DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-138, August 15, 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: Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually, lately] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down] 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: (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) FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1284: Tue 2330 on WBCQ 7415 [maybe if ready early] Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 on WBCQ 17495-CLSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 ** ALASKA. Applications for New Stations 1160, NEW, AK, Chugiak --- applies for U1 30000/400 (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) ** ALASKA. HOMER RADIO STATION OWNER FINDS VINDICATION --- FCC: WITH HELP FROM TED STEVENS, DAVE BECKER WINS A BATTLE WITH THE AGENCY. By TOM KIZZIA, Anchorage Daily News, (Published: August 15, 2005) HOMER -- Radio station owner Dave Becker lost every step of the way as he battled the Federal Communications Commission for a decade over the right to send his FM signals to distant towns in Southcentral Alaska. But he's walking away a winner, thanks to legal language slipped into last year's appropriations bill by Sen. Ted Stevens. The FCC has finally surrendered, citing special Becker-shaped provisions signed into law by President Bush in December. In June, the FCC dismissed its long-running case against Becker's Homer-based Peninsula Communications Inc., whose soft-rock and country signals are streaming once again to Kenai, Kodiak and Seward. Becker is calling the resolution sweet vindication. He has argued all along that the FCC's rules were tangled with contradictions that left him in a no-win situation. Stevens' effort on his behalf merely brought sanity to the rules, which were penalizing him for his pioneering broadcast efforts, he said. "It was to correct a wrong that was being perpetrated on me," Becker said. "There was no longer any hope for fairness in the FCC." But other Alaska broadcasters say the exception tailored by Stevens rewards Becker for his years of defying the FCC and keeping his translators up. Meanwhile, they say, it penalizes station owners who did what they were supposed to, pulling the plug on translators once the FCC banned them here after 1994. "I guess if you defy, defy and get a legislative fix, you can do anything you want," said Ric Schmidt, general manager of KNOM in Nome and president of the Alaska Broadcasters Association. "The people who followed the regulations are left out of the mix. Now they have no translators or license, and nothing says they can get it back." The broadcasters are soft-pedaling their criticism, however. They say Stevens has been a big help to Alaska stations on many issues. They say they are simply trying to win something for owners left out by the new law. The main loser in the case appears to be John Davis, a conservative former Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member whose Kenai stations compete with Becker's signals. When the FCC rules for Alaska changed in 1994, Davis shut down the translator carrying his FM country station KWHQ into Homer. But Becker chose to fight, continuing to beam his Homer signal into Kenai and elsewhere -- even after the FCC ordered him to stop. Becker finally unplugged in 2002 after losing in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Now Becker has resumed broadcasting to Kenai. But Davis, apparently, cannot broadcast to Homer. Davis said he thinks Stevens came to Becker's rescue, in part, because Becker's wife, Eileen, is district chairwoman for the Republican Party. Davis said he is "barely" part of the Republican Party himself, describing his politics as libertarian. A Stevens spokeswoman denied taking action because of party favors. "The intent was to promote equity and fairness in broadcasting," Courtney Schikora-Boone said. "This helps take radio broadcasts to communities that won't have it." Becker says it was no personal favor. "If it hadn't been perfectly clear to Senator Stevens' office, he wouldn't have lifted a finger," he said. The dispute involves commercial FM radio stations in small-town Alaska. Stations used to be able to use translators to send their signals to towns outside their license areas. The idea was that in these lightly served communities -- some of which had no stations at all -- having more radio stations was a good thing. That FCC rule changed nationally in 1990. The FCC decided the translators were allowing stations to skim advertising revenue out of the distant towns, making it hard for competitors to start up full- fledged radio stations based in those towns. But the FCC continued to grant waivers, including some in Alaska. Becker claimed that his seven translator operations into Kodiak, Kenai, Seward and Homer were allowed under a general Alaska exception to the national rule. By 1994, however, the FCC declared any such exceptions expired, and two years later said the new rules applied to Becker. His competitors, including recently opened stations, had begun to file complaints. The commission finally ordered PCI's translators off the air in 2001, but Becker kept them running another 15 months as he appealed to federal court. Becker argued that under the FCC's rules, any station off the air for 12 months would lose its license. If he shut down and his appeal lasted more than a year, he could never get his stations back, even if he finally won, he argued. The appeals court upheld the FCC order. The translators finally blinked off, and Becker's empire shrank to his license area -- Kenai for KPEN and Homer for KWVV. Becker also runs two other Homer stations, KGTL and KXBA. The FCC wasn't finished. As punishment for his "foolhardy miscalculation" in refusing to follow an order, an FCC administrative law judge in 2003 ordered two of Becker's four commercial licenses revoked. Judge Richard Sippel called Becker's intransigence "a particularly cynical abuse of the fairness shown by the Commission," contending that Becker was keeping up his towers out of concern for his cash flow, not his principles. Becker argued that he had made the investments in his translators when they were legal and should be allowed to keep them. He said that the FCC was trying to bully him for daring to fight back and that he had been pursuing his legal rights to appeal. There the matter stood, with Sippel's decision on appeal, translators shut down and the prospect of lost licenses and $140,000 in fines hanging over Becker's head, when Stevens stepped in last fall. Stevens' appropriations rider reinstated any license revoked in a proceeding in Alaska related to broadcasting by translator. It also clarified the 12-month rule, saying licenses may be restored if an appellant wins his case. The law did not make it legal to begin translating signals to distant towns outside one's license area. The national prohibition remains in place. But the new Stevens amendment, in somewhat ambiguous language, appears to say that a station providing translator service to other towns in Alaska gets to continue, without penalty. That would be Peninsula Communications Inc. "It's as close to a personal relief bill as I've ever seen," said Dennis Bookey, general manager of Morris Communications radio, which includes Anchorage stations KFQD and KWHL, among others. He is also part-owner of Kodiak stations that compete with Becker's translated signals. "If you obeyed the regulations, how would you ever be in that situation?" Becker said the new law has the potential to help stations other than his own. He cited two in Southeast now authorized to translate signals to other towns. The law ensures that the FCC can't change its mind later and remove their waivers, Becker said. But he said it was doubtful that his competitor, Davis, could get permission to translate his Kenai signal to Homer after letting his license go after 1994. Lawyers for Davis' stations are now studying the issue, an official for those stations said. "We find ourselves in limbo, with permission by law to broadcast but no broadcast license from the FCC on our wall," KSRM general manager Cherie Curry said. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment on the legal changes and their application to Becker's case, saying it remains under consideration by the commission. The five-page June order says interpretations of the new law's language vary. The intent of Congress was not obvious, the FCC said, because "there is no legislative history of the relevant amendments." Copyright © 2005 The Anchorage Daily News http://www.adn.com (via Paul, NZ, HCDX via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, 1930 UT 21 July [Thu], R. Nacional, LRA36, OM comments in Spanish, pop music, SINPO 35423 (Michael L. Ford, Staffordshire, NRD515, NCM515, 20m wire running E-W, Shortwave Logbook, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) 15476, 1920 22 July [Fri], LRA36 AM/USB, romantic sx ann in Spanish, SINPO 24322 (Arthur Miller, Llandrindod Wells, UK, NRD525, 40m long wire, G5RV, ibid.) I guess sx is not short for sex (gh) ** ANTIGUA [non!]. Old habits die hard. I keep seeing Antigua in various clubs` log listings for 5975, etc. Let me remind you that this site closed down at the end of March! Several ex-Antigua frequencies remain used by BBCWS, from other sites, such as Guiana French and Delano, depending on the time. All this was covered in great detail in DXLD back in March/April. I have a feeling a lot of editors just print whatever is sent to them. I also have a feeling that those who really need to know aren`t reading this (Glenn Hauser, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. It`s not Saturday, but there is Quirks & Quarks, about dinosaurs in Utah, etc. (what`s the LDS position on creationism?) during the 1400 UT hour Aug 15 on RCI 13655. The RCI-1 webfeed had something else, still Sounds Like Canada with Shelagh Rogers, until 1445. That would be the Radio One AT/NT feed, and they have the whole week planned out including substitute programming from CBC, BBC: http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_radioone.pdf Links to other networks and audio here: http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/ And CBC`s take on the strike/lockout: http://cbcnegotiations.ca/scripts/index_.asp (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) (what`s the LDS position on creationism?) I can answer this one but don`t know who asked it. We figure the Creator made this earth and let it develop over billions of years. Some of it is evolutionary, some is not. We don`t believe that it all happened in 6000 years. Being that I am not a church leader, I certainly can`t speak for the church. I do hope the CBC gets things fixed up and the workers don`t get too screwed too badly (Kevin Redding, AZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Part of the strike impact is that there are no on demand newscasts available on the CBC website. Another impact of the lockout is that the online audio streams are not working either. Only way to get CBC audio at the moment is the Windows Media link from the RCI homepage. [later:] Thanks for the Schedule Glen. I haven't tried all of the audio links but the ones I have tried connect, buffer and then stop. RCI's relay audio link does seem to be working (Sandy Finlayson, PA, swprograms via DXLD) Funny, I don't seem to be having any trouble connecting to CBC streaming audio from this page: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html (Ricky Leong, AB, ibid.) I listened OK to Winnipeg during the noon hour, but some other one I tried wouldn`t play. The Roundup on 17765 from 1906 was on as usual, altho for all I know it was a rerun; believe they did mention it was Monday (gh, DXLD) Maybe there is an issue with my work firewall here, although this has never happened before (Sandy Finlayson, swprograms via DXLD) CBC Moncton also has local programming on the air. I assume the RCI stream