DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-012, January 20, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING0 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 2005 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 1260: Thu 2130 WOR WWCR 9985 Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream repeated 2-hourly thru 2400 Fri 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Sat 0000 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sat 0900 WOR WRN1 to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar, Telstar 12 SAm Sat 0955 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1130 WOR WWCR 5070 Sat 2030 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 0330 WOR WWCR 5070 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 [week delay] Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 0700 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1260 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1260 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1260.html WORLD OF RADIO 1260 in the true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3: keep checking http://www.piratearchive.com/dxprograms.htm MUNDO RADIAL, enero-febrero 2005: (descargar) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0501.rm (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0501.ram (guión) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0501.html También en WWCR 9985, desde el 21 de enero: viernes 2215, martes 2230, miércoles 2200; además en segmentos por Radio Enlace de Radio Nederland, los viernes y domingos. TSUNAMI ITEMS: ANDAMAN & NICOBAR, INDIA, MALDIVE ISLANDS, NETHERLANDS ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Re R. Solh, 5-011: Hi Glenn, some comments re this one. It might well be right that the report was sent to the wrong address, but the address to Radio Solh was given in DX Window 053 issue and to them I sent the report. The reply came by email as you know. Maybe MARLO just answered without checking or are the both connected somehow in Bahrain?! Does anybody have another address to Radio Solh???? Don`t blame the pianist but maybe the composer instead, hi?? 73 (Torre Ekblom, Finland, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. INTERNEWS BACKS NEW RADIO SPIN GHAR FOR NANGARHAR, TORA BORA | Text of Sanjar Qiam report in English by Internews Afghanistan on 19 January With the phone ringing constantly, Sheer Bahadur couldn't concentrate on producing his programmes. After announcing the phone number on the air, the new radio station was deluged with calls. "We couldn't run the station and take all the requests," the station manager smiles, describing how he had to unplug the phone at Radio Spin Ghar ("White Mountain"), which opened in early December with the assistance of Internews. The station reaches 220,000 people in the predominantly Pashto- speaking Nangarhar Province. It also broadcasts to the region of Tora Bora. Sheer Bahadur and the 24 other people volunteering or working at the station are busy producing eight local programmes including "Wish for Marriage," a drama discussing the strict Pashto code among the community. It focuses on the traditional use of girls as currency to assuage blood-feuds between families. "There are no actresses yet," shrugs Sheer Bahadur, "but I'm going to save up for a car which can bring them to the station." Radio Spin Ghar (88.5 MHz FM) was set up by Internews under the project "Support for Independent Radio Stations in Afghanistan," which is funded by the US Agency for International Development/Office of Transitional Initiatives (USAID/OTI). The project was launched in February 2003 with the original goal of building 14 stations. But Radio Spin Ghar is the 26th station of 29 that have opened. The station receives Salaam Watandar, an Internews-coordinated satellite-fed broadcast that transmits nationwide twice daily. "All of our programmes are in Pashto," explains Sheer Bahadur, "but we receive Salaam Watandar and that provides programmes for both Pashto and Dari speakers." The station broadcasts for nine hours daily. Internews- supported independent radio stations reach over 9.5 million Afghans. Source: Internews Afghanistan, Kabul, in English 19 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. RELAUNCH FOR AFGHAN WOMEN'S RADIO By Paul Anderson BBC News The first radio station dedicated to the interests of women has been relaunched in Afghanistan. The Voice of Women station promises to help women deal with the violence and discrimination they still face in many parts of the country. It is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of women in the capital, Kabul, and more distant provinces. The station was taken back on air by its director - and one of the country's most famous women - Jamileh Mujahed. She was the first local woman broadcaster to appear on television announcing the fall of the Taleban in 2001. Forced marriages Female presenters were banned under the Taleban's strict regime. Ms Mujahed is known for her forthright views in a country where millions of women are not allowed out of their homes by their husbands or male relatives. It is perhaps unsurprising that women are among the hungriest listeners to radio in Afghanistan. The station hopes to reach many as yet untouched by the changes and reconstruction taking place in Kabul and elsewhere. Ms Mujahed, a mother-of-five, will target women's needs with programmes designed to educate, enlighten and emancipate. She told the BBC that forced marriages, violence in the home, the rearing of children and women's participation in social and political institutions would be regular themes. The station's relaunch was attended by cabinet ministers in Kabul, and President Hamid Karzai sent a message of support. This is proof, said Ms Mujahed, that the government cares about the role of women in Afghanistan. The station was initially set up shortly after the Taleban fell but closed because of lack of funds for studio equipment and transmission antennae. A German non-governmental organisation has stepped in to make the relaunch possible. It is hoped this time the voice of women will be able to stay on the air. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4185271.stm Published: 2005/01/18 18:15:47 GMT © BBC MMV (via Art Blair, DXLD) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. HOW COMMUNITY RADIO TOOK ON TSUNAMI FURY BHASKAR ROY TIMES NEWS NETWORK WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005 11:02:37 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/995659.cms NEW DELHI: At a time when television networks were still disrupted in the aftermath of the tsunami, the All India Radio played a vital role as communication lifeline for the traumatised people of the Andamans. The AIR read out 13,000 messages of missing people on the far-off islands helping their relations to get in touch. The role radio played seems to have made the government take a fresh look at the importance of community radio in coastal areas. Soon after the AIR part in battling disruptions came in for appreciation, the authorities took the first tentative step towards setting up a community radio station in the Andamans. I & B secretary Navin Chawla got in touch with Dr Sridhar of Anna University in Chennai, who had set up the country's first community radio service on the campus, and requested him to visit the Andamans to assess the possibility of such a radio service there. "Community radio can be an important component in disaster management," Chawla said (via Alokesh Gupta New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) MISSION AND DUTY GO HAM IN HAND --- CH SUSHIL RAO, TIMES NEWS NETWORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005 01:15:11 AM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/994594.cms HYDERABAD: They are expected to rush to disaster sites, okay. But when a bunch of Ham radio operators from Hyderabad arrived in the Andamans early December, squaring up to a natural calamity was something they were not expecting, least of all a tsunami. Excited, the team - the second Ham expedition to the archipelago in 17 years - was on a different mission altogether, making the most of a Supreme Court ban- lift on Ham activities there. Then the tsunami happened, putting them right in the thick of devastation. They were the first to establish links with the mainland from the sea wrecked islands. Back in the city, the expeditionists from the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) shared their experiences with The Times of India. "After the tsunami, Ham operators from several countries contacted us for information on people visiting the Andamans then," said S Ram Mohan, additional director, NIAR. Ram Mohan himself had to scurry to safety in Port Blair as giant waves crashed into the island. Duty calling, he left for worst-hit Car Nicobar to help local authorities in relief efforts. The other team members, including NIAR assistant director Jose Jacob, computer incharge R Sharat Babu and team leader Bharti Prasad, coordinated with officials in relief efforts in Port Blair and other places. But before the tsunami hit, the team had already accomplished 'DXpedition', the mission for which were in the islands. In Ham parlance, 'D' stands for making contact (with operators across the world) and 'X' means the unknown. Andamans were the 'unknown and inaccessible' for Ham radio contact. "Our Hams established contact with 30,000 operators from practically every country in the globe," NIAR director S Suri said (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Hi Glenn, ARDS Community Development Radio Service WEBSITE:- http://www.ards.com.au/broadcast.htm makes no mention of Shortwave? Has various links including soundfiles. 73 (Tim Gaynor, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, currently only on 1530 kHz; but the support page does say: ``Please join us in making this capacity building service readily available on AM (subject to licensing) as well as Short Wave as soon as possible. We commenced the 'shoestring' service on 1 August 2003.`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS [and non]. This would be a good time to log ZNS. They've been running non-directional all week (Jerry Kiefer, Port Orange, FL, Jan 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) TENTATIVE reception of ZNS-1540 around 2208 EST this evening (1/18), with accented English preacher whose voice characteristics matched what I was hearing on their live web stream --- unfortunately buried in muck of KXEL, KGBC and possibly others; local KLFJ-1550 nulled. Right now (2217 EST) I'm getting traces of the gospel music that's on their web stream. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up on this. I'm still waiting for a good positive logging of this, but this is the closest I've EVER gotten in some 35 years of DXing! Jeez, I couldn't even hear it when I was in the Orlando area last summer (Randy Stewart, Battlefield (Springfield) MO, ibid.) After seeing all the aurora stories (both here and in the general media) I decided to take a listen for ZNS on 1540. I've heard them before but only very weakly. Sure enough, there was a loud signal with a heavily Caribbean-accented announcer, reading the news right after midnight ELT. By far the loudest I've ever heard ZNS. But I began to wonder --- when he read a story about the progress of the NHL labo(u)r talks. Does anyone in the Bahamas really care about ice hockey even without a lockout?? Hmmm... then, the next story was about roller- coaster weather in Canada. Well, I guess there *are* a fair number of Bahamians living in Toronto, but still... Well, he sealed it with a detailed Toronto weather forecast and an ID as "Chin, Toronto's Caribbean Connection". So much for the Auroral conditions (Doug Smith, W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Here, just east of Cleveland, TN, I had ZNS-1540 in S-9 all night long. Starting around 0000 EST to 0500 they dominated the frequency. Did have just a little of KXEL-1540 Waterloo, IO. But for the most part, ZNS was in on 1540 and 810 (Willis Monk, Old Fort, TN, Jan 19, ibid.) After reading your post I turned on the receiver to see what I could pick up I know I'm being cruel, but here it is: 1650 ET 1540 KHz, 50 KW, ZNS1 Nassau, Bahamas, S9+10dB, "I Did It My Way" artist unknown. 