DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-071, May 1, 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 1272: Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1271] Mon 0430 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 0600 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5, WPKM Montauk NY 88.7 Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] WORLD OF RADIO 1272 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1272h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1272h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1272 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1272.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1272.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1272.html WORLD OF RADIO 1272 in true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3: (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_04-27-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_04-27-05.mp3 ** ANTARCTICA [and non]. Programa DX: "Altas Ondas" Transmitido pela R. Voz Cristã, QRG: 15475 kHz, Sexta-Feiras ao vivo às 1500 UT, Reapresentação aos Sábados às 1500 UT, Duração: 60 minutos Apresentador: Edson Bruno ============================= RESUMO DO PROGRAMA 29/04/2005 ============================= Abertura: Edson Bruno abre o programa comentando que devido a mudança recente da Voz Cristã para 15475 kHz - 19m, infelizmente está recebendo mensagens de muitos lugares do mundo, de forma grosseira, com ofensas e acusações infudadas sobre a utilização desta nova freqüência. A mudança foi feita através de um acordo com o HFCC e que tal mudança foi feita após diversos estudos e pesquisas realizados por engenheiros da VC e ainda salientou que a VC é uma das emissoras que mais comparece aos encontros e reuniões da HFCC. Ainda para piorar, algumas mensagens são de dexistas conhecidos em toda a comunidade do hobby sendo principalmente dos EUA e Europa, protestando sobre a R. Voz Cristã estar cobrindo a LRA36 da Antártica na Argentina. Confira esses 17 minutos, quais as providencias que a VC está realizando para minimizar ou tentar resolver o problema com relação a LRA36 (via Renato Uliana, condiglist via DXLD) I didn`t listen to this show (is it on demand?), but from this synopsis, it seems that VC is miffed about nasty e-mail to them [not from me] complaining about the collision, while saying they are working on resolving or `minimizing` it. VC could solve this unilaterally; there is a worse problem from their point of view even if they don`t know it: clash with Gabon on 15475 in the 1600-1900 UT period. Gabon was there first. VC should simply move to another frequency, at least in the 1600-2100 UT period, for its own benefit if nothing else. LRA36 can`t seem to speak for itself but must work thru the authorities in Buenos Aires. This could take a long time to go thru the bureaucracy. But no input is really needed from the Argentine side (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476.0, LRA36, R Arcángel S. Gabriel, 'Antártica Arg, 2015, español, 33333, Locutora anuncia prog. Rincón de la patria, luego bloque dedicado al Dr Favaloro. Se hace notar la terrible interferencia que ocasiona Voz Cristiana, que en ese momento emitía un programa en Portugués en la frecuencia de 15475.0. 7/4 (Licciardi / Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Public comments on BPL called for: See bottom ** BOLIVIA. 4498.10 27/04 1006, Radio Estambul, departamento de Beni, música local. Sinal bastante fraco (SAMUEL CÁSSIO MARTINS, SÃO CARLOS- SP, BRASIL, RECEPTOR KENWOOD R5000, ANTENA LONGWIRE 30 METROS, @tividade DX May 1 via DXLD) Note that sinal in Portuguese is masculine, while señal in Spanish is feminine (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 9220.1-.4, Radio Virgen de los Remedios (presumed); 0005- 32+, 21-Apr; Spanish program, seems to be a mix of religion and politics. 0022, sounded like a "Radio Transmundial" spot. SIO=342+/QRN and drifting steadily downward. 0054-0103+, 21-Apr; bouncing between 9220.4-.7. No ID pulled out, but went to Catholic program at 0100. 2310, 22-Apr; Weak audio on 9225.4, but covered by QRM sounding like wind thru a crack. 0131-40+, 23-Apr; 9225.4-.5; Poor with same QRM but can tell it's M in Spanish, talk over music and // 7425 WEWN in Spanish. USB helps (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) 9223, 21.4 2100, Radio Virgen de Remedios. At first very weak with music and announcements and "appeals", but it got better. Some well known music (Let it be, Chiquitita, Sounds of Silence) and at 2205 the strength was quite good even if the signal was a little distorted. Drifted during the hour I listened from about 9223 to 9223.6 (Jan Edh, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9231v, 26/04 1052-1110, Radio Virgen de los Remedios, Tupiza, musical católico. Freqüência variável, oscilando entre 9231.70 a 9228 no período ouvido. 25322 (Samuel Cássio / Brasil, Conexión Digital via DXLD) 9234.90, 28/04 1100, Radio Virgen de los Remedios, Tupiza, Oração do Pai Nosso. Emissora com grande variação de frequencia (SAMUEL CÁSSIO MARTINS, SÃO CARLOS-SP, BRASIL, RECEPTOR KENWOOD R5000, ANTENA LONGWIRE 30 METROS, @tividade DX May 1 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Desde São Carlos (SP), Samuel Cássio Martins informa que a Rádio Novo Tempo, de Campo Grande (MS), foi reativada pela freqüência de 4895 kHz. Ele ouviu a emissora, em 26 de abril, às 0205, com a tradicional identificação da Igreja Adventista: ``Voz da Esperança``. BRASIL – A Rádio Record, de São Paulo (SP), poderá, em breve, mudar sua programação. Deve sair o estilo popular e entrar o jornalístico. Conforme apurou a jornalista Magaly Prado, em informações publicadas em seu blog, a direção gostaria de angariar `` grandes anunciantes, como bancos. Para isso, é preciso um público com dinheiro``. Estão cotadas as contratações de profissionais como Heródoto Barbeiro e Milton Jung, da CBN, e José Nelo Marques, da Bandeirantes. Vale ressaltar que a Rádio Record, de São Paulo (SP), pode ser captada, em ondas curtas, em 6150 e 9505 kHz. BRASIL – Em quatro de maio, a Rádio Cultura, de São Paulo (SP), leva ao ar a primeira edição do programa Observatório da Imprensa. As edições serão diárias, sempre às 1100, com apresentação do jornalista Mauro Malin. O objetivo do espaço é ``fazer uma reflexão crítica sobre o noticiário dos jornais do dia``, conforme noticia o blog de Eduardo Sander. Lembrando que a Rádio Cultura pode ser sintonizada, em ondas curtas, pelas freqüências de 9615 e 17815 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 1 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Hi Glenn, I'm not sure you can use this but I caught Radio Reloj on the RHC 6 MHz frequency a month or two ago. I was recovering from a hospital stay so I'm a bit cloudy. I received it on a Grundig FR 200 my oldest girl got me for Christmas. This is direct to my sound card audio so it is pretty good audio. For RHC that is hi hi I've heard this one on the BCB but never this clear. The mp3 file is at: http://www.vincewerber.org/swl/radio-reloj-cuba.mp3 73 (Vince Werber, ka1iic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4560.06, unID Ecuador, 1130 UT. At the same time I was listening to reactivated Radio Chiriaco [see PERU] on 5264.96 kHz, I on the other VFO had an unID Ecuadorian station on 4560.06 kHz with nonstop Ecuadorian music for more than one hour. Talk OM 1200 UT but without ID, I think. Quite good signal. Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. NEW OPPOSITION RADIO OBSERVED ON SHORTWAVE BBC Monitoring observed a new opposition broadcast called Radio Voice of ENUF [Ethiopian National United Front] on 12120 kHz shortwave at 1700-1800 gmt on 1 May 2005. The broadcast was in Amharic, and according to information on the ENUF organization's web site is on the air only on Sundays and Fridays. Transmitter time is hired through Belgian airtime broker TDP, with characteristic on-off tones observed before the start of the broadcast suggesting that the transmitter is in the CIS. The ENUF's bilingual Amharic/English web site http://www.enufforethiopia.org states one of their political objectives is to "eliminate the oppressive regime of the TPLF/EPRDF" [Tigray People's Liberation Front/Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the country's ruling coalition]. Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 May 05 (via DXLD) ** GREECE [non]. We listened to the Midnight Resurrection services from The Voice of Greece on 17705 last night (5 p.m. EST [2100 UT Saturday]). It beats going out in the rain, dealing with the crowd who show up at church once a year in their Easter finery, and getting back home in the wee hours of the morning. My sister, niece, and I are having the traditional Easter dinner today with lamb and Greek potatoes. We received a letter from our Cousin Anna Petridou in Thessaloniki who wrote that they were eating goat today because lamb is too expensive over there, and besides it has too much cholesterol in it! (John Babbis, Silver Spring MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Re AIR Shimla 3220: Hi Jari and all, can't detect anything amiss. AIR Simla is right on 3223 as it should be. And it's in // with 3315, 3365, 4910, 5010 and 6085 as well. 3220 is presently, that is 15:20 UTC, quiet. Not a signal to be heard. Will check this again later... 73 (from Kathmandu, Thomas Roth, May 1, HCDX via DXLD) Hi Thomas, I agree. Today 01 May at 1645 AIR Shimla audible here on their listed 3223 and no station on 3220. Must have been a temporary use of 3220 for whatever reason. 73 (Jari Savolainen, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re 5-070, about Arabic music: I seem to recall that there was at least one article in recent years in Monitoring Times specifically about music from other cultures available on SW. Of course, this sort of thing needs to be updated every new SWBC season. But I think this is actually a really important way to encourage SW listening. Especially considering the disappearance of classical music stations in the US, finding alternative music sources ends up pushing people to XM or Sirius and the no-recurring-cost option of SW becomes a really viable choice. The "music from home" appeal to immigrants, and the simple appeal of other styles of music to those of us who enjoy a variety of musics and sounds are great "selling points" for SW. True, the SW listener needs to cultivate a mode of hearing that can tolerate the inevitable noise or interference that arises. Those of us who have listened to SW for decades do this unconsciously, so we might need to guide new listeners to achieve this attitude. This needs to be a more-important feature of every edition of Passport and should be a regular recurring feature in Monitoring Times and Popular Communications. I don't see the other (non-US) SWL magazines; do any of those have this in their regular content? 