DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-038, March 3, 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 Extra 54: Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Sat 0000 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sat 0000 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream Sat 0600 WOR SIUE Web Radio Sat 0900 WOR WRN1 to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar, Telstar 12 SAm Sat 0955 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1130 WOR WWCR 5070 Sat 2030 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 0330 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0430 WOR WRMI 6870 or 7385 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 2100 WOR RNI Mon 0330 WOR WRMI 6870 or 7385 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [week delay] Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 0700 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 54 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx54h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx54h.rm WORLD OF RADIO Extra 54 (low version, same as COM 04-09): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0409.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0409.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0409.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 54 in the true shortwave sound of mp3: keep checking http://www.piratearchive.com/dxprograms.htm NETS TO YOU March edition by John Norfolk: http://www.w4uvh.net/nets2you.html ** ALBANIA. Hi all, Radio Tirana seems way off frequency --- 1.394808 MHz --- a good 192 Hz LF. Anyone know how long they have been off tune? Regards (Dave G8SZX Towers, March 1, MWC via DXLD) Hi David, it`s been off-frequency since at least 1994. All the best (Tim Bucknall, ibid.) ** ANTIGUA. The 30.38 MHz 2nd harmonic from the BBC relay on Antigua has not been heard in the past week or so. As someone had suggested that what I was hearing was actually a mixing product generated in my antenna system, I tuned in 15.19 MHz on my Alinco DJ-X2000 with the same antenna (OE-254/GRC bicone). The BBC signal was received full scale, Q5. While I have no information on the calibration of the Alinco's S-meter, I would guess that the signal was at least S9+. If 30.38 MHz was a mixing product I should be hearing it today but I'm not. It's still odd that that harmonic was heard solid on almost a daily basis here but very little else except occasional F layer pops on 29.60 MHz NBFM. And it's also odd that I have only heard that 29.875 MHz 5th harmonic from Antigua only twice in the past 5 years. I did send a reception report via the BBC World Service web site. Never heard back from them. Same thing with the VOA harmonic on 30.45 MHz 5 years ago. I think it's their policy to not confirm off frequency signals ((Jack Sullivan, Central New Jersey, FN20, WA1TEJ, harmonics yg via DXLD) Jack, It could be BBC took note of your harmonic report and took steps to remedy it, while not condescending to verify your report or even thank you. That`s why I recommend that harmonics NOT be reported to the stations producing them, unless they pose some kind of threat to critical safety frequencies. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** ARGENTINA. Re LTA, Armed Forces Station, 15820 et al.: I have QSLed several over the years on different utility frequencies -- Rivadavia, Continental, Diez, R del Plata (maybe del Plata was different -- the frequency was a regular RAE/R Nacional frequency, 11710 [it was in 1982]). So they definitely verify, although I have always wondered if these stations really know what we are hearing or if they just QSL out of courtesy or think we have heard them on MW. I have never had any luck QSLing the transmitter site direct, the address of which I have in the past seen as: Emisora LTA, Batallón de Comunicaciónes 602, Ejército Argentino, Azopardo 250, piso 18, 1328 Buenos Aires, Argentina (Jerry Berg, Feb 21, DSWCI DX Window Feb 23 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 15060, R. Australia. Location unknown. Unusual frequency and // with 15160 & 15240 with English ``News of the Pacific Region`` and ID at 0510, 17/2. Strong signal, but big fades, and barely audible by 0535 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) Shepparton spur (Craig Seager, ADXN ed.) But a leapfrog of 15240 over 15160 would land on 15080, so must be some other explanation (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS. R. Belarus, 7105, 2200-2230 Feb 20, English ID, news, weak, poor with CW QRM; \\ 7340 weak. Sunday only [at this time]. 7105, 2030-2100 Feb 24, IS, English ID and into news. Very weak; \\ 7340 poor with co-channel QRM. A Thursday (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. Dear Flanders Today, It will a very very sad day when RVi shuts downs most of its shortwave services which I'm still hoping it won't come true. It feels like part of my life has been taken away from me personally. I want to say to Colin, Els, Deane, Liz, Frans, Mark, Paul and all the other great people that made Flanders Today possible that you will be sadly missed as family, friends and great broadcasts. You made Flanders Today what it is today. The management has truly made the wrong decision and I hope they have the heart to admit they are wrong and keep your station on the air. Best Always to all of you at Flanders Today, Fritz Layer #510 (Fritz Layer - 2 maart 2005, RVi Guestbook http://www.rvi.be/guestbook_uk/showMessages.jsp?id=3769&xsl=/guestbook_uk/messages.xsl via DXLD) RADIO VLAANDEREN INTERNATIONAL PROTEST I am sure there are many members of the World DX Club that are or have been listeners to the Flemish international broadcasters RVi. Well, as you may know the station is likely to close down at the end of this month although I've read that some English news broadcasts may continue but I suspect that this will not be on short wave. There is still time to express your views to Mr Geert Bourgeois who is the Flemish Minister for Administrative Affairs, Foreign Policy, Media and Tourism either to his postal address being Alhambragebouw Emile Jacqmainlaan 20 B-1000 Brussel, Belgium Telephone: 02-552 70 00 Or Better still send an e-mail to him and his contact person at the following e-mail addresses according to the reply I received in January. Kabinet.bourgeois@vlaanderen.be Duncan.braeckevelt@vlaanderen.be (Nick Sharpe, via Mike Barraclough, UK, worlddxclub via DXLD) Wim Jansen, director of RVi will be on VOA Talk to America, Fri March 4 at 1605-1655; see USA (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5930.4v, R Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, 0910-0955 fade out, Jan 27 and 30, LA music, ``Familia programa``, ID 0928 as: ``. . .São Paulo, Radio Presidente Prudente. . .``, ad. Heard // 5045 from 0905 onwards (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 23 via DXLD) R Guarujá Paulista programmes are broadcast via the transmitters of R Presidente Prudente (DSWCI Ed, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. 4905.13, Unidentified, Feb 28, 0139 program of English songs (Celine Dion, etc), DJ in what sounded to me like Portuguese, weak. Sign off just before 0300. See ECUADOR, DXLD 5-037 (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4905.13, Mar 1, 0135, religious program with organ music, hymns and talking in Portuguese, ID at 0159 but could not make it out, poor- fair, checked again at 0246, pop song in English, abrupt 0248* (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA NRD545, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. R Guaruja Paulista - Nova Freqüência Devido a problemas de interferência reportados na freqüência de 3235 kHz, a Anatel homologou oficialmente a nova frequencia de 3385 kHz que deverá entrar no ar ainda esta semana, sendo a atual desativada. Recentemente, foram feitas emissões experimentais em 3400 kHz para auxiliar a solução do problema; foi por isto que esta freqüência havia sido reportada anteriormente. Na freqüêencia antiga na faixa de 90 metros, estava ocorrendo interferência de emissão de utilitárias, que estava afetando a qualidade da recepção em diversas regiões. A Rádio Guarujá Paulista solicita informes de recepção da nova freqüência de 3385 kHz para analise das condições de recepção e eventuais ajustes. V/S: Orivaldo Rampazo; QTH: Rua José Vaz Porto, 175, Santa Rosa, Guarujá, SP, 11431-190, BRASIL email: radioguarujaam@r... [truncated] (Sarmento F. Campos, Rio de Janeiro - Brasil, http://radioescuta.aminharadio.com condiglist via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Olá a Todos! Alguém sabe o que aconteceu com a Rádio Inconfidência em 6010 kHz? Há dias que eu não a escuto mais por aqui. Fte 73! (Fresnel de Ximenes, Planaltina - Go, radioescutas via DXLD) Fresnel, Eu também sou ouvinte da Inconfidência. Aqui no Rio de Janeiro, seus sinais não estão se fazendo presente em 6010 kHz. Vamos averiguar! 73 (Francisco Jackson, ibid.) Amigos da lista. A Rádio Inconfidência está com o transmissor de oc queimado, 6010 kHz. SDS: (Jaime Soares BH. Mg, ibid.) ** CANADA. Glenn, 2326 UT, 9800 kHz, DW DRM, English broadcast via CBC on February 26, 2005. Language lesson and ID. At 2330 into R. Sweden DRM English broadcast via CBC with "Studio 49" program. Reception excellent (digital reception is either excellent or non existent. There is no in-between). Using NRD-545 receiver set to -5 kHz of desired frequency, USB, BWC 9.99 kHz and +2.30 PBS. Using Phone out from receiver to PC sound card line-in. Running Dream version 1.17 (precompiled shareware) on PC. Is the above OK for reporting DRM reception? 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC Annandale, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Hi Glenn, Regarding the Voice of the Straits (DXLD 5-037), at their website you can find references to both Strait and Straits. I believe in the past I have always seen it as Straits (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, re DXLD 5-037 CHINA V. of Strait --- Voice of Strait English homepage is at http://www.vos.com.cn/enroot/ At http://www.vos.com.cn/enroot/service/index.htm they give frequencies as News Channel: MW: 666 KHz SW: 11590 KHz Minnan Dialect Channel: MW: 873 KHz SW: 6115 KHz Life and Entertainment Channel: SW: 7280 KHz FM 90.6 KHz and contact info as: Voice of Straits Address: 187 Box, Fuzhou, China 350012 E-mail: vos @ am666.net There is a mention of English at http://www.vos.com.cn/enroot/service/schedule.htm 14:30 English weekly "Focus On China" But but, is this schedule in Beijing Time??? S/on and s/off times 0625/0100 fits that (Jari Savolainen, Finland, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6139.8, Radio Lider, Bogotá, 1240-1301 UT Marzo 1, Español. Emitiendo el programa noticioso "Últimas Noticias" actualidad política colombiana. Esta emisora aparece listada en WRTH y PWBR como Radio Melodía. Calidad de la Señal de Regular a Buena, SIO 353 (Dino Bloise, Icom R-75, Florida, EEUU, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Líder, sintonizada este 27/02, a las 2302 UT, en los 6139.77 kHz, con SINPO 44433. La estación comentaba acerca de su cobertura en otros países del mundo a través de la frecuencia de onda corta e invitaba a los oyentes a reportar la estación; a cambio se ofrecía un premio. Las direcciones: Apartado Postal 19823, Bogotá, Colombia; e- mail: radiolider @ cadenamelodia.com (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. ERNST ZUNDEL DEPORTED, NOW IN GERMAN CUSTODY CTV.ca News Staff White supremacist Ernst Zundel has been taken into custody in Frankfurt, Canadian immigration officials said. The infamous Holocaust denier was deported from Canada to Germany this morning. "He has been turned over to German authorities,'' Alex Swann, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, told The Canadian Press. Zundel faces certain prosecution in Germany because of his claims the Holocaust never happened, which is a crime in Germany. Zundel lived for 42 years in Canada as a landed immigrant. His last two years were spent in a