1655 ET 0810 KHz, 1 KW, ZNS3 Freeport, Bahamas, S9+35dB, Caribbean music. 1700 ET 1240 KHz, 1 KW, ZNS2 Nassau, Bahamas, S9 with heavy noise and splatter from WBZT 1230, Announcer followed by preacher. Really disappointed with ZNS2 reception. I guess 100 miles over sea water isn't quite the same thing as with what others must contend. Sorry, just couldn't resist, (W. Curt Deegan Boca Raton, (South East) Florida [JRC NRD-535D, LF Engineering H-800 & M-601, Quantum Phaser, ANC-4 noise canceler, GAP DSP, ibid.) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar, 7185 // 4808 1/15 1240 English news commentary. Checked 4880 – nothing. Found 4808± // at 1249. [4808 not heard for 1315 Hindi transmission, only 7185]. 1259 YL followed by tone. 1300 signal off. 4880 heard tentative on 1/15 at 1424. At 1430 it was not English, but also was probably not AIR 4880 Lucknow (20 kW), (as I have heard English from Lucknow at 1430, including possibly on 1/16). So here is our answer to ``what has happened to 9550?`` Did not hear anything on 15520 on any day, although my listening was all night time (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CAMBODIA ** BIAFRA [non]. V. of Biafra, 7380 --- Jan 19 at 2145- picked up Voice of Biafra from Meyerton, South Africa, in English and listed Igbo, with anti-Nigeria talks. 2200* with clear ID (as being produced in Washington DC) and "God Bless and Keep Biafra". Fair sig but audio was hard to follow (John Cereghin, Smyrna DE, HCDX via DXLD) This was a Wednesday; also on Saturdays (gh) ** BRAZIL. BRAZILIAN STATE RADIO TO LAUNCH INTERNATIONAL TV CHANNEL | Excerpt from report by Lia Rangel: "Congress TV , Senate TV, Court TV and Radiobras to join together in international test transmission", published by Brazilian news agency Agencia Brasil web site Brasilia: The World Social Forum (WSF) taking place in Porto Alegre - RS [Rio Grande do Sul] from 26 to 31 January is to be the stage of the first signal test transmission for a Brazilian state TV channel broadcasting to the exterior, in a joint operation between Radiobrás [Brazilian National Radio], Senate TV, Congress TV and Court TV. A pilot station, TV Brazil, is to be set up at the WSF aimed at the South American nations. For six days, journalists from Brazil and other South American countries will work as a team to produce programming in Spanish. TV Brazil is a new initiative uniting the three state powers - the executive, legislative and judicial branches - with the primary aim of promoting South American integration. [Passage omitted] There will be 24-hour transmissions by the channel for the six days of the forum, which will be able to be picked up in South, Central and North America, as well as Western Europe. The programming will include live anchors at the main events, the broadcast of shows and on-air debates, interviews, bulletins and a daily 30-minute news report. Source: Agencia Brasil web site, Brasilia, in Portuguese 2119 gmt 18 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA [non]. Hong Kong DX Report --- Glenn, here`s the scoop on 10 days in China and Hong Kong --- writing this at HK Airport. Pardon any typos / formatos in advance. Glenn - in Guam now. Can finally get this out. Checked 11938 at 1230 several times. There is a good signal around this frequency, but it is not Cambodia; did not hear it at all on this trip. Also never got a good read on Bhutan 6035 at 1500 (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See BANGLADESH, INDIA, LAOS, NEPAL, VIETNAM ** CHINA. In the last days I can hear CRI in Russian at 1900-2057 on unlisted 6100 kHz. SINPO varies from 42432 to 44444, QRM by Serbia and Montenegro at 1900-1928 and 2030-2058, both stations come with equal signal levels. HFCC table provides the following data: 6100 1700 2100 28,29 QIQ 500 304 1234567 311004 270305 D CHN CRI RTC QIQ stands for Qiqighar. During the geomagnetic storms considerable flatter is observed - that's because signal path goes through higher latitudes. \\ 1521 (1-2), 5905 (1-2), 7245 (3-4), 9365 (1-2). (open_dx - Sergey Nikishin, Moscow, Russia, Signal Jan 20 via DXLD) ** COOK ISLANDS. HOW THE COMMUNICATION CUTS HIT COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC --- by Claire Trevett, Juliet Rowan and Wayne Thompson http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10007156 In the Cooks, people could only telephone others on their own island. Some television satellite links were disrupted. Phone services were restored in Rarotonga after about 24 hours, but internet services were still down last night. At Cafe Tupuna on Aitutaki, a spokesman said businesses could not use Eftpos. "The planes kept flying but Cook Island News said all the Air New Zealand systems went down so they had to do everything manually. "Otherwise, there were not really any major problems, just that we were cut off from the outside world for a couple of days. But then, we're cut off from the outside world even in the normal run of things." Tourism businesses coped by returning to more traditional methods of communication. Cameron Robertson, a Scotsman who owns Castaway Beach Villas in Rarotonga, said they were booking by facsimile rather than on-line. He said the internet was still down last night, and phones were down for 24 hours. "It was a bit restrictive because we were totally cut off so there was no means of communication at all here. "It kind of alarms you about what could happen. "I'm keen on soccer, coming from Scotland and with time spent in Liverpool, and I couldn't get any soccer results from the internet. Fortunately the weather has compensated - we've had weeks of sunny 35- degree days, unlike in New Zealand." (NZ Herald via Kim Elliott, DXLD) More under, SAMOA, SOLOMON ISLANDS ** CUBA. CUBAN TV NETWORKS CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND UPGRADE OBSOLETE TRANSMITTERS --- so TV DXERS in North America, the Caribbean and Central America, as well as those of you in the northern part of South America, be on the lookout for much better signals from CUBAVISION, TELEREBELDE AND CANAL EDUCATIVO, the three Cuban TV networks that operate their transmitters on the VHF Low TV band channels two to six. CANAL EDUCATIVO's Havana VHF transmitter is broadcasting on channel 4, using the NTSC-M standard, and it's delivering a very high quality signal to three Cuban provinces, the City of Havana, the province of Havana, and part of Pinar del Río. Havana's TeleRebelde channel 2 TV transmitter is also a brand new one, as well as CUBAVISION channel 6. The three stations are broadcasting from the TELEVILLA site west of the capital, and CANAL EDUCATIVO DOS the second educational TV network is also broadcasting from the same site using UHF channel 15 with a very nice high gain antenna at the top or Televilla's tower, that was installed way back in 1956. But this is not the nation's tallest TV tower. Televilla is the second highest one, with Camagüey's TV broadcast center tower been the nation's highest man made structure, after Canal Educativo's UHF antenna was installed at the top, reaching the 203 meters high mark. By the way, for those of you that enjoy learning about TV broadcast towers, 200 meters is considered by structural engineers the highest possible towers that can be installed in Cuba with a long life expectancy, as higher towers can't take the fierce force of hurricanes, even when the storms don't strike directly into the area where they are located. More about Cuba's ongoing radio and TV development programming in an upcoming edition of DXers Unlimited, amigos!!! (Prof. Arnaldo Coro A., CO2KK, RHC DXUL Jan 18-19, via ODXA via DXLD) ** CYPRUS. THREAT TO US RADIO STATION DISMISSED AS ‘REMOTE’ By Jean Christou http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=17797&cat_id=1 THE U.S. had information of a possible attack on an American radio facility in Cyprus, but authorities on the island have dismissed the threat, the Justice Minister Theodoros Theodorou said yesterday. The purported target was the American listening post, radio station Voice of America in Nicosia. The suspect is a Greek with alleged sympathies to the now-defunct Greek November 17 guerrilla group, Theodorou told the state broadcaster. "The assessment of police was that such an eventuality is remote. This is not to say we have not taken additional measures," Theodorou said. "(The alert) came from the (US) embassy and it was not yesterday. It was last Saturday to be exact and the alleged intended target was the American station," the minister added. Cyprus, seen as a haven for people either fleeing violence in the Middle East or political turmoil in eastern Europe, has not seen a serious security-related incident in more than a decade, but does routinely get alerts. A false security alert last month related to warnings of a rocket attack on the Russian embassy in Nicosia, which is in the same vicinity as the US embassy. The alert put most of the police force on an emergency footing for several hours with searches from street to street with sniffer dogs. The radical leftist November 17, which targeted British, American and Turkish diplomats over 27 years, was busted by Greek authorities in 2002 with its ringleaders jailed. It was never known to have undertaken an attack beyond the Greek borders. Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2004 (via radiointel.com via DXLD) So VOA has a listening post in Nicosia? That should be low-profile, with no transmitters. Or are they confusing this with FBIS? I vaguely recall such a US facility on Cyprus was previously target of some strife (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. On 19 Jan at 1615 noted a station with US religious program on 15190. The signal was OK, but audio at times sounded like a faulty CD player. Improved later and the ID was "Radio Africa number 2". So Equatorial Guinea activated here - long time, no hear (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for the tip Jari - also heard here from tune in at 1655 with full ID at 1700 UT giving their address as: Radio Africa Number 2, 20410 Town Centre Lane 200, Cupertino, California 95014, USA email info @ panambc.com Excellent signal here (Dave Kenny, UK, ibid.) This station which carries US evangelical programming brokered by Pan American Broadcasting, has been off the air for years. In March 2003 it was reported that two new 50 kW shortwave transmitters were to be installed in Equatorial Guinea by Chinese technicians. Radio Bata has been heard recently (albeit intermittently) back on 5005 kHz, so perhaps the second transmitter has been installed on 15190 kHz? (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) I just tried 15190 kHz at 1715 UT. Really, there is an English speaking religious station. Reception was very weak and best with LSB. This must re-activated Radio Africa from Equatorial Guinea as suggested by Jari Savolainen. This is a new acquaintance for me. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, HCDX via DXLD) I was listening to BBC Antigua 15190 until 1530, and no sign of any QRM here. Hope that continue to be the case. How is their frequency accuracy? Used to be off a few kHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks pretty like even 15190 in my Icom. They announce the usual PAB address in Cupertino (Jari Savolainen, dxldyg via DXLD) It was spot on 15190 today. No sign of any interference from BBC here! (Dave Kenny, ibid.) Re Equatorial Guinea - what is assumed to be this station is audible at fair strength 1515 on 15190.00 with English Gospel programmes. There is a much weaker co-channel station which I guess will be BBC ATG referred to by Glenn. 