73, Will Martin, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t think Short Wave Magazine (UK) does; their emphasis is heavy into DXing, not programming. Of course, a lot of the best music sources are from stations not broadcasting in English, which rules them out from the outset being listed e.g. in MT`s Shortwave Guide. I occasionally focus on music in the opening article in my MT column (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. RUSSIAN COSMONAUT CALLS ON RADIO ENTHUSIASTS WORLDWIDE TO ASSIST MARS EXPERIMENT Created: 29.04.2005 13:50 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:50 MSK MosNews Radio hams worldwide will be able to participate in an ISS experiment aimed at preparing a manned flight to Mars, Central Machine Building Research Centre told Itar-Tass Friday. . http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/04/29/spaceexperiment.shtml (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Extremely vague. WHEN will this experiment happen? WTFK? ``amateur ultra short waves`` --- does this mean 2 metres? One will have to find out this basic info from some other source (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. MIDDLE EAST: COALITION MARITIME FORCES RADIO ON NEW SHORTWAVE FREQUENCY BBC Monitoring has observed Coalition Maritime Forces Radio One on the new shortwave frequency of 9133 kHz (upper sideband mode) at 1110 gmt on 1 May 2005, following a tip from Swedish radio hobbyist Jan Edh on Glenn Hauser's "DX Listening Digest" web site. Programming consisted of Afghan and Arabic music interspersed with appeals for information about terrorist activities, in Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Urdu. After one such appeal relating to Iraqi oil terminals, there was the following announcement in English: "Thank you for listening to Coalition Maritime Forces Radio One. We broadcast ... [words indistinct] terrorist mariners around the world. Call in to CMF Radio One any time on 6125 kiloHertz SW [shortwave], 9133 kiloHertz SW, or 15500 kiloHertz SW." The announcement continued with contact details, which were as given on the associated "Rewards for Justice" web site at http://www.rewardsfor justice.net Although not heard on this occasion, the radio is also believed to broadcast in Hindi and Persian, and sometimes identifies as "Information Radio". CMF Radio One is operated by the US Navy Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO) headquartered in Bahrain, with the purpose of encouraging listeners to report terrorist activity. It has been on the air since April 2004, using low-powered shortwave transmitters installed on ships operating in the Persian Gulf. According to a statement on the MARLO web site, their mission is to facilitate the exchange of information between the United States Navy and the commercial shipping community in the US Central Command's area of responsibility. MARLO operates as a conduit for information focused on safety of shipping and is committed to assisting the commercial shipping community. The web site is at http://www.me.navy.mil/marlo Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 May 05 (via DXLD) ** IRAN. 9495, The Voice of Justice (from the Islamic Republic of Iran), 0200-0230 SINPO 54444. Tuning around at 0200, I found this on a new (for me) frequency. Male announcer with "news" and "commentary." This continued to 0225 when they ID'ed and gave frequency and contact information. From 0226 to 0229:55 shutdown, they played Western-style "elevator-type" music. Is this the best we can have nowadays? Oh, for the good old days of Radio Moscow and Radio Peking! (Lawrence H. Bulk, 138 Dogwood Drive, Mullica Hill, New Jersey 08062-1909, AOR AR7030 Plus and Wellbrook ALA 330S, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. NEW TIME FOR ENGLISH PROGRAMME ON REPUBLIC OF IRAQ RADIO BBC Monitoring observes the English Service on Republic of Iraq Radio on the air at the new time of 2215-0030/0130 gmt (finish time varies). The English programme is no longer heard at 1030-1120 gmt. Programming consists of a brief introductory announcement, identifying the station as "Radio Iraq", followed by non-stop rock and pop music. No news or other spoken content is observed. The station broadcasts terrestrially on 98.3 MHz FM, 603 and 675 kHz mediumwave, and on the following satellites: Arabsat 2D at 25.8 degrees east, 11100 MHz, vertical polarization, symbol rate 3000, FEC 3/4 Arabsat 3A at 26.0 degrees east, 11747 MHz, vertical polarization, symbol rate 27500, FEC 3/4 Hotbird 4 at 13.0 degrees east, 12654 MHz, horizontal polarization, symbol rate 27500, FEC 3/4 Republic of Iraq Radio is part of the government-run Iraqi Media Network, which also operates the Al-Iraqiyah television network and the Al-Sabah newspaper. The organization has an Arabic/English web site at http://www.iraqimedianet.net Source: BBC Monitoring research 1 May 05 (via DXLD) But no SW; did this ever occur to them? ** ISRAEL. NO VALUE FOR THE LICENSING FEE --- By Haaretz Editorial http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570626.html The minister responsible for the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Ehud Olmert, will tomorrow ask the cabinet to agree to the dismissal of IBA chief Yosef Barel. This demand is supported by the findings of reports by the State Comptroller and the attorney general, both of whom accuse Barel of corrupt management practices. The findings were made public about a year ago, but Barel has not yet been dismissed because the ministers fear the results of such a vote. The director general of the IBA has a long arm, as the State Comptroller's report revealed. His control over who appears on television, who is interviewed on the radio, who is sent to cover the ministers' or the prime minister's doings abroad or in development towns, is worth millions. As of yesterday, Olmert was the only minister to have announced his position on the issue. The fear is that if the dismissal is not approved, the politicians who supported it will pay the price in air time. But not even the firing of Barel will cure the IBA. The political cauldron will immediately begin to be stirred ahead of the selection of a new IBA chief, who may reward politicians in a similar manner. Even now, there is talk of deals between ministers along the lines of, "I'll support the director general you want, and you'll support a chairman who is one of my buddies." The close connection between the prime minister and his ministers and the IBA has to be broken. Communications experts have been recommending reforms for years. Committees have been established and reports written, but nothing has been done because of the affection politicians have for direct control of radio and television broadcasts. Meanwhile, Israel's citizens pay a licensing fee but are not receiving proper value in exchange. The IBA raises NIS 800 million annually from the public and produces few and inferior programs that do not even rise to the level of the commercial channels. Some of Israel Radio's programs sound like pure government propaganda. When television head Moti Eden boasts of the high ratings for "Friday with Michal," he clearly does not understand the job of the head of a public broadcaster. As part of the streamlining dismissals Barel was so proud of, some of the most talented and independent IBA people were sifted out. Others had left even earlier. For years, the IBA paid salaries to worthy producers, directors and journalists who were frustratingly unemployed. Only when they were ejected onto the free market did their energies and talents become obvious. The dismissal of Yosef Barel is only the first necessary step in the required revolution. In order for public broadcasting to become a vital and interesting alternative to commercial television, it must finally be allowed managerial and creative independence, a precondition for good performance. A public supervisory body must be appointed to ensure that the public broadcaster does not become a carbon copy of Channel 2. This supervisory body must not be political or in any way dependent on cabinet ministers. The world has successful models of public broadcasting services that provide their viewers and listeners with a break from ratings and advertising, and attract a high proportion of viewers thanks to quality of programming. There is no reason that talent and creativity, plentiful here, should not produce a worthy public channel in Israel. (via Joel Rubin, NY, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** ISRAEL [and non]. HEBREW-LANGUAGE CLANDESTINE RADIO BROADCASTING DURING THE BRITISH PALESTINE MANDATE --- by Douglas A. Boyd, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0042 U.S.A. {Boyd is a Professor in the Department of Communication and the School of Journalism and Telecommunications, University of Kentucky. He acknowledges the assistance of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Monitoring Service Written Archives Section, Caversham Park, England, Carol Forrester, BBC World Service, London, and Professor Akiba Cohen of Tel Aviv University in gathering data for this study. This research was made possible in part by a grant from the Kaltenborn Foundation.} It was an intriguing idea to some governments, pressure groups, political enthusiasts, and revolutionary organizations in the mid-20th century that well crafted radio broadcasts directed to supporters and opposers alike might play a major role in successfully promoting a particular cause to achieve a specific goal. This does not mean that other forms of communication -- handbills, newspapers, the telephone, or even person-to-person communication -- were not important. However, broadcasts "coming from the ether" were thought to be a very effective means of communication, especially if the "opposition" controlled or influenced state-run or -sanctioned radio and newspapers. It was Lenin who reportedly observed that radio was a "newspaper without paper and without frontiers." By the late 1930s, "the magic of radio" was a well known expression. After all, where commercial broadcasting was permitted, businesses attested to the effectiveness of radio advertising. World War II and the period just before it proved to be a time when psychological warfare attracted a great deal of attention, and for those involved in it clandestine radio became a growth industry, albeit with little, if anything, to show in terms of specific outcomes. Various types of revolutionary/clandestine radio operations have existed since the Russians first used them in an attempt to rally German workers to support the revolution (Hale, 1975). Flicke (1977) confirms that the "use of broadcasting as a means of propaganda by government originated with the Soviet Union" (p. 280). Clandestine stations are challenging to discuss in geo-political, social, or economic contexts because they are so difficult to define; those countries and groups that have used such stations have often done so without specific goals, adequate equipment, or experienced personnel. By their very nature clandestine radio groups are not known for keeping historical records. In the case of Palestine, the British government does not permit the public to examine official British Mandate Authority documents housed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Archives and related to clandestine stations operating in the 1930s and 1940s, [Footnote 1] apparently fearing that the documents might reveal the identities of British intelligence contacts in Palestine. Soley (1989) writes that clandestine radio operations are "illegal political stations that advocate civil war, revolution, or rebellion." Further, they "provide misleading information as to their sponsorship, transmitter location, or raison d'être" (p. 2). With regard to the potential impact of clandestine radio on consumers, Browne (1982), discussing clandestine radio stations in Africa, observes: Listening to them can be dangerous, and few who do so would be willing to report the fact in a survey. Most of them are difficult to receive. Their typically polemical tone would be attractive to their supporters, but one that would probably not be very appealing to anyone other than a 'true believer.' (p. 279) After noting that there is no precise definition of clandestine radio, and referring specifically to the Middle East, Hale (1975) states that, "[clandestine] radio comes in a variety of shades from pristine white to hellish black -- from, that is, the most open and above-board to the most devious, misleading and underground" (p. 103). This research concerns Jewish clandestine radio broadcasting in Palestine -- commonly referred to as the Holy Land -- under the British Mandate, and for a brief period after the creation of Israel. Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire until Turkish forces were defeated toward the end of World War I. The British and French were allowed to administer some Middle Eastern territory after various agreements negotiated by these two countries and agreed to by the League of Nations. Although there have been changes in the political map of the area, until various forms of independence took place in countries under League of Nations (and later under United Nations) mandates, the British administered Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine; the French, Syria and Lebanon. [Footnote 2] It is important to note that shortly after World War II ended the British realized they needed to find a face-saving way of leaving Palestine. Economically, the area had become a further drain on the British economy already devastated by the war. The British also knew that Jewish immigration from Europe and rising anti-Zionist feelings by Arab governments were key ingredients of a potential disaster. The World War II experience of Britain in the field of radio propaganda made them aware of the potentially damaging effects of such broadcasts in Palestine. Wood (1992) notes, "The expenditure on broadcasting equipment by the British during the war years was staggering" (p. 60). Thus, as noted below, the British Mandate Authority devoted considerable resources attempting to locate and stop clandestine transmitters. This study's importance rests in part with its uniqueness; Jewish clandestine radio operations were apparently among the first successful effort by revolutionary groups to use the sound medium to help achieve specific goals, in this case the departure of an unwelcome, occupying force, and eventually the creation of an independent Jewish state. The purpose of this study, outlined in subheadings that follow, is to provide readers with (1) an understanding of the motivations behind the Jewish clandestine stations; (2) information about the sponsoring organizations; and (3) a discussion of some of the programming that may help explain the role radio played in Britain's departure from Palestine in May 1948, the creation of Israel, and the resulting political situation that continues to exist in Israel and the Arab world, despite the historic agreement signed on September 13, 1993, in Washington, D.C., between Israel and the Palestine Authority and its Chairman Arafat's subsequent move to Gaza. This study examines only Jewish clandestine stations because there was very little Arab clandestine radio activity during the 1940s. This was due, at least in part, to the fact that state-run radio stations in neighboring Arab countries -- primarily Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt -- were enthusiastic outlets for Arab information and editorial opinion. No such facilities in the area were available to Jewish groups. Also, most Arabs believed that Sharq al-Adna, an Arabic-language station secretly operated by the British government, sided with them. As the British announced that they would leave Palestine, the Arabs believed that they had the upper hand psychologically and militarily and thus had little need for secret radio operations. Clandestine broadcasts in Palestine are mentioned in several articles or books, many used in this study; but only Zimmerman (1973/1974), dealing exclusively with Arabic-language broadcasts, examined radio monitoring service reports of both clandestine stations and those from neighboring states. He found that Jewish-sponsored Arabic-language broadcasts did not suggest that Arabs leave Palestine upon British withdrawal. Zimmerman's research is dissimilar to the present study and is very limited because he relied only on radio monitoring reports. Monitoring reports are helpful and are used in this study, but both British and U.S. monitoring was limited because those who did it only sampled broadcasts and then did not transcribe or summarize all that were heard. For the purpose of this study, clandestine broadcasting as regards Palestine is defined as those unofficial stations, mostly identified with specific underground organizations, that attempted to gain a psychological or military advantage as well as to communicate, often via coded messages, with operatives in the field. Palestine Electronic Media Environment It was Italy that first brought foreign radio broadcasts to the Middle East, specifically to Arabic speakers. Because of the creation of Radio Bari's Arabic service, at least a few Arabs could hear what a Western country thought about them. For the first time Arabs and a few Western observers became aware of the potential influence of radio later in the Middle East. The Italian broadcasts provided sufficient motivation for the reluctant BBC to start its first foreign-language service in Arabic on January 3, 1938 ("Arabic broadcasts," 1938; Reith, 1949). The first local radio station, the Palestine Broadcasting Station (PBS), started under the British Mandate Authority with BBC supervision in 1936 (Palestine department of posts, 1935; Palestine department of posts, 1936). However, the trilingual (English, Hebrew, and Arabic) PBS, operating as the Voice of Jerusalem, was not the first radio station in the Middle East. Firsts are often difficult to identify with regard to the introduction of radio services, and so too in the Arab world. But Egypt seems to be the Middle Eastern state that can boast of the first radio broadcast in the 1920s (UNESCO, 1949; Metwally, n.d.), just after experimental transmissions started in North America and Europe. After World War II Britain started an English-language only British Forces Station (JCPA) in Palestine that provided no local news items, but did rebroadcast BBC short-wave broadcasts, thus making them available to citizens without short-wave radios. First headquartered on Mount Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem, the station later moved to a location near Bethlehem (Martin, 1949). Finally, special mention is necessary for an almost unique Arabic-language station started in Palestine - Radio Sharq Al- Adna. The Technology of Clandestine Transmission in Palestine Of course, during the 1940s there was no FM radio broadcasting in the Middle East. Medium- and long-wave receivers were the norm, but most home sets were also capable of receiving short-wave transmissions. This was because of the long-established practice of listening to European news from the BBC and other stations. A survey done in 1943 by social science faculty members at the American University of Beirut showed that among Arabs surveyed in Palestine, 87% had sets capable of receiving medium-, long-, and short-wave signals (Dodd et al., 1943). Partner (1988) states that Jewish homes in Palestine in the mid-1940s had a higher percentage of short-wave receivers than did Arab homes. This state of affairs proved to be very helpful to those operating clandestine stations; they all transmitted on the short-wave band, most on frequencies between 45 and 50 meters. Although primarily used by international broadcasters to reach listeners far away from transmission sites, short-wave transmission was ideal for Palestine clandestine operations because a relatively low power output could reach a large area. Additionally, short-wave transmitters did not need the extensive antennae and grounding facilities required for mediumwave, thus making them both portable and relatively easily hidden.[Footnote 3] "Establishment" Clandestine Broadcasting The clandestine radio broadcasts sponsored by Jewish groups from the late 1930s until 1948 were done not by those interested primarily in radio broadcasting, but rather by groups that understood both the strategic and tactical importance of the sound medium. These broadcasts had five major goals. First, they were intended to provide various types of information to scattered Jewish communities in Palestine, an area where the Mandatory Authority controlled print and radio. Second, they were intended to gain favor, and members, among the Jewish population for the three major independence groups discussed herein. Third, they aimed to hasten the departure of the British and foster the subsequent creation of an independent Jewish state. Fourth, they were used to provide specific political and tactical military instructions to members who otherwise would have had to rely on slower, less reliable communication channels. Finally, they solicited funds and military aid from outside Palestine. Haganah Radio, a station operated by the Haganah (Hebrew for defense) -- an illegal military organization established in 1920 -- started Hebrew-language broadcasting in the late 1930s when there were violent disturbances by Arabs who opposed Jewish immigration to Palestine. For the most part, clandestine radio in Palestine ceased operations during World War II as the British, most Jews, and many Arabs united to defeat the Axis powers. However, as the war was in its last year, clandestine radio activity started anew. On October 13, 1945, the New York Times quoted an AP dispatch from Tel Aviv telling of a resistance radio station with an unspecified name that had broadcast for the fourth time. Listen to the voice of Israel! This is not a terrorist station. This is the station of Hebrew resistance. Never again will Jews be deported from their homeland. Our patience is over. No power in the world shall break our determination ("Secret radio urges," 1945, p. 6.) Haganah Radio was the most extensive and well organized of the Jewish clandestine radio services, having started transmissions first from Tel Aviv in 1940 to protest a British law banning British press censorship and the sale of certain types of land to Jews (A. Avnerre, advisor, Israeli Broadcasting Authority, personal communication, January 3, 1992). Between 1945 and 1948 the Haganah added Arabic broadcasts, at one time headed by Shaul Bar-Haim, an Iraqi Jew who had immigrated to Palestine and later became the Director of the Israeli Radio Arabic Service (S. Bar-Haim, personal communication, January 26, 1980). A Jerusalem station hidden on the sixth floor of a well located apartment building started in 1947 and was especially active during the months before May 1948, when the official British departure from the area triggered the