DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-094, June 7, 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 1276: 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 1276 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1276h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1276h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1276 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1276.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1276.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1276.html WORLD OF RADIO 1276 in true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3 (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_06-01-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_06-01-05.mp3 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1277: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 ON DEMAND: from late UT Wednesday, change 1276 above to 1277 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-05 SUMMARY is finally available: http://www.worldofradio.com/com0505.html ** AUSTRALIA. ARDS 5050 kHz + medium wave --- G'Day List, I had an interesting conversation with Dale Cheesson in Nhulunbuy about the ARDS, Aboriginal Resource Development Service. He stated that on May 26th the shortwave facility at Humpty Doo was returned to broadcasting 24 hours a day on 5050 kHz. They had to effect repairs to the antenna system. The main problem was a faulty balun causing mismatching of the old DCA AM20 transmitter. It is now back and running at 400 watts with a clean signal. Dale went on to say that the ARDS had put considerable work into gaining 4 NAS licences (X-Band stations) which have never been commissioned. They are now not likely to proceed with these as the ABA has given them the go ahead to use frequencies 'in band' at higher power. The Darwin Facility at Parap (co-sited with the ABC) is currently running on 1530 kHz with 400 watts but they hope to be granted an increase in two months to 2000 watts. The Nhulunbuy facility on 1530 kHz is running at 400 watts. Dale indicated that due to considerable amount of bauxite in the ground around the 'top end' of the territory poor ground wave signals are obtained due to its insulation properties. Darwin is in an iron stone area however and the Darwin facility uses an new earth mat installed by the ABC. The ground wave of the Darwin facility travels further than the Nhulunbuy facility. Both use quarter-wave top-loaded sticks. Further plans are: Nhulunbuy is to move to 1503 kHz shortly, 1476 is to be used instead of 1566 kHz at Elcho Island and 1593 is to be used at Ramingining both with 1000 watts. The ARDS also uses channel 28 of the Optus 'Aurora' platform which has an Australia wide foot print. No smart card is required to receive this service. 10 low power FM narrowcast services are also located in their broadcast area which are fed off the Optus C1 satellite. Dale Cheesson said that he verifies reception reports with a detailed letter and that their web site would be updated to show the 5050 kHz service was back on http://www.ards.com.au/broadcast.htm Map of broadcast area http://www.ards.com.au/radio_satellite.htm 'Aurora' platform info. Cheers (Chris Martin, Australia, June 7, ARDXC via DXLD) ** CHINA. Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary recording: see USA: VOA Talk to America ** COLOMBIA. Inactiva desde hace una semana y media Radio Líder en los 6139.77 kHz. Radio Habana Cuba le hace mucha interferencia por las noches (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR [and non]. Listening to the June 3 VOA Talk to America, 5985 was mentioned as a frequency to hear the DRC --- no, that`s the other Congo, the one with Brazzaville as capital. Just the latest instance of confusing these two neighboring countries with almost the same name. Pity the DRC gave up its distinctive former name, Zaïre, but we DXers should be able to keep them straight (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. 9925 kHz, La Voz de Croacia, en español desde las 2230 con Boletín de noticias hasta las 2255 horas UT. Calidad de recepción de buena a regular (Dino Bloise, Florida, EEUU, June 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) vía Alemania ** CUBA. DOS [sic] NUEVOS CONCURSOS EN RADIO HABANA CUBA El programa "Amigos de Cuba" convoca a todos los radioyentes a participar en un Concurso en ocasión de celebrarse el Primero de Mayo del 2006 el Aniversario 45 de la fundación de Radio Habana Cuba. Los interesados deben responder la siguiente pregunta: ¿En el plano personal, qué satisfacciones le ha proporcionado formar parte de la gran familia internacional de Radio Habana Cuba? Se entregarán 10 primeros premios consistentes en obras de la literatura cubana, discos compactos con la obra y el pensamiento de José Martí y otros obsequios. El plazo de admisión cierra el 31 de diciembre del 2006. La correspondencia deberá dirigirse a Programa "Amigos de Cuba" RADIO HABANA CUBA AP 6240 La Habana, Cuba Fax: 537 870 5810 E-mail: radiohc @ enet.cu Participe en el Concurso y festeje así junto al colectivo de la emisora el Aniversario 45 de RADIO HABANA CUBA, la voz de amistad que recorre el mundo (via Hugo Longhi, Rosario, Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina via Horacio A. Nigro, Uruguay, Conexión Digital June 4 via DXLD) ** CUBA. 9550, Radio Habana Cuba; 1438+ GMT 7 June, just running a huge open carrier, finally gone a little before 1500. Power to flush Fidel's toilets diverted? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1500* normal sign-off ** CYPRUS NORTHERN. Zypern: Wie Beobachtungen vor Ort ergaben, ist Bayrak International dort auf UKW und sehr schwach auch auf 6150 kHz zu hören. ``Deutsche Sendungen kamen stets von 05.00-06.00 UTC mit verschiedenen Inhalten wie einfachen Musiktitelansagen bis hin zu Kochrezepten und handfester Propaganda gegen den griechischen Teil Zyperns. Nachmittags wurde nochmal ein kurzer Russischblock gegen 15.10 UTC ausgestrahlt. Im Anschluss kam von 15.15-15.20 UTC ein kurzes deutsches Nachrichtenmagazin ebenfalls mit deftiger Propaganda gegen die griechischen Zyprioten. Danach verabschiedete man sich bis morgen früh`.`` (Thomas Lindenthal 14.5.2005 via Chr. Ratzer ADX bzw. Wg. Büschel BCDX via NTT Aktuell June 5 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Al parecer, Radio Quito se reactivó este 05/06, para transmitir el partido de fútbol entre Ecuador y Argentina. Escuchada a las 0301 UT, en los 4919.9 kHz, con SINPO 33322. Histórica derrota propinada a Argentina por la oncena de la mitad del mundo. Emitía música romántica para el momento (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. ETHIOPIA CANCELS ACCREDITATION OF VOA, DW REPORTERS | Text of report by Ethiopian TV on 7 June The Ministry of Information has said it has revoked licences of journalists working with the Voice of America [VOA] and Deutsche Welle [DW] radios engaged in illegal journalistic activities. The Ministry of Information this evening told the Ethiopian News Agency that it had revoked the permanent accreditation licences of five journalists working for the VOA and DW radios, as of today. The ministry said their licences were revoked after a probe, citing the unbalanced reports they had been filing following the 15 May election. The government, therefore, warns the [five] journalists that if they are found filing any report after today they will be answerable before the law. The government further warned it would take similar action in future if journalists are found filing false and unbalanced reports. Source: Ethiopian TV, Addis Ababa, in Amharic 1700 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GOA. (India) 7250, AIR-Panaji, full data ``Arjuna`s Penance`` card from New Delhi with usual v/s: Y. K. Sharma, Director (Spectrum Management & Synergy), email: spectrum-manager @ air.org.in in 11 weeks after receiving my ``almost a QSL`` letter directly from Goa, indicating they would send my report on to New Delhi for verification (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE [non?]. Nice Greek song--"Now That You Are Leaving." TORA POU THA FYGIS http://www.greekmidi.com/songs/kouyioumtzis/torapouthafygis.html (JOHN BABBIS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also says ``Listen to my web radio station with classic Greek oldies`` with Live365 link (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY [non]. Ancora su Radio Maria --- Chiaramente non c'entra assolutamente nulla, ma la frequenza dei 26000 kHz mi ricordava qualcosa: infatti è già stata utilizzata alla fine dello scorso anno per altri test, dalla Germania: ``GERMANY. 26000 kHz AM at 1120z, Deutsche Telekom test transmission. Seems to be beating with another carrier so hard to make out the contents of the test tape. Seems to be a dual language (German/ English) tape loop giving station contact details. Regards (Alan Lennon, Near Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dec 14, WUN mailing list via Harald Kuhl, A-DX, via Rudolf Grimm, radioescutas yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1257, DXLD`` (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. TURKISH TV: REBEL KURD GROUP RUNS RADIO STATION IN NORTH IRAQ | Text of report by Turkish TRT 1 television on 7 June The PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] terrorist organization continues to be active especially in north Iraq. The terrorist organization is opening bureaus under different names in cities such as Arbil, Dahuk, al-Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk. The separatist terrorist organization PKK stepped up its activities especially in north Iraq following the US occupation of Iraq. Despite Turkey's warnings, the PKK is maintaining its presence in the region. It is opening bureaus under a variety of names in cities such as Arbil, Dahuk, al-Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk. The terrorist organization has a pro-PKK radio broadcasting station in the Turkoman city of Kirkuk. A piece of cloth symbolizing the terrorist organization hangs on the building that houses the Velad radio. The organization carries out its activities in other parts of north Iraq under the name of the Democratic Solution Party. Organization members are being settled in buildings vacated by the Arab population especially in Kirkuk and Arbil. Also, there are some 3,500 terrorists on Kandil mountain, in north Iraq. Source: TRT 1 television, Ankara, in Turkish 1600 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. I heard ESPN programming on "The Mighty Ten-Ninety" on 1700 this morning. Is XEPE now simulcasting XEPRS? -- (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, NM (DM65uv), June 3, Corazón DX via DXLD) Yes - They randomly switch back and forth between relaying XHBCE-105.7 "La Pantera" and XEPRS-1090 "The mighty 10-90" (XEPRS leases time on XEPE to get better coverage for Padres games). (Tim Hall, CA, ibid.) ** MEXICO. Otra emisora más en la Ciudad de México, ahora es 99.3 XHPOP "Digital 99" que despliega el siguiente texto RDS [DIGITAL] Les paso la lista de las emisoras en el DF que transmiten su señal RDS 88.1 XHRED Radio Red FM RDS [RADIORED] 88.9 XHM 88.9 Noticias RDS [88.9 NOT] 90.5 XEDA-FM Radio Imagen RDS [IMAGEN] 91.3 XHFAJ Alfa 91.3 RDS [ALFA91.3] 92.1 XHFO Universal Stereo RDS [UNIVERSL] 92.9 XEQ-FM La Ke Buena RDS [KE BUENA] 93.7 XEJP-FM Stereo Joya RDS [JOYA] 96.1 XEUN-FM Radio UNAM RDS [R.UNAM] 96.9 XEW-FM W Radio 96.9 RDS [W RADIO] 97.7 XERC-FM Stereo 97-7 RDS [97.7 FM] 98.5 XHDL Reporte 98.5 RDS [REPORTE] 99.3 XHPOP Digital 99 RDS [DIGITAL] 100.1 XHMM Stereo Cien RDS [STEREO] [CIEN] 101.7 XEX-FM Los 40 Principales RDS [LOS 40] 102.5 