to the Americas will have the alternative programming this evening (Sandy Finlayson, 2023 UT Aug 15, ibid.) There have been some problems with some CBC streams for a while, well before the strike. For example, the last time I tried Atlantic/ Newfoundland time, Fredericton, New Brunswick 32K WMP feed didn't work like that but Saint John, NB 32K worked fine. So if one locality doesn't work and you're trying to get a national program, try another locality in the same time zone or, if bandwidth and/or fidelity isn't an issue, try low instead of high or vice versa. (Just now, Fredericton 32K worked.) (I group the Atlantic and Newfoundland time zones together because the CBC programs are on at the same GMT time in both time zones.) By the way, do you think that CBC chose August, when so many of the first tier presenters are on vacation, to call the lockout or is this a function of the labo(u)r negotiations? (Joel Rubin, swprograms via DXLD) The timing question is interesting. They probably want this settled during the summer rather than waiting until the Fall Season starts. SF (Sandy Finlayson, ibid.) FYI-- According to rcinet.ca, the lockout does not directly affect operations at RCI or CBC facilities in Quebec and New Brunswick whose employees are represented by another union. Of course, any changes forced on the national network(s) will cascade to those outlets as well. But locally produced programming should continue without interruption. For example, the Montreal audio stream has had full newscasts all day; and I presume that RCI-produced programming will be similarly unaffected (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) from newgroup alt.radio.networks.cbc from one of Tod Maffin's blogs ---------------------------------------------------- Tod's Projects Monday, August 15 CBC Radio announces scaled-back schedule CBC Radio has released its heavily revised schedule (PDF) now that 5,300 producers, journalists, and technicians are locked out. http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_radioone.pdf also http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_radiotwo.pdf * Regional morning shows have been replaced by CBC Radio Morning, broadcast from Toronto, which is almost entirely Canadian music (Joanie Mitchell, Alanis Morissette, Blue Rodeo, etc.). Susan Marjetti, a regional radio director the manager of Toronto local radio, is hosting. She told listeners this morning this was her first time back on "this side of the glass" since 1988. * Sounds Like Canada has been replaced by repeat episodes * Regional afternoon shows will be replaced by Disc Drive * From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m,. a scaled-back six-minute newscast is being broadcast. Morning news is anchored by Frank Fry, a manager in the regional operations department. * World Report and As It Happens are replaced by BBC programming * Weekend programmed so far appears largely unaffected -------------------------------- This will affect what is available on the English side of RCI. The French side has always been more creative and resource-rich. Now will the unions at BBC force the BEEB to forbid such anti-labour support? (Dan Say, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CBC locks out employees Toronto - The CBC locked out 5,500 of its workers Monday after failing to reach a deal with its union, meaning viewers and listeners across the country will be tuning in to unfamiliar faces and voices on the airwaves Monday morning. Negotiators for the broadcaster and the Canadian Media Guild could not agree on a contract by the CBC-imposed lockout deadline of 12:01 a.m. ET Monday. Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of CBC Television, said the network will rely on contingency plans and the 10 per cent of its workforce that is not unionized to maintain programming. "The truth is it is still going to be a reasonably interesting service, but it's not going to be the service we hoped to offer Canadians," he said. Lise Lareau, president of the Canadian Media Guild, called the lockout a dark day for viewers of Canadian television. "This is not a good day for Canadian broadcasting," Ms. Lareau said. The CBC had issued a 72-hour warning of a possible lockout early Friday if no deal was reached between the broadcaster and the guild. Among those who will be locked out is Peter Mansbridge, anchor of The National, the network's flagship television newscast. The lockout will mean local radio morning shows will be replaced by a single national broadcast, and TV newscasts will be pared down, although the network can rely on BBC newscasts for coverage of international events. Programming on all CBC services - radio, television and online - will continue, though it will be scaled back. Management says the CBC will continue to broadcast CFL football and NHL hockey games - but possibly without any play-by-play commentary or colour analysis. Local radio morning shows will be replaced by a single national broadcast. TV newscasts will be pared down, and there will be more acquired programming and movies. TV content may not be familiar, but the CBC has indicated programming on all services -- radio, television and on-line -- will continue. (via Brian Smith, Aug 15, ODXA via DXLD) And the Canadian Media Guild, from http://www.cmg.ca/homepageEN.asp August 14, 2005 Open letter to members from CMG President Lise Lareau Dear members and colleagues: So it`s come to this. CBC`s managers are shutting the doors and locking us out of the places where we have devoted so many hours working, reporting, producing, shooting, hosting and creating CBC programming. It seems unthinkable, unnecessary, wasteful. More than that, this is an aggressive move by any standard. I would call it un-Canadian for a major national employer, a public broadcaster no less, to be locking the door on 5,500 professionals. In retrospect, it would seem that plans were in place to do this all along. It explains the absolute wall that our bargaining committee faced, day after day, on major issues. This is the work of a small group of senior managers, led by VP of Human Resources George Smith. There have already been five work stoppages at the CBC by various unions in just under seven years. This is the third lockout. During most of that time, Robert Rabinovitch has been president. This is a legacy that we hope will not go unnoticed in Ottawa. Under their leadership, the management bargaining committee demanded untenable concessions, overwhelming changes to the way work is done at the CBC. They wanted a workforce that would, over time, become mostly temporary. All in the same of an ill-defined sense of efficiency and `flexibility`. But, in fact, what they seem to want does not exist at any other major broadcaster in this country. This fight is about an agenda driven by senior managers who are not rooted in the values of public broadcasting. Their focus is on appearing to be efficient to themselves and to another small group of Ottawa bureaucrats. Meanwhile, the people who actually do the programming and our audiences --- in television, radio and online --- will suffer. That`s what makes it all so sad. But we must not get disheartened. We are on the side of reason. Now that we are locked out, we have to rally together to be strong voices for the defense of public broadcasting. We have to make Canadians, who own the CBC collectively, understand and join our fight for the concept of real careers in this industry. Lise Lareau, National President, Canadian Media Guild (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC technicians are now on strike (well, technically they've been locked out). In the past, this has resulted in weird happenings - like my local CBLT-5 showing test patterns from WCBS-2 New York, scrambled video with NBC audio, or programming from CBUT-2 Vancouver. Check for weird happenings or outages on all CBC TV, FM & AM outlets allowing for possible DX in their absence (William Hepburn, WTFDA, Grimsby, Niagara, ON, CAN, Aug 15, WTFDA via DXLD) CBC locks out workers Well, it's done: The CBC locked out about 5,500 employees at 12:01 a.m. Monday after no substantial progress was made in last-minute bargaining between Canada's largest broadcaster and its union, the Canadian Media Guild. http://cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/08/14/CBC_locks_out_employees20050815.html CBC has issued labour-disruption schedules on its website: Radio One --- http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_radioone.pdf Radio Two --- http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_radiotwo.pdf Television -- http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_tv.pdf Newsworld --- http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/sched_newsworld.pdf (Parts of these skeds don't apply to Montreal, Quebec City and Moncton.) Seeing how I just got home from a friend's house, I figured I'd check out what's going on with the CBC labour dispute before I go to bed. (It's just after 4 a.m. MDT as I'm typing this.) According to the schedules, the CBC is providing hourly news from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Indeed, CBC Radio One Montreal (listening on the net) broadcast a six-minute newscast at 6 a.m. EDT. Meanwhile, CBC Radio One Calgary broadcast music instead of news, so it appears the 6-to-6 schedule is strictly in local time. CBR 1010 has now resumed CBC Radio Overnight, while the local Montreal morning show resumed with a note explaining the absence of World Report. Also, local CBC websites appear to have been disabled. Visitors are told of the labour disruption and are automatically redirected to the main CBC site after a few seconds. Now, here are this week's schedules, according to the PDF files linked above. I'll start with the easier sked to transcribe. == RADIO TWO == (Six minutes of news/weather hourly from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) All programming has been completely pre-empted, replaced with music. == RADIO ONE == (Six minutes of news/weather hourly from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) WEEKDAYS National morning show, 6:30 to 9 a.m. Sounds Like Canada, 9 to 10:45 a.m. Out Front, 10:45 to 11 a.m. Assorted programs, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Roundup, 12 to 2 p.m. Disc Drive, 2 to 5 p.m. 50 Tracks, 5 to 6 p.m. BBC World Service, 6 to 7 p.m. Connections, 7 to 7:30 p.m. Assorted programs, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Ideas, 9 to 10 p.m. Music, 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. SATURDAY Music, until 7 a.m. Weekender, 7 to 9 a.m. Go, 9 to 11 a.m. Winnipeg Comedy Festival, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Quirks & Quarks, 12 to 1 p.m. DNTO, 1 to 5 p.m. Global Village Summer Concerts, 5 to 6 p.m. BBC World Service, 6 to 7 p.m. Vinyl Tap, 7 to 9 p.m. Bunny Watson, 9 to 10 p.m. Music, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. SUNDAY Weekender, 7 to 9 a.m. Sunday Edition, 9 to 11 a.m. Winnipeg Comedy Festival, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Vinyl Café, 12 to 1 p.m. Wiretap, 1 to 1:30 p.m. Inside Track, 1:30 to 2 p.m. Tapestry, 2 to 3 p.m. Writers & Co., 3 to 4 p.m. Skylarkin', 4 to 5 p.m. I Hear Music, 5 to 6 p.m. BBC World Service, 6 to 7 p.m. Jazz Beat, 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday Showcase, 9 to 10 p.m. Music, 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. == CONVENTIONAL TELEVISION == It appears all original programming has ceased, including the national news. BBC News is being shown at 6:30 a.