DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-117, July 17, 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO EXTRA 58: Days and times here strictly UT. Mon 0230 WOR WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1280] Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru 1400 Tue] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 occasional Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO Extra 58 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx58h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx58h.rm WORLD OF RADIO Extra 58 (low version): [same as COM 05-04] (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0504.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0504.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0504.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 58 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3: keep checking http://www.dxprograms.net NEW! WORLD OF RADIO Extra 58 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx58h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx58.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently available: 1277, Extra 57, 1278, 1279, 1280, Extra 58) ** ALASKA [and non]. WHAT'S LEFT: Pending FCC approval, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 is spending a cool half- million to purchase its own radio station. KUDO/1080 in Anchorage, Alaska would then become the second commercial station in known history to fall under full Union ownership. (The first was the old WCFL/1000 in Chicago, owned for five decades by the Chicago Federation of Labor as one of the top Rock stations in the Eastern half.) KUDO features a Talk format based on Nationally distributed Liberal offerings, along with local Conservative Jack Frost and some Sports coverage. The Union has formed "IBEW Investments", a subsidiary tasked with making the transaction a reality --- reportedly $160K for the station itself, and over $300,000 in planned improvements to the facility. The current programming lineup includes Lib-babe Stephanie Miller, along with AirAmerica's Al Franken, syndicated lefty Ed Schultz, and evenings with Lionel, distributed by WOR in New York (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update July 14 via DXLD) Full UD appears in dxld yg ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, 2040-2100, 11-07, canciones en español, locutora. A las 2100 cierre. Señal muy débil y con mucho desvanecimiento. Se escuchaba mejor en USB. 22121 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España-Spain, Lugar de Escuchas: Reinante, costa del Mar Cantábrico, 90 Km. N. de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. It appears the interest in Australia's RN podcasting trial has exceeded expectations - see http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/a-new-world-of-listening/2005/07/12/1120934248716.html?oneclick=true or http://tinyurl.com/dzfew The concept of listener loyalty is interesting -- and my own habits support it. If I come across a program that is always available no matter what my schedule is, I am more likely to stick with that program (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list July 14 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. See HUTT RIVER PROVINCE ** BELARUS. Domestic Service BR-1; 0300-2200 6080 kHz (150 kW), 6115 kHz (75 kW); 0400-0600 11735 kHz (250 kW); 0900-1000 11960 kHz (250 kW), 1500-1700 & 1900-2200 7105 kHz (250 kW) Kanal Kultura 0300-2100 1125 kHz (150 kW) (Sergey Alekseychik, Grodno, Belarus / "open_dx" via Rus-DX July 17 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. As far as I recall was the disappearance of Radiobrás foreign service blamed on a reason that was ``technical`` in the common way to use this term loosely. According to reports of the times the regarding unit of Radiobras had been dissolved, leaving nobody responsible to produce these programs anymore, and so the 15265 show was over. The 250 kW transmitters should alongside the 9665 transmissions of RNB also still carry Rádio Nacional da Amazônia and Rádio Senado: http://www.radiobras.gov.br/nacional/nacionalamoc/nacionalamoc_2004.htm http://www.senado.gov.br/radio/ondasCurtas4.asp (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4753.5, ¿Reactivada?, Radiodifusora do Maranhão, San Luis, (probable), 0620-0640, 12-07, portugués, canciones brasileñas, locutor, menciona "A Iglesia Católica", Identificación: "Radiodifusora....", también menciona "A Nossa Señora de Guadalupe", locutor, locutora. A las 0640 la señal se volvió inaudible, por ser ya muy de día en mi lugar de escucha. 24222. Esta emisora figuraba como inactiva desde hace tiempo. No hay ninguna otra emisora brasileña en esta frecuencia (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España-Spain, Lugar de Escuchas: Reinante, costa del Mar Cantábrico, 90 Km. N. de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Used to have one of the best Brazilians signals here (gh, OK) Manuel, Em 4753.5 kHz, trata-se da Rádio Educação Rural, de Campo Grande, no estado brasileiro do Mato Grosso do Sul. Neste horário, a emissora leva ao ar o programa "A Igreja no Rádio", que a Rede Milícia Sat distribui para 105 estações de rádios brasileiras, incluindo alguns com o nome de 'Difusora'. A menção à 'Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe' é feita dentro de uma novena, que é uma oração da igreja católica brasileira. Mais detalhes em: http://www.milicia.org.br/ A freqüência da Educação Rural é 4755 kHz. Entretanto, nos últimos tempos, o sinal tem sido irradiado com problemas técnicos e fora da freqüência exata. 73's, (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil, Noticias DX via DXLD) 17815, Rádio Cultura, São Paulo, 2203-2215, 11-07. Portugués, locutor, comentarios, identifcación: "Rádio Cultura, 19 horas 7 minutos". 24322. Rádio Cultura es la única emisora brasileña presente en la banda de 16 metros (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España-Spain, Lugar de Escuchas: Reinante, costa del Mar Cantábrico, 90 Km. N. de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Speaking of the Mailbag, can someone tell me if the Sunday- to-Europe 2005 (and US UT Mon 0030) transmissions of the RCI Mailbag are normally a repeat of the Tuesday 2030 UT airing or if the Tuesday one is a repeat of Sunday's? (Will Martin, MO, swprograms via DXLD) When RCI revamped its programming a few years ago, I remember it being said that the first runs of the 30-minute "themed programs" would be on the weekend and repeated during the week (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta., ibid.) ** CAYMAN ISLANDS. CAYMAN ISLANDS VS. HURRICANE EMILY Cayman Islands Internet infrastructure held up on audio streaming OK. Still working as I type via the audio link at root http://www.rooster101.ky/index.asp BTW, click on the "DJ's & Programs" link and note Mike Hennessey; he used to work in the newsroom at 970 WFLA, Tampa. 'FLA still uses him for phoned sound-bytes during such weather occasions. I met him a few years ago, seemed like a nice guy. He's certainly living in a place I wish I lived, and would like to visit again after my stay many years ago, back when commercial radio on the island did not exist (only the Government Radio Cayman and 100-watt International College of the Cayman Islands' Radio ICCI-FM was active). (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, 2132 UT July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [non]. U.K.(non): VT Communications canceled transmission of Radio Ndeke Luka in French/Singo [sic], 1830- 1930 on 11760 DHA [UAE] 250 kW / 245 deg to CeAf (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. CHINESE ON THE MENU: In case you're in search of ever- entertaining Communist propaganda, China Radio International does weekday hour-long presentations in English, heard over a collection of domestic U.S. and Canadian stations. St. Louis guy Eric Bueneman recently supplied a list of such [as already published here, including]: KTIE 590 San Bernardino, CA Daily 8:00-9:00 p.m. PT What's intriguing here is one particular station arrangement, that of KTIE/590...which is owned by the Christian Conservative Salem Broadcasting Co. Political conspiracists could have a field-day with THAT one; no doubt proof of the encroaching One World Government, et al, et al. (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update July 14 via DXLD) The full UD appears in the DXLD yg ** COLOMBIA. FARC REBELS ISSUE STATEMENT TO JOURNALISTS | Text of report by Colombian newspaper La Opinion on 15 July The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have issued a statement in which they make a series of warnings to journalists in Ocana regarding their broadcasts. In an open letter sent to the media, and in particular to RCN's [Radio Cadena Nacional] Rumba Estereo station, they reject the psychological campaigns of the army's general command, in which they broadcast "the national government's reinsertion programmes aimed at delegitimizing the historic rebellious nature of the subversive group". They say that these programmes "link the social broadcasters to a war plan in the service of the geopolitical interests of the empire, as civilian soldiers at the microphone, using the pen to achieve what they have been unable to do in the theatre of military operations". They warn in one part of the statement that "if they continue to broadcast these psychological operations of the far-right sectors of the army and the official government, this will remove their impartiality and objectivity, meriting military treatment from the FARC as yet another instrument in the armed conflict, unless they grant us the same amount of air time to broadcast our political programme, steeped in the Bolivarian campaign for the new Colombia". They call on social broadcasters in the region to state their position clearly and promptly, whether or not war is part of their firms' philosophy. The members of the FARC's Bari Resistance mobile column said they would "decide our position based on that". Source: La Opinión website, in Spanish 15 Jul 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** COOK ISLANDS [and non]. One of my best catches and QSLs probably would have to go to ZK1ZC-Cook Islands on 630 kHz. It is one of my favorites. It was back in the early 80s. I was tuning around one evening and noticed there was hardly a station coming in from the North or East. Even KIRO 710 Seattle was pretty much non existent. They run 86 kW ERP right at me, 110 miles away. But Los Ángeles was dominant on 710. If I would have wanted to listen to KIRO I could not have. I noticed hets up and down the dial as early as 0400 UT (8 PM local time). Tahiti on 738 was probably the first. It was armchair copy right next to KCBS SF [740]. I found that very interesting. I get Tahiti almost nightly, but not with that signal. I had the SP-600 at the time and the S Meter was different than on the R8, but I would guess Tahiti was close to S9+20 dB. Mostly carrier as they under modulate. It was weak modulation in those days. Probably in the line of 20-30%. Often I would get a strong carrier but with weak modulation. Now it is much better. Anyway, tuning down the dial, I landed on 810, finding KGO (Another powerhouse) on top of Hindi Programming. The Hindi was Fiji with 2.5 kW. Around 0600 or so UTC, I landed on 630. No sign of anything. That was before all of these daytimers went AN. Anyway, no Boise, etc. I could just detect a very weak signal which seemed like Island music, but I could not tell much. I continued to tune around noting about every Fijian, Tonga on 1017, most armchair copy. About every Hawaiian was in. KMVI 550 causing slop from 530 to 570. While all of this was going on, we had a lightning storm going on outside. So the crashes were bad. But very very rarely does lightening ever hit anything