XHMVS MVS 102.5 / Monitor MVS ST RDS [MVS 102.5] 103.3 XERFR-FM Radio Fórmula FM 103 RDS [RFORMULA] 104.1 XEDF-FM Radio Uno RDS [RFORMULA] 104.9 XHEXA Exa - FM RDS [EXA FM] En Querétaro, Querétaro hay dos emisoras 94.7 XHOZ Exa 94.7 RDS [EXA FM] 95.5 XHOE Kiss FM RDS [KISS FM] En Poza Rica, Veracruz: 101.9 XHTXA EXA FM RDS [EXA FM 101.9 EN TODAS PARTES...] En Morelia, Michoacán: 96.3 XHCR Stereo Mía RDS [ST MIA] Saludos (Héctor García Bojorge, June 7, condiglist via DXLD) ** NEPAL. BANNED NEPAL FM BROADCASTERS TO READ OUT NEWS ON STREETS | Text of report by Nepalese Kantipur Television on 7 June FM radio broadcasters who have been banned from broadcasting news on their stations are taking their protest programmes a little further. The FM radio broadcasters are to take to the streets to read the news. Under the second phase of their protests, the independent "Save Radio" group is to go out on the streets and read the news to the public, including news about the coming visit of the king to Qatar, as well as satirical programmes. Speaking at a press conference in the capital, FM broadcasters said the government had ignored the demands put forward by the broadcasters during the first phase of their protest programme and now they have been compelled to take their next step. Source: Kantipur Television, Kathmandu, in Nepali 1315 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via DXLD) NEWS 'BROADCAST' OVER LOUDSPEAKERS TO COUNTER FM BAN | Text of report by Nepalese newspaper The Kathmandu Post on 6 June Biratnagar, 6 June - Protesting against the government's ban on news broadcast over FM radio stations, journalists here have begun reading news from loudspeakers. Radio journalists started reading news related to the protests of the political parties and journalists, among other various informative reports, for 15 minutes from 6 pm, Sunday [5 June] evening. "We have plans to continuously announce the news via the loudspeaker, which has been put up at the office premises of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in the city," said Dharma Raj Dhakal, a radio journalist. According to Bikram Luitel, representative of Communication Corner to which the government issued shut down orders recently, they would regularly read such news through loudspeakers. On Sunday's 15-minute-long programme, they read news about journalists' protest rallies, mass meetings and various other protest programmes. President of FNJ's Biratnagar branch Shiva Bahadur Karki was also interviewed during the news programme. Local citizens were seen listening keenly to the news that otherwise would not reach them via the media. Source: The Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, in English 6 June 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) Seems to me Nepal is ripe for some surrogate SW services from outside, preferably not from the Maoists. Where are they? (gh, DXLD) NEPAL SUPREME COURT REVOKES CLOSURE OF NEWS PROGRAMME DISTRIBUTOR | Text of report by Nepalese Kantipur Television on 7 June The Supreme Court has issued an interim order on the government not to close the Communication Corner, which it had directed to be closed more than 10 days ago. The Ministry of Information and Communication issued orders closing down Communication Corner more than a week and a half ago. Hearing the writ petition filed by the managing director of Communication Corner, Gopal Guragain, against the government's decision, the Supreme Court said the Corner could not be closed down on the basis of a letter signed by the divisional head of a government department. In its verdict, the apex court also called on the government to allow Communication Corner to conduct its operations. Communication Corner had been producing and distributing news and information-related programmes for FM radio broadcasters around the country. Source: Kantipur Television, Kathmandu, in Nepali 1315 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RADIO NETHERLANDS DRM TRANSMISSIONS GREATLY INCREASED DRM transmissions by Radio Netherlands from the Nozema Services transmission site on Flevoland have increased this season by almost seven hours per day. At present, DRM transmissions in Dutch total 6 hours 45 minutes daily, and English two and a half hours daily. In the summer of 2004 these were respectively one hour and two and a half hours. Radio Netherlands Director-General and DRM Vice-President Jan Hoek says "Radio Netherlands has been involved as a founder member and participant from the design phase up to the current phase." DRM offers an enormous improvement with respect to the analogue sound quality, and approaches FM quality. That is a major advantage for our listeners. Moreover, DRM technology brings with it lower distribution costs for our organisation. DRM therefore gives a new pulse gives to the frequencies under 30 MHz. Rob Timmermans, General Director Nozema Services: "Nozema Services work continuously using the newest technology, to offer our customers the best possible service. Digital radio on the basis of DRM is a beautiful example of that. With DRM we combine the advantages (digitally) of better sound with the large reach of our mediumwave and shortwave transmitters. Also with DRM, fading of the signals becomes a thing of the past. From the Flevoland transmitter site, Radio Canada International, Vatican Radio and Radio Sweden also transmit in DRM. These broadcasts are received in central Europe, including the south of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Slovenia. The first DRM consumer receivers are expected on the market in the autumn. Further information on DRM appears on http://www.drm.org # posted by Andy @ 14:45 UT June 7 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Glenn, I just got back from Kauai. While there, I listened to Radio New Zealand and one morning I heard their tuning signal and it played for about 5 minutes or less. Well what really surprised me was 4 Cardinals showed up on the deck of the place we were staying and did not leave until the tuning signal was over. Take care, (Bruce MacGibbon, OR, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bell bird The following has been passed to me by Adrian Sainsbury, RNZI who is looking for new RNZI monitors as mentioned below. Please contact Adrian at the RNZI email or postal address listed below (Mark Nicholls, Editor, New Zealand DX Times, New Zealand Radio DX League http://radiodx.com/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: RNZI is looking for DX listeners in any of the Pacific Islands right out to the Pacific rim to monitor and report on RNZI transmissions. We are especially interested in finding enthusiasts who will assist us with reporting on the new digital technology [DRM] transmissions beginning later this year. In exchange for this service a DRM receiver will be supplied at no cost. For further information please contact: Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, PO Box 123, Radio New Zealand International, WELLINGTON email: asainsbury @ radionz.co.nz (via Nicholls, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. KCCU TO BROADCAST OKLAHOMA SUMMER ARTS INSTITUTE CONCERT KCCU will broadcast a special evening of classical music featuring Oklahoma students and faculty of the 2004 Summer Arts Institute. KCCU, Cameron University`s public radio station, is heard in the Lawton-Fort Sill area on 89.3 & 102.9 FM. The concert can be heard on Sunday, June 12 at 10 am and again that evening at 7 pm [CDT = 1500 & 2400 UT]. The show is hosted by KCCU Peter Burke who also produced the OSAI radio broadcast in 2003. The program will feature musical selections from last year`s concert series presented by the Oklahoma Arts Institute. The program will highlight music conducted by Apo Hsu from the National Taiwan Normal University, Dr. Richard Prior of Emory University, and nationally recognized choir conductors Jeffrey Redding and Dr. Scott Anderson. ``There are many talented students from this area who participate with the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute (OSAI) and we are excited to bring listeners this compelling and energetic performance,`` said KCCU Program Director Michael Leal. Selections during the two hour concert will include: Gioacchino Rossini`s ``Overture from The Barber of Seville``; ``Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra in F minor`` by Samuel Barber and ``Bolero`` by Maurice Ravel. The program will also have several selections from the Institute Choir including the Requiem from Antonio Vivaldi, featuring guest artist Leona Mitchell. KCCU listeners can also hear the June 12 broadcast on 90.3FM in Ardmore, Oklahoma; 90.1FM in Altus, Oklahoma; 89.1FM in Clinton- Weatherford-Elk City, Oklahoma; 1001.1FM in Chickasha, Oklahoma; 88.7FM in Wichita Falls, Texas and through the internet at: www.kccu.org This special radio concert is made possible by the contributing member-listeners of KCCU Radio, and the Oklahoma Arts Institute. This year`s OSAI will be held from June 11-26 at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Arts Institute is a two-week residential school providing professional training to Oklahoma`s artistically talented high school students. The 275 students selected for the highly competitive program receive intense study in the visual, literary and performing arts with world- renowned faculty artists. OSAI staff encourages the public to attend one of the free public performances during this year`s Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain: Friday, June 17 at 8pm, the OSAI Choir, conducted by Lynn Gackle; Saturday, June 18 at 8pm, the OSAI Orchestra, conducted by David Cho; Friday, June 24 at 8pm, the OSAI Ballet, Modern Dance, and Acting students; Saturday, June 25 at 8pm, the OSAI Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Timothy Russell. All concerts will be held in the Twin Peaks Performance Hall. After the first three events, the Quarts Mountain Jazz Band will perform outside the hall. Founded in 1989, KCCU has a growing audience of more than 40,000 listeners in the Texhoma area. A non-profit service of Cameron University, KCCU, an affiliate of National Public Radio and Public Radio International, is the only station in this area with a 24-hour news and classical music format. The Oklahoma Arts Institute was created in 1976 as a private, non- profit corporation dedicated to providing an educational program of excellence in the arts for young people. The Arts Institute`s purpose is to develop artists and arts audiences across the state and the region, improving the quality of life for all Oklahomans. Quartz Mountain, in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, has been the home of the Oklahoma Arts Institute Program since 1978. Offering a rare combination of exceptional facilities and magnificent natural surroundings, Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center is the ideal setting for the study of the arts (Tammie Burton, KCCU June 7 via DXLD) + webcast ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7120, Wantok Radio. After seeing the postings of others, tried for them on [May] the 25th with marginal signal at 1143+ with religious music, few announcements. Did manage to catch some sort of ID in Pidgin at 1153. May 28th 1208-1303, with an s2-s4 signal from tune-in, heard a program similar to 'Unshackled", with a narration of men's troubled life. Noted a program ID for 'Prophecy for Light' with a Chicago address and website at 1227. 1232 Female speaker with a time check, in English, gave a positive station ID as 'you are tuned to sound of Wantok Radio' (Signal peaking after local sunrise at 1128). Rest of program was religious hymn music. 