DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-022, February 5, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 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 1262: 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 WXPN Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 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 [deleted! See USA] Sun 2100 WOR RNI Mon 0330 WOR WRMI 6870 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1261] 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: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] WORLD OF RADIO 1262 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1262 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1262.html WORLD OF RADIO 1262 in the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-02-05.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-02-05.mp3 ** ALAND ISLANDS. Re: ``Åland islands [DXLD 5-021] I suppose he does not speak Finnish either? No doubt satisfying news to his competitor Sandgren. I should probably be filing these under Å acknowledging the islands as a separate radio, country, but should it be under A or after Z?? (gh)`` "The Åland Islands form an autonomous, demilitarized and unilingually Swedish province of Finland" it says on the Islands´ official page http://www.aland.fi/index.html In one of the previously summarized newspaper stories it said that all communication with the local Åland authorities has to be in Swedish. Finnish would be no use to Spencer (or Spenser as it says in the reports) as roadsigns, newspapers, eating menus etc. on the islands are all in Swedish, not in Finnish or, as elsewhere in certain areas of Finland, in a bilingual fashion. Under such conditions "unilingual" Finns would probably think twice before starting a commercial enterprise on the islands. As to where to file this item, and acknowledging that Åland is a separate radio (and stamp) country, I suggest you file it under A. In the Swedish alphabet Å, Ä and Ö are the three final letters. In Finnish Ä and Ö do exist, but not Å (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Henrik, right, Å doesn't exist in Finnish language but it is included in the Finnish alphabet at the same place as in Swedish alphabet. Under A sounds fine as it is Ahvenanmaa in Finnish! 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) I am hearing from Mauno Ritola that the letter Å is indeed included in the Finnish alphabet, although you do not find it in Finnish words. The reason must be that there is a fair amount of Swedish names of persons and places in Finland that usually do not appear in translation. There is for instance a DX camp in W. Finland called Långåminne which I have yet to see translated into Finnish. The letter Å in Finnish is called "ruotsalainen oo", Swedish long o. (Both languages feature long and short vowels). (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, ibid.) So I put it under A, but as always with ** XXX country headers, no accents in order not to confuse searching (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. REVEREND JOHN FLYNN, THE AUSTRALIA INLAND MISSION AND THE PEDAL RADIO John Flynn was born in 1880 and educated in Melbourne. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1911 he was commissioned by his church to visit the Northern Territory in 1912 and report on its missionary needs. His report, "Northern Territory and Central Australia - A Call to the Church', was considered by the Presbyterian General Assembly and as a result he was appointed field superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM), a position he held for the next 39 years. The vast distances of the Territory and the lack of adequate medical facilities concerned Flynn and from 1917 onwards he founded a series of nursing services in remote locations. Taking advantage of the rapid development of aviation in the 1920s, Flynn was instrumental in the formation of the AIM Aerial Medical Service in 1928. The effectiveness of the service was ensured by the invention of the Traeger pedal radio in 1929. With several name changes, the AIM Aerial Medical Service became the Royal Flying Doctor Service in 1954. Flynn was also concerned with providing shelter for the older population of Central Australia and in 1949 he designed the first cottage to be built at the Old Timers' Settlement in Alice Springs. John Flynn was awarded an OBE in 1933, and served as Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church from 1939 until 1942. He died in July 1951 and his ashes were placed in a commemorative grave on Larapinta Drive, a few kilometres west of Alice Springs. A church dedicated to Flynn's memory was completed in Alice Springs in 1956. A chance meeting with a young electrician was to solve one of John Flynn's greatest problems in creating the Flying Doctor Service. He had raised enough money to start the service, he knew he could find suitable doctors and aircraft, but he could not overcome the problem of communication. What was the use of a Flying Doctor if the sick and injured of the outback couldn't contact him in a hurry? The answer was radio, but radio technology in the 1920's was still fairly primitive. Flynn needed something that wasn't invented; a simple sturdy radio- telephone with an inbuilt power supply, that anyone could operate under any conditions. Radio experts helped him to experiment and by 1925 he had assembled a bulky and complex outfit. In Adelaide, preparing for a test trip to the outback he and Harry Kauper tried to connect up the power supply. The radio-telephone was to be powered by a generator run off Flynn's car engine, but the generator would not run properly. Kauper remembered that a young electrician, Alf Traeger, might have a suitable replacement, and Flynn hurried off to Traeger's workshop. The radio worked well, and Flynn's trip was successful, but he realised that a complicated radio needing a car engine for power supply was unsuitable for emergency service. Kauper persuaded him to settle for a simpler type of radio, using morse code. This would not draw as much power, but even this type of equipment was not available, and Flynn returned to Traeger for help. Traeger worked on the problem for two years and at last came up with the idea of a foot powered generator, which was pedalled like a bicycle. The Flying Doctor flew on his first mission on 17th May 1928, and soon after that so many outback folk were demanding the pedal radio that Traeger could not keep up with the demand. Flynn rejoiced, "At last the dumb Inland speaks", even though it was in the stuttering accents of morse code keyed by amateur hands, including John Flynn himself. As you know I was resident in Australia for about 14 years, and whilst I was in the Northern Territory, I was interested in seeing the Pedal Radio in action, at the Cattle Station that I worked at, they had a pedal radio transceiver, and it was certainly an essential thing in those early years for Cattle Ranches to keep in contact with the outside, including police and medical aid and later the Flying Doctor. As mentioned Pedal Radio was invented in 1929, by Alfred Traeger, and the first operational Pedal Radio was operational in the State of Queensland on a cattle property called Augusta Downs in 1929. The early models were used to send Morse, but later voice was introduced. Outback properties were so far away from anything, it was not uncommon to find them a 100 miles or more from any neighbors or township. If there were cases of sickness of a minor nature, each cattle property kept a large First Aid Case, and all the medications were numbered, so when the medical authorities were notified, a doctor would say, take a pill ? or from bottle number ? If medical aid was necessary then it was the Flying Doctor who in the early days was John Flynn. As a matter of interest the Airline now called QUANTAS, was started from an airline in the NT called Connellan Airlines, and they serviced all the pastoral and mining properties in the Northern Territory in the early years. Here are technical details of the pedal radio: The Traeger Pedal Radio set of the mid-1930's was built in identical stacked cases with the receiver mounted on top and the pedal generator and batteries below. The receiver tunes from the Broadcast Band to the new high frequencies of the Bush Network. It was a Type 32 tube as a RF amplifier, and a second Type 32 as a regenerative detector. A type 30 for Audio Driver and a transformer-coupled Type 49 for output. Receiver power came from 90/22.5 dry B batteries 9v Bias for output grid, two large number 6, 1.5cells in series supply to the two heaters. The transmitter uses a Type 33 as Miller-type oscillator, keyed directly for CW Signals. For telephony a Type 30 is used as a microphone preamp and is transformer-coupled through a 19 double triode to the Type 33 oscillator/final. The high-power plate supply for the Type 33 comes from the Pedal Generator. The transmitter coils are wound on a plug-in former, which also carries the open slab crystal in a plated cylinder along with the tuning capacitor and tuning lamp. The set uses a random length aerial, plus Counterpoise. Power output is around 1.5 watts into the aerial. Traeger's Pedal Radio $16.40. A novel by author Ion Idriess, loosely based on Flynn's life, was published in 1932 under the title 'Flynn of the Inland' (via? ERIC M. WALTON, Feb WORLD DX CLUB Contact via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. VOA on new 4930: see USA [and non] ** CANADA. ROBERT EARLE FISHER, FORMER BROADCASTER FOR THE CBC - MONTREAL LISTENERS CORNER -- obituary http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/BDAStory/Deaths/20050131/92954883/birthsanddeaths ROBERT EARLE FISHER (FORMER BROADCASTER FOR THE CBC - MONTREAL LISTENERS CORNER, FOR OVER 30 YEARS) Peacefully at Streamway Villa, Cobourg on Thursday January 27th, 2005 in his 88th year. Loving son of the late John Edward Fisher and Emma Jane Drope. Dear brother of the late John Ravenhill Fisher, George Barton Drope Fisher, James Augustus Fisher, Dorothy Elizabeth Belford, Kathleen Lillian Fisher, Helen Galbraith Davis, Constance Emily Fisher and Mary Madeline McKellar. Earle will be remembered by many nieces and nephews and cousins. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Interment in St. George's Cemetery, Gore's Landing. If desired donations may be made to St. John's Anglican Church, Harwood. Condolences received at http://www.maccoubrey.com Arrangements entrusted to the MacCoubrey Funeral Home, 30 King St., E., Cobourg (905) 372-5132 (Globe & Mail Jan 31, via Theo Donnelly, Vancouver, via Bryan Clark, NZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bryan forwarded a jpg of the print version, which includes a nice portrait of Earle in front of a CBC mike, quite the dapper gentleman. For the newcomer, Earle Fisher was a very popular SW broadcaster in his day, the point of contact for listeners to RCI (or rather, the CBC International Service). (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The attached obit was in this morning's National Edition of the G&M. I guess it's too late to repay him for the dinner he treated me to during Expo in Montreal 37 and 1/2 years ago. Ouch. Time sure flies. 