on the coast here. I was also using tube gear, so unless it was a direct hit, I was not concerned. But it was noisy. A bit later around 0650 UT, I went back to 630 noting that the signal of island music had come up a bit. It was still weak but listenable. I had an idea what it was, but I had never heard it before. So just around 0700, some drum music came on and the accented native male announcer said "You are tuned to Radio Cook Islands, the Cook Islands Broadcasting and Newspaper Corporation" I believe there were time pips and then local news. It wasn't too bad either. Of course I had the reel to reel recorder running. After a few minutes, I got enough for a report and was happy with that. I also noting Samoa with 3 kW was in on 1062, Solomons on 1035 or 1026 and 945 kHz too. (I can't remember the year they moved). It was unreal. Later, I typed up a report to Radio Cook Islands and sent them out one of my 2 inch reel to reel audio reports along with some IRCs for return postage. I also sent one out to Samoa on 1062 as I only had heard the one on 1404 before. Those are both gone now. They also had one on 1359 kHz I never heard. Getting back to Radio Cook Islands. I thought a 5 kW-er from Cook Islands on a regional frequency is great. I sure hope they QSL. The CE at the time was very picky on reports I had been told. I had no idea if he would like a tape, but I thought I better try. Well at the time I was also a member of the NZRDXL. I thought I can't wait to report this as I knew they were planning a DXPedition to The Cook Islands. I sent my taped report out on Monday and on Tuesday I got my latest NZRDXL bulletin. In there was quite a report on the trip to the Cook Islands. In there also was info on the station that a hurricane had come through and at the time of my reception they were only on with 500 watts!!! I about fell out of the chair! About a month later, I went to the post office and there was an envelope with really nice Cook Islands stamps. Boy was I excited. I was opening it up wondering what kind of QSL I would get. Inside was a beautiful QSL card with palm trees with the calls ZK1ZC and written in with the time, date, frequency, full detail QSL card, the CE had noted 500w. That made my day. It probably made my year. hi. I have heard the station since then a couple of times but with their 5 kW, but never as good as I did that stormy lightening filled night. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. 9925.0, GERMANY, Croatian Radio (via Jülich), 0210- 0235, Jul 15, English. Techno and pop sounding songs; ID and into Spanish news at 0230. Fair (John Beattie, Ventura CA, Drake R8B, PAR EF-SWL, 50 foot wire, MFJ 1026, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY ** CUBA [and non]. FINALLY A GOOD LOG OF MARTI 530 --- I had a good chance to work 530 this evening [Saturday] for about an hour from 1845 to 1935 EDT (2245-2335 Z) and again at 2000 (0000 Z) Apparently last week's hurricane did some damage to the big Rebelde 530 site in Cuba, and I am not now hearing them with the same signal as before. This is for the weekly Saturday Martí broadcast on 530, BTW. Due to local inside noise (townhome living-bah) I get my best results, so far, using the built-in Delco radio in my truck (1996 vintage) and stock whip antenna. Sitting there with the engine off (for acoustics) in 90 degree heat, in a rainstorm, well, that's what DXing is all about. Just part of the nuttiness, I suppose. At least the only cops I risk seeing would be called by the neighbors, if I stay out too long. Today, with the severely weakened Rebelde, Martí was actually atop the frequency for much of the time. Unfortunately we were pounded with local T-storms and the incessant static chopped up a lot of the audio. I was able to // some of the other 530 audio with Rebelde-1180 which was clean and loud, showing no sign of the night-time multiple-carrier rapid fading on 1180 (this is well before local sunset). I believe one of the 1180's is in Pinar or near CH, a solid all-day signal here (Tampa), as is 640 Progreso, and some several others. Generally (530) a man-woman long telephone interview, bits of bumper music, voices were heard when Rebelde carrying music. At 2330z caught "...Martí ... desde Miami, Florida..." through static, at at 2359z, a good rendition of the hourly "atención, Cuba" ID with "desde avión de los EE. UU." etc., and mention of frequencies, Televisión Martí, etc. At one point, a tape of a speech from Don Máximo Líder el Viejo, with a sentence by sentence commentary spliced in, read by someone with a contrasting point of view. Fortunately the T-storms backing off by 2345. Caught IDs on handheld Micro-43 acoustically (for which I haven't taken the time to find a speaker feed for direct patch, a major surgical operation in this truck). My location in western Hillsborough county is somewhat inland and here I notice a definite slow variation in signal which seems to really peak up 2 or 3 times per hour, today ranging from near-inaudible to fairly strong (but would have still been way under the normal big Rebelde gasbag if they were optimum). My best guess is that this slow variation (this is _way_ before sunset) is due to slow orbiting of the EC-130 in airspace north of La Habana, the trailing longwire (with the 500 pound stabilizer weight) creating a distinctly non-symmetrical pattern which varies for me as the plane turns. Or else, they fly east, and then return, and go far enough to the east so that the land projection near Venice/Sarasota starts shielding the signal, compared to the all-water path from Pinar east to Habana. All just speculation, for now. I'd guess, though, that they try to stay close in to the capital area, but well outside the 12 mile limit. Interestingly, a report from a coastal area DXer near here shows a solid nonvarying signal level on them tonight, so perhaps a different polarization wavefront reaching me and my car radio vertical whip antenna. I note the same 2 Hz SAH as previously, when the signal was buried under Rebelde, but with the same cyclic slow fading. No evidence of RVC has ever been noted here during daylight of course. If the T-storms has not been present I would have had an outstanding quality recording of them (Martí) tonight (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL built-in Delco car RX, 1m. whip, July 16, HCDX via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. CZECH COMMUNISTS LAUNCH INTERNET RADIO BROADCAST | Excerpt from report by Text of report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 15 July: The junior opposition [Czech] Communists (KSCM) today launched the public broadcast of its Internet radio station Radio Halo Futura (RHF), KSCM spokeswoman Monika Horeni told CTK after a meeting of the party executive committee. She added that the radio, which is still in a test operation, is broadcasting continuously every day. Four hours between 12:00 noon [1000 gmt] and 4:00 p.m. [1400 gmt] present various combined programmes, while the rest is only music. The radio will invite interesting personalities to the studio and prepare news, radio moderators informed in the website. In the evening the radio will broadcast critical programme L called "What they Kept Secret." [passage omitted] Communists introduced the Halo Futura radio as "a radio lighthouse to another future." The radio broadcast is available on http://www.radiohalo.cz and on the KSCM website http://www.kscm.cz Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1618 gmt 15 Jul 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. (presumed) 4780, R. Djibouti (p) 0315 UT Jul. 14, SINPO = 15321. Very weak but enough audio to hear some chanting in Arabic, and then talks by OM (Elmer D. Escoto, Honduras, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Altho English language names of countries will continue to be used as DXLD headings, I have also seen YIBUTI in Spanish. I wonder if this has any official standing. Only in areas, such as the Southern Cone, where Y`s are so consonantal rather than vowelal, does that approximate the pronunciation of DJ (gh) ** ECUADOR. DRM buzz 15370-15380 July 14 around 1300, presumably HCJB. I can`t say I check every single morning, but it is frequently heard; gone before 1400, and again July 15. Once again searching all open DRM forums, on 15375, the last mention was back in February. And at 2321 UT July 14 the website claimed the time was 00:21 GMT! If they can`t even run their own clock accurately, can we trust DRM to run this somewhat more complex technology? Yes, I know how that happens, but there is no excuse for it. If you`re going to run a clock on your website, make it absolute, not dependent on users` computer configurations. I also rechecked all three online versions of DRM schedules, at RN, HFCC and baseportal, and none of them have any current listings for 15375. Therefore, it does not exist. I have mentioned 15375 now several times in DXLD; apparently the compilers of these schedules are not paying attention, their loss. Further evidence that DRM is a point-to-point service if anything, since the listening public, even the few equipped to receive DRM, are not even informed about the broadcast`s existence. Why doesn`t HCJB give it any publicity? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. United Kingdom. Mystery Radio, allegedly broadcasting from the United Kingdom, has been received in Sofia after 19 hours and before 4 hours on 6220 kHz Saturday and Sunday mostly with pop music. You can try the following address for obtaining a QSL: P. O.B ox 4580, 20320 Malmö, Sweden. Return postage should be enclosed (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX July 15 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [non]. CHILE(non): Frequency change for China Radio International in Portuguese: 2100-2157 NF 11690*SGO 100 kW / 045 degrees, ex 11720 to avoid VOA in French; *co-channel KTWR in Japanese from 2115. For B-05 tentative frequency is 11960 (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) As the header implies, also collided with BBCWS Calling the Falklands Tue & Fri 2130-2145 on 11720, as I pointed out a few weeks ago in DXLD and to Voz Cristiana (gh) ** GERMANY. Updated summer A-05 for DTK T-Systems. Part 1 - daily transmissions: IBC Tamil Service: 0000-0100 7315 WER 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Tamil Athmee Yatra He/Gospel For Asia (GFA): 0030-0130 9495 WER 250 kW / 090 deg to SoEaAs SE Asian langs 1330-1430 13600 WER 250 kW / 075 deg to SoEaAs SE Asian langs 1430-1530 13645 WER 250 kW / 075 deg to SoEaAs SE Asian langs 1530-1630 13750 WER 250 kW / 090 deg to SoEaAs SE Asian langs Radio Free Asia (RFA): 0100-0300 11975 WER 500 kW / 075 deg to SoEaAs Tibetan Voice of Russia (VOR) RIR = ``Russian International Radio`` 0100-0300 5945 JUL 100 kW / 100 deg to ME Russian RIR 1400-1500 15430 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to ME Russian "Commonwealth" 1900-2100 9825 JUL 100 kW / 100 deg to ME Russian RIR 1900-2100 5985 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to ME Russian RIR 2000-2100 7260 JUL 100 kW / 120 deg to ME Russian RIR 2200-2300 6145 JUL 100 kW / 100 deg to ME Arabic Hrvatska Radio/Voice of Croatia in Croatian/English/Spanish: 0100-0500 9925 JUL 100 kW / 325 deg to NoAmWe 0400-0700 9470 JUL 100 kW / 230 deg to NZ 0600-1000 13820 JUL 100 kW / 270 deg to AUS 2200-0300 9925 JUL 100 kW / 230 deg to SoAm 2300-0300 9925 JUL 100 kW / 300 deg to NoAmEa Radio Netherland Wereldomroep: 0600-0700 11655 JUL 100 kW / 020 deg to NoEu Dutch till September 1 0700-0800 9610 JUL 100 kW / 050 deg to EaEu Dutch till September 1 Deutsche Welle (DW): 0600-1000 6140 JUL 100 kW / 175 deg to Eu English 1000-1200 6140 JUL 040 kW / 175 deg to Eu English DRM 1200-1300 6140 JUL 040 kW / 175 deg to Eu German DRM 1300-1600 6140 JUL 100 kW / 175 deg to Eu English 1600-1800 6140 JUL 040 