jail cell in Toronto, where he was held under a national security certificate. Last week, a Federal Court judge ruled that Zundel should be deported because he poses a threat to national security. In his 64-page decision, Justice Pierre Blais called the 65-year-old German national a danger to society. "Mr. Zundel's activities are not only a threat to Canada's national security but also a threat to the international community of nations," Blais said. Denouncing Zundel as a Hitler sympathizer determined to propagate the neo-Nazi movement, Blais said Zundel was a "leader of international significance" among white supremacists. Some Jewish groups say Zundel's deportation is the end of a sad chapter in Canadian history. "I just found it an outrage. A sad and depressing outrage that this man would have the audacity to claim that six million Jews were not murdered, said Bernie Farber, executive director of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Zundel, who has no criminal record in Canada, was jailed in 2003, when he was deported from the United States for overstaying his visa. He had been trying to gain U.S. citizenship. He was detained on a national security certificate that allows the federal government to hold him indefinitely, pending deportation. There are many critics who disagree with the use of the security certificate, which allows detention of those deemed a threat to national security without a charge or trial. Zundel's lawyer in Toronto, Peter Lindsay, said Zundel is "very disillusioned about the process and about being the victim of a secret trial, and now being deported based on evidence he's never seen." With files from the Canadian Press http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1109683146179_5?hub=topstories (via Fred Waterer, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Glenn, tonight at 2100 UT Ernst Zündel arrived at Frankfurt. He was arrested and will be brought to Mannheim for further proceedings. I went through some of the reports published here in Germany so far. No mention of his radio activities anywhere, all reports refer only to his website. Well, I did not get to witness Zündel's infamous broadcasts via Bolshakovo in the late nineties; if I recall correct two programs went out until the journalists of VOR's German service brought an end to this after being alerted by listeners. But I think I heard Ernst Zündel via WWCR, in 1993 if memory serves right. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kai, I believe Zundel was on WWCR only very briefly, until they caught on what he was about. Started off on WRNO; I have an item from Kusalik about that from ODXA. And as I recall this was a matter of some contention between Joe Costello and myself (Glenn to Kai Ludwig, via DXLD) Yes, Ernst Zundel definitely had a program on shortwave. The program was Called 'Voice of Freedom" aired via WRNO, New Orleans. I was fortunate enough to hear the broadcast back on February the 28th, 1994 when the program aired from 2200 to 2230 UT on 15420 kHz. A reception report sent to Toronto address brought back my two prepared cards, signed and stamped , as well a whole raft of Neo-Nazi propaganda (Edward Kusalik, AB, March 1, ODXA via DXLD) Indeed I don't remember this issue being still discussed in 1994. And it was quite an issue in the shortwave scene here in Germany; I seem to recall that some people stated that they had no sympathy with WWCR at all for this reason. (The Zündel broadcasts took place before the fire-raising, right?) Must have been before I bought my first shortwave radio in 1993, I think? In fact I never heard WRNO at all. All I can remember are the transmissions via WWCR, in the late afternoon or early evening on their 19 metres frequency. At this time it had been discussed whether or not times and frequencies should be published at all. One editor (Manfred Böhm, once doing DX shows on RBI's German service, at the time working at Radioropa and today at Deutsche Welle) did so, stating "a small minority of our audience should not give us a reason to suppress this information". This way I got to hear the Zündel programs. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. DORALE UPGRADE: The second MW transmitter (1116 kHz) has been installed and is operational at full power; we now have two MW transmitters operational at the Dorale site. Two technicians from Germany have installed most of the Continental SW transmitter (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via DXLD) This refers to the RTD facility, 1116 kHz listed as 40 kW in WRTH 2005; and SW maybe will be back on 4780 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. R. El Buen Pastor, 4815, 1000-1015+ Feb 26, Spanish religious music, ID, Spanish talk. Poor with sweeper and RTTY QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. R. Bata, 5005.0, *0536-0600+ Feb 26, sign-on with African hi-life music and Radio Bata ID. Spanish talk and African hi-life music. Very good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, R. Africa 2, 1513 man with religious talks, on Jerusalem, etc. 'News on bible' then 1516 gospel song. At 1547 with ID R Africa and email as: radioafrica @ myway.com if I am correct. Signal S5, QRMed by BBC Antigua, sometimes in total 22332. Also on 26th signal is S4 max, 23232 at 1659 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Date? See IRAN [non] [non] WWRB & BBC have recently started using 15190 during the day killing any chance to hear Radio Africa, Equatorial Guinea. The latter's s/off time and sked have been quite variable, so keep checking, and report (Harold Frodge, MARE Tipsheet Mar 3 via DXLD) BBC has been on 15190 for years; it`s EqG which recently started using 15190; and WWRB is quite irregular, unheard on 15190 after 1700 March 3; see USA. Personally, I`d rather hear the BBC than R. Africa (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Africa 2, Equatorial Guinea on 15190 kHz has been noted March 2 around 0645 to 0730 UT. Reception is really poor and there are heavy splashes from R Vlaanderen International via Armavir, Russia on 15195 kHz broadcasting in Dutch 07-08 UTC to Europe. I´ve heard R Africa 2 also around 1630 UTC on 15190 kHz, but co-channel QRM by the BBC WS from Antigua is extremely strong. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7100, Voice of the Broad Masses full data card and verie letter in 67 days signed by Gerhane Gerezigiher, Technical Director of Radio Engineering, for report on Dec 07 reception and 2 IRC's. Return address was Ministry of Information, Radio Department, Radio Engineering Division, P. O. Box 242, Asmara, Eritrea. According to Mr. Gerezigiher, the program I reported from 1503-1522 was in the Kunama language (Bruce Churchill, CA, DSWCI DX Window Feb 23 via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Scandinavian Weekend Radio has its transmission this weekend starting 22 hours UT 4th March. All bands are in use, 25 mb (11690/11720 kHz), 48 mb (5980/5990/6170 kHz) and MW 187 meters 1602 kHz. more info: http://www.swradio.net No tuon ymmärtänee suomenkielisenäkin, mutta varmemmaksi vakuudeksi kerrotaan, että SWR:n maaliskuun lähetys kestää koko lauantaipäivän 5. maaliskuuta. Iloisia kuunteluhetkiä. Starting frequencies 22 UT are: 1602 kHz (whole day long) 5980 kHz 22-07 UT 11720 kHz 22-07 UT All transmitters have power of 100 watts (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, March 3, dxing.info via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Juhani Niinistö of YLE will be on VOA Talk to America Fri March 4 at 1605; see USA (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. DRM from Issoudun on 6175 was observed this morning until 1100 for the first time. There are speculations that these could be already regular transmissions, since planned times for DRM on 6175 were 0700-1100, 1200-1900 and 2200-0600. Cf. http://forum.myphorum.de/read.php?f=8773&i=170128&t=170128 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. R. Gabon, 4777, *0531-0600+ Feb 26, abrupt sign-on with French talk, 0534 hi-life music, 0600 R. Gabon IDs. Very good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Re 5-034: Glenn, I think I have not followed up on the matter of Saarländischer Rundfunk returning to mediumwave yet: Indeed Deutschlandfunk will stay on 1422 and SR inaugurate a new outlet for its own usage. Planned is 1179 with 10 kW and 8 AM to 6 PM only, but this is not definite yet (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Dear John, In Avlis is 2 transmitters 100 KW and 1 250 KW where it works 70 KW (Babis Charalampopoulos, ERA, 27 Feb via John Babbis, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: It looks as though I was on the right track! Does this mean that one of those 250-kW transmitters has been reconfigured to operate at a reduced power of 70 kW? Possibly, the Avlis 3 transmitter(?) (JOHN BABBIS, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. During the first week of February our Italian member Alessandro Groppazzi together with his DX-friends Valter and Graziano had a Dxpedition to the area between Grado (that hosted the EDXC Conference 1990) and Lignano. They also call it the "Mosquito Coast"! Before leaving home they had heard that Finnish DX-ers on a Dxpedition to Lemmenjoki in Finnish Lapland on Jan 11 at 2200 made probably the first logging outside Greenland of the 200 watts KNR USB-transmitter in Tasiilaq on the East Coast of Greenland on 3815 kHz. And indeed, our Italian friends really also heard this transmitter for the first time in Southern Europe! 3815 USB, Kalaalit Nunaata R (R Greenland), 2137-2214. Signal was bad and with some interferences. We used a beverage antenna of 450 meters beamed 330 so we think it could be Greenland! (Groppazzi). Alessandro sent me two brief Winamp recordings and I was able through the QRM and QRN to recognize several words in Danish and even identified the voice of the female reader of the news relayed from R Denmark at 2200. Congratulations with this very rare catch! (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Feb 23 via DXLD) ** GUAM. Applications for New Stations: 1530, NEW, Agaña, for U1 250/250 watts (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Feb 28 via DXLD) Another instance of picking a 10-kHz frequency in a 9-kHz region (gh) ** GUATEMALA. R. Verdad, 4052.47, 0545-0601* Feb 26, English gospel music; 0555 sign-off with English announcements giving ``Radio Truth`` ID and address; 0556 sign-off with 5-minute-long NA. Very good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUIANA FRENCH. Hola Glen[n]. Que tengas un buen dia hoy jueves 03/marzo 2005. Señor Glen[n], me dirijo a tu persona para comunicarle que aquí en Costa Rica tengo problemas de recepción con las siguientes: Radio Francia Internacional con horario y frecuencia: 1200 a 1230, 15815 17860. Radio Japón: 0500 a 0530 UT en 11895. Radio Corea Internacional. Según horario enviado por el colega Rubén Margenet, 0100 a 0200 en 11810 y 1100 a 1200 en 11795. He enviado correos a Radio Francia y Radio Japón pero no me contestan. Sabes Tu algo de cambios y frecuencias con estas para este verano 2005. Favor si tienes alguna información de enviarmela. Gracias, buen dia (Roman Mora de Costa Rica, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Told him summer skeds for these are not in yet. 15815?? Should be 15515; that and 11895, at least are via French Guiana, which has been having problems as in next item; 11795 Sackville; 11810 direct from Korea and unreliable (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Al parecer hay problemas con los transmisores de Guyana Francesa: Radio Francia fuera del aire en 9800 a la 0100; Radio Japón brilla por su ausencia: 9660 (0400), 11895 (0500). 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI [and non]. See LANGUAGE LESSONS below ** HAWAII. 