1247 another time check, gave the song titles, another ID for 'Wantok Radio' followed with more hymn selections to 1300, pause, into another religious feature. Readability was 80% or better, but CW traffic made copy rough at times. QRM from RTI/Taiwan was noted after 1300 from 7130. May 29, 1326-1402, with much better signal (even at this late hour) with hymn choir music, to 1331, female speaker with comments, station ID, program notes, then mention something about it being 50 degrees. Another announcement at 1336 mentioned about a conference being held, the proceeds (money) being donated, with performance held afterwards. More hymn music followed to 1350 with the female announcer (in English) with hymn song titles, gave a time check for 'ten minutes to the hour', ID for 'Wantok Radio, the light on short wave, if you are listening, write to us'. This was followed with more hymn selections, to 1401 into a scriptures program with narration. The signal was quite good, with no interference. At this hour, which was almost hour and half past local sun rise; the signal was still a good s2-s4 level at times. Reception was best heard on a my western 3/4 wave sloper cut for 1700 kHz, which is pointed towards to Australia / Papua New Guinea / Indonesia, with audio best on the Drake R8A. This signal should make it quite well towards Eastern Coast, even at this hour, during the winter months (Edward Kusalik-Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [delayed via hotmail which I rarely check; please use only my yahoo address --- gh] ** PARAGUAY. I have been listening to R. Nacional every morning for the past week, best on 9736 to avoid interference from 9740 (BBC?) on YB400 with 35' outdoor antenna, from approx. 1030 tune in to 1115 fadeout. IDs on the hour and at :30, mostly music selections with a good signal (Greg Neide, Euclid, OH (suburban east side Cleveland), June 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOICE OF RUSSIA WHAT`S NEW http://www.vor.ru/English/Exclusives/what_new.html FOLK BOX for June 13th (June 13 – 18). You sure will not want to miss this edition of our weekly FOLK BOX! A Story Of Kisses sounds so delicious a topic! Indeed, different folklores abound in kiss-me songs to the extent that it may turn you crazy. And in addition – games and even shows where a kiss is a major drive. See for yourselves! Do tune in on Monday at 1430, Tuesday 0130 and 0730, Thursday 0430, 0830, 1530 and 2030, Friday 1730 and Saturday 0630 UT (via John Norfolk, dxldyg) Add one sesquiminute to those times (gh) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIA TO LAUNCH ENGLISH-LANGUAGE 24-HOUR NEWS CHANNEL BY YEAR'S END Russia Today, a new television news channel set up by the RIA-Novosti news agency with government backing, hopes to go on the air by the end of this year, RIA itself reported on 7 June. Its director is Margareta Simonyan, hitherto Kremlin correspondent for RTR Russia TV and just 26 years old. The new station will broadcast 24 hours a day in English, devoting about 70 per cent of its airtime to foreign news. It aims to become "a kind of Russian BBC", Simonyan said. "We don't want to change the professional format established by the likes of the BBC, CNN and Euronews," she told RIA.. "We do want to reflect Russia's opinion on the world, so that Russia has a higher profile." But this would be a balanced and broad opinion: "Editorial policy will be to reflect all the views on the issues," Simonyan said. "My position is that our presenters should not have opinions. Their job is to present." Initially it will have only four bureaux, in Brussels, Washington, London and Jerusalem, and use stringers and freelancers elsewhere. Talks are under way for satellite and cable slots. Russia Today will be partly funded by the state, according to the head of the Federal Agency for the Press and Mass Communications, Mikhail Seslavinskiy. "The company will operate independently and be editorially independent," he said, adding: "Creating a TV station like this without state assistance is nigh on impossible, but that does not mean that the state will always be present." The Kremlin and government approve of the project but will not interfere, Seslavinskiy said: "Obviously, they are not going to be involved in the editorial process. I can't imagine someone behind the scenes sitting with scripts in English and crossing out parts with a red pencil and telling them what to say, it's completely out of the question." The station's budget to the end of the year is 30m dollars, Seslavinskiy added. He named three sources: money from his Federal Agency, unspecified grants, and the station's own commercial revenues including from advertising. Simonyan, however, was ambivalent about advertising. Russia Today might decline to carry it and hoped that Russian state TV and other channels and also the ITAR-TASS and Interfax news agencies might join the project. This year's budget of 30m dollars is "mostly public money", Simonyan was quoted as saying in an Interfax report. Sources: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0720, 0734, 0746, 0748, 0806, 0808, 0811 and 0823 gmt 7 Jun 05; Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0906 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) NEW RUSSIAN 24-HOUR CHANNEL WILL FOCUS ON INFORMATION, BE UNBIASED - EDITOR | Text of report by Russian Ekho Moskvy radio on 7 June [Presenter] A new television channel has been set up in Russia. It is called Russia Today and will broadcast in English. The channel has received full state support. Its founder is RIA Novosti news agency. The channel will be financed from the state budget. The channel, as many believe, is aimed to create Russia's positive image abroad. The new channel's editor in chief, Margarita Simonyan, says that Russia Today will carry only information. She says the channel intends not to assess events but just to report them. [Margarita Simonyan] We are talking about information, about what a news channel presenter does. The presenter reports something that happened, he does not say whether it was good or bad. There will be sections and within news bulletins there will be comment, where people, experts, people who are in the know, politicians will express their opinion. We expect that there will be many opinions and they will be different. But still, most of them will be opinions from Russia. Opinions from Russia are also different, but they are from Russia. This is exactly what we need: to deliver an opinion of a cross section of Russian society to the West. I am sure that we can and will be unbiased. [Presenter] The new channel's budget for this year alone will be about 30m dollars. Russia Today is expected to come on air closer to the end of the year. Source: Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian 1000 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) OPPOSITION FIGURE MOCKS NEW RUSSIAN TV CHANNEL | Text of report by Russian news agency Ekho Moskvy on 7 June [No dateline, as received] The head of the Civil Liberties Fund Aleksandr Goldfarb is positive about the creation of a "special propaganda TV channel explaining the Russian policy to the West". "As a man who has been explaining the events in Russia to the West for many years, I can only support this step. It is better to see once than to hear 100 times," Goldfarb told Ekho Moskvy radio commenting on plans to set up the Russia Today global English-language news channel. "The best way to explain to the people what is going on in Chechnya is to show [pro-Moscow Chechen President Alu] Alkhanov and [Chechen security chief Ramzan] Kadyrov on TV and translate their remarks into English. The best way to tell the people what is happening in Russian courts is to show [Russian Prosecutor-General Vladimir] Ustinov," he said. "The more [Kremlin unofficial adviser] Gleb Pavlovskiy will talk to foreigners about democracy, [journalist] Mikhail Leontyev about great Russia, [political analyst] Sergey Markov about civil society, [Putin's human rights aide] Ella Pamfilova about people's rights, [FSB chief Nikolay] Patrushev about people's duties, [conservative philosopher Aleksandr] Dugin about spiritual values and [political expert Stanislav] Belkovskiy about Kremlin secrets, the better. Not everybody in the West have believed us yet, but they will believe us after seeing these people," he said. Source: Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0949 gmt 7 Jun 05 (via DXLD) RUSSIA TODAY TV CHANNEL MAY NOT BROADCAST ADS IN FUTURE The English language TV channel, Russia Today, which was recently introduced by RIA Novosti, may be able to broadcast ad-free in the future, the agency's general director Svetlana Mironyuk said today. She referred to the experience of other global TV channels that stopped broadcasting ads and found that this raised the public status of their channels. "We want the new channel to have a high status and hope that it will in some ways be corrected or directed by the public," Mironyuk said. She said consultations are underway with well-known public figures and artists with the aim of enlisting their participation in the channel's public council. Mironyuk also spoke about consultations with the ITAR- TASS and Interfax agencies with regard to including them in the project. Head of the project Margarita Simonyan said she hoped for assistance from the VGTRK (Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company) and other Russian TV channels. Simonyan said by the end of the year when broadcasting begins, the channel would have four correspondent offices - Brussels, Washington, London, and Jerusalem. In addition, a stringer network will be created, and Russia Today will receive video clips from leading global TV channels. At the RIA Novosti presentation of the new TV channel, Mikhail Seslavinsky, head of Russia's Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, said Russia Today would be an independent company. He said the presidential administration and the government know about the new TV channel. "But they will have nothing to do with editing - this is out of the question," he said. The new channel will, to a certain extent, rival Western news channels. Source: RIA Novosti http://en.rian.ru/ # posted by Andy @ 13:57 UT June 7 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. Re 5-093, Saint FM --- first time I tried, could not get to website, but June 7 at 1732 UT I did; from program schedule page http://www.saint.fm/schedule.htm --- Saint FM News Bulletins: Weekdays – MONDAY TO FRIDAY Local News: 7 and 9 am, 12 noon, 2, 4, 7 & 9:30 pm International News: 8 and 10 am Weekends SATURDAY & SUNDAY Local News: 12 noon and 7 pm Local time = UT. Webcast requires Abacast plugin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Happy 400th birthday to Don Quixote, says REE, in their Idioma Sin Fronteras show, June 7 at 1321 on 17595. Then went on to quote a passage from Cervantes for a few minutes in somewhat archaic Castilian. This frequency (direct) makes it thru when other Europeans do not, and in fact on this occasion it was unusually stronger than Chile on 17680 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. Jammer en Radio España Independiente - Memória Estimado Glenn, Memória --- Radio España Independiente "La Estación Pirenaica" foi uma das mais famosas emissora clandestinas do passado. Sua fundadora e primeira diretora foi Dolores Ibárruri, la 'Pasionaria', lendária dirigente comunista do Partido Comunista Espanhol. A emissora transmitiu programas contrários ao regime de franquista de de 22 de Julho de 1941 a 14 de julho de 1977. Existiram diversas lendas sobre a localização de