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time. == NEWSWORLD (cable news channel) == It appears all original programming has ceased. The schedule looks to be full of repeat documentary programs. News is provided live by BBC World at 0700, 0800, 1200, 1600, 1800, 2100 and 0000 EDT (I presume). There is also something called German Journal at 1300, which I presume is a DW-TV program. (Ricky Leong, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CBC LOCKS OUT 5,500 WORKERS AFTER CONTRACT NOT REACHED BY DEADLINE bu MEGAN THOMAS TORONTO (CP) - Viewers and listeners across the country tuned in to unfamiliar faces and voices on the airwaves Monday morning after the CBC locked out 5,500 of its workers. Negotiators for the broadcaster and the Canadian Media Guild could not agree on a contract by the CBC-imposed lockout deadline of 12:01 a.m. ET Monday. Lise Lareau, president of the Canadian Media Guild, called the lockout a dark day for viewers of Canadian television. "It won't really be the CBC because the people who are the CBC are outside the doors," she said. Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of CBC Television, said the network will rely on contingency plans and the 10 per cent of its workforce that is not unionized to maintain programming. "The truth is it is still going to be a reasonably interesting service, but it's not going to be the service we hoped to offer Canadians," he said. The lockout will mean local radio morning shows will be replaced by a single national broadcast, and TV newscasts will be pared down, although the network can rely on BBC newscasts for coverage of international events. Television coverage of sporting events such as CFL games will also have a much different look and sound. TV content may not be familiar, but the CBC has indicated programming on all services - radio, television and online - will continue. Union negotiator Arnold Amber said the work stoppage will likely result in "an incredible backlash" from the Canadian public. "The CBC doesn't know what's in store for it," Amber said from a picket line in front of the CBC building in Toronto shortly after the lockout was announced. "You don't suddenly do this and expect the Canadian public to say, 'Oh isn't that lovely - I'm not getting any service.' " Lareau said it will be interesting to see how the CBC replaces high-profile personalities like Peter Mansbridge, anchor of The National, the network's flagship television newscast. Stursberg would not speculate on who would be filling in for Mansbridge or other well-known personalities for the duration of the lockout. He said the major sticking point is that the CBC wants the flexibility to hire more non-permanent workers. Stursberg said the last offer the corporation put forth guaranteed all permanent CBC workers would retain their jobs. "What stands between us and the union is a theoretical point in the sense that nothing that we have asked for applies to anybody who works here now, in terms of their employment status." Stursberg said the CBC is 90 per cent unionized - a rate he said is much higher than in the private broadcasting sector. "We owe a duty to the Canadian public ... who actually pay for the CBC to have a set of arrangements that are not only as effective and as efficient as the private sector, but indeed are more so." But Lareau said 30 per cent of the CBC's workforce is already non-permanent, giving the network all the flexibility it needs. "We believe the CBC intended this dispute from the outset," she said. "It's a very aggressive senior management team, and this was part of the plan." Stursberg said the CBC is willing to get back to negotiations at "any time." "We are prepared to stay up all night long to get this concluded," he said. Amber said it was too early to determine when talks might resume, but said the union also wants to get back to the table. "Fifty-five hundred members of our union are out," he said. "We are taking a service away from Canadians across the country. It's awful." Lareau said locked-out workers are hoping to have an Internet presence for the duration of the labour disruption as an alternative to CBC broadcasts. She said workers will know within a couple of days what types of web programming are possible. The producers, newsroom staff and technicians have been without a contract for more than a year. Last month, guild members voted 87.3 per cent in favour of 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 broadcaster's last major dispute was late in 2001, when technical staff were 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. (c) The Canadian Press, 2005 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) CBC VIEWERS, LISTENERS GET RERUNS AND BBC NEWSCASTS AS WORKERS LOCKED OUT http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/050815/n081585A.html Picket captain Conrad Lutes maintains his post at the entrance to the CBC Radio building in Halifax on Monday. The CBC locked out 5,500 employees. (CP/Andrew Vaughan) [caption] SHANNON MONTGOMERY TORONTO (CP) - Documentaries, world news from Britain and reruns of Antiques Roadshow dominated the CBC airwaves Monday as locked-out workers took to the picket lines in what was billed as the largest labour dispute in the national public broadcaster's history. Shortly after midnight Sunday night, some 5,500 workers across the country, members of the Canadian Media Guild, found themselves locked out of their offices in a dispute over the network's desire to hire more contract workers. Viewers who switched on the CBC's main network, Newsworld or CBC Radio were greeted by documentaries, reruns and BBC World News broadcasts, separated by brief newscasts that were delivered by decidedly unfamiliar voices and faces. Football fans won't be pleased to hear they will likely see a pared- down broadcast of a CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night. "I don't know exactly what it's going to look like yet," said Chris McCracken, the CFL's director of broadcasting. "But at this point we're yet to be satisfied by the CBC and their plan to ensure our broadcast is not compromised in any way." He said the game may be aired without play-by-play or colour commentary - which would be a CFL first. Dozens of CBC workers marched outside the iconic Canadian Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto, many sporting signs that read Locked Out. "There's no reason we're out on the street today," said Arnold Amber, president of the CBC arm of the guild, which now represents between 80 and 90 per cent of the broadcaster's workers after technical staff opted to join the union in 2004. CBC Radio host Anna Maria Tremonti called it "heartbreaking" to be kept off Canada's airwaves as she paced the sidewalk beneath the corporation's distinctive logo. Others fretted about how to pay their bills amid speculation the lockout could be a long one. Christian Bailey, an associate producer with the CBC, said the worst part for him and many others was really just not getting to do a job they love. "I think a lot of people are bewildered," Bailey said. "They just want to be working." Local radio morning shows were replaced by a single national broadcast, while TV newscasts were dramatically pared down. Workers with the broadcaster's French-language operations, Radio-Canada and Radio-Canada International, were also locked out, except in Quebec and Moncton, N.B., where staff belong to a different union. That gave a decidedly Quebecois flavour to much of the CBC programming in other parts of the country throughout the day. Some of the CBC's most prominent personalities are members of the guild and remained locked out of their offices Monday, including Peter Mansbridge, anchor of the broadcaster's flagship national newscast, The National. The main issue at stake is job security; the broadcaster wants more freedom to designate new employees as either permanent employees, contract workers with set starting and ending dates, or temporary workers, who are called in to fill openings as needed. Arthur Lewis, executive director of the lobby group Our Public Airwaves, placed blame for the dispute squarely at the feet of the federal government. "The insistence by CBC on the need to be able to hire more temporary workers can be traced directly to the corporation's serious funding shortfall," Lewis said in a statement. "This lockout is a direct result of the underfunding of CBC by the federal government - creating a situation where CBC managers feel forced to take desperate but, in our view, short-sighted measures to try to best utilize limited resources." The corporation currently consists of 70 per cent permanent workers, 20 per cent temporary workers and five per cent contractors. The dispute centres on what kind of changes would be made to that formula, one Amber said is fairly standard in the broadcasting industry. Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of CBC Television, said management wants the ability to classify employees based on the needs of the corporation at any given point. In many cases, contract employees are hired strictly for a specific program, event or project, and the CBC wants those contracts to better reflect the project's schedule, he said. "I think it's very healthy for an organization to be able to bring some people, small numbers, into an organization with their ideas and whatnot, and have them leave and bring in new people," said Jane Chalmers, vice-president of CBC Radio. "I don't think it's uncommon in work life in Canada, in the broadcast industry or out." Workers aren't opposed to contract work, but merely want some criteria put in place to ensure that they are used only under specific circumstances, Amber said. Management's assurances that no one who currently holds a permanent job will end up as a contractor doesn't help when young employees are always asking the union to help them find permanent positions, he added. "We are talking about the next generation of the CBC," Amber said. "We are a family, and the family goes from generation to generation." Much of the dispute is rooted in long-standing questions about whether the government-funded CBC should operate like a private business, one that can make - and lose - money. Amber said the CBC is a special institution in Canada because it's a Crown corporation. "This is not a fast-food restaurant," he said. "The CBC is not a cable company, it isn't speciality programming - it's the national broadcaster." CBC producers, newsroom staff and technicians have been without a contract for more than a year. Last month, guild members voted 87.3 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. Amber said the Canadian public is in for a shock for the duration of the lockout, which marks the first time a labour dispute has left enough people off the job to dramatically impact the broadcaster's public face. "Up until today, nobody knew what it meant to miss the CBC," he said. (c) The Canadian Press, 2005 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CHINA. Aug 15 at 1350 I found some nice Chinese classical piano music in the clear on 7570, not Firedrake, and at 1356 Chinese talk and what sounded like a series of commercials. Meanwhile I was tuning around for parallels and found them on 7105 mixing with something, 9605 weak, 9680 mixing, 11785 mixing, 11990, 12040 mixing with something. So I look up all these frequencies in the NDXC list http://www.geocities.jp/bindxc/bia05.txt and find that CNR only appears on one of them at this time, 9680! So are all these the CNR-2 network? Here are the reasons for all these unlisted CNR parallel transmissions, all 1234567, to jam the following: 7105 BBC 1300-1530 Chinese Nakhon Sawan 250 20 THA BBC 7570 BBC 1100-1530 Chinese Vladivostok-Rasdolnoy 300 228 RUS BBC 9605 BBC 1100-1530 Chinese Tokyo-Yamata 300 290 J BBC 9680 CNR 2 1100-1600 Chinese Beijing 491 [?] 