where you have a 65% French speaking music regulation along with the 35% Canadian content. You can hear CHR Canadian artists like Sugar Jones or Sky on CFQR (Q92) which is a soft-AC station and which makes Q92 sound quite similar to Mix 96 which is Top 40/CHR. What can happen with this law is that Kys FM will lose their Adult Contemporary format just as CKMF 94.3 (from the Radio Mutuel network, now called radio énergie) did lose their dance music format in the early 90's because there wasn't any French artists that played Latin freestyle, house, techno, etc and switched to Top 40 (which they still are 'till this day except for a few hours evenings and week-end afternoons when they the Happy Hour modern and classic rock show - there is much more French and especially Quebecois rock music than dance one). While I love Venezuelan music, putting a content of 50% YV music is a big obstacle for plurarisation and will obviously make some people be less open-minded. 73 and good DX ! (Bogdan Chiochiu from Pierrefonds- Est/West Island of Montreal, QC, HCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9705, 11/12 0320-0333, ??? R Mexico Int. ??? Tk books & Yucatán, Spanish, Very strong fading from no signal to excellent! Disappeared at 0333, no ID heard. RX Drake SPR-4 + T2FD (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, PlayDX via DXLD) XERMX unlikely, since it no longer exists, tho I see EiBi still has it in his incomplete B-04 schedule. Nothing else in various listings looks likely. My guess would be a punch-up error for some other station, which was corrected at 0333 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ DXpedition LEM202 in Lapland Last weekend I returned from a DXpedition to Lapland with Jim Solatie. Conditions on this "LEM202" DXpedition were above average, and we especially enjoyed listening to US West Coast stations. You can read the full story - with pictures - and browse the log on DXing.info: http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/lem202rep.dx http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/lem202log.dx 73s (Mika Mäkeläinen, Finland, MWDX yg via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ VERIFICATIONS OF H.A.R., PALTAMO 1979-2004 Hi, A huge list of verifications received by a Finnish DX-er Hannu Romppainen, Paltamo during years 1979-2004 has been added to web-pages of Kainuun DX-Kuuntelijat (KaiDX) (=DX-listeners of Kainuu Region). All stations (except few FM ones?) have been listened in Kainuu in North-East (Central actually?) Finland. Stations have been sorted in frequency order. Also other lists and writings there but unfortunately in Finnish language. (OK, list might be quite easy to read and understand everywhere?) So. please visit http://personal.inet.fi/kerho/kaidx/dx.html and check. (Alpo Heinonen, Rovaniemi, Finland http://personal.inet.fi/koti/alpo.heinonen/ Dec 8, HCDX via DXLD) Very important EMWG notice! EURO-AFRICAN MEDIUMWAVE GUIDE The EMWG is no more, long live the EMWG! Allow me to explain this somewhat cryptic message. The European Medium Wave Guide will very soon cease to exist. So will the African Medium Wave Guide by James Niven. The two publications will be merged into the Euro-African Medium Wave Guide (EMWG). Both James and I are currently working on the details. A new web site with the same url as before: http://www.emwg.info will be created. The whole merger should be finished in several days' time, anyway, well before Christmas. The online version will be dealt with first. The first PDF edition will be published around New Year (the date that was foreseen for the new European MW Guide), perhaps a few days earlier. We hope this will be a nice Christmas and New Year present to the DXing community. As you may well realise, the new EMWG will contain a full and detailed list of literally ALL long and medium wave stations in Europe, the whole of Africa and the Middle East. It goes without say that we hope to count on your cooperation to keep the EMWG as accurate as possible. So if you have additional information or corrections to the current EMWG&AMWG, please don't hesitate to send them to us. 73 Herman & James (Herman Boel, Dec 5, MWC via DXLD) ORCHID CITY DATABASE FREE, B-04 Hi everyone. If you go to the following URL, you can download a comprehensive database of the B04 Schedule. The source of the information is the HFCC public data, which was retyped into a text file. The text file was converted into TPS computer language. This database is capable of sorting and searching by Radio Station, Frequency, Schedule, and Language. This