seus transmisores; muitos acreditavam que estivessem nos Pirineus, região montanhosa entre a Espanha e França, mas parece que na verdade transmitia desde Moscou (Russia) e a partir de 15 de Janeiro de 1955 de Bucareste (Romênia). No década de 1970 era facilmente ouvida aqui no Brasil em freqüência próxima a 10 MHz, sempre com jammer (interferências proposital) colocado pelo governo espanhol. Tenho um amigo aqui em São Paulo-SP, que é espanhol (Catalão) de nome Ramón Vila com 82 anos de idade e uma excelente memória. Em 1944 o senhor Ramón tinha apenas 20 anos de idade e cumprindo o serviço militar obrigatório foi o responsável técnico de um transmissor Jammer colocado pelo governo franquista na Radio España Independiente. Por felicidade ele tirou uma fotográfica operando o transmissor em 1944 e a preservou. Também me forneceu alguns dados técnicos do transmissor que são os seguintes: LOCAL DE INSTALACION: AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL DE BARCELONA EN PRAT DE LLOBREGAT, AÑO 1944 CARACTERISTICAS TECNICAS: TRANSMISOR LORENZ - FABRICACION: ALEMANIA POTENCIA: 1 KW TELEGRAFIA (con modulador produtor de ruido) ALIMENTACION: MOTOR DE 10 HP ACOPLADO A DOS GENERADORS DE C/C FRECUENCIA: DE 30 A 40 MTRS. VARIABLE ANTENA DIPOLO A 15 METROS DE ALTURA SERVICIO DE TRAFICO AEREO INTERNACIONAL (ESPAÑA - ALEMANIA) RESPONSABLE TECNICO: RAMON VILA LLOBET A foto em questão pode ser encontrada visitando: http://www.pce.es/foroporlamemoria/documentos/2005/rvila_maig2005.htm [subsequently moved to:] http://www.nodo50.org/foroporlamemoria/documentos/2005/rvila_maig2005.htm 73 e forte abraço de (Sérgio Dória Partamian, Brasil, May 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Another one delayed in hotmail] ** U K. BBCWS June highlights What does the poet Homer have in common with the BBC TV comedy series Blackadder? Actor Tim McInnery, who was ``Sir Percy`` on this classic series, stars as seafarer Odysseus in a four-part adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey beginning Saturday June 4th in the Play of the Week. The Odyssey is considered the second work of Western literature, on the heels of Homer’s The Iliad. The month is rounded out with Mia and Maia, a work by award-winning playwright Charlotte Jones about two conjoined twins who want to be separated as they approach their 21st birthday. The Public Radio Fan website on Play of the Week is http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=631 While the USA creates new broadcast formats targeting the Arab world, the BBC World Service creates new programming educating the rest of the world on the Arab world. Breaking The Silence is a two-part series beginning Monday, June 6th that explores Saudis who are stepping out from decades of silence, challenging the extremism that has long dominated Saudi society. Reporter Bill Law crisscrossed the country talking to Saudis from all walks of life, talking to people who are working to promote change from within – the only way change will be accepted in Saudi society. Breaking The Silence occupies the Documentary 1 time slot; try the Americas Tuesdays beginning June 7th at 0006, along with the following Sundays, 2306, both on 5975 kHz. Also Europe 1806 and West Africa Sundays 2206. The relevant Public Radio Fan website is http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=708 Heart & Soul launches a new four-part series in June that looks interesting: Faith in the New Age asks why established, institutional religions are failing to address spiritual need and why secularism isn’t enough. The series also examines the key tenets of new age thinking and how they relate to world faith. The program observes that growing numbers of people around the world are turning away from established religion but they have not necessarily rejected spirituality. In fact, the need for a spiritual dimension in life may be more pressing than ever before. Try Europe 1445 (15485 kHz) and 1945 Wednesdays beginning June 8th, also West Africa 2245 (15400 kHz) on Wednesdays. Also check out http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=713 NASCAR gets the World Service treatment in Sports International on Thursday June 9th. It will be interesting to hear how the BBC is able to capture the unique appeal of NASCAR to an audience more familiar with Formula One style racing. Try Europe 1432 (15485 kHz) and West Africa 2232 (15400 kHz) on Thursday, June 9th. Other Sports International topics include a two-part series on bidding for large sports events such as the Olympics. Delegates from the five cities competing for the 2012 Olympics (New York, London, Paris, Madrid and Moscow) are interviewed. Program page at Public Radio Fan: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=701 One Planet airs a two-part series on rats, called the world’s number one four-legged killer by the World Health Organization, yet considered one of the most remarkable and intelligent creatures (right behind the DXer). Mankind has an interesting love/hate relationship with the creatures, and this is also part of the analysis. Join Mark Lewis for the series beginning Thursdays June 9th. Try Europe 1406 (15485 khz) and 1906, plus Africa 2206 (15400 kHz). A four-part Development Special, ``From Africa to Afghanistan``, begins on Thursday, June 23rd. The role of NGOs in Afganistan, AIDS and anti- retroviral drugs, and Rwanda after the genocide are featured in this four-part series. Check out additional webcast / satellite audio times at http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=702 Africa is the only continent that has grown poorer in the past 25 years, according to presenter Colin Blane, based on his research for a three-part documentary series entitled Agenda For Africa beginning Monday, June 20th. HIV/AIDS has reduced the average African lifespan by 20 years since the Live Aid concert of 1985. In 2004 British PM Tony Blair created the Commission For Africa including leading figures from the G8 countries and Africa. The commission has been investigating six major issues and will report back to the G8 summit in July. Try the Americas Tuesdays beginning June 21st at 0006, along with the following Sundays, 2306, both on 5975 kHz. Also Europe 1806 and West Africa Sundays 2206. Also check out http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=708 for other webcast airtimes. The monthly series World Book Club continues beginning June 27th with distinguished Latin American author Carlos Fuentes discussing his 1962 novel The Death of Artemio Cruz. In monthly sessions chaired by Harriett Gilbert, Book Club authors talk about the chosen work, give a reading from it, then throw themselves open to questions and feedback from a studio audience and letters, phone calls and e-mails from readers worldwide. Try Europe 1432 (15485 kHz) and West Africa 2232 (15400 kHz) on Monday June 27th. Check out Kevin Kelly’s page on the program at http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=2746 (Rich Cuff, Easy Listening, June NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** U S A. A Chinese listener informed me that VOA News website http://voanews.com is no longer blocked in Yangzhou, easily accessible without having to use any proxies. All language programs, including Mandarin Chinese, and Special English are now available with an easy mouse click. Can`t think of any reason China would do this. Interfax reports that China is now using a new Night-Crawler system to block websites, so there may have been a technical glitch as the changeover was made. Someone in Beijing says VOA is still blocked (Kim Elliott, June 3, VOA Talk to America, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) And Kim played again the notorious June 3, 1989, broadcast from R. Beijing about the TAM Square massacre, 35 minutes into the June 3, 2005 TTA file, as recorded by Tom Gavaras, MN. I urge you to listen to that, especially if you have never heard it before, and imagine anything like that possibly happening on the CRI of today; followed by a folk song, ``Ambushed from All Sides`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also ETHIOPIA ** U S A. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR --- Dateline: WASHINGTON, O6/03/05. In a war of words being played out in Foreign Affairs, former VOA Director, Sanford Ungar landed solid jabs and wobbled both current VOA Director, David Jackson and BBG Chairman, Ken Tomlinson. In a response to an earlier article written by Ungar, which appeared in the previous issue of Foreign Affairs, Jackson claimed that Ungar's article was "filled with errors and unsupportable accusations." In a clear effort to tag team Ungar, Tomlinson also wrote a response saying "As much as I respect Sanford Ungar, he should deal with specific case histories as opposed to general and unsubstantiated charges." Ungar responded by providing the specifics, again and again. In another response, former VOA reporter Philomena Jurey wrote that the "demeaning of the VOA is continuing" in reference to the absurd plan to offshore English newswriting jobs to communist China. In his response, Tomlinson couldn't resist slipping in outlandish claims about both Radio Sawa and Al Hurrah. By now, it is generally accepted, outside of the doors of the BBG, that both have been proven to be abject failures (AFGE Local 1812 via DXLD) ** U S A. SPIN BUSTER --- TOMLINSON SHOWS HIS HAND --- June 06, 2005 http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001569.asp Some silver-tongued orators skilled at the art of public discourse can spin a shaky or unsupported argument into rhetorical silk, leaving their opponents tongue-tied and at a loss for a rebuttal. Others, not equally blessed with a politician's ability to shuck and jive, simply dig themselves deeper every time they open their mouth. We think we know which camp Kenneth Tomlinson, our old buddy at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, falls into. Before we get to Tomlinson's most recent comments however, a little background. In the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, Sanford J. Ungar, director of Voice of America from 1999 to 2001, wrote a piece lamenting the budget cuts and political meddling that have marred VoA's record in recent years. Writing that the influence of VoA is being "systematically diminished" by these cuts, he also makes note that VoA reporters "have tried to fend off directives from VoA director David Jackson and other political appointees, who have suggested that the network report more favorably on the actions of the Bush administration in Iraq and the Middle East." This is consistent with what CJR's Corey Pein wrote in the May/June issue of the magazine, when he reported that VoA correspondents have always felt pressure to act as advocates for American policy, "but under the current administration, the pressure is barely disguised." Tomlinson, as chair of the CPB oversees the VoA, and as might be expected, didn't much like Ungar's takedown in Foreign Affairs. In the as-yet unreleased July/August issue, Tomlinson strikes back at Ungar in a letter, which CJR Daily obtained a pre-publication copy of. It's an unfortunate letter, in that it makes certain specific claims but then fails to back them up with convincing evidence. At the very least, as any good politician can tell you, if you're going to intentionally mislead the public, you have to keep your statements opaque enough to allow yourself some wiggle room. Tomlinson, as you may be able to guess by now, did not. He begins his letter by writing, "I have worked in four administrations, and this is the first time there has been no attempt from the White House, the National