73s, (Noel R. Green [Blackpool-UK], Jan 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Programming on France Inter was interrupted for a half an hour on Monday morning, January 18, as protestors representing part- time workers broke into a studio that was on the air. According to the French Associated Press, listeners heard the reader of the 7:30am newscast say, "It seems part-timers are trying to get into the France- Inter studio." Host Stephane Paoli then cut the program off and the station broadcast music for a half an hour. Regular programming resumed at 8am and the last part of the hour, normally devoted to listener comments, was devoted to a debate between the demonstrators and journalists. "France-Inter is a radio station that is open to all points of view," Paoli told listeners (Mike Cooper, Jan 19, DX Listening Digest) ** GUYANA. FLOODS FORCE GUYANA'S NATIONAL RADIO STATION TO ABANDON STUDIOS Guyana yesterday declared its flood-hit capital Georgetown and surrounding areas disaster zones after the heaviest rains in more than a century. National Communications Network (NCN) Radio was forced to abandon Broadcasting House on High Street, Georgetown and use its outside broadcast unit in the compound of its sister television station. Staff said electrical fittings in the studio are under water and precautionary measures were taken to evacuate the building. The flood waters also forced 98.1 Hot FM and the Voice of Guyana to stop broadcasting. However, NCN television was on the air all day updating viewers on the flooding. (Source: Guyana Chronicle) # posted by Andy @ 10:36 UT Jan 19 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** INDIA. The AIR programs noted lately on 11585 is actually beamed to the Andamans and started just after the earthquake / tsunami. The FM Rainbow programs are mostly in Hindi which is widely spoken in the islands. Actually I first monitored it while in Ram Krishna Pur, Little Andaman for Ham Radio relief communications and the signals were strong there. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, Jan 19, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR HS, 1430 English news survey on 1/15 and 1/16: 4840, 5050 (not on Jose`s list of 1/2 in DXLD) [Aizawl], 9425, 9470, 9575, 9835. English Sports News at 1435 on 9575 and 5050, possibly 6085. Checked all other audible AIR HS frequencies, no other sports news //s found. AIR HS, 1530 and 1545 news and commentary survey on 1/16. 1530: 3223, 4760, 4800, 4820 bad QRM, 4840 tent, 4880, 4895, 4910, 4920, 4940, 5010(!) Thiruvanathapuram, 5040, 6085, 7195, 7255, 9425, 9470, 9575, 9835. This is the only time I have heard 5010 with English news, but it follows the general guideline that all AIR HS frequencies carry English news from Delhi (?) at 1530. 1545 commentary: 4760, 4775, 4895, 5040, 9425, 9470, 9575, 9835; to 1600. AIR HS, 1/16 1504 English news heard: 4895 only 60 mb frequency heard. 31 mb included 9425, 9470, 9575, 9835. Didn`t know about Jose`s info re: 11585 AIR frequency when I was listening (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CAMBODIA ** IRAN. ANALYSIS: IRAN STRUGGLES TO CONTROL WEBLOGGERS | Text of editorial analysis by Steve Metcalf of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 19 January Persian weblogs have become the new battleground for freedom of expression in Iran and the focus for the latest political tussle between the hard-line parliament and judiciary and the increasingly frustrated administration of President Khatami. Some 20 online journalists and weblog writers were arrested and held for up to two months in late 2004, on charges such as disturbing public opinion. On their release, a number of them appeared on television or published statements in the press to say that they regretted their actions and had been well treated during their detention. However, some soon withdrew their confessions, telling an investigating committee they had been subjected to severe physical and psychological pressure during their detention. These retractions were made public in the weblog of a member of that committee, Mohammad Ali Abtahi. Abtahi was one of Khatami's vice- presidents, until he resigned in October saying that it had become impossible to work with the hard-liners in parliament. Over the past year he has become one of Iran's most prominent bloggers, using his site to offer personal insights into the administration and to promote his reformist views. While the president ordered an investigation into the torture claims, and the case of the journalists was taken away from the Tehran prosecutor and put in the hands of a special committee, Abtahi himself was threatened with legal action for "spreading lies". His website was also the target of hackers, not for the first time. In early January he noted that he had been unable to publish for several days, adding: "Perhaps the reason is clear since the website was blocked right after setting up the text about the weblog writers." Internet usage in Iran grew by 1,800 per cent between 2000 and 2004. Software developments have made it very easy to write and publish weblogs in Persian, which now occupies third place in the ranking of blogs by language. Most of these blogs deal with personal, day-to-day issues and only 10 per cent are estimated to be political in content. The extent of the online community was demonstrated in November, when Iranians of all political persuasions were outraged by a new edition of the National Geographic atlas that referred to the Arabian Gulf. By linking their pages to a protest page, Persian bloggers were able to create a "Google bomb", that is to manipulate the results of a Google search for Arabian Gulf so that the top result led to a page which stated: "The gulf you are looking for does not exist. Try Persian Gulf." Unlike countries such as China and Saudi Arabia, which have adopted strong and consistent policies on internet access and blocking sites they disapprove of, Iran's approach has reflected the divisions within the establishment. There is general agreement that pornographic and anti-religious sites should be blocked or filtered out by Internet Service Providers, but beyond that it becomes a matter of definition: when does an expression of personal opinions become dissent and a threat to national security? Legal bodies and ministries are regularly in dispute over who has the authority to order a site to be blocked. Just a week ago, the communications minister criticized the judiciary for closing down an ISP without having the proper authority to do so. Since the start of the year, there have been several reports of ISPs being ordered to filter blogging services websites. But although such actions can reduce the amount of traffic to a site, the global nature of the internet means that it is difficult to prevent access entirely. It has been reported that the authorities have considered removing the country from the internet, or building an internal internet backbone within the country. It is interesting to note that many newspapers and official bodies, for example the state broadcaster IRIB, have moved their internet addresses from the .com domain to the .ir domain. An acknowledgment of the difficulty of controlling technological developments, and perhaps an indication of what may come, has been given by a man with a lot of experience in the subject. Ali Larijani stepped down as head of IRIB last year and is now seen as a possible conservative candidate in June's presidential election. He recently told a press conference that when he was appointed to the Ministry of Culture, in 1992, he was faced with the problem of video recorders, which were then illegal, but he came to the conclusion that banning videos was "not a reasonable measure". On the subject of satellite dishes (technically illegal but largely tolerated) Larijani said that a total ban was not possible. Instead, he argued, the country should move in the direction of expanding its local networks and creating the domestic capacity to produce something that met the people's needs. At the last count there were 75,000 Persian bloggers who have taken the people's needs into their own media space Source: BBC Monitoring research 19 Jan 05 (via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Clandestine to PAKISTAN, 6100, R. Sedaye Kashmir via Delhi *1428-1500+ 1/16. Tone to 1430, then opening announcement by YL "...Yeh Radio Sedaye Kashmir," first time I've caught an ID from this station; sub-continental music followed after a few more opening remarks; alternating music and chat in presumed Urdu continued, with the signal getting weaker throughout, until it became unreadable around 1500. Good signal at tune-in, best ever perhaps, on LSB to avoid the usual Korean on 6100.3 kHz (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX via Signal via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. RoK Radio to broadcast Vietnamese programmes 01/11/2005 -- 23:00(GMT+7) http://www.vnagency.com.vn/newsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=29&NEWS_ID=134973 Seoul (VNA) - The Korean Broadcasting Station (KBS) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) has announced that as of this March, it will broadcast programmes in Vietnamese. The KBS also said it will cooperate with the RoK-Viet Nam Friendship Association to organise a contest on Chinese and Korean caligraphy, where artists will demonstrate their caligraphy skill by transcribing 30 poems composed by late President Ho Chi Minh while he was in prison. The poems will be taken from the collection entitled Prison Diary. The prize-winning work will be shown at exhibitions in the RoK and Viet Nam this year (via Kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) I was not able to find mention of this at the RKI website (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** KOREA SOUTH. SOUTH KOREA TO FINANCE KOREAN-LANGUAGE BROADCASTING STATIONS ABROAD | Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 19 January: South Korea decided Wednesday [19 January] to provide 1.31bn won (1.2m US dollars) for Korean-language broadcasting stations operating abroad, the Ministry of Planning and Budget said. The project is mainly aimed at propping up the popularity of Korean TV dramas and language programmes in China, Russia, Central Asia and Latin America, the ministry said. The funding breaks down to 800m won for broadcast equipment, 60m for training and 450m won for TV dramas and other broadcast contents. As of April last year, 95 Korean- language broadcasting stations, including 56 in the United States, were operating in 14 countries, the ministry said. Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0457 gmt 19 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LAOS. Lao National Radio, 7145 in English at 1/7, 1/15, 1/16 at 1330. Details for 1/15: 1130 sudden fanfare and announcer ``LAH-oh, megahertz, kilohertz``. 1145 // to 6130, not sure how long. Strong QRM on 7150 at 1325, tuned down to 7144 for better signal. 1330 definite English YL ID. This was a Saturday evening; no news heard (same on 1/16 Sunday). Feature on travel in the country and ``stone jars`` located at some village. This program had excerpts from the song ``Mandy`` for music bridges (!). 1342 local music. After 1346 tuned up to avoid QRM de 7140. 1356 YL ``And that is our program for today``. ID included country name of ``Lao Democratic Peoples Republic``. Got enough for a report and QSL request, (if they respond). Carrier off at 1358. On 1/7 (a Friday) heard news by YL at 1350. Good signal each evening. 