50 180 CHN =6040 9680 CBS 1100-1800 Chinese Taipei 100 352 TWN CBS 11785 VOA 1100-1400 Chinese Udon Thani 500 30 THA VOA 11990 VOA 1300-1500 Chinese Novosibirsk 200 110 RUS VOA 12040 VOA 1100-1500 Chinese Tinang 250 332 PHL VOA (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA [and non]. Re: 5-136, MEXICO. DXistas o Espías? Referente a la experiencia vivida por Iván López y Darío Monferini en su visita a Radio Korita. Una vez que estas cosas ocurren hay que tomarlas como una simpática nota. El precio que se paga por ser DXista, tal vez igual al que experimenté una vez en Dallas por meterme a fotografia en un patio ferroviario donde un tipo de cara poco amistosa me preguntó que deseaba, como que los "ferrolocos" fuéramos de otro planeta. Permítanme, pacientes colegas, contarles que la primera vez que viví una situación parecida ocurrió alrededor de 1986, siendo yo lector de noticias y animador de la difunta y tal vez de muchos recordada Radio Impacto en Costa Rica. Un día de tantos apareció un menudito muchacho oriental que llegó a visitar los estudios de la emisora y empezó a hacer un montón de preguntas como dónde estaban situados los transmisores, qué potencia manejábamos y todo ese cúmulo de preguntas que tantos ustedes como yo haríamos estando de visita en una emisora allende nuestros respectivos países. El desconocimiento, excusable en los directivos de Radio Impacto, en cuanto a que hay locos por la radio internacional, cuyo hobby no tiene mucho seguimiento en Costa Rica, dio como resultado que confudieran a aquel orientalito con un espía. De algún modo mis "polos" (o ignorantes) compañeros cayeron en la cuenta que así como este, uno de los operadores de cabina y su servidor, teníamos la misma loquera que el misterioso visitante. Fue así como tuve el gusto de conocer a Takayuki Inoue, ese incansable viajero y radioloco japonés que al cabo de los años creo que ha visitado todos los países de América Latina haciendo visitas a las emisoras, según he escuchado mencionar su nombre en distintos reportes. Lo bonito de este pasatiempo fue que terminamos compartiendo experiencias en un restaurante y aunque Takayuki me dejó su dirección postal, reconozco que nunca volvimos a tener contacto. Y como hace días no escucho de él --- Dónde estás, Taka? En mi caso particular no me puede quejar en lo más mínimo. Un sábado a principio de los 90s, acompañé a un amigo que tenía que cumplir unas gestiones en Cariari de Pococí. Recordé que ahí acababan de establecer el centro emisor de Radio Nacional de España, ahora conocido como Radio Exterior de España --- como que no lo supieran ustedes --- Fuimos recibidos por un caballero de unos 60 años, ha debido ser el ingeniero a cargo, y tiene que haber sido la cara de entusiasmo y el conocimiento que expresé de la emisora española, que hizo advertir a este señor que yo no estaba "bateando", como decimos por acá, en cuanto a la onda corta. Al no darle la impresión de ser espía o terrorista vasco, me permitió pasar a conocer esos tres transmisores Continental de 100 kW y aquel hermoso parque de antenas dipolos en cortina, que yo solamente había visto en fotos. Aunque he pasado varias veces al frente del parque de antenas que tiene TIRWR en Cahuita, se observa tan bien desde la carretera, lo cual nunca me ha pegado la inquietud de solicitar ingresar, aunque me gustaría ver sus transmisores. De manera que este cuento de los ocasionales visitantes a Radio Korita y que por tomar fotografías casi termina con sus huesos en la cárcel, ha debido ocurrirle en semejantes condiciones en otra partes del mundo a quienes profesamos esta "camotera" (locura) por todo lo que tenga que ver con captaciones radiales a la distancia. Thus, for those who didn't get this story and might have the same bad luck, it´s not so easy when you approach a transmission site and begin to shoot your camera, or you receive a NO as an answer when you are planing to pay a visit to a station transmitter. site. That's when we could feel that our hobby may have some unwanted limitations. As a railfan I had my first experience as a visitor with a camera to a railroad yard in Dallas, and this guy asked me with no friendly way "what do you want", as if he didn't know railfans or I was an outer space creature. The story I was telling dates back to my days as a newsreader at the now defunct Radio Impacto, and one day a well known visitor DXer named Takayuki Inoue was taken as an spy due to the many questions he was doing about RI to an unaware personnel, until I showed by and explained them that I was "in the same train of that distant radio craze". Different luck for me when I visited the REE site at Cariari and I met a real gentlemen, the engineer in charge, who after a little talk knew I was no ETA terrorist or spy. What similar experiences have had you out there, fellas? Regards (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Aug 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 5054.6, TIFC, Spanish religious programming and light music heard at 0800-0930 Aug 13, very strong signal, extremely low audio although a tiny bit "better" this day (and Aug 14) than most. The programming is // their internet audio for 1080 MW at http://www.farodelcaribe.org/ (The internet audio is a few seconds behind the on-air audio.) (Jerry Berg, MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** CROATIA. 13830, 1807 Aug 15, R. CROACIA- Noticias en inglés 35333 (Tomás Méndez, Spain? SONY ICF SW 7600GR con antena telescópica, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Added to STATION SOUNDS on the dxldyg Erik Køie`s recording off Hotbird of R. Cairo opening English at 2115 on triple-9-zero (gh) ** FINLAND. 11720, 1254 2 July, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Virrat, OM in Finnish, SINPO 25432 (Michael L. Ford, Staffordshire, NRD515, NCM515, 20m wire running E-W, Shortwave Logbook, Aug World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Nice to see someone besides Anker Petersen, Denmark can get this (gh) ** GERMANY. Stuttgart-Hirschlanden 738 went on air with Truckradio (// Jülich 702 and Nordkirchen 855) this morning. This is the transmitter used until 2003 by Megaradio, diplexed into the same antenna as AFN's 1143 (operated by T-Systems, not by AFN itself). With a mere 5 kW it is of course only a faint whisper underneath Barcelona here. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 15, DX LISENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. GUYANA NO ESTÁ EN LOS 3291v... Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. The Voice of Guiana ha sido reportada de nuevo en su habitual frecuencia, luego de pasar meses fuera del aire debido a una inundación. Sin embargo, por acá no he escuchado ni una sola vez signos de vida de la "perla" de la banda tropical en 3291v. Quizás la estación fue reactivada sólo por las horas en que la escuchó el colega, pero al menos en las últimas semanas no he tenido rastros de ella. Cierto, a veces se escucha un "carrier" en 3291.03v, pero es una estación de números. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. 1080, KWAI, HI, Honolulu, 7/23 0712 [EDT = 1112 UT], noted off the air; no other Honolulu stations were off. Two signals noted weakly; probably KSCO CA and KFXX OR. Off all day 7/23; back on at recheck 7/25 0011. Again noted off early morning of 7/30 but back on in the afternoon (Dale Park, Honolu2 HI, DDXD West, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3340, La Voz de Misiones, 0340-0432 Aug 10, soft Spanish lyric religious vocals, talk by a man announcer in Spanish. Brief religious drama followed by ID at 0401 and devotional music. Poor. (Rich D'Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 3340, R. Misiones Int., poor at 0255; tentative ID at 0300 and back to Spanish talk (8/9); on 8/14 fair with clear Spanish ID at 0300 (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, ibid.) ** INDIA. AIR – MUMBAI 4840 KHZ, Música y comentarios por OM, Ide por YL, mencionan varias veces `Mumbai` Agosto 12, - 01.15 UT. RECEPTORES: GRUNDIG YB400PE, SONY 7600G; ANTENA: DIPOLO DE 25 MTS A 10 MTS DE ALTURA (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES CHIMBOTE – PERU, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 15150, 1731 Aug 15, VOZ INDONESIA, Señal débil 24222, mejor en USB, (siguen hablando como si recitaran) (Tomás Méndez, Spain? SONY ICF SW 7600GR con antena telescópica, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. INTERVAL SIGNAL LIBRARY Recordings of world radio broadcasting received in Japan (RealAudio®) http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~RP4N-KWMR/bcl/sound2/index.html 73, (Adiel Nunes, Sócio do DXCB. São Caetano do Sul - SP, Aug 15, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Quite extensive dating back to 1973y (gh) Outra interessante página de amostra de sons de sinal de intervalo. http://www.irkutsk.com/radio/jingles.htm 73, (Adiel Nunes, Sócio do DXCB. São Caetano do Sul - SP, Aug 15, radioescutas yg via DXLD) plus links to other IS sites, tho not updated in 2 years. E.g., Rich McVicar`s is gone (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. As of the end of July, Audiofeast is no longer advertising the pay model which they were using. I have no idea what the situation is with current customers. They will be re- inventing themselves as a free Pod-casting service. http://www.audiofeast.com Stay Tuned - In late summer we will announce our Free Podcasting Service! You will enjoy the best shows from the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Radio, Consumer Reports, Discovery, PRI, Sporting News, Sporting Byline, The Weather Channel and many other top names. The AudioFeast Podcasting service will allow you to download hundreds of shows to any MP3 player, including the popular iPod. If you would like to be contacted when we are ready to launch our service, please click here http://www.audiofeast.com/email_form.php (via Doni Rosenzweig, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend. http://illw.net/ AN ANNUAL AMATEUR RADIO EVENT. The International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend came into being from the Scottish Northern Lighthouses award weekend. Over the past 7 years it has grown to over 370 lighthouses in some 51 countries around the world participating in the event. The event is always held on the 3rd full weekend in August starting at 0001 UT on Saturday and finishing at 2359 UT on Sunday. It also now coincides on the Sunday with the International Lighthouse Day which is an event organised by the International Association of Lighthouse keepers whereby as many world lighthouses will be open to the public for the day. The basic objective of the event is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill. The event is NOT a contest; each station's operators decide how they will operate their station regards modes and bands. Participants are not committed to being on the air during the entire period - only as much as they can. There are no restrictions on aerials or power. We wish operators to enjoy themselves and have fun whilst making contact with as many amateur radio stations as possible. Some operators say fun - 5,000 contacts - OK, but we request that stations take some time to work other lighthouse or lightships as well as the slow operator, or the newly-licensed or QRP stations. As available space in many lighthouses is filled to capacity, our activity does not have to take place inside the tower itself. Field day type set-up at the light or other building next to the light is OK. Permission MUST be obtained from any interested parties. Our guidelines require that the station must be AT or ADJACENT to the light. Adjacent means next to or as close as possible in the field next door. The Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society rule about 'line of sight' or 'within 1000m' does NOT apply to this event. If you wish to give out ARLHS numbers on a 'line of sight' or 'within 1000m' principle then they are only applicable for ARLHS awards and have nothing to do with the International Lighthouse/lightship Weekend. If you wish to use ARLHS numbers for identification of the light you are at or adjacent then that is OK. The event is used to obtain maximum exposure for our hobby. We invite the press and, QTH permitting, also the public and try to underline the obvious parallel between the international aspect in lighthouses, lightships and amateur radio. We might catch a future radio amateur while creating goodwill for the hobby. We use the event segment of the 5 