is not a text type database. In addition, all records can be changed, updated or deleted. The URL is: http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/IMAGE38.HTML The above subject to change without notice (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, Dec 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX PASSION If it does not it interest you I ask this message delete Her. Hello friends, Couple weeks ago we've decided to create new portal for all of you, for all people with real DX passion. Some of you already were there some other, not yet. But it's not important, we're growing up everyday, even if you was on DX Passion yesterday, today you will be surprised with something new. Everything is changing, our portal too. Our mission is to create place when you would find everything you need, everything what can be helpful in our passion, DX passion. Many of you already help us, with all sanded materials etc. maybe now is your turn to do something, remember you don't do it to us, you do it for all radio operators all over the world, for all users of DX Passion. Visit us, be one of us, and you'll never regret. See you on http://www.dxpassion.com Admin & Moderator of DX- PASSION, MSN: od002@o2.pl ICQ: 343-792-930 YIM: dario13sd205 GG: 1480256 (Dario, Germany?, Dec 9? MWDX yg via DXLD) Hello, We're very sorry about last problems with DX Passion page. Now our page is on new faster and better server which will works without breaks. You can find us now under two URL http://www.dxpassion.info and http://www.dxpassion.com Sorry for inconveniences. Please visit us again. We're waiting for you (DX Passion Team, Dec 10, ibid.) MUSEA +++++ MARCONI COLLECTION TO MOVE TO UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Marconi Corporation plc and The University of Oxford have announced an agreement to transfer the historic Marconi Collection to The Bodleian Library and The Museum of the History of Science, both part of the University of Oxford. Marconi has agreed to gift the Collection to the University where it will have a safe and secure future, preserving the integrity of this unique collection. Through the generosity of the Wireless Preservation Society a full time archivist will be appointed to catalogue the Collection over the next three years. Dating from 1895, this is an unrivalled collection of Marconi artefacts, apparatus and printed material, much of which formed the basis of early wireless communication. This includes: * The early patents, such as the famous "7777" patent which, in 1900, solved the problem of multi-station operation without mutual interference; * Apparatus used in the first transatlantic wireless transmission of 1901; * A wealth of historical documents including telegrams sent during the Titanic disaster of 1912; whose subsequent Board of Enquiry endorsed the recommendations of Guglielmo Marconi, fundamentally improving safety at sea and saving countless lives, and * Items relating to the birth of broadcasting, such as the microphone used by the legendary Australian diva, Dame Nellie Melba to broadcast the world's first live recital in 1920. The Museum of the History of Science will put on permanent public display some of the over 250 artefacts from the Collection. In an adjacent building The Bodleian Library will house the thousands of papers, letters and other printed material going back to 1895, making them available for viewing and research access. The BAFTA award- winning website marconicalling.com, based on the Marconi Collection, is also to be transferred to the University. Oxford University have commenced planning for a major exhibition of items from the Collection in the Spring of 2006. It is expected that Oxford University will work together with the Essex Record Office and the Museums Service in Chelmsford such that a representative set of historic items from the Collection are on display at an appropriate location in the town, the original home of the Marconi Company from 1898 and the acknowledged "Birthplace of Radio". # posted by Andy @ 12:18 UT Dec 8 (Media Network blog via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ JUNK BAND WIRELESS TV CAMERAS WJRT-12 sent a crew with a hand-held TV around Flint and they picked up wireless-camera images from private properties. I doubt they were using 2.4GHz receivers to pick this stuff up, as the target of the story was the normal property owner. I'll bet WJRT was using an Icom R3. http://www.icomamerica.com/products/receivers/r3/ http://www.tscm.com/TSCM101wavecom2.html