6130 heard regularly with very good signal. Never did hear ``Flamethrower Radio`` (with a nod to 2005 PWBR) 4660± Xam (Sam) Nua. (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CAMBODIA ** MALDIVE ISLANDS. Maldiven: Die Maldiven sind das insgesamt wohl am schwesten betroffene Land der Flutwelle vom 26. Dezember 2004. Radio Television Maldives (RTVM) hat den Großteil seiner Ausrüstung verloren (Dr Hansjoerg Biener, ntt aktuell Jan 16 via DXLD) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. Please check out the New Friends of Maldives Website. http://www.friendsofmaldives.org (David Hardingham, UK, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also links to http://www.minivannews.com (gh) ** MEXICO. 2390.00, R Huayacocotla, 2355 to 0002 YL with ID, music, fairly good signal over band noise 12/13 January (Cumbre DX - Robert Wilkner, FL, USA via Signal via DXLD) 2390, R. Huayacocotla. Thanks Wilkner tip, heard at 0000. Have had no luck hearing anything in the mornings at listed *1300, not even a het (Cumbre DX - Hans Johnson, USA, Jan 13, ibid.) ** MONGOLIA. The following Mongolian LW & MW transmitters are active. In brackets are the correct output powers as provided by Mongolian Radio: Ulanbataar-Khonkhor 164 (500 kW), Ulgii 209 (30 kW), Dalanzadgad 209 (75 kW), Choibalsan 209 (75 kW), Altay 227 (75 kW), Murun 882 (75 kW) and finally Ulanbataar-Khonkhor 990, used for some FS relays (listed as 500 kW, but rather 50). (Maarten Van Delft, Jan DSWCI SW News via DXLD) ** NEPAL. R. Nepal, 5005 tentative, 1/10 1413 S. Asian music. 1415 OM talk, very weak. Only time heard. Other nights only a tone heard; source unknown. Checked 7165 & 3230 --- nothing (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CAMBODIA ** NETHERLANDS. Hello from Hilversum, I've just been with my colleague Laura Durnford, preparing an item for next Monday's edition of our weekly science magazine the Research File. Some of you will have seen the report in New Scientist magazine about Victor Goonetilleke's concerns about the effects of Broadband Over Powerline technology on the usefulness of shortwaves in emergencies such as the tsumani disaster. Since Victor is a close friend and a long-time contributor to Radio Netherlands, we called him last night and had a chat about the issue. That will be one of the items on next week's show. Tune in to our broadcast on Monday or listen next week on the Internet. There will also be a related Web feature to be published next Thursday - details in the next Newsletter. http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/radioprogrammes/researchfile NEW TSUNAMI HELP PORTAL FOR BROADCASTERS Media Network is assisting Jonathan Marks in an attempt to organise an overview of how various organisations around the world have reacted to help broadcasters affected by the December 26th Earthquake and Tsunami. We believe by sharing this information on a portal, that broadcasters will be stimulated to coordinate their efforts. This is primarily a resource for broadcasters, but everyone is welcome to read the information. http://www.tsunamihelp.info/wiki/index.php/Broadcasters (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Jan 20 via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Greetings from The Crystal Ship! The somewhat- political shortwave radio pirate from the early 1980s, noted in Andrew Yoder's "Pirate Radio" books (search on Amazon), is again active in the New Millenium. We are active on chosen Saturday/Sunday mornings after local sunrise (usually between 1300-1600) on 6855 kHz, after the sign-off of WYFR; sometimes before sunset on the same days and frequency (2000-2300). We sometimes use 4070 kHz after local sunset (2200-0300 UT), although now less frequently due to noise levels at that frequency. There are also other less-predictable times and frequencies. This is our Winter schedule. Transmissions are made in AM mode, via a pair of realigned Knight T- 150A transmitters with outputs slightly in excess of 100 watts. (This is the same model transmitter which we owned in the 1980s, although much cleaner/better serviced examples). A Johnson Viking Valiant transmitter with an output of 150-200+ watts is soon to be put into service. The Crystal Ship keeps an E-mail list which we use to notify past/potential listeners of pending broadcasts and frequency. (These are usually sent just prior to the commencement of the transmission, for obvious security reasons.) We would like to invite anyone and everyone interested in monitoring our broadcasts to JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST! You will then receive Email notices of transmissions and frequencies, and increase your chances of "catching" our shortwave pirate station. We won't load your box with SPAM; notices are generally limited to once a week, or less. To join our email list, just send your request to: tcsshortwave@yahoo.com, and you'll be "in the loop"! If you are interested in hearing pirates or just the whole "pirate radio scene," we strongly recommend the following boards: http://www.frn.net/vines/ This is the primary message board "hangout" for pirate radio station operators in North America, but especially shortwave pirates. There is general discussion of shortwave pirate issues, LPFM and FM pirates, and---- UP-TO-THE-MINUTE LOGGINGS of Shortwave Radio Pirates!!! (Checking here frequently should up your pirate "score" considerably!) Recorded audio of countless shortwave pirates, including ourselves, is in streaming MP3 format from this site: http://www.piratedxer.com/archive.htm We will QSL reception reports from the U.S. which are sent to our Email address, via return First Class Mail, no return postage required. Mailed in reports for The Crystal Ship should be sent to: The Crystal Ship, P. O. Box 1, Belfast, New York 14711-0001 Snail-mailed QSL requests from the United States should include two first class stamps. Those outside the United States should include two International Reply Coupons, or One US dollar. Looking forward to hearing from you, "The Poet" and "The Radical" [ January 12, 2005, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: The Poet ] -------------------- 73s and FIGHT for FREE RADIO! (The Poet, The Crystal Ship - Shortwave, tcsshortwave @ yahoo.com Jan 12, Monitoring Times BB via DXLD) ** OMAN. QSL BBC Oman --- Hi, An e-mail report to the A'Seela Relay of the BBC in Oman resulted in a kind e-mail reply from Resident Engineer Dave Battey with two photographs as an attachment and 10 days later in a full data snail mail reply. Nice surprise anyway (Hans-Dieter Buschau, Hildesheim, Germany, Jan 20, HCDX via DXLD) Yes, received that yesterday, too. Really nice to have this one verified finally. 73, (Martin http://home.wolfsburg.de/elbe Elbe, ibid.) Great, would you like to tell us the e-mail address and possible snail-mail address. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Dear All, Yes, of course I should have included the address: Resident Engineer VT Merlin Communications & Partners LLC BBC Relay Station POB 40 Al Ashkarah PC 422, Oman e-mail: rebers @ omantel.net.om These are the addresses that worked for the replies. The letter also indicates this one: VT Group POB 2788 CPO Seeb PC 111, Oman I had done a lot of research to find the address via Google. Merlin in London had refused to give it to me. Best 73's (Hans-Dieter Buschau, Hildesheim, Germany, ibid.) ** PAKISTAN [and non]. ‘NO PAKISTANI GOVT PRESSURE TO CANCEL VOA DEAL’ By Khalid Hasan http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-1-2005_pg7_13 WASHINGTON: A senior US official denied on Monday that the contract between the Voice of America (VOA) and a private Pakistani company involving broadcasting radio programmes on an FM network had been cancelled six months ahead of its expiry under pressure from the Pakistani government or its agencies. The official, who agreed to an interview with Daily Times on condition that neither he nor his department be identified, said an exclusive report in Daily Times on January 1, which had stated that the contract between VOA’s Radio Aap ki Dunya and Clarity Communications of Karachi might have been scrapped due to official pressure, was not correct. ``There was no pressure from the Pakistani government. The decision to cancel the contract was taken by VOA for its own reasons,`` he stated. Although repeatedly asked to indicate what those reasons were, he declined to do so. He said VOA had 1,700 affiliates around the world and it was not unusual for contracts to be entered into and discontinued ``all the time``. Asked if the cancellation of the contract with Clarity Communications, signed in Washington with such fanfare and announced at a press conference, meant that the feasibility studies done before signing the deal were faulty, inadequate or misleading, he said he would prefer not to go into that. Asked if he was aware of the fact that Clarity Communications, which was paid $19,182 a month by VOA from July 1 to December 31 2004, when the contract was cancelled, was reputedly ``far too close`` to the then information and broadcasting secretary Syed Anwar Mehmood, he declined to comment. Nor did he say why VOA, a government organisation, did not sign a deal with the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, the owner of the eight FM stations from which Radio Aap ki Dunya programmes were broadcast, rather than the privately-owned Clarity Communications, which was only a lessee. He said VOA signs contracts with all kinds of entities, government and private, so what it did in Pakistan was nothing unusual. He did not agree that VOA paying Clarity for broadcasting its programmes, rather than Clarity paying VOA for the material used, was an ``unusual arrangement`` and a ``role reversal``. He said VOA had a worldwide operation in many languages and many regions and it entered into a whole range of deals, depending on conditions and what suited its interests. The official said VOA may have been ``testing the waters`` in Pakistan and he would not rule out the organisation entering into another arrangement either with a private company or the government itself. ``Watch this space,`` he said about four times during the 30-minute interview. When this correspondent insisted that the official come up with more concrete information than he was prepared to give, he said that the majority of Pakistan’s population lived in rural areas and it was being reached through medium wave broadcasts. VOA also broadcasts on short wave, he added. He did not explain why in that case had VOA bothered to enter into what remained a controversial deal with a company whose leased FM stations had only a limited range. The official who holds a decision-making position in government appeared only keen to have it placed on record that the deal with Clarity Communications had not been cancelled at the instance of the Pakistani government or its agencies. Other than that, there was not even a single bit of hard information that he was willing to part with (Pakistan Daily Times Jan 12 via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 4960, Catholic Radio New Guinea (CRN), 1200-1235 Jan 20. Noted comments by both a man and woman in between singing. On the halfhour there seemed to be a break when possibly news or long comments presented. Signal was always threshold, but seemed to improve slightly at 1222. Signal was very difficult to hear, here in Clewiston, Florida (Chuck Bolland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Quito 19/1 2005 *** Wednesday edition: *** Recording of 4774.98 kHz Radio Tarma Listen to wonderful Peruvian music and ID. Comments and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Process of transformation of regional "GTRK" companies (that previously were self-dependent) to subsidiaries is now ongoing. This leads to major financial cuts. As a result, amount of regional broadcasting is also diminished. Some examples: Barnaul - five news bulletins (10 minutes each) only remained. Astrakhan - similar situation; 792 kHz is silent. Penza - don't hear its broadcast on 855 kHz after 1500. Rostov-na-Donu - don't hear its broadcast on 945 kHz after 1500. 