Security Council, or the State Department to interfere with the programming broadcast by our professional journalists." Tomlinson's assertion is directly contradicted by rebuttals in the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs by Ungar and an anonymous VoA staffer. The staffer notes that over the past several years, some VoA television scripts have been "subject to an unusual level of personal scrutiny and revision by VOA Director Jackson, and before him by former director Robert Reilly, to ensure that they reflected administration views and did not accentuate negatives, but positives in the 'war on terrorism.'" What's more, the staffer writes that "Jackson has been intimately involved in directing the day-to-day, and some say the minute-to- minute appearance, of the Voice of America Web site to reflect more positive news, particularly where reporting on Iraq, the Middle East, and the president's democracy agenda are concerned, to the point where some VOA employees have complained about what they see as unusual pressure." Ungar also writes in to refute Tomlinson's claims, recalling an August 2003 incident in which Jackson criticized the news division for "not reporting on a document, apparently passed to him by the National Security Council, but carrying no attribution, detailing administration successes in Iraq 100 days after the invasion." What's more, in January 2004, Jackson "ordered the news division to stop reporting from Baghdad on car bombings and terror attacks, urging that it instead do 'positive stories' emphasizing U.S. successes in Iraq." In another case, in January and February 2004, Jackson forwarded a series of memos from the White House and the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, "insisting that these press releases from the CPA did not require independent verification by VOA reporters in Iraq." Both Ungar and the VoA mole cite many other instances of Jackson's meddling in editorial decisions to offer a decidedly pro- administration slant on the news, but the ones related here are enough to paint a picture of some serious ideological interference by Tomlinson and Jackson in their campaign to redirect VoA's news coverage. Despite the evidence offered above, in his letter to Foreign Affairs, Tomlinson arrogantly writes that "As for VOA director David Jackson, his lengthy career as a Time magazine foreign correspondent speaks for itself -- and dwarfs the credentials of his critics. I have yet to see any case in which his news decisions were dictated by anything other than professionalism." (Emphasis ours.) Tomlinson leaves out some key facts here. He gets it right that Jackson did indeed work for Time -- but that was before he left the magazine four years ago to help create the Pentagon's PR Web site, DefendAmerica.gov. That's quite a career shift on Jackson's part, and a pretty glaring omission by Tomlinson. Meantime, the allegations of political interference at Voice of America add a new and telling wrinkle to the ongoing fight between Tomlinson's CPB on the one hand and PBS and NPR on the other -- a pattern of increasing partisan control over publicly funded broadcasting that is becoming more and more difficult to deny. By taking part in the fight in such a public manner, and armed with outright falsehoods, Tomlinson may have shown his hand one too many times. As a result, his pleas that he's just "trying to provide balance" to public broadcasting sound like an increasingly tinny trumpet, designed to drown out the jackhammers as Tomlinson continues his attempted demolition of our publicly funded news media. --Paul McLeary Posted 06/06/05 at 03:53 PM (CJR Daily via DXLD) ** U S A. THE LONGER VIEW --- CNN STUNS U.S. WITH ACTUAL NEWS June 06, 2005 http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001570.asp Last week, during CNN's 25th anniversary celebration, CJR Daily took the network to task for shortchanging international news. As we noted then, whereas in 1994 CNN dedicated two hours of its weekday schedule to international news, the CNN of 2005 to date was lucky to feature two hours of foreign news in a week. At least until today, when that all changed. Today the network began simulcasting on its US network its meaty news program "Your World Today" that airs regularly on CNN International. CJR Daily tuned in at 11:45 a.m. EST. Right away we caught a promo for "Your World Today" -- a promo that, as it turns out, actually contained more hard news than the five minutes of "CNN Live Today" that followed. (That was pretty easy to do, given that the "CNN Live Today" segment focused on how to keep your pet from shitting all over the hotel room once you leave the premises. Answer: Put the little bugger in a crate.). But enough with the ridiculous, and on to the sublime. It speaks to the state of cable news that we sat in shock and awe for the better part of an hour, as anchors Zain Verjee and Jim Clancy did nothing more than deliver the news like it's supposed to be done. The newscast kicked off with an in-depth report on the latest developments in Sudan, as the International Criminal Court announced today that it would begin an investigation into alleged war crimes. Yes, that would be the same genocide that CNNI's U.S. counterpart hasn't found the time to bother with for pretty much all of 2005. For eight minutes -- nearly an eternity in cable news -- CNN turned to correspondent Nic Robertson for the story on the ICC and then to Pultizer prize-winning Professor Samantha Power to address the obvious question -- will the ICC's intervention do anything to curb the violence? Throughout Robertson's report CNNI ran stock footage of burned villages, famished refugees and sick children to emphasize the severity of the crisis. From Sudan, "Your World Today" moved on to a speech by Syria's President Bashar Assad to the Syrian Baath Congress. Assad told the Baath leaders that the enemies of Syria are using modern technology to destroy the Arab identity. This led into a conversation about democratic reforms in Syria, or the lack thereof. The Syrian ambassador to the United States claims reforms are unfolding. Critics say too little, too late. Correspondent Brent Sadler neatly put it in context, telling viewers that, while free speech and opposition parties are still outlawed, there has been some movement toward democracy, but not enough to satisfy Syrians citizens or outside observers. Next up was a quick report on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's trip to Asia to deal with North Korea's nuclear threat, amidst published reports that the United States might try to initiate UN action against the rogue Communist state. Rumsfeld denied those reports on-camera. Stunned by 15 straight minutes of actual news, we heard an equally incredulous CJR colleague in the background quip, "It's weird to be watching news." And indeed it was. When CNNI came back from a commercial break, it touched on the International Olympic Committee's latest report on preparations for the 2012 games, followed by a bulletin that the UK would be shelving its referendum on the beleaguered EU constitution. Around 20 minutes in, CNNI paused briefly to do its best imitation of CNN itself, touching on the Michael Jackson trial and the latest Attractive White Woman Gone Missing -- Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba on a class trip. But instead of dominating the news coverage as we've become so accustomed to, these reports were squeezed in at the end of the half hour, where the less important news belongs. Following Jackson and Holloway came a quick look around the headlines in the United States and then five minutes of business news. At 12:31 "Your World Today" paused to run through the headlines from the top of the hour -- Syria, Olympic bids, and then, as promised, Sudan again. CJR Daily was quite skeptical that the segment with the Sudanese ambassador to the United States would add anything but PR to the broadcast. But anchor Zain Verjee wasn't about to let the ambassador off the hook. As she had noted in the previous Sudan segment, the Sudanese officials are known for their "charm offensive," putting the best light possible on a policy that has left hundreds of thousands dead. Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed did not disappoint. But neither did Vergee, who intervened on multiple occasions, pushing him to answer her questions on how the Sudanese government would deal with the ICC, as running footage of the grisly crisis occupied the split screen. Next came an in-depth look at the politics around North Korea's nuclear program, as three CNN reporters speculated as to why U.S. officials leaked reports that the Americans might bring the issue up at the UN, when in fact it appears that they will not. More U.S. news came after that, and then a not-so-captivating story commemorating CNN's 25th birthday on an apartheid survivor. And so ended a CNN broadcast that, for one solid hour of journalism with teeth, had avoided the Talking Head Ping Pong matches that plague cable news. True, at one time CNN had three people on screen, but this time they were talking to each other to inform the viewer, not to one- up each other with the wittiest barb. There were flaws -- the final segment dragged on, and the anchors often under-reported the number of dead Sudanese, citing a woefully outdated figure of tens of thousands, when experts agree that the number is, at the least, 200,000. But while the anchors might have gotten that detail wrong, their knowledge of the subjects they were reporting showed repeatedly in their pointed questions to guests and to CNN correspondents. And there was news. The 13 minutes that "Your World Today" dedicated to Sudan may well have exceeded the amount of time CNN has devoted to that subject all year long. We applaud all this, and have only one question for Jonathan Klein, the mastermind behind it: Why has it taken this long? Did CNN all along think that American viewers, besotted on tales of runaway brides and Court TV, couldn't handle informed discussion concerning matters in Sudan, Syria, and North Korea? Perhaps. But if it turns out that's the case, it's only because on-air news outlets, including CNN, have for too long robbed that public of the news it deserves. --Thomas Lang Posted 06/06/05 at 06:23 PM (CJR Daily via DXLD) Re Crossfire being cancelled --- well, not really: same thing is going on with same people in last third of Inside Politix. Are they having it both ways? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. The Michael Ketter Show will return from hiatus on Sunday, June 5, 2005, at 0300 UT (Saturday 11 PM ET). [on 7415] The Michael Ketter Show E-mail: michael @ wbcq.us Web: http://wbcq.us Sa 7415 11:00PM 12:00AM 0300 0400 On January 2, 2004, 'Tasha Takes Control' moved back to its traditional Friday 9 PM ET slot, following Allan Weiner Worldwide. Michael announced this new show for the Saturday 11 PM ET slot where Tasha's show formerly ran. This new show replaces 'Radio Reaction Theater'. Michael says it will be a cross between 'Radio Reaction Theater' and 'You Are What You Think' but closer to 'The Big Kaboom,' an older incarnation of Michael's free form entertainment show (Annotated WBCQ program guide via DXLD) This sesquiyear-old info is again applicable? (gh) ** U S A. 9740, PENNSYLVANIA, WINB, Red Lion; 1500 GMT 7 June, sign-on with open carrier, ID by man at 1501, into man & woman bible reading babble. Strong, but muddy audio. Didn't know if these clowns were still active until stumbling into this today (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I recall they are on this frequency weekdays, 13570 weekends (gh) ** U S A. Re: SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE BROADCAST TO MARK DEBUT OF FM --- Please note that you will need a receiver capable of wide band FM to hear this properly on 42.8. Most scanners use narrow band which will cause some distortion. Ideally a domestic set from the 40's with the old FM band or certain older communications receivers such as the Hallicrafters SX-42 would do. To hear it on either 42.8 or 89.1 unless you live in or close to NYC you wll need a skip or tropo opening from that area. Most of us will probably have to settle for the internet, but being the DXer that I am, I would far rather hear it direct (Morris Sorensen, Winnipeg MB, June 6, ODXA via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. QSLs (after nearly a three week lapse in responses, the following came through) --- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, 15520, Family World Radio via Al Dhabayya. Full data 'three decades of Faithful Service' Anniversary QSL Card. Also sent religious material, schedule and WYFR Stickers, in 38 days. UNITED KINGDOM, 13720, Family World Radio via Skelton Transmitter. Full data 'three decades of Faithful Service' Anniversary QSL Card. Also sent religious material, schedule and WYFR Stickers, in 38 days That's it for this week (Edward Kusalik, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I thought it was just Family Radio. Have they added `World` to their slogan? (gh) ** U S A. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY & MELODIES http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/316467p-270754c.html It was the summer of 1972 and I was working the night shift at my first newspaper job, a suburban daily in New Jersey. That meant I was home in the afternoon to fix dinner, and I believe I was preparing to stuff a rockfish the day I spun the radio dial and heard Buddy Holly singing "Oh Boy." Cool, I thought wondering if the station played other stuff like it. Well, it did. And thus did I become, for a quarter of a century, a coveted P1 for WCBS-FM (101.1). That means WCBS-FM was my primary station - and what I offered in return were male ears between the ages 25 and 54, which advertisers love. I wish I could take credit for propelling WCBS-FM instantly to the top, but I can't. For years after it switched to oldies on July 4, 1972, its ratings were mediocre. It probably would have dropped the format if it hadn't shown promise among young males like me. Then in 1981, Joe McCoy took over as program director and things changed. McCoy's mandate was to broaden the station's appeal beyond '50s street stuff like doo-wop and he did - even though, ironically, he loved that stuff. Soon the station was built around '60s music - a brilliant move considering what a golden age that was. Throw in such '60s deejays as Harry Harrison and Ron Lundy and by 1989, WCBS-FM hit No.1, a phenomenal achievement for an oldies station. Before that, radio stations shunned the word "oldies." Once WCBS-FM became one of the top 10 revenue-generating stations in America, it sparked a national rush - and, frankly, a lot of them sounded pretty cookie-cutter. WCBS-FM in its golden years never did, though. It always sounded New York. It played things no other oldies station aired. It had great specialty shows. It rounded up classic deejays for reunion weekends and it let its own deejays talk about the music. For many years, when I was planting a garden, painting a room or driving to the Jersey Shore, WCBS-FM was there. I look at the living room walls now and I hear Dan Ingram. The hydrangea blooms and I hear Bob Shannon. When Billy Ward and the Dominoes sing "Star Dust," I think of Bobby Jay talking about lead singer Eugene Mumford. A great radio station makes that kind of imprint. In recent years, as we older guys became less numerous and less advertiser-coveted, WCBS-FM tried to "go younger." I understand why. But after a few years, I wasn't a P1 any more. WCBS-FM was now just a button on my car radio. I'm betting I wasn't the only one, and obviously WCBS-FM's research showed the station wasn't getting enough new young people to replace me. So, instead, Infinity decided it would replace WCBS-FM. I'll miss it. But it had a great run and a Hall of Fame batting average. If WCBS-FM's departure symbolizes the end of this radio "oldies" era the way its arrival signaled the beginning, the regrets are too few to mention. Originally published on June 7, 2005 (NY Daily News via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO INDUSTRY HITS SHUFFLE By Randy Dotinga 02:00 AM Jun. 06, 2005 PT In the tradition-strangled world of commercial radio, all eyes are on that rarest of breeds: a bold new idea. From Seattle and San Diego to Baltimore and Buffalo, more than a dozen big-city radio stations have converted to a format known as Jack-FM over the past two months. On Friday, even legendary New York City oldies station WCBS-FM dumped '60s rock and joined the 'Jack' parade. . . Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,67727,00.html (via Dan Say, DXLD) ** U S A. BIOGRAPHY FINDS STORY SHEPHERD DIDN'T AIR Radio, By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/316198p-270557c.html Shep, his fans called him. Shep, the kind of familiar name you give to someone who's a pal, someone who can walk in your front door without knocking. That's the kind of pal Jean Shepherd felt like on the radio. From 1955 to 1977, Shep was the late-night host on WOR. He'd come on, maybe banter a little, then tell a story. It would sound like a personal reminiscence, usually built on some trauma or crisis that was resolved by some convergence of larger life forces. It would also very likely evoke some similar moment, event or person in the listener's own past, at which point the listener would nod and say, yes, Shep understands. He understands, and he can put it in words. That's a good definition of a pal. It just wasn't the whole definition of Jean Shepherd. Yes, the Jean Shepherd on WOR every night was a pal. But the other Jean Shepherd, off the microphone, was a far more elusive character and often not much of a pal to anyone, including his own children. Writer Eugene B. Bergmann draws that inescapable conclusion in a new biography, "Excelsior, You Fathead: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd" (Applause, $27.95). Bergmann, who discovered Shepherd on the radio in 1956, spent years writing "Excelsior," and it shows. He also listened to hundreds of tapes, transcriptions of which form the spine of his narrative. Bergmann holds Shepherd's stories up to his life, finding where they match and pointing out where Shepherd practiced misdirection that could go both ways. In the decades after he left WOR, Shepherd at times declared that prominent characters from his stories, like his friend Flick or the unattainable high school beauty Dawn Strickland, never existed. They did. He also disparaged his radio work, a view that Bergmann suggests sprang from bitterness at not receiving greater recognition, but which also had the troubling effect of implying his listeners were dim bulbs for enjoying it so much. Not that Shepherd was overly sensitive to the feelings of others. His son recalls how other kids thought he must have the greatest Dad in the work, this fantastic raconteur, but that in reality Shepherd usually didn't even come home after the radio show was over. Maybe all this just makes Shepherd, who died in 1999, another of our flawed geniuses, a man for whom the price of creative brilliance was self-torment. Bergmann quotes a passage from a 1960 Shepherd monologue in which he tries to explain the futility of trying to explain. We always know more than we can ever put into words, he says, creating an eternal state of frustration. "Excelsior," as this might suggest, is not a beach read. It requires time and attention. But there's a payoff. The long passages from Shepherd's stories make it clear that the man's skills were genuine. There has been no better storyteller in our time. Many Shepherd fans today may mostly know him as the author of the perennial holiday film "A Christmas Story," which finally made him, in his own mocking words, "filthy rich." But he peaked on the radio, whatever he says, and Bergmann serves both fans and scholars by explaining how and why. Originally published on June 6, 2005 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. DIANE TARGETS TIARA --- By Alexandra Jacobs Good Morning America’s recent ratings surge against the long-dominant Today show has framed a good old-fashioned catfight, as irresistible as Alexis and Krystle wrestling in the mud (and no crying sexism, please: early-a.m. TV is women’s playing field, just as late-night is men’s. It’s simple demographics): ABC’s Diane versus NBC’s Katie. It’s a beautiful opposition, even if slightly false: The two women each share screen time with so many other broadcasters, bumping news items around like beach volleyballs, that they’re barely distinguishable as the well-paid anchors they are. Until one sits down for a solid block of morning shows, one might forget how inherently annoying the genre is—comforting in times of crisis, perhaps, but usually just a blaring intrusion on the purest and most possible of hours: the coffee mugs, the banal desk patter, the jolly "ethnic" weatherpeople, the morons screaming behind ropes outside with hand- lettered placards. Still, the two leading ladies present a fascinating contrast. . . http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage5a.asp (via DXLD) Not sure whether this will remain available; don`t delay ** U S A. OVERCAST IN PENNSYLVANIA --- Editorial Published: June 4 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/04/opinion/04sat2.html?ex=1118548800&en=288c91c73e0bd80b&ei=5070&emc=eta1 Far from just talking about the weather, Senator Rick Santorum is doing something dank and cloudy about it: he is proposing to squelch the National Weather Service's growing role in the information age. The Weather Service provides a priceless flow of nonstop measurements and readings that commercial forecasting companies package and sell to the public. Lately, the Weather Service itself has been trying to make all its information more accessible to anyone who wants it. But Mr. Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, has introduced legislation that would basically require the service to give much of its data only to those private weather forecasting companies. A dozen of those businesses happen to be located in Mr. Santorum's home state, Pennsylvania. "It's not an easy prospect for a business to attract advertisers, subscribers or investors when the government is providing similar products for free," the senator said, somehow overlooking that taxpayers finance this round-the-clock national resource in the first place. Senator Santorum, who is running for re-election, is vowing to protect hundreds of Pennsylvania weather company jobs. But timing is everything in both politics and weather, and his case was not helped by the fact that two days before the bill was introduced, his campaign accepted a $2,000 donation from one of the weather companies lobbying for protection. This was dismissed by the senator's supporters as a small-beer coincidence in a $25 million race. But as they say on the weather segment, it's a lingering disturbance on the Doppler (via Jim Renfrew, DXLD) ** U S A. Stations like the Club 95.1 format in Phoenix, are Puerto Rican music (reggaetón) mixed with hip hop in English, appealing to the 12-34 segment that did not use Spanish radio in the past. The presentation of these stations, now on in about 10 markets, is nearly always in Spanglish. Some have mostly English, others mostly Spanish, but with street slang mixed in (David Gleason, May 29, Corazón DX via DXLD) ** U S A. 1609.92, unID Haitian format [pirate?]; noted popping up at 0012 GMT 8 June. Not sure if a true sign-on or just sporadic behavior, but loud with Kreyol man briefly between konpa vocals, trading off with 1610.00 "R-C-H" (similar format) from Homestead, Florida. Could this be the North Ft. Myers-area pirate Tony Simon and David Potter recently discovered? 