73, (Theo Donnelly to Bryan Clark) Just putting something together for my February column in the NZ DX Times and surprised there seems little of Earle's history on the internet. He did visit us 'down under' in the 1970s (after his retirement I think). Keep up the great work! (Bryan Clark - Auckland NZ, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. A unique way to sign on... A new FM station CHBN, has began testing in Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by CHUM Limited, this new station has ID's and announcements that their station will soon have all 1 Million of Edmonton's population listening to them...yeah right. They want listeners to tune in to these tests so they can calibrate their "super signal" with everyone's receivers using orbiting satellites... Here is what can be found on their WebPage. The frequency 91.7 FM is now being tested. During this test period, please keep your radios tuned to 91.7 FM as we calibrate, align, and process the audio. This will allow us to create a "superior signal" in Edmonton so that you can listen to our new radio station with the best sound available. To receive more information on the launch of the radio station and the "super signal", simply sign up below. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [non]. The station on 11760 noted here in Melbourne from *1830-1930* is RADIO NDEKE LUKA, sponsored by the Swiss-based Hirondelle Foundation. The Foundation's radios have millions of listeners all over the world. Fondation Hirondelle is a Swiss-based NGO (non-governmental organization) of media and development professionals. It sets up independent media in conflict or crisis zones where control of information becomes an instrument of war or propaganda in the hands of political and military actors. The foundation's radio news and information broadcasts, debates and magazines create bonds between the citizens and their leaders, between yesterday's enemies and tomorrow's partners, between refugees and their homelands. On the technical level, Fondation Hirondelle uses up- to-date digital equipment throughout its operations. Radio Ndeke Luka: in February 2000, the United Nations' mission to the Central African Republic came to an end. The mission's radio service avoided the same fate thanks to the stubbornness of its director, who called upon the foundation to take over. In a country forgotten by the international community and still very unstable, it is difficult to fund a radio station, even if it is designated by the population as "the best defender of human rights". Today Radio Ndeke Luka covers the whole of the Central African Republic's territory for one hour a day on short-wave, and the Bangui region 24/7 on FM. Radio Ndeke Luka is the most popular radio in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR). It is managed by the Fondation Hirondelle (Switzerland), in partnership with the UNPD (United Nations Programme for Development) representatives in Bangui. Its name: Radio Ndeke Luka : a name that evokes a bird ("Ndeke") in local languages and also "luck" in English. So it is an auspicious bird. [I assume the above is copied from the site, not written by BP] The SW operation is currently on 11760 at *1830-1930*, using a leased transmitter from Merlin at Woofferton. This is listed in WRTH for 11785 but had been amended during B04. For further details about the station, please visit http://www.hirondelle.org Regards from Melbourne, Australia! (Bob Padula, Feb 5, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CHILE. 6090, Radio Esperanza, Temuco, 1105-1120, February 5, Spanish. Local ad: "...en este verano continúan los descuentos en Sociedad Bíblica Chilena de Temuco...."; Identification and announcement as: "Escuche cada domingo en Esperanza FM, de 14 a 17, su programa favorito... Entre Amigos... auspiciado...". More local ads: "...Prefiera Cemento... y páguelo con su tarjeta de crédito Edema... siempre junto a usted", 24432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** CHILE. PROGRAMA RADIAL MAPUCHE WIXAGE ANAI LLEGA A SU FIN?? El emblemático programa radial Wixage Anai (despierta y levántate) llevaba once años de ininterrumpidas comunicaciones, informando la realidad mapuche desde Santiago. El colectivo Jvfken [sic] Mapu a cargo de la producción hace un llamado de apoyo para continuar transmisiones Por Jvfken Mapu radio @ mapuche.cl El programa radial mapuche Wixage Anai cumplirá doce años en junio del presente año. Sin embargo no será posible por cuanto el 31 de enero culmina sus transmisiones en Radio Tierra de Santiago. Producido por el Centro de Comunicación Mapuche, Jvfken Mapu cesará sus transmisiones diarias por falta de recursos económicos. El programa que nació el 26 de junio de 1993, y cuya primera transmisión se hizo en Radio Nacional de Chile, contaba con el financiamiento de la Congregación del Verbo Divino; sin embargo, dicha institución desde el 2003 que venía disminuyendo sus aportes hasta llegar a cero pesos. . . http://www.mapuexpress.net//index.php?act=news&id=169 (via Conexión Digital Feb 5 via DXLD) ** CHINA. BITÁCORA DE VIAJE -- UNA EXPERIENCIA INOLVIDABLE --- Mi viaje por China Seguramente el gran Mao, fallecido en 1976, no hubiera imaginado una China así. Entre sus ideales de trabajo, igualdad y cooperativismo no se incluían la grandeza y lujuria que muestra este país hoy día. Invitado por Radio Internacional de China y el gobierno de la provincia de Zhejiang como uno de los 8 ganadores del concurso que ellos co-organizaron, viaje a la República Popular del 3 al 14 de Enero. Experiencia increible y poco repetible para alguien que llegaba desde tan lejos, nada menos que 20.000 km o, para ser mas claro, desde el otro extremo del mundo. Tras el arribo al enorme pero funcional aeropuerto de Beijing, fui recibido por Ana, encargada de la correspondencia de la emisora, que fue mi traductora y guía durante toda mi estadía. En el lobby del lujoso hotel Minzu pude ir conociendo a mis otros 7 colegas que eran de nacionalidad británica, francesa, alemana, egipcia, paquistaní, coreana y japonesa, es decir, yo era el único del continente americano. Se formó un excelente grupo en el que el inglés era el idioma comunicante. En todo el periplo pudimos visitar importantes ciudades como Hangzhou y Shaoxing, ambas en la citada provincia y, por supuesto, la capital Beijing. . . Volviendo a lo personal, nos entregaron un trofeo como recuerdo en una ceremonia fastuosa, con toda la prensa escrita y televisiva presente. Al día siguiente nos divertíamos buscando nuestras fotos en los ilegibles diarios locales. También participamos en un programa de televisión en el que cada uno de los ganadores debía realizar alguna actividad. En mi caso, y superando los lógicos prejuicios, me tocó bailar un tango con una china. En fin, cosas que uno hace cuando está lejos de casa. . . Radio Internacional de China Esta parte de la narración va a ser tan breve como mi visita a nuestra querida emisora. Ubicada en el octavo piso de los quince del edificio, estrenado en 1997, se encuentra el Servicio en Español. Ocupa 3 oficinas separadas por un corredor en donde trabajan una veintena de redactores y conductores, la mayoría chinos, todos al mando de Hu Min, el joven jefe. En el mismo piso funcionan los Servicios en alemán, francés y português. Mi actividad allí se limitó a grabar una entrevista para el tradicional programa "Carta de Beijing" y conversar con el amable Sr. Hu sobre las condiciones de recepción hoy día. Uno de los momentos más agradables fue encontrarme con el Sr. Wu Jide, a quien habia conocido dos años atrás cuando mi pasó por México. El era corresponsal en ese país entonces. En el segundo piso existe un sector destinado a todos los regalos que envían los oyentes, perfectamente identificados según el idioma del Servicio. Allí es evidente la presencia argentina previa a mí. En la planta baja funciona una cafetería y saliendo del edificio principal, a pocos metros está el comedor de la radio donde nos ofrecieron una deliciosa cena, sin que faltaran los discursos y algunas canciones. Y así transcurrieron mis 11 dias en China, un país que salvando las distancias, merece ser conocido (Hugo Longhi, Argentina, Conexión Digital Feb 5 via DXLD [excerpts]) ** CHINA [and non]. Re: CRI request reception reports on 558 kHz I have no objection to anyone providing reception reports to CRI, but if you decide to do so then I ask you to bear the following in mind: First, although CRI enjoys the right to hire airtime on a MW transmitter in London, China does not permit the same in reverse. Second, the Chinese authorities attempt to prevent their citizens from listening to foreign stations by engaging in a massive shortwave jamming operation. The jamming is aimed at various international stations (including the BBC) but of course, in the nature of such jamming, also affects many third parties, including ourselves as shortwave hobbyists. With Soviet-era jamming now just a memory for older hobbyists, and Saddam's wobble jammers also a thing of the past, China is now the main guilty party in polluting the SW spectrum in such a manner. China also engages in Internet "jamming" by blocking access to many web sites, including those run by international radio stations. Please find a way of registering your feelings about such a situation in any correspondence with CRI. You could point out that China's jamming of foreign stations undermines the credibility of CRI as a means of communicating between nations. You could also ask whether CRI would be willing to allow a foreign station to broadcast on one of its transmitters in Beijing, in exchange for the same facility it enjoys in London (Chris Greenway, Kenya, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Marfil Estéreo fair to good, 5910.4 from channel in the clear, still audible 0930 (Finn Krone, Denmark, Feb 5, HCDX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. R. Macarena, 6090.34, on the air this morning Jan 4 at 1022 for the first time since Xmas (Dave Valko, PA, Listeners Notebook, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) Seems more off than on (gh) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. The DXers on #mwdx are listening to a spanish station on 1640 right now. 2/3 2030 EST. Chris Gay heard a slogan "La Poderosa." Is anyone else hearing them? They are being heard in at least Maryland, Kentucky and Norway by DXers on #mwdx (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, Feb 3, NRC-AM via DXLD) The folks on #mwdx have ID'ed this one as Radio Juventus, Santo Domingo. Very audible here now in northern DE over/under Savage (2143 local). (Pete Jernakoff, 0243 UT Feb 4, ibid.) This is an even better clip. Enjoy --- http://mywebpages.comcast.net/billqsl/sounds/01640-20050203-2204-.mp3 (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, ibid.) Hearing the DR station here from 7.30 PM EST fair underneath WTNI. Does anybody have any info on this station? Calls, address or anything else would be appreciated (Greg Myers, Largo, FL Feb 4, ibid.) Calle Juan Evangelista Jiménez, 49, Urbanización María Auxiliadora, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Chuck Hutton, NRC International DX Assistance Department, ibid.) TNX Chuck. I also found on Hard-Core DX this address (from a verie received by a Spanish DXer). Apartado Postal 48-48, Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep. Hope these help anyone else looking to send a report (Greg Myers Largo, FL, ibid.) This was covered in great detail last summer in DXLD when it first appeared. BTW, isn`t it about time this station got an HI- callsign if it is legal? (gh) 1640, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Santo Domingo, Radio Juventus Don Bosco, 0304 2/4 - Sounding of trumpets, ID by male announcer as 'Radio Juventus Don Bosco ... 