765 kHz at 1500 - only Radio Rossii. 1080 kHz silent at 1500? But the following cities are still on with their regional broadcasting: Yekaterinburg (279) Perm (585) Chelyabinsk (738) Tyumen (1485) Kudymkar (1458) Orenburg (1053, 936, 1395) Omsk (639). Transmitter in Chaykovskiy (Perm oblast) on 1512 kHz is silent. And is there any regional broadcasting on 225 kHz (tx in Surgut)? (open_dx - Victor Rutkovsky, Yekaterinburg, Russia, Signal Jan 20 via DXLD) ** SAIPAN [and non]. SAIPAN RADIO STATION HIT BY LOSS OF INTELSAT SATELLITE Radio station KRNM on Saipan has been without live programmes since Saturday morning after the main Intelsat satellite covering the Pacific area drifted off course over the weekend. Many Pacific islands lost telephone and Internet services for a time. Some of these have been restored, but others are still waiting, including KRNM. Station manager Carl Pogue says the bulk of the station's normal programming is delivered by satellite. Ninety percent comes from National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The remaining 10 percent comprises locally produced shows by volunteer students. KRNM works in conjunction with KPRG on Guam, since both radio stations share the same satellite feed. KPRG has been affected, too. KRNM has two transmitters on Saipan: 88.1 MHz 1 kW and 89.1 MHz 100 watts. The station is currently working with Intelsat to realign its satellite dish and receive the programming via an alternative satellite. In the meantime, KRNM has been forced to repeat old programmes. (Source: Saipan Tribune) # posted by Andy @ 10:07 UT Jan 19 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SAMOA & SAMOA AMERICAN. The Samoas http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10007156 American Samoa began to experience problems at noon on Friday. Last night, 80 per cent of the telecoms network was still not functioning. Most phone calls and electronic data coming out of American Samoa goes to the United States mainland. The American Samoa Telecommunications Authority said links with two mainland telco companies, MCI and Sprint, had been restored but others, including HawaiTel in Hawaii, had only been partly recovered. An authority spokesman said links with New Zealand and Australia remained down. He said data for transactions with ANZ Bank in New Zealand was being rerouted using telecom carriers in other countries. A public holiday yesterday had given American Samoa "a little breathing room" but problems were expected when people returned to work today. Systems in Samoa were reported to have been restored during the weekend, but calls to the Prime Minister's Department, the Samoa Broadcasting Corporation studios and the New Zealand High Commission in Apia would not go through last night. An operator at New Zealand's international directory service said some calls to Samoa were getting through but many were not making it (NZ Herald via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** SICILY. Hi Glenn, today at 1045 UT long wave transmitter from Caltanissetta on 189 kHz went off air forever (Roberto Scaglione, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 189 disattivati!!! Durante la mattinata è stato definitivamente disattivato l'impianto ad onda lunga di Caltanissetta. non hanno spento domenica sera come previsto poichè non era ancora arrivato il materiale. Stamattina è arrivata la nuova cabina di sintonia per le onde medie e stanno smontando la vecchia per effettuare i lavori di muratura e per trasferire in un locale temporaneo l'accordo dei 567 Khz, i 189 Khz sono andati per sempre (Roberto Scaglione, Sicilia, Jan 19, playdx via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Subject: Part of a NZ Herald Story Today This is part of a larger story in The New Zealand Herald about the loss of the Intelsat IS-104 satellite. The BBC World Service relay in Auckland has been using an ISDN feed from Sydney until today when Radio New Zealand loaned them equipment to use the Australian Optus satellite. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10007156 Solomon Islands International calls were restored by noon yesterday but the Solomons are still without national telephone, fax and email services. Solomons Telekom operates national phone circuits from a ground station in Honiara via the Intelsat Pacific Ocean Satellite. The population of 400,000 is spread over seven main islands but is centred mainly in the capital, Honiara. The loss of the satellite service has created a problem for the Solomons Islands Broadcasting Corporation, which cannot receive its radio programme feed from the BBC in London. Senior technical officer Andrew Lano said from Honiara that the feed would not be restored for at least a week. "It's a big problem for us. We all depend on telephones to call to our islands and at the moment we cannot communicate with provincial centres. "We are relying on high-frequency radio and we are lucky to have some provincial email stations that operate so we can transmit email to high-frequency radio. "It's one email station per province but that's still keeping some of us in touch." The corporation is relying on shortwave broadcasts from New Zealand and from Radio Australia. More at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=93&ObjectID=10007032 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=93&ObjectID=10007155 (via Barry Hartley, NZ, BC-DX Jan 19 via DXLD) SIBC LOSES BBC SATELLITE FEED, RELYING ON SHORTWAVE In a survey of how Pacific countries are coping with the loss of the Intelsat satellite at the weekend, the New Zealand Herald says the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) cannot currently receive its radio programme feed from the BBC by satellite. It quotes Senior Technical Officer Andrew Lano as saying that the satellite feed would not be restored for at least a week. The newspaper says the SIBC is currently relying on shortwave broadcasts from New Zealand and from Radio Australia. # posted by Andy @ 10:25 UT Jan 19 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SWAZILAND. Hi Glenn, Today January 19 I heard TWR Manzini on 4760 kHz with close down at 17 UT, WRTH tells language was Ndau. It´s spoken in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Normally this frequency is dominated by two AIR stations: Leh and Port Blair. No trace of them, thanks to unusual Solar conditions. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. Who's radio life? --- ICRT is caught between serving the foreign community and staying afloat financially FOR YEARS, Taiwan's foreign community has grumbled about ICRT's bland music, clowny DJs, less-than-the-West standards, and general neither- here-nor-there-ness. But three months ago, when the radio station cut the morning English news hour to ten minutes, added more mandarin songs into the rotation, and re-launched with a grammatically incorrect English jingle, the expatriate community finally started to mobilize. . . http://publish.pots.com.tw/english/Features/2005/01/20/342_18_feature/ (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. 5910, Radio Ukraine; 0131-0136+, 16 Jan; M&W in English with letters, election update and Ukrainian music. SIO=443+/LSB takes out chirp (Harold Frodge, MI, DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U K. Some Radio 4 highlights next week --- I see from the new Radio Times (22-28 January) that BBC Radio 4 has a few programmes next week that may be of interest to us radio enthusiasts : Saturday 22nd, 2000 UT. 'The Archive Hour' is 'Louis's Lost tapes'. A Louis Armstrong interview from 1956 for VoA Willis Conover's 'Jazz Hour'. Weekdays from Monday 24 Jan. 1545 UT. 'How Strange the Change'; the ear, the brain, music. A week-long series on the effects of key signatures on musicians and listeners. Monday 24th 2000 UT. 'Churchill's Roar', 40th anniversary of Churchill's death, followed by: Monday 24th 2030 UT. 'High-Speed Radio', 'a rollercoaster adventure on the radio dial, tuning into hidden worlds, as the sounds of life are slowed down and made audible to the human ear in a unique radio symphony' Tuesday 25 Jan 1130 UT. 'A Man and a Can' 1953 sound engineer Charles Douglass invented the 'Laff Box' for canned laughter for television shows. Weds 30 Jan. 1100 UT. 'Samovars on Bodmin'. Mid 1950s, Bodmin in Cornwall and 5000 bright national servicemen are taught Russian to fight the cold war. Enjoy them, live or via the Internet! (Chris Brand, Jan 19, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. Just listened to ep 2 of BBCWS` ``State of the Union`` wherein presenter Owen Bennett-Jones, visiting Arizona, determined that it is ``no longer a typical Southern state`` with influx of so many outsiders. Geez, altho along the southern border of the US, AZ was NEVER in ``The South``, in the sense OBJ misunderstands it. How did this egregious gaffe by an ignorant foreigner get on the air? Apparently all the `Zonans he interviewed were too courteous to straighten him out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RICE ENDORSES BROADCASTING AS PART OF FOREIGN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY | Excerpts from Condoleezza Rice's confirmation testimony by VOA News.com web site on 18 January The following are highlights of testimony by Secretary of State- nominee Condoleezza Rice at her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: [Passage omitted] Democracy Ms. Rice said she believes America's "great mission" includes the "spread of freedom and democracy" around the globe. She described several countries as "outposts of tyranny," including Cuba, Belarus, Burma, Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe. [Passage omitted] Broadcasting She said she believes the United States needs to further enhance its use of broadcasts, including the Voice of America, to present the truth around the world. Ms. Rice said there is nothing more important in a war of ideas than giving people access to the truth. She said VOA, Radio Free Europe and Radio Marti do this. Ms. Rice says the United States has also done good things with its relatively new Arab- language television station Al-Hurra, the Arabic music and news service Radio Sawa and Radio Farda in Persian. She said as secretary of state she looked forward to working with the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an autonomous government entity that is responsible for U.S. international broadcasting. The members of the board come from both major U.S. political parties and are appointed by the president. Source: VOA News.com web site, Washington D.C., in English 18 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. SATELLITE FAILURE HITS BROADCASTS FOR AMERICAN FORCES The total loss of signals from the Intelsat 804 satellite, which provided telecommunications services across the Pacific region, has disrupted radio and TV services for the US military community. Stripes.com, the web site of the US Department of Defence-authorized newspaper Star and Stripes, reported on 19 January that American Forces Radio and Television Services (AFRTS) had been affected by the satellite failure. AFRTS officials in Alexandria, Virginia, told the military newspaper that AFRTS could buy space on a Japanese satellite or use another international satellite. Either solution would require retuning and dish re-alignment. US bases and some military subscribers off-base in the region are affected. Source: Stripes.com web site, Washington D.C., in English 19 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. THIS WEEK IN AMATEUR RADIO JOINS SHORTWAVE