1609.98, UnID [Travelers Info Station]; 0057+ June 8, seemingly short loop, with woman mentioning an uncopiable phone number ("...3..."), "2005," "Saturday, Sunday and Monday," and "This is..." A very quick sentence or two by a man as well. Pretty much gone by 0130. ***Maybe*** the same one popped up 0205, heard the man mention "... while you are here..." Anyone know who this or these are? 1610.00 FLORIDA (pirate) "R-C-H," Homestead; at times, a great signal, 2350+ GMT June 7, and still as I type at 0220, with something else weakly underneath. Mostly Haitian Kreyol talk, some "R-C-H" and "Kiskeya" refs, occasional konpa vocals and instrumentals. Telco-ish (Internet-ish?) audio, but spot-on frequency, as Cmdte. Crawford notes. I was in Tampa today, June 7th (as well as a couple of weeks ago). Simply said, no trace of FM pirates detected any more, including the last hold outs: Haitians. (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The IBOC Myths and Facts page has been updated to include the potential threat faced to AM signals by the impending change at KMOX 1120 St. Louis, MO to the unproven IBOC system and two more St. Louis FM stations wasting valuable spectrum space with this unproven system (WIL 92.3 and WVRV 101.1). The URL for the St. Louis perspective on the IBOC mess is: http://www.qsl.net/n0uih/IBOCMythsandFacts/ 73, (Eric (N0UIH) Bueneman, MO, June 4, IRCA via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Radio Amazonas vuelve quedarse más tarde de lo habitual, luego de sólo activarse en las mañanas. Escuchada este 07/06, a las 0246 UT, en los 4939.67 kHz, con un programa religioso y música de la misma tónica. Cierre inusual a las 0305, con himno nacional. En las últimas semanas por lo general cerraba a las 0200 ó 0230. YVTO, 5000 kHz, lleva varias semanas sin prender el transmisor. Luego de ser una de las más consecuentes, ahora ni se le escucha. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. DESCALIFICAR A TELESUR: UN FLACO SERVICIO A NUESTROS PUEBLOS En días recientes pude leer en estas mismas páginas las impresiones de un colega diexista acerca del proyecto comunicacional Telesur. Pude apreciar opiniones cargadas de una predisposición a descalificar y a tratar de destruir un hermoso proyecto que ha nacido en estas tierras bolivarianas. El autor de la reseña sobre Telesur utiliza una serie de "argumentos de mantequilla" (aquellos que al calor de la verdadera argumentación, se derriten), para demostrar la "patética" experiencia de ver la programación de la televisora en cuestión. Precisamente, ese tipo de discurso superficial y prescindible es el que ha usado el llamado oposicionismo criollo para atacar todo lo que huela a chavismo o a Chávez. Y como Telesur es un proyecto ideado por Chávez, imagine usted por dónde vienen los tiros. Pues al colega diexista no le ha gustado la Latinoamérica mostrada por Telesur, se queja de las camisas rojas, de las marchas, de la mujer latinoamericana sin dientes, entre otras cosas. Y este punto es muy interesante: el de la señora sin dientes, sí. Pregunto al autor: ¿es que la señora por ser fea o no tener dientes tiene menos derechos? Según reconoce el colega, la señora se "expresó muy bien"...peeero ¡no tenía dientes! Caray, al colega como que le molesta en demasía el ver gente "fea" en televisión. El detalle, estimado colega, es que esa señora y muchas señoras sin dientes abundan en América Latina. Usted, como gran parte de ese oposicionismo visceral liderado por los medios de comunicación de capital privado, tal vez se ha consagrado a ocultar esa cara "fea" de las sociedades. Eso que las clases dominantes no quieren ver, pero que existe. En América Latina hay mucha pobreza gracias al modelo de desarrollo impuesto por el Imperio español hace unos 5 siglos y en las últimas décadas se ha acentuado tal problema debido a los programas de "choque" recetados por el FMI y seguidos al pie de la letra por las clases dominantes "vende-patria" de nuestras naciones latinoamericanas. Telesur como proyecto comunicacional latinoamericanista tiene como objetivo mostrar a la subregión tal y como es, con sus virtudes y con sus defectos. Telesur debe ser un espejo donde nos veamos integralmente y desde donde podamos ir corrigiendo nuestros errores y reafirmando nuestras fortalezas. Tapar lo "feo", como lo desea el colega, sería una vulgar mordaza o censura para con la realidad real de América Latina. ¿Que Latinoamerica no está progresando? ¡Vaya mentira! Telesur es más que un ejemplo de ese progreso; que la gente esté consciente de sus deberes y derechos, que la gente marche y que participe en las decisiones políticas trascendentales, ¡éso es síntoma de que otra América Latina está naciendo! Por cierto, me gustaría que el colega aclarara la siguiente idea: "(...)aaaah, y lo que nunca puede dejar de ponerse, indígenas de nuestros paises (sic) bailando y danzando con sus trajes típicos (...)". De acuerdo con el contexto en el que escribió esa frase, usted parece denigrar de lo indígena y lo autóctono. Si eso fuera así, entonces no debe sentirse para nada orgulloso de ser latinoamericano, como contradictoriamente lo afirma más adelante. En conclusión, estimado colega, Telesur es un ambicioso proyecto que merece el apoyo de todos los latinoamericanos; Telesur está llamado a ser el equilibrio informativo de esta parte del orbe, un evidente contrapeso a las grandes transnacionales de la información que han convertido a la noticia en una simple mercancía plagada de manipulación. ¡Qué viva Telesur! Atentamente, (Adán González, Certificado de Locución: 26950, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Florida pirates/TIS around 1610: see USA UNIDENTIFIED. 6220: Re 5-093, I think it is Mystery Radio, heard very strongly and widely during the weekend. No address is known. 73 from (Björn Fransson, DX-ing on the island of Gotland in Sweden, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So it`s in Europe? (gh) I also heard the 6220 pop music station from 0208 tune in to approx. 0245 fall asleep, June 7. Did not recognize any of the songs, nor did I hear any ID. OK signal on 2010 with 15' wire antenna in house (Greg Neide, Euclid, OH (suburban east side Cleveland), June 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So it`s in North America? (gh) This sounds like the Europirate Mystery Radio. Techno-dance music, canned and poorly modulated ID in English by Dutch-accented woman every 3 or 4 songs. Has been very loud here the last couple of weekends at this time (David Yocis -- Washington DC, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 9560.25, 1438-1505 GMT June 7. Something clear but threshold, seemingly non-English. Ethiopia? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably; I recently noted the het on Australia (gh, OK, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ HOUSE RESOLUTION 230 ``A FAIR REQUEST,`` ARRL PRESIDENT SAYS http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/07/1/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 6, 2005 --- ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, says House Resolution 230 (HRes 230) represents ``a fair request`` to the FCC and deserves the support of the US House of Representatives. Sponsored by Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR, of Arkansas, HRes 230 calls on the FCC to comprehensively evaluate BPL`s interference potential incorporating ``extensive public review and comment,`` then to ``reconsider and review`` its new BPL rules in the light of that public input. Renewing his call for League members to contact their congressional representatives to sign on as cosponors of the non- binding measure, Haynie said Ross`s resolution only asks the FCC to do what it should have done in the first place regarding BPL. ``What this basically asks the FCC to do is to take another look at their methodology and how they arrived at the conclusions they did,`` Haynie said. The FCC adopted rules to govern so-called Access BPL last October 14 in ET Docket 04-37. ``I think that`s a fair request and something that we should do as amateurs to make sure this is done right and not without a lot of haste.`` Haynie says Motorola`s announcement of its Powerline LV system suggests the FCC rules can provide much greater protection to radicommunication services without preventing properly engineered BPL systems from going forward. Ross, who is one of two amateur licensees in the US Congress (the other is Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI, of Oregon), introduced HRes 230 on April 21. He told Broadband Over Power Line World (BPLW) recently that he`s concerned about potential interference that BPL deployment could generate. ``Based on my own knowledge of the unique nature of the high- frequency radio spectrum, I was concerned about the evidence submitted to the Federal Communications Commission that I believe demonstrates the need to postpone any rules regarding BPL deployment,`` Ross said. He explained that passage of HRes 230 would put the House on record as ``supporting a more careful study by the FCC of the radio interference issue, especially as it relates to public safety communication, and reconsideration of the adequacy of the rules in light of this study.`` While HRes 230 does not specifically address the BPL concerns of the Amateur Radio community, Ross said those concerns were what led him to look more closely at BPL`s implications for the public safety community. He noted that the federal interagency emergency SHARES (SHAred RESources) network uses HF, and many states and localities still use the 30-50 MHz ``low-VHF`` band for public safety communications --- spectrum that some BPL pilot projects also have occupied. Ross said BPL interference on HF would be proportional to the extent of the technology`s deployment using medium-voltage power lines. ``Broadband energy cannot be put on these lines without causing interference to radio receivers using the same frequencies,`` he explained to BPLW`s Marc Strassman. He also said the existing emission limits are ``much too high`` and never were intended to apply to systems like BPL. Existing BPL systems should be made to conform to future limits, he added. He said BPL`s potential to disrupt aviation operations is so great that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) successfully argued to prohibit Access BPL via medium-voltage power lines on frequencies used by commercial aeronautical communications. Ross also wants the Commission to address ``without further delay`` the ``substantial number`` of BPL interference complaints now pending at the FCC. And while he`d like to see his colleagues eventually approve HRes 230, he hopes the FCC will ``take the interference issue to heart, whether or not the resolution is adopted.`` He further expressed the hope that BPL companies will ``realize it`s in their interest to treat the interference issue as a technical and engineering challenge, not as a political issue.