kW / 175 deg to Eu English DRM 1800-1900 6140 JUL 040 kW / 175 deg to Eu German DRM BCE Radio Luxembourg: 0600-1800 7145 JUL 040 kW / 290 deg to Eu German DRM from Aug 1 Brother Stair/The Overcomer Ministries (TOM): 1100-1200 6110*JUL 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu English 1400-1600 6110 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu English 1600-1800 9845 WER 500 kW / non-dir to WeEu English *2nd Sun only Radio Liberty: 1500-1700 9725 JUL 100 kW / 050 deg to EaEu Belorussian Minivan (Independent) Radio: 1600-1700 11800 JUL 100 kW / 100 deg to SoAs Dhivehi HCJB (The Voice of Andes): 1700-1800 6015 JUL 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu German WYFR (Family Radio): 1700-1800 3955 JUL 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu German 1700-1800 11785 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to ME Turkish 1700-1800 13720 JUL 100 kW / 175 deg to NoAf Arabic 2000-2100 9605 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to ME Arabic 2000-2100 13590 JUL 100 kW / 190 deg to WeAf French IBRA Radio: 1730-1800 15450 WER 125 kW / 135 deg to EaAf Somali 1730-1830 9485 JUL 100 kW / 140 deg to EaAf Swahili 1830-1845 9485 JUL 100 kW / 140 deg to EaAf English 1900-2045 9675 JUL 100 kW / 190 deg to WeAf Hausa 2000-2100 9840 JUL 100 kW / 175 deg to NoAf Arabic CBS Radio Taiwan International (RTI): 2000-2100 5975 JUL 100 kW / 230 deg to SoEu Spanish Democratic Voice of Burma (DVOB): 2330-0030 9435 JUL 100 kW / 080 deg to SoEaAs Burmese (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** GRENADA. Re 5-116: De nuevo en el aire Klassic 535 kHz desde Grenada, captada a las 2233 UTC con su señal normal, buena música y locutor al aire. Se nota en la recepción el ruido característicos de las descargas eléctricas motivado a las condiciones de mal tiempo en la zona. Atte: (José Elías, Venezuela, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TRINIDAD ** HAITI. DVD now released, video about R. Haïti-Inter, and the murder of its owner Jean Dominique, ``The Agronomist``. See reviews --- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007XBLK8/qid=1121628190/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl74/104-8762413-3895143?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846 (via Terry Krueger, FL, DXLD) ** HUTT RIVER PROVINCE PRINCIPALITY. AUSTRALIA. A MOUSE DOWN-UNDER ROARS And finally this week, we all remember the 1959 Peter Sellers movie called The Mouse That Roared. That`s the story of a very tiny fictitious nation that decides to flex its muscle with some rather comic results. Well, ham radio may soon have its own roaring mouse but unlike the movie, this one is for real. It`s called the Hutt River Province, but in a few years you may be operating from it. This is because Hutt River plans to become a ham radio and broadcasting paradise. Jim Linton. VK3PC, is in Forest Hill, Australia, with the details: The Hutt River Province Principality is a self-proclaimed independent territory on Australia`s mainland. And now it has announced plans to begin short-wave broadcasts and also seek amateur radio DXCC entity status. Located just north of Geraldton, Western Australia the Hutt River Province claimed self-government 35 years ago and survives on a tourist based economy. Unfortunately, for Hutt River, the Australian Government does not recognize its claim of independence. No matter. The Hutt River Province Director-General, Ministry of Electronic Communications, Eddie DeYoung has announced plans to set up a short-wave broadcast station possibly to be called Hutt River Radio. DeYoung says the stations programs will be primarily replays of old radio drama shows, music from yesteryear, readings from the world`s newspapers for print handicapped listeners, and provide time-slots to non-government humanitarian aid organizations. And here is where ham radio operators will want to take note. DeYoung says that the Hutt River Province is trying to gain United Nations recognition. In turn, this would enable the International Telecommunications Union to issue it with a block of radio callsigns. DeYoung adds that a written application has already been sent to the ITU seeking the H5 callsign block to be issued. But that`s not all. DeYoung adds that a body to represent the interests of amateur radio has been formed. It`s called the Royal Amateur Radio Society and it is seeking membership of the International Amateur Radio Union for Region 3 and also for DXCC status. DeYoung days that according to the ARRL`s DXCC rules, Hutt River would appear to qualify for separate country status because it meets the rule for sovereignty. DeYoung says that once Hutt River gains `New Country` status, it is anticipated that a large number of DXers and Contesters will be eager to operate from it. DeYoung adds that applications are now open for non-resident founding charter members of the local radio clubs and the Royal Amateur Radio Society, with membership privileges to include a single-letter suffix callsign. And one other very important thing about Hutt River. It will remain a BPL free zone. This is because Broadband over Powerlines technology has been banned by the Hutt River Province so there will definitely not be harmful radio interference radiating from within its borders. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Jim Linton, VK3PC. For information about the Hutt River Province Principality, an insight into it`s 35-year history of independence please visit its website. You will find it at http://www.hutt-river-province.com on the World Wide Web. (Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1457, July 15, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg VIA DXLD) ARNL had misspelt province as provence in the URL (gh, DXLD) Above probably based on this: (gh) New DXCC Entity Status Sought: July 14, 2005 The Hutt River Province Principality, a self-proclaimed independent territory on Australia's mainland has announced plans to begin shortwave broadcasts and also seek amateur radio DXCC entity status... (Amateur Radio Victoria, WIA, http://www.amateurradio.com.au via http://www.eham.net/articles/11452 via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. ALL INDIA RADIO TO LEAVE 90 METER BAND 15 July 2005 --- All India Radio is going to vacate 90 mb altogether in favour of 60 mb for domestic SW services. This means Shimla on 3223, Bhopal on 3315, Delhi on 3365 and Gangtok on 3390 kHz will soon move onto 60 mb. It is expected that there will be some adjustments on the present 60mb usage by All India Radio (from http://www.dxasia.info via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) Why? Theoretically the higher frequencies should get out better as DX, but there must be another reason. Theoretically also, MUFs will be lower than ever at night this winter in the solar cycle, so this could be counterproductive (gh) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Re Sirius & BBC, 5-116: XM has exclusivity to the full "infotainment" BBCWS stream. Sirius does not -- they air the same service PRI is licensed to distribute to FM stations in the USA. The full BBCWS, Air America, and Major League Baseball are the only reasons to get XM IMHO. Sirius wins in terms of international broadcaster content -- with the BBC news service, WRN 24/7, additional international programming on the PRI World channel, and - later this year, assuming Sirius chooses to move forward in Canada, several CBC channels (Richard Cuff /Allentown, PA, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Hurricane Watch Net: keep checking http://www.hwn.org/home/activationplans.html (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. The Ross Revenge, the home of Radio Caroline is currently in Tilbury docks in Essex. A work party goes on board most weekends to scrape and paint the ship to get it ready for its visitors when it goes back onto the pontoon later in the year. Unfortunately the ship is not open to visitors as it is a secure area of the docks at present. The broadcasts are continuing from the Maidstone studios. More news, pictures and a couple of short movies of the Ross being moved and the work party scraping the rust off can be found on the following: http://www.geocities.com/woodleyuk/index2.htm There is also a picture of me with a paintbrush in my hand. Please don't let that put you off. Roland Beaney (Worldspace yahoogroup via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** IVORY COAST. IVORY COAST TO TAKE FRENCH RADIO OFF AIR OVER STORY By Peter Murphy ABIDJAN, July 15 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast is to stop local broadcasting by Radio France Internationale (RFI) from midnight GMT on Friday and fine the station over its handling of a story about a massacre, the country's communications regulator said. The National Council for Audiovisual Communication (CNCA) criticised the station for airing a story last week on what RFI said was a U.N. report linking the government to the massacre of more than 100 people in the west of the country in June. The U.N. mission has since denied such a report exists. The council said it would suspend RFI's FM broadcasting in Ivory Coast. That would cut out many listeners, in effect restricting RFI to those with shortwave or satellite equipment. RFI would have to retract its story and pay a 9 million CFA franc ($16,720) fine before broadcasting could resume, it said. . . [more] http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15274672.htm (via Mike Cooper, Artie Bigley, DXLD) Standard remark about SW vs FM (gh) [and non]. FRENCH STATE RADIO ASKS IVORIAN MEDIA AUTHORITY TO RECONSIDER BAN DECISION | Text of report by Radio France Internationale on 16 July As you know, [French state radio] RFI broadcasts were banned yesterday in Côte d'Ivoire. RFI is planning to protest against the decision taken by the Ivorian media authority. The radio hopes the [Ivorian] authorities would rescind their decision as soon as possible. In response to claims of unprofessional treatment of news [from Côte d'Ivoire], our radio stresses that it treats such news in accordance with ethical principles of conduct after verifying its sources. For his part, French foreign minister [Philippe Douste-Blazy], has launched an appeal asking RFI be allowed to operate freely in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as, in Madagascar where our correspondent, Olivier Peguy, was expelled from at the end of May. Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 0730 gmt 16 Jul 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. KOREA PEO. DEM., 9535, Voice of Korea, Pyongyang. Within a large brown envelope received the following items: Full data QSL card, letter, schedule, radio pennant, lapel pin and the latest edition of P`yongyang Times. The last time I got a verification reply it took over 20 years, yet this time, reply came in 78 days. My, times have changed (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, Canada, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBS World Radio will change its logo on July 18. 