WBCQ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Interview Contact: George Bowen - W2XBS This Week in Amateur Radio (518)283-3665 (voice) E-mail: w2xbs @ twiar.org http://www.twiar.org Averill Park, N.Y. January 20, 2005 - This Week in Amateur Radio, North America`s premier amateur radio news magazine of the air, is pleased to announce that a new version of our weekly news service will air on Becker Broadcast Systems shortwave station WBCQ. Becker Broadcast Systems, based in Monticello, Maine, will air the program each Saturday afternoon at 4 pm eastern, or 2100 GMT, on its main transmitter on 7.415 MHz. WBCQ, The Planet, broadcasts 50,000 watts, and serves North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. The new program, tentatively called TWIARi - This Week in Amateur Radio International, will cover all the latest ham radio news, as well as special features like, Leo Laportes technology news, The Ancient Amateur Archives with Bill Continelli, W2XOY, The Random Access File with Bill Baran, N2FNH, and many others. This Week in Amateur Radio, based in Averill Park, New York, now in its twelfth year of service to the ham radio community, is heard in over 120 cities across the United States and Canada on local ham radio repeaters. The news service is produced by volunteers from all across the United States. We are also pleased to announce, that WBCQ's Dr. Scott Becker, KB5MDH, and radio host Alan Weiner, have joined our growing list of on the air talent as news anchor and segment producers. WBCQ joins a growing list of ways everyone can access our weekly news and information service. These include internet distribution via our web site at http://www.twiar.org, RSS/MP3 podcast, and via the W0KIE Satellite Radio Network (via Rachel Baughn, Monitoring Times, DXLD) ** U S A. KAIJ has a new website http://www.kaij.org Per personnel at the station, they plan to air Gene Scott about 12 hours a day, roughly 1900 to 0700, and sell time from 0700 to 1900 UT for churches, primarily Hispanic churches looking for an outreach to Cuba. The first Spanish programs are scheduled to go on the air on January 1st, 2005. Freq will remain the same, 5755 local night time, 13815 local daytime (H. Johnson Dec 2 via Cumbre DX via DSWCI DX News via DXLD) Cf. Our previous report; anyone notice such a change yet? (gh, Jan 20, DXLD) ** U S A. CBS NEWS ROILING, 60 MINUTES FOUR REFUSE TO YIELD More than a week after CBS News released its ostensibly final, tortured, novella-length report on the suspicious-document scandal at 60 Minutes Wednesday, some basic matters in the case are even less settled than before --- starting with the fate of the four employees the network singled out for dismissal on Jan. 10. . . http://www.observer.com/pages/nytv.asp (Joe Hagan, NY Observer Jan 20 via DXLD) Get it now before it goes into archives for purchase ** U S A. Progressive Talk Format Launches on Three Additional Clear Channel Radio Stations; Stations in Washington D.C., Detroit and Cincinnati Converting to Progressive Talk Format this Week January 19, 2005 07:00 AM US Eastern Timezone http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050119005095&newsLang=en SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 2005--Clear Channel (NYSE:CCU) Clear Channel Radio today announced that three additional stations are adopting the progressive talk format, with stations in Washington D.C. (WWRC-AM 1260), Detroit (WXDX-AM 1310) and Cincinnati (WCKY-AM 1530) converting to the programming this week. Including these markets, Clear Channel Radio will broadcast progressive talk in 22 markets, including five top-10 markets. "Listeners across the country are asking for more progressive talk radio," said John Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Clear Channel Radio. "We have significantly expanded our commitment to airing this popular programming and as the leading provider of progressive talk radio, we expect to continue rolling out the format in new markets over the course of the year." "Progressive talk is one of the fastest growing formats in radio," said Gabe Hobbs, vice president of programming, news/talk/sports. "We are providing a diverse group of progressive talk programming to our listeners, including a combination of local hosts and leading syndicated talkers such as Jerry Springer, Ed Schultz, Lionel, Phil Hendrie, Randi Rhodes and Al Franken." "Keep Hope Alive(TM) With the Rev. Jesse Jackson" Now Available in 23 Markets Nationwide In other programming news, "Keep Hope Alive(TM) With the Rev. Jesse Jackson" is now available in 23 markets nationwide, including five of the top-10. Clear Channel Radio debuted "Keep Hope Alive(TM) With the Rev. Jesse Jackson" in April 2004 on six stations and began syndicating the program nationally in April 2004. Today, Clear Channel Radio broadcasts the program on 19 stations across the country, including large markets such as New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Miami and Denver. "Listener response to 'Keep Hope Alive(TM) With Rev. Jesse Jackson' has been overwhelming," said John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. "In less than a year 'Keep Hope Alive(TM)' has emerged as one of the most dynamic programs in radio." (via Art Blair, DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL ROLLS OUT MORE LIBERAL TALK RADIO Wed Jan 19, 2005 07:04 PM ET By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Wednesday said it converted three stations to a liberal talk format and this year could double to 44 the number of stations carrying such programming. . . http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=7374746 (via Art Blair, DXLD) ** U S A. ``1530 only had the oldies format for a couple of years, did it not? CC ought to put it on some other station in the market (gh, DXLD)`` Hello, Glenn, If I remember right, I think they became Real Oldies right after Christmas, 2002. I remember they shifted to the format right after Christmas -- they were Nostalgia before, then went to their annual "All Christmas Music" format, using that as the "Stepping stone," if you will, to go to Real Oldies. 2002 sounds about right. I agree with you about CC should stick the format on another channel. Heck, I'd have been satisfied if they had kept the Real Oldies for overnights, instead of the paid religious shows. Thursday morning, 20 January, 2005, WXDX-AM 1310 became Air America as well, changing calls to WDTW. I had a bit of insomnia, so I started to DX about 0015 (EST) or so, and as I passed 1310, I heard barnyard noises; it sounded like two or three donkeys braying. This continued for the rest of the night; it was still going on when I shut off the receiver about 0415 EST. As for the official launch at 0600 EST? I didn't listen -- I'd heard enough when WSAI became WCKY. Although this switch didn't really affect too many people -- Air America in Detroit is replacing a practically zero-rated Talk format, which had the likes of Michael Savage, Phil Hendrie, Coast to Coast, and shows from Michigan Talk Radio Network. The new Website for WDTW- AM 1310 also shows that Jerry Springer is "Coming soon." Oh joy -- I can hardly wait! (That last sentence is just dripping with sarcasm...) Take care, (Eric Berger, Detroit, Michigan, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROGRESSIVE TALK RADIO MOVES IN ON AM 1310 --- January 20, 2005 http://www.freep.com/entertainment/namesandfaces/names-box320e_20050120.htm Yes, that was a braying donkey (as in the Democratic Party symbol) on AM 1310 on its final day as WXDX-AM Wednesday. This morning, owner Clear Channel Radio launches WDTW-AM, a new progressive, liberal talk format featuring mostly syndicated voices. The 6-9 a.m. morning show will be helped by Michigan native and ex-Chicago radio personality Nancy Skinner. For the next few weeks from 9 a.m.-noon, it'll be Stephanie Miller until Clear Channel gets satellite transmission of Jerry Springer's new Cincinnati-based show cranking. Noon to 3 p.m. will be held down by comic writer-turned-commentator Al Franken. Ed Schultz, another syndicated show, fills afternoon drive time. Other syndicated shows fill out the evening when the 1310 signal can be difficult to nonexistent, depending on where you live. "Listeners across the country are asking for more progressive talk radio," said John Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Clear Channel Radio, in a release. Here, AM 1310 seldom showed up in the top 30 rated Detroit stations with a mostly conservative talk mix. Handyman Glenn Haege will do weekends only on WDFN-AM (1130). (Detroit Free Press via Artie Bigley, DXLD) http://www.wxdx1310.com (via Bigley) Even tho it is now WDTW --- or not yet so legally? (gh) ** U S A. RADIO'S BUSH-BASHING AIR AMERICA IS BACK IN FIGHTING FORM By JULIA ANGWIN and SARAH MCBRIDE Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL January 20, 2005 Today's inauguration of President George W. Bush may depress many Democrats, who had hoped to take back the White House this year. But at Air America, the upstart liberal radio network, there's at least some cause for celebration. . . http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB110616841893830479,00.html?mod=todays_free_feature (via Artie Bigley, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Jerry Springer sounds pretty good on WCKY webcast, checked briefly around 1520 UT Jan 20, as he pointed out how the Republicans got power by tricking their supporters. Yes, WCKY is still gospel- huxtering after midnight, noted on 1530 after 0600 with Brother Scare. Did not notice IBOC QRM from WCKY above, around 0615 UT Jan 20, but at same time WLAC 1510 IBOC could be heard on 1500 blocking KSTP when it faded down, and detectable under much stronger KOKC 1520 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I have a killer signal for the National Park Service IDing as a test broadcast on 1140 kilohertz. There is another underneath. I don't have any National Parks anywhere near me. I have no idea what it is. ID as KCA717 underneath. I'll post a clip shortly (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, 0113 UT Jan 20, NRC-AM via DXLD) Part of the The 55th Bush Inaugural? I guess they could running a little more power than normal (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) If so, they must have commandeered WRVA and are running it non- directional. It's the only two things I can hear on 1140. Audio clip: http://www.chowdanet.com/1140190105.mp3 About 3mb or so, beware ye dial-up brethren. Must be local to me, but no idea where. No National Parks except one tiny one in downtown Providence. Maybe an acre at best. Still on as of 9:05 pm EST. Two of 'em, one under the other (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) ``From the National Park Service, you are listening to 1140 kHz AM. This is a test broadcast.`` Underneath, not quite in sync. ``From the National Park Service, operating on --- 1140 kHz AM, you are listening to K-C-A-7-1-7.`` Sounded to me like there was a third station underneath2, unintelligible. FCC TIS search at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/tis.html found only two stations on 1140, in FL and OR. General search on the page by callsign produced no results, nor anything at Bill Harms` site or by Googling (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Nothing here in Maryland (I am near Ft. Meade MD). Just WRVA at 0535 UT (Ulis Fleming, Jan 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Has anyone heard anything about WSQT 1680, the anti-Bush pirate in Washington, which was in the news a few weeks ago? They were gearing up for a big show during the inauguration. Did they get busted in the meantime? 