11502 KVM70. HONOLULU METEO (New Frequency) with scheduled weather charts & satellite pictures from 0600. Formerly on 11090. Schedule broadcast still shows 11090; Honolulu Meteo explains USN transmits for them & they did not know why frequency was changed. At times this frequency subject to QRM from Radio Bulgaria (Allen Fountain, PAKENHAM VIC 3810, Utility DX, March ADXN via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Very nice conditions to Asia this cold (-9) but sunny afternoon March 3. RRI Pontianak, Kalimantan at 1520 UT noted on wandering frequency 3976.02-13 kHz. There was a pretty strong jammer on this frequency. Reception S/O S7-8/2-3. RRI Jambi, Sumatra on 4925 kHz playing beautiful music as always. Enjoying at 1535 UT. Reception S/= S8-9/3-4 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030 Plus, Ant: 95 m lw to E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. The GlobalFlyer bunch have a Web site, http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/ which was flummoxed most of Monday but is accessible tonight. A cursory search of it didn't turn up any radio frequencies. The plane itself is over central India at the moment (0520 UT). Probably worth checking the usual South Pacific aero frequencies once it reaches the Pacific (Chuck Albertson, Seattle WA, UT March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All over now ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. SUN OUTAGE, SPRING ’05 --- Cables to all regions of the world were sent to warn Posts and associated affiliates of the pending spring equinox which will block the satellite signal for a few minutes a day for a few days. The effect occurs approximately at local noon. The effect will start February 27 at Northern Latitudes and move south. It will be over by April 8. Satellite links fed by satellite will have an additional outage at the uplink site. However, outages on the IOR, Hotbird and Asiasat 2 are avoided by fiber optic feeds or by switching driving satellites. Instructions to Kuwait and Tinang to compensate for the outage on Asiasat 2 have been issued. Instructions to the Transmitting stations maintaining affiliate stations (FM and SW) have been issued. It covers both those with dual satellite feeds that can avoid the sun outage by switching and those with one satellite feed who are given a heads up notice (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. The introduction of the satellite section into ADXN is a great innovation. It prompts me to pass on a few observations about satellite radio here in the US. I joined the growing ranks of satellite radio subscribers this past weekend. When I came to Washington, DC a few years I was full of anticipation about the variety and quality of what might be on offer on the local radio dials. And I've been disappointed on all fronts. With the exception of the stand-out news/traffic/weather station, WTOP, and some offerings on National Public Radio, the local radio scene is pretty bleak. Music formats on FM commercial radio are bland and wholly uninspired, and AM talk radio is not a healthy way to spend your time on the drive to and from work in Washington's notoriously bad traffic. I travel around the DC metro area quite a bit and the signal quality of stations can vary wildly. Needless to say, I've built up a good CD collection. (In some ways, I think Washington might be an exception to the rule - I've been to a lot of other cities, including smaller places, that have much more interesting stations to listen to - and for some reason, DC does not have a good college radio station to fill the musical void on the airwaves). So, I decided to give satellite radio a go. I've signed up to Sirius (the other provider, with bigger subscriber numbers is XM). So far, so good - a wide range of music streams, news and talk choices, including World Radio Network. DJ banter seems to be kept to a minimum and other than the occasional network promo, you are spared incessant ad breaks. Plugging in and setting up is simple - the JVC unit I bought almost fits in your hand, and can be plugged in my car or at home through a docking station. A couple of things have struck me though - the sound quality is not as good as I expected, and seems to vary across the different channels. The limited dynamic range is especially noticeable on the music channels. Much better than AM, but it's not FM stereo quality by any means. And I experience more signal drop-outs than I expected, especially at home. Reception in my car using an external antenna is fine, but positioning the antenna for home use has proven a finicky business so far and I'll need to spend some more time to get it right. (Local cable TV companies advertise the heck out of the unreliability of satellite TV signals, and I get the point now!) Still, it's a refreshing change to the sad offerings on broadcast radio, and easy to see why between three and four million people have signed up to the satellite radio services. Although in a country of almost 300 million, it's still very much a niche market. And at least on satellite, I'm spared the newscast and weather guy hysteria that hits this city every time a snowflake descends ominously from the sky! (Matt Francis, Washington DC, Feb 28, ARDXC via DXLD) Re WETA-FM in DC flips from a music / NPR mix to mostly NPR / BBC : Given the dire straits that many local public radio stations are in today, it's probably fair to surmise that we will only see more of this. All well and good to a point -- most of us here like and appreciate the BBCWS. But it is a sad statement on the state of US radio public broadcasting and its status in our society and media today (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, swprograms via DXLD) No John, it is a sad reflection of the state of the people of the USA's appreciation and willingness to pay for classical music. What is culture in this country today has more to do with Snoop Doggy than it does with Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. That is really sad in my opinion but is the inevitable result of the dumbing down of our educational system and the elimination of musical training or even exposure of our young people to fine music (Joe Buch, DE, ibid.) I'm not sure that Sirius is the answer either. Sirius also reflects the culture of the marketplace. I think they have 3 classical channels, one is opera, one is small groups, and one is symphony. That contrasts to 35 or so genres of rock/rap/hiphop. Not to mention Howard Stern, that icon of popular culture, soon to migrate to Sirius at $100,000,000 dollars per year. You can see that Sirius values the classical music audience about as much as public radio does (Joe Buch, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Well, Joe, that may be true on a proportional basis. But three channels is three channels. Besides, I doubt even most public classical stations gave time to all genres of classical music. But I do take your point (John Figliozzi, ibid.) ** IRAN [and non]. Re VOIRI`s absurd QSL policy: Here in the UK reporting the morning and evening broadcast this way would generate 120 reports, just 15 days to get all the QSLs, diplomas and the valuable prize. Set up a form on your computer and just vary the SINPO and programme details section and email it to the station each minute. Their staff will surely be sitting there tallying up your reports. Some members will recall Radio Berlin International from the DDR who gave out diplomas once you had sent in a certain number of reports, from memory there was one for 1000 reports, perhaps even higher ones available. They specified that the reports should have programme details for 15, or perhaps even 30 minutes (Mike Barraclough, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. Jeff, I am still wondering what happened to Seda-ye Zan (V. of Women); did they move to some other SW outlet? (Glenn to Jeff White, March 2, via DXLD) Glenn: No, they have supposedly suspended production for 3 or 4 weeks, and say they will be back (Jeff White, RMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Cland, 11625, R. Sedaye Melate Iran, 1435, talks by OM in Farsi, mentions of dollars. At 1442 with a song and 1452 mentioning Rafsanjani; ID at 1359 [sic] with frequencies; S20, 43443, QRMed by bubble jammer (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Date? In case anyone is wondering why I ask, when I put the date in the credit, it means the date of the report, which could be a few days later than the date of reception, not specified. Many other DX editors insist on putting the date of reception in the credit line, instead of next to the time!!! When it`s clear this is the case, I am constantly moving the date back into the body of the report where it belongs (gh) ** IRAN [non]. Re R. Barabari on satellite: ``Familiar name; believe they were on SW a few years ago (G. Hauser-USA in DXLD 5-029).`` Yes, this is one of the latest news from them (from CRW 134): Radio Barabari: Sitkunai SW [Lithuania]: the relays of Radio Barabari & Avaye Ashena have been cancelled (B. Trutenau-LTU May 20, 2003 in DXplorer-ML) [M.Schöch-D for CRW Feb 28 via DXLD] ** IRAQ [and non]. Hotel journalism, bloggers and death: audio added The audio portion of our special Web feature Hotel journalism, bloggers and death, produced by Mindy Ran, is now online. It features interviews with freelance journalist Lee Gordon and "Baghdad Blogger" Salman Pax. Links to the Real Audio and Windows Media files have been added. http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/features/irq050224.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter March 3 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. ALL FOR PEACE RADIO STATION --- After a year of bureaucratic holdups, the joint Israeli / Palestinian All For Peace radio station has started broadcasting in English Hebrew and Arabic on 107.2 megahertz on the FM band The transmitter is placed in Ramallah in the Palestinian Authority, but the studios are in Jerusalem, enabling both Israeli and Palestinian staff access to the station.The broadcasts are 100% legal. The station put out test transmissions of non-stop music in English and Arabic in January and February on both 98.4 and 107.2 FM, with the 107.2 frequency being the far superior. Reception reports have been received so far from Haifa in the North, to Gaza in the South, and from Cyprus !! The signal is particularly strong in the Tel-Aviv area (Mike Brand, Israel, March 1, http://www.offshore-radio.de/Israel http://www.allforpeace.org dxing.info via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Hola José y demás colegas: Compruebo ciertas contradicciones en esta nueva etapa de KBS. Visitando su flamante página, en el comentario bajo el título "KBS World Radio es el nuevo nombre de Radio Corea Internacional (2005-03-02 18:17:49 Updated)", se alude a los 30 minutos del nuevo servicio en vietnamita a las 1500 UT en 9940 Khz mientras que en la sección "Horarios y Frecuencias" apuntan que RKI transmite en 10 idiomas, sin embargo han agregado el vietnamita (11 idioma) dirigido a Southeast Asia pero con el horario 0300-0330 UT en 9640 Khz que fue siempre la frecuencia anunciada. Como si esto fuera poco, entrando a la solapa "Sobre la Emisora" (arriba a la derecha) no se ha contemplado absolutamente estos cambios que ya forman parte de la historia de la nueva KBS World Radio excepto que al pie colocaron la nueva dirección web: RKI Site: http://world.kbs.co.kr/spanish Creo que deberán corregir y actualizar. Saludos (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, condig list via DXLD) See also GUIANA FRENCH ** KURDISTAN [non?]. 