73s, (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. DECLINE AND FALL OF TERRESTRIAL TV | Text of report in English by South Korean newspaper Choson Ilbo website on 12 July A drama series titled "My Name Is Kim Sam-soon" is so popular these days that it commands viewer ratings of near 50 per cent. Surprisingly perhaps, Korea's three terrestrial TV stations - KBS, MBC and SBS - have many programmes that command such high viewer ratings. They had a monopoly or oligopoly over the broadcasting market for three decades and still wield enormous influence. But the bastion shows signs of crumbling. Even after cable TV came to Korea a decade ago, terrestrial TV exceeded 90 per cent in market share. Now they have finally plunged to below 60 per cent, according to a recent survey, or to less than 20 per cent on average per station. Advertising sales, meanwhile, fell 10 per cent since last year. By contrast, cable TV's market share now exceeds 40 per cent and net profit jumped over 100 per cent. That is not to say that the terrestrial channels are in crisis because they suffered a deficit or declined profit last year after decades of recording huge profits. The division of the broadcasting market is being accelerated due to the unstoppable march of cable and satellite TV and the emergence of internet broadcasting and digital media broadcasting (DMB). With mammoth media groups offering ever more versatile multimedia experiences through the merger of broadcasting and communication in the future, it is inevitable that the field for terrestrial TV becomes narrower. By the same token the diversification of the advertising market will unavoidably reduce profits. The problem is that the terrestrial TV stations are enslaved by the authoritarianism of their heyday, blithely oblivious to the seismic changes that are going on all around them. They attempt to hang on to their management system even when viewers and advertisers are abandoning them in droves, fed up with the deteriorating quality of their programmes and an image tainted by ideological and factional controversies. Now they want to extend broadcasting hours and permission to introduce commercial breaks during programmes and indirect advertising; in other words, they want more advertising even as they get less. The government, which owes the stations a lot, is looking for excuses to accept the demands. That KBS is even talking about a raise in subscription fee when the market is overflowing with channels takes the biscuit. The broadcasters have had nothing but benefits from their monopoly, where they necessarily had an easy time in competing for viewers' favour. They have only themselves to blame if they have fallen unexpectedly on hard times, regarding as they do changes in the broadcasting market as something that has nothing to do with them. But it was the stations, both public and private, that degraded broadcasting into a money-making machine, forgetting its public nature and its role in promoting the common good. How complacent they have become is evident in their programming, whose framework has stood still as the environment moved on. With little improvement to problems like repeats, poor quality, violence and sensationalism since the 1970s, it is natural that viewers tune into other channels. Now cable and satellite TV offer scores and scores of channels, and choice has become virtually limitless. Yet the terrestrial TV stations still attempt to control the market, so attached are they to the privileges they once enjoyed as if by right. It's high time they left entertainment programmes to channels that do them better, especially music programmes for teenagers and game shows. Production of programmes other than news should also be outsourced. Overseas public broadcasters, confronted with a crisis, are finding solutions in bold structural reform and working off surplus fat. They are attempting to recover the trust of viewers by concentrating on enhanced quality of programming. Our terrestrial stations have supposedly made some such efforts too, but viewers have yet to feel them. The channels must improve quality and overhaul management. If they are to compete with the infinitely more flexible cable and satellite channels, they have to concentrate on working for the public benefit with cultural and documentary programming of the highest quality. The answer is simple. It is to for the terrestrial TV stations to figure out why we need public broadcasting in the multi-media and multi- channel age, and transform themselves drastically to meet that need. Source: Choson Ilbo website, Seoul, in English 12 Jul 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. Iran. Radio Voice of Iranian Kurdistan was received in Sofia at 2 hours on 3970 and 4870 kHz but later on it moved to 3960 and 4860 kHz respectively to escape jamming from Iran (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX July 15 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KYRGYZIA. 4010, Kyrgyz Radio, 2302 15 July with national anthem, followed by news in Kyrgyz by YL. Signal 44332 (under modulated) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. 5469.95, Radio Veritas, Sat July 16, 2223-2302 sign-off. Good signal level but difficult to understand announcer. Surprisingly clean signal with only moderate static and a little CW interference just before the hour. Male announcer with "Saturday Night Party" show with much hi-life, hip hop, and constant talk by announcer. Mentions of Liberia and "coming to you from Monrovia, and "Radio Veritas" ID at 2255, followed by religious talk including a recitation of The Lord's Prayer. Sign-off at 2302 with open carrier (Ross Comeau, Andover MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** LIBERIA [non]. 9525, Star Radio, *0700 Jul 13, opening with group singing a Star Radio jingle, then ID by man in English; but a poor signal, not as "good" as 11965, and basically useless. I rechecked this on Jul 14 and found them weak and completely useless at *0700. However, at 0715 re-check the signal was circa S9 and completely readable! The program was "Liberia Today," featuring interviews and field reports on local topics, mostly in English but with occasional segments in what was called "Liberian English." There was sports news at 0750, then Liberian English to an 0800 ID. This was followed by "People Talk," which was a discussion about "complaining." An ID at 0820 ("You have been listening to 'People Talk' on Star Radio transmitting from Monrovia. We now bring to you 'Messages.' You are listening to Star Radio broadcasting on the shortwave"), followed by the "Messages" program where people sent greetings to those whom they had not seen in a long time. Signal level declined and background noise increased considerably after 0830, and during that period the signal suffered noise from some local source as well; so it was poor overall from 0830 to 0900* (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 9525, Star Radio, July 15, 0707-0808, mostly English but some vernacular. Tuned in to a poor signal but within 10-15 minutes a dramatic improvement. ``You are listening to `Liberia Today,` a full hour of the very latest news, views, comments and analysis about Liberia and the rest of our international village,`` which consisted of a wide range of topics covered by reporters interviewing different people, sports news, 5 minute segment of news in vernacular, ToH ID: ``This is Star Radio transmitting from Monrovia, Liberia,`` into ``We now bring you `People Talk.` `People Talk` brings .. the opportunity to express their views on issues affecting their lives.`` I also noted one interview in what sounded like Liberian English (Liberian Pidgin English) (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then Mark takes over: Star Radio 7/15/05, 9525, 0809-0900, SINPO 34333. Monrovia, Liberia (deteriorating to 34232 after 0850). Program on the role of family members, ID, interview with a refugee, "Meet the politician" with the wife of Charles Taylor who is running for a Liberian Senate seat talking about reconciliation between tribal and political factions and nation building, ID, talk by a man in an unidentified language. The signal rapidly deteriorated after 0850, so I was not able to get details on the sign off. Carrier off at 0901 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11965, Star Radio Liberia with news; at 2106 14 July with reference to Sri Lanka, Ghana then ID. In program Spotlight at 2110, interview with Seco Dudu till 2130 sudden sign off. Signal 45344 about S10-15 being at S30 at 1920 Notice : Their web site http://www.starradio.org.lr has a POB Address but links are disabled. On 15 July with S30 55434 at 2130 with medical information about children and pneumonia (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11965, Star Radio presumably via Merlin-Ascension poor at 2109-2118 7/16 with OM & YL speakers in English; recheck at 2146 found at slightly better level with OM in English; sudden off at 2151; back on at 2152 with African choral vocals; clear "Monrovia, Liberia" ID in English at 2153, then into news by YL with many mentions of Liberia; sudden off at 2159. I listened a long time and through a lot of hash to hear this; certainly made my DX week! (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Schedule of Star Radio Liberia in English via VT Communications: 0700-0900 on 9525 ASC 250 kW, 27 deg, VP reception in BUL SINPO 23322 2100-2200 on 11965 ASC 250 kW, 27 deg, VG reception in BUL SINPO 45554 Tentative schedule for B-05: 0700-0900 on 9525 ASC 250 kW / 027 degrees 2100-2200 on 11995 ASC 250 kW / 027 degrees (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) So site is Ascension. I would think they were booked up at least in the evening. Wonder if something else was cancelled to make way? (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Glenn, Sorry in the delay in answering. I tuned in again last night, 13/7/05, and at 2200 UT the transmission of Voice Of Africa opened on 7320 kHz. Arabic was heard until around 2222, when there was an English newscast, which lasted five minutes. French followed, and at 2230 there was an announcement giving the following schedule. It is transcribed from the transmission: Voice of Africa from the Great Jamahiriya. On the occasion of the convening of the fifth Africa Union summit in the city of ............ we would like to draw the attention of our dear listeners in the Africa continent of the General Center of Directed Broadcasting in celebration of this occasion, will launch a test broadcast of its stations in Swahili, Hausa, English and French as of Friday the first of July in the following times and frequencies: Our listeners east of the Africa continent can follow Voice of Africa in Swahili; 1200-1300 GMT, 21695 kHz East of the African continent in English, 1300-1400 GMT, 21695 kHz Central, North and South of the continent, in English, 1300-1400 GMT, 21675 kHz West of the continent, French, 1600-1700 GMT, 17695 kHz Central North and South in French, 1600-1700 GMT, 17870 kHz West of the continent in Hausa, 1700-1800 GMT, 17695 kHz Central, north and south in Hausa, 1700-1800 GMT, 17870 kHz [not mentioned: Fulani? at +1743-1800 on 15660, said BBCM in 5-110] We hope that you would be able to receive our broadcasts clearly and we would be pleased to receive your contributions and observations on the following address The General Center for Directed Broadcasting, Voice Of Africa PO Box 4677 Tripoli Libya Great Jamahirya Fax #00 218 21 444 9875 Tel# 00 218 21 444 0112, 00 218 21 444 9206 round the clock Voice of Africa with Swahili, Hausa, English and French languages is launching its test broadcasts simultaneously with the convening of the fifth African Union summit. Voice of Africa dedicates space for vocal and written contributions of writers, intellectuals, university professors, and African activists in order to push forward the march of the African Union; identified African heritage and the present civilization and create a unified African culture that would contribute towards realizing the aspired objectives, the establishment of the United States of Africa and the success of the African will in true freedom, integration, and unity. Glenn, that was a rough transcript, there were words that I didn't catch. Best Regards from (Christopher Lewis, UK, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx for your trouble in transcribing all that (gh, DXLD) Voice of Africa, 7320, 7/15/05, 0139-0235, SINPO 44343. Tripoli, Libya. French until 0145, Arabic until 0215, UnId language (possibly an Arabic dialect) until 0225, English 0225-0235. Clear English ID several times during English segment. (I presume Issoudun transmitter location.) I had not been able to find this listed in the usual schedules I consult (ILG, EiBi, WRTH, or in DXLD) at this time And frequency, but I've been known to miss these entries (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7320 is a recent addition; previously reported in the 2200 hour. What is its total span? Been a long time since VOA had English in prime North American time. Not mentioned in the announcement Christopher Lewis monitored on that very frequency! (gh, DXLD) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. New 11800, R. Minivan, 1637 14 July with old song; at 1639 a title Haru Arenotabl with OM talking in Dhivehi about United republic and defense ministry, then fast talks by OM. Signal S30, 54544 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not so new; see GERMANY ** PALAU. 