1640 kHz ... una voz para la civilización del amor.' This was followed by music. Also heard preaching at other times. The signal was fair to good with WKSH nulled and was mixing with WTNI. Thanks to Alf Aardal in Norway who first heard this one and informed the gang in #mwdx (Bill Harms, Elkridge, MD 21075, R8B, Homebrew K9AY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Copy van bericht uit andere maillist: We (HCJB) have not yet started regular transmissions from Ecuador in DRM, however you might try to catch us between Feb 6 and Feb 11th on 15375 kHz. We will be transmitting to Mexico City for the DRM symposium there between the hours of 1300 and 2400 UT. You will obviously not be in the footprint of the antenna, but it would be interesting to know if you can hear us. Also, knowing you are in Curitiba, we may try a test to Brazil at some time in the future. In fact, I have been looking for DRM receivers in Brazil that we could do a test with (Han, Feb 3, BDXC via DXLD) Well, HCJB is in fact using 15375 DRM already before Feb 6, heard again Feb 5 here. Douglas Weaver, new title Director of Radio for the Latin America Region of HCJB, remains frequency manager as well; interviewed on this week`s DX Partyline too, basically the same stuff as in Spanish heard earlier, see DRM section below, but in neither language did they reveal the HCJB DRM test frequency 15375 nor its schedule!! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Sandra Morán Castillo, de CRE, informa que el pasado viernes 21 de Enero, el Gobierno del Ecuador ha re-inaugurado Radio Nacional, con lo que se da paso a su iniciativa de contar con su propia red de comunicación. La emisora transmitirá su señal a través de las frecuencias de 100.9 en Quito y 105.3 en Guayaquil, en Frecuencia Modulada, y posteriormente saldrá por Amplitud Modulada (AM). El propósito del Gobierno es convertir a la radio en un canal de servicio a la ciudadanía mediante la producción y transmisión de programas que beneficien a la comunidad. La reactivación de la emisora comenzó en noviembre pasado cuando el Jefe de Estado firmó el Decreto Ejecutivo por medio del cual se conformó una Comisión de Modernización. La Radio, que funcionará en el edificio La Previsora, en Quito, cuenta con 20 repetidoras a nivel nacional, así como de un sistema de enlace satelital. En el acto inaugural que se desarrolló, el presidente Lucio Gutiérrez intervino en el programa radial "Diálogo: el Presidente y su pueblo", en el que saludó a la ciudadanía a través de las ondas de la emisora estatal, cuyas oficinas están ubicadas en las avenidas Amazonas y Naciones Unidas, edificio La Previsora, piso 11, en Quito (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, RN Radio Enlace Feb 4 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Mini logs for 4.3.5 unIDed: 4935 on 2305: qur`an preachings in Arabic followed by English translation, S7 undermodulated, 33443 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think ``4.3.5`` is meant to be 4.2.5, which means Feb 4, 2005! This was identified some weeks ago in DXLD. R. Cairo, 12050 in Arabic, minus 7115 in English equals 4935 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. CLANDESTINE: 15650 Voice of Delina, 1501-1516, February 5, via TDP via Samara transmitter site, Tigrigna. S/on with short music and very clear identification by female. Then announcement or speech by male. More music. Later, news or talk by male. At 1510+ report or interview, 25432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** ESTONIA. JONATHAN MURPHY found this article on the Baltic Times website. The Hotel Viru refered to is the same one that delegates to the 2002 EDXC conference stayed in when visiting Tallinn. Jonathan also visited the Hotel, but stayed in a cheaper hostel in the centre of the old town. A ROOM WITH A KGB VIEW --- by Steve Roman TALLINN - With shopping malls and office towers popping up like weeds in downtown Tallinn, old buildings being refurbished and trendy cafes filling the cracks at an almost mind-boggling pace, I was happy to find that at least one small, curious piece of Tallinn's Soviet past has been left almost untouched. I encountered this dingy reminder of socialist times in a concrete- lined maintenance area on the 23rd floor of the Sokos Hotel Viru. This is the so-called "KGB room," a once-secret listening post, abandoned since the late 1980s, which the hotel has decided to keep for posterity. My guide was Ahti Nigol, sales manager for Sokos Hotels, the Finnish group that now runs the Viru. With a set of keys in hand, he escorted me from the hotel's pristine lobby up through a series of stairways and corridors and finally to an unmarked, gray door. Stepping through it was a bewildering, time-travel experience. Suddenly I was, please excuse me, back in the U.S.S.R. The lights didn't work. The floor was covered in papers and debris. Incomprehensible racks of old radio equipment stood to one side. Next to them, a desk with a plastic telephone, a soldier's cap and a copy of "Sovietskaya Estonia" dated Friday, Aug. 18, 1989. Behind this was a narrow bed, which, Nigol explained, was probably used by the night shift, since the room would have been manned at all times. This was in fact a radio room, designed for receiving coded messages from Soviet embassies in Scandinavia and sending them on to Moscow. Judging by the condition it's in, it has been left pretty much untouched since its occupants hurriedly packed up and moved out in 1989. That was the year the building was privatized and sold to the Finnish development company SRV International. The room's existence was a well-guarded secret. It was only rediscovered several months later when engineers from SRV noticed a mysterious door inexplicably unmarked on the floor plans. The men from the KGB were long gone but had left this interesting souvenir of their tenure. Of course, radio reception was far from the only KGB activity going on in the hotel during the Soviet period. When it opened in 1972, the Viru was Tallinn's main Intourist hotel, meaning it was designed specifically to accommodate - and spy on - foreign travelers. According to Nigol, the office responsible for spying on guests was on the third floor. When the KGB wanted someone in particular watched, they would simply instruct the reception to put them in one of 20 specially bugged rooms, then post an officer in a room next door to listen in. Standing here among the dusty tables, I recalled my own experience with the Soviet-era Viru. It was during my first trip to Tallinn in 1990, when I arrived here with a student group. For the privilege of suffering a standard room filled with cheerless utilitarian furniture, reception wanted to charge us $115. Luckily we were able to put the hotel in the name of a Russian tag-along, and so were charged the somewhat more reasonable sum of 15 roubles, equivalent to exactly 100 ice creams, or at the black market rate, roughly $1. Hot water was scarce, the sheets over-starched and each floor was equipped with dezhurnaya, a nosy granny who lorded over the room keys and watched the guests like a hawk. Also, as Nigol reminded me, Estonians were not allowed inside to sample the restaurant, unless of course they slipped a few roubles to the doorman, who was probably one of the richest people in town. It's easy to forget how different this hotel - and this town - was just 13 years ago, unless of course you're standing here in this trash-filled radio room. It's not open to the public - the Viru's management shows it as part of the historic tour they give their Western partners, who find this something highly exotic. "For people from abroad it's quite interesting to see this because it's the real thing, real history," said Nigol, explaining why they'll keep the room as-is for the foreseeable future. It was heartening to see that, despite all the changes happening here, at least some small bit of the reality I remember from my first trip to Tallinn is being preserved. As interesting as it was to travel down memory lane however, part of me was glad that it is kept safely locked away in an obscure attic room, where it clearly belongs. Source: The Baltic Times 13th January 2005 http://www.baltictimes.com/art.php?art_id=11730 (via Jonathan Murphy, Feb World DX Club Contact via Alan Roe, DXLD) ** FINLAND. Good reception of SWR in UK this morning on 11690 kHz. Heard from 1015 UT tune-in and still audible at 1125. 73s (Dave Kenny, Feb 5, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. German TV, classical music station to close Re. ´´The largest commercial radio station in east Bohemia, Radio Cerna hora, recently launched a controversial promotional game. The prize? Plastic surgery.´´: How about a TV show dealing with plastic surgery? Pro 7 has it: http://www.pro-sieben.de/lifestyle_magazine/05473/ How about an operation live on TV? RTL did this a few months ago. Of course the surgery had to be done late at night, in accordance with the TV schedule. One of the reports about this: http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/2004/09/13/busen__op__rtl/busen__op__rtl.html A screenshot and some audio (embedded in a show opener): http://www.radioeins.de/_/sendungen/medienmagazin/aufnahme_review_jsp/key=archiv_129672.html So I assume that Radio Cerná Hora (hardly the largest commercial station in eastern Bohemia, by the way) got this idea from the German trash TV. The public broadcasters participate in the commercial race on TV as well, with a recent example being entertainer Harald Schmidt, engaged for lots of €€€. So money must be saved elsewhere. Yesterday Hessischer Rundfunk announced a scheme for saving 40 million Euros. Official release: http://www.hr-online.de/website/derhr/home/presse_meldung_einzel.jsp?rubrik=4820&key=presse_lang_4235444 Amongst other savings they are going to close down hr-klassik, a radio program dedicated to classical music, working with a rather low budget anyway: http://www.hr-online.de/website/radio/hr-klassik/ In the official newspeak hr-klassik will be "integrated" into hr2. In practice this could only mean the discontinuation of even more spoken word programming there. Oh-oh, right now the startpage http://www.hr-online.de brings up news from Biblis, concerning a facility much more widely known than IBB's transmitter site. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Glenn, With reference to your message in DXLD that info on All India Radio is available only to members of dx_india yahoogroup, I would like to bring to your kind notice that similar and even more info is also available to anyone by visiting my site http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos More people are interested in news so its details are given in my site. It is also difficult to put complete program schedules of all AIR stations. Thank you. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Jose, Thanks for the reminder. I am sure SWLs the world over would be very grateful if you could just find or put together (even incomplete) a feature/music program schedule of the AIR GOS in English only! Maybe such a schedule exists somewhere in print or on the web already? (Glenn to Jose, via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR, http://allindiaradio.org looks spiffy, but a number of items are broken. The audio is out of service, and the related site http://newsonair.com has missing pages, such as the tsunami special. Not good at all (Tom Sundstrom, Net Notes, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** INDIA. 11585, Rainbow FM, Delhi, Special Transmission for Andaman & Nicobar Territory, 0945-1000, February 5, Vernacular. Very nice program with the traditional format for a FM transmission. Local pops. A man conduced the program. The listeners called by phone and talked with the speaker. 24432 but for many minutes the signal was 3 to 4 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** INDIA. 