6315, R Roj signed off today 28.2 at 1800 with hymn; S5, 32333, best on LSB (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. A fourth-SW transmitter to support broadcasts into Afghanistan from the Kuwait Broadcasting Station is being installed by Kuwait station staff. The transmitter will be installed in the MW bay built under the recently completed Expansion Project. The Kuwait station staff has started to prepare the bay for the transmitter. IBB/ETT ordered heat exchangers identical to those installed on the SW transmitters under the Expansion Project; this will reduce the amount of engineering and design required to install the fourth transmitter. The initial effort on a concept design has started on a tropical band antenna at the Kuwait station. The target area is Afghanistan. Funding required for this project will come from the residue of the Afghanistan appropriation remaining after the completion of the Kuwait Expansion Project (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via DXLD) ** LATVIA. RELAYS This weekend on 9290 kHz: March 5 Radio Joystick 0900-1000 UT [Sat] March 6 R&R Medienservice 1300-1400 UT [Sun] GOOD LISTENING (Tom Taylor, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. ELWA, 4759.98, *0556-0620+ Feb 26, sign-on with vibraharp IS, lite instrumental music. 0559 English sign-on announcements and into a variety of English gospel music, local African religious choral music. 0612 ``ELWA`` ID. 0615 ``Back to the Bible`` program. Poor-fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. R. Vilnius, 9875, 0030-0100* Feb 26, ID, English news, commentary. Poor in noisy conditions and adjacent channel splatter. Also on 7325 at 0130-0200 Feb 26, ID, English news, commentary, fair and in the clear (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Radio Huayacocotla, Mexico on 2390 is either off the air or running a very erratic schedule. I did not hear them one time while I was in Central America in February. -- HF (Harold Frodge, MARE Tipsheet Mar 3 via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. A-05 for Radio Dniester Moldavian Republic Pridnestrovye: 1600-1630 NF 5910 KCH 500 kW / 265 deg, ex 5960 for A-04 and B-04 (Observer, Bulgaria, March 1 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. Defence Forces Broadcasting Unit, Tauanggyi, Shan State, heard on 5770 kHz at 1525 UT Mar 3 with reception S/O S6-7/2. First time I heard them playing western pop music (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030 Plus, Ant: 95 m lw to E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. V. of Nigeria, 15120, 1659-1906* Feb 24, tune-in to opening English announcements with ID. English programming, Afro-pops, abrupt sign-off. Weak-poor at tune-in but improved to fair to good reception by 1800 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Attn. Glenn Hauser (& others in OK area) --- KUOK-35 Woodward, OK has filed for a license-to-cover. My educated guess is they're a Univision affiliate // KUOK-CA Norman (Doug Smith, W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, March 2, WTFDA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. The FCC is reconsidering an initial staff decision that approved the sale of an OKLAHOMA cluster of radio stations by a powerful state legislator convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. The NEW YORK TIMES reports that the sale of Soft AC KESC, Country KMCO (K-101 FM), Classic Country KNED-A, and Adult Standards KTMC-A, and Classic Rock KTMC-F (ROCK 105)/MCALESTER, OK by OKLAHOMA Democratic power GENE STIPE's LITTLE DIXIE RADIO to SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA RADIO was initially approved in a staff letter from the FCC but that the Commission has reversed course and will now reconsider the staff decision based on character issues. STIPE pleaded guilty to three criminal counts for his role in funneling over $245,000 into a failed Congressional campaign and received five years' probation and six months' house arrest; one of the buyer's principals is the politician who took over STIPE's seat in the OKLAHOMA legislature (http://www.allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, Feb 28, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA: RADIO BOUGAINVILLE TO INCREASE AIRTIME | Text of report by Papua New Guinea newspaper The National web site on 2 March Radio Bougainville will increase its broadcast hours from four to 10 hours a day after acquiring a generator to boost its power. The new 1.5-megawatt generator, donated by the Japanese government, was commissioned recently. The generator will ensure that power is provided to the radio station on a 24-hour basis. Radio Bougainville manager Ivo Tsika said they were now rearranging the station's programme to cater for the increase in broadcast hours. Mr Tsika said the station would begin broadcasting three hours in the morning (5 a.m. to 8 a.m.) [2000-2300 gmt] and seven hours in the evening (5 p.m. to 12 midnight) [0800-1500 gmt]. All NBC radio stations in the country are allowed to broadcast 10 hours daily. Radio Bougainville is located at Hutjena government station adjacent to the Hutjena Secondary School. Because of Buka town's unreliable power service, the station was allowed to broadcast four hours a day. Source: The National web site, Port Moresby, in English 2 Mar 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) Is this a SW station? ** PERU. R. Melodía, Arequipa, 5939.35, 2330-0000+ Feb 25-26, Spanish talk by M&W; ``Melodía`` jingles, Spanish ballads; fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6047.15, R. Santa Rosa (Presumed), Mar 1, 1130-1157 non-stop Catholic religious service. Parishioners heard responding to the priest. Poor-fair under splatter from a strong 6050. At 1201 seemed to be ID in Spanish but deep in the QRM (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA NRD545, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. PORO RELOCATION: Facilities Subsystem: At TX Bldg. completed installation of air conditioning units and miscellaneous work. Continued construction of area lighting, perimeter duct bank, fencing, crash gate, etc. Completed constructing the roads in the antenna field except for the final gravel top course. Antenna Sub-system: Ben Dawson and Ron Rackley arrived on Feb. 21 and started commissioning the antenna feeder system. Also they have modified the RF transformer. All indications are that everything is going well. Transmitter Sub-system: Jeff Greggs, Harris commissioning engineer, arrived on Monday, Feb. 7. The transmitter power blocks have successfully been commissioned into the dummy load at the new frequency (1170). The Harris transmitter is now ready to send power through the combiner into the new antenna system. Project Schedule: We are now ahead of schedule. The projected on-air date is 3/14/05, and we’ll try to beat this. Current project schedule critical milestones are now: * Antenna commissioning engineers (Dawson and Rackley) on site 2/21/05 * All systems in place on 2/25/05. * Shut down Continental TX at old site on 3/7/05. * On air date for Harris TX at new site is 3/14/05. * Completely clear of old site by 3/30/05. Removal of PCBs from Old Site: The Contractor will be mobilized to start work on March 7. Removal of Old Continental Transmitter: The Contractor will be mobilized to start work on March 7 (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via DXLD) ** SAAR. See GERMANY (or should we grant DXLD radio-country status to this too?) ** SENEGAL. 8300, 6WW, French Navy, Dakar; 0200 or so 26 Feb. Message read "Voyez vous le brick geant que j'examine pres du grand wharf." It's the equivalent of foxes-has all the ABCs. Fabulous signal. 75/850/N. First time heard on this frequency; could be for training purposes (Liz Cameron, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) Sacre bleu mon ami! French for "My friend has turned blue and is scared as hell." (Harold Frodge, ed., ibid.) ** THAILAND. Bangkok Meteorological Radio heard around 1540 UT March 3 on 8742.90 USB with nice reception S3/3-4. No trace of their other frequency 6765 USB. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030 Plus, Ant: 95 m lw to E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. MW BROADCASTS FROM UAE: EMI began broadcasting Radio Farda on February 10 on a second MW frequency [1575] as part of their broadcast network modification plan to provide a new Sawa MW service to Saudi Arabia that is scheduled to start sometime next month. John Rogers visited the UAE this week to inspect the new transmitter installation (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via DXLD) ** U A E. ISLAMIC RADIO FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS By Bassam Za'za', Staff Reporter --- Nation | Heritage & Culture Published: 25/2/2005, 08:47 Dubai: English language speakers can soon tune into a radio station dedicated to Islam. "The idea of launching an English language radio station dedicated to Islam has been in DRN's agenda. "We are just in the process of finalising the format of the station and hopefully we will be able to kick off the Islamic channel within a few months. "It would be very modern and basically for the new generation. It's going to be light in terms of content," Abdul Latif Al Sayegh, Chief Executive of Dubai Radio Network (DRN) said. The frequency of the channel has yet to be decided. We want to reach out to the young generation, Al Sayegh told Gulf News. "The station will cater to both Muslims and non-Muslims. There has always been a demand for such a radio station. We will be coordinating with the concerned authorities and work on launching the station soon." Residents welcomed the move and said the radio station would benefit both Muslims and non-Muslims keen on learning more about the religion. A 30-year-old sales manager, Adnan T., said: "An English language Islamic radio station is important because it helps to remove the misconceptions about Islam that are being spread by some foreign media organisations. "In a multicultural society like the UAE, such a channel is desired for non-Muslims before Muslims." The Lebanese national added: "It enriches people's knowledge and understanding about Islam." Verginie, a French woman who has been working in the UAE for many years, said: "It's imperative to have such a station. It helps to clear the wrong image of Islam and its teachings among non-Muslim expatriates. It will also enhance multi-religious dialogue and understanding." Alison, a 33-year-old Australian housewife, said: "It's a brilliant initiative. It's good for social and religious education. "Sometimes I fail to take part in conversations with my neighbours about certain Islamic topics or issues that they listen to on Arabic language Islamic radio stations. As a matter of fact, I would love to learn more about Islam from an English station." Eman Esmail Abdullah, a scholar, said: "Islam needs such a radio station. According to a recent study I conducted, many non-Muslim westerners residing in Dubai believe there is no voice for Islam on the radio. "Such a station is the need of the hour. It helps to open dialogue between Islam and different religions. It helps correct the wrong perceptions about Islam and Muslims." Eman said the station could also benefit new Muslim converts by hosting them on talk shows and sharing their experience with the listeners. "An English language Islamic radio station is important because it helps to remove the misconceptions about Islam that are being spread by some foreign media organisations." © Al Nisr Publishing LLC (via Sheldon Harvey, DXLD) ** U K. British accents out at BBC World Service It's all change at the BBC World Service where a new policy of introducing "younger fresher voices" has begun to enrage regular listeners. British accents apparently are no longer popular apparently and one reporter who did not fit the bill was sacked by telephone. The same approach is being rolled out at Radio Four where younger reporters are being sought and producers have been told to focus on black and ethnic voices in the latest programme offers round (Media News, Private Eye, March 4th) (via Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. BBC Green Paper - World service proposals The Government's Green Paper on the future of the BBC is available as a pdf for download at http://www.bbccharterreview.org.uk/have_your_say/green_paper/greenpaper_home.html The section which includes the BBC World Service "Bringing the World to the UK and the UK to the World" starts on page 42. The Government will take into account the conclusions of the independent review being conducted by Lord Carter of Coles before publishing its White Paper. Among the main