73, (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indymedia seems to be the place for WSQT news, such as this: From: http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/3153.php WSQT under threat, moving to 87.9 FM for now by WSQT radio Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004 at 10:40 PM Due to the CNN story and word that a reporter snitched to the FCC, we are switching to our light portable FM setup for now Range is about three miles, we will run intermittant shows focussing on our usual issues like housing, gentrification, and imperialism-war on the poor at home and abroad. Since our enemies so dislike the focus on Bush's coronation, we are going to increase the focus on the upcoming counterinaugural protests. The FM rig and its antenna set up and break down in seconds. The nature of FM(VHF) signals and their small antennas allows security steps to be taken that are impractical on AM. Even if the FCC manages to capture one of our rigs, we have a bottomless ability to make more. The big AM rigs with their 10 mile reported range(and a suspicious, questionable report of a skip heard in the UK) cost maybe $40 plus some time in the dumpster fetching parts, and the 3 mile range FM rigs maybe $15 for what the dumpster cannot provide. In addition, any strike by the FCC on WSQT will result in a withering, on-the-air attack on the FCC's practice of giving away the store on spectrum to giants like Infinity and Clear Channel while harassing the little guys. Thier stewardship of the airwaves will be contrasted to their original mission to ensure difversity and public use of a public asset, namely the electromagnetic spectrum, of which no more can be made. Anyway, CNN and possibly the FCC as well have challenged us to "bring it on" and that's exactly what we intend to do (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WJNT-FM1 --- I understand that WJNT 1180 Pearl/Jackson, MS has its night-only FM booster back on the air. The booster had been forced off because boosters receive no protection from future licensees. The former dusk to dawn signal heard on 103.9 is now on 103.3. I assume they are using the same plant -- it's 500w, I think, but can't confirm that because I can't find an FCC record, even in FM Query. Perhaps Doug can enlighten (Peter Baskind, TN, Jan 19, WTFDA via DXLD) This "booster" isn't technically a booster. Remember back a while when Congress created Radio Martí, the anti-Castro station down in Florida? Remember that Cuba retaliated by greatly increasing the powers of many of their AM stations, causing severe interference to U.S. stations? Congress ordered the FCC to provide relief to the U.S. AM stations affected by that interference. The Commission established an informal procedure to do so. In the vast majority of cases, stations were allowed to increase power on their existing AM frequencies - for example, WIOD Miami going from 5 kW to 10 on their 610 channel. Two stations tried something else. WJNT-1180 and WAMB-1160 (Donelson/ Nashville, TN) applied for FM translators. Their requests were approved. Now, since the Cuban stations only interfere at night, these relays are only allowed to operate at night. My understanding is that they were to replicate the theoretical interference-protected coverage areas of the nighttime signals of the associated AM stations. I believe the Donelson station is running roughly 75 watts ERP - 500w sounds a bit high for the Mississippi operation but it's certainly possible. My understanding is that all of these interference-relief operations (both the AM power increases and the two FM stations) are authorized under special temporary authority. They won't appear in the FCC databases. The one in Donelson originally operated on 106.7. They got bumped when WNPL signed on and are now operating on 98.7 (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) I was living down there when this became an issue. The problem for WJNT is that their night signal was never that good, anyway. Frankly, the Cuban interference really didn't make matters too much worse. The 500w figure I get is from the WJNT website. They claim, "WJNT-FM1 uses a Nicom NPT800 FM transmitter operating at 425 watts into a Jampro JLCP-4 antenna for an ERP of 500 watts." There's a nice picture of the transmitter, if anyone is interested. There used to be a picture of the FM tower. Just eyeballing it, I would say it was about a 100' freestanding. I could be way off, though. If the 500w figure is correct, that would make a nice DX target during a Es opening. I have ridden the signal on the 103.9 "booster," when I was doing a New Orleans to Memphis run weekly. It did surprisingly well. I could generally listen to it comfortably to north of Canton, MS. Thanks, Doug. That explains why I can't find a record in the FCC database (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M., N4LI, Germantown, TN/EM55, ibid.) Likewise for WAMB. The Cuban is long gone from 1160 but at my location Chicago is dominant after sunset. (I miss the brief period when 1160 in Chicago was simulcasting WXRT-93.1...) (as poor as WAMB's night signal is on AM, the 75 watts on FM doesn't do any better against the 100kw powerhouse on the same frequency in Hopkinsville, Kentucky) WJNT FM1 --- That's a pretty good-sized facility. WAMB uses a two-bay on one of their AM towers (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) WJNT-FM1 has actually moved twice now; it was on 104.3 for a while after it was on 103.9. An LPFM on 103.7 made it move that time. It really has a nice coverage area, since it's an open channel and mono. When I lived in MS, I used to get it all the way from Terry to Canton, which is about 30 miles. Ironically, I live right next to the booster in Donelson now. It actually bleeds out a mile or two in the daytime, in good stereo. The AM is still in stereo, too. I found that out when I found an AM Stereo/FM Stereo receiver for $20 at a Goodwill-type store here (Chris Carter, ibid.) Someone on another forum says the transmitter is always on, but they switch it into a dummy load during the day. Apparently their coax relay doesn't have quite enough isolation (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) ** VIETNAM. VOV HS --- major survey of VOV HS frequencies 1/15 & 1/16. 0919: 5975 Hanoi clear, 9530 Xuan Mai China QRM, 7210 Da Lai clear (lags the other two frequencies by a fraction of a second) 0930: 6020 Da Lai no // (never heard a // for this on any day or time) 0930: 9875 Me Tri, 5925 Xuan Mai. These are // while 9835 is on. 0945: Did not hear 5597 nor 6724 Lao Cai for sign on, also not heard at 1000. 1000: 9875 Me Tri sign off. 1000: 5975, 9530, 7210 as 0919 above. 6020 no //, 5925 no //. 1100: 5925 Xuan Mai hrd at this time // 5975, 7210 (lag), 9530 (under China). 6372 not heard at this time. 1300: 5035 Xuan Mai - Hmong very weak. 1314: 6165 Xuan Mai – Hmong 1315: 6020 Da Lai audible after Vatican [via RVA Philippines] signoff. 1325: 5597 Lao Cai short fade-in 1335: 4740 Son La 1353: 4740 Son La, 5597 Lao Cai under QRM. 1400 signoff for both. 1520: 5975, 9530, 7210 (lag). 5925 not //. All off at 1600 (David Norcross, Hong Kong, 100SW and 7600G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CAMBODIA for introduxion UNIDENTIFIED. 2960.19, harmonic in Spanish, 1100 to 1125, 18 Jan, possibly the reported Radio Atlántida, Alausí, Ecuador (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, US, NRD 535D ~ Drake R7 ~ Icom R 75 modified, via Dario Monferini, playdx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9370, On January 13 at 1435Z, I heard a weak (but clear) station with Arabic-style chants and music. I wasn't able to stay with the station long (I had to leave for work) and they never stopped with the music so I don't know the language. The only station I see listed here is WTJC and obviously this wasn't them! Any ideas as to who this *might* be? (John Cereghin, Smyrna DE, HCDX via Signal via DXLD) As I recall, FBN once had some brief Arabic segments at other times, but I can`t find any SW program schedule now. EiBi has nothing else on 9370; HFCC nothing but WTJC, but it`s censored. NDXC has nothing but WTJC. PWBR `2005` has KTWR and RFA on 9370 at other times (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ WIRELESS BROADBAND TAKES ON SHORTWAVE RADIO By Guy Kewney January 18, 2005 Opinion: The law we all want to break is the law that says wireless mesh technology should not interfere with shortwave amateur radio. The scene: An enterprising U.K. businessman sets up a taxi service and a shortwave radio station to communicate with his drivers. A rival instantly sets up a pirate station on the same frequency, jamming the taxi calls with rock music. You're a wireless policeman: What do you do here? Naturally, the taxi service reported this to their local police. The police responded that there was "nothing they could do." Strictly speaking, they were quite correct --- in much the same way that an illiterate person might bail out of reading a technical document to a jury. They could do nothing because they were incompetent: The law is quite clear on the fact that jamming a licensed radio operator is illegal. But the local force had no way of understanding that law, or of enforcing it. Making something illegal is, apparently, a pretty standard, civilized reaction to perceived anti-social behavior. "There ought to be a law against it!" we cry indignantly. The trouble is, for these laws to work, the people who want to break them have to agree that they should not do so. OK, the law we all want to break is the law saying that we shouldn't interfere with shortwave radio. Both Europe and America have instituted a new way of distributing broadband using power cables --- and we all want broadband. The trouble is that the technology works best if it uses frequency bands around 30 MHz which, "by an unhappy coincidence," remarked the New Scientist, "is the radio band which travels best around the world." At that frequency, you bounce off the ionosphere and can send a signal huge distances. . . http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1752280,00.asp (via Larry Nebron, Kim Elliott, Ken Kopp, DXLD) IMHO this is a very badly researched article. Wireless Broadband and BPL are two separate technologies. The headline refers to Wireless Broadband (which operates in the GHz range) but he's actually writing about BPL. When an article starts with "An enterprising U.K. businessman sets up a taxi service and a shortwave radio station to communicate with his drivers" you know the writer just doesn't get it. It's a pity that such a serious subject is entrusted to such an ill-informed writer. He may be good at writing about computer technology, but he clearly knows sod all about shortwave radio. He also says "The problem with shortwave radio is that it is an anachronism. Its use goes clear against all of the trends of wireless in the past couple of decades." Oh, tell that to the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service, which is using RNZI and RA shortwave signals to fill the time normally taken by the BBC satellite feed that was lost at the weekend when Intelsat's satellite went walkies... It's depressing that this sort of stuff is foisted on readers who don't know any better :-( (Andy Sennitt, Holland, dxldyg via DXLD) I agree with Andy --- IMHO this article is perhaps the most laughable of all the BPL press I have read. Unfortunately just because someone gets paid to write a technical article doesn't mean that person knows really what they are writing about. Unfortunately these types of articles in the press perpetuate ignorance. Besides, I found this article very difficult to read and follow. Just to think this clown was paid to do it. Wow! (Ulis Fleming, MD, ibid.) Yet -- and sadly -- this is the kind of basis upon which many decisions regarding the future of telecommunications are being made. To be sure, the tsunami just experienced is just one more prominent example about how