`` Speaking at Dayton Hamvention in May, Haynie urged individual amateurs to begin participating in the political process. ``We`ve got to ratchet up our presence,`` he told a forum audience. Haynie said that while ARRL can serve as the unified voice of the national association for Amateur Radio, individual licensees are voters, and lawmakers are quite aware that there are radio amateurs in their districts. Regarding HRes 230 specifically, Haynie said this week that the task at hand is to encourage other House members to sign on as cosponsors of the resolution as the first step toward House adoption. And that`s where League members come in, he said. ``I really encourage you to contact your congressional representative,`` Haynie said. ``It`s listed in the front of almost every phone book who your congressman is. If not, you can go to the United States House of Representatives Web site and find out by typing in your ZIP code. I really encourage you to do this because it`s important to the future of Amateur Radio.`` A sample letter is available on the ARRL Web site, but Haynie called on members to express their support for the resolution in their own words. 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 via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ VERIZON PREPARING FOR STORM SEASON --- By JULIE PACE Jun 6, 2005 TAMPA - While residents are preparing for hurricanes by stocking up on plywood, bottled water and batteries, Verizon is bringing in cows and colts. The communications company is testing out dozens of Cells on Wheels and Cells on Light Trucks - COWS and COLTS - that can be deployed to hard-hit areas during hurricanes. The self-powered units can restore signals if cell phone towers are damaged or can provide extra capacity during periods of heavy usage. Verizon spokesman Chuck Hamby said cell phones were an important safety tool last year, as people used them to call emergency responders and keep in touch with family during evacuations. Verizon's 28 COWS and COLTS helped the company maintain 90 percent of its service in the Bay area during last year's storms. More units are being added this year, and Hamby said the trucks will also be deployed earlier. ``The day of the storm may not be the busiest day for a wireless network,'' he said. ``It's sometimes the day before.'' Verizon also plans to set up emergency call centers for residents without cell phones and provide about 1,000 cell phones to local government officials and emergency responders if their communication systems go down. News Channel 8 assignment editor Jason Odra contributed to this report. This story can be found at: http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGBCSX28M9E.html (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DXLD) Too cute RADIO SHARK FROM GRIFFIN http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/radioshark/ Now this is an interesting device. Some of you may know that I am in search of technology to replace the worst human interface ever invented - the radio dial. Millions of Euros worth of content are hidden behind a number which needs to be sung by jingle companies in the vain hope you will remember the dial position. So what is Radio Shark? It costs 70 US dollars (plus 30 US dollars shipping to Europe). The radio SHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC, but it can record any AM or FM radio broadcast in real time. It suupose it is a bit like TIVO - you can record a scheduled show, or ‘pause’ live radio so you can return right where you left off moments or even hours before (now that's better than the DAB radios in the UK). Bill Whitacre in Washington (see comments) says they already using them successfully for remote monitoring facilities, i.e. being able to listen to the FM band in another city and tuning the radio remotely. Favourite station presets can be set with the click of a mouse, and new stations can be scanned and tuned. The Radio Shark connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go. Don't know what the performance is like on AM if it too close to the computer monitor. I will try and pick one up on my travels to the States. posted by Jonathan Marks @ 5/29/2005 09:25:00 AM (Critical Distance blog via DXLD) We're using them to add FM capability to our remote monitoring systems. You can hear one from Washington being 'streamed' -- It's tuned to WAMU 88.5 MHz. When are we going to see a USB controlled HF rig? (Bill Whitacre, http://monitor.ibb.gov/ | 05.30.05 - 8:57 am, ibid.) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ Re: Latin Floormat, 5-093; this brought in lots of fun replies, more than a mere DX item would: This brings back fond memories! This is called "dummy text" (at least that's what we called it in the shop I used to work in). It's just random Latin words used by desktop publishing types to fill in areas reserved for text, to help determine how a new page design will look when the actual text is inserted. PageMaker, at least the old version I used, included a method for filling a text area with this "lorem ipsum" filler text with a simple command. I suspect that whoever designed the label on the floor mat forgot to replace the dummy text with the real text before sending the document off to the printer |G|. (Larry Cunningham, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Regarding your "unID" floor mat text in DXLD 5-093, that particular wording is widely used as "placeholder" text in the printing industry. You often see it used repetitively in sample page and advertising layouts, in examples of different type fonts, word spacing, kerning, etc. I've seen it used for such purposes in publishing since the mid-1970s, My guess is the actual text was mistakenly left off the label (or didn't arrive in time), so the labels were printed with the placeholder text instead. While the manufacturing plant managers almost certainly would know some English, it's likely that few, if any, on the shop floor did and so the error sailed through production. While there are some legitimate Latin words in the text, it's my understanding the text is essentially gibberish. I hope you enjoy your new mat and that it gives you years of useful service! ;-) 73, (Harry Helms, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I can shed light on the pseudo "Latin" language on the mysterious Wal-Mart floor mat label. I'm a graphic artist by occupation and immediately recognized the paragraph as "greek" or "greeked" text often used by designers to give the visual appearance of text (typography) in the "comp" or draft stages of a graphic design project. This is a very handy way to display the effect of text when the final copy isn't yet available from the client. The bogus paragraph is almost word-for-word the typical "greek" text available as a feature in the Adobe InDesign page layout (DTP) program. In fact, this sort of faked text is even available on the Web: http://lorem-ipsum.perbang.dk/ for instance. A more detailed explanation of the whole "Lorem Ipsum" ruse can be found at: http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/pagelayout/a/lorem.htm The existence of the "greek" paragraph on the floor mat label means one of two things: either sloppy proofreading/quality control, or a designer/printer with a sense of humor! 73, (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit...".. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. and ... on and on about origins, use, auto-generate and so on. You look it up. http://www.lipsum.com/ Floormat 2 ipso locum in your Microsoft Word Help files: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q114222 (Dan Say, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Andreas, Johanni Stanilaus filius, mediolanensis, Te salutat. That was a nice bit Glenn, one of those only you seem able to conjure up. No, "Lorem ipsum" is definitely not Latin. Or rather, it's a quasi- Latin DTP specialists all over the world use as a dummy text in their layouts. It mainly serves its scope in a publication mock-up, just to give the feeling of how the final product will look like without actually toiling around with real content. DTP applications like Quark XPress or Adobe In Design store "lorem ipsum" text files, so that their users can fill their experimental layouts with. Apparently, your floor mat was supposed to sport a label or some instructions its makers then left in this filler form! "Lorem" per se has no meaning. Unless you attach a "do" before it. Dolorem is the accusative form of "pain", as we Italian and Spaniards still say it. According to http://www.lipsum.com/ the actual text - in use in the publishing industry since 16th century - was extracted from a Cicero oration. According to another Web site, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010216.html the original reads Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit . . . ("There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain . . ."). Its widespread usage brought up a lot of different "versions" of the lorem ipsum dummy text, which usually contains a mix of meaningless but Latin sounding letter combinatios and actual Latin words. For instance, "ispum" is "itself", "same"; "sit" is the 3rd person singular of conjunctive for "esse", to be; "sed" means "but", "however" and so on. I hope this helps. 73s (Andy Lawendel, Italy, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to major storm levels. The period began with quiet to unsettled conditions, with some isolated high latitude minor storming midday on the 23rd, as effects from CME activity from the 16th and 17th waned. From late on the 23rd through most of the 28th, the geomagnetic field was at quiet levels. Late on 28 May, conditions increased to quiet to unsettled at middle latitudes and quiet to active at higher latitudes as a recurrent coronal hole solar wind stream became geoeffective. The summary period ended as conditions increased to minor storming at the middle latitudes, while the higher latitudes observed periods of major storming, as the 26 May CME arrived at Earth. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 01 - 27 JUNE 2005 Solar activity is expected be at mostly very low to low levels. Isolated M-class activity is possible from Region 767 and again with the return of old Region 759 (N12, L=055) on 03 June, which was an M- class flare producer on its previous transit. 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 28 May – 02 June, 07 – 15 June, and 18 – 24 June. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm. Recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce active conditions on 01 June and active to minor storm levels on 11 – 13 June, and again on 25 – 27 June. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Jun 07 2215 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 Jun 07 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Jun 08 105 15 3 2005 Jun 09 105 10 3 2005 Jun 10 105 10 3 2005 Jun 11 105 8 3 2005 Jun 12 100 8 3 2005 Jun 13 95 10 3 2005 Jun 14 90 10 3 2005 Jun 15 85 10 3 2005 Jun 16 85 10 3 2005 Jun 17 85 10 3 2005 Jun 18 80 10 3 2005 Jun 19 80 8 3 2005 Jun 20 80 5 2 2005 Jun 21 80 5 2 2005 Jun 22 80 8 3 2005 Jun 23 80 8 3 2005 Jun 24 80 12 3 2005 Jun 25 85 20 4 2005 Jun 26 90 20 4 2005 Jun 27 90 15 3 2005 Jun 28 95 10 3 2005 Jun 29 95 10 3 2005 Jun 30 95 10 3 2005 Jul 01 100 15 3 2005 Jul 02 105 20 4 2005 Jul 03 105 15 3 2005 Jul 04 105 15 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1277, DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ SECULAR EUROPE CONFIRMED BY POLL The Associated Press TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2005 Complaints by Pope Benedict XVI about growing secularism in Western Europe were backed up Monday in a poll conducted in 10 countries on behalf of The Associated Press. . . http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/06/news/religion.php (via Gerald T. Pollard, DXLD) ###