points: The Green Paper suggests BBC World Service undertake a "radical and creative reprioritisation of its vernacular output." which is 42 languages. The 8 languages it currently has online websites for Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Urdu should be the starting point for the discussion. In particular it says that the BBC World Service's offering of services in 16 vernacular languages spoken in countries which either formed part of the Soviet Union or the Eastern bloc of countries formerly under the Soviet Union's domination is beginning to look anachronistic. The Government says there is a case for the World Service to develop niche foreign language TV services, in particular an Arabic language TV service to the Middle East. However this would have to be done from its existing budget. This could be achieved by more efficient use of resources and a reduction in the number of vernacular radio services (Mike Barraclough, UK, March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yesterday the UK government published its Green Paper on the future of the BBC, details of which are in the Weblog. By coincidence, some of the key points are remarkably similar to those made by Kim Andrew Elliott in this week's feature story: Dear Lord Carter of Coles Kim Andrew Elliott writes: "A small advertisement in the back of the 8 January Economist caught my eye. Lord Carter of Coles is conducting a review of UK public diplomacy, including BBC World Service, and comments are invited. "Well, certainly I had comments, but I was intimidated to be writing to someone with so melodious a title as Lord Carter of Coles, given that, where I come from, people have names like "Ed". I was also concerned that BBC World Service was considered part of British Public Diplomacy. I always thought that World Service, even though funded by the Foreign Office, considered itself separate from public diplomacy, which is more in the business of advocating British policy. "Nevertheless, I wrote to Lord Carter and his public diplomacy review team. I will spare you all 2,600 words of my letter, but instead share some of the main points. http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/features/ke050303.html?view=Standard (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter March 3 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. ERI MOVES WEST --- Hi Glen[n], Hope you are keeping well. Here's some news from our website at http://www.europaradiointernational.co.uk which may be of interest. LATEST NEWS: Europa Radio International will begin broadcasting from Miami via WRMI on March 20th on 6870/15725 to North America and on 9955 kHz to the Caribbean. Progress on our own recently acquired transmitter, as expected, has been slow due to transit delays and poor weather conditions; however, we hope to have some good news by mid- April. More news to follow later this month (Best wishes, Alan Day, ERI, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Times? ** U S A. I think Kiko probably had the live Internet stream off when he went into the hospital. We will eventually get around to figuring out how to get that back on, but it's not among the top priorities at the moment. By the way, we're doing an experiment this week. All programs that are normally on 15725 kHz are being broadcast on 6870. Would appreciate any reports or observations. Our transmitter doesn't really like operating on 15 MHz very well, and we may just drop it for the time being. Will make a decision after this weekend (Jeff White, WRMI, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e., 6870 running in daytime; how far will it be audible, usable? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] The FAA in Atlanta complained today about our use of 6870, saying it is a 24-hour emergency channel for them, and they want us to abandon it completely. Of course the FCC had checked the frequency out for us and approved it. But since it's out of band, utility stations have preference, so we have to move. We might be able to go to 6875, but more likely back to 7385 kHz where we were before. That move will likely take place this week sometime (Jeff White, WRMI, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked March 3 at 1358, and 6870 still on and audible with Brother Scare, 1359 break for ID erroneously claiming to be on 15725, back to B.S. Still in at 1420 at 10 over 9 but with fading, not a solid signal but listenable on the FRG7 with E-W longwire and local noise producers off. About the same at 2130 recheck, but don`t know about mid-day. At the moment 7385 was clear, tho I have not checked it for ages in case the never identified noise source which drove WRMI off that frequency last year is still around. If 7385 is to be run all day, that should get out slightly better than the lower frequency. 10 MHz would be much better, but there`s too much QRM on and around 9955 plus the risk of Cuban jamming even if run in English on the NW antenna (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Too bad -- at least insofar as hearing WRMI up here in the northeast. 6870 put in a much more listenable and reliable signal than 7385 ever did (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. A-05 for WYFR via CIS transmitters: 0900-1100 on 9450 IRK 250 kW / 110 deg in English 1100-1200 on 9450 IRK 250 kW / 110 deg in Korean 1300-1500 on 7580 NVS 250 kW / 180 deg in English 1400-1500 on 7510 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg in Urdu 1500-1700 on 7580 NVS 250 kW / 180 deg in Hindi 1600-1700 on 7520 SMF 250 kW / 131 deg in Persian 1700-1900 on 9495 TAC 200 kW / 311 deg in Russian 1900-2000 on 7370 SAM 250 kW / 284 deg in German 1900-2000 on 7440 MNS 150 kW / 246 deg in Spanish 1900-2000 on 9490 MSK 250 kW / 240 deg in Italian 1900-2000 on 12060 MSK 250 kW / 290 deg in French 2000-2200 on 7360 KCH 500 kW / 309 deg in English (Observer, Bulgaria, March 1 via DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Kim, just wondering if you can confirm you will be on VOA Talk to America this Friday, and with what guest(s)? (gh to Kim Elliott, March 2, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Yes. And I've just found out that the guest will be Wim Jansen, director of Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal. Subject is, of course, the fate of RVi. In the second half of the hour, Juhani Niinistö of YLE Radio Finland, but not officially representing YLE, about trends in international broadcasting from Europe. Also some news about reduction to VOA English at the end of the month. 73 (Kim Andrew Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s Friday March 4 at 1605-1655 UT on the usual frequencies, webcast and archive (gh) Gosh! Why does always seems to me that day after day VOA is going downhill towards its demise --- It's funny after many years of clear presence on the airwaves, China Radio International is taking VOA's place. Is it that Talk to America can't have another schedule than that one at 1605, as if Africa and Europe were their only target, despite their Caribbean and Latin American listeners? Regards (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. US PLANS TO EXPAND TV BROADCASTS TO IRAN The Bush administration is planning to expand its Persian-language satellite-television broadcasts to Iran as part of an initiative to press for democratic reforms in the Islamic Republic, officials say. The Voice of America plans to go from a 30-minute to a four-hour daily news and information broadcast to Iran within the next few months. "Iran is an information-deprived society, much like the former Soviet Union," said Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. "A large percentage (of Iranians) appear to be thirsting for information," he added. "What we propose to do is exactly what Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and Radio Liberty did in the Cold War, and that is provide a window on the world." But VOA broadcasts are unlikely to have much effect in Iran any time soon, independent analysts say. "Expanding Voice of America might have some marginal impact. But I don't think it's going to create the climate for a popular uprising," said Shireen Hunter, an Iran expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies. Analysts also warned that expanded broadcasts could stir nationalist distrust of the United States and inadvertently strengthen the current government. VOA already has a 24-hour Persian-language radio service called Radio Farda, which offers a pop-music format geared toward Iran's large youth population. The administration is seeking money for the expanded telecast in Bush's $81 billion supplemental budget request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other US efforts abroad. The supplemental is expected to win congressional approval over the next several weeks. Officials hope to receive $1.5 million to expand Voice of America's "News and Views" current affairs service into a one-hour program that would be rebroadcast three times a day with hourly news updates. A further $5.5 million would be spent on studio construction and other investments that could pave the way for further Persian-language programming expansions. # posted by Andy @ 15:58 UT March 1 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO SAWA – RADIO FARDA RELOCATION: The Radio Sawa studio facilities are being relocated out of the Cohen Building [VOA HQ in DC] to a Springfield VA location near the MTN [Middle East TV Network] Springfield location (IBB Engineering Feb 25 via dXLD) ** U S A. Hi, on last week`s WOR (#1265) you mention WTND-LP 106.3 FM Macomb. Thanks, I also want to point out the others that make this station happen and part owners: Tom Depauw (KC9EES), Darryl Roberts (KC9EER) and Byron Lee (KC9EEK). We enjoy WOR and are glad to have it part of our lineup (Duane Whittingham - N9SSN, Production/Operations WTND-LP 106.3 FM Macomb, IL, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Praise Glenn! WBCQ-17495- March 2 UT 2000-2014: Gospel huxter program playing at the same time as "Content [sic] of Media" on WBCQ. Both audio levels the same. Not a spur or image. It seems they were running both programs at the same time! Signal and sideband fading exactly in sync. Huxter program stopped at 2014 in mid- sentence. I call it "Content of Moses". (Brock Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably COM 04-09 which they had just downloaded as WOR Extra 54 for this week; and presumably an unscheduled fill-in. Usually when this happens, the second audio is from another transmitter like 9330. Not clear at what point along the audio or RF chain the mix occurs (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. George, No sign of WRNO yet, and there website continues to be outdated. Any further news? (Glenn to George Thurman, March 2, via DXLD) I called the WRNO office today, and they said they are waiting for a part to come in. GST (George Thurman, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per George Jacobs, their frequency manager, the station has purchased a 50 kW ELCOR transmitter from Costa Rica. They are ordering an antenna coupler and he estimates they will be on in about two weeks. Their schedule will be that as registered by him which for B04 is 7355 2200-0300, 7395 0300-1600, 15420 1600-2300(sic). The station personnel in Fort Worth were not quite that optimistic and figure they will be on after March 15th. Programming will be a mixture of news and entertainment (Hans Johnson, Jihad DX, February 21st via World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** U S A. WWRB noted on 15190 instead of 12172 February 25th, heard at 1914 parallel to 9320. I would assume it came on at 1700 in an attempt to follow BBC. WWRB now signs on 1700 daytime when on but most weekdays it is not on at all. Dave Frantz announced at 1934 they were testing 15190, caution to anyone looking for Radio Africa, Equatorial Guinea (Hans Johnson, Jihad DX, February 21st via World DX Club Contact via DXLD) see EQUATORIAL GUINEA ** U S A. WINB is now using 9740 ex 13570 at 