15235, AIR-Bangalore, E-QSL letter full data. V/S: R. Narasimha Swamy, Superintending Engineer, All India Radio, Super Power Transmitters, Yelahanka New Town, BANGALORE, 560064 India. Phone: +91-080-28460379(office), +91-080-28460358(Residence) FAX : +91-080-28460379, +91-080-28460350 Mobile: 09880197441 I sent my reception report to: narasimhaswamy @ yahoo.com Delay: One day. The V/S told me that he is forwarding my report to their Spectrum Manager at Delhi for issue of official QSL card for me (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** INDIA. Book Review --- History of Broadcasting Original title: Prekshepana Kalacharithram Publisher: Publications Division, Dept of Culture, Govt of Kerala. Jan 2004 Author: M. P. Sivasankaran ISBN/Price: 81-88087-08-4 230 pages. Hard cover Rs 120 Actually this book was written in Malayalam, the official language of the South Indian State Kerala. The word "Prekshepana Kalacharithram" simply means "History of Broadcasting". The author, Mr M.P. Sivasankaran former Station Director of various AIR stations for 10 years, covers an indepth study of broadcasting history and AIR programming in India. The author specifically gives more attention towards the broadcasting history and programming of AIR in Kerala. Detailed and authentic information on all seven AIR stations including the commissioning date, transmitter installation, transmitter upgradation, target areas, programming aspects and broadcast advancements etc., are covered in the book. Three chapters are entirely devoted to the programming history, radio literature and cultural aspects of All India Radio. The author specifies the milestones in broadcasting and interesting incidents that changed the face of AIR. One such incident related to the creation of Vividh Bharati (VB) is as follows. "Dr. B. V. Kelkar, the minister for Information & Broadcasting during 1952-62 was a heavy critic of film songs and related programmes. He insisted to broadcast light and classical music instead of film songs over AIR. The cutback of popular film songs and programmes made the audience to tune to Radio Ceylon. Radio Ceylon boosted by its increasing listenership, provided film song based programmes to the devoted listeners in India. This created a deep crisis in All India Radio. In order to overcome the crisis a new entertainment channel namely Vividh Bharati - All India Variety Programme - AIVP was introduced in 1957 which provided a new life to AIR." (I remember my mom tuning to Radio Srilanka even 10 years ago to hear film songs! Vividh Bharati can be logged on 10330 kHz) The author also introduces the external services of AIR as well as the latest developments in AIR including Internet and Sky Radio. As a separate part the history of National TV-Doordarshan is also covered in 35 pages. The useful appendix includes map of Kerala with radio stations, List of all 209 AIR stations and the list of all reference books on broadcasting he used. This book is excellent for reading and worthwhile for reference and most importantly it lacks the unwanted official touch. An English translation might have provided excellent opportunity for overseas DXers with serious interest to learn a lot about AIR in Kerala (T R RAJEESH, India, Feb World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Re the Kelkar policy, was this the reason Radio Australia included endless slots of Indian film music in its schedules to the Asian sub-continent for well over two decades? (WDXC ed) (Feb World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 9525, Voice of Indonesia at 2002 UT in English with news. Headlines at 2008. Battling it out with TWR-Swaziland in French until they signed off at 2020. Now V. of Indonesia is alone with "Let's Go Indonesia", a tourist program. (343 Feb5/05) (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. My dear friend Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, says that Ramiro Trost, Spanish Section member of KBS Radio Korea International, told him about the new Vietnamese service. The test transmissions begin February 14 at 0900-0930 UT on 9640. The official inauguration is March 3 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1570, XERF Cd. Acuña - FEB 4 1202 UT - presumed in graveyard-like jumble with choral version of Mexican national anthem. I believe all Mexican stations are legally required to play the anthem at 0500 or 0600 local time. I've heard it played at this time on other stations such as XEX-730 and XEQ-940. Does the law, if indeed there is such a law on the Mexican books, also apply to borderblasters pumping out English programming for the Estados Unidos? 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, NRC-AM via DXLD) I don't know, but it may well be the case. When I visited my parents in Phoenix over Thanksgiving, both this year and last year, I noted that XETRA on 690 would play a very fast-paced version of the Mexican National Anthem at exactly 5:00 PST. That was 6:00 MST. It was followed by an ID in both Spanish and English. From here in Memphis, I can easily hear XEWA most nights. I've got a fairly good recording of them interrupting a song to play the anthem at exactly 6:00 CDT. This was followed by a full ID. So, there may well be something requiring this. I've also heard it at midnight on a few stations like XEMR 1140 (Adam Myrow, TN, ibid.) Many of the English-language Tijuana FMs seemed to do it at midnight the last few times I've been within range. I have a really funny tape of XETRA-FM (modern rock "91X") with that typical modern-rock voice saying "Loveline will be right back. Now, the Mexican National Anthem..." Catchy tune, too! s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Not that this has anything to do with anything, but I remember laying in bed at night in north Missouri back in the mid-50's, listening on my one tube, cigar box radio built in junior high shop class, to XERF, Del Rio, Texas - or so went their slogan at the time. Program content as I recall was mostly selling cheap religious items by mail order. You can't imagine how much that radio excited me --- or maybe you can (W. Curt Deegan, FL, ibid.) I remember one Sunday morning around 1963 at 530 AM EST I got "XERF the strongest station in North America" on my zenith 5 tube table top radio. After I got up off the floor I woke my brother out of bed so he could hear it also. I considered that pretty good DX along with KSL, KFI and KOA. Don't know what it is about BCB DXing, but it will be major part of my life till I am too decepit to turn the rig on anymore (Jim, K1YGG in western Mass., ibid.) A lot of us remember laying in bed with a transistor next to the pillow getting our first taste of DXing. XERF was a complete chapter of theatre of the mind. "With your good neighbor, Paul Kallinger along the way" wondering what we would do with 100 Red Top baby chicks. Later when Wolfman Jack took the reins at night he was hot at pushing the table cloths of the last supper. My favorite Wolfman Jack quote from XERF, when he was in his pitch, he asked what Jesus said at the last supper? "Everybody who wants to be in the picture, get on this side of the table" (Jerry Kiefer, Pt. Orange, FL, ibid.) Mel Brooks stole that Last Supper gag pretty much verbatim for his movie "History of the World Part One"! (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) Before XERF-1570 this station was XERA assigned to 840 but sometimes on around 825. They announced as Villa Acuña, Coahuila, República de México in Spanish but they also announced in English as Eckis-Ay- Erray-Ah, "The Sunshine Station Between the Nations``. For many years Dr John R. Brinkley ran the station and peddled his quack remedies among other items and they played very little music. Their signal got out over much of U.S. and Canada and at one time were said to be using 250,000 watts (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, ibid.) ** MONGOLIA. V. of Mongolia on 12085 Feb 5, quite good in English with news until 1010. English program off at 1030 after giving schedule. Usual bad modulation (Finn Krone, Denmark, Feb 5, HCDX via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5770.0, Defense Forces BC, Feb 5, 1518-1540, program of Asian music, the talking sounded like the same language as noted in the past on R. Myanmar (5040.4), fair-poor. This is the first time it’s been good enough to hear program details, but no ID noted. 5985.85, R. Myanmar, Feb 5, 1546-1600*, English, usual segment of non- stop light instrumental music, fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEPAL. NEPAL RADIO REPORTS BAN ON NEWS OPPOSED TO KING'S ADDRESS | Text of report by Radio Nepal on 2 February The Ministry of Information and Communications has issued two separate notices today saying that any news analysis that opposed the essentials of the king's address yesterday had been banned from being published, or broadcast, for the next six months. The ban also holds true for news and analysis that tries to justify or abate terrorism. The notice says that those violating the notices will be penalized in accordance with the Publication and Press Act 2048 [1992] or the National Broadcast Act 2049 [1993]. Source: Radio Nepal, Kathmandu, in Nepali 1315 gmt 2 Feb 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) RADIO NEPAL REPORTS BAN ON FM RADIO NEWS BROADCASTS | Text of report by Radio Nepal on 3 February The government has issued a directive to FM radio stations to only broadcast entertainment programmes, and not news and newsmagazines, during the period of the emergency. The ban applies to opinions and commentaries as well, in accordance with the law, says a notice issued by the Information and Communications. Source: Radio Nepal, Kathmandu, in Nepali 1315 gmt 3 Feb 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) NEPAL REINS IN PRIVATE RADIO CHANNELS Kathmandu, Feb 5 --- Nepal's new government has asked all the private radio stations in the country to stop broadcasting anything other than entertainment programmes. The government told the vast network of private radio channels not to broadcast news, views, reports and opinions. The move comes in the wake of King Gyanendra dismissing the Sher Bahadur Deuba government Tuesday, declaring emergency and announcing that "crimes against the nation" committed by the Maoists would be dealt with firmly. It was not immediately clear if the order also covered public announcements. The order will leave a void for thousands of listeners who had grown used to their daily doses of news and discussions on current issues as diverse as whether Nepal should hold beauty pageants to the woes of Nepalese workers seeking jobs abroad at the hands of unscrupulous brokers. However, newly appointed Nepalese Information and Communications Minister Tanka Dhakal has reportedly said communication curbs would be eased soon. Private radio channels blossomed in Nepal after the government opened the sector to private operators including national as well as regional and community-based stations. Shops tuned in to radio stations for the latest news, cruising taxis switched on to the FM stations and, during times of unrest created by the Maoist insurgents, people nationwide tuned into their favourite radio stations to find out if there was a curfew, a transport shutdown, a general closure. --- Indo-Asian News Service http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=68744 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Voice of Nigeria-Lagos very strong here in Denmark Feb 5 1050 with English programme 'Moving On', into news 1100 on 15120 kHz. 73's (Finn Krone, Denmark, Feb 5, HCDX via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. For the past three nights, KFAQ-1170 has been clearly audible here, even without phasing WWVA. There's no way this should happen if they're on their night pattern, so they're either remaining on day pattern or something is askew with their DA (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, Feb 4, NRC-AM via DXLD) Barry, I've noticed the same thing here in South Carolina. They are dominant now at night, and I hadn't heard them before (Chris Johnson, K4CME, ibid.) Absolutely !! They are about the strongest skip stn here tonite. 