first Arab-Israeli war. At first the station used the name Kol Israel (Voice of Israel), but Haganah leadership objected, wanting to reserve the name for the official radio broadcasting service of the new state. Thus, from March 1948 until independence, the Jerusalem station used the name Voice of the Jewish Defender (A. Avnerre, advisor, Israeli Broadcasting Authority, personal communication, January 3, 1992; British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, March 25). Because the Haganah was very well organized and funded, and as the British departure date came closer -- thereby decreasing somewhat British enthusiasm for finding and closing clandestine stations -- the Jerusalem station was able to add a greater variety of programming, including children's shows, to its Hebrew radio broadcasts. Like most secret operations in Palestine during the pre-independence period, there were elaborate security precautions in an attempt to protect both Haganah radio sites and those involved in operating them. Thus, the transmitting equipment, most home-made in Palestine, was very valuable. The stations became regular reminders to listeners that the resistance groups operating them were still active. Mandate authority laws stipulated imprisonment for those caught transmitting illegally. Unlike at least one of the other clandestine broadcasters, there is no record of any Haganah station being discovered by the British. This was due, at least in part, to frequent transmitter moves and an elaborate security system that was so effective that even close friends did not know they were working in various capacities for the same station. The Tel Aviv station serves as an illustration of the elaborate security arrangements. Elkana Galli was a news reader for the station for approximately one year between 1946 and 1947. His "all clear" signal after each broadcast, indicating that all had gone well, was to walk on the previously designated side of an automobile that someone was watching. During a period when the British decreed an all-day curfew in Tel Aviv, newscasts were passed from those who wrote them to news readers by concealing them in partially hollowed-out oranges that were then thrown across streets during brief periods when the curfew was lifted in order for residents to get food (E. Galli, personal communication, Tel Aviv, January 5, 1992). Martin (1949) states that Haganah eventually started some English- language programming, but after the British announced they would leave the area, it was Haganah Radio's Arabic broadcasts that were effective, at least to some extent, in attracting an Arab audience. The speed at which the news about these [Haganah] daily broadcasts in Arabic got around was amazing. The Jews would say jokingly (and the Arabs took up the joke), that the Haganah would start raids at 8:45 p.m., because at the time all the Arabs were at home listening to Haganah's Arabic news broadcast. There was a great deal of truth in this. The news bulletins in Arabic included 'information' about individual Arab leaders, their 'corruption,' and 'facts about their embezzlement of public funds.' The station would broadcast warnings to individual Arabs (some of whom took these warnings very seriously and escaped to Egypt), and gave 'inside information' on the situation 'behind the Arab lines' (Martin, 1949, p. 192). On March 11, 1948, an Arabic-language station believed to be Haganah- operated, Free Jewish Station, was monitored in Cairo. Foreign Broadcasting Information Bureau (FBIB) monitors noted that the station seemed "in its propaganda trend" to resemble Haganah broadcasts (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, March 18). Another Haganah-sponsored Hebrew-language station, Station of the Moon, appeared briefly on March 11, 1948, announcing that it would be on the air for a limited schedule on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, March 18). Some former Haganah broadcasters in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv believe that this station operated in one of the rural areas in an attempt to serve Jewish settlements that were not in range of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. On May 12, 1948, Haganah Radio announced that it would soon become the Voice of Israel, Kol Israel (Foreign Broadcast Information Service, 1948) -- the official name of the Israeli national radio service that was a department of the Prime Minister's office until the creation of a Broadcasting Authority in 1965 (Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, 1971). The next day the Haganah announced in a broadcast monitored in Cairo that its first program would be a live broadcast from the National Assembly and called on the Voice of the Defender in Jerusalem, the Voice of Haganah in Haifa, the Voice of Galilee, and the Voice of the Negev to convey "this announcement to your listeners" (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, May 13, p. 55). Hard-Line Clandestine Stations If the Haganah was the primary illegal military organization destined to play an important part in Israel's political and military future, two other organizations that were also broadcasters discussed herein were seen as renegades in the Jewish struggle to drive the British from Palestine and establish a Jewish state. Briefly, there were some in Palestine who believed that the "establishment" Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Agency [footnote 4] and the Haganah were not doing enough to create a Jewish state, the precondition for which was the departure of the British from Palestine. Until his death in 1940, Ze'ev Jabotinsky was the "spiritual leader" of the Irgun Zevai Leumi (IZL), National Military Organization, an underground resistance group whose most famous military operation was the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. From early 1944 until the creation of Israel, Menachem Begin -- later Prime Minister who signed the Camp David peace accords establishing diplomatic relations with Egypt -- was the IZL commander (The Jabotinsky institute a national treasure, n.d.; Begin, 1951; Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, 1971). The primary founder of Lohame Herut Yisrael (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) -- known also as the Lechi or Stern Group [footnote 5] -- was Avrahim Stern, a Polish-born immigrant and former IZL member who believed that an organization more militant than Irgun was essential to the creation of a Jewish state. After British police killed Stern in a Tel Aviv apartment in 1942, Lechi was commanded by a triumvirate including Yitzhak Shamir, twice Israeli Prime Minister until his defeat in the June 1992 general election (Political dictionary of the state of Israel, 1987; Katz, 1987; Apelboim, 1991). These were relatively small organizations that did not find enthusiastic public support for their military operations, but because the leadership understood the potential tactical value of clandestine radio, both the Irgun and Lechi were active clandestine radio broadcasters. Of the two main underground military organizations competing with the Haganah, Irgun was the first to use clandestine radio by transmitting in March, 1939 (A. Avnerre, advisor, Israeli Broadcasting Authority, personal communication, January 3, 1992). Hurewitz (1968) notes that the Irgun first operated a clandestine station in 1939 and in one transmission claimed responsibility for Arab deaths resulting from land mines detonated in a Haifa fruit market. The broadcast also included an attempt to recruit new members. Begin writes about the Irgun's Voice of Fighting Zion, whose broadcasts in late 1947 were used to get information to the public about the British-proposed partition of Palestine and replacement of British military forces with some type of United Nations-sponsored police force (Begin, 1951). As noted later, until the 1948 War of Independence, the Irgun did not devote as much time and effort to its broadcasts as did its rival Lechi. Because production equipment of the two non-Haganah stations only consisted of microphones, there was no way of playing recorded music. In order to tell listeners they had found the intended station, an announcer for Voice of Fighting Zion would whistle Lamut Lichbosh et Hahar, the anthem of an Irgun youth movement. The Stern radio, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, used the opening bars of an anthem composed by Stern himself. Of the two groups, Stern's broadcasts appear to have been somewhat better known because of the strident and emotional nature of the organization and those organizing broadcasts. Unlike Haganah and Irgun, Stern did not completely stop broadcasting during World War II. Also, Stern was a writer and poet who, until his death, broadcast some of his own material. The importance the Stern Group attached to its Tel Aviv-based Fighters for the Freedom of Israel clandestine radio service is evident from a visit to the house where Stern was killed. On the top floor of the house, now a small museum and headquarters for the Lechi Memorial Committee, there is a replica of the room in one of the houses from which broadcasts originated. Further, in a booklet published by the Jabotinsky Institute, there is a picture of a Stern Group broadcast showing an announcer and engineer operating a transmitter from the home of Pinhas Ginnosar (Jabotinsky institute catalogue, 1989). The intensity of clandestine broadcasting from all three Jewish groups was highlighted after World War II, as it was clear to the British, the Jews, and Arabs that the current state of affairs in Palestine could not continue. After World War II, Geula Cohen, who would later become an outspoken, right-wing member of the Knesset, [footnote 6] was recruited as an announcer for the station. Arrested by the British on January 18, 1946, and jailed for clandestine radio activity, Ms. Cohen is Israel's most celebrated underground broadcaster, in part because she wrote a book about her exploits; also she is the only female to be apprehended while actually on the air (Cohen, 1966). Inspired to participate in clandestine broadcasting by hearing Stern's own broadcasts, she broadcast twice per week on the Stern station until her arrest while broadcasting; her first broadcasting partner was Yitzhak Shamir. Her book tells of her escape and eventual return to clandestine radio broadcasting after being sentenced to 7 years in prison -- 2 for illegal broadcasting, 5 for firearm possession (Cohen, 1966; G. Cohen, Member of Parliament, personal communication, January 6, 1992). One of Cohen's broadcasts provides some indication of the reason Lechi devoted time and attention to them: From the depths of the Hebrew Underground our voice will rise. We do not speak by the grace of the British regime, or under its supervision. Our voice calls out freely. It is the voice of those fighting for the liberation of the Jewish people and its historic homeland . . . . Again and again we have been dealt insult and injury. Again and again our blood has been shed. Where now are those who insulted us? Where are the shedders of our blood? But the People of Israel lives [sic] on, bearing its glorious past . . . . No war is holier than ours, for none is more just. The land of our fathers, the land of the Kingdom of