15725, July 3 0958, OM ID-ing "Gospel Radio" then today's topic "Regeneration and Renewal". 1056 YL mentioning "tomorrow we will broadcast another message", OM mentioning "message April Chow", address: aprilchowradio @ hotmail.com CPO PO Box 6804 Hong Kong; 1058 off. July 4 1011 OM with sermon suffering and misunderstanding; 1056 music then YL mentioning "make perfect for suffering" and OM ID-ing "T8BZ"; 1058 off but carrier still on up to 1100. 73, (Tony Ashar, Depok - Indonesia, July 13, HCDX via DXLD) FCC still calls this station KHBN, scheduled --- or rather available - -- 0700-1600 100 kW 270 degrees. AFAIK, it does nothing whatsoever for Palau, which is merely a convenient transmitter site for programming produced elsewhere; unlike KNLS does for Alaska, even tho its programming is produced in Tennessee (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3385, Radio East New Britain, 1040-1110 July 16. Noted both a man and woman in Arabic comments along with intermediate music. On the hour (1100), program switch to Pidgin with typical PNG music and phone calls. Signal was good. The period 1040-1100 surprised me in the when using the Arabic language. Signal was good even with the noise (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indonesian? Rather more likely (gh) ** PARAGUAY. 9737.0, Radio Nacional Paraguay, 0153-0205, Jul 15, Spanish. Two announcers with internet addresses/phone numbers. ID at 0156. Music at TOH. 0203 Time/ID announcement, into more conversation. Heavy splash from DW on 9735, otherwise strong signal best heard in USB sync with 2.3 filter. Fair (John Beattie, Ventura CA, Drake R8B, PAR EF-SWL, 50 foot wire, MFJ 1026, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6956.9, La Voz de [los] Campesinos (presumed); 0158-0205+, 11-July; Vocal campo music; very brief announcement at 0200+ by M in Spanish, but no copy & back to same music. Poor, only copy anything in USB at noise level; additional SSB QRM also there. Been quite a while since they appeared here (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** PERU. Quito 14/7 2005 *** Thursday edition: *** Recording of 1153.5 Ayabaca Radio, Piura region (Perú) This station is not listed in WRTH 2004, at least not on this frequency. Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. Nondescript pop music before 1400 July 16 on 15430, and then several IDs for R. Kanal Sodruzhestvo, then Novosti in Russkiy yazik from the Russian language Commonwealth service of VOR. Good signal I had not noticed before; where`s it from? HFCC A-05 says: 15430 1400 1500 39,40 JUL 100 115 1234567 270305 301005 D D VOR GFC So it`s really via Jülich, Germany; at 1500 the frequency is scheduled to shift to Moscow site, but it was definitely on at least a few minutes before 1400. Even after hearing all those IDs I am still having trouble twisting my tongue around that word. Another ID on the half-hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY ** RUSSIA. Strong signal here in BUL for new music station Special Radio in Russian: 1800-1900 Thu on 6240 (55555) tentatively via Sankt Peterburg (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** SCOTLAND [non]. For some time now we've been concerned at the effectiveness of WBCQ's 5105 kHz transmissions. A report from a listener/musician in Illinois whose album we were playing convinced us that continuing to pump our programmes out into a great pool of slush and interference was perhaps not the wisest way to spend our money, given that our station survives on a few donations, a tiny handful of sponsors, and (mainly) my credit card. The results from the 9290 kHz transmissions from Ulbroka, Latvia have been in stark contrast, with an unexpected number of enthusiastic reports from Australia and New Zealand as well as across Europe. Likewise our transmissions via IRRS continue to reach a wide audience across Europe. We are not in any way giving up on transmissions to the USA and Canada, but are simply taking a brief holiday break (while most series are on hiatus anyway) while we work with Allan and others to find the most effective frequencies and transmitters to meet our needs. On the net we are now available in good quality stereo audio thanks to the Ogg-Vorbis webstream, which is of course available alongside our basic mono mp3 feed 24 hours a day, and which has been recently reinforced by the addition of a parallel streams from new servers at our own new facility in Paris, France. It is our intention to resume transmissions beamed to North and South America in the fall, and we will of course keep DXLD readers posted (TONY CURRIE, Programme Director, radio six international, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA ** SLOVAKIA. Radio Slovakia International to cease English Language Broadcasts --- Hi Glenn, not sure when this was first announced, but with your connections you probably already are aware that RSI announced its intention to cease all foreign language broadcasts as of July 31. Heard tonight on RSI`s English program via WRN. Regards, (Art Preis, Ottawa, Canada, UT July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I listened to the English program from Radio Slovakia on Friday evening. Mention was made in the news summary that Slovak government committees would be meeting next week to decide the fate of the shortwave services of Radio Slovakia International. Pete Miller, the Friday host, called the proposed shutdown of the shortwave services a "retrograde" development. He sounded very resigned to this, as if it is a fait accompli, and no mention was made of getting listener's feedback to try to stop it. He did say there would be "redundancies" - -- one wonders whether he himself is threatened by that. The program included a feature on a Dobro guitar festival held in the town where the inventor of the dobro guitar lived. They interviewed American bluegrass star Sam Bush. I didn't realize the dobro came from Slovakia (Scott Walker, New Cumberland PA USA, July 17, swprograms via DXLD) Saludos cordiales, en la web de la Embajada de Eslovaquia en España hay un formulario con opción de ser rellenado desde cualquier país del mundo, en ella se puede opinar sobre cualquier cuestión referente a Eslovaquia. Yo acabo de dar mi opinión respecto al cierre de la emisora, a continuación os proporciono tal dirección, es un gesto sencillo pero puede ser eficaz enviar a traves de una embajada cartas de protesta desde diferentes partes del mundo, creo que no serán tan insensibles para no tenerlas en cuenta. http://www.eslovaquia.es/esp/pag_opiniones.php Atentamente (José Miguel Romero, Spain, July 14, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [non]. See GERMANY, IBC Tamil ** SUDAN. Frequency change for Radio Omdurman in Arabic: 1500-1900 NF 9505*ALF 100 kW / 090 deg to EaAf, ex 7200 *from 1900 co-channel Radio Farda in Persian (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) 9505, Omdurman, 1707 15 July with ads, ID 1708 "Huna Omdurman huna roboo sudan" then with folklore songs. S9+10 at last (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 9745, V. of Han, 2105 15 July, program consisting of songs and talks mainly by YL. Signal S8, 33422 (tried to look at Bahrain) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANZANIA. Hola, compañeros, ayer después de varios meses volví a captar la emisora de Dar-es-Salaam; aquí pongo el post de la captación: 5050.10, escuchada Radio Tanzania el día 16-07-2005 a las 1910 con un SINPO 22222; el programa escuchado es de música africana. A las 1916 UT comienza a hablar una mujer en idioma Swahili. SALUDOS DESDE LA CALUROSA (CARTAGENA DE ESPAÑA DE JOSE HERNANDEZ MADRID, EA5-0819AER- EA5-1153 ADXB DSWCI-3633, July 17, Noticias DX via DXLD) Like Zanzibar 11735, q.v. (gh) ** TRINIDAD. Luego de hacer unos ajustes a mi antena hilo largo, la cual me ha dado buenos resultados, les informo que he hecho la siguiente captación: 730 kHz, Trinidad Broadcasting Company, captada a las 2300 UT con identificación, noticias y música, también llamadas telefónicas al studio. En la identificacion dijeron: This is TBC Radio Network (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re Hurricane Emily; see also GRENADA ** U S S R. Hi. Some time in the 1980s, one of the Radio Moscow English Service Newsreaders referred to the Soviet troops in Afghanistan as invaders. Does anyone recall who the newsreader was and what he said? I'm writing an essay for my Sociology class on propaganda at Uni and would like to include this in it but I need a reference. Many thanks (Paul, New Zealand, HCDX via DXLD) It was Vladimir Danchev, in 1983. He was quite young (23 or so I believe) and his father was a Party official. He had become very disillusioned with life in the Soviet Union, and one night he spontaneously decided to change some of the words in the script, e.g. intervention became aggression. Amazingly, nobody at Radio Moscow seemed to notice, or turned a deaf ear to it. So he did it again on his next shift, and his next... Monitors at BBC Monitoring in Caversham could hardly believe their ears, but initially decided not to draw attention to it, as they knew the consequences for the guy concerned would be serious. But after five days of such behaviour, they decided that this was a huge story that they had to report. The young man was sent for "re-education", and it was implied by the Soviet authorities that he was suffering a breakdown and needed psychiatric help. I suspect the fact that his father was a Party official may have helped him to avoid the worst treatment handed out to such people. The immediate consequence for Radio Moscow was that live newsreading stopped, and all bulletins had to be recorded in advance and passed for transmission by someone senior. Danchev subsequently returned to work at Radio Moscow, but not as an announcer! (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, ibid.) ** U A E. SOUTH AFRICA(non): Frequency change for TWR Africa in Amharic: 1800-1845 NF 11810 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf, ex 12035 to avoid CRI in Arabic (Observer, Bulgaria, July 15 via DXLD) ** U K. So much for my supposition that Listen Again Proms from BBCR3 would be higher fidelity than the live stream: only 32 kbps when I tried Prom #1 replay (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Voice of America Urdu service - Ap Ki Dunyaa 7/14/05 & 7/15/05 7135, around 0130 both nights, SINPO 44343. News items, ID's both as VOA and "Ap Ki Dunyaa". Good signals. Don't know the transmitter location. I was not able to find it in the usual lists I use, but it was listed in the VoA website as 0100-0200 UT (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was on 7155 via Morocco, apparently a recent move from that (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. NEW: FIGHTING TERRORISM FROM AN EXPENSIVE RESTAURANT. Richard Carlson, director of VOA during Reagan Administration, is co- host of Danger Zone http://wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=26888 