73 KAZ near Chicago who just came in from his BOGs to post about tonite's day pattern suspects (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) ** PAKISTAN. 5080, Pakistan ?? - in WRTH - 1647 222 Urdu? OM discussion (Michel Lacroix, Feb 4, HCDX via DXLD) Yes, Michel, heard today on 5080.3 with 'This is Radio Pakistan with the news' at 1600. 73's (Finn Krone, Denmark, Feb 5, ibid.) ** PHILIPPINES. Greetings; Asia is hot today. Listened to Radio Pilipinas Feb 5 from 1800 to 1930 in Tagalog on 11730 and 11890, both very good. Nothing on announced 15190 kHz. Mentioned that "The Voice of the Philippines" can be heard in English from 0200 to 0330 UT on 12015, 15270 and 15120 kHz (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Segue release recebido de Isabel Saraiva, do setor de Intercâmbio da RDP Internacional: A RDP assinou hoje com a Thales Suisse, S.A. um importante contrato para o fornecimento de equipamentos de radiodifusão, no valor de 3 338 000€, com vista à modernização do seu Centro Emissor de Ondas Curtas. Do equipamento constam dois emissores de ondas curtas de 300 kW e uma antena de cortina de alto ganho, destinada às transmissões para América do Norte, bem como um sistema de gestão técnica da estação. Inaugurado em 1954, o Centro Emissor de Ondas Curtas da RDP constitui a principal via de comunicação entre a RDP Internacional e as comunidades lusófonas espalhadas pelo mundo, transmitindo em média cerca de 50 horas por dia, para a Europa, África, Brasil, América do Norte, Venezuela e Médio Oriente. A presente aquisição, com vista à modernização total do Centro Emissor, constitui o epílogo de um processo iniciado em 1989 com a aquisição de um emissor de 300kW e de uma antena multifrequência para África, seguida em 2002 de uma outra fase, no valor aproximado de 4 milhões de euros, com a aquisição de mais um emissor de 300 kW, duas antenas destinadas às transmissões para a Europa e Brasil e diverso equipamento auxiliar. Com a entrada em funcionamento deste novo equipamento, que está prevista para meados de Outubro de 2005, será decisivamente melhorada a cobertura do continente Norte-americano com as emissões da RDP Internacional. Por outro lado, a estação fica preparada para os futuros desafios da digitalização, que se concretizará com a introdução da tecnologia DRM. As ondas curtas constituem um objectivo estratégico de afirmação dos interesses nacionais no espaço global e são tanto mais importantes quanto um país tem interesses relevantes a projectar a nível internacional. São classificadas como "ondas curtas" as radiofrequências situadas entre os 3 e os 25 megahertz (MHz). Quando as ondas curtas atingem certas camadas da ionosfera, verifica-se a sua reflexão para o solo, num processo que se repete sucessivamente. Por isso, as ondas curtas propagam-se a muito longas distâncias do transmissor. D.R.M. é o acrónimo de Digital Radio Mondiale, uma nova tecnologia que prevê a digitalização das ondas radiofónicas e que deu os primeiros passos em 1996. Em Junho de 2003, o mundo assistiu à primeira emissão em D.R.M. no decurso da Conferência Mundial de Radiocomunicações (WRC 2003), promovida pela UIT - União Internacional de Telecomunicações, em Genebra. A Thales é uma empresa multinacional de origem suíça que está presente nos mercados das telecomunicações, defesa, aeronáutica, sistemas informáticos e segurança. O grupo emprega 61 500 pessoas e registou em 2003 um volume de negócios de 10,6 mil milhões de Euros (via Célio Romais, Feb 2, radioescutas via DXLD) Testes de monitorização automática de DRM em Portugal. A A.R.L.A. (Associação de Radioamadores do Litoral Alentejano) vai participar no projecto DRM. A firma Pro-Funk em Portugal é a estação retransmissora da Rádio Internacional da Alemanha " Deutsche Welle " com sede em Bona, e uma das pioneiras a nível das emissões experimentais de onda curta em modo digital em todo Mundo. De forma a obter dados conclusivos sobre a cobertura efectiva das emissões de DRM na Europa, tornou-se necessário instalar estações de monitorização automáticas, um processo já em curso em cerca de 20 outros locais espalhados pelo Mundo. A partir destas estações especiais são inclusivamente enviados relatórios dos resultados obtidos via Internet de forma totalmente independente da intervenção humana. A Deutsche Welle tencionava instalar uma destas estações de monitorização em Portugal e encarou como um dos locais mais apropriados as instalações da A.R.L.A.(Associação de Radioamadores do Litoral Alentejano) em Aldeia dos Chãos (Santigo do Cacem-Sul de Portugal). Neste momento já só falta a autorização oficial que seguirá dentro de dias para se proceder à montagem desta unidade de monitorização nas referidas instalações, dando-nos a honra de podermos colaborar neste ambicioso projecto da rádio do futuro e cumprirmos de uma só vez vários dos fins e objectivos estruturais da Associação, nomeadamente, fomentar e divulgar progressos técnicos em diferentes domínios da ciência e das comunicações em particular e promover por si só ou em colaboração com outros organismos, a divulgação e desenvolvimento das telecomunicações (via João Gonçalves Costa, Jan 31, radioescutas via DXLD) Amigo João, sabe se haverá alguma razão para que instalem uma estação de monitorização a tão curta distância do emissor? Eu não sei onde fica Aldeia dos Chãos, mas conheço Santiago do Cacém bastante bem. A distância entre Santiago do Cacém e Sines nem deve chegar a 20 km! 73 (Fernando de Sousa Ribeiro, Porto, Portugal, ibid.) Prezado Fernando. A Aldéia de Chãos fica a poucos km de Santigo do Cacem e a estação automática destina-se fundamentalmente à monitorização de outras estações que transmitam a nivel mundial da Deutsche Welle em DRM, com especial incidência para as emissões destinadas a nivel Européu e Norte de África, mas não específicamente para a escuta da plataforma da Pro-Funk em Sines como é lógico. A instalação deve-se ás condições oferecidas para o efeito pela ARLA em conjunto com a C. M. de Santiago do Cacém e aprovadas pelos técnicos da Pro-funk. Espero ter esclarecido as suas dúvidas, Fernando, mas se tiver mais alguma questão estou ao seu dispor. 73`s (João Costa, Almada/Portugal, ibid.) ** SPAIN. INTERNET --- RADIO SEFARAD, EMISORA DE RADIO ONLINE DE LA COMUNIDAD JUDIA ESPANOLA, CUMPLE UN ANO EN EL AIRE http://www.noticiasdot.com/publicaciones/2005/0205/0202/noticias020205/noticias020205-05.htm La emisora es propiedad de la Federación de Comunidades Judías de España y este miércoles cumple su primer año en las ondas de la red. La programación de Radio Sefarad está dirigida a quienes buscan información en castellano sobre temática judía, aseguran. Para ellos la cadena emite a diario un magazine de una hora de duración, disponible de forma permanente, que combina cuestiones de actualidad con la divulgación de las costumbres y la cultura hebrea. Entre sus contenidos figuran literatura, religión, cocina, música judía y reportajes de juventud o entendimiento judeo-cristiano. A través de Internet , Radio Sefarad ofrece la posibilidad de escuchar el programa completo o bien aquellas secciones que interesen a cada internauta. Además incluye una sección de "Actos en directo", en la que se puede acceder al contenido íntegro de conferencias o actos relacionados con la actualidad o la historia judía celebrados en España. La emisora cuenta actualmente con unos 10.000 oyentes procedentes de 50 países y es dirigida por el periodista Solly Wolodarsky. Enlaces relacionados http://www.radiosefarad.com/ (via Conexión Digital via DXLD) This page leads to a 2-minute intro in Spanish which continues on with a 22-minute show. Apparently this has nothing to do with the weekly Sefardic show on REE SW, which I haven`t tried to listen to lately. The actual index page is: http://www.radiosefarad.com/html/index.php where we find links to audio also in English and French (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANGIER. Re DXLD 5-021 item. I've always found it most interesting to read articles about the radio scene of international zone of Tangier and those few years under Moroccan rule, while those stations still existed. Unfortunately my WRTH collection starts only from 1960 and I guess the info in the book is not very detailed. During the 50's there were many "stations" on SW as well as on MW listed under Tangier. But I guess many of the stations were just program time buyers from certain transmitter companies. I just wonder if someone has detailed info from the Tangier era, which stations were "real" ones and who were the airtime buyers (and of course who owned the transmitters). Historic 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, Feb 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 9840, Radio Thailand at 1950 in English with talk about how to vote during the election. Sign off announcements and gong IS at 1958 UT. Nice with WHRI [WSHB] well underneath. (333 Feb 5/05) 73 (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC WS Highlights (Americas stream times only here): Mondays, from Feb 7, at 1405, repeated Tuesdays 0105: ISLAM`S FURTHEST FRONTIER is a new 4-part series profiling the Islamic faith in four countries in SE Asia: Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. The tenuous compatibility of Islam with democracy and modernity is explored; the series is hosted by Roger Hardy, the Islamic Affairs specialist for the WS. Wednesdays 1405, repeated Thursdays 0105, from Feb 9: YOUNG IN THE ARAB WORLD is a new 4-part documentary series traveling to Beirut, Egypt, Bahrain and Morocco to examine what it means to grow up in these societies. More than half of the 250 megapeople in the Arab world are under age 25, and their countries generally offer little opportunity for employment or for political participation. Even the commercialized state of Bahrain limits the freedoms girls can experience on their own (via Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U K. GUIDANCE FOR RESPONSES TO OFCOM SPECTRUM CONSULTATION The Radio Society of Great Britain has been asked by many radio amateurs to provide guidance concerning the manner of response to the Spectrum Framework Review document issued by Ofcom on how the radio spectrum should be managed. To help interpret the questions posed by Ofcom and to give some guidance on how to approach any responses from interested amateurs, clubs or special interest groups, a guide has been produced at http://www.rsgb.org/news/reviewad.htm Responses to the consultation should reach Ofcom by 15 February 2005. http://www.rsgb.org/news/gb2rs.htm (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK viax DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. IBB Botswana on new 4930 confirmed for both morning and evening transmissions since 1 February. Thanks to Wolfgang Bueschel for this tip. This is an additional frequency (not a replacement), which I assume is mainly intended for Zimbabwe. I think it is no coincidence that Zimbabwe was one of the unfree countries singled out by Condoleezza Rice during her Senate confirmation hearings. Along the same lines, it might be worth watching for an increase in US broadcasts to Belarus and Burma, also singled out for Condi's criticism. (I recall she also mentioned Cuba and Iran, but there's plenty of broadcasting to those two already.) BTW, the broadcast to Zimbabwe at 1700-1800 is "Studio 7", not "Radio 7" (as in DXLD 5-019). (Chris Greenway, Kenya, Feb 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. ``Service for Key West and Puerto Rico has been terminated for the time being. Engineers are working with all parties to come up with a new set of frequencies to enable service to resume. In the meantime, service from the other SW transmitters continues unchanged`` says the AFRTS/AFN web site. Looks like the new frequencies are starting to come up in time for the Super Bowl. AFRTS had a broadcast center and uplink in Hollywood for many years, but I am about 80% sure that the last of this activity was recently consolidated into the Defense Media Center at March AFB, considerably east of LA in Riverside. It is all satellite. The HF is a US Navy retransmission of the Interruptible Voice Channel downlink, and there is no HF in Southern California (Jan 27, Hugh Stegman, WUN Newsgroup, via Al Quaglieri, NY, Listeners Notebook, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U S A. I just downloaded and checked the February 1 WWCR guide and it shows that the 2030 Sunday airing on 12160 has been replaced with Salvation Unlimited. All other airings remain. As for other WWCR DX Programs, all remain with the following added: DX Radio School Thursday 1030 on 9985 Ask WWCR Saturday 1615 on 15825, Sunday 2330 on 5070. 