http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=1&id=1074787383270&type=product&ref=03&loc=01 One of our photographers at WSMV has one of these Icoms. Interesting box. It'll also pick up the station's live trucks, though Cam says it doesn't seem to be very sensitive in that service. The microwave receivers we use for live shots will tune this band. We occasionally see surveillance video - one system delivered a clean (but black-and-white!) picture from a location we identified as a building eight kilometers away. Of course, most microwave DXers don't have the benefit of a 1400-foot tower! Monitoring the 46-50 MHz band for baby monitors can be interesting as well. There was an article in QST many years ago where a retired CIA agent disclosed the scary details he was able to learn about the lives of his town's hams by monitoring the conversations on a single VHF ham frequency. He'd be mortified to know how much more everyone (not just hams) discloses about their lives through the use of modern consumer electronic gear... -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) The ICOM IC3 or 3A handheld TFT screen receivers covering up to 2.45 GHz (FM video 900 to 2.45 GHz) are a common tool for detecting the presence of wireless cameras. The 2.4 GHz band allows this mode of frequency modulated television (audio if present is sent as a subcarrier - just like C-band analogue satellite TV) on 8 to 11 "channels." A wireless security camera with a legal 100 milliwatt (0.1 watt) radiated output into a stubby antenna will do 200-500 feet typically but if the receiver is equipped with a 5-8 element yagi (fits in your hand at that frequency), double that distance. Moreover, Asian sources sell 400 millwatt to 1 watt (clearly illegal) transmitters about the size of a pack of Redman Gum and the higher power increases the distance. The good thing about this is the ease of installation (no cabling required, flexible camera locations that can be moved at will in a few minutes time). The downside is once radiated into the air, the camera must endure interference from dozens to hundreds of other users of the same frequency range (all users here are unlicensed and that includes wireless laptop systems), and, the most obvious of all - potential thieves standing outside the building with an Icom receiver can quickly survey all that is going on inside without knowledge of those inside. I amused myself in a shopping Center at Gilroy, California last month while Gay and Seth were shopping by wandering around the 170 store fronts detecting their indoor cameras. No professional burglar arrives on a job anymore without an Icom in his kit bag! (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, ibid.) ELECTRICAL CORDS AND CARCINOGENS Everything isn't toxic. Everything has become perceived as toxic by well, let's just say by some people who believe that the gravel in your front yard is a free and living entity that deserves all our respect and the vote. Seriously though, It is the plastic insulation that is toxic. Plastics, when burning, emit some fairly toxic fumes. This is why we cannot burn tires any longer in our front yard. And, by virtue of the heat produced by an electrical current, wires are always burning and, therefore, emitting toxic fumes (Kenny Daniel, fireman?, shortwavebasics yg via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BPL in Nelson County VA The first commercial service in the country to connect rural areas to the Internet via electric power lines has debuted in Nelson County, Virginia. Boxes called ``regenerators`` installed on utility poles every half-mile carry the signal down the power lines. Other high-speed Internet providers such as cable companies typically don`t extend service to rural areas because the cost of installing equipment is prohibitively high compared to the number of potential users. ``It`s just not economically feasible to put in that cable infrastructure,`` Lee said. ``One advantage of the power line is it does go everywhere.