1600-2100 Monday to Friday. They remain on 13570 during this time frame Saturday and Sunday (Hans Johnson, Jihad DX, February 21st via World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** U S A. The latest Ask WWCR, #199 of Feb 25 has George McClintock and Adam Lock talking about the late Dr. Gene Scott; as for his broadcasts on 13845 and 5935, the ministry says they will continue, business as usual (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Gene Scott, the American television evangelist who has died aged 75, offered his followers all the advantages of Christianity with none of the inconveniences, and thus became immensely rich. Scott's followers were assured that they did not have to go to church on Sunday and that such foibles as homosexuality, adultery, abortion, profanity and drinking were just fine. "I don't ask you to change," he told his congregation. "I take you as you are." He had little time for the conventional pieties. "You ever meet Christians?" he asked. "You wish you could shove a pipe in their mouth. Anything to shut them up." To qualify as a member of his church, the main requirement was a valid credit card, Scott's aim apparently being to make it richer than the Vatican. "A skinflint may get to heaven," he admitted, "but what awaits him are a rusty old halo, a skinny old cloud, and a robe so worn it scratches. First-class salvation costs money." Anyone requiring salvation had to hand over 10 per cent of their income. This was a bare minimum. "I want 300 people to give $1,000 by June 30 to humiliate Satan's efforts to destroy us," read a recent message on his website. "I also want 700 to commit to $10,000 by Christmas." He once excommunicated the entire congregation for not giving enough. Those who did not respond to his barked instruction "Get on the telephone!" were told to "vomit on yourself with your head up in the air." His fund-raising efforts were spectacularly successful. Individual donations from his 15,000-strong congregation at the Los Angeles University Cathedral (housed in a Spanish baroque-style former cinema), and from the estimated 50,000 contributors reached through his global broadcasting empire, were said to average $350 a month. In 1980 Werner Herzog made Scott the subject of a documentary, God's Angry Man, which showed the preacher raising several hundred thousand dollars during a television show lasting half an hour. Scott's appeal lay in his genius as an entertainer. Buccaneering, shaggy-haired and bearded under a bandana or flamboyant hat, he was by turns unpredictable, outrageous, funny and inspired, but always compelling. Fat cigar in hand, his face contorted with rage, he would mix scripture with profanity-laden monologues about the state of the world ("Nuke 'em in the name of Jesus!" he cried during the Gulf War), punctuated with demands for more money. No gimmick was neglected. At church services a rock band would belt out such hymns of praise as "Kill a Pissant for Jesus." His television shows would sometimes feature "Scott's Bunnies", a bevy of female followers in thong bikinis. (He felt he could "probably teach Hugh Hefner a thing or two" about sex.) When he found himself under investigation by the authorities for alleged fraud, he assembled a band of wind-up toy monkeys, then proceeded to smash them to pieces on television with a baseball bat. Scott enjoyed a lifestyle that included a chauffeured limousine, a mansion in Pasadena, 24-hour bodyguards, several ranches and a stable of more than 300 thoroughbred horses. It would be easy to dismiss him as a charlatan, yet he also spent lavishly on charity. When the Los Angeles Central Library was damaged by fire, he organised a telethon that raised $2 million, and there were many other examples of well- judged philanthropy. In consequence he acquired powerful friends who were generous with their testimonials. During show-downs with the authorities, Scott seldom hesitated to drop a few hefty names to aid his cause. When, during the 1970s, the California Attorney General's office launched an investigation into Scott's church (and several others) following allegations of financial malpractice, the investigation was dropped after the state legislature passed a law barring prosecution of civil fraud against tax-exempt religious organisations. The son of a travelling preacher, EuGene Scott was born on August 14 1929, at Buhl, Idaho. When he was six, his mother gave birth to premature twins, one of whom died within hours. The following month, Gene began having convulsions and his mother saw a stairway come down from heaven: "Two angels walked down and they stopped in front of Gene," she recalled later. "I said, 'Oh no, Lord, you can't take Gene!' and they just went around him and picked the baby up." The surviving twin died but Gene was saved; it was clear that he had been spared for some purpose. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Gridley in northern California where Gene's father took over as pastor of an Assemblies of God church after the previous incumbent crucified himself. Young Gene was an exceptional student. "Do you know you have a genius for a son?" asked a teacher on his school report. He ended up at Stanford University, where he took a doctorate on the works of the protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in 1957. Despite having no formal training in theology, Scott then taught briefly at a Midwestern Bible college, helped Oral Roberts to establish his university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and joined his father's church, the Assemblies of God movement, where he soon established himself as a brilliant preacher and fund-raiser. But in 1970, Scott renounced his membership of the denomination to launch his own ministry. Five years later he was invited to take over the Faith Center Church at Glendale, California, an ailing evangelical enterprise which boasted four broadcasting stations and a $3.5 million debt. He agreed on condition the church leaders gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted. To his surprise, they accepted, and he went on to build his huge evangelical empire. Scott had several run-ins with the authorities. In 1983 the Federal Communications Commission stripped the church of three broadcast stations after he refused to hand over financial records. Later he frustrated attempts to scrutinise the church's finances by instructing contributors to sign pledge slips stating that he could spend the money however he pleased. When Scott was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to "give God the first shot" before resorting to conventional medicine. By the time it became clear that the Almighty had stayed his hand, it was too late. He died on February 21, and is survived by his third wife, Melissa. = = = = = = = = = = No doubt an era is now at an end for all who listen to religious radio on the shortwave bands. Cheers, and 73's. (Daily Telegraph Feb 26, via Dave Harries, Bristol, United Kingdom, DXLD) --++ooOoo++-- ) __________________________________ ( ) More / |:| / / / / / / / ####_)( Dr. Gene | ((X)) / / / / / / / ####___) Stories \__|:|_/___/___/___/___/___/___/___#### Larry Russell: I was told that when his show was on TV 25 [WEYI Sagi- naw] late night, Gene would call them up in middle of night and say, "I'm not getting enough money from your station, take my program off." They would tell him to call during business hours. Overnight staff does not have authority to pull a program. Harold Frodge: Many moons ago at an Island Lake DXpedition, I was listening to the good doctor's pearls of wisdom. Someone from New Zealand wrote him a letter criticizing him on something. I recall that it was something rather minor he had said. The good doctor took affront at whatever it was and for the next 10 minutes, about every 5th word out of his mouth was "asshole". I sat there listening to the whole tirade and neglected to turn on the tape recorder (MARE Tipsheet Mar 3 via DXLD) ** U S A. WHRI-Angel 2 recently made a frequency change for listeners in Eastern North America and Europe. From 22 to 01 UT, 7535 has been replaced by 7520. Although no reason was given for the change, the station's former owner, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, had to vacate 7535 during our mornings due to interference to US Navy operations on 7535 several years ago (Jim Moats, OH, March 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The 60 kHz WWVB time code broadcast will be temporarily altered beginning at 0000 hours UTC on Tuesday, March 1 2005. The dropout depth of the modulation will be increased from 10 to 20 dB for a period of up to 31 days, for testing purposes. The normal 10 dB dropout will be restored no later than April 1 and will remain until further notice. The WWVB time code format will remain unchanged. http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvboutages.htm (via Dino Bloise, Hollywood, FL, March 1, DXLD) ** U S A. Perhaps I should not have been quite so sweeping in my earlier criticism of WHRB Harvard announcers. The Scandinavian Composers hour at 0000 UT March 3 was well-pronounced by someone obviously familiar with Swedish et al., Duncan Johnson (Jonsson?). BTW, WHRB`s new March-April schedule is here: http://www.whrb.org/pg/MarApr2005.html Take advantage of such detail while you can, as from May thru September (?) the published schedule is relatively vague (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn, Here's a link to a printer friendly column by Mark Morford in San Francisco with his observations on the death of radio, rock radio in particular. It's witty, to put it mildly, and applies to more than just rock radio, in my opinion. ALL HAIL THE DEATH OF RADIO --- CLEAR CHANNEL SUFFERS AND ROCK RADIO IS GASPING ITS LAST AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, DOES ANYONE CARE? By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Wednesday, March 2, 2005 Corporate radio sucketh, whole and large and true. We know this. Everyone knows this. There is not a single person out there right now who is listening to any of the one zillion lifeless Clear Channel or Infinity-owned rock stations anywhere in the nation who is saying to themselves, gosh this KLOG station is just exceptionally good and clever and smart and plays amazingly fresh music and makes me want to listen all the time and oh my God I am so going to pick up the phone right now and try to be the 157th caller so I can win tickets to go see Dave Matthews live in Portland! Woo! . . . http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/03/02/notes030205.DTL&type=printable http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/03/02/notes030205.DTL 73, (via John Wesley Smith, KC0HSB, and Bruce MacGibbon, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. INFINITY's born-again acceptance of streaming Internet audio continues with the addition of streaming of 11 of its news and talk stations as of MARCH 14. Included among the additions are WINS-A/NEW YORK, KNX-A and KFWB-A/LOS ANGELES, WBBM-A/CHICAGO, KCBS-A/SAN FRANCISCO, KYW-A/PHILADELPHIA, WBZ-A/BOSTON, WWJ-A/DETROIT, KMOX-A/ST. LOUIS, KDKA-A/PITTSBURGH, and KRLD-A/DALLAS. WCBS-A/NEW YORK has been streaming since DECEMBER; the company's new move into the online streaming space, following the launch of an online version of WHFS/WASHINGTON after the broadcast version flipped to Spanish, is in stark contrast to its refusal to stream during MEL KARMAZIN's reign at INFINITY (allacess.com via Brock Whaley, March 2, DXLD) This is to happen as of mid-March. Posted on KYW's website... http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_detail.cfm?newsitemid=44371 (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. Grants to Existing Facilities: 1270, KFLC, TX, Fort Worth – licensed for U3 5000/5000 KFLC has a CP to add a seventh tower to their array and increase the day power level to be U4 50000/5000. This CP slightly alters the night parameters with a slight change in the pattern (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Feb 28 via DXLD) Always be KXJZ to me (gh) ** U S A. 960, KMA, IA, Shenandoah, 2/13 0100 EST --- heard them just before sign-off. ``You`re listening to radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa on an assigned frequency of 960 kHz. KMA is owned and operated by KMA Broadcasting. . . We will return at six am this morning. The time is now 12:01. Good night and good morning.