Israel awaits our redemption. The land is rich, the nation is large and deserving. Who then stands in the way? (Cohen, 1966, pp. 96-97) A July 7, 1946, transmission from Irgun's Rising Zion Broadcasting Station clearly indicates they were hoping that shortwave broadcasting would help secure military aid from sympathizers in Europe: Free peoples of the world; peoples striving for Freedom - listen. . . . Do not stand aside while you witness a struggle between unequal forces, between justice and evil, between the striving for freedom and the appetite for oppression. Rise (sic) your voices! Come to our aid! Help our wandering brothers return to their country. Send us arms; send us ammunition, send us help! (Irgun Zvai Leumi, The Rising Zion Broadcasting Station, p. 1) Another Fighters for the Freedom of Israel broadcast tells of something the Stern Group had wanted for years: the Haganah to join them in military operations directed at the British. You are listening to the Voice of the Hebrew Underground! You are listening to the Voice of the Hebrew Underground! The British divisions could not stop us. The solid wall of British bayonets has been smashed. During the night of the twenty-first of October, Jewish fighting forces struck a sin-gle co-or-di-na-ted blow at the enemy, from Acre to Gaza, from the sea coast to the hills of Judea and Jerusalem . . . . (Cohen, 1966, p. 97) Another Stern-run radio station, the Voice of the Jewish Spearhead, was first monitored on May 2, 1948. That transmission included an attack on both the Haganah and Britain (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, May 6). When it became clear that the British were, in fact, going to leave Palestine, their enthusiasm for locating Jewish clandestine transmitters and jamming radio broadcasts diminished. As 1948 approached and as it became clear that there would be fighting after the British left, the radio stations started targeting other resistance groups as they moved beyond attempting to attract new recruits and into forcing the British to leave. Radio Battles Among Jewish Clandestine Stations Disagreements over political and military tactics against the Mandate Authority spilled over into some radio programs, especially as the British were leaving Palestine; after independence, when these groups, especially Irgun and Stern, were positioning for control within the government and military of the new Jewish state, the radio warfare intensified. On April 25 and 26, 1948, Haganah transmissions criticized Irgun military activities; the transmissions said that Irgun had "concentrated all its forces from throughout Palestine and had begun action against Jaffa without informing Haganah of this action beforehand" (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, May 6, p. 72). Then on April 28 a Haganah broadcast announced a "union" with Irgun: The Jewish defence force, Haganah, is the force of the nation and of its elected institutions. According to the decision of the Zionist Executive Committee, Haganah and Irgun representatives met and the Executive Committee's decision was put into effect. This decision was taken to assure the Jewish population that no separate military action will be taken, which will only do harm from the military, moral and internal viewpoints. (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, May 6, p. 72) A May 5 transmission via Stern's Fighters for Freedom of Israel attacked Irgun, allegedly for contacts with the British; defending itself on Voice of Fighting Zion, Irgun said that it had never "negotiated" with or "surrender[ed]" to the British (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1948, May 13, p. 67). With this and other exchanges, it was clear that the battle of the airwaves had intensified beyond jockeying for military and political positions in the soon-to-be-created state. Irgun and Stern were positioning themselves financially as they relied heavily on contributions from the Jewish Palestine population to finance operations. Eventually, Stern and the Irgun understood that the Haganah had the upper hand and that those involved with the military organization would form the basis of Israel's Army, Navy, and Air Force. However, an Irgun station, Kol Haherut (Voice of Freedom), continued to broadcast for about 4 months after the British departure and the State of Israel was officially proclaimed. An offshoot of Voice of Fighting Zion, this station existed as a protest voice against those heading the new state, especially Ben-Gurion. According to the official English translation of the final night's broadcast on September 18, 1948, the announcer said, "[we are] discontinuing the broadcasts which sounded forth the truth since the days of the great insurrection unto this very day. It behooves us, in line with our practice, to tell the public the truth." Further, the broadcast noted that the Israeli government had adopted British laws permitting the government to close unofficial stations and practicing censorship, rather than using the "Book of Books as the basic law of our country and nation." The closing statement by Kol Haherut, in what was apparently the last broadcast by a Jewish clandestine station, was: We send our greetings to you all -- greetings for victory, the unity of our homeland, and the freedom of man and citizen. The broadcasting station Kol Haherut is discontinuing its broadcasts, but the Voice of Freedom will never be silenced. They, who lived and died so that freedom might reign here, they are your guarantors. (Irgun Zvai Leumi, The Voice of Freedom, p. 1) Discussion Jewish organizations in Palestine broadcast clandestine radio programming because they believed the human voice received at home and in the work place vital to their respective interests. The printing and distribution of written information was difficult for Jewish groups, especially as the British prepared to leave the area. Clandestine broadcasts were thought to be an effective and inexpensive way of (1) stating philosophical positions; (2) recruiting new members; (3) staying in touch with those who were already members; (4) disseminating coded information of military importance; (5) communicating, in a "back-channel" way, with the British; (6) providing information to the world press; and (7) stating information that would later appear in the form of handbills. There were two additional reasons motivating clandestine broadcasts. Even today, there is very little Hebrew-language broadcasting outside of Israel. Around the time of independence, except for that done by the British-run Palestine Broadcasting Station, there was almost none. Second, especially among the smaller political/military groups, radio transmissions were a means of helping to create an identity: I broadcast, therefore I am. There seem to be three distinct phases to the development of clandestine radio in Palestine. First, the Haganah, Stern, and Irgun organizations started stations because they were struggling for both an identity and support among the Jewish population. They believed that in the environment of tightly British-controlled Palestine, clandestine radio was the only way of reaching a large number of people with the most powerful medium of the day. Second, as World War II ended and Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe headed toward Palestine in large numbers, the Irgun and Stern stations intensified their call for the British to leave so that a Jewish state could be created. Haganah broadcasts were almost always less strident than those of the other two groups because Haganah leaders saw their organization as being synonymous with the government and the legal broadcasting organization of the new Jewish state. Thus they took measures to be responsible, credible broadcasters. Third, just before and after the British officially departed, disagreements over political and military influence in the new state became airborne via these stations, especially since the Haganah clandestine operations had become the new broadcasting service of the Jewish state. There are no hard data addressing the impact of Jewish clandestine broadcasting during the British Palestine Mandate, but it is clear that the British were concerned about the broadcasts because they devoted a great deal of effort to stopping them. At times the Mandate authorities tried jamming the stations. They also utilized direction- finding equipment in an attempt to locate transmitter sites. Although largely unsuccessful in locating the stations, when they did they arrested, tried, and imprisoned those involved. By all accounts these efforts only strengthened the resolve of the three major broadcasting groups -- Irgun, Stern, and the Haganah -- to continue transmitting. Although no survey research was done to help assess the degree to which Palestine residents listened to these clandestine broadcasts, they were apparently well heard; otherwise Jewish organizations would not have gone to such great lengths to provide them. Largely forgotten except for those who remember hearing the broadcasts and those who made them possible, the clandestine broadcasts illustrate that groups of people with specific goals will use all means at their disposal to help achieve those goals. Although the effects of the broadcasts are admittedly open to speculation, the use of clandestine radio in Palestine appears to have been the first case of using underground broadcasting successfully to help achieve a goal -- the creation of a new state. Notes 1, I.S. Lockhart of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms that file FO371/68669 dealing with clandestine radio broadcasting in Palestine remains closed except for those "needing to consult [it] for very strictly defined official purposes." Lockhart was replying to an official request the author made to British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd on January 15, 1991, to open this record for my inspection (I.S. Lockhart, Library and Records Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, personal communication, January 6 and June 5, 1991). 2, There are many sources of information from different points of view detailing the historical, political, and military situation in Palestine between the end of World War I and the creation of Israel. The author suggests that interested readers start with the overview and recommended sources provided by a good encyclopedia. 