shortwave radio is in no way the anachronism the writer claims it to be. Under these kind of circumstances, it's those cellular towers and "local meshes" to which he refers that are showing themselves to be mismatched to immediate needs. The article reads like one that would be planted by those who would stand to gain financially from BPL deployment. It's becoming increasingly harder to come by information that is academically sound and argued with integrity. Unfortunately, it seems that almost all have some financial ax to grind--which should devalue and degrade their opinions in the eyes of objective observers right out of the box (John Figliozzi, Clifton Park, NY, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ A DUMMIES' GUIDE TO WORKING WITH WALL WARTS [less] An update to "A Dummies' Guide to Working with Wall Warts", which appeared in the IRCA Technical Column in DXM, Volume 42, Number 16 [and DXLD 5-005]. John Bryant advises to hold off on building any of the wall wart voltage regulator adapters until he puts together a proper addendum to the article. The main problem is that the voltage regulators are capable of much more current draw and voltage drop than he actually used. If one tried to use one in a high current draw and/or large voltage drop circuit, the best that might happen is that the regulator could shut down automatically upon becoming overheated. There are other possible outcomes that might be even more inconvenient (Nick Hall-Patch, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Jan 22 via DXLD) RAILROAD TRACKS ANTENNA Has anyone tried DXing from a mainline railroad track? I swear, a RR track extends the ground signal of a station considerably. I know that when I was in Boise, ID, I parked next to a mainline track and could hear KSL in SLC real good in the daytime and when I moved a couple hundred feet away, KSL was gone. This was the track that led directly to SLC. I've noticed it here in Florida too. It would be cool, use the old phone line next to the track as the antenna, and the track itself as the ground. Bet it would really perform (Paul Smith W4KNX Sarasota, FL, Jan 19, NRC-AM via DXLD) CHEAPY RADIOS AGAIN Hi, Glenn! Do you regularly look at the radiointel.com site? I try to check it out every couple weeks to see if there are any new radio news or reviews there. I had written Jay Allen there suggesting that he take a look at the cheapy analog Walgreens' Lifelong SW radio, mainly because it would be the only way the teeming masses would ever see an SW radio of any kind. I suppose that others did the same, and so he recently produced a really interesting review of that model. It can be found at http://www.radiointel.com/review-lifelong.htm and, after reading that, I sent him the following e-mail comparing his comments on that to what I found when looking at the lowest-end digital-readout radio, the Coby CX-CB91 (feel free to use this text anywhere if you want, or put it on the dxld group). [The radiointel.com Lifelong Review was in DXLD 5-002 already --- gh] Subject: Thanks for Lifelong Review Hi! I just read the Walgreen's Lifelong radio review; thanks for doing that. As I read it, I noticed some odd similarities between that radio and the Coby CX-CB91 digital-readout one. This is the radio that was listed as "not recommended" in Passport '05 and which they hated. I was intrigued by the idea of a digital-readout radio for abysmally cheap, having heard on the net that it had appeared at the closeout chain "Big Lots" last summer at an under-$10 price, but I never found any at the Big Lots stores I get to here in St. Louis. (I'm a non- driver, so access to many locations is limited.) Anyway, I was with a visiting friend, driving around a couple weeks ago, and happened to see a Big Lots in a rather faraway suburb and asked him to stop there. Lo and behold, there on their electronics rack were two of these Coby radios at $7.99 each. I bought them both, which was a good thing, since the first package I opened had one with a defective display. The other one seemed to work correctly. (I was able to return the defective one for credit at my local Big Lots.) This thing is actually better than the Bell+Howell analog; I can actually receive a few SW stations at their correct frequencies according to the radio's display. (The really strong ones also come in 910 kHz away, of course.) The MW stations come in about the same as you described the Lifelong's MW performance. FM does have something wrong with it exactly as the Passport review says; stations are best- sounding when tuned a bit off by the display, and have some residual distortion that never goes away no matter how carefully they are tuned. What really grabbed me about the relationship between what I noticed on the Coby and what you wrote in your Lifelong review was the AA battery installation. Exactly the same too-short battery-compartment opening, requiring a screwdriver to push down the first battery in order to get the second one in. Really weird! AA (UM-3) batteries are the same size in China as they are here, after all. How could such a basic design flaw get incorporated in a production version of different radios? I'm guessing that the Lifelong and the Coby come out of the same Chinese factory, where the same Quality Control guy has a too-short ruler! :-) The band switch is on the top like the Lifelong but wasn't as hard to move as you found; you do have to edge it over with a fingernail. Pretty mushy-feeling tuning knob. I did not encounter the drastic volume fluctuations that the Passport reviewer had and which caused him to rate it as dangerous to one's hearing with earphones. The earbuds that come with it are pretty good; I've bought the same ones in the past as standalone items and they cost $2-3; that makes the radio itself even cheaper! One thing that is really odd is the band coverage. Here is what is in the owner's leaflet and on the back of the radio, and next to it is what I see on the display when tuning to the extremes: Nominal Actual FM 87.5 - 108.5 88.2 - 108.6 MW 530 - 1700 541 - 1741 SW1 5.60 - 5.80 5.60 - 6.48 SW2 7.15 - 7.40 7.12 - 7.67 SW3 8.60 - 9.10 8.42 - 9.73 SW4 9.85 - 10.65 9.83 - 10.80 SW5 13.35 - 16.05 12.94 - 16.56 SW6 15.15 - 16.40 14.67 - 18.52 SW7 20.85 - 23.20 19.79 - 23.77 So the real coverage (if the display is to be believed) is better, but how on earth did they choose to design this to tune the segments they selected? Could it have something to do with Chinese restrictions on what they want domestically-sold radios to cover? But there are continuous-tuning Chinese domestic SW sets, so that seems unlikely. Main defects are the missing SWBC bands and the low-end of the FM band; tuning my local 88.1 MHz station is a matter of turning the knob as hard as it seems safe to do all the way down. Luckily the FM tuning seems best when the reading is .1 MHz high, so it just makes it. Like all these cheapy radios I've tried here in the city, you cannot extend the antenna. Doing so swamps the radios with FM squawk all over every band (except MW). It would be interesting to do a test of these out in the boonies, far away from any local RF sources. They might even work halfway decently there on SW if you *could* use a fully- extended whip. The thing is, this radio is SO cheap that it is still worth buying no matter the inherent defects. I wish that I had found more so that I could have passed them out to several people after opening the packages and checking them out to make sure they worked. For example, there is a senior lady I know who has very poor vision but who likes listening to the radio, mainly to a particular local MW station. She has a Bell+Howell, but it's hard for her to look at the analog dial. She could read the Coby's digital display and tune it well enough to hear what she wanted when I let her try it out. The other defects really didn't matter. As I type this, I'm recalling that the Big Lots where I found this had some AM/FM only digital-readout models, also by Coby, for $5.99; I should have bought some of those too! Here's some info for you in case you might want to see if you can locate any of these to try them out: Coby CX-CB91 UPC on package = 7 16829 10910 6 Big Lots sticker product code = 166 550008095 6 114 $7.99 I would think that finding a source of these radios would provide some fun in getting them apart and playing with the alignment and tweaking all the adjustments. Regards and 73, (Will Martin, MO, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ DISRUPTION 0830-0930 UT JANUARY 19 Hi Everyone, the strong CME - coronal mass ejection - arrived already, solar wind speed readings was predicted over 900 km/s. When switched on the receiver around 0830 UT, nothing - not even a whisper - heard on 7 and 21 MHz. Heard til 0950 UT, and on about 0925 UT TWR-ERF 7160 S=2, 21705 UAE S=1-2 noted like a lighthouse or skyscraper over THRESHOLD. On other hand only a HANDFUL - very few stations appeared - on the various bands. From 0830 UT 6 MHz - best 5885 CVA S=4, 5955HOL S=1, 6005DLR S=1-2, 6025HNG S=2, 6075DW S=1, 6085BR nil, 6155ORF S=1-2, 6190DLF S=1, and 6230TWR-ERF S=2 at 9-0930UT. 7 MHz nil 9 MHz - 9355TIN-IBB S=1, 9375GRC S=3, 9545DW S=0-1, best 9710LTU S=3, 9815POR S=1, and surprisingly 9885NZ S=1-2. At 1030 the one and only station on the band VoRUS Kaliningrad 9720 S=3. 11 MHz - all S=0-1 11650KFBS Ru, 11665KRE?, 11875POR, 11915SAM Ru, 11965UDO IBB Ch, 12130KTWR Ch, and stronger 11755FIN S=3, 11895TRT Macedonian S=3. At 1030 11875POR S=4 at best. 13 MHz - all S=1-2 13620KWT DRM, 13650TIN Ch, 13680KAV Farda?, 13720REE, 13760IRN. 15 MHz - S=1-2, 15200KTWR, 15210KunmingCHN En, 15350TRT - best, 15395UAE, 15440SIN DRM DW, 15630GRC, 15780RUS DRM. At 1030 also 15100PAK S=2, 15160HNG S=2, 15240MRC? AR, 15675 Russian ?Unid?, and at best 15540RUS German. 17 MHz - 17490CHN S=3, 17535ISR S=3, 17595UDO IBB AFG, 17650CHN S=3, 17720JPN, 17785ARS Fr, 17805ARS Ar, 17875IND Aligarh Ins. But around 1030 UT noted also addit 17585UAE NHK En, 17615ARS Ar, 17700SIN DW DRM, 17835PAK, 17895IND Aligarh En. 21 MHz - nil (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NW7US PROPAGATION BULLETIN UPDATE 20 JANUARY 2005 - 1645 UTC This latest X-class flare, the THIRD LARGEST of this solar cycle (Cycle 23), was incredible. It unleashed an extreme (and very sudden) proton event, that has nearly caused a complete white-out of various space weather satellite instruments. Even so, it has been confirmed that a full-halo coronal mass ejection was associated with this large and impressive X7 proton flare. Because of the incomplete data (due to the proton bombardment), it appears that this CME may be fairly well directed Earthward. But, this could be wrong. Many teams are working on this one. If the CME is directed mostly Earthward, the impact could be quite strong. If the orientation at that time of the interplanetary magnetic field is soutward, (a negative Bz), we could see the most significant geomagnetic storminess of this entire period of activity associated with active solar region 720. The impact of such a CME would be within one to two day. Do remember that we are also under the influence of a coronal hole. And, we now believe that the CME expected sometime today has likely arrived just before this big X7 flare occurred. The solar wind speed had a jump of over 200 km/s. The Bz, however, remained positive as the wind reached over 900 km/s by 0700 UTC. That's when the sensors became saturated and we lost the ability to monitor the wind's details. I'll send out another update later when more details are confirmed. 73 de Tomas, NW7US (AAR0JA/AAA0WA) : Propagation Editor for CQ, CQ VHF, Popular Communications : : Creator; live propagation center http://prop.hfradio.org/ : : Associate Member of Propagation Studies Committee of RSGB : (via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###