73, (John Norfolk, OKCOK, Feb 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Not used to listening to WBCQ at 3 pm Sat, so missed the début of This Week in Amateur Radio International, 2100 on 7415. But listened to the whole thing later on audio file. Seemed a bit padded, or maybe I had just heard most of the news before. But it was nice to hear our old friend Jim Wishner contributing, N0EXX. Missed it again this week (Glenn Hauser, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The following is the Tentative 27 March 2005 to 30 October 2005 High Frequency Schedule for Family Stations, Inc., WYFR. A-05 Freq (kHz) Time (UTC) Az(Degrees) Zone(s) Power 5810 0500-1000 181 11 50 5950 0300-0900 285 10 100 5950 0900-1300 355 4,5,9 100 5950 2200-0300 355 4,5,9 100 5985 0500-1300 315 2 100 5985 2000-0500 181 11 50 6065 2245-0445 355 4,5,9 100 6085 1000-1945 181 11 100 6175 0900-1100 160 15 100 6855 0300-1200 355 4,5,9 100 7355 0300-0800 44 27,28,39 100 7355 1100-1400 222 12 100 7520 0100-0200 142 13 100 7520 0500-0800 44 27,28,39 100 9355 0400-0800 44 27,28,39 100 9355 1100-1200 160 15 100 9505 0000-0445 315 2 100 9505 0445-1000 222 11 100 9550 0800-1200 160 14 100 9605 0800-1100 142 15 100 9605 1100-1400 222 11 100 9625 0800-1300 140 13 100 9680 0145-0800 315 2 100 9715 0300-1200 285 10 50 9755 0900-1145 285 10 100 9930 0445-0900 87 46 100 9985 0400-0800 44 27,28,39 100 11530 0345-0900 87 37,46 100 11565 2045-2300 44 28 100 11580 0300-0400 160 14 100 11580 0500-0800 44 27,28,39 100 11670 1400-1600 222 11 100 11740 2145-0000 315 2 100 11740 0200-0500 222 11 100 11770 0800-1100 142 13 100 11830 1300-1700 315 2 100 11835 0000-0300 285 10 50 11855 0800-1200 160 16 100 11855 2000-0500 222 11 100 11865 1300-1700 315 2 100 11910 1300-1700 355 4,5,9 100 11970 0800-1600 151 15 100 13695 1200-2200 355 4,5,9 100 13800 1200-1600 160 14 100 13800 1700-2200 315 2 100 15130 2200-0400 142 13 100 15130 1200-2000 285 10 50 15155 2000-2400 285 10 50 15215 2300-0400 160 16 100 15255 2300-0500 151 15 100 15440 2145-0300 285 10 100 15600 1845-2300 44 27,28 100 15695 2000-2245 44 27,28 100 15770 1200-1600 160 16 100 15770 1600-1700 44 27,28 100 15770 2100-2245 87 47,528 100 17505 1200-1600 160 14 100 17525 1700-1900 87 46 100 17725 1700-0200 140 13 100 17750 2245-0300 160 15 100 17750 1145-1700 285 10 100 17750 1700-2045 44 27,28 100 17795 1700-2145 285 10 100 17805 2245-0100 142 15 100 17845 1900-2245 87 37,46 100 17845 2300-0300 160 14 100 18930 1600-2245 44 27,28 100 18980 1400-1600 142 15 100 18980 1600-2145 44 27,28 100 21455 1600-2000 44 27 100 21525 1600-2100 87 47,52,57 100 21670 1600-1845 44 27,28 100 (via Evelyn Marcy, WYFR, Feb 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Marconi of Italy built high power shortwave transmitters, one of which, Serial No. 3, is in use by KVOH in Simi Valley, CA (Doug Robertson, KCA6XO, Oxnard CA, Musings, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) Hard to believe a unit so old would still be funxioning, but that could explain its distorted audio, and periodic spurfests. In fairness, I check 16m almost every day and have not heard all the KVOH spurs since last reported here. However, I`m not sure whether they are really supressed or if propagation is extremely good on the occasions I do get them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. GNUZ AND GNOTES --- Biggest (and best) gnuz of gnote is that Mikey Powell is resigning as chairman of the FCC. Powell will go down in history as the man who singlehandedly destroyed radio communications as we know it through his championing of BPL and ignoring the reality of increased interference. He leaves office at the end of March. Here`s a golden opportunity for the president to appoint a person with some knowledge (or at least experience) in broadcasting to head the Commission, instead of just another attorney. However, with the current administration so completely in bed with corporate America, I wouldn`t suggest that you hold your breath waiting for that to happen (John T. Arthur, Belfast NY, Veried Response, The Monthly A*C*E, Feb via DXLD) ** U S A. SPIRIT OF PIRATE RADIO SURVIVES DESPITE STATION'S SHUTDOWN! The Associated Press 02.05.05 http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=14793 Knoxville, Tenn. - After warnings, inspections and finally a raid, 90.9 FM is silent. Knoxville First Amendment Radio, or KFAR, was an unapologetic voice of unlicensed "pirate radio" activism, freewheeling conversation, alternative news and music since 2001. But Federal Communications Commission agents and U.S. marshals emptied the station's graffiti-decorated trailer - a former crack house on a hilltop near the University of Tennessee - of radio gear Sept. 14. A poster of Che Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary, remains on a control room wall. "Arrrgh! .... ye scoundrels!" flashed the message board on the station's Web site. "All the FCC did was protect Knoxvillians' right to listen to static. You go there now, and it is nothing," supporter Chris Irwin said of the void on the FM dial once occupied by 100-watt KFAR. "What exactly was the public benefit of crushing this station with less power than a light bulb?" Two weeks later, Free Radio Santa Cruz in California was raided after operating for nearly 10 years without a license. The FCC shut down 250 pirate radio stations of all kinds in 2004, up from 211 the year before. San Francisco Liberation Radio and tiny Radio Free Brattleboro in Vermont, both raided in 2003, continue to wage federal court battles to stay on the air. The closings come even as the FCC considers allowing more low-power FM licenses for community radio. Of some 3,200 applications submitted during very brief filing periods in 2000 and 2001, about 1,100 have been granted construction permits, about 260 applications are still pending, and more than 300 stations have been licensed. "I fully support the mission of the hundreds of LPFM providers throughout the country," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement. "Low-power FM stations offer a unique opportunity to serve citizens through noncommercial community-based stations, stations that allow small communal and parochial interests to find a voice." But KFAR never applied for a license. The loose-knit collection of about 50 mostly college-age disc jockeys kept KFAR going on $10-a- month dues. They used on-air pseudonyms like Black-Eyed Susan and Dingo Dog Dave to avoid fines. "Originally, we were going to apply for a license. We had a nonprofit. We had a board. We were filling out the paperwork," said Irwin, a law student at Tennessee. But after the FCC opened the door to low-power FM licenses in 2000, Congress adopted restrictions urged by traditional broadcasters. The National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio wanted to ensure the signals of the new little stations didn't interfere with big existing ones. So under a so-called "third adjacent channel" rule, no new station could be closer than three positions on the dial from an existing station. "Basically it made it so that really low-power stations could only operate in very rural areas where there weren't listeners, so they wouldn't cut into any major markets," said Dylan Wrynn, otherwise known as Pete triDish, a former radio pirate now with the Prometheus Radio Project in Philadelphia, which advises community radio startups. "Maybe they could have gotten a low-power station, but it is really pretty dubious," Wrynn said of KFAR. "There are about a dozen ways they could have been stopped from doing it legally through really no fault of their own." The Knoxville market isn't huge. It ranked 71st-largest in the country in the latest Arbitron ratings with a population of 620,000. But with 21 FM stations on the air, the dial apparently was full under the third-channel adjacency standard. So in late 2001 KFAR started broadcasting anyway as an act of civil disobedience. Two years later, an independent study commissioned by the FCC for Congress concluded the third-channel rule was overreaching. The FCC proposed going back to its original plan of requiring separation by only two clicks on the FM dial instead of three - a standard that could allow hundreds of additional stations. Legislation to make the change, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R- Ariz., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., stalled in the Senate last fall. Tim Berry, chief engineer for five Knoxville radio stations once owned locally but sold to Citadel Broadcasting Corp. of Las Vegas in 2000, has no sympathy for KFAR, even though the pirate station never interfered with his stations' signals. "If you dance to the music, eventually you are going to have to pay the fiddler. If you fire up a radio station illegally without a license, eventually the commission is going to shut you down," he said. "If the (McCain-Leahy) legislation were passed ... yes, I believe there would be some more (stations) that would be eligible," Berry said, but noted, "There already are some low-power FMs on, and they did so legally. They didn't fire up and get mad when they got shut down." The FCC closed KFAR on a complaint from the FBI. Special Agent R. Joe Clark, who heads the FBI's Knoxville office, sent the FCC a letter about KFAR in January 2004. The FBI refused to release Clark's letter to the Associated Press without a formal Freedom of Information Act request to Washington. Knoxville FBI spokesman Gary Kidder said Clark was only passing on a tip to the appropriate agency from the FBI's local Joint Terrorism Task Force. David Icove, a former FBI Academy instructor now working for the Tennessee Valley Authority's police agency, is a member of the task force. He played a small role in the KFAR probe. Icove listened to the radio in April and June to confirm that KFAR was still on the air after FCC warnings, according to an affidavit from FCC investigator Eric Rice. But the FCC complaint simply says the station was closed for being unlicensed after it was warned and tests determined the station was transmitting at 5,935 times the allowable limit. Its signal could be picked up from more than five miles