weekly radio program about War on Terror. It's broadcast from The Palm restaurant in Washington. Sundays [0100-0200 UT Mondays] on WMAL Radio. Listen on demand via Foundation for Defense of Democracies http://www.defenddemocracy.org/research_topics/research_topics_show.htm?doc_id=277300 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) He also spawned that asshole Tucker (gh) ** U S A. Overcomer Ministry Radio was reported at 2 hours on the unusual frequency of 6890 kHz, presumably using a transmitter of Radio Miami International. Some of the QSL addresses are: WWCR, 1300 WWCR Avenue, Nashville, TN 37218, USA and The Overcomer Ministry, P. O. Box 69, Walterboro, SC 29488, USA (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX July 15 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Don`t you believe it. More evidence that Rumen does not keep up with DX news from elsewhere, not being online, but WWRB has been on 6890 for several years now so should be in any decent reference, and WRMI never. WWCR has nothing to do with this frequency either, nor with QSLing Brother Scare broadcasts on other stations (gh, DXLD) 6855, WWRB, Manchester TN (presumed); 0218, 11-July; Brother Stair // 6890; I've been getting a spur from 6890 on 6925 for about a week now and tonight, just found same on 6855; 6890 +/- 35 kHz (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) 6890, WWRB, 2355 7/11, Brother Stair, WWRB ID at 0000 (Larry Russell, ibid.) 6925, WWRB, Manchester TN (presumed); 0325-0414+, 9-July; Spur from // 6890 with Bro. Stair. First time I've ID'd this. I'll bet this is the weak sig I've been hearing on 6925 [favorite pirate frequency] the past few days. Cleanest in LSB (Harold Frodge, MI, ibid.) 6855 not to be confused with WYFR which is deliberately on 6855 at times; cf my reports of WWRB spurs, but noise only, on 9300 and 9340 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. R. Six International leaving WBCQ 5105: On "Saturday Sounds" this morning (0600 UT), Tony Currie answered my query about the future of Radio Six via shortwave in North America. After reading my message on the air (originally posted to SW Programs and DXLD), he replied that listeners reported poor reception and lots of interference for Radio Six's 5105 kHz relay to North America. As a result, they're working with their friends at WBCQ to see if the program can be relayed on 7415 kHz. In any case, there will be an interruption of the North American shortwave service in August, as I previously mentioned. He also reported that many hosts at the station will be going on vacation in August -- it appears only he and Jeff Fielder of "Sounds From the Lost and Found" are making new shows that month. He corrected himself on this late in the show. He rattled off the names of three more hosts who will be making new programs (Of course, I didn't catch any of it!). (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta., DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SCOTLAND [non] ** U S A. BROADCASTERS ACCEPT NEW DEADLINE FOR DIGITAL TV SIGNALS By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY Posted 7/12/2005 9:38 PM http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2005-07-12-digital-tv-usat_x.htm In a boost to the nation's transition to digital TV, broadcasters told Congress Wednesday they would agree to give up their analog channels and start broadcasting only in digital by 2009. Bipartisan support has been building for a Jan. 1, 2009, deadline in the House and Senate. But broadcasters had resisted the cutoff. They fear that many consumers with analog TV sets who get only broadcast channels via antenna would see their screens go dark. Yet Edward Fritz, head of the National Association of Broadcasters, told the Senate Commerce Committee: "Broadcasters accept Congress will implement a 2009 date for the end of analog broadcasting." Under current law, broadcasters must return their analog channels to the government by Dec. 31, 2006, but only in markets where 85% of homes can receive digital signals. It could take decades to meet that threshold. Only about 5 million Americans have bought digital tuners that can receive digital shows via regular antennas or have special digital cable-TV boxes. Meanwhile, lawmakers are eager to reclaim the analog airwaves to improve public safety radio communication. Congress also wants to auction the spectrum to wireless high-speed Internet services. Such an auction is expected to raise up to $30 billion for federal coffers. A draft bill setting the deadline has bogged down in the House over whether the government should subsidize the purchase of $50 converter boxes for the 15% of households that get their TV signals via antennas. The boxes would convert digital signals to analog. At the Senate hearing, Consumers Union director Gene Kimmelman said all consumers should be eligible for a subsidy, even affluent ones and cable or satellite homes with extra sets that use antennas. "These are folks who went out and bought a television and retailers told them they would work," Kimmelman said. But some Republicans said a subsidy should be for the indigent. "I worry about the people out there who cannot afford the boxes," says Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the committee chairman. Officials also wrangled over which channels cable systems must carry on Jan. 1, 2009. Fritz said all analog TVs should continue to get an analog signal via cable while digital sets get a digital signal. That would require cable to send two digital signals for each channel, converting one of them to analog. Cable officials said providers would do that for most channels but want the option to send analog-only for less-popular channels (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Anybody want to make a bet that January 1, 2009 deadline is going to be extended? There's no way analog TV channels go dark by that date unless Congress buys converter/adapter boxes for everyone in the country. And I can't believe any Congressional representative or Senator who wants to run for re-election while explaining why he/she voted to make most of the TV sets in their district/state useless. You can take away people's incomes through taxes or civil liberties through the Patriot Act, but when you take away their "Oprah" or NFL football, there will be hell to pay!! If Congress is serious about reclaiming analog TV channels for other uses, they need to stop hectoring broadcasters and instead start funding the costs consumers (also known as "voters") will incur in making the transition to digital TV (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Wimberley, TX EM00 http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Mickey Mouse thinking of selling part of U.S. radio empire RADIO DISNEY FOR SALE? EXECS ARE ALL EARS By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/327738p-280138c.html Oceanfront property doesn't go on sale often in radio, which is why it's news that Disney may be looking to sell some or all of its ABC stations. But the fact Disney is mulling it doesn't mean it will happen. In New York, Disney owns WABC (770 AM), WPLJ (95.5 FM) and WEPN (ESPN Radio, 1050 AM) and holds a long-term lease on WQEW (Radio Disney, 1560 AM). Disney chief Robert Iger has called radio a "non-core asset," often code for "Make an offer." But Disney's 64 stations, mostly in choice markets, make hundreds of millions a year, so it would probably take an offer in the $3 billion range to pry them away. "Lots of people now think ABC Radio is for sale," says Tom Taylor, editor of the trade sheet Inside Radio. "But that doesn't mean it will actually be sold." "We've heard these kinds of rumors before," says Tom Cuddy, vice president at WPLJ. "It's one of those things you can't control, so you don't think about it." Even if the stations were sold, WPLJ and WABC wouldn't necessarily change, since both are nicely profitable where they are. It's also possible Disney could do a partial sell-off - in which case, ironically, the company might keep its two lowerrated stations, WEPN and WQEW. Both are used extensively to crosspromote national Disney brands, and both give the company a crucial presence in the country's most important media market. While morning hosts Scott Shannon and Todd Pettengill on WPLJ have been joking about the sale reports, Taylor says that "even the rumors are a very big deal. There's always been speculation that eventually radio will get a third big player [along with Infinity and Clear Channel] and these stations could be a cornerstone of something like that." (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) My 9-year-old daughter will hope that Radio Disney does not get sold; it`s her favourite station. We listen to 1560 from NYC which is 500 miles away, also via Sirius when in the car (Andy O`Brien, Fredonia, ibid.) I hope they do not sell it. The younger kids have nothing to listen to; they just need a full ID at the top of the hour for us DXers is all (Ron Trotto, IL, ibid.) Everything Disney puts out is crap, and their treatment of Radio veterans after the ABC takeover bordered on Naziism. My God, how DID our Kids get by for thousands of years, without Disney crap being shoved down their throats 24/7???? (GREG HARDISON, CA, ibid.) I read a different analysis elsewhere, I think the NY Times or the WSJ -- what will likely be sold are the stations themselves, not the networks. So "Radio Disney" per se will not be sold, though WQEW and other Disney-owned [sic] stations may be. Many of the stations hearken back to the ABC - Capital Cities merger of 1990 (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) FROM THE HAUS OF MAUS: Speculation surrounds rumours that Disney/ABC will be selling off its radio division. Some state that Disney will retain its ESPN and Radio Disney outlets, due to the promotion, et al, involved...but that mainstreamers such as WABC/770 (Rush Limbaugh's flagship) and KGO/810 (top-rated San Francisco news-talker for eons) will go on the block. Among others, Clear Channel head John Hogan has expressed some interest in picking up some of those outlets. Others said to be salivating are Citadel Communications, Entercom and Cox Broadcasting. One interesting speculation is that Sirius Satellite Radio, under the tutelage of Mel Karmazin, will bid for the properties. "The Wall Street Journal" reports Disney is mulling over a "multi-step transaction", through which the 71 stations would be partnered with a separate company, with shareholders netting more than half the new entity's equity. Down the hall, the ever socially-conscious ABC-TV has yanked its Summer offering titled, "Welcome To The Neighborhood", after complaints lodged by Civil Rights groups. Seems the premise of the show was to invade a lily-white Austin suburbhood with seven potential sets of neighbors, including (among others) a Gay couple, an African- American family, a Hispanic family and a group of Caucasians who practice Wicca --- then it was up to the existing residents to award a 3300 square-foot cul de sac home to the group sporting the lowest offense-factor. Great way to promote diversity and acceptance of those-not-exactly-like-You, courtesy of the Disney imagineers. Perhaps their next great idea will involve merging NAACP and KKK chapters in Howard Beach, and the laughable hijinks certain to ensue...go ahead, Disney, feel free to steal my idea...it's yours for the taking! Incidentally, you may've heard that a truce of sorts has been reached between dissident Disney shareholders led by Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, with the Board, ostensibly headed by Robert Iger. Roy is now a "consultant", and a "Director Emeritus"; the shareholder suit alleging improprieties in the process selecting Iger to succeed the next ex- honcho, Michael Eisner, has been withdrawn (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update July 14 via DXLD) Full Update appears in the DXLD yg ** U S A. LIBERAL TALK-RADIO DOUBLE SHOT COMING Two Central Coast stations to begin programs next week By BETTINA ADRAGNA Coming soon to the airwaves near you: liberal talk radio. In an apparent coincidence, a Watsonville AM station and a Carmel Valley AM station will convert to liberal talk radio formats next week, giving comedian/liberal commentator Al Franken two outlets to reach a new audience on the Central Coast. Up first Monday will be KOMY AM-1340, a sister station to right- leaning KSCO in Santa Cruz. Then, Thursday, Spanish-language talk station KRXA AM-540 in Carmel Valley, further left on the dial, makes the switch under new ownership. The station was acquired Friday by Washington, D.C., lawyer Hal Ginsberg and Peter Collins, who will host a talk show. . . http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/12139533.