'Classic' bands with a centre frequency if conditions are bad, at least we have one place we can (try to) meet. We request that the centre frequencies are not used as primary frequencies but as a last point of call to other participating stations. The following are suggested frequencies only as they may not be legal in some countries. If you have the room for an antenna, it may even be worth trying 160 meters. Morse Code 80m 3.510 - 3.540 kHz Centre 3.521 +/- 40m 7.005 - 7.035 khz " 7.021 +/- 20m 14.010 - 14.040 khz " 14.021 +/- 15m 21.010 - 21.040 khz " 21.021 +/- 10m 28.010 - 28.040 khz " 28.021 +/- Voice 80m 3.650 - 3.750 kHz Center 3.721 +/- 40m 7.040 - 7.100 khz " 7.051 +/- 20m 14.125 - 14.275 khz " 14.221 +/- 15m 21.150 - 21.250 khz " 21.221 +/- 10m 28.300 - 28.400 khz " 28.351 +/- Because it is NOT a contest you can operate on any authorised QRGs as per your licence. To assist other stations we request that participating CW stations add LT for lighthouse or LS for lightship, other stations add 'LIGHT', 'LGT' , 'LIGHTHOUSE' or 'LIGHTSHIP' after their call. Stations in the UK normally obtain a GB callsign with the letter L in the suffix to assist other stations identifying them as a participating station in the event. So come and join us in the fun of the weekend, establish a station at a lighthouse, lightship or maritime beacon. The more the merrier. If you decide to join us in the fun Just fill in the online entry form with your details. This will enable other stations to be aware of who is participating in the event. You may also send you entry via email to here or here 73s Mike GM4SUC, Event Organiser and Coordinator. CLICK HERE FOR ENTRY FORM AND ENTRANTS LIST FOR 2005 Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society WORLD LIST OF LIGHTHOUSES WITH NUMBERS (ARLHS is a major supporter of this event) [MORE] (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** IRAQ. 864 kHz Ramadi --- Broadcast Electronics` Stuart Peters dodged mortar and mayhem recently to reestablish an AM station in war- torn Iraq. August 11th, 2005 - Leaving the safety of BE`s headquarters in Quincy, Il., and donning a bulletproof vest and military helmet at times, Peters journeyed to an AM transmitter site in Ramadi, located about 30 miles west of Fallujah. The station, operating on 864 kHz, was commissioned by the U.S. Marines to counter insurgent propaganda with Arabic broadcasts of local government news and updates to the Iraqi community there. A BE AM 10A 10 kW transmitter had been sent ahead and partially installed before local engineers abandoned the transmitter site under threat of the insurgency. The power grid and transmitter grounding were among the items left unfinished, resulting in an imbalance in the generator that caused excessively high voltage surges. ``The station had been down for months; we were seeing unheard-of voltage spikes.`` said David Nagy, Media Officer with the Second Marine Division. ``We would have never figured it out without Stuart.`` Stuart Peters, BE`s RF Customer Service Manager, volunteered to go to Iraq to reëstablish the U.S. military AM station, all the while aware of the contractors who had entered the country before him and been held captive or worse. ``That bothered me a little bit, but one of the things that made me feel more secure was knowing that I`d be on a military base the entire time and pretty much guarded by the Navy and the Marines,`` said Peters. Peters flew from Kuwait to the Blue Diamond U.S. military base in April, during the peak of the U.S. offensive taking place along the Syrian border. To his good fortune, incoming fire abated for the five days he was in-country but resumed the day after he left. As of his visit, the station has been broadcasting to the greater Al Anbar province of Iraq and can be heard in Fallujah during the day and as far away as Al Asad, 70 miles northwest, at night. The AM is the first in a network of stations expected to broadcast on 864 kHz throughout Iraq (Broadcast Electronics via Steve Whitt, Aug 13, MWC via DXLD) ** IRAQ. /UK/USA: BBC WORLDWIDE ANNOUNCES PROGRAMMING DEAL WITH AL- HURRA IRAQ | Text of press release by BBC Worldwide on 12 August BBC Worldwide has concluded its first deal in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Husayn. Initially a one-year agreement, BBC Worldwide will provide news, current affairs and history programming to satellite and terrestrial station Al-Hurra Iraq [a channel for viewers in Iraq operated by the US government-funded Arabic-language satellite TV channel Al-Hurra TV; the latter was launched in February 2004]. Through the deal, concluded this week, BBC Worldwide is licensing 45 hours of programming to Al-Hurra including Ghengis Khan, Auschwitz, Islamic History of Europe and editions of Panorama, This World and Correspondent. Announcing the agreement, BBC Worldwide Director of Emerging Markets for EMEIA [Europe, Middle East, India and Africa], Monisha Shah, said: "As Iraq rebuilds its media networks, we are glad to be able to provide a quality source of international news and current affairs and history programming, to help re-establish schedules and give viewers increased choice." These programmes will also be broadcast on Al-Hurra's satellite service across the rest of the Middle East. Source: BBC Worldwide press release, London, in English 12 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ?? More outsourcing! Aren`t there any US channels which could do this??? (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. P5, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF KOREA. No QSNs reported yet for Dave, KA2HTV, as P5/KA2HTV. There has been some PIRATED QSNs but nothing legit. He is expected to be there until August 23rd. QSL via KK5DO (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 Aug 15 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. CALIF. MAN CATALOGS N. KOREA'S OVER-THE-TOP RHETORIC By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Few can denounce the "imperialist ogre" or "kingpin of evil" as well as the writers at North Korea's official news agency, and a California graphic artist is now cataloging their rhetorical masterpieces on a Web site. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, is the only regular source of the views of the secretive government of Kim Jong-il available to diplomats, journalists and scholars. But there was no way for them to search the archives of KCNA until Geoff Davis, fighting boredom during a rainy San Francisco spring, decided to hone his Web design skills on a topic he had followed in news reports on the North Korean nuclear crisis. "Their propaganda is often unintentionally hilarious and I couldn't find an existing searchable database of the KCNA on the Web. Thus, NK News was born," Davis told Reuters. Launched in May, http://www.nk-news.net boasts of having nearly every KCNA article since December 1996 -- "over 50 megabytes of hard-core Stalinist propaganda ... each article written in the unique and indelible style of the KCNA." Readers can get a taste of that KCNA style from recommended key word searches, such as "burning hatred," which turns up 18 articles. The targets of that hot wrath include Japan, Yankees, "U.S. imperialist ogres" and "class enemies." "Human scum" yields 25 KCNA reports applying that epithet to U.S. President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and diplomat John Bolton. Rumsfeld also keeps company with Japanese officials in the "political dwarf" category. RANDOM INSULT GENERATOR The flip-side of withering scorn for North Korea's perceived foes is fawning praise for Kim and his father, state founder Kim Il-sung. Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994, is hailed as a "peerlessly great man" in 139 articles since 1996. "Inveterate" is another popular KCNA word and a search for it returns an entry describing "U.S. imperialists" as "a pack of beasts in human skin and the inveterate enemy with whom the Korean nation cannot live under the same sky." "From browsing through the KCNA's propaganda, even the most casual observer can see that the regime is a cult," said Davis, 31, who makes his living producing graphics for court trials. Davis took 10 weeks to build http://www.nk-news.net which he calls a "hobby site," and spends $10 a month to run it. He said he doesn't count page visits but he has tallied 5,000 searches and has received positive feedback from journalists and experts on North Korea. For those seeking a comic diversion from blood-curdling diatribes and self-congratulatory reports, Davis created a "random insult generator" using pejorative words commonly found on KCNA. "You loudmouthed beast, your ridiculous clamor for 'human rights' is nothing but a shrill cry!" reads one insult. One click later and the message is: "You sycophantic stooge, you have glaringly revealed your true colors!" Although he has found a source of satire in a country that is mostly known for weapons threats, repression and famine, Davis does not joke about North Korea's nature and says the world must not cut Kim's government any slack. "The 'axis of evil' remark pales in comparison to a single day of KCNA rhetoric," he said, referring a controversial 2002 Bush speech that lumped North Korea, Iran and prewar Iraq in a trio of malign countries. REUTERS 08-14 0576 (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** LATVIA. R. Geronimo Shortwave, which made a broadcast on 9290 in June, is considering changing its name due to an internet tribute site to the original MW Radio Geronimo. There is no connexion between the two but some listeners have been confused. Geronimo SW can be contacted at geronimoshortwave @ hotmail.com or via the Ytterby mailing address (Station via Paul Watson, Radio Without Licence, Aug WDXC Contact via DXLD) Not really Apache, either (gh, OKLAHOMA) ** MEXICO. QSL recibida --- 4810, XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de América, recibida e-mail tarjeta QSL en un archivo adjunto (attachment), muy bonita, con banderas de muchos países, anagrama de la emisora y vista de la Torre Latinoamericana, y con la siguiente inscripción: "QSL, Certificado de Sintonía, Radio Trans-Continental de América, S.A. de V.C., Plaza San Juan Nº 5-2 Col. Centro México D.F. Telf. 55- 18-49-36, Licenc. Rubén Castañeda Espíndola Director General Muchas gracias por su informe de recepción. Tenemos mucho gusto de confirmar su control de nuestra emisión en 4810 kHz. XERTA, via ionosférica. ¡Más cerquita de Dios! Radio Emisora de Cobertura Mundial 4810 kHz Banda Tropical de 60 metros No aparece firma, ni fecha ni hora de la escucha. No v/s, partial data e-QSL card. Al imprimirla en color, en papel de buena calidad, queda realmente bonita. Me indican que ya se fue enviada, por correo ordinario, otra tarjeta QSL. Tardaron en responder 10 días, y el informe se envió por correo ordinario a la dirección que aparece arriba. Se acompañó 1 US$ para ayuda del sello de retorno (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XERF 1570, Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila has recently installed a new 100,000 watt transmitter. Altho not up to the 50s and 60s power level of 2.5 times that power, it is a significant increase over what it had been churning out the past 15-20 years. So if you`ve noticed XERF sounding a little better lately, that`s the reason (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. I switch on the DEGEN 1103 radio and on 92.90 MHz I got a NEW STATION in FM from DURANGO "LA NUEVA CULTURA ESPANA FM" they have this name cause they are transmitting from UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA ESPANA http://www.unes.edu.mx/ THEY HAVE ALSO A GOOD WEB page! http://www.unes.edu.mx/espanafm.htm EMAIL: xunesfm @ hotmail.com With good programs culturals and good rock pop music ... guess EX 92.1 STEREO TECNOLOGICO off the air (almost today) [and part of a bandscan in Saltillo:] 97.70, RADIO CONCIERTO quite unexpected classic music radio station but with also cultural programs 100.10, RADIO TECNOLOGICO ...WITH NO STOP GREAT SONGS OF THE 60's 70's ....IN A GADDA DAVIDA of PINKFLOYD ...20 MINUTES ORIGINAL VERSION ...ABSOLUTELY THE BEST POSSIBILITY TO LISTEN IN MEXICO...HI (Dario Monferini, on the bus from Mazatlán to Monterrey, playdx yg via DXLD) Dario also wonders how Saltillo got its name, perhaps from all the potholes, causing ``little jumps`` (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. NRC member graveyard distance records for 1450 stations, in statute miles: KWHW Altus Olle Alm, Abisko, Sweden 4660 KWHW Altus Niel Wolfish & Shawn Axelrod (tie), Winnipeg, MB 1046 KGFF Shawnee John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, CO 543 KSIW Woodward Phil Bytheway, Seattle WA 1401 (Graveyard achievements, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. RADIO NACIONAL DEL PARAGUAY 24 HORAS EN ONDA CORTA... Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Desde hace mucho tiempo se ha anunciado la transmisión 24 horas de Radio Nacional del Paraguay, pero finalmente se ha comprobado lo cierto de la afirmación este 14/08, a las 0719 UT, en los 9736.86 kHz. Se escuchaba con locutor de guardia y música folklórica del país. También llamadas al aire. Transmisión en vivo y directo. Severa interferencia de la Deustche Welle a las 0730. SINPO 33343. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA [non]. 7315, GERMANY, IBC Tamil via Juelich, 0020-0100* Aug 10, various men with Tamil talks and brief musical segments between talk features. Nice ID at 0045 prior to next program segment. Closedown announcements and apparent postal address and ID noted at 0059. Brief instrumental music ended broadcast. Fair to good (Rich D'Angelo. PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SUDAN. Added to STATION SOUNDS in the dxldyg, Erik Køie`s recording off Hotbird of R. Omdurman ID in Arabic at 1400 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** TUNISIA. 7275, August 14 at 0400 UT in Arabic. IDed by going to the station site: http://www.radiotunis.com and listening to the webcast which had same audio but delayed and sounded like they were rebroadcasting the SW onto the site using a cheap Chinese portable! (Bill Bergadano, NJ, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. New York Radio is back after another unexplained outage: Aug 15 at 1403 on 13270-USB, aviation weather including Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. ID and time check at 1405, then weather for coastal state airports, Bangor, Norfolk, Charlotte, etc. 1410 another ID and timecheck, on to Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts starting with NY-Kennedy; much stronger than // 10051. They give temps and dewpoints in C, but altimeter (i.e. local barometric pressure) in inches! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. La señal de WRMI no fue audible hoy para reportar el programa Mundo Radial del colega Glenn Hauser. Un fuerte abrazo para todos (José Elías, Venezuela, Aug 14, condiglist via DXLD) Re Sunday 2345 on 9955; like I said, it may not be on every week, anyway; however, nothing but jamming audible here as usual. Appreciate Jeff White putting it on, and we can only hope there will be some areas where the signal overcomes the jamming. Now how would Arnie feel if I jammed his RHC program? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Receiving an extended lease on life is WA2XMN, the commemorative/ "experimental" outlet broadcasting from the old Armstrong-FM tower in Alpine, NJ, on an oldtyme lowband-FM frequency of 42.8 MHz. Initially planning to operate only for two days in June, 'XMN is now authorized to continue its specialty 'casts until sometime in 2010. Making DXers salivate, is the realization that the station is now authorized to operate into the next Sunspot-maximum, on its 11- year cycle. It's likely that the 250-watt station will be heard into skip areas in the Midwest and beyond, toward the end of its lifespan, thanks to those Solar influences (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update Aug 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Full UD appears in the dxld yg ** U S A. KNX 1070 Retrospective --- And a good, detailed show it was, a ton of good research and interesting clips -- shows plus oddball ID's. I had forgotten that Steve Allen did a local show at midnight nightly with, somehow, a live studio audience circa 1950. This was an example of some of the gems they dug up. But eventually they get to the all-news present, and the OJ trial, and the quakes, and it flattens out. There is even a 10 minute tangent on paranormal "researchers" trying to find ghosts in the building - this is like 1/6 of the show, a huge waste of time. Bill Paley is still, today, very angry, we are told. Did you know this? Well that's California for you. At the end they boast of the glistening new all digital studio they will now do the big live handover to. And at the handover point: farewells, applause, and - nothing! The webcast apparently fed from the old Sunset and Gower building only, so the webcast ends there. Fitting, in a way (Tom Roche, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A FIRST IN YOUR LIFETIME: Most probably. For the first time in around eighty years, there are NO radio stations located in Hollywood. The last holdout was KNX/1070; the Infinity all-Newser left Columbia Square without turning out the lights, this past Friday. (TV sisters KCBS-TV/2 and KCAL-TV/9 remain at the historic facility, pending completion of new San Fernando Valley studios sometime next year.) KNX first broadcast from the CBS facility on April 30, 1938; in subsequent years many CBS Radio Network productions originated from the eight top-notch Radio studios found within. (NBC, ABC and Mutual all maintained their West Coast HQs within a few blocks of Columbia Square, over on Vine St. The old NBC home was for many years the Hollywood branch of Home Federal Savings, at the corner of Sunset and Vine.) KNX now boasts state-of-the-art Digital studios, packed in with co-owned Newser KFWB/980 and three other Infinity stations, cold-stored in a Wilshire Blvd high-rise. No doubt the view's better, but what about the spirit of the operation? HOW...AND WHY?: Could and did the Disney Board of Directors get away with paying Michael Ovitz $140-million severance, for 14 months of "service"? Why, with the help of Delaware Chancery Court Judge William Chandler; his ruling says the Shareholders get the shaft of paying this ridiculous sum to Michael Eisner's partying buddy (considered a "psychopath" by Eisner, as stated in internal memos). If any other American corporation in any business tried this, heads would roll right into the Hoosegow. Perhaps someone should look into the question: just who sold their soul to the devil, in order for Disney to get away with this sort of crap? As well, how could Worldcom, Enron or Martha Stewart be prosecuted in any good faith, while Disney encounters only impunity for their egregious actions? DISNEY FIRE SALE: Emmis, Entercom and Citadel made initial bids for the 71-odd radio station chain, each proposal amounting to about $3- billion, sources say. Disney's reply: come back when you're serious! Disney does possess a number of excellent market-saturating signals which are mostly being squandered with Radio Disney, ESPN or right- wing McTalk garbage; two exceptions programming-wise are the balanced objective Newstalk heard on SF's KGO/810, and a fairly listenable spate of Classic Rock via L.A.'s KLOS/95.5. One of Disney's talkers has run afoul of the Maus, and has been suspended for his efforts. Michael Graham holds court at D.C.'s WMAL/630; the Council on American-Islamic relations has denounced some of Graham's commentary as "hate-filled". He said the US is "...at war with a terrorist organization named Islam". As we speak, Graham's comments to "The Washington Post" remain somewhat strident: "If fighting for free speech and for the truth in the war on terrorism means getting fired by some corporate suits at ABC/Disney who can't stand up for free speech, so be it. But I will not recant." JUST KIDDING: So says the FCC, apparently. Despite the claim relayed to you in last month's Update, Commissioners have postponed their plans to bring forth discussion on further relaxing media ownership limitations. The subject was on their July 14 meeting agenda; it may be rescheduled for right about now, for next month, or for sometime in the fourth millennium, for all we know. STAYING ABREAST OF THE STORY: Premiere Radio Networks' workhorse Dan Brady sends an item about a programming decision at the University Of Kentucky's WUKY/91.3 in Lexington, taking a daily featurette off the air. The blurb. "The Writer's Almanac", is produced and voiced by Garrison Keillor, of "Prairie Home Companion" fame, described on an associated website as, "a daily program of poetry and history hosted by Garrison Keillor". WUKY's concern revolves around the use of words such as, "breast", allegedly heard twice in this Summer's poetic offerings, as well as the phrase, "get high", in a separate program. All this, after WUKY's been editing "offensive" words out of those daily presentations anyway! Station General Manager Tom Godell says he lives in fear of FCC sanctions. "We have certain standards of decency...", Tom says, and he adds that an FCC fine would be "an embarrassment" to WUKY and the University. The Host reacted in a non- plussed manner, about the poems: "There isn't one of them I would hesitate to offer to any high school English class," Keillor wrote. "The fact that someone is troubled by hearing the word 'breast' is interesting, but what are we supposed to do with A Visit From St. Nicholas and the 'breast of the new fallen snow'? Should it become a shoulder or an elbow? I don't think so." The retired founding Director of Kentucky Educational Television, O. Leonard Press, senses an overreaction on Godell's part: "The purpose of public broadcasting is not to be safe, but to be useful, good, to give people something to think about, something to grow on. If Garrison Keillor is less desirable on the airwaves than 'Desperate Housewives'," he said, "we've gone a far piece." (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update Aug 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Full UD, MUCH more, appears in the dxld yg ** U S A. 530, WNHV296, CA, Los Ángeles, 7/17 1008 [EDT = 1408 UT]. Chris Hines with traffic info, instruxions on driving around the terminals at LÁ International Airport, where airlines are located, etc. Never heard this far away without a loop; poor (Dale Park, Newport Beach, Sangean ATS818-CS, DDXD-West, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) 820, WPAC337, CA, Hollywood, 7/18 1805 [EDT = 2205 UT], Hollywood Bowl TIS off the air while driving in the vicinity; perhaps broadcasting only on event days, like the day before? (Dale Park, Ford caradio, ibid.) 909.2 kHz, WAVL, PA, Apollo, seems to be on this frequency, first noted 8/1 (Jerry Starr, near Youngstown OH, DDXD-East, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) Seems? Either is or not (gh) ** U S A. Anybody know if 630 WBMQ Savannah is on the air? I can get them here but not the last couple of days. This once proud station is always off the air it seems. My last 3 out of 4 visits to Georgia had them off at least for a couple days at a time (Juan Gualda, Ft. Pierce, FL, Aug 14, ABDX via DXLD) I believe that was the original WSAV (gh, DXLD) And the FCC has NOT approved the move to the intown single tower of one of their co owned stations. I think filing fees or something is holding this up (Powell E. Way III, ibid.) ** U S A. Changes in Massachusetts --- My observations (between July 22 and Aug 11) in the corridor from Boston west to Worcestor reveal quite a few format changes with respect to current NRC AM Guide. Also have double checked my observations with station websites where possible. Updated list to show all changes I observed in central MA corridor relative to current NRC AM Log. All observations made during daylight hours. 