away, the FCC said. A licensed low-power FM station typically reaches about 3.5 miles. Since the shutdown, KFAR has continued an abbreviated broadcast on the Internet under a new name, Community Radio of Knoxville, or CRoK, and looks for other opportunities. "KFAR is going to continue to survive as an idea," Irwin said, "until we can figure out some way of getting the people of Knoxville access to what belongs to them - our airwaves." (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO GOES SILENT WITH COMCAST By Eve Mitchell, BUSINESS WRITER http://www.insidebayarea.com/businessnews/onthemove/ci_2550484 Sharon Corsie is upset that Comcast Cable has discontinued FM radio signals from their service. (Jim Stevens - Staff) [caption] IN AN ERA where there are hundreds of television stations available for the viewing, radio still has a place in Sharon Corsie's world. But, apparently, not in Comcast cable's world. The Pleasanton resident was upset to discover Comcast pulled the plug this month on FM radio programming that had been included free for years with cable TV packages in the Tri-Valley area. "They've taken it away from us (but) they don't charge you anything less. We're getting less for the same amount," said Corsie. The FM radio service was stopped in the Tri-Valley area on Jan. 19 and in East Contra Costa County about a month earlier in response to low usage, and to clear more bandwidth on cable pipes for advanced video services, said Comcast spokesman Andrew Johnson. "We periodically review the services that we carry to determine consumer demand," he said Wednesday. "Because we found there was extremely low usage for FM audio services, we've decided to discontinue the FM service so we can use the bandwidth ... for high- definition television and video-on-demand." Johnson estimates that the FM service was only being used by several hundred of the 1.6 million Comcast cable TV subscribers in the Bay Area. Corsie can still get radio stations over the air but the reception isn't nearly as good as when the sound came through her cable wires into her stereo, she said. "It's not as clear as it used to be," she said. And in the case of her favorite station -- KEGR-FM, a Concord-based radio cable-only channel that plays a mix of rock, folk and blues -- the reception is just plain non-existent. That's because KEGR-FM, which is hooked into the cable system, does not broadcast over the public airwaves. While KEGR-FM can be accessed via the Internet just like many other radio stations, that doesn't work for Corsie. "We garden a lot and have a big yard and listen to the radio," said Corsie. "I can't sit around and listen to the Internet when I'm in the garden. It seems so unfair. There are hundreds of TV stations out there and I'm just asking for my radio station." Steve O'Brien is program director of KEGR-FM, which was founded 25 years ago and is owned by Diablo Valley Broadcasting. "A lot of people not getting our station might have thought we've gone off the air," he said. "Basically, Comcast has got the agenda that they don't want to provide FM service in the area because they look at it as wasting bandwidth." The original idea behind first providing FM service over cable into homes was to provide better radio reception in outlying areas the East Bay and North Bay. Comcast subscribers in Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties also are in line to lose access to FM service in the next couple months, said Johnson. The city of Livermore, one of the Tri-Valley cities no longer receiving the FM service, has received a couple of complaints about the change, according to Ellyn Axelrod, the city's cable franchise manager. While Comcast cable subscribers in the Tri-Valley area and East Contra Costa can no longer get FM radio service, that's not the case in Central Contra Costa County — at least for now. Three cities in that area — Clayton, Danville and Moraga — have provisions in their franchise agreements that call for providing FM service. "We're not dropping it in places where there is a franchise agreement," said Johnson. Other cities in Central Contra Costa County whose cable systems are interconnected to those of Clayton, Danville and Moraga also are continuing to get the FM service. Although Concord currently does not have FM radio service included in its month-to-month franchise agreement, it's something it might ask for in future agreements, said Peter Dragovich, the city's cable franchise manager. "It's an issue that works into the current franchise renewal discussions," said Dragovich. "It's a community demand issue — if the community wants it, it should be retained. If the community doesn't want it, they should let us know — that's the other option." (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. KXTA [1150 Los Ángeles, Air América] is now KTLK. KTLK was my local 1340 (Santa Bárbara) until yesterday; now they are back to their legendary call letters of KIST (Dennis Gibson, Feb 4, IRCA via DXLD) Based on this email, I just went to the FCC web site and did a query on "Los Angeles CA". It shows KXTA on the list, but if you drill down on KXTA, it immediately shows them as KTLK with an call change date effective 2/3/05. Aargh! Now I can't trust the FCC without drilling down at a bureaucratic pace! Dennis, Thanks for the confirmation on the calls (Mike Hawkins, Feb 4, ibid.) ** U S A. New QSL: 1530, KZNX, TEXAS, Creedmoor, received in 11 days verie-letter and all sorts of other goodies, bumper sticker displaying both 1530 and 1260 ESPN Radio, business card, key chain, a DVD PlayStation 2 NCAA March Madness demo, ESPN mug grabber, my cassette returned along with my SASE. Also mentioned KZNX was operating with 15 watts and night pattern. The tech. checked and the operation was on the 15 watts the morning I heard them. The manager enjoyed listening to the cassette tape too, he went on. They even dubbed the cassette tape to hard drive to keep it. Address: KZNX, 4314 West Braker Lane #1260, Austin TX 78759. My 70th Texas QSL and number 2894 MW QSL. I am pleased with this one (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, Feb 5, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Correction in Washington Post: CORRECTIONS Saturday, February 5, 2005; Page A02 A Feb. 2 Style article about a proposal by WETA-FM management to drop classical music programming misstated the frequency of another classical radio station in Washington. WGMS is at 103.5 FM (Mike Cooper, Feb 5, DXLD) ** U S A. GMT Monday 0000-0600, WBAI.ORG MP3 stream http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/277858p-238057c.html 'Golden Age' of Shepherd If you'd rather hear Jean Shepherd than watch the Super Bowl, or if you think Jean Shepherd would be a perfect post- Super Bowl treat, Max Schmid of WBAI (99.5 FM) is there for you. Schmid's "Golden Age of Radio" holds its fund-raiser tomorrow, 7 p.m.- 1 a.m., and it will be all Shepherd. Schmid's guests will include Eugene Bergman, author of the about-to-be-released Shepherd book "Excelsior, You Fathead." He will also play, of course, Shepherd recordings (Joel Rubin, NY Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** VATICAN. Vatican Radio, 1611 kHz, 0614 Feb 5, talk by woman in Scandinavian language (assumed), parallel to 7335, good readable signal peaks from 0610 to 0620, briefly the 1611 outlet was actually stronger than 7335, excellent geomagnetic field conditions: A=2, K=1 (Mike Beu, KD5DSQ, Austin, Texas, Drake R8B and 70 ft Terminated Delta, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS. Was in St. Croix last summer, I talked to a guy in TV (possibly WTJX 12). He told me ZBTV is ancient history. There are actually two ch 5's in USVI --- one relays WTJX I think, the other relays WSVI-8. I bought a small outdoor antenna at the Radio Shack there and did some TV DXing, wondering if there would be any e-skip, but nope (Christopher S. Dunne, Pembroke Pines, FL (22 mi NW of Miami), Feb 5, WTFDA via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. VOA Studio 7 via Botswana: see USA [non] UNIDENTIFIED. Wobbler more weird on 930. Tonight since about 1 am ET [0600 UT Feb 3] the Wobbler has been so strong on 930 it is easily heard with no special effort at all. So strong in fact I have heard two of them, one low in tone and loud, the other higher in tone and not nearly so loud but still audible without more than a good ear. This is the first time I have heard two Wobblers going at once on the same frequency. I have recordings which I will put on the Wobbler web site as soon as I get a chance to sort through them. During this time there was SS strong for much of the time on 930, 920 was background noise, and 910 had an SS in and out with an occasional Wobbler, but not nearly so strong. Now, at 3:10, the SS on 930 is way down, but the Wobblers are still there (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (South East) Florida, Feb 3, [JRC NRD-535D, LF Engineering H-800 & M- 601, Quantum Phaser, ANC-4 noise canceler, GAP DSP], NRC-AM via DXLD) Seems to me the "standard" term is bubble jammer. That's my two cents' worth, take it or leave it, sez I (Charlie [WD9INP/4] Taylor, NC, ibid.) Charlie, Thanks for the lead. I did a Google search on Bubble Jammer and found some interesting info. I also found a sample recording. The Bubble Jammer and the Wobbler sound alike when heard separately. I spent some time listening to them both and comparing FFT spectrograms of the two signals. I think while similar, the two are not the same signal. However, that is based on only a single example of what a Bubble Jammer sounds and looks like If there are variations of the signal, then it might still prove to be the culprit. If you or anyone have or know the whereabouts of more examples of the Bubble Jammer, I would really like to make comparisons with my recordings of the Wobbler. For those who want to see and hear what I have found on this, please go to the Wobbler web site, which I have updated with this latest comparison: http://ScooterHound.com/WWWR/wobbler/ Thanks again for the feedback, (W. Curt Deegan, ibid.) Hey Curt, I hear them nightly on there and other frequencies. Last night I had them on 1120 and tonight at 2305 I heard it on 870 over WWL. 73's and great DX (John Hunter, where?, ibid.) John, Thanks for the feedback. I listened on 1120 but heard nothing. I'm on 870 now and there is indeed an occasional Wobbler there along with WWL and R.R. time ticks compliments of Fidel. I'll continue to check these out along with the regulars on 910 and 930, and some frequencies others have reported. Not sure what I expect to find, something different, or something the same. Who knows? The fun is in the chase. I've tentatively eliminated two suggested sources, PSK31 and Bubble Jammers. How many radio type things are there, anyway? One way to find a hobby is to pursue an impossible goal. I think I'm onto one (W. Curt Deegan, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 4815: Just at 1738 Feb 5, listening to an Arabic- sounding station. I heard it several other times, but could never find an ID. Does anyone hear it? (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Possibly Burkina Faso back, but it`s only in French and vernaculars; you should check 5030 anyway for // or absence. Does not work out as another Cairo difference product, as 12050 minus 4815 = 7235, not a Cairo frequency (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ MANIPULATING THE ETHER: THE POWER OF BROADCAST RADIO IN THIRTIES AMERICA --- By Robert J. Brown, ISBN 0-7864-2066-9 Reviewed by Richard A. D'Angelo This release of Manipulating the Ether by Robert J. Brown is a soft cover version of the original