`` NRC Log gives the hours of operation as 0600-0100 (Rick Turner, Bemidji MN, DDXD West, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Feb 28 via DXLD) This sign-off was on a Saturday night. Could it be that they do not sign on until 6 am Central Sunday, 5 am Central the rest of the week? KMA is the *only* station licensed fulltime that I can with any regularity hear sign off. How times have changed, and not for the better (Bill Dvorak, ed., Madison WI, ibid.) ** U S A. DX Tests [non] 3/4/05 0000-0200 990 WNTP Philadelphia PA (Tetro/IRCA) WNTP 990, Philadelphia, PA TEST: Date(s): March 4, 2005 (Late Friday night into Saturday morning [THEN THE DATE IS MARCH 5!!! GH). Time: 00:00 AM EST until 02:00 AM EST [0500-0700 UT] (2 Hour Test). Modes of Operation: 50 kW Day Pattern. Programming: 50 Hz thru 10 kHz test tones, Phonetic Voice ID's, Dead Air. Notes: CE René Tetro will be conducting an audio proof of the transmitter after making some changes to the system. Mr. Tetro will be measuring frequency response, THD, and IMD products of WNTP while running full power on the daytime antenna. If time permits, he will repeat these tests using the standard 10 kW night pattern. This is not a DX test. There will be no Morse Code IDs, and frequently there will be "dead air". It is hoped that DX'ers will be able to hear some of the tones, especially those in the 2-4 kHz range. Tones will be transmitted at four modulation levels: 95%, 75%, 50%, and 25%. René has also agreed to run some limited phonetic voice ID's. These will be a high pitched female voice, identifying the station in phonetics. ``THIS IS WNTP PERFORMING TRANSMITTER TESTING. WNTP. WHISKEY NORWAY [sic] TANGO PAPA TESTING. Reception reports can be e- mailed to: rtetro @ pobox.com Snail Mail via: Rene' F. Tetro, Chief Engineer, WNTP-WFIL, 117 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill PA 19444 René will send out QSL cards, but please be patient. Special thanks to René Tetro for alerting us to this transmitter test, and agreeing to run the provided phonetic ID's. Hopefully conditions will be less auroral than during the recent WNTP DX test (Les Rayburn, AL, IRCA Soft DX Monitor March 3 via DXLD) ** U S A. KTRB-860 in Modesto, CA appears to be transmitting a barely noticeable IBOC signal. KTRB and KCBS-740 are about equal in signal strength here. Tuning across KCBS, their IBOC sidebands are very obvious. Tuning across KTRB, their IBOC sidebands are often buried in the slop from their AM signal. The sidebands peak at about 851 and 869 kHz (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, Allied A-2515 receiver, Homebrew external sync detector, frequency measurement system, Two 35 ft. Ewe antennas at 218 and 293 degrees, March 2, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. DJ LEGEND RON CHAPMAN SIGNING OFF 03:30 PM CST on Thursday, March 3, 2005 By APRIL KINSER / DallasNews.com and MICHAEL PRECKER / The Dallas Morning News Ron Chapman, a popular Dallas radio personality for 45 years whose influence beamed across the nation`s airwaves, announced Thursday that he will hang up his microphone in June. . . [registration required] http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/wfaa050303_wz_chapman.ffef61fd.html (via Bill Smith, IA, DXLD) ** U S A. An amusing side note: The ABC TV series "Lost", in the March 2 '05 episode, has just added to the unfolding mystery of the story by referring to an SW numbers transmission as a key factor in getting the protagonists to the island on which they are all stranded. To go into detail would generate too many spoilers, but this might provide an interesting "hook" to use to tell any of your friends who are fans of the show about the whole SW "numbers stations" concept. Might inspire someone to become a new DXer! (Will Martin, MO, March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. 7260.17, R. Vanuatu, 0842-0950, 28 Feb, Heard again here in Nashville, this time with stronger signal. Signal peaked around s8 using 7.2 MHz delta loop, though it was a more quiet copy on the big inverted L. Female announcer played pop and light Polynesian music with "Radio Vanuatu" mentioned multiple times in local dialect, including at 0900 over a remake of "House of the Rising Sun". After that the announcer took phone calls between the songs. Signal strength dropped slightly over the next hour or so. My guess is that the best signal propagation to the eastern USA takes place an hour or two after sunset in Vanuatu, or around 0830-0930. Terrible QRM from DRM transmission just up frequency, so best heard in LSB or by switching to narrow filter and tuning down slightly. The spectrum pollution from the digital transmission took a full 10 kHz bandwidth and faded almost completely out by 1000. My Guess is Europe is the source of the QRM [DW Wertachtal 200 kW ND]. I did hear a very weak carrier on 3945, but nothing audible (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. 7125, Degar Voice, via Oyash, Russia, *1300-1330*, Jan 31, Khmer and other dialects spoken in Vietnam which often was mentioned. Strong jammer on it (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 23 via DXLD) ** WALES [non]. Wales Radio International, 6005, 0300-0329* Feb 26, IDs, local music, programs about Wales trade mission, flowers. Gave e- mail address, website and Wales UK address. Saturday only. Nothing else on this frequency and in at fair level BUT sandwiched between Cuba on 6000 and Sweden via Sackville on 6010. Two powerhouse stations really booming in. Poor overall reception with adjacent channel splatter from 6000 & 6010 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So what happened to BBC-Ascension 6005 clash? BTW, NHK, Germany and Sri Lanka are also scheduled on 6005 during this semihour, per EiBi B- 04, but only Germany in the dark (gh) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Amigos, sobre a escuta em 1197 kHz Radio SW Africa, as informações que recebi é que provavelmente o sinal venha desde Meyerton, Africa do Sul. Esta transmissão que começa às 0300 UT foi iniciada em 23 de Fevereiro e por ser numa freqüência relativamente livre, se mostrou uma ótima oportunidade de se escutar uma transmissão do Sul da Africa em onda media aqui no interior. Um abraço (Samuel Cássio, Brasil, Feb 28, radioescutas via DXLD) So what is your source for putting it in Meyerton? AFAIK, that is a SW-only site, tho they could have added MW, I suppose. For two hours a day it would hardly pay to build a new MW station, instead of using an existing one such as Lesotho (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Samuel, o que fonte para dizer que provém de Meyerton? Até agora é um lugar de transmissão sòmente em ondas curtas, inclusive o serviço clandestino para Zimbabue. Possível que construiram uma nova emissora de OM, mas para 2 horas por dia? Melhor fazer provas numa emissora disponível como Lesutu. 73, (Glenn Hauser, radioescutas via DXLD) Caro Glenn, Em princípio também acredito (ou acreditava) que a transmissão vinha de Lesotho, afinal o transmissor usado pela WYFR é ouvido com freqüência aqui no Brasil em 1197 kHz e o horário das 0300 parece não é usado pela Family Radio. No entanto, recebi algumas mensagens, entre elas a de Anker Petersen, que talvez estivessem transmitindo desde Meyerton, tal qual em ondas curtas. Daí surgindo esta dúvida. Com certeza deve-se fazer uma pesquisa maior. Obrigado, 73 (Samuel Cássio, ibid.) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 4930, BOTSWANA, VOA-"Studio 7", 0328-0340, Mar. 1, English, "Daybreak Africa" and "VOA English to Africa" IDs at tune-in. Intro music and "Good Morning Zimbabwe, welcome to Studio 7". News brief re Zimbabwe and African countries. Full ID announcement at 0335 mentioning 909 MW and 4930 SW. Interviews with Zimbabwe opposition party officials. Fair listening in LSB (Scott Barbour, NH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. CHRISTIAN RADIO ON 1647 KHZ? During the recent LEM202 DXpedition we were able to pick up a few Australian X-band signals on one evening, Thursday, Dec. 2, around 1730-1800 UTC. There was one very interesting station on 1647 kHz, broadcasting a talk program in English at 1746-1759 UTC. The name of the program was presumably "... by Radio", the content seemed to be Christian, at least the style definitely was. I'm a bit confused what the situation on 1647 kHz is right now. There used to be 2ME Canberra in Arabic, which I understand switched over to NTC Radio 16 in June, but did they go bankrupt? Who is on 1647 kHz now? (Mika Mäkeläinen, Finland, Dec 14, 2004, dxing.info via DXLD) This is NTC, Radio 16. Station was audible yesterday with C&W mx and news around 1800 UTC. At the same time aussies also on 1611, 1620, 1638 and 1701. One good sign to hear x-band aussies in Scandinavia is when thai-stations are booming on MW and that was the situation in the the yesterday evening (Martti Karimies, Hämeenlinna, Finland, Dec 22, ibid.) Actually this station proved to be Trans World Radio (TWR) broadcasting from somewhere in Central Asia (which is why I'm moving this thread from Oceania to Asia). TWR doesn't disclose the location aside from saying it is in "Central Asia", but promised to send a QSL. Also the transmitter power is kept confidential, but based on what it sounded, it must be low. It is weird that they have chosen to use an X-band frequency in an area where X-band is normally not used - makes you think this station might not even be intended for the local population but would really be only for expatriate missionaries in the area. However, I still have doubts about this. According to a source at TWR, they have already received a bunch of reception reports from DXers who have heard precisely this frequency, but I find it very hard to believe because I haven't seen this logged before. I twice asked the person if the widely reported fq wouldn't in fact be 1467 kHz - which has indeed been reported often, and carries TWR programming from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - but the answer was no. Very strange. Anyone else hearing this? I tend to think that the person at TWR remembered wrong about this particular fq being heard often, though claiming not to. And I guess it might even be possible that this transmission was experimental, a mixing product, or the frequency choice was an error of the transmitting station, because I don't see the point of TWR broadcasting on 1647 kHz in English in Central Asia, and I haven't seen this logged anywhere at any other time - except for me and Jim Solatie on December 2, 2004, on LEM202 DXpedition in Lapland (Mika Mäkeläinen, March 3, 2005, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 7430 at 0140, man in unknown language (some words w/ "Hindi-ish" sound), some Indianesque music with tabla-ish drums, perhaps pop with traditional instrumentation, at 0143 man gave station address twice slowly, with "post box number [5?]", each time ending with word that sounded like "akbey" or "akbay". Man also gave list of frequencies, with several mentions of "meter band", then a quick snippet of a melody played on vibes (interval signal/theme?), then off suddenly. Signal strong and clear. TWR via Kazakstan is listed for this frequency, tho' perhaps not for this time. Signal sounded far too strong and clear to be from Kazakstan (Eric Bryan, WA, March 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Please include dates and/or days of week in your logs. Eibi B-04 says: 7430 0130-0145 G FEBA Radio MAR SAs /RUS-n which means Marathi via Novosibirsk, Russia. So why not? Are you familiar with the FEBA IS? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ KWEYOL VS FRANÇAIS Longtime DXer Mike Hardester in DXM 42-21 (Feb. 12, "05) reports a station in "French Language" on 1700. Barry Davies doubtless correctly surmises that it may be WJCC Miami Springs with Haitian programming. Other stations like Radio Nouveauté in the Boston area may also be in Haitian Creole rather than, or in addition to, French. Every DXer should therefore, learn to identify the two related but distinct languages. The best way is to listen to the two major stations broadcasting in Creole, very widely audible at armchair strength, VOA and RHC. Subject to seasonal change, UT schedules are: VOA 1230-1300 weekdays on 9535, 11890, 15265; 1730-1800 on 15385, 17565, 21540 daily; and 2200-2230 on 9525, 9670, 21540 daily; RHC 0100-0130, 2130-2200 and 2330-2400 all on 9550 daily. Beware, RHC also broadcasts in French on the same frequency at other times in the Western Hemisphere evenings, so don't confuse the two but learn to distinguish them! A few salient points of difference: Haitian has no distinction of gender and no definite articles comparable to French le, la and les. It uses particles, mostly nasal, which follow the noun. Some words are shorter than the corresponding word in French. On some words which end in a liquid consonant (l or r) in French, the liquid is lost. For sample, in French, "the star" is l'étoile, plural les étoiles. In Haitian, "star" is zetwa (no article). Some basic French words are completely different (but still made up of different elements taken from French), e.g. Fr. Enfant "child", Haitian Ai moun, from French petit monde, literally "little world" but meaning "little person". Neg, from Fr. "nègre "Negro, Black" means "man, human being". Haitian comes partly from older French, so letters which are silent in modern French may still be pronounced, and vice versa. A good example is the capital Port-au-Prince. In French, the r in Port is strongly pronounced but the t is silent. Things are exactly the other way around in Creole, the r (like most r's following a vowel, or at the end of a word) is lost but the t is still heard. The uvular (throaty) r of French often is weakened to w in Haitian, e.g., the name of the language itself kweyol. This is very different from the trilled r still heard often in Canadian French, especially from nonprofessional announcers (sportscasters, small-town DJ's, etc.). This distinction might be key to distinguishing a non- metropolitan Canadian speaker from a Haitian. For example, Mike Hardester thought the 1700 station might be in Canada, but found nothing on the frequency on the CRTC website. Also, the vowels of unsophisticated and rural Canadian French are quite different from standard Parisian French; the a in Montreal, Canada, etc. is like English aw, and most nasal vowels are higher, so that en and on sound more like French in. The vowel system of Haitian sounds very like Parisian French. However, Haitian is partly of African origin and the language could also be called Afro-French. But that applies mainly to the grammar and part of the vocabulary, mostly on the national religion Voodoo (vaudoun), something not likely to be heard on commercial or international political radio. (Dr. Wood, I am not sure how the underlining will carry thru in transferring this to Phil for publication, but I tried-rce) Comes through as a text file... no underlines - pb, IRCA editor) (Richard E. Wood, P. O. Box 2895, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745, IRCA Soft DX Monitor March 3 via DXLD) No accents either, but I put some back into the French, at least (gh) Dr. Wood, thank you for an interesting report, quite different from the ones I usually type here. I was going thru it wondering why you didn't just suggest that we listen to the French Canadians to compare it with French Haitian or Creole, but you explained why on that at the end. I might suggest, though, that on AM radio, here in the US and Canada, we would be more apt to hear French Canadian being spoken as opposed to "pure" (or, perhaps, "high") French being spoken. However, I don't DX shortwave or longwave (no interest there, or in ham radio, either) so others might be more apt to run into pure French than I would. While I don't understand either French Canadian or Spanish, I can easily tell which I am listening to on the radio. Still, I can't tell the difference between the various forms, or dialects, of Spanish, which are out there on the radio, depending on the origin of the signal (Richard Evans, 7416 Hearthstone Way, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-7923, ibid.) You don`t have to ``DX`` shortwave to listen to RHC or VOA (gh) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ DX MEETINGS 2005 Here follows a listing of some shortwave and DX meetings to be held this year. Updates are welcome, the list is in no way comprehensive. It has been compiled on March the 3rd 2005 by Risto Vahakainu. Your comments and questions are welcome. March 11-12 Winter SWL Fest, Kulpsville, PA, USA. http://www.swlfest.com Note: this meeting usually gathers together over 200 participants. Mostly American radio enthusiasts but also some international broadcasters and DXers. April 29-May 01 EDXC Conference, Prague, Czech Republic. Http://www.edxc.org This annual conference of the European DX Council is expected to have around 40 participants this time. May 8-10 The annual meeting of the Czecho-Slovak DX Club to be held in a mountain hotel (excellent QTH for FM-DX). http://www.csdxc.cz Jun 10-12 The annual meeting of the Swedish DX Federation. http://www.sdxf.org Jun 17-19 The annual meeting of the Danish Short Wave Club International in Jutland, western Denmark. http://www.dswci.org Jul 15-17 DX Camp of the Short Wave Listeners Club Saar, Saarland, Germany. http://www.swlcs.com. Jul 29-31 The annual Mexican DX Meeting is most likely to be held this weekend. The information received last year lists the venue to be the city of Ascension in the state of Chihuahua, very close to the Texan border. [NO, at Tampico, Tamaulipas, as already mentioned in DXLD!] Aug 12-14 The annual summer meeting of the Finnish DX Association in Virrat, Finland. Organised jointly by the Scandinavian Weekend Radio and the FDXA. Includes a visit to SWR. http://www.sdxl.org Best 73's (Risto Vähäkainu, koordinaattori, Helsingin yliopisto Tietotekniikkaosasto/hallinnon sovelluspalvelut, p. 09-191 23133, mp. 050-529 2909, HCDX via DXLD) DRM +++ DRM SYMPOSIUM IN IRAN [non] Glenn: What I think Allen [Graham] was referring to is the next HFCC Conference, which is tentatively scheduled for Isfahan, Iran in August. As far as I know, there is no DRM symposium scheduled to be held in conjunction with that HFCC-ASBU conference there (Jeff White, FL, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ UTILITY INFORMS HAM RADIO CLUB OF PRELIMINARY BPL PLANS (Mar 2, 2005) --- Staff members of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) in California announced during a February 23 presentation to the San Diego DX Club that the utility plans to deploy multiple broadband over power line (BPL) test sites in San Diego County. Locations for the BPL pilot projects have not yet been specified. Several BPL equipment vendors are expected to be involved in the trials, each with its own test area and frequency plan, and the first system could be in place as early as this June, with others following soon after. The SDG&E staffers said they were unimpressed by early BPL equipment, but were encouraged by a December visit to the Cinergy BPL system in Cincinnati--said to pass some 50,000 homes reportedly without generating any interference complaints so far. Cinergy has partnered with Current Technologies in its BPL venture. ARRL Lab Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, says that while Current Technologies` BPL equipment does reduce emissions in most spectrum used by Amateur Radio, it operates at full strength on other HF spectrum --- such as the international shortwave broadcast bands -- and it uses low-VHF on medium voltage lines. ``The Current Technologies` BPL HF emissions are from the 110/220 V wiring only, so it is not likely that the signals will propagate along a line as well as systems that put HF signals directly onto overhead medium-voltage distribution lines,`` Hare said. But he added that even with the best ``notching`` techniques, interference is still possible from a nearby BPL system. ``ARRL`s concern is that if the degree of protection this BPL equipment provides proves inadequate for such circumstances and interference occurs, there are no additional solutions to apply,`` Hare said (ARRL main page via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ETON E1 RADIO PRICE ANNOUNCED According to an ad in the March issue of '' Monitoring Times," the Eton E1 shortwave receiver will sell for $500 plus shipping and applicable taxes. However, the Universal Radio web site says that the radio isn't expected to be available until mid-2005. Will this long- awaited radio be worth the lengthy waiting time? (Jim Moats, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ During the summary period, the geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to unsettled levels with active to minor storming periods observed at the higher latitudes. The period began on 21 February with quiet to unsettled conditions with periods of active conditions observed at the higher latitudes. From 22 February through midday on the 24th, conditions were quiet at all latitudes. By midday on the 24th, activity increased to quiet to unsettled with periods of active to minor storming observed at high latitudes due to the effects of a geoeffective coronal hole high speed wind stream. These conditions persisted for the remainder of the summary period. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 02 - 28 MARCH 2005 Solar activity is expected be at very low to low conditions the entire forecast period. A greater than 10 MeV proton event is not expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 07 – 12 March and again 17 – 19 March. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. Coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce unsettled to active levels with occasional minor storm periods on 06 – 09 March and again on 16 – 17 March. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Mar 01 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Mar 01 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Mar 02 75 8 3 2005 Mar 03 80 8 3 2005 Mar 04 80 5 2 2005 Mar 05 85 5 2 2005 Mar 06 85 15 3 2005 Mar 07 90 20 4 2005 Mar 08 90 20 4 2005 Mar 09 95 15 3 2005 Mar 10 100 10 3 2005 Mar 11 100 10 3 2005 Mar 12 100 8 3 2005 Mar 13 100 10 3 2005 Mar 14 100 8 3 2005 Mar 15 100 8 3 2005 Mar 16 100 15 3 2005 Mar 17 100 25 5 2005 Mar 18 95 12 3 2005 Mar 19 90 10 3 2005 Mar 20 90 5 2 2005 Mar 21 90 5 2 2005 Mar 22 85 5 2 2005 Mar 23 80 5 2 2005 Mar 24 75 10 3 2005 Mar 25 75 10 3 2005 Mar 26 75 10 3 2005 Mar 27 75 10 3 2005 Mar 28 75 12 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ re: SERIAL KILLER CHURCH PRESIDENT Glenn: -- Within the past hour: 1) I checked your site, and found DXLD #36 as the "latest" utterance. 2) I received your customary e-mail warning of the availability of #37. 3) I clicked the link, and read through immediately. At the end, I tried the Google-cache link to Dennis Rader. 4) The link is no longer active. This quickly-applied protection to the image of an organized religionist was orchestrated by...whom?? - Here's the link to what was seen on the Google page: http://64.233.167.104/search?hl=en&lr=&q=cache%3AU_O4Mr62dPwJ%3Achrist-lutheran.org%2Fpeople%2FDennis+Rader+Wichita&btnG=Search (GREG HARDISON, CA, 0450 UT Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I also found that cache gone shortly after sending 5-037. That was a sesquiday after the story broke, and mushroomed. BTW, his photo was not on the church site, which merely listed his name among their officials, but on the Park City site. By then all the pages at the Christ Lutheran page had been replaced by a message from the pastor (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ###