DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-136, August 13, 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 59: Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB [suspended for 2 weeks; maybe 0400?] Sun 0330 WOR WRMI 7385 [for last time at this hour] Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0730 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 0830 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0830 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0830 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0830 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1200 WOR WRMI 7385 [final airing at this hour?] Sun 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1730 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0230 WOR WRMI 7385 [for last time at this hour] Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] 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 WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 59 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx59h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx59h.rm [WOR 1283 low, minus WOR opening is same as CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-05] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 59 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0505.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0505.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0505.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 59 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3: (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-10-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-10-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO Extra 59 downloads in studio-quality mp3 [corrected]: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx59h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx59.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently 1277, Extra 57, 1278, 1279, 1280, Extra 58, 1281, 1282, 1283, Extra 59) ** ABKHAZIA. 9495, Absua radio, 1355 6.8 with song 'you can leave our head on' and another song, ID at 1400 with ``Absua radio .... FM"; 1404 with festial song. Good signal, 44434. NO parallel found on the 9500+. With De1102 and 2 sqm mesh fence (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Cland, 15550, Salaam Watandar (presumed) talks by OM and YL 1324 about Pakistan, Kabul, mentions of Bashkir, technicians. Khabar Boshet, then a program of mixed talks and Hindic type songs, 31.7 (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DE 1102, PL200, reel antenna and mesh fence of 2 sqm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Cland, 17700, R. Solh, 1355 with Afghan songs 55544, ID de Afghanistan .... in Dari with talks and mentions of Taleban, etc. for more than 15 minutes. 1.8 and 3 m wire (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DE 1102, PL200, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. RAE, 11710 at 0215 Aug 11 [UT Thu] in English with tango music. At 0239 the schedule was given and requests for reception reports with IRC's (NO CASH). DXers Special program #1174 at 0240. Back to tangos at 0247. Lots of summer static! 353 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA [non]. Checked the relay via Sackville 13775 Aug 13 at 1503 during multi-lingual IDs and Blue Danube IS, loud and clear; then starting English at 1505 continuous background noise accompanied the audio, loudening during pauses tnx to the limiter. How does this feed get to Sackville, anyway? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS. 8/13/05, ~1650-1711Z, 810 kHz, ZNS3 (C6B3), Freeport, Bahamas - About twenty minutes with no audio, carrier near local S9+ 30. Audio level has been low for two months. Around noon I thought the level was improved, then audio disappeared and upon return, back as it has been of late. The audio level improvement was brief and may have just been my perception because of good listening conditions at the time. They are frequently IDing themselves as, "The new 810 AM." (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida, [Ten-Tec RX-320D, LF Engineering H-800, GAP DSP], http://ScooterHound.com/WWWR/wobbler/ IRCA via DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. Corsi e ricorsi storici --- La Commissione Europea ha messo a disposizione 138.000 euro per trasmissioni radiofoniche di propaganda a destinazione Bielorussia. Le trasmissioni dovrebbero essere diffuse dalla DW e dalla BBC e, dopo la sua riattivazione, anche da Radio Racyia (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Aug 13, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. 7380 kHz, Voice of Biafra International via Sentech, South Africa. Aug. 6 at *2103-2115. SINPO 35333. Carrier continued till 2103, then sign-on with chorus sounded like hymn till 2105, then ID in English as "You are listening to the Voice of Biafra International broadcast, coming to you from Washington DC, transmitting on 7380 kHz frequency equivalent to 41 meter band." Prayer followed. ID again at 2109, then talk by a man (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** CANADA. CJML is loud and clear here (150 miles NW of Winnipeg) during the day but only on the Sanserino loop or 250 ft longwire. It's non-existent on the Superadio II with the built in loop. At night it gets buried by the mix of other stations on 580. A question: I searched the CRTC website for CJML and only found a reference to a TV station. Does anyone know the link? (Kenneth Nawalkowski, Sandy Lake MB Canada, Aug 9, IRCA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re 5-135: Connections is one of the summer specials to end on 10 September abouts. Miss Benoit will not be returning to CBC but going to a Atkinson fellowship at UofT -- a senior resident at UoT's Massey College (Dan Say, BC, swprograms via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC UNION BRACING FOR MONDAY LOCKOUT BUT WEEKEND NEGOTIATIONS STILL ON --- JOHN MCKAY TORONTO (CP) - CBC viewers could be tuning in to some unfamiliar faces Monday as Canada's public broadcaster braces itself for the possible lockout of 5,500 unionized employees, including national news anchor Peter Mansbridge. Managers could find themselves filling in for staff - operating cameras, editing news copy and even toting boom microphones at football games - as of 12:01 a.m. Monday if the broadcaster can't reach a deal with its union, the Canadian Media Guild. Last-minute bargaining, described by CMG president Lise Lareau as "rather intense," was continuing Friday in hopes of averting what would likely be a devastating blow to the public broadcaster's on-air image. "We're planning for a lockout," said Lareau, who noted that the tone of the negotiations appeared more hopeful than it had been earlier in the day, when the broadcaster issued its 72-hour warning of a possible lockout. "People are working ferociously at the bargaining table," Lareau said. "It's an unbelievable scene, really, the amount of energy that's going into this. It's clear that there's real work happening there." The CBC reportedly had its managers ensconced at a downtown hotel Friday, preparing to do their best to provide at least basic programming. High-profile CMG members such as Mansbridge would have to stay off the job, while local radio morning shows would be replaced by a single national broadcast. TV newscasts would also be pared down, although the CBC also has the option of relying on BBC newscasts for coverage of international events. Network spokesman Jason McDonald conceded that TV content under the planned lockout wouldn't be what viewers are used to, but indicated the show would go on. "We will have programming on all of our services - radio, television and online - and it will be professionally done," he vowed. "I'm not going to get into the specifics of how we will do it. We have different options for how we would get it on air but we certainly are committed to carrying the CFL." CBC employees were being advised Friday to take all their belongings with them when they leave their last shift before the lockout deadline. The broadcaster's last major dispute was late in 2001 when technical staff was locked out across the country. In some cases the sound and lighting was not up to usual standards, newscasts were pared down and there were plenty of repeats. ACTRA, the 21,000-member actors' union, will not perform CBC work during the pending lockout but that's not expected to have an immediate impact onscreen since many shows are not currently in production. At issue between the two sides is outsourcing - the CBC said it needs more flexibility to hire new staff on a contract basis instead of full-time. McDonald said the CBC tabled a comprehensive offer on Thursday that was fair and competitive but that the guild team returned with no language to sign off on. "We've gone since last Sunday now without having any language or proposals agreed upon," McDonald said, adding that was one of the triggers for the lockout notice. Lareau agreed that it appears the lockout threat has built a fire under both sides at the table. Meanwhile, she said that while members were busy making signs and other preparations, there were no plans in place to set up picket lines or hold any demonstrations. Nor was there anything to suggest that the corporation was considering an early lockout or other action to avoid any possible weekend sabotage at its downtown Toronto broadcast centre, Lareau added. McDonald said, too, that the network would abide by the letter of the Canada Labour Code. The CMG, which represents producers, newsroom staff and technicians, says 30 per cent of the CBC's workforce is already non-permanent, giving the network all the flexibility it needs, adding that it can't name any other broadcaster that has gone above that number. McDonald stressed it's not about outsource targets but about "the ebb and flow of programming needs" because audience needs and interests change. The workers have been without a contract for more than a year. Last month, guild members voted 87.3 per cent in favour of giving their negotiating team a strike mandate. Employees in Quebec and Moncton, N.B., belong to different unions and are expected to continue working but not to cross over into Ontario to help out. The CMG represents employees at a number of other media organizations including The Canadian Press and Broadcast News. (c) The Canadian Press, 2005 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANARY ISLANDS [non]. QSL recibida de Radio Exterior de España, "Españoles en la Mar" ESPAÑA, 15110 (Noblejas), Radio Exterior de España, Recibida carta desde las Islas Canarias conteniendo carta QSL con datos completos, firmada por v/s Mary Cortés, productora del programa "Españoles en la Mar", así como pegatinas "stickers" y carta de agradecimiento, pidiendo disculpas por la tardanza en responder, en la que dice que por estar enferma durante tres meses, el programa "Españoles en la Mar" estuvo fuera del aire durante ese tiempo, pero que ya está de nuevo en antena, así como que tiene la correspondencia atrasada. Termina diciendo que espera que siga enviando informes y colaborando con el programa. Tardaron en contestar 75 días y la carta se envió a: Radio Exterior de España Españoles en la Mar Apartado 1233 38080 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Islas Canarias, España El programa "Españoles en la Mar", que se produce en las Islas Canarias, y que tiene una duración de 50 minutos, es transmitido por Radio Exterior de España en los siguientes horarios y frecuencias: 1510 UT de Lunes a Sábado por 21700, 17850, 17760, 15585, 15385, 11815 y 9765 kHz. [+21570 --- see below] 1510 UT Sábados por 17760 y 15385 kHz. 2105 UT de Lunes a Viernes por 17850, 15110, 11815, 11625, 9765 y 7275 kHz. 2205 UT Sábados por 17850, 15110, 11815, 9765 y 7275 kHz [COSTA RICA = 17850, 11815, 9765] (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Caro Manuel, Estávamos, aqui na América do Sul, torcendo para que recebesse a carta confirmação da simpática Mary Cortés, que sempre atendeu a todos com distinção e simpatia. Aproveito para informar que, a partir das 1500 UT, o programa Españoles en la Mar pode ser ouvido, aqui na América do Sul, nas tradicionais freqüências de 21570 e 21700 kHz, em 13 metros. Aos sábados, por volta de 1535 UT [não é sempre neste horário!], Mary contesta [pelo menos contestava, antes da enfermidade!], no ar, as cartas e relatórios dos ouvintes enviados para a direção postal das Ilhas Canárias. Aproveito, ainda, para divulgar a seguinte informação, que está sendo veiculada, nos programas Altas Ondas, da Voz Cristã, e DX HCJB, da Voz dos Andes: - Durante os próximos quatro meses, o programa Con Respuesta, da Rádio Exterior de Espanha, dará lugar ao Amigos de la Onda Corta, aos sábados, entre 1100 e 1130 UT. É que o apresentador Wenceslao Perez Gómez estará de férias. O Con Respuesta é o programa da Radio Exterior de Espanha de respostas para as cartas dos ouvintes. Portanto, às 1100 UTC, dos sábados, confira em 21700 e 21570 kHz o Amigos de la Onda Corta. As informações são de Antonio Avelino da Silva, de Gravatá, Pernambuco, Brasil. 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil, http://www.romais.jor.br Notícias DX via DXLD) ** CHINA. Saludos cordiales, mensajes recibidos por Veronica, nueva incorporación a Radio Internacional de China. Estimado(a) amigo(a): Ante todo reciba un cordial saludo desde Beijing. Muchas gracias por escuchar nuestro programa. Soy Verónica, una nueva chica que comunica con ustedes. Espero que mantengamos una relación más estrecha que los días pasados en el futuro y claro que les informaré más noticias de CRI y de China con frecuencias [sic]. Desde el día 20 de agosto, tenemos un nuevo concurso sobre Taiwán de China, ustedes pueden escuchar el programa y luego contestar problemas, y también les enviaré papeles. Claro preparamos premios. Esperamos su paticipación! Deseamos que escuche con frecuencia nuestros programas y nos ofrece sus opiniones y sugerencias sobre el particular. Como está usded? Hace mucho que ya no tenemos su nueva noticia. Deseamos que se encuentre bien y goce de buena salud, dicha y prosperidad para usted y todo su familia. En espera de su nueva noticia. Cordialmente, Departamento de Español de CRI Nueva noticia: Estimado(a) amigo(a): Desde esta semana, soy yo Verónica quien comunico con ustedes. En el pasado, no podemos responder a las cartas o correos electrónicos de ustedes por algunos factores, pero desde hoy, esta situación cambia, voy a promover la relación entre ustedes y nuestra radio con todos mis esfuerzos, bienvenidos escribir a nosotros frecuentemente. Creo que ustedes quieren saber mucho más sobre China, pueden decirme cuales temas les interesan o sus opiniones de algún problema, incluido sus ideas sobre nuestras programaciones. También hay algunos oyentes [quienes] quieren publicar sus direcciones en la Carta de Beijing para hacerse mucho más amigos, si les interesa, por favor me lo informan. Además, también puedo enviarles la bendición en el día de su cumpleaños, por eso si quiere, dime su cumpleaños. Bueno, en espera de sus noticias. Saludos, Departamento de Español de CRI (via José Miguel Romero2, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** CONGO DR [non]. CLAND? 11890, Okapi? 1649 5.8, talk by OM and YL in vernacular, mentions of Bunia/dunia, Africa, colonel. ID at 1659. 32442 QRM by 11885, and 11900 CNR (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DE 1102, PL200, reel antenna and mesh fence of 2 sqm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. NUEVO PROGRAMA RADIAL PARA CUBA EN ONDA CORTA A partir de lunes, 15 de agosto, Radio República transmitirá a Cuba ocho horas diarias en la frecuencia de 9955 kHz en la banda de 31 metros. Utilizando las facilidades de WRMI en Miami, Radio República transmitirá de lunes a viernes de las 0900-1300 y de las 1600-2000 UT. Los fines de semana, Radio República saldrá al aire a las 0900-1000, 1200-1300 y 1600-2000 UT sábado y domingo, y de las 0200-0400 UT domingo y lunes. Radio República será una producción del Directorio Democrático Cubano, basado en Miami. Lorenzo De Toro, Vice Presidente del Directorio, explicó que la programación de Radio República consistirá en una variedad de noticias, información y entretenimiento en el idioma español dirigida hacia Cuba. Por ejemplo, "Despierta Cuba" será un programa ligero para la mañana con música y concursos. "Entrevista a Fondo" será una serie de entrevistas con diferentes personalidades de la nación cubana. Y "Barrio Adentro" tendrá conversaciones con la gente común y disidentes en Cuba hablando sobre sus condiciones de vida. De Toro dijo que Radio República "será una alternativa a la propaganda estrictamente controlada que difunda el régimen cubano. Vamos a darle esperanza a una nación que la necesita tanto." En años pasados el Directorio tuvo programas de onda corta en La Voz del CID y en WRMI (Radio MIami Internacional), pero nada tan ambicioso como su nuevo esquema de ocho horas diarias de programación. Según De Toro, "Este nuevo servicio de radio es solamente parte de la misión del Directorio, que intenta ayudar a un país que está sufriendo bajo una dictadura." Los oyentes de onda corta que escuchan Radio República pueden enviar sus comentarios para los productores a la dirección de correo electrónico info@radiorepublica.org. Los informes de recepción se pueden dirigir a info @ wrmi.net, o a WRMI, Apartado Postal 526852, Miami, Florida 33152 EUA (WRMI Aug 12 via DXLD) See also USA ** ECUADOR. DX Partyline does it again. The Aug 13 edition at 24 minutes into the program reads the erroneous 12105 logging of KNLS by WDX6AA July 20, despite the detailed discussion we had of that at the time in DXLD. O o, here is another mistaken logging, which will no doubt be on DXPL in due time: ``UNITED STATES WINB Pennsylvania 9320 1709 GMT English 232 Sept [sic] 9 OM with on going religous comments. MacKenzie-CA.`` Actually it is WWRB with Brother Scare; WINB has used that frequency previously and/or at other times (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. Radio Cairo, 9990 with usual News fanfare at 1700 Aug 13, then into presumed Newscast. Could not ID the language as the usual poor modulation distorted an otherwise nice signal. Definite Radio Cairo IDs at 1716 UT. 454 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. 15355, Radio EDXP Special Broadcast via NHK 70th Anniversary via Moyabi. Full data "Laughing Kookaburra' QSL Card. Reply in 28 days. v/s Bob Padula (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Ciao, vi segnalo che ho ricevuto la QSL del Bayerischer Rundfunk Monaco [München] (emissione su 6085 khz in DRM da Ismaning) dopo aver inviato un rapporto d'ascolto all'indirizzo email techinfo @ br-online.de Saluti, (Andrea Borgnino IW0HK, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** ICELAND. ISLANDIA? 12115, Ríkisútvarpið?, 1401-1410, escuchada el 6 de agosto, probablemente en islandés a locutor y locutora con boletín de noticias corresponsales, música de sintonía, comentarios con música de fondo, SINPO 44433 (José Miguel Romero Sacañet (Castellón) España SANGEAN ATS 909 Antena telescopica, HCDX via DXLD) Seldom reported; should not be difficult from NAm. BTW, after getting one by accident, I have discovered that in MS Word you can make the lower-cased Icelandic crossed-d with control-apostrophe-d: ð tho it may not come thru once converted to plain text (gh) ** INDIA. SPECIAL BROADCASTS FOR INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY Dear Friends, India will be celebrating its Independence Day on August 15. The following are details of special broadcasts by All India Radio for the occasion. 14 Aug 2005 1400 UT : President of India's address to the nation. --------------- 15 Aug 2005 0135-0240 UT : Running Commentary of Flag Hoisting at Red Fort, New Delhi. Hindi : 6030 6155 9595 11620 & 15135 (Delhi) English: 4860 11830 & 15040 (Delhi); 9910 (Aligarh); 13630 (Bangalore) All stations of AIR will relay these programs. -------------- The following Regional SW stations will start on their daytime frequencies about one hour earlier than usual on 15 August. So at around 0130 UT please look out the following frequencies. 7115 Port Blair, 7140 Hyderabad, 7150 Imphal, 7180 Bhopal, 7210 Kolkata, 7290 Thiruvananthapuram. Shimla 6020 & Sringar 6110 will be on air from 0025 UT itself. -------------- The following changes will be there for External Services. 0215-0300 Pushtu on 9910 will be cancelled. 0135-0240 Hindi commentary will be broadcast instead of Urdu Service on 6155 9595 & 11620. --------------- Reception reports may be sent to: spectrum-manager @ air.org.in With Independence Day Greetings, 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, Aug 11, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Dear Glenn The station mentioned in John Wilkins' report (DXLD 5-135) is indeed RRI Palu. I've been hearing it varying around 3949-3950 kHz over the past week. Their rarely reported daytime frequencies of 1035 and 7234v kHz were also heard when I visited Balikpapan in East Kalimantan last weekend. With best wishes (Alan Davies, Sidoarjo, Indonesia, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 11860, RRI Jakarta NOT found on 31.7 and later!! (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DE 1102, PL200, reel antenna and mesh fence of 2 sqm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Erik Køie, who supplied the five audio files currently in Station Sounds [on the dxldyg], is getting error messages from his Real player when trying to listen to some of them. Is anyone else having this problem? They play right away for me with no problems. YG makes the file names incredibly monstruous; could that be the cause, and is there any way to avoid or improve this situation? (Glenn, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, the only problem I had was with the Arabic ID of Syria only, the rest is OK to me here. Keep up the good work. B. Rgds (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, ibid.) Hi Glenn, people will have to make sure that their Real One player is up to date; otherwise it may not work! 73 (Tim Gaynor, Australia, ibid.) Glenn, that's the reason that most of the hobbyists prefer .MP3 format files instead of .ra/.rm etc files of REAL company. I had trouble with some REAL software packages of V.7/V.8/V.9 too in the past, and also REAL software is known for UNWANTED ESPIONAGE links during REAL access session, so I use the freeware of MEDIA PLAYER CLASSIC instead, in past 2-3 years time, which handles also .ra/.rm files format. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You mean a Windows Media Player Classic? Could you refer to download page for that? (Glenn to WB, via DXLD) XP OPS: http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1_downloads_13010299.html click Zum Download 98/ME OPS: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/guliverkli http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/guliverkli/mpc98me6483.zip?download 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi out there. On the advice of Tim I just downloaded the 10.5 version of the RealPlayer, but I still cannot play 'my' Iraq English ID. Same error message. The other files play fine! Thanks also for the advise from Wolfy. Shall try that player when time permits. Kind Regards, (Erik Køie / OZ3YI, DK-2840 Holte, Denmark, dxldyg via DXLD) ADD the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.34 Hi, just checked it. Latest Windows Media Player Classic program works very fine for the last four audio .rm files on Yahoo-groups DXLD / Station SOUNDS, but n o t the first file of Iraq item: R. Iraq in English, 9 May 2005 at 2210 via Hotbird, Koie. 277kB Maybe you should download and install in addition the codes on your PC, of K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.34 Description: Videocodec K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.34 Version: 1.34. -- of 23.13 MB size Date: 05.July 2005 under http://www.codecguide.com/download_mega.htm Contains QuickTime- and Real Time Alternative also. BSplayer [version 1.32.820] Media Player Classic [version 6.4.8.4] |||||||||||| DivX Pro [version 5.2.1] [Decoding] DivX Pro [version 5.2.1] [Encoding] XviD [Version 1.0.3 build 2004-12-20] [Decoding] XviD [Version 1.0.3 build 2004-12-20] [Encoding] (...) 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WRN MARKETING MANAGER INTERVIEWED ON RADIO POLONIA --- On this week's edition of the Multimedia Show on Radio Polonia, Peter Gentle talks to Tim Ayris, Marketing manager at the WRN. Hear Tim on the origins of the World Radio Network, how the organization has expanded, on WorldSpace, and tailoring the network to meet the changing demands of the international radio audience. You can listen to the programme in MP3 via the link on this page. http://www.radio.com.pl/polonia/article.asp?tId=25956&j=2 # posted by Andy @ 07:21 UT Aug 13 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Hi, A joint Russian-Chinese counter-terrorism exercise will take place in the Yellow Sea, August 23rd-25th. So, keep your ears open. Reports are most welcome! 73, (Ary Boender, Aug 13, BDXC via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re 5-135: "There is also a Hebrew to Hebrew [sic] dictionary which translates radio and radio technology related terms." Glenn, The dictionary IS entirely in Hebrew. It translates Hebrew radio terms into Hebrew definitions. "Hebrew to Hebrew" was for emphasis (Doni Rosenzweig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. See UNIDENTIFIED, 6105 ** JORDAN [and non]. What is the world is going on with R. Jordan on 11690? Sat Aug 13 at 1515 I hear play-by-play sports in British English, sounds just like the BBC! It IS the BBC WS // 12095 and synchronized, unlike 9740 (Glenn Hauser, OK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] I was in a hurry to get this posted so others could check it out. Then I looked up 11690 in HFCC A-05 and found: 11690 1500 1700 48SW,52NE,53NW MEY 500 5 1234567 270305 301005 D G BBC MER So BBC is on the books via South Africa during this bihour --- but how come we have only been hearing Jordan previously? Was this BBC transmission just activated? And is Jordan off the air or just not propagating, as conditions are below normal (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid.) 11690 MEY - former 9750 kHz entries in HFCC A05 in March 2005: 11690 1500-1530 smtwtfs BBC Meyerton 500 005 English E AF HR 4/3/0.5 11690 1530-1615 smtwtfs BBC Meyerton 500 005 Swahili E AF HR 4/3/0.5 11690 1615-1630 smtwt.. BBC Meyerton 500 005 Swahili E AF HR 4/3/0.5 11690 1615-1700 .....fs BBC Meyerton 500 005 English E AF HR 4/3/0.5 11690 1630-1700 smtwt.. BBC Meyerton 500 005 Krwanda/Krundi E AF HR 4/3/0.5 ... and instead on MEY 21490 kHz in B-05 season. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So maybe they just now replaced 9750 with 11690. Jordan is in for a bad time, this added to RTTY and HCJB QRM earlier. If BBC English is only for half an hour at 1500, that must be frustrating for the sports addicts on Saturdays. A prime example of how different propagation can be only 2 megameters away, a few minutes later: (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. Radio Jordan, 11690, tune up to avoid RTTY at 1528 Aug 13 with English pop tunes from the like of Elton John, Shania Twain etc. IDs like "Hits from the past and present, 96.3 FM" and "Radio Jordan 96.3 FM". Two time pips to 1600 Newscast. The main points were repeated at 1607 followed by contact addresses and e-mails. Local Jordanian weather at 1608 then back to 96.3 FM at 1609 after time check. 343 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Collins HF- 2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [and non]. India & Pakistan & Kashmir. Pro-Pakistani Radio Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom was heard in Sofia at 1430 UT on 5101 kHz, and pro-Indian Radio Voice of Kashmir is received often around 1500 on 6100 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 12 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KIRIBATI. QSL from Radio Kiribati --- This week I received a verification by email from T3K1 Radio Kiribati, Tarawa, confirming my reception on 846 kHz in Arctic Norway last October. See http://www.kongsfjord.no for details about our KONG DXpeditions. The station was heard in Kongsfjord also in October 2003, and these are so far the only [known] mediumwave loggings in Europe of this station (Arnstein Bue, Stokkanhaugen 119, 7048 Trondheim, NORWAY / NORUEGA / NORVÈGE, HCDX via DXLD) ** KURE. Kure Atoll, KH7. An international DXpedition to the northernmost Hawaiian Atoll will be carried out from September 24 to October 9 using the call sign K7C and will implement an innovative satellite-internet system (DXA) for real-time display of the expedition activities. In addition to the radio operations, the team will carry out a variety of other activities in support of the wildlife sanctuary on Kure, and contribute to the maintenance and upgrading of the facilities on Kure. Kure Atoll is the northernmost coral atoll in the world and. It lies 2204 km northwest of Honolulu which is the point of departure for the expedition. The voyage will take about eight days to reach Kure. The team will spend two weeks on the atoll operating on all HF bands plus 6 meters and then return to Honolulu. QSL cards should be sent to N4XP (source? Via DX Editor Dimiter Petrov, LZ1AF, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 12 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** LATVIA. Re 5-135: Tom: The lack of those memories from the 60s pirates on short wave is the only flop on the efforts you have planned to offer us, the DX worldwide community, with the transmission of Alice's Restaurant, something that goes beyond the conventional programming of pop/rock stations, whether legal or pirate. Please, have mercy on us and play that special at some other time. Y'know, for short wave those stories have more meaning than simply playing music back to back like a jukebox, only with brief IDs. In the meantime let's hope that Sunday 14 transmission will reach the Latin American continent as you are pointing at Brazil with ERP of 3.2 megawatts, as suggested Glenn Hauser in 5-134, altho by that time of day on 9290 I see it, as we say here in Tiquicia, "in the tail of a deer" (en la cola de un venado). Regards. Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. I received a QSL from Slovakia and Radio Tatras International for the first broadcast on 9290 kHz on the 9th of April. I got a QSL-letter signed by Eric N Wiltsher, a car sticker (limited edition) and a post card from Poprad (Lennart Weirell, Vasteras, Sweden, HCDX via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. 21695, V. of Africa, 1304 3.8 starting with drums and OM with ID ``This is Voice of Africa`` with news, participation on classic identities of S. Africa, 34423, with 2 sqm mesh (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 6024.88, RM/Voice of Islam, Aug 10 & 11, 1332-1407, assume in Malay, pop songs and phone-in program, 1359 Middle Eastern type music, ToH two time clicks, ID ``Radio Suara Islam`` (Voice of Islam), ``Salam Alaikum,`` several frequencies given, several mentions of ``FM,`` singing jingle for ``Suara Islam,`` fair-poor (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. NATIONWIDE AIRPORT RADIO STATION TO LAUNCH | Text of report by Sheela Chandran, published by Malaysian newspaper The Star website on 10 August Travellers and radio listeners are in for a treat with the inception of KL [Kuala Lumpur] International Airport's (KLIA) 24-hour radio station Fly.fm, which will broadcast nationwide. The station will operate from KLIA in Sepang, Selangor. "Apart from the estimated 25 million passenger arrivals at KLIA, Fly.fm is also targeting the young adult market. "In terms of music content, listeners can expect a blend of the latest English and Bahasa Malaysia hits," said Max-Airplay Sdn Bhd (MAX) Chief Operating Officer Azman Shah Mohd Yusof in an e-mail interview recently. Azman added that Fly.fm will broadcast news bulletins throughout the day. The station will be receiving its updates from newspapers, TV3 and Bernama. Fly.fm is now having its second stage of test transmission and is targeting to have full transmission by the end of the year. The station's test broadcasts can be heard on 95.8 FM in the Klang Valley. According to Azman, its transmission spills over to as far as Kajang in Selangor, Tapah in Perak and Temerloh in Pahang. "Fly.fm has plans to expand its transmission to the west coast by the third-quarter of this year." The station is operated by MAX with financial back-up from Media Prima Bhd through its subsidiary Max-Airplay Sdn Bhd. The radio station serves to promote KLIA as a tourist and commercial hub and provide flight information. The content is geared towards lifestyle and travel. "Fly.fm's on-air personalities will comprise a mix of experienced and young, up-and-coming talents. The station's programming and talent management department is headed by former Hitz.fm deejay Saufian Mokhtar aka The Fly Guy. "We are planning to have roadshows before year end to create station awareness," said Azman. He added that there is still room for more radio stations in the country, provided that their concept and content compliment those of existing stations. Listeners in the Klang Valley can tune in to Fly.fm's test transmission on 95.8 FM. Source: The Star website, Kuala Lumpur, in English 10 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO [non]. Informe Cantinflas en Radio --- Estimados amigos de la lista. Quien tenga ganas de escuchar a ``Mario Moreno Cantinflas, a 91 años de su nacimiento``, el personaje y el hombre detrás del personaje, pueden hacerlo hasta el día lunes en una recordación que le realicé en la emisora Radio Sarandi 690 AM, en el día de su nacimiento un 12 de de Agosto pero del 2005, dentro del periodístico Cierre de Jornada, el cual estará cargado en la Web hasta el lunes a las 20 TU. Visitar http://www.sarandi690.com.uy seleccionar en la programación Cierre de Jornada y luego Audio del último programa; en especial este recuerdo está a partir de los primeros 48 minutos aproximadamente. Gracias y a seguir haciendo y disfrutando de la radio (Gabriel Gómez, Montevideo, Uruguay, Aug 13, Diexista e Historiador de la Radio, condiglist via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. ERF [= TWR] DISCUSSES ABANDONING MCR TRANSMITTERS Enclosed an item from the NTT newsletter of Dr Hansjörg Biener. Gist: At present it is subject of an internal discussion at Evangeliums- Rundfunk to abandon the MCR mediumwave and shortwave transmitters (i.e. Roumoules and Fontbonne). They say that an hour of airtime on the Roumoules transmitter costs five times more than at Mainflingen [GERMANY, 1539 kHz, near another MONACO] and hope, that the current reconstruction of the Mainflingen facility will provide satisfactory coverage, enabling them to do without the expensive MCR transmitter. No explicit mention of shortwave by the quoted ERF official here, but it seems to me that the shortwave transmissions would be cancelled together with 1467. Note that the only remaining Fontbonne transmission beside ERF German is English in the morning on 9870. I can hardly imagine that TWR as customer and/or MCR as operator will bother to keep the site for such a minor usage (Kai Ludwig, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Monaco: Die traditionelle Mittel- und Kurzwelle wird beim Evangeliums- Rundfunk immer mehr von Satellit und Kabel abgelöst. Dies geht aus Zahlen einer Hörerumfrage hervor, die der Evangeliums-Rundfunk in seinem Programmheft August veröffentlicht hat: "Unsere neuste Hörerumfrage ergibnt, dass tatsächlich ca. 45 % unserer Hörer ERF Sendungen über Satellit empfangen, ca. 30 % über Mittelwelle Mainflingen und Monte Carlo, 15 % über Kurzwelle und ungefährt 19 % über Kabel (Mehrfachnennungen waren möglich." Hartmut Diehl, Direktor Technik und Marketing und Mitglied der Missionsleitung, berichtet in dem zitierten Beitrag von internen Diskussionen über die Abschaltung der Mittel- und Kurzwelle Monte Carlo. "Eine Stunde über den MW-Sender in Monte Carlo kostet den ERF den fünffachen Preis einer Stunde über die Sendeanlage in Mainflingen." Sobald die Erneuerung der Anlage in Mainflingen akzeptable Ergebnisse zeitigt, "hoffen wir, die MW- Ausstrahlungen über den teuren Sender in Monte Carlo einstellen zu können." Erstmals werden mit diesen Bemerkungen die Freunde des ERF auf den Abschied von der seit 1961 eingesetzten TWR-Station in Monte Carlo vorbereitet (Zitate aus Antenne Aug. 2005, S. 9 via Dr. Hj. Biener via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. KWHN 1650 Fort Smith AR, transmitter in OK, was among the stations received in South Africa: 1650, 0305 27/07/05, USA, KWHN Fort Smith AR, with ID and weather "... Now - Newstalk 16-50 KWHN Oklahoma weather - Good evening - Your official ‘K-WHN’ forecast ... " fair peak (Gary Deacon, Seefontein 2 DX-pedition, South Africa, dxing.info via DXLD) See DX-PEDITIONS; not here, but I saw another recent log of this citing ARIZONA. AR = Arkansas, AZ = Arizona, AK = Alaska, AL = Alabama. Even Americans mix these up despite having been in effect for sesquidecades (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Sam Jones is back on Tulsa radio! Catch him on KRVT AM 1270, Fridays 12-1 pm, and reruns Friday mornings 7-8 am. He`s a first rate talk show host (Frosty Troy, Observerscope, Oklahoma Observer Aug 10 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. OKC SHOULD SHUN HATE RADIO STATIONS --- By John Wylie An open letter to the people of Oklahoma City: Those devoted to ensuring free speech for all citizens know the rules: You can`t deliberately incite violence. You can`t falsely yell ``Fire!`` in a crowded theater. And you can`t disclose secret American troop movements in a time of war. There are also responsibilities, first set forth by our founding fathers whose Declaration of Independence we just celebrated: Have the courage of your convictions. John Hancock epitomized that by signing boldly, so King George wouldn`t need his glasses to read the name. Protesters were at the offices of Clear Channel Communications in Oklahoma City because a DJ using the name ``Mo`` Modzelewski has violated those rules and responsibilities, and his boss, Rich Cohn, has done nothing to stop it. Modzelewski has suggested on the air that beating women is a joke, those with AIDS deserve to die, and those who disagree with him are crybabies. He`s real tough --- and he can be, since he has no listed phone number and, if he follows the tradition of his ``profession,`` uses an assumed name on the air. He says he`s willing to debate his critics on his show --- where his actions are shielded form public view by people and machines and where he can cut and edit his guests` words. The founders had courage. Mo apparently has a big yellow stripe. He doesn`t have a listed phone number --- who knows where he even lives? Clear Channel`s ability to let one DJ work on many stations at once and sound ``local`` is the envy of the industry. Is he in Vegas or New York? Who knows. Heads Other Radio Stations Rick Cohn is listed as the general manager of not just ``The Buzz`` but also of Spanish language station KEBC, KJ103, KTOK, KTST (The Twister) and KXXY. But that isn`t all. Based in Tulsa, he was named CC regional VP in late 2001 covering that city and OKC plus Lawton, Little Rock, Fayetteville, Ft. Smith and Jonesboro. One thing not listed is his phone number. He clearly outlined this when he was promoted: ``We are aggressively moving forward in maximizing our regional sales opportunities for our customer base.`` Can you say ``Hello, Wal-Mart``? As GM, he is responsible for ``Mo`s`` hateful words, so CC`s other five OKC stations share the responsibility. Same GM. Same address. Same phone. You can fight back. Clear Channel raked in $1.9 billion in the first quarter, but had just $47.9 million in profits --- a drop of 59 percent from the first quarter a year ago. It cites advertisers` slow acceptance of its new ad packaging concept [fewer spots per hour at higher prices], but says it expects more robust sales as 2005 continues. That`s where you come in. If you listen to any of CC`s stations, make a note of the local advertisers. Don`t just call or write a letter --- drop in with a simple message: ``Until Mo and the hate mongers like him are off the air in Oklahoma City, I am exercising my right to free speech. As long as your advertising dollars help pay for Mo and his ilk, my dollars will not be supporting you. Please reconsider your spending habits and join the good citizens of Oklahoma City in fighting bigotry, hatred and the promotion of violence against women an minorities.`` Also, drop by the Clear Channel office and ask Mo and Rick for a public debate in a neutral forum which includes questions and answers and is open to complete media coverage, including microphones and cameras. If they want to exercise their free speech rights, is it too much for them to show the courage of their convictions by also accepting the responsibility and following the rules. Be strong, Oklahoma City. Support the values of our founding fathers, Oklahoma City. Be proud, Oklahoma City. The rest of Oklahoma and the nation will back you if you speak forcefully today, in keeping with our cherished heritage. --- The author is editor of the Oologah Lake Leader (Oklahoma Observer Aug 10 via DXLD) ** OMAN. 15375, in Arabic 1415 with talks by YL, qur`anic verses; 1420 a song then ID, 33433, splash by RFE Tajik. Nothing on 15140 31.7 (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DE 1102, PL200, reel antenna and mesh fence of 2 sqm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Saludos cordiales, escuchada el 11 de Agosto por los 6240 kHz la emisora rusa Special Radio, desde las 1800 a 1859, emisión en ruso, locutora con identificación en inglés, "Special Radio", dando horarios y frecuencias así como dirección pagina web: http://www.specialradio.net/ y la dirección de la emisora: Special Radio, P. O. Box 424, Moscú 119017, Rusia. Locutor en ruso con presentacón y comentarios "Programa de música actual rusa", música pop local, rock instrumental y música alternativa, SINPO 44433. Remitiéndome a una escucha del 21 de Julio y publicada el 31 de Julio: 6240 21 Jul NO ID, 1815-1833, relays pop rock y rock sinfónico, locutor con comentarios, SINPO 44333. Es probable que esta emisora no identificada en su momento pueda tratarse de la misma, coincide en día de emisión, los jueves únicamente y coincide en horario (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet (Castellón), España, SANGEAN ATS 909, Antena telescópica, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. Gary sits on 1548, hoping to hear St. Helena for the first time in many a year. Soon he does get some audio from them and listens to adverts for a competition they are running. We last heard this old favourite in the 80s. Throughout the DXpedition we were also trying for Ascension on 1602 but that frequency is quite messy with lots of burbling but nothing definite. Eventually I get an ID from R. Vitoria in Spain, but at no point did we even get a whiff of Ascension (Vince Stevens, Seefontein 2 DX-pedition, South Africa, dxing.info via DXLD) Another highlight for me was the reception of St. Helena on 1548 - To the best of my knowledge, the 100 watt station was last received by yours truly and a few SA DXers, including Vince & John, during the excellent reception conditions of the middle/late 80's. The local announcements brought back some great DX memories! Thanks to the directional beverage, the low power signal managed to appear with, and over Capitol Gold (UK), both on top of a subdued local 10KW Radio Islam which normally dominates on this frequency. Viz.: 1548 kHz, 2015 26/07/05, Radio St. Helena Jamestown in English with station ID by male announcer followed by pop music. Also heard at 2144 hours with local announcements by female presenter including: "... The radio quiz on Radio St. Helena continues this week and the winner will receive ten pounds ...`` Also heard on 28/7 at 0000 hours with BBC news relay, poor with occasional fair peaks sharing with Capitol Gold, London - only slight intermittent QRM from Radio Islam at this time (Gary Deacon, Seefontein 2 DX-pedition, South Africa, dxing.info via DXLD) From full report referenced under DX-Peditions below ** SLOVAKIA. Double MY Pleasure --- Hello All, On August 9 I received a QSL card from Radio Slovakia confirming my report of July 15, 2005, and on August 11 I received another different card confirming the same report. I heard that they were going to cease shortwave operations at the end of July, so I thought that I should get a report off to them quickly. I'm not sure if they shut down or not (Rich Brock, Bridgewater, PA, HCDX via DXLD) Still going for timebeing (gh, DXLD) ** SOMALIA [non]. 17550, 12/8 *13.30-14.00* R. WAABERI - Jülich (Germany), Somali, IDs OM/YL, local music, news OM. Only Friday. Fair/Good (LUCA BOTTO FIORA QTH: Rapallo (Genova) Italy, HCDX via DXLD) ** SOMALIA [and non]. INTRUDER WATCH: Of the other principal intruders into our bands it appears that a group of Somali operators are still on the air from Nairobi. They are on 7057, 14066 and 14240 kHz regularly. A move of the new Somali interim government from Nairobi to Jowhar north of Mogadishu seems not to have changed the intruder situation in any way (WIA News via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1461 August 12, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SPAIN. Roundabout QSLing, and program news: see CANARY ISLANDS ** SUDAN. 9505, R Omdurman, vary bad sounding at 1743 6.8 (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, using 5 m wire outdoors and De1102, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 8000, V. of Sudan. 1545 with talks in Arabic. Music interval at 1550. Possible jammer; 1552 mentions of Sudan. With 2 sqm mesh (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. CHINA (TAIWAN), 11940, Trans World Broadcasting Ministry via Taipei. Full data QSL Cards, one in English and the other in Chinese, with my own prepared cards, signed and stamped. Also listed the transmitter site with power (Taipei -100 kW) Also sent a accompanying letter apologizing for the poor English, with station history and information. This for a postal report to this address: Trans World Broadcasting Ministry, 467 Chih Sien 1st Rd. 7/F, Kaohsiung 800 Taiwan, Republic of China. Reply in 62 days. v/s: Dau- Sheng Chu (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANZANIA. INTRUDER WATCH: A SAFARI ON 40 METERS --- They are hunting on 40 meters, but it`s not DX that these pirate operators are after. Its wild animals, as Ted Alleyne, 5Z4NU, reports that a safari group is operating on 7056 kHz in Tanzania and it has been very active. The operators are on daily and hold nets well into the evening, using English, Afrikaans and other languages. Also, they appear to be immune to authority as complaints to the telecom regulators have proved completely unsuccessful so far (WIA News via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1461 August 12, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** UGANDA. The closure of a Ugandan radio station is condemned by opposition politicians and media groups. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4144502.stm (via Doug Copeland, MB, DXLD) Viz.: UGANDA'S RADIO CLOSURE CONDEMNED The closure of a Ugandan radio station has been condemned by opposition politicians and media groups. Politician James Otieno told the BBC the move was "unacceptable", while the Uganda Journalist Association said the government had exceeded its powers. KFM was closed after it aired a heated debate on the possible causes of the helicopter crash which killed Sudanese Vice-President John Garang. Uganda's president had warned the media not to report speculation on the crash. Mr Garang was travelling in the Ugandan helicopter when it crashed taking him back to Sudan after meeting Mr Museveni. The Ugandan crew were also killed. 'Right to question' Information Minister Nsaba Buturo said KFM's licence had been suspended because of a programme that did not meet Uganda's broadcasting standards. Any newspaper which plays around with regional security, I will not tolerate it. I will just simply close it, finish, the end President Yoweri Museveni [caption?] He denied the closure was an attack on press freedom. "Freedom without responsibility is dangerous to a young democracy such as ours," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. But the Uganda Journalist Association (UJA) said the Broadcasting Council did not have the powers to close KFM. "The action is not part of the functions of the council under the law as its mandate is to arbitrate and resolve disputes anybody has with the electronic media," said UJA Secretary General Haruna Kanaabi. Mr Otieno told the BBC the decision showed that Mr Museveni was intimidating the media at a time when Ugandans wanted more political freedom. "People have a right to question," said Mr Otieno - who is based in London and a member of the former ruling Uganda People's Congress. 'Vultures' The head of the media group which runs KFM said he would "pursue all available avenues" to return to the airwaves. The closure was "unreasonable and illegal", Monitor group head Conrad Nkutu told the AFP news agency. President Museveni has described some journalists as "vultures" The programme was hosted by prominent journalist Andrew Mwenda - who was singled out for criticism by Mr Museveni over his articles in the Monitor newspaper, part of the same media group. Mr Museveni had said publishing conspiracy theories about the crash constituted a threat to national security and would not be tolerated. "They are vultures," he said of the papers in question. "For them the misery of the many is the joy of the vultures. "Now, any newspaper which plays around with regional security, I will not tolerate it. I will just simply close it, finish, the end." However, he has been one of the few public officials to say he does not know the cause of the crash - others have said it was definitely an accident. An investigation has been opened (via Andy O`Brien, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. BBCWS takes over Jordan`s 11690: see JORDAN [and non] ** U S A. WRMI has a major new Cuban exile client, Radio República starting Aug 15 on 9955; this will mean decreased usage of 7385 in English, including the Saturday and Sunday night DX blocks. So DX programs including WOR on Saturday and Sunday evenings and Sunday mornings will be gone, maybe moved to 2000-2400 period on 7385. see CUBA [non] (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ``If you could meet anyone in radio broadcasting (living or dead), who would it be and why?" - Submitted by Scott Fybush, Rochester, New York (NRC-AM Question of the Week) At one time I heard the the most well-known American in the USSR was a fellow named Willis Connover. When I heard that story I knew who he was, but I bet almost no one else in the USA did! He was a long- running jazz program host on the VOA. He had a very slow delivery, most likely to make the program more accessible to listeners with limited English skills. Anyway, he would have been interesting to talk to - famous around the world but unknown in his own hometown. I think his theme song was "Take the A Train" (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) 1. Jim Hawthorne, who I believe is still in his mid 80s; 2. Steve Allen; 3. Garrison Keillor (Qal R. Mann, Krumudgeon, NRC-AM via DXLD) Keillor came in last year to do a one-man show at the university's performing arts center, and some of KSMU's big-money donors got to go to dinner with him along with our GM. He reported that Keillor said barely two words to anyone the whole time. In person he's more than just "shy", he's rather strange and eccentric. He certainly did well enough greeting well-wishers and autograph seekers at a backstage reception after the show, but despite his many years of performing -- and Keillor has said this himself -- at heart he's a writer, and that's pretty much a solitary pursuit. Sorry John, but I wouldn't expect him to be much of a conversationalist (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) We could always trade notes! I could have invented Powdermilk Biscuits if I'd realized there was a market for shy --- I outgrew mine, though! Silent Qal (John R. Callarman, Krum TX, ibid.) And remember GK was so rude in his Oklahoma City appearance a couple years ago that KCSC who sponsored it, canceled his show (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. AS A SMOKER DIES, BIG TOBACCO THRIVES DERRICK Z. JACKSON, Boston Globe, Posted on Fri, Aug. 12, 2005 IN 1996, Peter Jennings led off an ABC News special by saying: "Tonight we're going to show you how the tobacco companies continue to prosper despite the damage these things do and despite the increased pressure the companies are under from lawsuits and proposed government regulation. This is a very, very smart industry that has been turning adversity into opportunity for the last 30 years." Last year Jennings anchored another special about Big Tobacco. After a public health professor led off by saying, "Congress, which is essentially bought by the tobacco industry, isn't willing to act to save literally tens of millions of American lives," Jennings added, "This is also a program about the failure of the country's public health leaders. They squandered an opportunity to save millions of lives." Jennings lost his own life this week from lung cancer from smoking. His struggle in some ways mirrors the nation's entanglement with cigarettes. . . http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/opinion/12363888.htm (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. Mediageek is an independent weekly half-hour media issues program that is available for free to all non-commercial, community, LPFM, internet and unlicensed radio stations. Mediageek is available for download in broadcast quality MP3 each week by Monday at 6 PM CST [sic]. The program can be downloaded from: http://www.mediageek.org http://radio.indymedia.org http://www.radio4all.net About Mediageek: Mediageek is a weekly half-hour radio program that takes a critical view of our media environment, and places a sharp focus on independent and grassroots media. Each week we highlight news about our media that gets ignored in the mainstream media or shunted to the back of the business pages, because the press views media news as only important to investors. On Mediageek we contend that this information is important for democracy and justice. We also talk to people who are busy making their own media and fighting for our rights to communicate. We hope that these stories are an inspiration to listeners to get involved in supporting and creating independent media. How My Station Can Air Mediageek: Just send an e-mail to paul @ mediageek.org Tell us about your station and when the program airs. If you can tell us about your local media environment, we'll try to include news about your community's media, too. About the Producers: Paul Riismandel brought Mediageek to the air in March, 2002 and is the host of the program. He has been active in community and non-commercial radio for over 15 years and is currently a PhD student in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois, where he studies the history and political economy of the media. Paul is a founding member of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center and has published numerous articles on topics like media ownership, pirate radio and low-power FM. He earns a living as an audio and video producer at the University of Illinois. Drew Tarico joined Mediageek as producer in October, 2003. He has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois and a background in digital audio production. Where is Mediageek Produced? Mediageek is produced live at community radio WEFT in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Although the program includes news about the Champaign-Urbana media environment, we primarily focus on issues of national and global significance. We also attempt to cover news from communities of our affiliate stations. Who Airs Mediageek? WEFT, Champaign, IL KRFP, Radio Free Moscow, ID KQRP, Salida, CA Blast Furnace Radio, http://notowar.com/blastfurnace.html Luver Alternative News, http://www.luver.org/ Radical Radio, http://www.radicalradio.org/ Radio LavaLamp, http://www.radiolavalamp.org/ Past Guests on Mediageek Include: Jeremy Alderson, The Homelessness Marathon John Anderson, Free Press' Media Minutes and DIYmedia.net Mike Bonnano, the Yes Men Greg Boozell, Chicago Access Network Joshua Breitbart, Rooftop Films and Clamor Magazine Brett Davidson, Idasa Democracy Radio Project Pablo DeOcampo, Independent Publishing Resource Center, Portland, OR Russ Forster, "8-Track Mind" and independent filmmaker: "So Wrong They're Right" Eric Galatas, Free Speech TV Amy Goodman, Democracy Now Michael Lahey, independent filmmaker, director of "Making Waves" Sara Longsmith, Free Radio Brattleboro, VT Robert McChesney, University of Illinois and Free Press Christopher Maxwell, The Virginia Center for the Free Press Leigh Robartes, Radio Free Moscow, ID Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive Magazine Pete TriDish, Prometheus Radio Project V-Man, Free Radio Santa Cruz, CA (via Paul Balster, UK, DXLD) ** U S A. Laurel: to the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation for warning its staff, members and media pundits to stop watching Fox News because of their misquotes and lack of factual reporting (Frosty Troy, Observerscope, Oklahoma Observer Aug 10 via DXLD) ** U S A. TV STATIONS FINED, FAILED TO INFORM HEARING-IMPAIRED By TIM ENGSTROM Published by news-press.com on August 9, 2005 http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050809/NEWS01/50809015/1075 Two Southwest Florida television stations failed to keep hearing- impaired viewers adequately informed as Hurricane Charley approached last year and each should pay a $24,000 fine, federal regulators announced Tuesday. The Federal Communications Commission proposed the fines against NBC2 and ABC7 for ``failing in a timely manner to make accessible to persons with hearing disabilities emergency information that they provided aurally.`` Both stations are operated by Waterman Broadcasting. At least one person and two agencies that serve hearing-impaired residents in Southwest Florida filed complaints with the FCC last year concerning a lack of communication on all four local network affiliates. The FCC notice, which applies only to the ABC and NBC stations, lists three ``apparent violations`` as Hurricane Charley made its way to Charlotte County on Aug. 13: • News anchor Heather Turco`s verbal report at 1:58 p.m. that the Sanibel Causeway was closed. • At 2:21 p.m., meteorologist Robert Van Winkle announced that evacuations of manufactured homes in low-lying areas in Glades County was mandatory. • At 2:26 p.m., when meteorologist Jim Reif urged residents of Charlotte County ``stay where you are`` because it was too dangerous to evacuate. In each case, the station, which were broadcasting identical coverage, ``failed to provide this information visually,`` according to the FCC. Steve Pontius, general manager for Waterman, said the company is reviewing the FCC`s conclusions. ``We still have an appeals process to go through and we are considering our options,`` Pontius said, adding that he is proud of the efforts of both stations. ``I believe we served all citizens of Southwest Florida to the very, very best of our abilities,`` he said (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DXLD) UHF stations pretending to be VHF, going by their cable channels (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WGUL 860 AM, Tampa Area --- For 25 or more years, this great station has broadcast "Music of Your Life"/ Jukebox hits for 24 hours a day, with real local live DJs during the daytime. For many of those years it broadcast on both AM & FM. WGUL was an early AM stereo station, and believe me, it sounded great back in those days. Well, it happened this afternoon. Around 3:30 pm, in the car, I heard all the WGUL disk jockeys talking together and reminiscing about the station, and they mentioned that at 5:00 pm the format would be changed to the new owner's format. The new owner is apparently Salem. I wasn't unable to continue listening at that time, and I had to leave the radio. But after 5:00 pm, listening in my car radio, 860 AM was playing an old Ronald Reagan speech. This was followed later by an old George Bush speech. Unfortunately for me, since I don't enjoy talk radio, this pretty well ends my long relationship as a listener on AM radio in Tampa. I'll always have an interest in DXing, but regretfully there's no programming on AM in the Bay area here that appeals to me. Such is life...! (Dick W., FL, ABDX via DXLD) 860 WGUL (WNTR) flipped at 5 p.m. Fri, 12 Aug 2005 WGUL-AM, 860 kHz: Caught the last 15 minutes of the old format, a live "bye-bye" show ending with "Thanks For the Memories." At 5 p.m. EDT, August 12th, flipped into glorious, puke-inducing George H. W. Bush audio clips, etc. Well, at least all-talk means slightly less bandwidth splatter from music when I'm trying to DX nearby channels. More about this at http://www.radio-info.com/mods/posts?Board=tampa (Terry Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 860 and 930 flip in Tampa Bay area --- First reported by neighbor Terry K, and from Radio-Info.com - WGUL-FM has sold WGUL-860 and WLSS- 930 to Salem Comm's for $9.5 mil. 860 will become WNTK, presumably News and Talk. Currently rebroadcasting old Bush and Reagan speeches on 860 // 930. On 15 Aug, WLSS will pick up Salem Net talk lineup and a week later WNTK will pick up that net, plus Laura Ingraham. Both to carry Bloomberg Biz news. Effective at 1700 local time today. Savage to be on the 930; he currently is on 1040 in Tampa market. Should help with the sideband splash on 850 as the "beautiful mx" disappears from this AM'er (Bob Foxworth, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) It's too bad as we just say bye to another locally programmed music station on AM. However, I give Clear Channel credit, they just flipped 1320 in Venice from Sports to a standards format. Whoever is programming it doesnt quite have it yet, but its great to see music back on. Sorry to see WGUL flip. It was a very good station. Was like radio used to be, and was a money maker for its previous owner. It will give WWBA some competition with almost identical programming. WLSS in Sarasota will lose some of its good programming with the flip (Paul Smith, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) I also mourn the passing of music on WGUL 860 kc as I listened daily. 930 kc is pretty weak here in NE Hillsborough County. It's a demotion for Michael Savage too. 73 & GUD DX, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Plant City, FL, USA, ibid.) Unless I am missing something, it is a net gain for Savage as he adds the Sarasota market and remains on WWBA in Tampa. The news release implied that Ingraham would come on in Tampa evenings. Not sure they could yank him from WWBA. However WWBA's crappy night signal will again become an issue for them as we return to Standard time and lot more of the 1806-2100 local time slot gets affected. There's times last winter I'd be over in Clearwater and WHO coming right through them in the evening (Bob Foxworth, ibid.) Savage and Medved were already on 930 in Sarasota. Looks like 930 is dumping O'Reilly, Imus and Boortz. 930 isnt going to change a whole lot. Medved was already on Salem's 570 and 910. O'Reilly and Boortz I can get on WWBA if I want to listen to them. I agree on WWBA's lousy nite signal. I would think they could upgrade a little if they want to, but they would have to move the TX further north. They probably cant push any more energy to the northwest than they do now to protect WHO (Paul Smith Sarasota, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. The [Atlanta] Braves radio broadcasts are available on-line thru http://www.spartanburg1400.com --- website of little WSPG in Spartanburg, SC who claim that they do not block out the feed. Learned this while passing thru this morning. Hope it helps some disenfranchised fans. Just click on the "listen live" button (Chris, K4CME, Taylors, SC, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. JOHN R. HAD THE MAGIC TOUCH DEEJAY'S VOICE BROUGHT MUSIC THROUGH THE NIGHT Last column, I left y'all at the beach in South Carolina, listening to an off-in-the-distance jukebox thump away. By now your conetopped can of Atlantic Ale has gotten just as warm as our story line has grown cold. Let me refresh you. I was writing about the legendary John R. of Radio Station WLAC in Nashville, TN. Although he was not the first deejay to popularize rhythm and blues music on a 50,000-watt station, John R. became one of the most famous. His career spanned nearly 30 years. He received 250,000 pieces of mail a year, which clearly shows his popularity. . . http://www.flagpole.com/articles.php?fp=5495 Enjoy! (via Bert New, Watkinsville, Georgia, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. ARMED FORCES LAUNCH RADIO PROGRAMME IN ZULIA STATE | Text of report by Caracas Ministry of Defence website on 10 August Beginning in July [as received, no year given], the National Armed Forces [FAN] in Zulia state is going to launch the "Otra Voz" radio programme to keep the public informed about events concerning the four military components that are present in the western part of the country and at the same time build a closer relationship with the Zulia state communities. (Army) Division General Virgilio Lameda Hernandez, commander of the 1st Army Infantry Division and Garrison in Maracaibo and Navy Captain Jose Briceno Rueda, commander of the "Navy Lieutenant Pedro Lucas Urribari" main coastguard station, will be present during the inaugural programme. The programme will be aired over Emisora 88.7 FM la Nueva Frecuencia de Pequiven [Petrochemical Company of Venezuela Inc.] and will be hosted by Rosana Portillo and journalist Lucia Molero. The first programme will be devoted to inaugural matters, but telephone lines will be made available so that the public can interact on the programme. "Otra Voz with the News", "Otra Voz with an Interview", "Otra Voz in the Community", "the Voices of History" and "the FAN and Culture" are the segments into which the military radio programme will be divided. The inaugural programme will last one hour and subsequent programmes will last 30 minutes and will be aired Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1500 to 1600 hours [times as published - 1900 to 2000 gmt]. The objective of this radio programme is to diversify as well as integrate the communications strategy of the four components and at the same time provide news to the people in Zulia. The "Voices of History" segment will offer an entertaining way to present to the people the history of Venezuela in context, by means of micro-capsules of information presented by Roberto Castellano, the National Guard master of ceremonies. By means of this programme, the communities will have more timely contact with the military authorities. The military authorities plan to visit the communities in order to gather on-site any questions, proposals and concerns related to this important government institution. Source: Ministry of Defence, Caracas, in Spanish 10 Aug 2005 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Buena movida por parte de la Radio Nacional de la República Arabe Saharawi. Sin complicarse mucho la vida, atendieron al sentido común de que nada lograban permaneciendo en la frecuencia de 7466 con WWCR, a la cual más bien obligaron a moverse 1 kHz arriba para evitar heterodino. Ahora sí, WWCR bienvenida de vuelta a 7465, algo de lo que nadie se quejó cuando le cayó encima a RNRAS. Sería acaso válido por ser ésta una emisora (seudo)clandestina? RNRAS, 7460, escuchada en Agosto 11 a las 2350 no con tan buena señal como el día anterior por la presencia de tormentas. Baladas sentimentales antes del cierre de Los Bukis y Cristian Castro (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. (presumed) 6135 at 1434 1.8 with imam praying, signal 24332; 7.8 at 1435 with Arab songs and 14432; using DE1102 and 2 sqm metalic mesh (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA, 11735, R. Tanzania, 1715 6.8 with news read by YL in local language, 1717 with qur`anic psalms, then talks on Islam, 44434 with De1102 alone (Zacharias Liangas, Litohoron, Mt Olympus, country house, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Hi Glenn, Radio Zimbabwe, 3306 & on harmonic 6612 at 0530, heard here in Zimbabwe, 12 Aug. The harmonic 6612, as I mentioned earlier is as strong as the original 3306 frequency. Checked reported 6600 and 3300 for any signal but nothing heard at this time but will check again evenings. Radio Zimbabwe's shortwave transmitter on 90m is located in central Zimbabwe at Guineafowl, Gweru; has been known in the past to air on 3306 or 3300 so it seems a transmitter tuning error is the factor here that somedays the harmonic airs on 6612 and others on 6600. Voice of the People to Zimbabwe from RN Madagascar, which airs daily on 7120, 1700-1800 is the only frequency and time monitored for this station. It is not currently being affected by any Radio Zimbabwe interference nor any jamming by the facilities which previously jammed SW Radio Africa off the air. 73 (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BUT: Glenn, URGENT --- As of 1700, Sat 13 Aug, V. of the People, 7120 [via Madagascar] is jammed by Zimbabwean facilities. The same Chinese retro jammer in use, severe. Confirmed jamming by another local monitor. Pass on ASAP (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Zimbabwe, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: Glenn, I am at ends to report, Zimbabwe seems to have reactivated the jammers. This evening 7120, 1700-1800, Voice of the People, from RN, Madagascar, wiped out (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wonder if they will start varying frequency, cat-and-mouse (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6105.0, Aug 11 & 12, *0430-0435*, good signal, just a bird chirping IS, no ID. Sorry I am not that familiar with Interval Signals, so I cannot ID who this is (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rome comes immediately to mind; they are scheduled on 6110 at that time, and I bet you were hearing the sideband, as the pitch of the chirping is around 5 kHz. Furthermore, it probably continued on 6110 after the IS concluded at 0435, with lower-pitched audio (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Thank you for your input. You are certainly correct. Checked Aug 13 and IS noted on 6110, under a strong station and very faint on 6105. Thanks again for clearing this up (Ron Howard, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) at 0430; the other 6110 would be VC, Chile (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 5-digit Spanish YL numbers, 9153, Aug 12 from 1325 until 1345. Had continuous background noise which diminished briefly as each number was spoken (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHORTWAVE MUSIC +++++++++++++++ First captivated by the radio programs he heard as a kid in St. Paul, Tod Dockstader went on to help invent electronic music -- and retire a virtual unknown. Now in his 70s, he's back at it and as daring as ever. The first disc of a proposed three-CD box set, Aerial #1 gleans a decade's worth of shortwave radio recordings and atmospheric interference, during which fading signals converge to create new noises. Aerial deals with the same analog sounds Dockstader recalls from childhood, the sounds "between the stations on the dim yellow dial, the electronic shrieks and squeals of tuning...the explosions of static that approaching prairie thunderstorms ignite." The composer says that "gathering the sound-material for Aerial was almost restful. I just sat up nights...slowly tuning a short-wave receiver and capturing what I needed onto cassettes." The piece was cooked down from over 90 hours of tape, with nearly 600 separate sections ultimately reduced to 59, all mixed together as a piece and spread across the set. Full story at http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1288/article13583.asp (via Mike Barraclough, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ SOUTH AFRICAN SEEFONTEIN DXPEDITION now online: http://dxing.info/dxpeditions/seefontein_2005_07.pdf (Vincent Stevens, RSA, Aug 9, MWC via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FIRST WI-FI INTERNET RADIO TO BE LAUNCHED [UK] Acoustic Energy has lifted the wraps on a revolutionary new concept in home entertainment for everyone - the world's first Wi-Fi internet radio offering Real Audio, WMA and MP3 support. Internet radio is booming - with many thousands of stations on-line at any time. Great if you are sitting at your PC but what about in the kitchen, living room or even the shed? The answer is Acoustic Energy's Wi-Fi internet radio – the world's first streaming media device capable of accessing over 99% of internet radio stations broadcast on-line anywhere in the world. Compatibility with all three major streaming formats gives the AE Wi-Fi radio unrivalled choice of content from London's BBC Radio1 to Sao Paolo's Radio Calypso! No subscription to pay, no signal coverage problems and no international content boundaries. Price is less than £200, much more at http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/news/news.html (via Mike Barraclough, worlddxclub via DXLD) MARCONI BEACH I would have liked to have met Marconi. I made the pilgrimage down to the cape to see the site of the first transcontinental broadcast from the US (Bob Young, NRC-AM via DXLD) Bob is referring to Marconi Beach in South Wellfleet, Mass. in the Cape Cod National Seashore. The area is clearly marked with signage on US Route 6 - I believe it's at the first traffic light once you enter Wellfleet. Any DXer who visits Mass from another state should definitely make this DX Pilgrimage! If you like beach weather, come in the summer. If you want to avoid traffic jams and crowds, come between October 1 and Memorial Day weekend (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Mass., ibid.) Yes, there's not much left of the site but you can still feel the aura there, makes me long for the days of the spark transmitter, they tore the four towers down sometimes during the 20's erosion wore away the part where the front two were anyway, there is a model of the station (tiny) including the 4 towers and station itself under an open air roof. There are also a couple of cement pylons that were used to anchor the towers still left. There's a little history of the station written there also, it's very cool place, I've been there several times (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM --- From ``The New Scientist``: IN EARLY June, electronics giant Texas Instruments unveiled the future of radio: a tiny receiver that took several years and millions of dollars to develop. Eagerly awaited by broadcasters and manufacturers alike, it isn't designed to pick up radio broadcasts from satellites or the internet. Instead the new chip will tune in to the old- fashioned AM bands - the short, medium and long-wave signals pioneered by Guglielmo Marconi more than a century ago. At first glance this would seem as likely as Boeing resurrecting the biplane. Audiences have been turning their backs on AM for decades. Medium and long-wave broadcasts sound rotten and are easily swamped by interference. And although short-wave broadcasts can reach around the world, if you're on the move you must constantly re-tune your receiver if you want anything more than white noise. Meanwhile FM radio has spread almost everywhere, and the internet can give you perfect reception for hundreds of stations based all over the world. High-frequency digital audio broadcasts and satellite radio coverage are also expanding fast. So why would Texas Instruments - and the global radio community, for that matter - waste time and money on defunct wavebands? This chip is anything but a backward step. It is in the vanguard for a global broadcast standard called Digital Radio Mondiale that is designed to stuff the AM bands with a swathe of new digital transmissions. Using the latest coding and compression tricks, DRM will squeeze high-quality stereo sound into the narrow AM bands and send these signals over greater distances and with less interference than ever before. The technology promises to breath new life into ailing AM stations the world over. Convert a medium-wave transmitter to DRM, for instance, and a station that once struggled to reach 10,000 listeners could embrace a hundred times as many. But DRM is more than just a way to please advertisers or to make Beethoven sound better in the bathroom. Along with music and chat, signals will carry a stream of digital data and multimedia information that could provide everything from text and pictures to news headlines, educational material for schools in remote communities, or even software upgrades for your car or washing machine, delivered and installed while you sleep. "Radio signals could even carry software upgrades for your car or washing machine" If you're thinking that the airwaves are already awash with digital radio signals, you'd be right. Many FM stations broadcast a signal called radio digital system (RDS), a digital add-on to the analogue signal that contains limited amounts of information, such as the station name or a digital tag for traffic reports that allows radios to tune in to them automatically. Some broadcasters in the US are switching to a system called In-band On-channel (IBOC) that can send digital and analogue signals on the same band. Meanwhile, European engineers have pioneered a new form of transmission called Digital Audio Broadcasting. DAB takes an analogue music stream and digitises and compresses it before transmission. The idea is to give listeners clean crisp stereo sound along with extra information, such as the name of the music track being played or contact details for the station. This data stream is beamed out alongside the main signal and the information can be displayed on the screens built in to many DAB radios. The BBC began DAB transmissions in the mid-1990s, and the system is now widely used across Europe, in parts of Asia and in Canada. But these systems have distinct drawbacks. Some broadcasters claim that IBOC creates interference on neighbouring bands. Meanwhile DAB frequencies are allocated nationally, not internationally, so a DAB radio designed to pick up UK stations is useless in Germany or Canada. Also, DAB operates at megahertz or gigahertz frequencies, in the VHF or UHF region of the radio spectrum (see Graphic). These relatively high-frequency signals don't travel far - they are more or less restricted to line of sight - so broadcasters need expensive networks of transmitters to achieve national coverage. The BBC, for instance, has more than 70 DAB transmitters, yet the signal covers just 85 per cent of the UK. What's the frequency? Of course if it's good coverage you are after, you can't do better than conventional AM radio, in use since the 1920s. Its long and medium-wave signals can follow the curvature of the Earth for long distances, so in Europe, for example, a small network of transmitters can broadcast across several countries. And since short-wave radio transmissions reflect off the planet's ionosphere, they carry even further - which is why travellers around the world have traditionally tuned in to short wave to hear news from home. Yet in the past 20 years, audiences have abandoned AM in droves, retuning their sets to FM or switching to portable CD or MP3 players or internet radio. The main issue is sound quality. AM signals are vulnerable to interference from electrical noise from motors or atmospheric disturbances like lightning, and from multiple reflections that create periodic changes in volume or obscure the signal entirely. Short-wave radio listeners face an additional complication: they must keep retuning their sets to follow broadcasters' complex transmission schedules. In an attempt to rescue the AM wavebands from these problems, in 1998 the International Telecommunication Union agreed on a new standard for broadcast technology that could use AM frequencies for digital transmissions. The result is Digital Radio Mondiale, the only digital system that can be used on any AM frequency anywhere in the world. The DRM Consortium consists of a hundred companies from 30 countries. So far, over 20 broadcasters have begun DRM test transmissions, including BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle and Radio Luxembourg. The BBC's research and development labs at Kingswood Warren in Surrey, recently showed broadcasters how DRM works. An analogue recording is filtered, digitised and then compressed, just as with DAB and MP3, but using technology that had not been invented when those earlier formats were conceived. The result is that DRM can squeeze high-quality stereo sound into a single AM band (see High fidelity). Unlike AM radio receivers, DRM sets can use digital error correction to mathematically subtract interference, just as a CD player can deliver perfect sound from a dirty or scratched disc. As long as the noise or interference is not stronger than the transmission itself, it is ignored. Like DAB, but unlike old AM radio, several DRM transmitters can share the same frequency: receivers will always lock onto the strongest signal and ignore the rest. Along with music, news or chat, each DRM transmission can also carry a supplementary data stream at a rate of up to 40 kilobits per second - around two-thirds of the speed of a standard telephone modem but several times as fast as RDS on FM. Fast enough to transmit a lot more than just the radio station's name. To show how this might be used, BBC engineers demonstrated a prototype DRM receiver that stores the data stream while your radio is tuned in to a programme. This could give listeners a "news on demand" service, for example: your radio automatically downloads a regularly updated bulletin of news headlines over about 10 minutes or so, and then at the push of a button plays the bulletin from the top. Or if the data is multimedia information rather than news audio, you could download it to a PDA and view weather maps or traffic reports, say, as a web page. Unlike DAB, DRM makes use of longer-wavelength signals, so it carries much further, just like traditional AM. For example, DRM software developer Radioscape based in the UK recently detected test broadcasts from Thailand. Similarly, radio enthusiasts in New Zealand have picked up test signals from across Europe and Asia. What's more, the digital receivers are far more sensitive than older AM units, so converting an existing radio transmitter from analogue to DRM means its transmission power can be reduced to just a fifth - from 100 kilowatts to 20 kilowatts, for instance - without affecting its coverage. "That reduces the electricity bill, which is a big