`` Installing the necessary infrastructure to offer BPL service to the electric cooperative`s entire 14-county area would cost about $7 million, Lee estimated. Building the infrastructure in every electric cooperative in Virginia would cost about $100 million. ``Our biggest hurdle is it`s very capital-intensive,`` he said. To offset some of those costs, IBEC [International Broadband Electric Communications of Huntsville, Ala.] will apply for a $20 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s Rural Utilities Service program, a modern version of the government program that brought electricity to rural areas in the 1930s. Critics of BPL technology have argued that power line ``noise`` could interfere with ham radio signals. Lee said IBEC avoids that issue by sending data signals on frequencies not used by ham radio operators. [Riiiight! I wonder how much optical fiber could be installed for $7 million, $20 million or $100 million?!? Investing in an internet technology that relies on copper wire seems about as smart as peeing on an electric fence. =) I wonder whether the public is given an opportunity to review and comment on such loan applications. KK] Full Story - http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031779627804&path= 73, (Ken Kopp, Amateur Radio KKØHF, http://www.qsl.net/kk0hf/ dxldyg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION CONDITIONS According to KN4LF Radio Propagation Update, during the past three days geomagnetic indices have been very quiet. Also the solar wind speed has been unusually slow at under 300 and the density also very low. Most of the guideline parameters necessary to see good propagation conditions have been met. Here are the general guideline parameters that we have often referred to in our DX Programmes, concerning correlation of propagation indices to actual expected HF/MF propagation conditions: Dropping indices numbers are better. For medium frequencies a solar flux under 150 better, 70 is best for E-layer multi hop. Keep in mind though that the 10.7 cm or 2800 MHz solar flux index is not a ``reliable`` gauge of ionization in our atmosphere for F layer HF refractions as the energy of protons at this frequency is too low on the order of one million times. However, most are used to solar flux and sunspot number and it`s a hard habit to break. A better indication is is the background x-ray flux. Previous 24 A index under 10, under 7 for several days consecutively is best. Previous 3 hour K index under 3 for mid latitude paths, under 2 for high latitude paths, 0-1 for several days consecutively is best. (R. Bulgaria DX Program Dec 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) MULTI-MEGAMETER TRANS-EQUATORIAL FM DX, CARIBBEAN TO SOUTHERN BRAZIL Escutas de FM do Caribe --- caros amigos, ontem à noite dia 10/12/04 no horário de Brasília e já no dia 11/12/04 no tempo universal fiz umas escutas de algumas emissoras de FM até que a chuva veio para estragar tudo. Com a ajuda da lista de FM do Caribe que o Flávio Arcângelo fez, muito bem feita, passo os logs abaixo: 91.1 11/12/2004 0004 ATG Observer Radio, talks mv, 35343 92.5 11/12/2004 0009 PTR WORO Radio ORO, talks vm em Espanhol "Una Historia del amor..." 34343 92.9 11/12/2004 0016 BRB Voice of Barbados, talks vm em inglês "..Tomorrow..." 45454 94.3 11/12/2004 0024 MRT RFO R. Martinica, Mx instrumental 24243 94.5 11/12/2004 0031 UNID, talkz fv em inglês 22222 *94.7 11/12/2004 0036 UNID, vf, ID e mx popular dancante 45454 95.5 11/12/2004 0045 MSR R. Monteserrat- ZJB, Mx típica da região 35344 97.3 11/12/2004 0051 LCA R. St Lucia, Mx típica da região, 35444 98.1 11/12/2004 0102 BRB Voice of Barbados, vm em inglês e música típica da região, 45354 *esta emissora foi identificada e falou claramente WCOM e com música popular. De acordo com a lista do Flávio esta emissora é a WCOM onda 94 de Porto Rico, porém não tenho certeza, pois penso eu que este país fala em espanhol e não em inglês. [Surely some PR stns speak English] Escutas feitas em Garopaba, Santa Catarina, com receptor Sony ICF SW7600 com antena telescópica. Todas emissoras foram gravadas em uma fita k7 (Anderson José Torquato, Dec 11, radioescutas yg via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ("'Tis the season for disputes over Christmas, State-Church separation," 12/3/03) http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/xmas2.htm ("Remnants of Christmas Past," by Conrad Goeringer. Explores how the "Christmas" holiday has evolved as part of our history reflecting religious, political and class sensibilities.) http://www.americanatheist.org/win99-00/T2/remnants.html ("What I Want For Winter Solstice," by Ellen Johnson) http://www.americanatheist.org/supplement/wintersol-ej2000.html ("The Solstice Season," by Madalyn O'Hair -- based on the American Atheist Radio Series classic!) http://www.americanatheist.org/win00-01/T2/ohair.html (Winter Solstice: Sun, Moon and Worship," by Conrad Goeringer http://www.americanatheist.org/supplement/wintersol-sun-moon.html ("The Solstitial and Equinoctial Seasons," by Frank Zindler) http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/seasons.html (AA Newsletter Dec 10 via DXLD) ###