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. MUZZLING THE MUPPETS --- THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO FORCE PUBLIC BROADCASTING TO TOE THE REPUBLICAN LINE By TIM DICKINSON Ken Tomlinson may be America's most accomplished propagandist. He got his start as an intern for Fulton Lewis Jr., who ruled right-wing radio when Rush Limbaugh was still in diapers. In the early 1980s, Tomlinson ran Voice of America, promoting the policies of Ronald Reagan to the rest of the world. As editor in chief of Reader's Digest in the early 1990s, he published the most reliably reactionary magazine in the country. Now, as President Bush's handpicked chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Tomlinson is in a position to spread the Republican message to Sesame Street. . . http://tinyurl.com/9jh2d (Rolling Stone via Rich Cuff, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. My local graveyarder, KRSN Los Alamos 1490 has been off air for the past few days. A story in today's local newspaper explains it. http://lamonitor.com/articles/2005/07/08/headline_news/news03.txt Sorry to see my local station go. The station was always having technical troubles, and now they're bankrupt. Well, that opens up 1490 for DXing (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O Los Alamos, NM (DM65uv) Online logbooks at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net NRC-AM via DXLD) Used to stream and to have a show called ``Spy Talk``. Seems I recall an application to move 1490 to Santa Fe, maybe still pending (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. HAMS SHOW IN FORCE AT GERRITSEN SENTENCING (Jul 14, 2005) Radio amateurs turned out in force July 13 as reputed Los Angeles-area radio jammer Jack Gerritsen, who was briefly licensed as KG6IRO, was sentenced on state charges of threatening another amateur and his daughter via a local repeater. He was convicted July 8. Superior Court Judge Craig J. Mitchell gave Gerritsen 120 days in jail and three years probation. He also barred Gerritsen from any contact with those who had testified against him and from operating ham gear without a valid FCC license. Gerritsen was arrested in May on a contempt citation for allegedly violating the terms of a temporary restraining order the victimized radio amateur had obtained to keep Gerritsen off a local repeater. That radio amateur and two others subsequently testified against Gerritsen. Some 50 radio amateurs showed up for the sentencing, and many more mailed or e-mailed the court. Serving as his own attorney, Gerritsen contended he was falsely accused and that his First Amendment rights were being violated. Mitchell told Gerritsen the case was not about the First Amendment but about Gerritsen's threatening and bullying behavior. The 69-year-old Bell, California, resident still faces federal charges following his May 5 arrest and seizure of his radio equipment by FBI agents accompanied by FCC personnel. Released on bond in that case, he's been subject to monitored home detention and barred from possessing or using any radio equipment. The federal criminal complaint cited an FCC investigation revealing that Gerritsen "often transmits his prerecorded political messages and real-time harassment and profanity for hours at a time, often making it impossible for licensed radio operators to use the public frequencies." The FCC has affirmed a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for unlicensed operation and proposed another $42,000 in forfeitures for alleged interference-related infractions.--some information provided by Burton Brink, N6USO (ARRL via W0WOI, DXLD) ** U S A. Re 5-116, Night of Nights: Glenn, further to message about KPH Salinas CA coming to life again on July 13 (UT), I managed to hear KSM on 12993 with a weak signal at 0425 UTC. My location is 71N, 29E. Receiver: Icom IC-746Pro, large air core loop and a mini-beverage antenna. None of the other frequencies listed were heard though (Bjarne Mjelde, Berlevag, Arctic Norway http://www.kongsfjord.no DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thank you for publicizing the KPH, et al. ``Night of Nights``. I listened in and heard four of the six stations, at 2350-0140 and again at 0430-0515 UT. During the first period I heard WLO, KPH, KSM, KLB. WLO started several minutes early with a test message. Reception was very good. Reception of the ``K`` stations was poor with a high noise level. Copying the message was difficult at best. Reception of KLB was complicated by interference from an unID voice station. During the second period, reception was much better. The noise level was greatly reduced and copying the ``K`` stations was easier. Contrary to the early period, reception of WLO was worse. I did not hear NOJ or NMC during either period. I used 6 MHz frequencies throughout, except during the first period when I used the 12 MHz for KPH; for WLO I used 8 MHz during both periods. Thanks again, Glenn, Best Wishes (Bill Wilkins, Springfield MO, July 13, by p-mail, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The same night I checked the list of frequencies and also copied the same stream on numerous frequencies, with perhaps 426 being the strongest. Since I don't copy CW, I used MiwW with 100% copy. Must have been machine generated, as the program copied it flawlessly. Very much like an ARRL transmission with information about charitable donations, etc., and interspersed every paragraph or two with VVV de KPH. All the other frequencies monitored on 4, 6, 8, all the way up to 17 MHz seemed to be in parallel. They also gave an address for reports (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, July 14, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. Miami-based Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. on Wednesday announced a deal to buy WDLP-TV (Ch. 22) and other television assets serving greater Miami, expanding beyond its base in radio into Spanish-language TV. . . http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zspanish14jul14,0,7170167.story?coll=sfla-business-front (via: Dino Bloise, Florida, USA, dxldyg via DXLD) Apparently based on the press release in 5-116; see also my comments with that (gh) ** ZANZIBAR. Tanzania, 11735, R. Tanzania at 1951 on 13 July with a program in PO [? Surely not Portuguese or Polish] on 11734.95 with religious type songs. On 14 July at 1730 I heard talks in African language (Swahili?) with possibly sport program. At 181O with ID 'News from Spice FM, thank you' (thanks to other reports). Arabic type language then and music followed by a report consisting of a speech and at 1830 with Islamic program. At 1853 OM spoke "idaatu mekete kuran' (Arabic) in a local language. S10, 44444 using phasing unit At 1656 15 July, man with Islamic talks and a possible comparison between Islam and Christianity, and continuous references to Islam /Allah. Again signal ID at 1700 as R Tanzania Darussalam. S9, 43443 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki Greece, MFJ 1025 phasing unit, 2x16 m dipole as main antenna, 16 m as shadow antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TANZANIA UNIDENTIFIED. 7170, site? 0028 7/12 "World Harvest Radio" ID, addresses. Not in HFCC or FCC (Larry Russell, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) smax of mixing product between two higher 7 MHz frequencies but schedule on 7490 and 7315 does not fit, and they would land on 7140. Whenever you get something unusual like this, check out the scheduled frequencies for matching audio (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A special thank you to Glenn for his continuing efforts to provide listeners and non-listeners alike, with a very comprehensive, timely and informative commentary/publication. It is a lot of work and very few of us remember to thank those who provide these services to us. For many of them, our saying 'thank you' is all the payment they receive. I appreciate your efforts Glenn and Frogzilla says to give you three webbed feet up. He thinks you need to include more Tropical listings and then maybe he will give you the high foot. Hmmm. Well I guess if you only have four you can't give the high five, so four it is! DBF (Duane B. Fischer, MI, July 14, swl at qth.net via DXLD) YOU DON'T GIVE INFORMATION ON HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE. YOUR NEWSLETTER IS INTERESTING, BUT I JUST GET TOO DAMNED MUCH E-MAIL! PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE ME (Jerry Brookman) He was getting DXLD notifications via the swl at qth.net list to which he must have voluntarily subscribed, but thinks I am responsible for that list (gh) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ July 13, 2005 --- "SHORTWAVE DECLINE DOESN'T EXIST" So says Dr. Graham Mytton, a former BBC audience research officer and now a consultant to VT Merlin Communications, in this commentary in Radio World. http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/special-report/06_rwrf_july_20_part_2b.shtml I agree with what I think is Dr. Mytton's main point, namely that shortwave radio is still a very effective way to reach listeners in Third World countries. Unfortunately, many of his arguments fall apart when examined with cold, unsentimental logic: • Dr. Mytton states "countless surveys will show that people often choose to listen to scratchy and difficult shortwave services in preference to or as additions to locally available services in good quality, provided what is available on shortwave is what they are looking for." Yet Dr. Mytton does not cite the results of a single such survey in defense of his claims. If those surveys are indeed "countless" and support Dr. Mytton's claims, then why not share some of their data --- such as where the surveys were taken, sample sizes, the distributions of resulting data, confidence intervals, and, perhaps most importantly, when the surveys were done --- with us? Some actual information from, and about, those surveys would be far more convincing than blanket statements. • Dr. Mytton glosses over the fact that numerous shortwave stations have been shutting down around the world over the past decade --- compare the station listings in the 1995 editions of Passport to World band Radio and World Radio TV Handbook to the listings in the 2005 editions for proof. This trend has also been obvious to anyone who listens to shortwave; in particular, the "emptying" of the 90- and 60- meter "tropical" broadcasting bands over the past decade has been almost shocking. Many of these have been commercial broadcasters in Central and South America, and their reasons for leaving shortwave have almost invariably been a lack of audience for their shortwave broadcasts. Dr. Mytton seems to have trouble believing that a listener migration from shortwave to FM might actually represent listener preferences instead of a sinister/clueless manipulation by the management of international broadcasters. The