hardback book originally published by McFarland and Company, Inc in 1998. Manipulating the Ether by Robert J. Brown is divided into three main sections. Part I: The "Radio President" discusses President Roosevelt's views on radio, his relationship with radio, his method of using radio as a communications tool, campaigning by radio and the use of radio to "sell the domestic agenda" and "selling the foreign policy agenda." Roosevelt was the first politician to recognize the power of radio. Through radio he was able to appeal directly to the American people for support of his domestic and foreign policy program. His speeches and fireside chats were broadcast over several networks. Through these initiatives, listeners learned immediately what previously took days to disseminate. This was a major change in how Americans received the news and learned of events. However, in some instances commentators began to interpret the news for listeners thus slanting it to reflect their own viewpoint. Part II: "We Take You Now To. . ." covers the early history of broadcast news and how radio covered domestic events and crises such as the Hindenburg Explosion. Also, radio began covering the world and this is explored through the early coverage of the war in Europe as it exploded into a world war. Part III: "Incredible as It May Seem." delves into the use of radio as an entertainment medium. Extensive coverage is given to Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds broadcast including his preparation, the broadcast itself, public reaction and the aftermath on October 30, 1938. The Welles broadcast demonstrated the full power of radio as a medium. His program brought widespread panic with its fictional newscast of an alien invasion. Manipulating the Ether by Robert J. Brown is the product of many years of intensive research by the author as a result of countless hours spent in sound rooms and archives at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, the Library of Congress, and the Museum of Broadcasting. The author used many other university libraries sources as well as non- profit organizations such as the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club and the Old Time Radio Club of Buffalo. As a result, Brown has developed an excellent book about how early radio was used and manipulated as a medium. His insights and analysis shows how radio had the power to influence listeners in the 1930's. The book includes an extensive section of Notes, a Bibliography, Selected Radio Broadcasts, and an Index. It is 324 pages long with some black and white photographs describing in depth how Roosevelt used radio, how the news was reported, and the changes Welles caused are all addressed in elaborate detail. It can be ordered direct from the publisher, McFarland & Company, Inc., P. O. Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640 for US$39.95 or by telephone at 800-253-2187. A credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express) is required to complete the secure transaction online. This book and other McFarland publications can be viewed and ordered at the company website at http://www.mcfarlandpub.com (Feb World DX Club Contact via Alan Roe, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ GE SUPERADIO III = MURDER WEAPON I just watched a tape of last night's episode of "Monk". A woman kills her husband by tossing a GE Superadio III into the man's bath water. With him in it, of course. It isn't apparent about the make of the radio until almost the end when Monk and the police are at the woman's cabin and he 'puts two and two together' to solve the crime (Bill Hale, TX, Feb 5, NRC-AM via DXLD) CAM-D VS IBOC I'm still looking for some good examples of adjacent, and 2nd adjacent channel recordings if IBOC day, or night. I can't remember who it was, but someone recorded WWKB about 2 minutes before WCKY turned off their IBOC for the night, and the recording was impressive. I'm putting together a CD called "The Quality of AM Radio". On this CD I show the effects of adjacent channel interference, using processors with NRSC-I, NRSC-II, and even one of the 70 vintage which is wide as a barn door. If someone has a good recording that I can use, I would be glad to comp them with either a copy of the CD when finished, or a couple jingle CDs from my collection. Any help would be appreciated, even if it's a recording that you made and posted a while back. Is there anyone in the list that can make some good recordings of KDYL-1060 [UT] and KNX-1070 [CA]. I put the pressure on Leonard Kahn to give me some details on the CAM-D experiments at KDYL. His claim is that CAM-D stays within the channel and does not cause any problems to KNX. I would love to find someone who could make a recording where they are getting both stations at approximately the same signal strength and switch from frequency to frequency. Leonard also said that to install CAM-D costs about $40k, and that he is working with a manufacture to produce the chipset for radios a.s.a.p. I also urged Leonard to come up with a "black box" decoder for us DXers where a connection could be made to a radio, and the decoding of the CAM-D takes place in the box, with outputs (1/8" stereo plug) for the audio. As I mentioned to him, with the DRM crowd experimenting with "Ham Dream" and kits to decode DRM, it might behoove him to make some of the technology available to the ham and hobby radio people. I'm optimistic that he may move in that direction. FWIW, Leonard pointed me to his new website, http://www.wrathofkahn.org which will be his new clearinghouse for information on reception of stations. He expressed some interest in hearing from DXers who have a technical background and can provide some real life data on band conditions, noise, and reception of stations. Apparently he knows that several members commented to the FCC, and he was impressed that some DXers are more than simply hobbyists (Fred Vobbe, OH, NRC-AM via DXLD) DRM +++ The DRM schedule via RN site at http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/dossiers/drm_schedule.html has been updated: ``Last modified: 2005.02.05,09:39.00#6#+00:00`` Here we excerpt the pertinent entries concerning tests during the HFCC in México DF, including the unidentified transmissions we have already reported. On Aventura Diexista, HCJB, 1445 UT Feb 5 on 11960, Duglas Weaver mentioned that HCJB would be running special tests too, but no further info! That turns out to be the identity of the DRM buzz I was already hearing on 15375, not Santiago, which however, is also running a DRM test, on 21500 like they did for Dallas last November. Power and azimuth are missing for both; presumably HCJB`s high-gain rotatable antenna is no longer usable, at least in the process of being dismantled, if not yet completed. Besides the html coding errors, the R. Educación entry for 25620 does not match our previous info, that it would be running from 1500 to 2300 for several days, not just during the same 20 minutes the MW 1060 test appears one day only. And the 21645 DRM test, indeed via French Guiana, is not carrying RFI, but instead DW in English! Viz.: 1300-2300 02/06-02/11 21645 295 Mexico 30 DW English Montsinery 1300-2400 02/06-02/11 15375 Mexico HCJB Spanish Quito 1600-1900 02/07-02/11 21500 Mexico Voz Cristiana Spanish Santiago 1700-1720 02/09 1060 ND Mexico R. Educaci?font> Spanish Mexico 1700-1720 02/09 25620 ND Mexico R. Educaci?font> Spanish Mexico 2200-2300 02/05-02/20 9900 290 Mexico 10 RNW Spanish Bonaire 2300-2400 02/05-02/20 9885 290 Mexico 10 RNW Dutch Bonaire The by-frequency DRM schedule at the HFCC site has not yet been updated. Then I find a message from Klaus Schneider, compiler of the above schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, maybe I can answer some questions from DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-021. French Guiana did some DRM test transmissions on 21650 kHz to Europe. Tentative schedule to Mexico: 02/06-02/11 on 21645 kHz (295 - 30 kW) at 1300-2300 UT The transmission on 15375 kHz originated from Quito, Ecuador. HCJB schedule to Mexico: 02/06-02/11 on 15375 kHz at 1300-2400 UT Voz Cristiana from Santiago, Chile. 02/07-02/11 on 21500 kHz at 1600-1900 UT It's impossible to list test transmissions in the regular DRM schedule. Special transmissions to Mexico will be published on Sunday, 6 Feb., because the schedule is also used for the DReaM Software, where the transmission days have to be marked for remote control of the receivers. That's why limited transmissions, e.g. to Mexico, are always a problem. 73, (Klaus Schneider http://www.drm-dx.de Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Can I also suggest that those who wish to keep up to date with DRM transmissions also check the forums at http://www.drmrx.org/forum/ - some of the broadcasters post messages there advising of planned special or test transmissions. The Reception Results - Recent Post forum contains 7321 messages in 188 threads! (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) Special DRM transmissions from the UK (Rampisham) to Paris are on 5875 MHz 0900-1600 UT 5-9 Feb. Antenna HRS 2/2 bearing 140 degrees. The normal 7320 kHz transmission will be suspended during this period. Groeten (via Han, Feb 3, BDXC via DXLD) See also ECUADOR, PORTUGAL CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WINTER SWL FEST Although I won't be able to attend, I warmly commend the upcoming Winter SWLFest. We've included a plug for the Fest on this week's Feedback page http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/feedback/feedbackprogrammes where Bill Bergadano writes: "The 2005 event will once again be held in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia on March 11 and 12, 2005. The Fest provides an opportunity for broadcasters to connect with radio enthusiasts in person, and the Fest has thrived for these 18 years largely due to the support of broadcasters like Radio Netherlands. The Fest is the largest gathering of international radio enthusiasts in North America, if not the world - we have seen visitors for example from England, Belgium, Finland and Brazil besides those attending from the USA & Canada!" I have been on a couple of occasions and found it a most enjoyable weekend, so I can highly recommend it. There's an excellent Website at http://swlfest.com/ which has loads of information and photos from past events. This is the 18th Fest, and I'm already planning to be at the 20th anniversary one in 2007 :-) (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ I personally welcome Glenn's insights. With neo-conservatives in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, AM Talk Radio and increasingly TV too, we in the patriotic but opposition need all of the 1st amendment avenues we can find. I'm a 100% total and permanent disabled "Vietnam Era" veteran and now get to stand in line for medical treatment with 18 year old soldiers missing arms, legs and eyes thanks to the mismanaged war in Iraq. While at the same time President Bush wastes 100's of billions of $$$ in Iraq while he quietly cuts the budget of the V.A. every year. So now I wait six months to see my doctor. What also sickens me are the neo-conservative war hawks, most of which have never served in the military. While pro war they also claim to be pro military UNTIL the war is over. Then when the sick, wounded and maimed veterans return home from battle, the neo-cons turn their backs on them by under funding the V.A. 73 & GUD DX, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Retired Space & Atmospheric Weather Forecaster, Plant City, FL, USA, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###