3, For researchers, this situation was advantageous. Because official British government files on Palestine clandestine broadcasts are still closed to public inspection, those records of monitoring activity outside of Palestine were done in Cairo by an agency of the United States government, the Foreign Broadcast Information Bureau/Foreign Broadcast Information Service, which became part of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), created later in 1947. Because the broadcasts were shortwave, they could be heard with varying degrees of clarity in Egypt where FBIB/FBIS had a listening post. All references to clandestine stations in Palestine in the British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service Written Archives Section come from U.S. government sources. An article in the British Mandate approved by the League of Nations in 1922 called for the establishment of "an appropriate Jewish Agency" concerning Jewish affairs. It was, until the creation of Israel, the official body dealing with British authorities on matters related to the Jewish community in Palestine (Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, 1971, via Conexión Digital April 30 via DXLD) [remaining footnotes missing] WTFK??????? In this entire opus, not a single frequency is mentioned. Surely the author in extensive research must have come across numerous frequency citations, but apparently considered them irrelevant! (gh) ** MEXICO. XERMX-OC, RADIO MÉXICO INTERNACIONAL --- RESEÑA SOBRE SU DESMANTELAMIENTO EN LOS ÚLTIMOS MESES. Hola a todos: Respecto a la emisora XETEB-AM 920 kHz ``Radio Mar`` que se encuentra en el proceso de desincorporación como emisora del Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (IMER) y pase a manos del Gobierno del Estado de Campeche se encuentra actualmente sin transmitir (inactiva) el cual se encuentra en Tenabo, Campeche. Y respecto al terreno que quiere vender la directora Dolores Béistegui del Instituto Mexicano de la Radio, el cual se ubica en la Avenida Río Churubusco en la delegación Iztacalco en donde transmite la emisora XEMP-AM 710 kHz ``Radio 710``. Pero también en la misma ubicación transmite la emisora de Radio Formula XEAI-AM 1470 kHz ``Radio Formula, tercera cadena nacional``. En mi opinión al vender dicho terreno no se logrará algo; quizás alguien más esté involucrado en todo esto; pero lo único que está haciendo la directora es afectar al IMER al vender sus activos. Por otra parte, también del mismo IMER, respecto al desmantelamiento de Radio México Internacional, lo único que se puede saber son rumores acerca del uso del terreno en donde se encuentran las instalaciones de la planta transmisora de la emisora Radio México Internacional. Dichos rumores son: utilizar el edificio de los transmisores para guardar el archivo muerto y/o construir sobre el terreno un edificio para guardar el archivo muerto; Otra es trasladar la emisora XEQK-AM 1350 kHz ``La radio de los ciudadanos`` o la XEMP-AM 710 kHz ``Radio 710`` para que trasmita desde la planta transmisora de Radio México Internacional. (En la actualidad la emisora XEQK-AM trasmite desde la planta transmisora localizada en San Lorenzo Tezonco en donde también transmite XEB-AM 1220 kHz ``La B grande`` y XEDTL-AM 660 kHz ``Canela 660``); y otro rumor sería que vendieran el terreno de Radio México Internacional. En lo personal, nunca me imaginé vivir el cierre y el desmantelamiento de Radio México Internacional, por lo cual me gustaría que se pudiera luchar para revertir esta situación, ya que dicha emisora es la única emisora mexicana de onda corta que ha contado con su propia planta transmisora en los últimos 35 años y no es justo que acabe así ante la decisión de la directora del IMER, y también sobre el actual director de ingeniería a plantas transmisoras del IMER, al poder obtener beneficios al desmantelar a Radio México Internacional y allegarse de sus componentes para enviarlos a otra parte. Por todo lo anterior, con la ayuda de una persona que no voy a revelar su nombre, ya que esto causaría otros problemas para él principalmente al oponerse al desmantelamiento de la estación, se pudo conocer la situación que ha ocurrido después de que las autoridades de instituto decidieron cerrar la emisora, para lo cual les invito a que sean testigos mediante la visualización de fotografías sobre las instalaciones de la planta transmisora de la estación. La dirección de internet es la siguiente: http://mx.photos.yahoo.com/sistemadx/ Nota: para ver las fotografías hagan click en el logotipo del álbum y después en las imágenes. [25 slides] Al momento de que ustedes lean este mensaje quizás puede que ya no estén en pie las otras antenas de la emisora que quedaban. Me despido, no sin antes decirles que una vez más se pudiera crear un movimiento en contra del desmantelamiento de Radio México Internacional y no dejarles libre el camino para que la directora logre sus caprichos. Atentamente, (Roberto E. Gómez Morales, May 1, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non non]. MADAGASCAR, Radio Nederland. 11655 Time: 2010-2030 UT. Date: 04/22/2005. ``The Good Life`` program in English. Mentions of info technology followed by OM with news. Pips, TC, address and ID at 2030. Fair (Wood, TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) I keep seeing 11655 reported as Madagascar, but if you will consult http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/schedule050327.html?view=Standard rather than some outdated reference you will see that during this A- season 11655 is Flevo in English at 1800-2100 (the previous hour in Dutch at 1700 is really Madagascar) (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. RN Splatter from 15315 kHz Hi! I just stopped trying to listen to RCI's Maple Leaf Mailbag on 15325 kHz today (2005 UT 5/1/05) because it is almost entirely obliterated by splatter from Radio Netherlands Bonaire relay on 15315. Normally, every week I listen to this RCI transmission and interference is usually minimal. But today it was overwhelming. I seem to recall that there was a recent item, either here or in DXLD, about some severe interfering splatter from an RN signal from Bonaire and that Andy responded that he was surprised to hear of this since the techs at Bonaire have a good reputation of keeping such artifacts off the air. I agree; this is very unusual. But Andy, if you're reading this, please use RN's internal communications to let the Bonaire people know that there IS a serious problem. Something got away from them and is causing this wideband noise. If anyone else detects any other signal problems from Bonaire on the other frequencies being currently used or can elaborate on what this 15315 transmitter is doing in your reception area, please let us and RN know. Thanks! 73, (Will Martin, MO, May 1, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 15720, Radio New Zealand International, 0100-0200 SINPO 34343. News and at 0105 "Wayne's Music" this week playing 1920's and 1930's music. This is fabulous stuff and my wife and I have been having a blast listening to it. He's been playing this music all week; tonight the signal was the best yet; though weak and coming through with some atmospheric noise, it was very listenable. The music sound- quality was excellent. I really like this show and this station! (Lawrence H. Bulk, Mullica Hill, NJ, AOR AR7030 Plus and Wellbrook ALA 330S, NASWA Flashsheet May 1 via DXLD) ** PERU. 5264.96, LV de Chiriaco, Chiriaco, Imaza, Provincia Bagua. Reactivated this Sunday morning 1st of May. The signal was still there as late as 1200 UT when I finished listening. First religious music and then "normal" programming with Peruvian folklore. Is listed as "LV de Chiriaco" but the ID I heard was "Radio Chiriaco". I hope I will have the time to present the recording later today. Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. RADIO ST. HELENA QSL ARRIVES AFTER 5.5 YEARS! Saturday April 23, 2005 --- Sit yourself down, if you are not already so positioned. If you have any of that holiday brandy left that Aunt Gobstopper greases the goose with to tenderize the feathers, use your vise grip pliers to unscrew the cap and take a good snort. Once you stop hacking, coughing, gagging and fanning your tongue with a muffin fan you have hooked to your super charger to get extra rpm, who cares if the bearings are starting to smoke from friction due to the lubrication having evaporated, the armature is doing a melt down and it is starting to squeal like a Pig caught under the corn crib gate! In case you have not figured it out, that wasn't the brandy, rather Aunt Gob stopper poured some of her new experimental hot sauce in an empty bottle to hide it from the resident taste tester who eats everything in his path! You! Yes we are under a "Winter Storm Warning". I figured that before the mailbox vanished due to the 35+ mph north wind blowing the snow into huge drifts or the snowplow rumbled down the street and sucked up, chewed up and spit out the snow and mailboxes, that I would get the mail. Braving the blizzard, I struck out for the street. Hmmm. No snow was falling. The wind was about 8 mph and the driveway was wet. Hey, hold it! Now there is some snow, but it is melting. OOPS! Hey that spot was slicker than an electronic auction deal gone wrong! Got the mail and got back in the house, safe and shivering. Fired up the Compaq Prosario 133 MHZ machine and got ready to scan and read the mail. The first envelope looked like one of mine with the copyrighted logo on it, but it had more stamps than needed for the USA. I used my trusty pocket knife to slit it open a little and then used my index finger to complete the task. Inside was a two page letter and a QSL card. Radio St. Helena? A letter of apology from the new director and the other letter was the original one sent by Tony Leo that accompanied the QSL cards he managed to send. Based on the comments, it was not too many! It has been 5.5 years! I feel like I just won a major war or something comparable! All those letters, e-mails, phone calls and whatever else I did. Now, take a guess as to how many people sent in reception reports to get a QSL for that infamous last short-wave broadcast? I would never have gotten the QSL at all, had it not been for a Ham in Germany who is handling the search and rescue effort in conjunction with the new manager in St. Helena who is trying to make the best out of the sad situation he inherited. They deserve a lot of credit for their over the top efforts to make good on the QSL promises made and apparently mostly not kept. If you have not received your card, let me know and I will post all the contact info you need. I will scan the letter and send you a copy. This went by boat to the mainland. Which took about a week. Then was flown elsewhere and dropped off to begin the next leg of the long journey from St. Helena in the South Atlantic to Flint, Michigan, USA. Keep the envelope with stamps! You will 'NEVER' see them again! (Duane W8DBF Fischer, swl at qth.net via DXLD) But he digresses ** U S A [and non]. ARMED FORCES DAY ON-AIR EVENT SET FOR MAY 14-15 (May 1, 2005) --- The 2005 Armed Forces Day military\amateur crossband communications test will take place May 14-15. The US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual event in celebration of the 55th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, which is Saturday, May 21. The Armed Forces Day radio event is scheduled a week earlier to avoid conflicts with Dayton Hamvention, May 20-22. The annual Armed Forces Day on-the-air celebration features the traditional military-to-amateur crossband communications SSB voice test and the Secretary of Defense message-receiving test. QSL cards will be provided to those making contact with the military stations. Special commemorative certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives and copies the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense. Full details, including stations and frequencies, are on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/af-day/AF-Day-2005-SKED.pdf (ARRL main page via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Altho AP in 5-061 said the proposed ``two-month`` extension of DST would be from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in November, another AP story in the April 22 Tulsa World says it would be from the FIRST Sunday in March --- which really would be a 2-month extension. And if Europe stay with the last Sunday in March, that would make for a three- or even four-week Month of Confusion as far as SW seasonal scheduling! And what about Canada, which so far has correlated with what the US does with DST --- and to a lesser extent Mexico? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Odd reception --- I`m listening to WWCR on 1840.5 now, with a loop announcement, "Please stand by while we investigate technical difficulties...." (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, 0208 UT May 1, NRC-AM via DXLD) Here's what I'm hearing. About 10 seconds into the recording you'll hear me switch from the FT-857D to the Sony ICF-2010, then back. My friend Kurt is hearing this at his QTH just south of me on his TS440. Odd! http://www.vobbe.net/DX/WWCR_04302005_2215.mp3 (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, 0208 UT May 1, NRC-AM via DXLD) 1840 does not work out as a B-A mixing product among any of the four frequencies in use at that hour: 3210, 5070, 5935, 7465. You should have checked each of them for // audio. Altho 5070 minus 3210 would be close, at 1860 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For a mix at the WWCR transmitter to be real, it must go by the math. If this frequency readout is correct, then the mix may be in the receivers or other outside influences. I have lots of strong problems daytime with AM stations appearing as 2nd harmonic in my Kenwood TS- 870. They are not real. WWCR has a filter to eliminate any mixing in the 1.8 MHz range. The filter might have a problem. I will check it out on my receiver first. I have available a field strength meter and spectrum analyzer that can be brought to bear, if necessary (George McClintock, WWCR, ibid.) ** U S A. Re WBCQ late night unscheduled at 0430 4/27: This same program was re-broadcast Wednesday during the 2100 UT hour right before World of Radio aired on WBCQ at 2200 UT on 4/27/05 on 7415 kHz (Will Martin, MO, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. With all the talk about KFRC's recent demise, I decided to post a clip that I have of KFRC from the mid 80s. Some of you may have already heard it, especially those that are also on the AM Stereo lists and have been for a while. This clip I believe was recorded in the summer of 1984 on a Sony SRF-A100 in stereo and I think KRFC was running the Kahn system at the time. Anyways, some great memories. Download and enjoy! http://www.cajuncomp.com/sounds/kfrc.htm (Michael Richard in WY, ABDX via DXLD) 2:08 long ** U S A. 720, WGN, Chicago IL, 10 pm Sat. - 1 am Sun. "Online Tonight" show. Host said he read on a broadcast-engineering list the details of the WGN's hourly tones: 3 tones in 1. 880 Hz, 1108.73 Hz, 1318.51 Hz which are the following musical notes: A-natural, C-sharp, E-natural. 4/16? (Russell) 750, WSB, Atlanta GA (presumed) 1:10 am [EDT] 4/22 noticed hiss in background of WJR. Found similar hiss on other side of WSB. WSB must be running IBOC at night now. 11:35 pm 4/25 hiss in background of WJR, and 740 Toronto. These IBOC idiots are going to kill AM radio. I am sick of all the morons using bad technology to destroy almost everything I care about (Larry Russell, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. 1230, WODI, VA Brookneal. Heard the DX Test here in Maryland 5/1 0001-0020 EDT. Heard three iterations of the presumed loop tape which was several minutes long. The Morse code and sweep tones came through fine, although the first set was the weakest. Heard a man talking which could have been from WODI or from another station. In any event nothing was intelligible. My local WITH was mostly nulled, but of course presented some problem. Thank you for the fine test. This is a newie for me here (WJH-MD) (Bill Harms, Elkridge, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. La Familia Broadcasting el viernes pasado informó de la adquisición de dos emisoras AM en Cheyenne, WY, KJJL y KKWY fueron compraron [sic] a Christus Broadcasting, las dos emisoras se presumen trasmitirán su frecuencia en español. KJJL dejará de trasmitir el formato AC en inglés para iniciar con el trasmisor del formato regional mexicano como KJUA. Mientras que KKWY a su vez se cambia también al formato regional mexicano bajo las siglas KRND "La Grande" [1630 kHz]. La Familia en enero del 2005 llegó a este acuerdo de compra por la suma de $650,000 por ambas propiedades (http://www.radioalaire.com/noticias_temp58.php via Conexión Digital April 30 via DXLD) ** U S A. WRVG-LP (93.7), Georgetown, KY should hit the air sometime this weekend. It'll be a big 100 watts at 31 feet. WRVG-LP will be operated by Georgetown College. You may recall that the college used to operate WRVG (89.9) until they sold it to EMF (the K-Love people) after it ran into financial difficulties. WRVG-LP will feature a format similar to the old WRVG (all over the road AAA), but will be run mostly by students instead of professionals this time around. In this case LP-FM is a good thing, a perfect fit for Georgetown College. It should be fun to hear students at a real educational radio station (Girard Westerberg, http://www.DXFM.com Lexington, KY, April 29, WTFDA via DXLD) ** VATICAN. Hi Glen[n], Do any of your listeners/readers know the short wave frequencies/times of English/Italian programmes of Vatican Radio to Ireland? It seems much harder to pick it up here recently than heretofore. I e-mailed Vatican Radio but got no reply. Perhaps its another example of the retreat from short wave? Thanks, (Paul Guckian, Co Clare, Ireland, May 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmmm, seems that is one of the few remaining A05 schedules which have not reached us yet. It`s not easy to find SW schedules on the website, but here is the Europe-1 service, undated and let us hope current: http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/sched_eur1.asp and the Europe-2 service, eastern languages, including Rosary in unspecified language: http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/sched_eur2.asp Of course there is no reason why you could not also pick up VR transmissions to Asia/Oceania, Africa and America, linked at http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/palin_ing.asp (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn, regarding the comment about whether anyone has heard Jayapura recently, I heard a horribly overmodulated signal on 6069.21 on the 21st April which could just about have been an Indonesian. I managed to distinguish it from the Chilean on 6070 (Voz Cristiana) and thought I heard an Indonesian ID but the signal although good was very hard to understand because of the modulation. The time was 1046 UT. I have not tried since; not sure this has helped much. I used to hear Jayapura semi regularly on or about this frequency in the mid 90's when DXing from South Africa, best regards (David Norrie, Bucklands Beach, Auckland, New Zealand, AOR 7030, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9432, CLANDESTINE good 4/27 at 2352-0028 with talks in Af lang by two distinct YLs and one OM announcer; OM had distinctive West African accents and inflections; mentions of "democracy" and "Christian solidarity"; no ID at TOH; music break at 0020; then back to talks; vocal music at 0024-0028; abrupt off in middle of song; carrier off at 0030. PERHAPS part of the test transmission for Save The Gambia Democracy Project (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Well, that was scheduled only at 2000-2015 on 9430 for three days (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ ORIGIN OF 73 There are different versions about the origin of ``73``, so widely used in amateur radio communications, an abbreviation standing for ``All the very best.`` Louise Moreau, W3WRE, says that the traditional expression ``73`` goes right back to the beginning of the landline telegraph days. It is found in some of the earliest editions of the numerical codes, each with a different definition, but each with the same idea in mind --– it indicated that the end, or signature, was coming up. The first authentic use of 73 is in the publication The National Telegraphic Review and Operator's Guide, first published in April 1857. At that time, 73 meant ``My love to you!`` Curiously enough, some of the other numerals used then had the same definition as they have now, but within a short time, the use of 73 began to change. In The National Telegraph Convention, the numeral was changed from the Valentine-type sentiment to a vague sign of fraternalism. Here, 73 was a greeting, a friendly ``word`` between operators and it was so used on all wires. In 1859, the Western Union Company set up the standard ``92 Code.`` A list of numerals from one to 92 was compiled to indicate a series of prepared phrases for use by the operators on the wires. Here, in the 92 Code, 73 changes from a fraternal sign to a very flowery ``accept my compliments,`` which was in keeping with the florid language of that era, says Louise Moreau. Over the years from 1859 to 1900, the many manuals of telegraphy show variations of this meaning. By 1908, however, a later edition of the Dodge Manual gives us today's definition of ``best regards.`` Today, amateurs use it more in the manner a ``friendly word between operators.`` (via Dimiter Petrov, LZ1AF, R. Bulgaria DX program April 29 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONES +++++++++++++++++++ STATUS REPORT ON 1010-229 LONG DISTANCE DIAL AROUND CGC #681 reported on a new "dial around" long distance service that appeared to have reached the penny-a-minute barrier for overseas calling to Germany and several other countries, and two cents-a-minute to cities within the U.S. This is a status report on that service. On April 6 and 7, 2005, CGC placed six brief test calls to Palm Springs, Washington, D.C. (twice), Mexico City and Norway (twice). We wanted to see what charges would actually appear on our telephone bill as opposed to the word-of-mouth charges that we were led to believe would appear, and the voice announcement at the beginning of each call that said either "one cent per minute" for our foreign test calls, or "two cents per minute" for our domestic calls. The fees billed were as advertised except for the fact that a 20-cent per call connection fee appeared on our bill. This, however, is consistent with the fee posted on the company's web site (which we just discovered). Connection fees are common in the dial-around industry, and a 20-cent fee is pretty low in our book, so we'll use 1010-229 again, and probably regularly. Find about more about 1010-229 at the URL below. At page bottom, click on "For a complete overview of our rates, click here." Beware, some foreign countries have pretty high per- minute rates, but even higher rates may apply to other dial around services. http://www.1010229.com/index2.php (CGC Communicator, via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ WHERE TO FIND DISCUSSION OR REVIEWS OF ANALOG SW PORTABLES The best site I've found for radio reviews and discussions is RadioIntel.com. Go to http://www.radiointel.com They have a home page with all sorts of good radio news and pointers/ links to recent reviews and then a sub-heading with tons of reviews of all sorts of radios. I particularly recommend the comparative reviews of multiple small portables; there's several of those and analog models are included in some, in addition to stand-alone reviews of an assortment of analog models along with the many reviews of digital models. I find more info on the new Chinese models here than anywhere else. Note that if you print them out you usually have to do it in "landscape" mode. Re the reference to the Grundig S350 that was in a followup in this thread: First off, that's digital-readout of an analog-tuning circuit. Also, it is single-conversion and thus produces tons of images at odd frequencies in addition to the correct fundamental. It is physically a little large for a travel radio but it DOES have the reputation of having better sound than many other radios. It is available from Heartland America in a refurb version for $69.95; there is also a Tecsun-branded version (the original Chinese manufacturer) that is discussed at RadioIntel and which can be bought off eBay and such sources. Another dealer that handles an assortment of newer Chinese radios is radios4you.com and they do have the advantage of being a regular business instead of some of the dealers who sell via eBay, if that matters. There are a number of analog sets on their website: http://www.radios4you.com Hope this is of help! (Will Martin, MO, May 1, swprograms via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ US HOUSE RESOLUTION CALLS ON FCC TO EVALUATE BPL INTERFERENCE, REVIEW RULES http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/28/3/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 28, 2005 --- Rep Michael Ross, WD5DVR, of Arkansas, has introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives calling on the FCC to ``conduct a full and complete analysis`` of radio interference from broadband over power line (BPL). The resolution, H. Res 230 http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/filings/hres230/HRes230.pdf says the Commission should comprehensively evaluate BPL`s interference potential incorporating ``extensive public review and comment,`` and --- in light of that analysis --- to ``reconsider and review`` its new BPL rules http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-245A1.doc If approved by the full House, the non-binding resolution, introduced April 21, would express the requests as ``the sense of the House of Representatives.`` The FCC adopted rules to govern so-called Access BPL last October 14 in ET Docket 04-37. ``We are grateful to Congressman Ross and his staff for taking a leadership position in recognizing that the BPL interference issue deserves more careful consideration than the FCC was willing to give it under former Chairman Powell,`` said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. The resolution has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, on which Ross serves. The resolution`s prime focus is on BPL`s potential to disrupt critical public safety radiocommunication. It cites National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) studies that ``have determined that broadband over power line creates a ‘high risk` of radio wave interference, and that harmful interference to public safety mobile radio receivers can be expected at distances of 75 meters from the power line where broadband over power line is in operation, and at distances of up to 460 meters from fixed stations, such as VHF police or fire dispatch communications facilities.`` The resolution notes that the same NTIA study determined that BPL interference to aeronautical and airline travel communications ``could be expected at distances up to 40 kilometers from the center of the broadband over power line system, and that interference to outer marker beacons for airline instrument landing systems could be expected at great distances as well.`` Many public safety agencies and support services, including emergency medical services, fire, and law enforcement, utilize Low-Band VHF (30- 50 MHz), the resolution points out. Thirteen states --- California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming --- use the band for state police operations, while it`s the primary public safety radio band in nine states. The resolution further notes that the Association of Public Safety Officials Inc (APCO), and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), urged the FCC to withhold final action in the BPL proceeding for at least a year, pending a ``conclusive determination`` of BPL`s potential to interfere with public safety and other licensed radio systems operating below 80 MHz. It also cites comments filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which uses a statewide radio system with more than 1400 Low- Band VHF users. The Missouri State Highway Patrol commented that the overall effect of BPL implementation would be ``a potentially significant increase in interference to the mission of critical public safety communications,`` the resolution says. The resolution recounts that the FCC has struggled for years to resolve widespread harmful interference to the radiocommunications of first responders on 800 MHz and ``should not have proceeded with introduction of a technology which appears to have substantial potential to cause destructive interference to police, fire, emergency medical services, and other public safety radio systems`` without first conducting a comprehensive evaluation. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, has urged ARRL members to contact their US representatives to support the resolution when it reaches the floor of the House. A sample letter is available on the ARRL Web site, although members are encouraged to express their support in their own words. If you`re not sure who represents your congressional district, visit the United States House of Representatives Web site. To expedite delivery, send all correspondence bound for Members of Congress --- preferably as an attachment --- to hres230@arrl.org or fax it to 703-684-7594. The ARRL will bundle correspondence addressed to each Member of Congress for hand delivery. Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyg, Brock Whaley, DXLD) Ham radio fans promising poor reception for Net plan Power-line broadband bill's backers vow to address signal concerns 10:56 PM CDT on Friday, April 29, 2005 By SUDEEP REDDY / The Dallas Morning News Amateur radio operators are promising a battle with state officials over technology that lets electric companies use power lines for broadband Internet service. Legislation to allow deployment across Texas of broadband service over power lines, or BPL, passed the Senate Friday. It now heads to the House. Ham radio operators nationwide have sparred with utilities and other BPL proponents over concerns that interference between radio signals and the power-line Internet technology would doom both interests. BPL technology uses radio frequencies to transmit Internet signals over standard electricity wires, allowing consumers to plug a modem into an electrical outlet to get online. BPL proponents say the technology can give consumers more choices for Internet service and help reach some areas where other cable or DSL providers haven't gone. But ham radio operators say their radios wouldn't be able to communicate because of disruption from BPL signals. The amateur radio operators often use their devices as backup communications to assist emergency crews during disasters, most recently in the Asian tsunami and Florida hurricanes. "Broadband over power lines would prohibit those signals from getting out," said Branden Williams, a ham radio operator in Flower Mound. Despite pledges that new technology would be different, "we haven't seen it deployed to where it actually resolves these problems," he said. "Every single pilot to date has interfered." A North Texas task force of the National Association for Amateur Radio battled TXU Energy for the last year when the deregulated arm of TXU Corp. conducted a pilot program in Irving. The group's leaders are turning to House members to block the latest legislation. How it would work If it's approved, TXU Electric Delivery --- a regulated utility --- would contract with outside providers that could sell the Internet service directly to consumers. The utility would buy bandwidth from the provider to enhance its own electricity-distribution and grid-management services. TXU plans to work with its BPL operators and other experts "to make sure the final implementation fits within all state and federal guidelines," spokesman Drew Douglas said. "We're hopeful that any technology that's out there won't have any problems along those lines," he said. The legislation's author, Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said Friday that utility officials have assured lawmakers that the technology wouldn't interfere with other services. 'Evolving technology' The Texas Public Utility Commission, which regulates the state telecommunications and electricity industries, could address any problems, he said. "I don't think an investor is going to want to put his money into something that is going to be such a problem that it won't go forward," said Mr. Fraser, who chairs the Senate committee that passed the legislation last week. As an "evolving technology," BPL needs more pilot tests to develop further, he said. In a test just six months ago, he said, it appeared the technology wouldn't work. "If it is a problem, then obviously we've got to address that," Mr. Fraser said. "But so far I haven't seen any indication that it is a problem. I'm still optimistic that this will work out." (via Bill Smith, DXLD) BPL IN AUSTRALIA, PUBLIC COMMENTS CALLED FOR This affects everyone and should be downloaded and read If you wish to respond the deadline is 24th June 2005 There is a link to ACA BPL website at bottom of this page cheers, John Smith, Brisbane ORIGINAL ACA EMAIL: The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) has called for public comment on possible ways to manage interference from Broadband over Power Line (BPL) communications. BPL communications is an emerging technology that uses electricity networks to transmit data, voice and video. The challenge for the ACA is to establish arrangements that did not unnecessarily inhibit BPL deployments and protected radiocommunications services from unacceptable interference. The paper contains a range of options that could be used to manage interference from BPL systems and will assist interested parties prepare their submissions. Using the electricity network to carry BPL signals will result in leakage of radiofrequency emission into the surrounding environment. This could interfere with radiocommunications services. Interference could potentially affect defence operations, shortwave broadcasting, maritime and aeronautical communications, radio astronomy, amateur radio and numerous short range applications Submissions and comments on the options in the discussion paper would assist the ACA to develop arrangements to manage interference from BPL communications systems. A copy of the discussion paper can be found on the ACA website: http://internet.aca.gov.au/ACAINTER.65650:STANDARD:1015363634:pc=PC_2845 (via John Smith, ARDXC via DXLD) ###