simple fact is that there are fewer shortwave stations on the air, and broadcasting fewer hours, than a decade ago; that's a "decline." • Incredibly, Dr. Mytton tries to make the case that the technical quality of shortwave is equivalent to, if not better, than FM. If you have ever listened to shortwave radio much, I don't need to describe how preposterous that argument is! (It also conflicts with his own description of "scratchy and difficult shortwave," as quoted above.) • Dr. Mytton writes, "I have amazed myself by not mentioning DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) until now. So I shall do so in closing. DRM has all the advantages of shortwave with none of the disadvantages. " In writing that, Dr. Mytton also amazed me with such bullshit. "None of the disadvantages"??? So DRM will do away with fading and other disturbances due to ionospheric propagation? So DRM will do away with the need to change broadcasting frequencies between night and day, and also seasonally? And just how will the people in isolated areas cited by Dr. Mytton --- places like East Timor and Dhafur --- be able to afford a wonderful new DRM radio? If anything, the wideband interference from DRM has the potential to interfere with reception on inexpensive receivers like those used in East Timor and Dhafur. A very good case can be made for shortwave radio as the communications medium of last resort, especially for reaching isolated --- either geographically or politically --- listeners. But that case is badly undercut when one also claims there is either no decline in shortwave listenership or that decline has somehow been brought about by the actions of the management of international broadcasters. Shortwave listening has declined in much of the world --- shortwave broadcasting to North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan today is little more than an exercise in national vanity --- and the challenge to shortwave broadcasters is to determine their appropriate role in the "new media order." Nostalgic insistence that things are the same as they always were --- no matter what objective data (such as the number of active shortwave stations) say --- is not the best way to redefine shortwave's role for the future (Harry Helms, Future of Radio blog http://futureofradio.typepad.com/the_future_of_radio/2005/07/shortwave_decli.html via DXLD) Looks like the same Mytton piece we had here months ago. Why didn`t you refute it then? (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ MIT STARTS SECOND WIRELESS REVOLUTION Lauren J. Clark, School of Engineering, July 11, 2005 Technology being developed at MIT promises to pave the way for the next generation of wireless networks, saving consumers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 20 years. Wireless companies are investing big in new infrastructure that can handle the ever- increasing demand for inexpensive delivery of voice and data. But the solid-state amplifiers that the nation's roughly 200,000 wireless base stations now use to communicate with cell phones and other electronic devices are costly, generate excessive heat (requiring bulky cooling equipment) and need large backup batteries. MIT researchers are developing an alternative: the first radio frequency (RF) power amplifier based on a ribbon-beam vacuum electron device. The new amplifier combines a half-century-old technology-vacuum electron devices, or "vacuum tubes" in the old terminology-with a recent MIT breakthrough: an elliptical, or "ribbon," electron beam. . . http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/wireless.html (via Bill Smith, IA, DXLD) VINTAGE RADIO PCS Wednesday, July 13, 2005 Apropos of recent posts about hacking PCs into vintage radios: Facade Computer retails full-featured PCs lovingly hacked into vintage radios. Link (Thanks, André!) Update: Here's PopSci's HOWTO for mounting the guts of an old laptop in a vintage radio chassis, courtesy of Mike Haney. . . http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/13/vintage_radio_pcs.html (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) $12.99 SW RADIO Re the comment on this here and in DXLD 5-113: I agree with the evaluation that this kind of radio is actually harmful to the promotion of shortwave. By the way, I just checked the target.com website and this Coby radio is the same one that was being sold at Big Lots for $7.99, and which I wrote up for a DXLD evaluation some months ago. It is also reviewed in Passport 2005 and was rated "unacceptable". Experienced SWLs/DXers can take one of these and play with it for amusement, but *never* give one of these (or the $10 Bell+Howell) to a novice as an "introduction" to SW. It'll completely discourage them. 73, (Will Martin, MO, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WIRING AMERICA, HISTORY CHANNEL, MODERN MARVELS, AUG. 31 Hi everyone, I thought I'd pass this on. I will be one of the talking heads on an episode of Modern Marvels called "Wiring America." I'll be talking about the telegraph and I have something on the order of 5 minutes airtime total, if the script can be believed. We did the filming at Speedwell, NJ, site of Morse's work and first public demonstration. Thanks, (Dave Hochfelder, Highland Park, NJ, July 13, NRC-AM via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ IBM TAKES BROADBAND TO POWER LINES http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=620&ncid=620&e=6&u=/nf/20050712/bs_nf/37212 (via Daryl Rocker, MVSWLC, Herkimer, NY, July 13, DXLD) BPL GETS A $100 MILLION BOOST BPL has been handed a major infusion of cash to get it to into the homes of the American public. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more: The Google search engine folks, Goldman Sachs Corporation and the Hearst Corporation have announced an investment of $100 million into promoting Broadband Over Powerline technology by putting their trust with the Current Communications Group in the hope of rapidly expanding the reach of broadband throughout the country. Current Communications is a Germantown, Maryland based company providing Broadband Over Powerline Internet. A spokesman for the company says that the infusion of capital will help Current to roll out BPL services more quickly to provide voice, video and data services. Several market watchers have expressed opinions that the Google, Goldman and Hearst investment of $100 million to the technology means that interest in BPL is likely to gain quick momentum. This they say is especially true in rural areas where DSL and cable service are not available alternatives. Ham radio operators say that this is not good news for the hobby. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the Newsline studios in Los Angeles. There is one flaw with this theory. The real money to be made by BPL providers is in big cities with highly concentrated population in need of broadband and not in the hinterlands where customers will be few and far in between. (Published reports via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1457, July 15, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Sounds to me like a couple of large companies have some cash to dump to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities. They can't be this stupid (John Figliozzi, ibid.) Stranger corporate stupidity has taken place in the past 10 to 15 years (Michael McCarty, OH, ibid.) Hams' best defense against this may well be to aim the tribander right at the offending power line and let loose with all the watts you've got---in the interest of working DX, of course ;^)---render THEIR service unusable, and when the cancellations begin to roll in, maybe it will go away. When law and order fail the public, vigilante justice usually follows! By the way, WCAO 600 in Baltimore has turned on the IBOC and it is the widest I have EVER heard, it gives 630 WMAL in DC trouble on the west side of Baltimore. Formerly local-like. I need to make a point to email WMAL's engineering dept as a concerned listener. 73, (Bruce WB3HVV Collier, York, PA, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Never underestimate the ability of cash to override justice. I think this solution would probably be followed up by the imposition of quiet hours on your station. [note 0 below] If widely used by hams in general it would likely result in a reduction of the amateur HF power limit, to as little as 5 watts if necessary to protect the BPL systems. A LOT of money has been spent to purchase this BPL decision, and the buyers won't let their investment fall to a bunch of amateurs. Those who know me well know I don't buy conspiracy theories, and I'm not prone to hyperbole. I don't levy political charges just because I don't like the politicians in question or their party - I levy them because I feel there is good reason to believe they're true. In that light: This decision has been bought and paid for. Even if the League cancelled all other programs, they could not possibly outbid those who've bought the HF spectrum. It'd be like York, PA bidding against Los Angeles for a NFL franchise: York simply doesn't have anywhere near the resources to compete. BPL is a done deal. It *will* happen. It behooves the ARRL to keep reminding those in power this is not a good thing -- to not roll over and play dead -- but I think it's also time to start conserving resources for other fights. Even if BPL does get widely deployed, VHF/ UHF amateur radio will still exist - as long as we have a functioning ARRL to defend it. If the League spends all its resources on a futile battle against Goliath, VHF/UHF could be in trouble too. All that said... This discussion kinda reminds me of the movie "War of the Worlds". (not a particularly memorable film otherwise |grin|). Humans wage a futile and bloody war against invincible aliens. But in the end, the aliens dry up & go away - pretty much literally. It wasn't the power of the U.S. Army, or the intelligence of the research community, that killed them. Rather, it was an unexpected outside force.(see the original radio play) So it will be with BPL. The BPL business plan makes about as much sense as Enron's, or Worldcom's, or SCO's. BPL probably won't collapse in criminal charges; they've had enough bad examples to learn from. It'll probably collapse in the face of competition from existing DSL and cable providers - and from the next big broadband technology, WiMax. (basically, WiFi hotspots with coverages measured in tens of *miles* rather than tens of *feet*) A hard-wired scheme that requires expensive, lightning-prone infrastructure and highly-skilled installers has an alien's chance of defeating a faster, more flexible wireless system. -- [0] as happened some years back to a ham in Indiana. The local cable operator had a leakage problem - in both directions. Ham's packet transmissions on 145.01 MHz clobbered HBO on 145.25. (cable channel 18) FCC imposes quiet hours, prohibiting him from transmitting on 2 meters during prime time. (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com idid.) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMING CLEAN Dear Friend, Politics drove someone in the White House to do a treacherous, potentially criminal thing: a senior administration official leaked the identity of a covert CIA operative. They endangered the agent's life and compromised our national security in a time of war. Here's what former president George H.W. Bush said about that kind of crime: "Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." That's from a speech on April 26, 1999. I agree. And so should every American, regardless of party. So let's send a bipartisan message to the White House to come clean about the CIA leak -- sign the petition now: http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/clean/fdahxn Thanks! (Gregory Hardison, CA, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###