consideration for broadcast stations continually pumping out many kilowatts of power," says Gerald Moser of Coding Technologies, a German-based company that developed the compression system used for DRM. Alternatively, keeping the transmitter power the same would dramatically increase the coverage area. Estimates suggest that converting a modern transmitter from analogue to DRM will cost around 30,000. RTL, the broadcast group that owns the old Radio Luxembourg station, sees the technology as a way to bring back the glory days of AM in the 1950s, when millions regularly tuned in. RTL's financial officer Thomas Rabe describes DRM as the "essential cornerstone" to a new radio revival. "With DRM, one long-wave transmitter in Luxemburg can reach 50 million listeners in France, Belgium, the UK and Germany," says Rabe, "and with a medium-wave transmitter we can reach 100 million." The BBC, Texas Instruments and Radioscape are already planning the next step. Lindsay Cornell, who steers the BBC's policy on DRM, describes their ideas as "beyond radio". She sees DRM becoming an essential broadcasting tool, and points out that AM radio is already one of the only ways to deliver programmes into inaccessible regions. "Some countries like China censor the internet. Others don't allow satellite dishes. Many people rely on services like the BBC and Deutsche Welle to get independent news." DRM should certainly help here, improving the sound quality and reliability of broadcasts. "The first DRM radios will go on sale later this year and are expected to cost around $200" And when disaster strikes - be it a major earthquake or a terrorist attack - radio can suddenly become vital, as phone lines often fail and internet news sites become swamped. Police and rescue services already use short-wave radio to communicate from accident scenes or disaster zones. DRM should be more reliable, and the extra data channel will allow rescuers to send maps, images or other useful information back to base. The Red Cross has already joined the DRM Consortium. Village schools in Africa, India or Latin America could benefit too, Cornell believes, since DRM could reach areas without a phone line or cellphone service. To help with lessons, radio sets could download speech in more than one language, switching from one to the other at the push of a button. A DRM radio could also download and store text and data for use in later lessons. In the Australian outback or on the plains of Mongolia, farmers could download news and weather forecasts overnight, then call them up on demand in the morning. Bus timetables at remote stops could be updated. DRM could also be useful for environmental monitoring, by broadcasting local weather conditions from automated monitoring stations on an Arctic ice floe, say. DRM could even deliver computer software automatically. Texas Instruments and the BBC have begun talking to a major European car manufacturer about using DRM to deliver the software updates required by modern engine management systems. These are usually installed during servicing. Instead, a vehicle's radio could save data from DRM broadcasts and store it in memory while it sits outside your house. When all the data has been downloaded and the receiver has checked there are no errors, the update is triggered automatically. The same technique could work with things like washing machines too. "It doesn't matter that the data rate is low," says Cornell. "It can take a day or a week to deliver." Whether all these ideas succeed depends mainly on the eventual cost of DRM receivers. So far engineers have built fewer than a thousand radios and computers modified to receive the broadcasts, and these have been expensive. But Texas Instruments' new receiver module should help bring prices down, and it shouldn't alienate fans of older technology: as well as DRM, the new module can pick up traditional AM, FM and DAB. "This unit is the breakthrough that DRM has been waiting for," says Peter Senger, DRM Consortium chairman and chief operating officer of Deutsche Welle. When the first DRM radios go on sale towards the end of this year they are expected to cost around $200 each. Prices should begin to drop soon after. But if Cornell and the consortium are serious about getting AM's new incarnation out into the developing world, these radios will have to match the price of the crackly old sets they want to replace. This isn't as implausible as it sounds. The ITU is already planning to extend DRM transmissions across North and South America and has extended it to FM frequencies. The potential audience for DRM is skyrocketing and that can only push the price of these sets downwards. "The technology is developing fast," says Andrew Buckhurst, a spokesman at RTL. "Watch this space." From issue 2512 of New Scientist magazine, 13 August 2005, page 44 High fidelity IN CONVENTIONAL AM and FM radio transmissions, the audio signal is encoded by modulating the amplitude and the frequency of the carrier wave respectively. The quality of the sound is related to the bandwidth of the signal: each AM channel is just 10 kilohertz wide, while FM channels are around 20 times as wide. Digital Radio Mondiale, on the other hand, uses the latest digital compression tricks to squeeze FM-quality stereo into 10-kHz AM channels. To create a DRM broadcast, the analogue sound is first filtered using a system called spectral band replication to separate the high and low frequencies in the signal. Then the two frequency bands are separately converted into digital code using a method called advanced audio coding. More bits are allotted to the essential low frequencies than to the subtle highs, which helps to keep the overall number of bits lower than if the high and low frequencies were handled together. The two bands are then broadcast separately and recombined by the receiver to rebuild the original. To help DRM broadcasts avoid interference, DRM uses a system called coded orthogonal frequency division multiplex that is already used for the DVB digital TV system and for Digital Audio Broadcasting radio transmissions. The radio signal is split into many parallel streams, all within the same 10-kHz AM channel. Even if one stream does not get through, most of the others will. In addition, error correction bits are added so that the receiver can correct digital glitches mathematically, just as a CD player can correct bad bits read from a dirty disc. Instead of audio, each 10-kHz channel can also carry a mix of sound and data signals at up to 40 kilobits per second. If a DRM broadcaster has access to several channels, they can be harnessed together to produce higher fidelity sound, or faster data rates. © New Scientist, Barry Fox XXV (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Puff alert, puff alert! This is not a balanced report, with the drawbacks of DRM ignored. So much for the objectivity of New Scientist (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Interesting There's no mention anywhere, though, if DRM causes the same type of interference to adjacent channels that IBOC does and if all of this wonderful technology is made possible in a "hybrid" mode or if DRM means ALL DIGITAL with no analog signal (Michael n WYO Richard, ABDX via DXLD) On SW, the DRM signals seem to be roughly the same bandwidth as pure analog signals. They don't splash neighboring signals any more than an analog signal on the same frequency would. Definitely NOT like IBAC in this respect. I'm not sure if a hybrid mode is possible. I've never heard one on SW (Jay Heyl, ibid.) I beg to differ; with all but the weakest DRM signals you can forget about hearing any analog plus or minus 5 kHz; and I gather an analog 5 away from DRM will prevent it from decoding. As has been pointed out repeatedly, DRM signals are equally strong thruout their at least 10 kHz bandwidth, rather than tapering off like analogs (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY PROPAGATION +++++++++++ CROSS-LAKE RECEPTION I have posted a *major* update on my findings of reception across Lake Michigan at this address: http://www.beaglebass.com/dx_fm_index.htm Included is a list of stations (mapped out as well) received both on the eastern and western shores of Lake Michigan during a fog event over the lake. Stations were received in local quality from nearly any market area that came in contact with the fog (all of Chicago and most of Milwaukee)... and on the opposite side of the lake, almost ALL the exact same stations were received 80 miles away. It was just rather interesting... as I can't find a report of anyone doing anything like that -- at least recently. I can't find any reports of anyone doing ANYTHING like this on the Great Lakes (Chris Kadlec, MI, Aug 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AIRPLANE SCATTER Aircraft with a large metal surface, like a commercial jet can reflect [VHF, UHF] signals that will come up suddenly in the 100-400 mile range. You might note this in directions towards a distant airport where there would be more air traffic. Usually there is little or no multi-path / multi-station flutter compared to meteor scatter that I've observed. The higher and more distant the airplane the further the skip distance (as long as it is in the radio horizon) I've noted this towards Houston and Atlanta the latter which is my worse tropo direction but sometimes signals just appear for 30 seconds or so and then are gone. Here's an audio example of 94.9 WLTM Atlanta, GA at 268 miles in the middle of the day when no tropo was present. http://members.aol.com/kw4rz/july19/94-9_WLTM.mp3 [later:] Sorry, I forgot that I had clipped the edges off :-/ But as you can tell there is no scattering sound to it and is a pretty solid signal. But then again I'm more used to 144MHz SSB signals which have the multipath scattering sound, does FM ever do this or is it noticable? I was monitoring for Bermuda on Es at the time of the and would have never noticed WTLM come up otherwise. It did last about 30 seconds, right up over the 2 semi local 100kw country stations and that was it. It came up suddenly but not so like an Ms burst. No other Atlanta stations were in or any others beyond about 100 miles in that direction. Of course there's no way to know for sure what prop mode brings in signals like these but it does happen. DXing is entertaining :) Meteor scatter is certainly possible at short range. Anything under about 300 miles or so would be argued as highly unlikely by the experts though. I recorded one burn last night that was 1 minute and 12 seconds long of Spanish grupera on 101.7. One of the longest ever for a single signal but it was just music, no ID. 73, (Randy Zerr, Ft Walton Beach FL, WTFDA via DXLD) OUR EXCLUSIVE AND NOT COPYRIGHTED, IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST together with low band VHF information too [preliminary]. Solar activity is at very low levels, and a coronal hole that can be seen very well by solar researchers may be impacting the Earth's magnetosphere with a high speed solar wind that could be reaching here by late Monday or Tuesday. If this happens, then HF propagation conditions will deteriorate, especially a high latitudes. Solar flux was around 75 units on Friday, quite close to the 70 figure that is considered by researchers to be the baseline of the Sun. I have received several reports of sporadic E events during the period from Monday to Friday, and these ones may be the last openings of the summer season. We are now about a month away from the upcoming autumn equinox, when propagation conditions will be much better than now (Arnie Coro, DXers Unlimited, Aug 12, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba, ODXA via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ``Dearest Iraq: Act like me. After 100 years of democracy, let your slaves go [more like only 89]. After 150 years, let your women vote.`` - Kurt Vonnegut (Observerscope, Oklahoma Observer Aug 10 via DXLD) ###