650, WSRO, Portuguese programming Legal ID ``WSRO Ashland-Boston`` http://www.wsro.com/ Format change 830, WCRN, ``America`s True Oldies Channel``; mostly 1960s hits; ``The New True Oldies Channel`` Legal ID as ``WCRN Worcester, Framingham, Boston`` http://www.mikerobertswebdesign.com/wcrn/ Format change 890, ``8-90 ESPN Boston``, Was still Spanish format on July 23 but new format noted Aug 10th, Daytime in MA, Format change 900, WSNH, ``Now Southern New Hampshire has its own sports station ESPN 900`` Heard at Webster, http://espn900.com/ Format change 970, WESO, ``Spirit 9-70 WESO Southbridge`` http://www.thespirit970.com/ Slogan change 1090, WILD, ``Classic Soul all day on 10-90 WILD`` Format change 1200, WKOX, Talk show – English. Presume WKOX with format change; see 1430 and http://www.wkoxam.com/main.html Format change 1250, WARE, ``Real Oldies 12-50 WARE`` http://www.realoldies1250.com Slogan change 1310, Latin music, Latin rap; Spanish. Presume WORC; http://power1310.com/ --- old website here http://www.worconline.com/mainold.html Format change 1350, WINY, ``WINY 13-50AM`` with AOR music like Dido, Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac, Simply Red. Heard at Webster. Format change 1430, WXKS, ``Boston`s progressive talk``, Format change noted Aug 10; nothing noted July 22 http://www.am1430wxks.com Format change also noted of interest: 540, Drive-in Movie theatre at Mendon MA; advertised at site but not checked; 89.3 MHz also advertised and heard 1140, KCA715, ``National Park Service KCA715 on 11-40 Worcester`` ``Blackstone River Valley Heritage Quarter`` Heard on Route 146 SE of Worcester 1610, Test transmission from Historical Park in Lowell; seemingly silent when rechecked August 9th 1650, 1650AM Logan Radio, Not checked but handing out stickers and stuff air-side at Logan airport; no road signs noticed though, which is why I did not check them! How many TIS stations have dedicated promotional material! using stock car radio/antenna in my hire car. Further to my earlier post regarding numerous changes in Central MA, I've checked my notes for New Hampshire and Maine. Only found three discrepancies with current NRC AM Log. Most info matched up. 1050, WBNC, Never IDs as WBNC; sounds like a TIS with continuous looped information/adverts for tourists and automated weather updates; Many IDs as ``Mount Washington Valley Information Radio``, heard at Rocky Gorge west of Conway. format change 1250, ``Oldies Radio``, ``Motown Hot wax Weekend``, Rocky Gorge west of Conway. Daytime reception with long deep fading; presume WKBR with format change http://www.wkbr1250.com/ --- oddly not noted as a local signal in Concord or Weirs Beach or Nashua, maybe off air at time; some bits of old website still in place http://www.wkbr1250.com/photo.html Format change seems to be in progress 1490, Sports talk heard in PORTLAND; Presumed WBAE. POSSIBLE FORMAT CHANGE FROM NOSTALGIA? 73 (Steve Whitt, UK, MWC via DXLD) ** U S A. Just a few interesting items from a great many picked by gh: Grants to Existing Facilities: 910, WFDF, MI, Flint --- licensed for U4 5000/1000, WFDF received an earlier CP for an upgrade to U4 50000/1000 with the day facility from a new 8-tower site about 50 miles south of Flint, while retaining the night site to cover the city-of-license. WFDF then filed for, and now has been granted, a CP for U4 50000/19000 with a change in COL to Farmington Hills, MI, from the 8-tower site at N42-03-57, W83-23-39. Amendments to Applications Submitted: 820, WAIT, IL, Chicago --- licensed for D1 5000/0, WAIT has a pending application to change their COL to Willow Springs, IL. This amendment proposes six new towers at a second site near Ridgewood, IL in order to become U2 5000/1500. The proposed night pattern directs all of the power directly toward Nipigon, Ontario (and away from WBAP). Nipigon is the site of a proposed new 820 facility with U2 1000/1000. WAIT`s owners have completed a study of 18 frequencies, and they propose that the allotment of 820 kHz at Nipigon be changed to 770 with U2 10000/1000, allowing WAIT to have 1500 Watts nights. If the Canadian Government does not allow this allotment change, WAIT would back off to a 900 Watt nighttime level with a slightly different pattern. 1360, WKAT, FL, North Miami --- licensed for U1 5000/1000, WKAT has applied to build a new 5-tower site in order to increase power to become U4 50000/5000. The FCC asked that the proposal be altered so as to reduce daytime radiation toward co-channel CMHZ. This amendment includes that change. [What? We are protecting Cuban stations after all they`ve done to us, spelt U-S? And a non-existent station? FWIW, there is no CMHZ on 1360 in the WRTH 2005! --- gh] [Good point! I'm surprised Radio Martí isn't protecting the 1180's in Cuba. On a parallel subject the VOA/IBB should have a contest to see if anyone is Cuba has ever seen TV Marti (Jerry Kiefer, FL/DR, NRC-AM via DXLD)] Applications for New Stations 1020, NEW, ID, Kuna --- applies for U2 50000/20000. Kuna is about 10 miles SW of Boise. It appears the transmitter site is at or near that of the day site of the new KDJQ 890 (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News Aug 15 via DXLD) 1160, WYLL, IL, Chicago --- I have found the location of this station`s new night pattern transmitter site. From Illinois 171 (State Street) in Lockport, take Bruce Road east for three miles to just past Gouger Road. On the left hand side you will see six towers, arranged in two rows of three towers each; this is the new site (Ken Onyschuk, Joliet, DDXD-West, Domestic DX Digest, NRC DX News August 15 via DXLD) ** U S A. The 1610 station at the entrance [which one?] to the Grand Canyon was using callsign WGCNP, though it seemed more like a part 15 operation, because it vanished almost immediately after getting past the entrance station (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O Los Álamos, NM (DM65uv), Online logbooks at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net ABDX via DXLD) Shouldn`t that be KGCNP??? ** U S A. Tuning into WDHP 1620, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, a regular in here, I was distressed to find instead: WKQV (maybe B or P), Coral Springs, Florida, playing "Super Oldies". With a nostalgia station 30 miles north, it's obvious one was needed 30 miles south. The FCC database (day entry below) lists a "New" application for DA2, 250 W day and night, in Coral Springs on 1120, but apparently they are plopped down on 1620, right on WDHP. No signs of life, just various jingles between songs: "Sound of summer." "The station for more fun in the sun." "KQV, the big 16." "Super oldies." From the FCC database: ------------------- NEW FL CORAL SPRINGS USA Daytime Licensee: LANGER BROADCASTING GROUP , LLC 1120 kHz Application Domestic Station Class: B Region 2 Station Class (corresponds to W. Hemisphere): B Coordination Status: Canada: - Mexico: - Region 2: - File No: BNP-20040130AHD Facility ID No.: 161056 CDBS Application ID No.: 974674 26 16' 51.00" N Latitude Power: 0.25 kilowatts (kW) Daytime 80 17' 37.00" W Longitude (NAD 27) DA2 - Directional Antenna: Different constants day and night Number of Augmentations to standard directional pattern: 0 RMS Standard: 161.90 mV/m at 1 kilometer RMS Theoretical: 153.90 mV/m at 1 kilometer 2 towers in the directional array CDBS Ant. System ID: 83800 (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida, Aug 14, IRCA via DXLD) I am pretty sure this is a semi regular pirate from somewhere in Broward. I have heard them here before, but back then on 1610. Why they went to 1620 with regular "pest" from Virgin Islands is beyond me (Juan Gualda, Fort Pierce, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Seems strange they would be a pirate. They're playing ads for local merchants and a boat show (I think it was) in Delray Beach. Plus they are IDing with a call sign using professional sounding jingles. They say they're in Coral Springs -- which is in Broward -- but seem awfully smooth to be a pirate. Just checked again and the previous automation seems to have given way to a "live" call-in show with a DJ, last name Davis, missed the first, caller from Plantation, just down the road from Coral Springs. Gave out the call-in phone number, area code and exchange for Pompano Beach, missed the last four digits. What makes you think it is the same pirate on a different frequency? Have you heard them use that same call sign or slogans before? (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida, IRCA via DXLD) From http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html which every DXer in and of Florida should bookmark! 1620 (TIS) "WKQV," Parkland; sporadically active. Moved from 1610 to 1620 kHz in early March, 2004 per D. Crawford observation. Reported as having moved to a fishing camp near Coral Springs, but quickly confirmed as dis-information. Uses a wire off of a 40-foot tower. Very professional, good studio equipment, includes "Payphone Call Challenge" with give-away prizes. First noted in March, 2002 by T. Simon, airing "KQV" Oldies format, with 50s-60s jingles that apparently came from KQV in Pittsburgh, and playing stuff like the Tornadoes' "Telstar", with recorded announcement giving 954 area code (Broward County) number. Signal was quite good in Boca. With all the micros down this way, it's still a rarity to find one on the AM band. (via gh, ibid.) [Later:] Juan, You are right. Others have added to your recollections and it is indeed a pirate. My previous note to you and the lists, mentioned details that fit right in with the modus operandi of a previously heard pirate station in this area. One of the pleasures and curses of being new at something, is discovering the well known (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida, ibid.) ** U S A. Are you able to receive that new drive-in at Galva? On the map that looks close to Kewanee. The one my way (the Harvest Moon Drive-In at Gibson City) puts out enough power that I can hear it up to seven miles away on my car radio (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton, Illinois, WTFDA via DXLD) Actually I didn't realize that the drive-in was open! I'm about 10 miles from Galva and I haven't caught anything here yet. I guess I'll have to take a short drive to Galva and check it out sometime. Chris Cervántez, Kewanee, IL, ibid.) WTFK? They were talking about some other stations on 100.7 and 100.9 (gh) ** U S A [and non]. Re: 5-136. Radio personalities "Puedo meter la cuchara?"... That goes for "May I introduce my spoon?"... Altho different styles, Willis Conover, well known worldwide ambassador for "VOA Jazz Hour", may be in a tight position with Hill Edell, former host of "WRUL Worldwide Hit Parade": not necessarily young-looking for 40 years ago, but thanks to that powerful signal on WRUL, Hill was a regular weekend visitor with that show which introduced a worldwide audience, me included, to the heyday of Top 40 music, and many of us from different places, served as corresponsals of what was playing in our respectivescountries, so he could mention the top three songs from Finland to Jamaica and elsewhere. Next, I'll have to mention the Wolfman Jack. Until the day he died I never knew his real name was Robert Smith. And why the Wolfman deserves this? It was around 1963 I stayed tuned to AM late at night until the local Costa Rican stations signed-off and of course one of the stations that boomed here was XERF and that effect of the wolf as it sounded upon the records in the middle of the night it was like hearing a steam whistle train in the distance. We missed the Wolfman for some time until Canadian rock group The Guess Who came with "Clap for The Wolfman". And next, what introduced the Wolfman almost to a global status: George Lucas' film "American Graffiti". Last but not least, many thanks, Bert New. He gave us a contact to Flagpole magazine site, where this article about John R. was published. I became one of his fans too, many miles South of Nashville, here in Tiquicia, as he introduced me to what today is Classic R&B music over WLAC. But I'll refer to that soon (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Aug 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WXTB-FM --- RADIO STATIONS' 'INMATES' SCARE MOTORISTS: LAND O'LAKES, Florida (AP) -- A radio station stunt that had three listeners dressed up like escaped jail inmates went awry Friday when dozens of people called police. The resulting ruckus tied up traffic during morning rush hour, authorities said. The three people, shackled and dressed in what appeared to be jail uniforms, were competing to try to get motorists to give them a ride, Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. The first one back to the studios of Tampa station WXTB-FM - 98 Rock - would win a trip to Los Angeles in conjunction with a new Fox television show called "Prison Break." But after 30 or 40 calls from "terrified" motorists and residents, sheriff's deputies responded in force and took them into custody for real, Doll said. They were released after about an hour. "We took it quite seriously and responded with every available deputy we had in that area," Doll said. No charges were filed, because the bogus inmates didn't forcefully try to get in any of the cars. But deputies still aren't happy about the stunt. Doll said Florida law would have allowed motorists and deputies to shoot them if they were seen to pose a threat. A message left with the radio station wasn't immediately returned Friday (from http://1010wins.com/homepage/ via Dino Bloise, FL, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. LIBERAL TALK RADIO TRYING TO GAIN SOLID FOOTHOLD By Rick Bird, Post staff reporter Jerry Springer's radio talk show is hardly setting the city or the country on fire. Likewise the new liberal talk station WCKY-AM (1530), launched in January with Springer as its star attraction, remains barely a blip on the local ratings radar. Nationally the liberal network Air America has mixed results since it launched 18 months ago with much media attention amidst a polarizing presidential campaign with the network positioned as the counterweight to conservative talk shows that dominate the nation's airwaves. But programmers and sales managers, both at WCKY and New York-based Air America, continue to dismiss sluggish ratings insisting radio audiences take time to build with success or failure measured in years, not weeks. . . http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050815/LIFE/508150336/1005 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Howdy again Glenn: Are you thoroughly confused about daylight time now? Everyone`s in such a hurry to get the news out, half the time they get it wrong. Here`s what I have so far: 18 JUL 05 – That was the first time I heard of the change on the news. They said it would start on the first weekend in March and end on the last weekend in November, thus adding another month at each end. Finally today 08 AUG they did give dates. They said: 1, it will become effective in 2007y 2, it will start on the second Sunday in March 3, it will end on the first Sunday in November 4, it will add four weeks to DST Of course, that last item will depend on how many Sundays there are in March. For instance, in 2003y, March had five Sundays. So, changing it from the first Sunday in April, back to the second Sunday in March, would add four weeks. Then there`s that additional week in the fall. So DST that year would have been five weeks longer. The same will be true again in 2008y. But why worry? By 2007y it will probably be drastically shortened, as a result of lobbying by some fanatic group, claiming that people will be spending too many hours in the woods, creating more pollution in the environment and setting more forest fires. Darn! Things change so fast these days, you almost need a secretary to keep up with it. What with eating, sleeping, and the occasional party, there`s scarcely time to hold a job anymore. Maybe I should retire. Come to think of it, I`ve been telling people lately that I was really going to retire in another sesquiyear. That`s because every five years on our anniversary date the company gives us eight weeks of vacation all at conce. We can either take the time or sell it back to the company at our current hourly rate. My 25th anniversary willbe 25 JAN 07. I think I`ll try to hold out for that. JKDI, (Pete Bentley, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. SODRE EN RESTRUCTURA DE PROGRAMACION Las emisoras del SODRE, Radiodifusión Nacional, CX26 y CX38 han comenzado a partir de hoy, 15 de agosto, un período de transición en sus respectivas programaciones. Las dos transmiten la misma programación, habiéndose levantado casi todos los programas en coproducción o arrendados. Esto se enmarca en una nueva etapa de restructura de las emisoras, tanto a nivel técnico como de infraestructura edilicia y que obedece a la política de la nueva dirección a cargo del Sr. Sergio Sacomani. Este está emitiendo un mensaje pregrabado donde solicita la comprensión por las supresiones hechas que pueden molestar algunos intereses de sus productores y avisadores contratados. Días previos se han escuchado las despedidas de programas que desde hace años estaban en el aire, y más de uno marcando alguna protesta. En realidad, muchos de estos espacios habían hecho toda una programación anacrónica, sin control, despareja de nivel, o reiterada. No sé que va a pasar con Radioactividades, pero el domingo no se escuchó ninguna despedida. Salvo un programa conmemorativo del Día del Niño, que ya se ha repetido cada año hasta el hartazgo. No sé si el nuevo cargo del Dr. Daniel Ayala González como Director de Cultura de la Intendencia de Florida le permitirá continuar con este programa, que emanara del antiguo DX Club del Uruguay. Según mi monitoreo, en onda corta, 9620 está inactiva por el momento, habiendo escuchado a 6125 en algún período, con ajustes, registrando períodos de señal variable. Hace unos días dirigí a Dirección de Radio mi opinión sobre la situación de la Onda Corta, texto del mensaje que oportunamente publicara yo en esta lista. Pero no he recibido ninguna contestación con comentario o siquiera acuse de recibo a mis propuestas. Veremos hasta dónde hay cambios en un sistema de radiodifusión nacional que la nueva dirección ha reconocido que debe cambiar (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, ago 15, condiglist via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Hi Glenn, Voice of the People [from Madagascar] to Zimbabwe, 7120, 17-18 monitored again this evening 15 Aug. Severe jamming heard at station open 1700 until 1730. This jammer is the same Chinese retro-cycler type used from within Zimbabwe that blocked SW Radio Africa's Shortwave broadcasts earlier this year Identical style of the jammer that they also monitor the frequency to check if the station being jammed is still on air, which V.of People still is using, heard in the clear 1730-1800. This is 'active' jamming at a very highly trained level (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) REPORTED JAMMING OF VOICE OF THE PEOPLE TO ZIMBABWE We have received several E-mails indicating that the Zimbabwean government has now switched on its Chinese-supplied shortwave jammers to block the transmissions of Voice of the People (VOP), which are on the air at 1700-1800 UTC on 7120 kHz via the Radio Netherlands Madagascar relay station. The information has been passed to the Programme Distribution Department at Radio Netherlands which deals with all technical matters. At the moment, the station's website is functioning normally. You can contact VOP at voxpopzim @ yahoo.co.uk Voice of the People http://www.vopradio.co.zw/ # posted by Andy @ 08:28 Aug 14 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ HAM RADIO'S GREAT "NO CODE" BATTLE CONTINUES http://futureofradio.typepad.com/the_future_of_radio/2005/08/ham_radios_grea.html For sheer drama, pathos, and unintentional comedy, the continuing debate in the ham radio community over the FCC's recent proposal to eliminate the Morse code requirement for all ham radio licenses is tough to beat. Here's a typical discussion thread about the proposal http://www.qrz.com/ib-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s=ab8e6c98d0d6289947b11d9d60ae4f76;act=ST;f=3;t=98853;st=0 As you can see, with rare exceptions (like the beginning post on the thread) the comments and participants seem equally divided between the infantile and the demented. Here's my fearless prediction: eliminating the code requirement will produce a short-lived increase in the number of new hams --- a "bump" that might last a couple of years --- and then ham radio will resume its steady decline in the number of licensed hams and general relevance to radio communications. Why? Because --- code requirement or not --- ham radio is just not that interesting to even technically- inclined young people these days. Even if you're interested in RF/wireless, there is a lot of very interesting stuff --- such as mesh networking, mobile "hotspots," streaming media for public use, etc. -- - that you can't do under current ham radio rules. And while young people might have been thrilled in 1965 to be able to talk to someone 1000 miles away over a ham radio station in their bedroom, it's now 2005 and kids can talk to someone 1000 miles away on their pocket cell phone for as long as they want under a $40 unlimited long distance plan. Add in the sour, bitter nature of a lot of old-time hams (as exemplified by the comments on the linked discussion thread) and you have a "product" that's distinctly unappealing to most young people -- - and most people of any age, come to think of it. Posted on August 15, 2005 (Harry Helms, TX, W5HLH, Futureofradio blog via DXLD) Really cheap GMRS radios Hi! I have no idea if you are interested in or have a use for these two-way radios, but this seems extraordinarily cheap. I've been seeing FRS radios for real cheap lately, like $10 each or even less, but this is the first time I've noticed GMRS radios this cheap. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=217412&pn=1 I would think that the AAA batteries would drain *very* fast with the GMRS transmit-power capability, though... (Will Martin, MO, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But says sold out at bottom, re these? (gh) SLINKY STILL SASSY AT 60 Slinky, the spare-yet-classic toy coil, marks 60 years of springy entertainment and memory-making in 2005. As toys become further tied to technology and digital mechanics, this simple spiral -- still no batteries required -- reigns supreme for many. "The metal slinky is often used as an antenna for shortwave radio listeners," Jim Shields said. "There are sites on the Net that manufacture antennas using Slinkys. I have used one for a couple of years." Slinky even went to war in Vietnam, where soldiers would drape it in the trees as a radio antenna. . . http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/living/12341129.htm (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ Other forms of digital radio in UK --- DIGITAL RADIO: THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE by Paul Robinson, Monday August 15, 2005 Guardian (London, UK) James Murdoch's announcement of Sky's branded digital set was an unexpected shot in the arm for commercial radio. A day later, the latest Rajar figures revealed that listening to radio via the television had achieved record levels and national digital stations were continuing their upward trend. Network digital radio listening now accounts for around 8% of all commercial radio hours, underlining how vital these fledgling services are in their fight against the BBC. But why should Sky be interested in radio? . . . http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5262355-105337,00.html (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ###